So many unexpected things are making that win and  this season exciting.

1./ How’s the new guys?!  Howes can really play and is a cool head. Windsor is now doing it in big games. such a clutch tackle and goal. Woewodin is solid at least and Turner looks threatening. Then a few older guys I didn’t expect much of in 2024 are clicking. Petty is officially back and influencing games. Great grabs anll night.  Oliver casually racks up 30 plus while still returning to his best  and Tmac matched arguably the games best player Cameron all night  . Yes Cameron missed 2 uncharacteristically late but even so Tmac I think had nullified  him on balance. 

2./ Also thought our approach to the game tactically and physically was brilliant. kudos to the brains trust. 

3./ Dees aren’t yet favourites in 24 but there’s nothing between us and others claiming that. 5 guys in the team with very few games ( that’s a mini rebuild)!and we beat the top seed… we’re only going to get better. 

Edited May 4, 2024May 4 by Wells 11

4 hours ago, picket fence said:

Just got home from a Very round trip, lets get a few things outa the way

2 If Demon Royalty includes yours truly well then it was akin to a Royal Flush and the fence was.... The ACE OF SPADES

 

Nothing typifies Langdon more than his goal in the 3rd quarter last night.

Spends pretty much the whole night running up and down the Southern wing and bobs up on the Members half forward flank near the boundary line and calmly slots it from 50. That’s our Ed.

7 hours ago, Engorged Onion said:

Enjoy the AI transcribed Press Conference from The Age 🤷‍♀️🫠

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-2024-round-eight-live-updates-sydney-swans-gws-giants-open-afl-saturday-ahead-of-saints-v-roos-dees-v-cats-20240503-p5fovk.html?post=p55xz4#p55xz4

I just read it this morning and it is laughable! 

3 hours ago, Binmans PA said:

Yep, I admit I was wrong about TMac. Thought he was done, thought it was very hopeful we were trying him as a defender again, but I clearly have no idea what I'm talking about. He was been an undeniable revelation back there.

I note Lever said in his post match interview that McDonald is a very fit and determined guy.

Reading the Votes thread I thought I’d least see one poster have the Melbourne faithful with the 6 votes.

Goody and May in their interviews post-match clearly stated we were Best On Ground last night.
Was a magnificent buzz at the end. 

I hope Jade had a great night WCW

Watched the game at home with my son.  We were both so frustrated during that 2nd quarter.  But I kept telling him how much I was enjoying the game overall.  Really strong effort and intensity.  I thought Viney had a great game too and was pleased he got up after we saw him on the ground in pain.  Knowing it was Viney and not some normal human being, I thought someone might have near killed him.

Fritsch is such a talented forward.  If he has a fault, it's that he seems to be playing half-pace sometimes.  But he knows how to use his body to bump to his advantage and no doubt he's a class kick for goal.

But best on ground for mine -- for Melbourne -- was Cameron -- jeez I laughed at Jezza and laughed and laughed some more, as he kept missing his opportunities -- he had an absolutely filthy game -- and don't forget it was his complete lack of intensity and pressure in the first minute of the game that led to Windsor getting the ball and hacking a kick forward to Fritsch for a goal.

Edited May 4, 2024May 4 by Frosticles

Slept soundly and feeling great thanks to our magnificent win. I'll be whistling as i walk the dog this morning.

Mea culpa coming up. Thought Petty would have been better served having a spell at Casey to regain confidence. He was excellent last night. Marked everything and was a very important cog for us. 

Great game Harry. welcome back.

7 hours ago, binman said:

Bliss.

Just started watching the replay. 

First derm gem:

5-2 is not good enough.

Go redleggers.

He's still [censored] that we cooked them in 1990.

9 hours ago, JJR said:

He's overrated apparently to some bloke named picket fairy on here.

Petty has been below average all year, how easy to take pot shots at someone who has called that out after he has one good game for the first time this year. Lazy commenting mate. 

7 hours ago, Green Demon said:

Candidate for post of the month award.

7 hours ago, Demon Disciple said:

I think we need to be putting more score on the board for us to be a genuine contender. 

It is simply not sustainable for our defence having to continually keep the opposition scores less than our own when we aren’t scoring heavily ourselves.

It’s been sustainable for 3 years.

But whilst I agree with you that we need to ensure we can score, last night wasn’t really a reflection of a game plan which can’t score. We had easy shot on goal after easy shot on goal and fluffed them. It’s not a situation of what we saw at our worst in 2022-23 when we were either not generating shots or only generating dirty or low percentage shots. 

1 minute ago, titan_uranus said:

It’s been sustainable for 3 years.

But whilst I agree with you that we need to ensure we can score, last night wasn’t really a reflection of a game plan which can’t score. We had easy shot on goal after easy shot on goal and fluffed them. It’s not a situation of what we saw at our worst in 2022-23 when we were either not generating shots or only generating dirty or low percentage shots. 

Not mine... but

Melbourne Premiers 2021 >

Games 81 Won 57  Lost 23  Drawn 1  Won score ≥ 100 pts 22 Lost score ≥ 100 pts 3

Geelong Premiers 2022 > 

Games 55 Won 38 Lost 16 Drawn 1  Won score ≥ 100 pts 18 Lost score ≥ 100 pts 8

Collingwood Premiers 2023 >  

Games 34 Won  25 Lost  8 Drawn 1  Won score ≥ 100 pts 11 Lost score ≥ 100 pts 7

47 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Reading the Votes thread I thought I’d least see one poster have the Melbourne faithful with the 6 votes.

Goody and May in their interviews post-match clearly stated we were Best On Ground last night.
Was a magnificent buzz at the end. 

It certainly sounded like a loud and very pro-Melbourne crowd. 

51,795 puts it as our 5th biggest H&A crowd against them. The top 4 were all day games - I suspect we lost a few Geelong supporters to the night time slot.

8 hours ago, layzie said:

Do you all think Danger would have made a difference?

Definitely.

And we would have been different with Salem, Brayshaw, Bowey, Milky.

Probably need to go next door at some point today and apologize.

My shouting and hollering after Fritta's goal was probably scary.

It felt like a final to me. Maybe an Omen of what's to come in September perhaps?

3 minutes ago, Smokey said:

Petty has been below average all year, how easy to take pot shots at someone who has called that out after he has one good game for the first time this year. Lazy commenting mate. 

Ask yourself why it’s taken Petty to find some form. Well documented he had no preseason, was always going to take time to find some confidence, yet he was copping it on here from his own for weeks and that’s alright is it. Just repetitive bulldust by some. 
And these posters always do the same thing in the end, “I’m sorry I got it wrong” 

Looking forward to @WheeloRatings’s stats update but some I’ve noticed:

1. We had 7 of the top 9 pressure act players, with Clarry leading the way. 

2. It’s either an ongoing tactic or injuries but we’re resting our mids in-game a lot more this year. Gawn 83% TOG, Trac 79%, Oliver and Viney 77%. All feel lower to me compared to previous years. 

3. Doesn’t matter how quiet you keep Trac, he makes things happen - yet again, game high score involvements with 9.

4 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Ask yourself why it’s taken Petty to find some form. Well documented he had no preseason, was always going to take time to find some confidence, yet he was copping it on here from his own for weeks and that’s alright is it. Just repetitive bulldust by some. 
And these posters always do the same thing in the end, “I’m sorry I got it wrong” 

That tap that resulted in Fritta's magic tricks was awesome. He ran all day and still had the wherewithal to intercept that pass. It won't go down as a traditional stat but it definitely a game saving effort.

Edited May 4, 2024May 4 by leave it to deever

5 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Ask yourself why it’s taken Petty to find some form. Well documented he had no preseason, was always going to take time to find some confidence, yet he was copping it on here from his own for weeks and that’s alright is it. Just repetitive bulldust by some. 
And these posters always do the same thing in the end, “I’m sorry I got it wrong” 

The FD clearly feel he is important enough (and good enough) to our structure to warrant regaining fitness and form in the side, rather than at Casey. It's probably useful for people to ask why that is.

It's almost like the FD get paid to make those decisions for a reason... Thank god, the FD aren't interpreting his body language and making it out to be something it isn't. 😅

They'd have a handle on where Brown is at, they'd have a handle on what JVR needs as well, as well as the overall structure of the forward line... etc etc etc

 

 

21 minutes ago, Smokey said:

Petty has been below average all year, how easy to take pot shots at someone who has called that out after he has one good game for the first time this year. Lazy commenting mate. 

He's had a few games back after an LTI.

Take what you said and reverse it.

8 hours ago, ElDiablo14 said:

We weren't, we lost our two finals.

By a combined total of bugger all.  What part of the word contender don't you understand?

Geelong in my view does not have a premiership midfield, even with Dangerfield.

If we can keep key players on the park we are in 2024 up to our neck, along with the Swans.

Looks like my preseason doom has well and truly cleared. TMac you absolute legend. Now for Carlton. You get a real sense that they’ve set themselves for these 2 games.