Wish we had more Kozzies

West Coast showed class, agility, skill, desperation, and strength. In every area we lack.
 

They killed us in the contest, in space and with skill. 

4 minutes ago, layzie said:

The selection really was a joke this week.

Lost some honest toilers in the last few years and picked up some erratic pick and choose when to goers. 

Will give e McAdam more of a chance but he was way off. I don't know what Billings is offering us right now apart from fluffing chances from 15 out and the odd target hit.

Please please please selection committee, put Taj Woeeodin in the team next week. We need heart right now, not apparent skill or name.

With Langdon out this week, I thought Taj should have been selected on a wing. 

Cleary a mindset thing. Can’t tell me anything different. Played like we thought the win would just eventually come. 

One team came out & played as a team & the other came out hoping someone else would do the hard work to get them over the line. 

Serious teams don’t come out & lose to teams at the other end of the scale like tonight.

Because we are a serious team, right?

We play the way we do because we don’t have cattle to play a more expansive game. Defend, defend, defend until you bore the other team to oblivion is what we’re about. Most uninspiring game plan. 

Mentally weak. A hallmark of Melbourne teams for 60 years.

2 minutes ago, deegirl said:

A wedding? For real?

His sister’s apparently 

14 minutes ago, mo64 said:

Yes, blame it on training loads. [censored].

Searching for an reason(excuse) why we total dropped our work rate all over the ground. No pressure in f50 or all over the ground really. WC seemed to have players in space for the 4 quarters. 
We have often started poorly this season but have always finished well and our fitness levels seemed to be as good or better than anybody else. 
We were nowhere near it tonight. 
 

Anybody know what our pressure rating for the game was?

Edited May 19, 20241 yr by Colm

Long way to go folks. Weagles exposed us big time particularly in the guts. Back line held up Ok I thought but we were thrashed in the middle which does not help the backs and of course we have no forwards. Nothing at Casey to get excited about so we need to stay as is and hope the Mids in particularly lift. I'm with most and BBB needs to retire. Great bloke but just can't play anymore. Would say there is a few others in this boat but I'm hoping they can improve whereas BBB is finished.

And we are killing Max. he struggled in this game and shows signs of falling apart. Big call but we need to rest him next week, back for next couple then the bye. If he plays, I'm having Marshall as my Captain in SC.

1 minute ago, Jerry Lundergard said:

Go back and watch the start of the game.  May clearly started on him, and Waterman ran him up the field like Curnow did. They made the change to TMac in the 2nd qtr.

Yep, you are correct. As you stated, TMC played on him for most of the match.

There are too many players in this team who are too comfortable and too entitled, without performing to the required level.

Clearly the likes of Viney, Oliver and Rivers have credits in the bank, but Goodwin has to take responsibility for the consistent mediocrity of Chandler, Salem, Sparrow, Bowey and Petty. 

We're looking a lot like Richmond grimly hanging on to the past, instead of trying to build for the future. McAdam, Billings, Hunter, Fullerton and Grundy are all wasted trades that could have been used on bringing in young talent. 

 

10 minutes ago, DubDee said:

yeah i don’t know how we’ve managed without Bedfords 6 goals this year and his regular turnovers

Jordon is a good honest player and if he was still here would probably be plodding away on the wing instead of Billings but making little difference

JJ and Bedford have been better for their respective sides than Billings and Hunter have been for us. Fact!!!! JJ has been used as a tagger to great effect at Sydney. Our mids are getting decimated, and Goodwin is clueless to do anything about it.

1 minute ago, Demonsterative said:

Yep, you are correct. As you stated, TMC played on him for most of the match.

Would have liked to have seen Petty go back once Lever went down, because he was useless up forward, but I guess we needed him as a back up ruck 🤷‍♂️

Edited May 19, 20241 yr by Jerry Lundergard

25 minutes ago, DubDee said:

how [censored] dare you claim our flag has an asterisk!

i expect this from my [censored] mates but not melbourne supporters

2020 has an asterisk with short games and 17 rounds. 2021 was business as usual aside from the location of games

Lol...  

Open eyes... extraordinary circumstances...

How do we travel in normality  ???

Be honest 🤔🤔🤔

That was simply awful.  Thrashed in ground balls , contested possessions, efforts and skill.  TMac had a mare.

On the basis of the last two outings , we are at best making up the numbers,

Pathetic.  They owned the corridor and we did nothing to stop them.  They marked at will and controlled the tempo and the game,

Poor by many,  bad by the coaching Staff to leave things as is for so long we were done, 

1 minute ago, Kick_It_To_Pickett said:

His sister’s apparently 

Ed has been largely phoning it in since mid 2022, and that decision proves it. Afl players get paid a fortune because they have to make sacrifices sometimes. Missing a wedding to do your job is one of those times. 

I thought the Eagles were very very good tonight. They were very well coached with clear plans and executed them brilliantly. We really struggled to defend and win the territory battle like we usually do. I wonder if the ground is wider at optus, because they seemed to move the ball through our zone very easily. And usually that doesn't happen to Melbourne. 

It's round 10, its good to have a few of these now so we can regroup and rethink how to execute better next time. As long as we are flying come august and September there is no need to over react.

All I can I hope for right now is no bloodshed on DL tonight. Everyone is devastated and we don't need a bar-room brawl. 

It was a soft effort with poor skills, and a lack of desire to do the hard things. Too many wanting to offload the hot potato to release the burden.

However, taking key pillars out of a highly structured team and [censored] going to hit the fan.

No Langdon, no Lever, No Rooey are key elements to a big loss. Gawn was smashed and virtually out of the game as well. 
Worst, is the midfield are getting smashed in contest and speed.
I agree with most, billing’s is not good enough and BBB is not good enough anymore. I hope the Duke can become a better kicker, and wished they played the Kolt tonight.

Another wasted year, Goodwin has wasted the best list we’ve had for decades, I’m furious and sick of supporting this insipid football team. 

15 minutes ago, SPC said:

No one to bring in. We have the worst young talent in the VFL right now 

And a bunch of stars to retire in the next few years. May, Max, maybe Viney, and Petty yet to re-sign

We need some serious recruiting in the next couple of years. A ruck, a key back, a key forward and another A grade mid.

Not a lot to ask for, surely?

It seems each week we either have a long break or short break between games. I wonder if this lack of rhythm is a factor in Melbourne's Jekyll and Hyde personality this year.

10 minutes ago, Roger Mellie said:

A combination of factors:

Win was pencilled in

Midfield has major issues and no depth

Throw something curly at the Dees and we struggle to adapt

Midfield:

Clarry - attacks the contest but doesn't defend. When he gets the pill he blazes away. Might be better to just dish it off.

Trac - brilliant attacking player, but doesn't defend

Viney - gives his all but when he's sending the ball forward it's mostly a turnover.

Sparrow - defensive b grade mid

That's pretty much it plus midfield no depth

May had a rare stinker and not on his own.

Looked like they started Sparrow on a wing which I think robbed the midfield of an important rotation. Should have started Woewodin there and let Sparrow run through the middle. 

4 minutes ago, layzie said:

All I can I hope for right now is no bloodshed on DL tonight. Everyone is devastated and we don't need a bar-room brawl. 

Yeah.....nahhh !!! 

Let the blood flow....

It ought to 

8 minutes ago, mo64 said:

JJ and Bedford have been better for their respective sides than Billings and Hunter have been for us. Fact!!!! JJ has been used as a tagger to great effect at Sydney. Our mids are getting decimated, and Goodwin is clueless to do anything about it.

Hunter isn’t playing but has played good footy for us. i reckon he is done now

JJ can’t play full time midfield so they are using him as a tagger like we did with Harmes. Bedford is getting a game as they don’t have any other small forwards

Agree out mids are a shambles though. no idea what’s happening

13 minutes ago, layzie said:

Wish we had more Kozzies

We do.  Give her 18 years and she will be running rings around them in the AFLW.