Somehow, the Melbourne Football Club managed it twice in the course of a week. Coach Simon Goodwin admitted it in his press conference after the loss against the Brisbane Lions in a game where his team held a four goal lead in the third term:

 

"In reality we went a bit safe. Big occasion, a lot of young players playing. We probably just went into our shell a bit.

"There's a bit to unpack in that last quarter … whether we go into our shells a bit late in the game."

 

Well … actually … that’s exactly what happened on the previous Saturday night when his charges went far too early into a save the game mode after leading by 39 points in the shadows of three quarter time.

 

Admittedly, the Demons’ line up is very young and missed the experience of premiership defenders in Christian Salem and Jake Bowey (not to mention the other Christian at the club) but, really, you have to learn from your mistakes in this caper and the way things unfolded, it all seemed like insanity (and no offence intended here to the mentally ill).

 

The same tactic when the team’s energy was sagging and some extra run was needed, and the same, very, very late decision to bring on a fresh speedy substitute in Kynan Brown.

 

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

 

The above words have been attributed to theoretical physicist and genius Albert Einstein but fact checkers say there is no evidence he ever said this. There’s no doubt however, that he developed the theory of relativity and my thought patterns didn’t have to travel at the speed of light when I saw the repeat of last week happening in slow motion as the final quarter unfolded. Not to mention that a more attacking disposition in those two games might easily have seen Melbourne sitting in fifth place and breathing right down the necks of a couple of top four sides.

 

The Lions’ comeback was assisted by their midfield lifting its work rate in the second half as well as some generosity and largesse from the umpires. Certainly, it could be argued that the vital decisions that went their way were there to be paid but others of similar ilk were not and it hurt Melbourne this week, as it always does in such close games.

 

Earlier, the Demons did well to control a strong start from the Lions in the opening quarter. In the second term, they overwhelmed their opponents with new-found ferocity around the ball through Jack Viney, Clayton Oliver and emerging midfielder Trent Rivers. Thanks to some great finishing work from the unstoppable Kozzie Pickett and the accuracy of Jacob van Rooyen, they added 8.2 for the quarter.

 

Ironically, they managed only 2.8 for the rest of the game with a few of those shots coming tantalisingly close in the game’s final moments.

 

The Lions were also inaccurate in front of goal all night but a lot of that can be attributed to the Demons’ pressure. Unfortunately, the team also had its offenders in front of goal with Harry Petty’s 0.4 and Bayley Fritsch’s 1.3 contributing to the mess. Petty, in particular, missed some sitters that might have resulted in icing the game by the early stages of the final quarter.

 

And speaking of icing, one wonders at the strategy of having a player with a recent history of foot injuries, going up in ruck contests. You might think this is a bit insane, but I would not be surprised if Petty earns the title of mystery injury of the week next Thursday night and ends up among the missing for a little while.

 

Along with the spirit of the second quarter, there were still a number of encouraging signs from the game. In particular, the younger brigade.

 

Caleb Windsor continues his fine early work and remains well up there among the competition’s rising stars. Koltyn Tholstrup is moving up the ranks as he gains confidence and looks to be a real prospect who should not take very long to progress through to a midfield berth and there was first gamer, Andy Moniz-Wakefield.

 

The young man with the hyphenated name has been forced to bide his time in his three seasons at the club after his selection as a Category B Rookie, via the club’s connection to its Next Generation Academy. The knock on him was his disposal and decision-making but he did himself proud on Friday night and fully justified his selection.

 

They say that Melbourne’s season is hanging by a thread but there’s still time for Goodwin to unpack things and make the changes that will help the fans and the club restore their sanity.

 

They should all be sufficiently rested by Sunday afternoon when they take on the Eagles in a rare contest with them at the MCG. That would be their time to make a start.

 

MELBOURNE 1.5.11 9.7.61 11.11.77 11.15.81

 

BRISBANE LIONS 3.7.25 5.8.38 8.14.62 11.20.86

 

GOALS

 

MELBOURNE Pickett 5 Van Rooyen 2 Chandler Fritsch Oliver Turner

 

BRISBANE LIONS Cameron Daniher Rayner 2 Ah Chee Berry Hipwood Lohmann McLuggage

 

BEST

 

MELBOURNE Pickett Viney Oliver van Rooyen Petty Rivers

 

BRISBANE LIONS McCluggage Neale Dunkley Hipwood Starcevich Zorko

 

INJURIES 

 

MELBOURNE Nil

 

BRISBANE LIONS Nil

 

LATE CHANGES 

 

MELBOURNE Jake Bowey (back) replaced by Kynan Brown

 

BRISBANE LIONS Nil

 

REPORTS

 

MELBOURNE Nil

 

BRISBANE LIONS Nil

 

SUBSTITUTIONS

 

MELBOURNE Kynan Brown (replaced Harrison Petty in the fourth quarter)

 

BRISBANE LIONS Jaspa Fletcher (replaced Logan Morris in the third quarter)

 

UMPIRES Matt Stevic Andrew Stephens Nathan Williamson Cameron Dore

 

CROWD 29,617 at the Gabba 

 

Pretty well spot on, for Goodwin to say that amazes me, when you nearly have 18 melbourne players in one half of the ground you will never get run out of the backline and connect further up the ground because all you can do is dump kicks and they went to lions players, so are they now saying once the quarter starts the coaches cannot take stock and make changes if that's the case it's madness. 

With a minute left why did Rivers bomb it long into forward line when 2 small forwards made leads for short kick into 50 metre area? The long bomb into forward line didn’t work in last 2 years of finals and must eradicated from Goodwin’s training manual. Insanity at work 

For three years we were relatively smooth and composed in defence and even when going forward. We were a fantastic fourth quarter team.

Now, it’s different and the operative word from the way we have finished off our games since the loss to Carlton has been PANIC!!!

  On 30/06/2024 at 02:36, Demonland said:

The above words have been attributed to theoretical physicist and genius Albert Einstein but fact checkers say there is no evidence he ever said this. There’s no doubt however, that he developed the theory of relativity and my thought patterns didn’t have to travel at the speed of light when I saw the repeat of last week happening in slow motion as the final quarter unfolded.

E = MCG2

No fine to Maynard for staging but Steven May cops a fine and gets persecuted by umpires taking marks off him.

  On 30/06/2024 at 02:36, Demonland said:

Somehow, the Melbourne Football Club managed it twice in the course of a week. Coach Simon Goodwin admitted it in his press conference after the loss against the Brisbane Lions in a game where his team held a four goal lead in the third term:

 

"In reality we went a bit safe. Big occasion, a lot of young players playing. We probably just went into our shell a bit.

"There's a bit to unpack in that last quarter … whether we go into our shells a bit late in the game."

 

Well … actually … that’s exactly what happened on the previous Saturday night when his charges went far too early into a save the game mode after leading by 39 points in the shadows of three quarter time.

 

Admittedly, the Demons’ line up is very young and missed the experience of premiership defenders in Christian Salem and Jake Bowey (not to mention the other Christian at the club) but, really, you have to learn from your mistakes in this caper and the way things unfolded, it all seemed like insanity (and no offence intended here to the mentally ill).

 

The same tactic when the team’s energy was sagging and some extra run was needed, and the same, very, very late decision to bring on a fresh speedy substitute in Kynan Brown.

 

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

 

The above words have been attributed to theoretical physicist and genius Albert Einstein but fact checkers say there is no evidence he ever said this. There’s no doubt however, that he developed the theory of relativity and my thought patterns didn’t have to travel at the speed of light when I saw the repeat of last week happening in slow motion as the final quarter unfolded. Not to mention that a more attacking disposition in those two games might easily have seen Melbourne sitting in fifth place and breathing right down the necks of a couple of top four sides.

 

The Lions’ comeback was assisted by their midfield lifting its work rate in the second half as well as some generosity and largesse from the umpires. Certainly, it could be argued that the vital decisions that went their way were there to be paid but others of similar ilk were not and it hurt Melbourne this week, as it always does in such close games.

 

Earlier, the Demons did well to control a strong start from the Lions in the opening quarter. In the second term, they overwhelmed their opponents with new-found ferocity around the ball through Jack Viney, Clayton Oliver and emerging midfielder Trent Rivers. Thanks to some great finishing work from the unstoppable Kozzie Pickett and the accuracy of Jacob van Rooyen, they added 8.2 for the quarter.

 

Ironically, they managed only 2.8 for the rest of the game with a few of those shots coming tantalisingly close in the game’s final moments.

 

The Lions were also inaccurate in front of goal all night but a lot of that can be attributed to the Demons’ pressure. Unfortunately, the team also had its offenders in front of goal with Harry Petty’s 0.4 and Bayley Fritsch’s 1.3 contributing to the mess. Petty, in particular, missed some sitters that might have resulted in icing the game by the early stages of the final quarter.

 

And speaking of icing, one wonders at the strategy of having a player with a recent history of foot injuries, going up in ruck contests. You might think this is a bit insane, but I would not be surprised if Petty earns the title of mystery injury of the week next Thursday night and ends up among the missing for a little while.

 

Along with the spirit of the second quarter, there were still a number of encouraging signs from the game. In particular, the younger brigade.

 

Caleb Windsor continues his fine early work and remains well up there among the competition’s rising stars. Koltyn Tholstrup is moving up the ranks as he gains confidence and looks to be a real prospect who should not take very long to progress through to a midfield berth and there was first gamer, Andy Moniz-Wakefield.

 

The young man with the hyphenated name has been forced to bide his time in his three seasons at the club after his selection as a Category B Rookie, via the club’s connection to its Next Generation Academy. The knock on him was his disposal and decision-making but he did himself proud on Friday night and fully justified his selection.

 

They say that Melbourne’s season is hanging by a thread but there’s still time for Goodwin to unpack things and make the changes that will help the fans and the club restore their sanity.

 

They should all be sufficiently rested by Sunday afternoon when they take on the Eagles in a rare contest with them at the MCG. That would be their time to make a start.

 

MELBOURNE 1.5.11 9.7.61 11.11.77 11.15.81

 

BRISBANE LIONS 3.7.25 5.8.38 8.14.62 11.20.86

 

GOALS

 

MELBOURNE Pickett 5 Van Rooyen 2 Chandler Fritsch Oliver Turner

 

BRISBANE LIONS Cameron Daniher Rayner 2 Ah Chee Berry Hipwood Lohmann McLuggage

 

BEST

 

MELBOURNE Pickett Viney Oliver van Rooyen Petty Rivers

 

BRISBANE LIONS McCluggage Neale Dunkley Hipwood Starcevich Zorko

 

INJURIES 

 

MELBOURNE Nil

 

BRISBANE LIONS Nil

 

LATE CHANGES 

 

MELBOURNE Jake Bowey (back) replaced by Kynan Brown

 

BRISBANE LIONS Nil

 

REPORTS

 

MELBOURNE Nil

 

BRISBANE LIONS Nil

 

SUBSTITUTIONS

 

MELBOURNE Kynan Brown (replaced Harrison Petty in the fourth quarter)

 

BRISBANE LIONS Jaspa Fletcher (replaced Logan Morris in the third quarter)

 

UMPIRES Matt Stevic Andrew Stephens Nathan Williamson Cameron Dore

 

CROWD 29,617 at the Gabba 

 

Thanks for the lengthy pice on Fridays game.

I agree withcomemnts on youger players development, and think we have 2 years left of any window befroe Max finisshes, but I fear the coaching panel aren;t now up to it, especially forward line with no fix in sigth afetr 3 years, and kicking 3 goals 13 in 3 quarters is now all too common and has been for a while.

Talents there, but scorline ability puts us where we are no - 12th ish or there abouts sadly.

Some seriously dumb use of the Sub by Goodwin. Not just last game or the previous game, but now going back several seasons as well. I rarely if ever comment on coaching decisions but his illogical use or non use of substitutes perplexes me mightily. 

  On 30/06/2024 at 10:16, John Crow Batty said:

Some seriously dumb use of the Sub by Goodwin. Not just last game or the previous game, but now going back several seasons as well. I rarely if ever comment on coaching decisions but his illogical use or non use of substitutes perplexes me mightily. 

I'm really unsure of Goodwin as a game day coach.  I think his planning and strategy are sound (and proven) for getting a club to AFL finals.  The mysterious use of Grundy and Schache last year are prime examples of his management of subs. 

Hopefully it will an area for him for "learnings and connections"

4 umpires and the standards have never been worse. Should go back to 2 and then there is a chance only the obvious frees are paid. At the moment they all seem to want to be noticed or at least look relevant. 

  On 30/06/2024 at 22:53, chook fowler said:

4 umpires and the standards have never been worse. Should go back to 2 and then there is a chance only the obvious frees are paid. At the moment they all seem to want to be noticed or at least look relevant. 

never complain about umps but its getting worse stkilda should have won front on contact not payed their bloke right in front 20m out in last few mins.yet saw it paid in a later game so inconsistant

  On 30/06/2024 at 22:53, chook fowler said:

4 umpires and the standards have never been worse. Should go back to 2 and then there is a chance only the obvious frees are paid. At the moment they all seem to want to be noticed or at least look relevant. 

The game is two fast for 2 umpires, imagine the media and supporters if that happens, would rather have say ten interchanges a quarter for a start.

WJ I really don't know how you watch Goodwins press events

I find them excruciating and underwhelming.He says nothing 

I don't watch any more. Maybe he will get sacked and move on