18 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

it's going to be a pretty different team to the one that got smashed

lever, melksham IN
petracca, gawn OUT

and who knows else will change

bring the right attitude to the contest, attack via defence, get a bit of scoreboard momentum early...

at the end of the match, we'll either be in a better position in the 8 or we'll be three games from 2nd

it's a funny ol' season and there's a lot to play out still

We are one game from 2nd right now. If we had some umpire decency we win the Lions and Blues games, we’d be outright 2nd. 

Will the weather be a factor?

2.83 - giddy up

*Gamble responsibly

18 hours ago, The Third Eye said:

It’s true that Melbourne is faced with a monumental challenge but it’s not about turning around a negative 15½ goal outcome against Fremantle which is where it finished in Alice Springs early last month.

It’s all about winning a game where both sides start with the score at 0.0.0 each, play under different conditions, on a different ground in a different city (albeit the home of the Dockers), with different players and with many of the same players of differing physical freshness and mental attitudes.

There’s been an outcry and a lot of tears about the fact that the Demons have been forced to soldier on without two AFL top liners in Max Gawn and Christian Petracca but when you compare the makeup of the Melbourne team of round 12 with the team of round 18, there are some significant changes for the better even if you can never replace Max and Christian. These are the changes between the two games -

Out Max Gawn, Lachie Hunter, Christian Petracca, Shane McAdam, Adam Tomlinson

In Jake Lever, Jake Melksham, Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Koltyn Tholstrup, Jacob van Rooyen.

That’s a mixed bag of players coming in which includes two experienced players in Lever and  Melksham. One adds cohesion to the defence, the other adds steel to the attack which was not functioning properly on 2 June 2024 when Melbourne flopped badly to the purple people. 

The other three are JvR who is in massive form as a forward and relief ruckman, and two youngsters playing with great enthusiasm. They replace McAdam who was held scoreless, Hunter who was ineffective before he was subbed off at half time with a calf injury and Adam Tomlinson who worked hard but he doesn’t compare with Lever. 

There are a number of Melbourne players who have lifted several notches including wingers Ed Langdon and Caleb Windsor. Their current form is uplifting and their attacking mindset is setting a different tone to the team’s performance.

The last time they met, it was said that the Dockers were completely switched on and primed to beat the Demons. They had an extra two days to prepare themselves for the game and this time they are coming off a shattering loss to Hawthorn.

Certainly, Freo will have an advantage in the ruck if Max isn’t ruled fit to play but in every other respect, the goalposts have been removed 360 degrees over the past six or seven weeks. Even Optus Stadium is Melbourne’s home away from home. 

I'd prefer 180 degrees !!

 

 

Play keepings off.  At least for a half. Frustrate the heck out of them.  Drain the clock as much as possible. High possession, high mark, low pressure game.

Not only is this our best chance of nullifying their strengths,  the last thing we need is a high pressure, stoppage and slog fest in the West, drop the game and then back up for a 6 day break against the Giants the following week coming off a 7 day break.   We have a real chance to win the following three games if we manage this one well. 

8 minutes ago, Jjrogan said:

Play keepings off.  At least for a half. Frustrate the heck out of them.  Drain the clock as much as possible. High possession, high mark, low pressure game.

Not only is this our best chance of nullifying their strengths, the last thing we need is a high pressure, stoppage and slog fest in the West, drop the game and then back up for a 6 day break against the Giants the following week coming off a 7 day break.   We have a real chance to win the following three games if we manage this one well. 

Disagree.

Smash them off the park with high intensity pressure and contest.

Do what we did against the bombers after the first quarter and:

• really press up on them to deny them time and space
• work super hard to cover their switches to make sure they can't play on and have to hold it up
• anticipate their handball chains and press up hard on likely receivers and smash them
• suffocate and discombobulate them 
• Force turnovers and make them pay

Easy week on the track into the Giants game and go again.

16 minutes ago, binman said:

Disagree.

Smash them off the park with high intensity pressure and contest.

Do what we did against the bombers after the first quarter and:

• really press up on them to deny them time and space
• work super hard to cover their switches to make sure they can't play on and have to hold it up
• anticipate their handball chains and press up hard on likely receivers and smash them
• suffocate and discombobulate them 
• Force turnovers and make them pay

Easy week on the track into the Giants game and go again.

Oh it's good in theory for sure. Who doesn't want to play that way.  I just don't think it's realistic week after week with a team that is quite young, travelling and in dry conditions. Guess I'm still a bit traumatized by the flogging we got putting speed on the ball in Alice. We shall see.  

4 hours ago, binman said:

It's not really a theory as such.

Bit like Darwin's 'Theory' of Evolution.

And that’s all folks. 

Thanks for your contributions - we have lots of material for our Demonland Crew preview.

Thanks again.