The Dees were blown out of the water early by the Fremantle Dockers before fighting back and going down by 19 points in their final practice match of the preseason before Round 1. Remember it's only a practice match if you lose.

Bad kicking

Van rooyen hurting his back

Billings cannot kick a goal

However trac got through & I'm sure he'd be relieved 

Oliver kicking goals 

Bring on r1

A lot to like. Trac immediately finding form along with no major injuries (I'm not counting back spasms) was the biggest +ive. Clarry is clearly back and Max still has it. Seeing those guys (and at times Viney) work together in harmony again was a joy to behold.

But stoppage dominance, inside 50 dominance and 33 scoring shots for.... a loss. It's only pre season, but we've seen that movie before.

Honestly not sure who cemented their spot based on that performance. I thought Jed Adams and Howes were good at times and sloppy at others. Langford was quiet but didn't do much wrong. Just a game from Lindsay and Sharp. Some will play Rd 1 but it is hard to say which ones. I'd probably play all of them except for an Adams/Petty swap. 

 

Edited March 2Mar 2 by Bang Bang Bang

at least the second half was better

skills remain diabolical

14 marks inside 50 for 11 goals is pretty wild.

Kicking for goal excepted, a decent second half. Great to have Clarry and Trac back. Liked Sparrow’s game too - hopefully he puts it together this year.

2nd quarter was a real worry. Good signs oft spoiled by poor finishing across the other 3 qtrs.

Nice not getting utterly eviscerated by Freo for a change, though.

Can't wait to have Kozzy back, he looked a cut above the rest there in the last. What a talent!

Looked like a blowout on the cards at half time but all things considered it was a good workout. Clarry's 3rd off his left peg was the highlight for mine. Jibba has no conviction when kicking for goal. A round 1 debut for on the cards AJ? 

My hot take.

We are not fun to watch. 

If I didn't support Melbourne I would not watch our games.

Great game by Langdon but he needs to go back to the wing and never move again if it means Billings doesn't play

Howes is a shocker to watch, please heal quickly McVee

Aidan Johnson more than handy

The end is coming quickly for Chandler. Let's hope Henderson is a player.

Hoping nothing serious with JVR. We already lack fire power up forward, can’t lose our #1 man too

Good kicking is good footy

More shots on goal for a loss , again 

Sample size n=1 but worried 

was bullish on this season 

Negatives- Backline look to panic and cannot handle fast entry. Howes, Lever and Bowey shouldn’t play together.

Billings is not in our best 25. Koz will be missed the first few rounds.

Positives- Trac and Oliver look to have the chemistry back. Clearances are our biggest asset and will allow us to setup behind the ball! 

We have found Pedo 2.0 in Johnson. Works hard, competes hard. 
 

Edited March 2Mar 2 by SPC

Clayton looking a million bucks is reason enough to be bullish on the season. I'm not taking too much away from the game beyond Billings, Howes, Chandler not being up to it.

Trac and Oliver looked great. That was what I really cared about for this practice game.

Edited March 2Mar 2 by Hopeful Demon

We looked great in parts and horrible in others….good run for the boys I think we should be OK this season but will really need all our stars to stay fit and on the park as the depth isn’t there until the kids get up to speed

2 minutes ago, Demon Disciple said:

Hoping nothing serious with JVR. We already lack fire power up forward, can’t lose our #1 man too

A back spasm is not a nice injury. It is usually a result of something not quite right in the spine. 

Billing’s…….just no

For a practise match in warm windy conditions where the pace was on. Lindsay and Langford both stuggled with the speed. I hope we don't rush them and don't think either is ready for round 1. Likewise Jed Adams could not get in the game and Howes looks too light on to man the big bodied forwards. 

We had lots of shots at goal and it was the usual suspects who contribute. I liked Johnson up forward but worry that Turner and Fritch in the same area are too similar and lightweight. And the few occasions I saw Wowodin he turned it over or didn't lower his eyes and look for the short option

Given that it was the first real hitout for some of the players the rust was obvious. 14 days until our season starts and lots of room for improvement

 

Trac and Clarry putting in good games was a highlight. 
No JVR meant we had little up forward. Hope he's OK.
Langford and Lindsay were quieter than last week, but Johnson showed promise.
I'm cautiously optimistic for the season (as I always am).

 

The one thing I’ll add. Whilst the second half looked better, I’m pretty sure Freo took off a few of their a-graders. Treacy, Ryan and Serong were all subbed out of the game at some stage in 3Q whilst most of our best remained on the ground. 

2 minutes ago, GS_1905 said:

A back spasm is not a nice injury. It is usually a result of something not quite right in the spine. 

Yes can be quite debilitating. Needs to be on the massage table for the next 2 weeks

If we are been generous then we can blame that on the conditions, we were on top in basically every other aspect excluding converting our fwd entires to goals.

On the other hand we still seem to have the same issues as prior years and will struggle again if conditions don’t suit.

19 minutes ago, Sesto said:

14 marks inside 50 for 11 goals is pretty wild.

Kicking for goal excepted, a decent second half. Great to have Clarry and Trac back. Liked Sparrow’s game too - hopefully he puts it together this year.

Sparrow really did play some nice things, toughened up a bit, gritted his teeth, caused some damage and some angst. He showed mongrel and it suited him.

If Chandler is intent on making the small forward role his own, he needs to do considerably more than his three touch and two tackle effort today. 

Lindsay and Langford will hopefully be better for the run. Both looked a bit out of depth and may all benefit with a few weeks at Casey before we rush them into the senior team. Johnson clunked a few solid marks and looks a competitor in the mould of Cam Pederson.

On the plus side, Clarry and Trac both look primed for a big 2025, and Langdon was more than serviceable in the centre. Salem also looked in good nick.

Edited March 2Mar 2 by Demon Jack

Some downside.

Even more upside.

This wasn't a great spectacle and I'd tip neither side for the flag off today's effort. But the formula is pretty straightforward: get into the final 8 - especially the top 4; be fit; be in form and play like demons (pun intended) for three or four games. Both sides could still do this and I doubt we say at 14th.