It was a horrible day, stating the obvious.

What was the medical report on Jefferson? Hand or wrist? Woewodin as sub was never going to end well having to cover a key forward.

With May, Windsor, McVee, Picket, Melksham out we don't have the depth to cover. Spargo clearly underdone and perhapos the plan was to sub him out early and play Woewodin. I didn't see a lot at Casey who can step up except perhaps Langford

Brisbane lost their first 4 last year when they couldn't get their best on the park. We have 2 first year players Lindsay & Henderson who have a go and weren't our worst. No AJ left us with sparse ruck options and JVR in the ruck left us undersized down forward.

Its week 2 and last week we pushed the premiership favourites and this week struggled all day. WE know who the stragglers are and our turnovers were horrendous and amateurish but we can only improve

5 minutes ago, Greg Schneider said:

We’ve used two first rounders on key forwards that won’t be anything more than B graders unfortunately 

Kind of hard for key forwards to impose themselves when we constantly dump the ball on their head in a 1 vs 3.

Today was a classic example of one team wanting to win more - North were running harder, tackling harder (sticking them) and more disciplined.

They didn’t exactly shoot the lights out with any part of the game but they came  with a much larger appetite for the battle

Random thoughts 

is it a touch arrogant to think Gawn can ruck alone all game? Not sure who is the driver behind this approach - eg is it the coaching panel saying we won’t play a 2nd, is it Gawn insisting he can carry the load. My point is, we can’t get away with it anymore

Rivers is fast becoming a nothing. Let him go to half back, it’s where he’s played his best footy

When May comes back into the side do we push Tmac or Petty forward. Cause something has to happen

Trac has a long way to go in his recovery, maybe play him deep forward. It makes our forward line more formidable & a good defender has to mark him

i found it enraging that Goodwin did NOTHING to counter their spare man

not convinced about Jefferson or Turner.
 

And those saying we’re missing Tholstrup, please, he’s not it

Need Jake Melksham back asap too.

It was difficult to be in attendance today.

We never seemed to be where the ball was.

For those wondering why the forwards weren't leading it was because they were being held!! The only free player was Comben!

If this is legal we should be doing it.

If this is going to kill our chances we should go 1 tall and 5 hybrids/smalls and rotate Trac in. Let's be unpredictable and dangerous.

Give those kids that want to apply forward pressure an opportunity 

 

1 minute ago, BW511 said:

Today was a classic example of one team wanting to win more - North were running harder, tackling harder (sticking them) and more disciplined.

They didn’t exactly shoot the lights out with any part of the game but they came  with a much larger appetite for the battle

And that is on the Coach(s)

We may have been down on some personel, but that doesn’t excuse efforts 

The effort wasn’t there for 4 quarters all over the ground 

7 minutes ago, waynewussell said:

It's not often that we are as uncompetitive as we were in the second half. A lot of what happened can be fixed. We were definitely tired from last week's slog. That's no excuse for bad play, but it was a factor. need to freshen up in a hurry. 

I don’t know, we tackled with the intensity of a paper towel. That says to me that there’s an attitude issue within the group. You can have bad games skill wise, it happens, but bad tackling is the one thing you can control every week and we seemed to get worse as the game went on in that regard. (I do appreciate your positivity but the lack of effort is concerning).

4 minutes ago, deegirl said:

Random thoughts 

is it a touch arrogant to think Gawn can ruck alone all game? Not sure who is the driver behind this approach - eg is it the coaching panel saying we won’t play a 2nd, is it Gawn insisting he can carry the load. My point is, we can’t get away with it anymore

Rivers is fast becoming a nothing. Let him go to half back, it’s where he’s played his best footy

When May comes back into the side do we push Tmac or Petty forward. Cause something has to happen

Trac has a long way to go in his recovery, maybe play him deep forward. It makes our forward line more formidable & a good defender has to mark him

i found it enraging that Goodwin did NOTHING to counter their spare man

not convinced about Jefferson or Turner.
 

And those saying we’re missing Tholstrup, please, he’s not it

Trac looked noticeably white in the face and quite unhappy all day. 
I’m no doctor but he wasn’t a picture of health

We cannot get any worse, can we?

I do not read responses to rhetorical questions. 

35 minutes ago, Dee Viney Intervention said:

We didn’t fluke that flag, however everything else you said I absolutely and wholeheartedly agree with 

We didn't fluke it, no. But everything went right for us, as is often the case when winning the flag. It was a good year not to have injuries. Teams' football departments were decimated with half of staff let go for the season. Throw on top having to manage players, travel, and injuries while in and out of lockdowns and playing in bubbles, and everything clicked for us in that regard. 

Post-COVID and things back to normal... we went from being on a level playing field with the "big boys" to going back to be pretty typical "Melbourne", which is uninspiring and no plan b.

36 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Sack Goodwin. 

I tolerated last year but today has done it for me.. officially off him now.

Since 2021 we've gotten worse as each year goes by. The lovey dovey fake persona this off season was just a cover up for the rot that still exist within the footy club.

I've been a staunch Goodwin defender and absolutely thankful for the 2021 premiership. However, I think it's time for a fresh voice. 

When we win off turnover the players just look confused, we play with no urgency, slow and wide exits from the D50. Our forward entries haven't changed and the inaction on Combden today was laughable.

Longmire is a bloody good coach who's had his players fail recently on the big stage but ultimately he's a great tactician, values good kicking and understands the modern game.

I'd implore the board to not let him slip through our hands.

I was expecting the dry game to see us improve on last week.

Our biggest hole is filled by McVee

Just now, At the break of Gawn said:

I've been a staunch Goodwin defender and absolutely thankful for the 2021 premiership. However, I think it's time for a fresh voice. 

When we win off turnover the players just look confused, we play with no urgency, slow and wide exits from the D50. Our forward entries haven't changed and the inaction on Combden today was laughable.

Longmire is a bloody good coach who's had his players fail recently on the big stage but ultimately he's a great tactician, values good kicking and understands the modern game.

I'd implore the board to not let him slip through our hands.

Malcolm Blight let a few slip by at Geeling before he got the ultimate at Adelaide. 

But i agree, do whatever it takes to get him.

Different rules for different Teams, eh maggots?

As the stat's on frees was squared up in the last quarter..

2 minutes ago, BW511 said:

Trac looked noticeably white in the face and quite unhappy all day. 
I’m no doctor but he wasn’t a picture of health

No you're not.  

2 minutes ago, BW511 said:

Trac looked noticeably white in the face and quite unhappy all day. 
I’m no doctor but he wasn’t a picture of health

He just doesn't want to be here. Body language tells it all and our performances like today will only fuel that further.

McVee, Windsor, Pickett, Moniz… speed and skill. All desperately missed today 

Well, I'm sorry but I just had to copy and paste my pre-game comment below (followed by a typical delusional response)

My comment below first followed by a fellow Demon responder 

Melbourne. unfortunately, have no gear change in them or any kind or secret weapon for that matter. whenever the opening siren sounds to signal the beginning of a last quarter. Kangaroos will go close here as they are not as bad as they used to be, and Melbourne are not as good as they used to be. Prediction this year for Melbourne is 13th place.

Jeez Bro, remind me not to go to the footy with you. It'll be a little close for a half and then we'll smash North. Prediction for this year is Premiers or agonisingly close.

You were saying Bro?

I've followed the Dees for 57 years and love my team BUT COME ON. My comments are based on the brain I possess and a pair of eyes I have.

And this is what my eyes keep seeing:

Bayley Fritsch (Missing in action too many times. Yesterday's man who should be dropped to VFL ASAP).                                                                                                                Clayton Oliver (Tries his heart out but is extremely predictable, easy to coach against and way too one dimensional (either frenetically hand balling or launching ineffective bombs up forward time after time).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Max Gawn - Unable to carry this team on his shoulders anymore. Not good enough to do that.                                                                                                                          Assistant rucks, Roo (average or maybe just OK in the ruck at best) and Aidan Johnson (please give me a break).                                                                                                    Simon Goodwin - Outdated coaching.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Brad Green - Lost in the headlights.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Tom MacDonald - Nice bloke but not a key position player and too slow both mentally and physically for the modern game.                                                                                   New recruits - Lindsay is a keeper, the rest are pretty much the fish that John West rejects.

And for those who think Melbourne suddenly becomes a flag contender when Pickett, May and other regular first teamers come back ... think again!

Many AFL teams have adapted very well to the new AFL landscape and as a result, they are now reaping the rewards.                                                                                  Melbourne is not one of those teams because they have largely stayed the same, while the game's moved on. The North Melbourne result is just the tip of the iceberg.

Maybe I'm being generous thinking they finish 13th this year?

9 minutes ago, deegirl said:

Random thoughts 

is it a touch arrogant to think Gawn can ruck alone all game? Not sure who is the driver behind this approach - eg is it the coaching panel saying we won’t play a 2nd, is it Gawn insisting he can carry the load. My point is, we can’t get away with it anymore

Rivers is fast becoming a nothing. Let him go to half back, it’s where he’s played his best footy

When May comes back into the side do we push Tmac or Petty forward. Cause something has to happen

Trac has a long way to go in his recovery, maybe play him deep forward. It makes our forward line more formidable & a good defender has to mark him

i found it enraging that Goodwin did NOTHING to counter their spare man

not convinced about Jefferson or Turner.
 

And those saying we’re missing Tholstrup, please, he’s not it

Heard from a very recent Melbourne retiree who said Maxs body is stuffed. He can run, but cannot jump or be physical. 

1 minute ago, dazzledavey36 said:

He just doesn't want to be here. Body language tells it all and our performances like today will only fuel that further.

I hate to say this but he pulled out of a marking contest in front of where I was. I totally understand it from his point of view and what he’s been through but it’s not good. 

This is...odd?

 

 

As is always the case on Demonland in the hours after a bad loss, there are some pretty rubbish takes on here. Spare me the “we fluked a flag” guff. Don’t tell me Gawn’s cooked. Neither are remotely true, so let’s just focus on what’s going wrong and whether we can fix them any time soon.

How can we reconcile that level of effort with the “healing” messaging coming out of the club?

An underdone Spargo, yet again. No adequate second ruck leaving Gawn to be annihilated, yet again. 19 inside 50s in a quarter for 2 goals, yet again. Uncompetitive if we don’t win CPs and clearances, yet again. 20-odd points below our expected score, yet again.

I said pre-match that two games is too small a sample size for sweeping judgments. St Kilda looked like this last week, then beat Geelong. West Coast this week looked like an entirely different side than last week. So it can turn around quickly. But until Pickett, May, McVee, Windsor, Tholstrup and Melksham come back, we’re going to have to keep fielding the likes of Howes, Sharp, Woewodin and Spargo, which right now feels very troubling. And of course, the outs say nothing about the lack of effort. 

I’m worried. Really, really worried. 

23 minutes ago, Dee Viney Intervention said:

No a total regression. 
2021 - Premiership

2022- Straight sets finals exit

2023- Straight sets finals exit

2024 - 14th

We have gone from being good at contest and defence to now being good at what???? If that’s not regression we are stuck in quicksand and  teams are flying past us. 

Well I think we have realised that we can’t play that style anymore but at the same time made long term commitments to players who are best suited to play that way and are now stuck in no man’s land until we can complete the transition which we started after the conclusion of 2023 and unfortunately it might be more painful than expected

3 minutes ago, SPC said:

Heard from a very recent Melbourne retiree who said Maxs body is stuffed. He can run, but cannot jump or be physical. 

So in our wisdom we signed him to a 3 year deal?

Just now, Beetle said:

So in our wisdom we signed him to a 3 year deal?

No problem with that but give him support