Sad reading, but highlights game and poor kicking that have cost us since 2022....

Sadly revisiting what done, but gee its still happening...

https://www.zerohanger.com/the-12-games-that-changed-the-fortunes-of-the-melbourne-football-club-164014/

"A dozen matches in the past three years have turned a dynasty team into a rubble."

Somebody's spell check refused to accept 'rabble'.

Spoiler alert - the whole article is based on expected score which is a lame way of judging something like this.

Whatever we were meant to score the 2022 QF against Sydney was the big miss. We were in front, May thrashed Franklin, and a win there off the back of thumping Brisbane the previous week would've sent us to a prelim on a high. Bah.

Edited Wednesday at 05:342 days by Supermercado

WhAt AbOuT eXpEcTeD sCoRe?1!?

40 minutes ago, roy11 said:

My feelings exactly!

Had that thug Maynard not taken out Brayshaw in the first quarter, we’d have had his leadership and unquestionable efforts out on the field the whole game, instead of Laurie (who still can’t nail a spot in the best 22).

We’d have then rolled the Giants 2 weeks later, and taken down anyone in the GF.

One thug act away from said “dynasty”.

Still………..I’m happy I got to see our 13th.

all true.

Aside from a 3 week period in 2021 we have never had a killer instinct.

Our leaders have been found wanting.

The thread title alone annoys me. Wouldn’t bother opening the article. Geez Louise, we have a footy-less weekend and this is what’s brought up? And a Zero Hanger article at that. There’s a reason they have ‘Zero’ in their name.

3 hours ago, Supermercado said:

"A dozen matches in the past three years have turned a dynasty team into a rubble."

Somebody's spell check refused to accept 'rabble'.

Spoiler alert - the whole article is based on expected score which is a lame way of judging something like this.

Whatever we were meant to score the 2022 QF against Sydney was the big miss. We were in front, May thrashed Franklin, and a win there off the back of thumping Brisbane the previous week would've sent us to a prelim on a high. Bah.

You could argue the true turning point was the off the ball free paid against May, to Franklin, when we were 17-odd points up and all over them. Never recovered from there.

Telling snapshots though there are many other bad games that caused our downfall. We lost those 12 games by an average of just under 8 points and we kicked more behinds than the opposition in 11 of those games. 110-152 versus 136-86. 262 scoring shots to 222. As we have starkly seen this season it’s the serial ball butchers that led to our demise. No more arguments about that.

Edited Wednesday at 09:322 days by John Crow Batty

55 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

You could argue the true turning point was the off the ball free paid against May, to Franklin, when we were 17-odd points up and all over them. Never recovered from there.

It’s telling that that single moment could kill us

I can easily name seven games this year that maggots have cost us, so don't talk to me about bad kicking...

Just going over old news here Aidan, like really.

A fit Ben Brown and Tmac would have been handy in 22.

The one that hurts was 23, everything that could go wrong went wrong later on that year.

Clarry doing his hammy in R10 against Port never the same after that.

Petty's season ending footy injury against the Roos in R17 Failed to recapture that form.

Fritta fracturing his foot against Sydney R23 after kicking 5 came back and played but was hampered by the injury.

He's never been the same player.

Melksham doing his knee in the same game against Sydney was in career best form, shown glimpses since but never the same.

The Brayshaw hit but that [censored] from that black and white club!

Still makes my blood boil that whole saga.

9 hours ago, Willmoy1947 said:

I can easily name seven games this year that maggots have cost us, so don't talk to me about bad kicking...

I can name two where opposition should have been sent to MRO and suspended but no free kick was paid to us so they were overlooked to save the AFL embaressment

13 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

You could argue the true turning point was the off the ball free paid against May, to Franklin, when we were 17-odd points up and all over them. Never recovered from there.

actually it was more the 50 against May when Franklin charged him following that free that was the turning point. Franklin goals and the game changed.

Seems like a long long time ago now though doesn’t it. We were right up at the pointy end just a few moments ago. :-(

are you seriously telling me if we won more games especially finals we would have been more successful?

ground breaking stuff

16 hours ago, Supermercado said:

"A dozen matches in the past three years have turned a dynasty team into a rubble."

Somebody's spell check refused to accept 'rabble'.

Spoiler alert - the whole article is based on expected score which is a lame way of judging something like this.

Whatever we were meant to score the 2022 QF against Sydney was the big miss. We were in front, May thrashed Franklin, and a win there off the back of thumping Brisbane the previous week would've sent us to a prelim on a high. Bah.

This.

The Sydney QF gets glossed over as an afterthought in the line of 4 MCG finals losses. People talk about Collingwood and that could have been very different but were were generally trailing by 3 goals for most of the game after QT.

The Sydney game could have been the statement, back in Melb and mean business. I was behind the goals at the Punt Rd end when Clarry's set shot went through and thought bang, bang, bang mk2 was in the works.

Our system would have seen that game out 9 times out of 10. Guess we were just too banged up.

16 hours ago, Demon Disciple said:

Had that thug Maynard not taken out Brayshaw in the first quarter, we’d have had his leadership and unquestionable efforts out on the field the whole game, instead of Laurie (who still can’t nail a spot in the best 22).

We’d have then rolled the Giants 2 weeks later, and taken down anyone in the GF.

One thug act away from said “dynasty”.

Still………..I’m happy I got to see our 13th.

That one act will become MFC lore for the generations to come. I knew it the moment they won the GF. It was even more obvious when Maynard got away with it. Then the final nail in the coffin was Gus's forced retirement. I feared the MFC would be unable to recover from that trauma, but unfortunately the impact it has on the group is for all to see. I won't say it alone is responsible, but when you factor in Clarry MH and Trac's hit - i think we underestimate the psychological significance of all of that on the team.

There would be no other club in the AFL that could recover either. Take out the club's spiritual leader (Pendles at Pies; Neale at Lions; Danger at Geelong) then take 2 of their best players and subject them to some type of mental / physical trauma that reduces them to 70-80% of their capability (Daicos / Sidebottom at Pies; Stewart / Cameron at Cats; McCluggage / Dunkley at Lions) and see how they go.

Put aside the coach / gameplan / forward 50 delivery for a moment and just process that fact alone and i'd say it is just as significant at explaining our downfall as some of the on field / game orientated aspects.

If Sydney won just 4 more games in the past 15 years

Longmire would have 5 flags

True story

54 minutes ago, layzie said:

This.

The Sydney QF gets glossed over as an afterthought in the line of 4 MCG finals losses. People talk about Collingwood and that could have been very different but were were generally trailing by 3 goals for most of the game after QT.

The Sydney game could have been the statement, back in Melb and mean business. I was behind the goals at the Punt Rd end when Clarry's set shot went through and thought bang, bang, bang mk2 was in the works.

Our system would have seen that game out 9 times out of 10. Guess we were just too banged up.

We were labouring around the park after quarter time no Tall marking forwards to take the pressure off was always going to be a tough ask in 22.

Losing Darren Burgess after ‘21

Sometimes I wonder if other clubs experience the same degree of recognisable factors or moments where things turned. Some critical factor that went wrong and had a disproportionate or decisive effect on our season.

I'm thinking back as far as 2006 and the two losses to abject misery Carlton - remembering they had only 1 win and a draw that season except for beating us both times. Even splitting the wins would have been enough to put us in the top 4.

Was it two goals in the final 42 seconds which St Kilda kicked to beat us and cost us finals.

One key pattern is dropping our heads when we feel destiny has been taken out of our hands. The marker for that one for me is when Lloyd took a dive and earned a double-goal in the 2004 elimination final. We were still in front, we had just kicked seven goals in a quarter, but it was like our blood went cold.

11 hours ago, YesitwasaWin4theAges said:

A fit Ben Brown and Tmac would have been handy in 22.

I don’t recall Ben Brown ever missing a clutch goal in his career at Melbourne and TMac not many.

Edited yesterday at 01:351 day by John Crow Batty

1 hour ago, layzie said:

People talk about Collingwood and that could have been very different but were were generally trailing by 3 goals for most of the game after QT.

Agreed. The Collingwood 2023 final was one that DIDN'T get away.

Collingwood were comprehensively the better team for 3 quarters and deserved the win IMO (putting aside the Maynard circus), as much as I hate saying that.

I think people gloss over the fact that De Goey kicked a goal to put them up by 27 points at the 23 minute mark of the third quarter. No team was coming back from that margin against Collingwood in a final that year, particularly given the heavy rain fall that preceded the game.

Within a catalogue of failures and missed opportunities, the Collingwood final was not high on that list IMO. And I reckon May was completely out of line to imply that we were the better team.

Edited yesterday at 01:431 day by Bring-Back-Powell