DARK IN MY EYES

by Whispering Jack

There is an old Yiddish saying that is used to describe the exact moment when a person discovers that a tragedy is about to occur - "everything is getting dark in my eyes!"

The literal translation does not do enough justice to the expression but if you require a clear understanding of what it truly means then consider the scenario at AAMI Stadium some three or so minutes into yesterday's game between Port Adelaide and Melbourne.

It started when Brett Ebert took advantage of a James McDonald fumble from the opening bounce and slotted through the first goal just 13 seconds into the game. Then David Rodan bustled through the second at the one minute 50 second mark and a minute and a half later, Daniel Motlop scored his first. In that time, only three players wearing red and blue had touched the ball; one of them was Jeff White (a hit out) and another was Junior (the fumble). At that point, everything went dark in my eyes.

The AAMI Stadium management actually turned on the lights about half an hour later but the damage had already been done and besides, they did that not for my benefit but for the Power supporters who were revelling in their team's electric performance against a Melbourne that was not only well and truly torched but burnt to a crisp. Not surprisingly, their side scored a club record of 8 goals three behinds for a quarter against the Demons but said record lasted only an hour because they broke it by a point in the third. In between, the visiting team put in a half hour's resistance when it outscored the Power by a goal. At the end of the game however, they limped away badly battered and bruised, outrun and outplayed to the tune of an 89 point humiliation.

There's not much more to say about the game other than that some of the younger players, especially Nathan Jones, James Frawley and Matthew Newton showed a bit of spunk and Messrs. Green, McDonald, Wheatley and perhaps Brown can, at least, look themselves in the mirror and the rest who still have their physical faculties unimpaired after the game can please themselves. The game itself was lost where it usually lost - in the middle and then almost everywhere else on the ground. Such things happen when you go into a game with a lion hearted ruckman of three score years who measures only 195 cm and expect him to take on a couple of All Australian ruckmen much taller assisted only by a part timer who is slow and also touching thirty. As a wise man once said, "football sucks sometimes." (I could add that the umpires suck sometimes too and that Robbo's back spasms might have been related to some diving on that part of his anatomy by a Port player which the umpires ignored but what the hell?).

The fact of the matter is that Melbourne has used all but two members of its 40 player senior list in 2007 (the two who haven't played are youngsters developing in the Sandringham Reserves). The club is currently playing a hefty proportion of the bottom half of that list - some of them aging, others unworthy and a few who are still learning the caper. A number of the top tier players are out for the year or playing at less than full capacity because they're unfit. Their spirits are low and there's little to play for in the dying month or two of what everyone acknowledges is a wasted season. From all this, you can deduce one thing - as long as that part of the list which you put on show includes more of the bottom half than the top half then you can't win games.

The results of games played therefore have become of little consequence. We're all going through the motions, groping around in the darkness and waiting for what will happen next.

There are five more weeks of darkness to go before the club starts picking up the pieces of a disastrous and tumultuous year. Things are not as dark as they appear though because if the right choice of coach can be made, spirits are lifted and the injured and broken bodies heal, there is enough material with which to work to achieve the dramatic improvement shown by this year's improvers. After all, this time last year teams like the Kangaroos, Port Adelaide, Hawthorn and Essendon were all struggling and even Geelong was guilty of committing some similar monumental capitulations. Did not the Cats bend over and play dead against the Tigers in the twilight of season 2006?

Mike Sheahan says in today's Herald Sun that there are few hearts beating true at the club in its disgraceful season. He cites injuries but compares Melbourne's situation with that of the Kangaroos who are sitting in second spot and suggests that injuries are no excuse because they lost Nathan Thompson on the eve of the season and one or two others have missed some weeks. The mere fact that he attempts to make this comparison indicates how clueless Sheahan is about the depth of Melbourne's injury malaise. Yesterday, the Kangaroos fielded a team that contained thirteen players who have been there all season. Against Port Adelaide, Melbourne had only two - Jeff White and James McDonald. To suggest that there is any comparison between the injuries the Demons are suffering this year and the Kangaroos situation, is grossly misleading.

Sheahan is closer to the point however, when he suggests that of the four clubs chasing a new coach the Demons will probably get the fourth-best result. That might be true but if the current coaching situation applied twelve months ago and Bomber Thompson or Dean Laidley threw their hats into the ring they would not even have made it close to the fourth-best result and look where their teams are sitting now!

And what is the best result anyway? The word on the street is that Carlton will appoint Michael Voss as soon as the home and away season ends. Is he the best going around or is Kevin Sheedy? Brett Ratten? Chris Connolly? It's a case of horses for courses and there is no best or fourth-best result in this "race" (if you can really call it such) to appoint new coaches. The only thing we punters can do for the time being is hope they get it right.

If not, things will continue to get dark in our eyes for a long time to come.

Melbourne 2.3.15 6.6.42 7.7.49 11.8.74

Port Adelaide 8.3.51 11.6.72 19.10.124 25.13.163

Goals

Melbourne Bate Green Newton Robertson 2 Bruce Holland Neitz

Port Adelaide C Cornes Ebert 6 S Burgoyne 4 Rodan 3 Motlop 2 Chaplin K Cornes Lade Westhoff

Best

Melbourne Green McDonald Wheatley Brown Jones

Port Adelaide C Cornes P Burgoyne Cassisi Lade Brogan S Burgoyne K Cornes Wilson

Team changes

Port Adelaide Tredrea (knee soreness) replaced in selected side by Thomson

Injuries

Melbourne R Robertson (back spasms)

Reports

T Thurstans (Port Adelaide) reported by field umpire H Kennedy for allegedly striking J McDonald (Melbourne) in third quarter

M Newton (Melbourne) reported by field umpire H Kennedy for allegedly striking P Burgoyne (Port Adelaide) in last quarter.

Umpires H Kennedy D Sully G Fila

Crowd 23,485 at AAMI Stadium