Jump to content

On a Lazy Saturday Morning

Slartibartfast
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

Posted

I listened to Mark Riley's press conference and his reference (not for the first time) to injuries, settled teams and confidence. Myth or reality I thought. So for nothing more than a point of interest these players didn't play in these weeks (with apologies for errors):

Round 1 v Saints 93 v 62: Frawley, Sylvia, Rivers, Wheatley, Pickett.

McLean, Whelan injured first half, someone early second half.

Round 2 v Hawks 116 v 94: McLean, Frawley, Sylvia, Yze, Bartram, Pickett. I

njured Neitz first half and Robbo last quarter.

Round 3 v Geelong 109 v 57: McLean, Frawley, Neitz, Sylvia, Bartram, Robbo, Rivers, Pickett

Round 4 v Freo 137 v 92: McLean, Neitz, Johnstone, Bartram, Moloney, Robbo, Rivers, Frawley.

Round 5 v Swans 109 v 60: Jones, McLean, Frawley, Neitz, Green, Bartram, Robbo, Wheatley, Whelan

Round 6 v PA 76 v 71: McLean, Frawley, Green, Bartram, Robbo, Wheatley, Whelan.

Round 7 v Bullies 112 v 106: McLean, Frawley, Green, Bartram, Robbo, Rivers, Wheatley, Pickett, Whelan

Round 8 v WC 137 v 60: McLean, Frawley, Bartram, Moloney, Robbo, Rivers, Wheatley, Pickett, Whelan

Round 9 v Kangas 79 v 78: Bate, Sylvia, Yze, Bartram, Moloney, Rivers, Wheatley, Pickett, Whelan

Round 10: v Adelaide 89 v 72: Miller, Yze, Bartram, Moloney, Rivers, Pickett, Whelan

Round 11 v Collingwood 94 v 81: Miller, Yze, Bartram, Moloney, Rivers, Pickett, Whelan

Round 12 v Richmond 124 v 75: MIller, Neitz, Johnstone, Bartram, Moloney, Rivers, Whelan

Round 13 v Essendon 125 v 123: Miller, Frawley, Yze, Bartram, Moloney, Pickett, Rivers, Whelan

Round 14 v Carlton 124 v 101: Neitz, Yze, Johnstone, Green, Bartram, Bell, Moloney, Rivers, Bruce, Pickett, Whelan

Round 15 v Lions 126 v 82: Neitz, Yze, Petterd, Johnstone, Green, Bartram, Bell, Moloney, Rivers, Bruce, Pickett, Whelan

Round 16 v Kanga's 126 v 62: Yze, Petterd, Johnstone, Bartram, Bell, Rivers, Pickett, Davey, Whelan

Round 17 v PA 163 v 74: Yze, Petterd, Johnstone, Bartram, Rivers, Pickett, Davey, Carroll, Whelan

Round 18 v Swans 112 v 64: Frawley, Sylvia, Yze, Petterd, Johnstone, Bartram, Robertson, Rivers, Bruce, Whelan

So my conclusion is there is no myth, it's actually fact. If I had said at the beginning of the season that those players wouldn't play those games I wonder what expectations people would have had. Compounding the physical injuries is the psychological effect of such a situation.

I'm just going to put this season away, never to be opened once it's finished. What a shocker!!

  • Quote
    •  

    Very well put, Fan.

    BTW the player that we missed in the second half of round 1 was Bartram. About a week ago when Melbourne were the wipping boys and the "basket case" topic a caller rang into SEN to say, "oh Melbournes season hasn't been cause by injuries, but they're just a crap team". He then said, that what reason did we have for losing in round 1, we had all our player in. But i think he kind of forgot the fact that we were down to one player on the bench at 3 quarter time and were playing people that needed to rest.

    I'll admit that we played crap that night, but sometimes the footy gods aren't smiling on you. Maybe the fact that we've had it all year will mean we get all the good stuff next year!

  • Quote
    I'm just going to put this season away, never to be opened once it's finished. What a shocker!!

    Beg to differ.

    Surely we are going to learn more about the club in its time of adversity.

    There should be a widespread review of the season to determine what went wrong and how to avoid or minimise it in the future.

  • Quote
    •  
    • Author
    Beg to differ.

    Surely we are going to learn more about the club in its time of adversity.

    There should be a widespread review of the season to determine what went wrong and how to avoid or minimise it in the future.

    Spot on, I was talking from a supporters perspective really.

    The difficult thing about a season like this is to know where to "lay the blame". If everything goes right you can accurately see your weaknesses. When things have gone as wrong as they have for us this year how can you determine where you need to improve? What the analysis I've done shows is that we've never really had our best team on the ground over consecutive weeks. That makes it impossible to accurately judge the list. Adelaide and Collingwood were the only consecutive weeks where we didn't lose someone.

    I've one mate who thinks we were a rabble based on the first half v Saints. I disagree. A half of footy is no basis to judge.

    Clearly changes need to be made. We've already changed our coach, we now need to assess the playing list, our preseason program, player development, drafting, trading and medical conditioning.

    But what I think is clear is that we are not nearly as bad as we seem.

  • Quote

    But what I think is clear is that we are not nearly as bad as we seem.

    I agree with that.

    However, I also think that we were vastly over-rated coming into this season.

  • Quote

    I was optimistic at the start of the season and there's no doubt that injuries have cruelled us. The nucleus of our side for 08 is substantially weighted to the Under 23 brigade: Mclean, Sylvia, Jones, Bartram, Rivers, Bell, Frawley, Moloney, Newton, Petterd, Bate, Garland and Dunn- they still have a lot to learn. Like all lists however, there are still deficiencies.

    I think if we could get the opportunity to draft the likes of Cotchin and Henderson then we will have come close to addressing at least half of the problems. To do that though we may have to trade some of our more established (maybe even popular) players to get the extra draft pick. And we will certainly have to make some far tougher calls in pruning some older players from the list.

  • Quote
    Round 19 v Swans 112 v 64: Frawley, Sylvia, Yze, Petterd, Johnstone, Bartram, Robertson, Rivers, Bruce, Whelan

    So my conclusion is there is no myth, it's actually fact. If I had said at the beginning of the season that those players wouldn't play those games I wonder what expectations people would have had. Compounding the physical injuries is the psychological effect of such a situation.

    I'm just going to put this season away, never to be opened once it's finished. What a shocker!!

    Round 19 v Bullies - lose Bate and Godfrey at selection, McLean before the game, Frawley (ankle) during it and I think Robbo might have done hammy (?)

    It just goes on and on and on ...

  • Quote
    •  

    We haven't had many games when our best back six have played together IMO these are Whelan Carroll Bell, Wheatley Rivers Bartram. Also our best Midfielders in Mclean, McDonald, Bruce, Sylvia, Jones, Green, Johnstone, Moloney, Bate haven't been on the park together this year. Our two best forwards Neita and Robertson haven't been fully fit since the Hawthorn game. I still believe if we can get our best 22 fit and playing together we can beat any team,

  • Quote

    • Archived

    This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • PREVIEW: Gold Coast

      The Gold Coast Suns find themselves outside of the top eight for the first time since Round 1 with pressure is mounting on the entire organisation. Their coach Damien Hardwick expressed his frustration at his team’s condition last week by making a middle-finger gesture on television that earned him a fine for his troubles. He showed his desperation by claiming that Fox should pick up the tab.  There’s little doubt the Suns have shown improvement in 2025, and their position on the ladder is influenced to some extent by having played fewer games than their rivals for a playoff role at the end of the season, courtesy of the disruption caused by Cyclone Alfred in March.  However, they are following the same trajectory that hindered the club in past years whenever they appeared to be nearing their potential. As a consequence, that Hardwick gesture should be considered as more than a mere behavioral lapse. It’s a distress signal that does not bode well for the Queenslanders. While the Suns are eager to remain in contention with the top eight, Melbourne faces its own crisis, which is similarly deep-seated but in a much different way. After recovering from a disappointing start to the season and nearing a return to respectability among its peer clubs, the Demons have experienced a decline in status, driven by the fact that while their form has been reasonable (see their performance against the ladder leader in the Kings Birthday match), their conversion in front of goal is poor enough to rank last in the competition. Furthermore, their opponents find them exceptionally easy to score against. As a result, they have effectively eliminated themselves from the finals race and are again positioned to finish in the bottom half of the ladder.

      • 4 replies
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 15

      As the Demons head into their Bye Round, it's time to turn our attention to the other matches being played. Which teams are you tipping this week? And which results would be most favourable for the Demons if we can manage to turn our season around? Follow all the non-Melbourne games here and join the conversation as the ladder continues to take shape.

      • 287 replies
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Port Adelaide

      Of course, it’s not the backline, you might argue and you would probably be right. It’s the boot studder (do they still have them?), the midfield, the recruiting staff, the forward line, the kicking coach, the Board, the interchange bench, the supporters, the folk at Casey, the head coach and the club psychologist  It’s all of them and all of us for having expectations that were sufficiently high to have believed three weeks ago that a restoration of the Melbourne team to a position where we might still be in contention for a finals berth when the time for the midseason bye arrived. Now let’s look at what happened over the period of time since Melbourne overwhelmed the Sydney Swans at the MCG in late May when it kicked 8.2 to 5.3 in the final quarter (and that was after scoring 3.8 to two straight goals in the second term). 

      • 3 replies
      Demonland

    • CASEY: Essendon

      Casey’s unbeaten run was extended for at least another fortnight after the Demons overran a persistent Essendon line up by 29 points at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne last night. After conceding the first goal of the evening, Casey went on a scoring spree from about ten minutes in, with five unanswered majors with its fleet of midsized runners headed by the much improved Paddy Cross who kicked two in quick succession and livewire Ricky Mentha who also kicked an early goal. Leading the charge was recruit of the year, Riley Bonner while Bailey Laurie continued his impressive vein of form. With Tom Campbell missing from the lineup, Will Verrall stepped up to the plate demonstrating his improvement under the veteran ruckman’s tutelage. The Demons were looking comfortable for much of the second quarter and held a 25-point lead until the Bombers struck back with two goals in the shadows of half time. On the other side of the main break their revival continued with first three goals of the half. Harry Sharp, who had been quiet scrambled in the Demons’ first score of the third term to bring the margin back to a single point at the 17 minute mark and the game became an arm-wrestle for the remainder of the quarter and into the final moments of the last.

      • 0 replies
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Gold Coast

      The Demons have the Bye next week but then are on the road once again when they come up against the Gold Coast Suns on the Gold Coast in what could be a last ditch effort to salvage their season. Who comes in and who comes out?

        • Like
      • 372 replies
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: Port Adelaide

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 16th June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect the Dees disappointing loss to the Power.
      Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show.
      Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 33 replies
      Demonland
    View All