THE SILVER LINING

[Demonland 72,192]

THE SILVER LINING by The Oracle

Those who turned up to Skilled Stadium yesterday (or watched it on television) expecting Melbourne to win against a reasonably strong Geelong combination with the final selected line up of 26, please stand up.

It's good to see you all remain seated.

That's right, although the objective in most matches is to win the four points or to go on to the next round of competition, this was highly unlikely given the unavailability through rest, rehab, injury and club imposed suspension of 18 MFC listed players. And that was reflected accurately in the result of the game.

The rest of the list all played against the Cats, eight of them in the first AFL games ever - Kyle Cheney, Tom McNamara, Adamm Maric, Stef Martin, Shane Valenti, Isaac Weetra, Austin Wonaeamirri and Trent Zomer while another, John Meesen (2 games for Adelaide) was wearing the red and blue (and silver) for the first time ever. Then we had Jace Bode, Simon Buckley, Colin Garland, Michael Newton and Matthew Warnock whose senior AFL experience is yet to pass double figures. And it doesn't stop there because included in the team was also a couple of seasoned 20 year olds in Matthew Bate and Nathan Jones, the latter having moved out of his teens less than a month ago.

And in the stands watching sat at least a dozen of the more talented players including a majority of those in the leadership group. That sounds like game set and match to me when, despite signalling his indifference to the Nab Cup concept and particularly some of its rules, Mark Bomber Thompson then chose close to his strongest team.

Geelong was on show on its own patch of turf and in front of the faithful for the first time since it crushed Port Adelaide to win last year's premiership. The Cats were on song from the beginning while the young Demons were a bundle of nerves. The predictable happened and the home team blew them away in the first 10 to 15 minutes despite Melbourne enjoying the wind advantage. With their greater skill and experience all over the ground and with their control over the centre bounces and the stoppages, they kicked 8 goals to 2 in the opening stanza and late in the second term the margin was 63 points. Melbourne played its best football to reduce that margin to 48 points at the main break and reduced it even further to 26 points after that before Geelong surged again.

In the final term, the stronger bodied Cats took complete control again and Steve Johnson added to his highlights package to finish with six goals.

There were few highlights from Melbourne's point of view but there was some silver lining (apart from the obvious silver material in it's hideous uniform).

The Demons did achieve something. They managed to get through the game with no apparent injuries and will now move into the NAB Cup Challenge where there is no limitation on interchanges and the list of players being nursed through their pre season can build their on their preparation for the coming season.

Coach Dean Bailey was also given a pointer as to where some of his teams strengths and weaknesses lie and he also had the opportunity of looking closely at how his younger players are progressing (although his top two draft picks in Cale Morton and Jack Grimes were also out injured and Adamm Maric was a late inclusion after missing last week's community camp in Canberra with school commitments).

After the game, Bailey told reporters –

"We played a lot of kids. We put them in important positions on the ground and that's the only way you can learn and develop – don't hide them and don't put them on the bench."

He would have been impressed with some of the youngsters and knows that he goes away with a lot of the raw material for success in the future. The big plus to my mind was the way 17-year-old Tom McNamara went about his game. He's the youngest player in the AFL competition and possibly might have even been lucky to get a run but he held up well in the back line in a true baptism of fire. He showed he can mark, kick and he contests the ball well. Rookie Shane Valenti has his detractors who claim that he is too small and too slow but he certainly burrowed in for the football and gained a lot of fans from a performance that saw him at the top of his team's possession gatherers. If he doesn't make it then it won’t be for the lack of trying. Basketball convert Stef Martin showed a bit and, if he can work on his kicking, he could become a key tall. Colin Garland showed that he has improved his game over the summer and his three goals (including a super goal) highlighted his potential and versatility. The other youngsters flashed all in and out of play.

Bailey would also have been pleased with the performance of three 20 year olds in Nathan Jones, Simon Buckley and Matthew Bate who all stepped up to the plate in difficult circumstances. In the absence of most of the club's midfield stars of last year, it was Jones who copped the brunt of the tagging and he proved himself under intense fire. Former Adelaide (and before that Geelong Falcons) ruckman John Meesen, returned to home territory and played in a number of positions around the ground. Whilst he didn't star, the big man looks to be a real acquisition and given the poor form of the Demon rucks on the day he will be a much-needed one.

When you get beaten as badly as Melbourne did in the end, there's usually a lot about which you can’t get excited and there were quite a few lowlights for the afternoon.

I thought the rump of the club's more experienced players were poor, the rucks in particular disappointing. They were easily brushed aside by Geelong's big men and failed to give their mainly inexperienced on ballers the service they required. Although Jeff White managed to get a bit of the ball around the ground, I'm concerned about how he will fare against the AFL's powerhouse ruckmen on a weekly basis throughout the season.

The experienced Russell Robertson and Brad Green were disappointing. Robbo hit higher notes with Kate Ceberano during the week on television than he did yesterday at Skilled Stadium and Greenie's disposal let him and his team mates down on the day although to his credit, he improved his output later in the game.

Adem Yze, in his comeback game after last year's hernia and last week's poke in the eye, toiled hard in defence and should be much better from the run.

The umpires were as rusty as the players and produced an ordinary display with some inconsistency in decision making and the level of confusion at their decisions among the crowd was high.

The other lowlight for mine was the innocuous combined Nab Cup/clash strip, which was an absolute shocker and actually clashed more with the Cats' colours than the club's traditional jumper. The club does penance for losing to Geelong by travelling to the far reaches of the country next week so thankfully, I probably won't see that abomination for a while.

Geelong: 0.8.1, 1.12.4, 1.15.7, 2.22.10 (160)

Melbourne: 0.2.4, 1.4.4, 2.8.5, 2.11.5 (89)

Super Goals:

Geelong: Byrnes Wojcinski

Melbourne: Buckley Garland

Goals:

Geelong: S Johnson 6 Davenport 2 Lonergan 2 Gamble 2 Byrnes 2 Kelly 2 Mooney Milburn Hunt Stokes Prismall Wojcinski

Melbourne: Newton 2 Garland 2 Robertson Green Weetra Meesen Valenti Zomer Sylvia

Best:

Geelong: S Johnson Ling Prismall Stokes Bartel Byrnes Wojcinski Milburn Taylor

Melbourne: Jones Buckley Valenti Yze Meesen Garland

Injuries:

Geelong: G Ablett (calf)

Melbourne: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Rosebury Sully Kamolins M Nicholls

[Hulett Packard III 166]

A good summary. I wonder why the club didn't think of wearing the Sandringham colours in view of the team that was selected. It would have also avoided the coluur clash.

[Jaded No More 68,915]

The biggest silver lining is

Injuries:

Melbourne: Nil

Sydney lost a player for the season with a knee yesterday. All the pre-season victories in the world are not worth losing a key player for the rest of the season. I rather they keep all our key players in cotton wool until Round 1, and let some inexperienced rookies get smashed and earn some much needed time on the ground. It's a win-win, even if there are no actual wins.

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,829]

The biggest silver lining is

Injuries:

Melbourne: Nil

Sydney lost a player for the season with a knee yesterday. All the pre-season victories in the world are not worth losing a key player for the rest of the season. I rather they keep all our key players in cotton wool until Round 1, and let some inexperienced rookies get smashed and earn some much needed time on the ground. It's a win-win, even if there are no actual wins.

But the problem with that is that all those key players will come out as rusty as hell for round 1 and will end up copping yet another spanking by the Hawks.

If McLean, Bruce and Rivers aren't playing by week 4 of the pre-season series, I doubt you'll see them in round 1.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

I rather they keep all our key players in cotton wool until Round 1, and let some inexperienced rookies get smashed and earn some much needed time on the ground. It's a win-win, even if there are no actual wins.

A definite loss with probable loss.

The whole point of pre season practice matches is practice prior to the commencement of the season in preparation for the season ahead.

At present Neitz at 34 and Morton at 17 are probably the only ones being rested. Depending on injuries, Morton is unlikely to be pushed for Round 1.

From the list it is likely that come Round 1, Rivers, Moloney, Bartram, Bruce, Davey Petterd, Dunn, Whelan, Wheatley, McLean either will not be ready by Rd 1 or will be severely underdone come the season start on an interrupted pre season.

I am not sure having inexperienced rookies getting "smashed" is a positive. Its unfortunate given the above plus injuries to Miller, Frawley and Carroll's suspension that we had to play three rookies and pull a kid out of school to play for us. We had no other choice but to play them and the result reflected it. None of those rookies nor Maric are likely to play Round 1 or possibly during the season. The experience may well indeed be wasted because there is no certainty that many of those players will make it.

As we have a new Coach and new game plan it would be important that those who are likely to be in the Top 22 are there fit and firing and actually implementing the game plan an reflecting the new tactics on the field. Bailey has a difficult hand of cards to play with ATM having so many players injured.

[Rampaging Demons 1]

While the initial disappointment of a sheelacking took some time to get over....

I looked at the ladder today and saw that we were equal top.....

I for one will wait and see - we are not Richmond supporters...

we appear to have received the royal treatment in the papers today but with the number of players unavailable, well.....

i hope that at some stage during the preseason our best 22 or the team for round 1 will make an appearance....

[Damo 3,356]

A definite loss with probable loss.

Thats very funny.

We are in the collective sh!T but the cockeyed optimism as expected from some quarters mixed with the Hanrahans(we'll all be doomed), has thrown up some funny one liners.

It certainly seems a long way to the top ATM.

[bjgc 0]

I agree that the clash jumper is a shocker and definately found it difficult on occasions to tell the 2 teams apart on tv last year's clash jumper was alot better don't know why we had to change in the first place.

Buckley was a real positive for the club. I hope they play him as a half back our run out of defence is a joke and I don't see the players that we have to come in make much of a difference in that area.

Valenti, McDonald and Jones were ok but they didn't really look like hurting the opposition though.

Holland was woeful we need to find a replacement for him quick fast and we may have found him in Martin he showed some really good signs and hopefully he can only improve.

McNamara has alot of simularities with Rivers can only improve.

Weetra doesn't impress me and Woneamirri needs to lose some weight.

Cheney and Maric were way out of their depth.

Warnock and Johnson missed a good opportunity as key backs.

Bode was horrible.

Garland done some good things.

Robertson and Newton were very ordinary but our delivery didn't help them one bit.

Bate's kicking is still as bad as it has ever been.

White was terrible, Messon and Jamar were solid.

Yze was ok I think he is in his best position.

Sylvia doesn't do enough I don't know why they don't try him down back we don't have a genuine hard nut with Whelan injured if there is one thing that Sylvia is is that he is a hard nut.

Now that Yze has been put back to his best position I think it is about time Green plays in his best position which is the forward pocket, he isn't a midfielders [censored].

Zomer is the next Holland the worst kick I have ever seen.

Bell was very ordinary and far too loose.

Our injury list is even worse than last year very very worrying.

[beelzebub 23,376]

Given enough time and efort I could be as pesimistic as soe display here buthtta might only happen upon observations and he reports of prro performances..i.e we are losing games hand over fist in teh H & A !!

At the moment I see nothing to get particularly down about , if anything a few things to get marginally excited over.

I dont hink Bails thinks its cause for alarm either. For mine he's going about this in a rather different manner to that which many can grasp. He is 'field testing " under live conditions. I dont hink he ever remotely thought about the NAB cup as a motive or prize per se...i.e all well and good if we did progress, no harm done if we dont. There is more to learn and take away from this series by trialling personel and tactics... Just not maybe al in one time and place..As Jaded alluded, why give the enemy any thing to study before the real games commence.

A lot of hot and bother about nothing so far I would suggest

[Whispering_Jack 30,135]

The whole point of pre season practice matches is practice prior to the commencement of the season in preparation for the season ahead.

While there is a worry that a number of our A List players who were missing on Saturday might not be ready by Rd 1 or will be severely underdone at the start of the season, there's still five weeks to go – three AFL practice matches (and one VFL game the week before the start if necessary) in which they can be phased into some football without the interchange restrictions that apply in the Nab Cup. Hopefully we're going to see some of the missing filtering back come Friday night in Cairns.

As for the implementation of a game plan under conditions like last Saturday where you had such a wide divergence of experience and talent it was always going to get some cohesive play going. The Geelong players knew each other well – we had 9 who'd never played together in a Melbourne jumper including a schoolkid who hadn't played a practice match with his teammates. It's a big ask to expect an instant cohesive game plan to emerge from a group like that - we need more of the experienced players to get a good system going.

That's not to denigrate the inexperienced young blokes playing or even getting "smashed" by premiership players. A prime example would be Tom McNamara who was on Steve Johnson at times. Here's a kid whose CV at junior level is that he’s really beaten one on one and he comes up against the reigning Norm Smith Medallist. Despite being beaten, he's had an experience worth bottling and it probably has progressed his career more than a dozen training runs in top AFL company. Even if Maric is unlikely to play in Rd 1 or at all in 2008 I’ll bet he'll remember this experience and that he's gained some confidence from the few touches he got out on the ground. Same goes for all the youngsters and the rookies. If you want to learn how to play good chess you look to play against the best – you take on a Bobby Fischer or a Boris Spassky (if they were alive) and not the local hack player.

I agree that we need to get our best 22 together as soon as possible but I will only start being concerned if our team for the last Nab Challenge match in a few weeks time, looks like the one that played at Geelong.

[Jaded No More 68,915]

A definite loss with probable loss.

It's a short term view taken by those who are impatient and nervous, and just want to see a victory so they can lay rest to their own self- doubt.

Seriously, you can get McLean or Neitz or Rivers to play one practice match before Round 1, and they might be a bit rusty come the first match, but they have all played enough footy to get back into the swing of things fairly quickly.

As I said, I rather we have kids losing by 12 goals, than senior players getting injured and missing 12 weeks.

We all know that a horrendous injury list will see us dwindle at the bottom of the ladder again, as we don't have the depth to cover multiple injuries to key players. So if there are any senior players who are not 100%, than they should be rested until such time as we are playing for premiership points. Of course if they are fit, than they get to play in the practice games, but I rather be safe than sorry, especially with those players who have had long injury battles (Moloney, Rivers, McLean, even Neita).

[beelzebub 23,376]

In all seriousness..and not trying to take anything away from anyone...those who feel a little 'all at sea' at moment regarding , to them , a disppointing showing; what were you actually expecting ?

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

It's a short term view taken by those who are impatient and nervous, and just want to see a victory so they can lay rest to their own self- doubt.

Seriously, you can get McLean or Neitz or Rivers to play one practice match before Round 1, and they might be a bit rusty come the first match, but they have all played enough footy to get back into the swing of things fairly quickly.

As I said, I rather we have kids losing by 12 goals, than senior players getting injured and missing 12 weeks.

We all know that a horrendous injury list will see us dwindle at the bottom of the ladder again, as we don't have the depth to cover multiple injuries to key players. So if there are any senior players who are not 100%, than they should be rested until such time as we are playing for premiership points. Of course if they are fit, than they get to play in the practice games, but I rather be safe than sorry, especially with those players who have had long injury battles (Moloney, Rivers, McLean, even Neita).

I am not interested in the scoreboard at this point of the year. I am focussed on who we get on the track and what methods Bailey uses.

And from the experience we had last year, Rivers and McLean both had scratchy pre seasons and were injured early in the season and were inconsequential for the year. Rivers missed most of last year and has not trained fully pre season. He will need more than one match. Given he has had a slight knee injury, McLean has lost some conditioning. Given his history of soft tissue injuries I would have thought Mclean needs as much match conditioning as possible given the importance of the year ahead.

You have also conveniently overlooked players like Moloney, Batram and Pettard who should be more important to side but cant get on the field. By your own twisted logic, we should not play any of best 22 during the 22 H&A and keep them in cotton wool for the finals for fear of injuries! You seem to have it repetitiously embedded that senior players can only get injured in practice matches rather considering they actually might get some valuable conditioning and training. And the injuries we had last year occurred in the H&A not in the practice matches.

No one has said play players who are not 100% fit. The problem is the number who are apparently not fit or 100% and of those the number that are likely to be ready in match condition by round 1.

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,829]

Given enough time and efort I could be as pesimistic as soe display here buthtta might only happen upon observations and he reports of prro performances..i.e we are losing games hand over fist in teh H & A !!

Huh

[Rogue 585]

You have also conveniently overlooked players like Moloney, Batram and Pettard who should be more important to side but cant get on the field. By your own twisted logic, we should not play any of best 22 during the 22 H&A and keep them in cotton wool for the finals for fear of injuries! You seem to have it repetitiously embedded that senior players can only get injured in practice matches rather considering they actually might get some valuable conditioning and training. And the injuries we had last year occurred in the H&A not in the practice matches.

I agree - the idea that you must wrap all senior players in cotton wool, only to be released for the regular season, is silly.

[beelzebub 23,376]

Huh

dang keyboard..

essentially..if Melb was to play and fall during the year..Id become as pessemistic as some are already. The first H & A hasnt even been played.

Some are somewhat premature ajudicators !!