Leaderboard

Well if the players do read this site let me say the following: I am extremely proud of your effort at a new ground for you, against a full strength preliminary finalist, who have several players that cheat by ducking and diving to get free kicks, who had the benefit of more dubious free kicks in a game than I can recall, leading to 7 goals to them and with many dubious decisions again, robbing us of free kicks and even marks. I don't like saying this, but you were robbed of the win by incompetent umpiring that favoured North all day. I apologize to HL, who played a much improved game, after I called for his sacking last week and who gave us some run off half back. To those who made mistakes, I say who doesn't. I applaud your effort this week and thank you for showing us all, that we have a future. I look forward to seeing JT, CP5, Oscar, Weed, ANB, Max King and Hunt playing in the team. I hope you approach every remaining game this year with the same intensity. After the anger of last week, I am proud to be a Demon supporter again.

I'm concerned that it is so easy, after a narrow loss such as this, for recriminations to break out on this site. these usually relate to the last few minutes of a game. So, Watts is under fire for not kicking at goal. Dunn tried to stop a half volley with his foot. Bugg buggered up his kick to Stretch. RVB missed his easy shot.This ignores errors such as Vince's errant kick to Kennedy in Q1 which was marked by Firrito and led to a goal to NM .But, at other times,Tyson is said to have been useless notwithstanding his second quarter. The coaches must have got it all wrong, otherwise we must have been successful. No-one thinks of many remarkable errors made by NM. Errors were inevitable today. this game was played in remarkable conditions, yet it was one of the best matches I've seen since 1950 when I started supporting Melbourne. In wind such as we saw today a score of 8.18 to 6.16 would have been predictable, or a greater loss for Melbourne.. It was no match for we the supporters to be casting around looking for culprits. Melbourne played a first gamer plus third gamer against the most experienced team in the comp. They played on a ground they've never played before. And their best player Max Gawn gave the best display of knock ruck work I have ever seen in 60 plus years, against the player hitherto regarded as the best ruck in the league. Can anyone recall such direction of the ball to our runners? What about the 8m tap to Tyson in Q2 leading to a brilliant goal? We are plainly going somewhere and those thrashing around in anger are misguided. It wouldn't matter except that some of the comments are very hurtful, and may play a role in future list decisions

I just got back from a really enjoyable trip to Tassie and I'm looking forward to see the reply because I want to check if they scored six or seven goals from free kicks or 50m penalties. I'm not one to complain about umpiring because I reckon it generally evens out over the course of the game, but that was the most blatant one-sided performance I've seen. The free to Goldy against Gawny for holding the ball in the first term almost brought the big fella to tears. He knew he'd had no prior and just couldn't fathom that his chance to show the AFL that he really was up to being the No.1 ruckman had gone begging via the little green maggots. Eventually they started realising that Gawny was on top in the true ruck battle and that Goldy didn't actually deserve handouts. Gawn won the battle, but sadly we lost the war. The key things to come out of the game for me were: 1) Why did we not send Hogan back to play as an extra defender from the start of the first term when the wind was at its strongest? Roosy was innovative in a lot of areas today (eg: playing N.Jones off half back to make the Jacobs tag less effective) but that was his one clear muck up and it cost seven goals. 2) Lumumba knockers need to start switching onto what he brings to the table. Sure he made a couple of poor short kicks into the wind in the first, but along with Viney and Gawn, he got us going in the second. He plays the exact same way that every side wants to play this year - attack, attack and attack. I'd love to see how many metres he gained in the second term alone - probably 400. 3) Bernie may look like a choir boy, but he's a tough hombre and with Crossy gone, has stepped up his leadership and is our best pick up from another club since Brian Wilson and he may be better than him as well. He'll have the week off next week and will be missed. 4) Hoges really respects Jack Watts and knows he will be given a chance the minute Jack gets it. The pair have developed a really good union now and finally we have a forward line with talented bigs - now all we need is the Weed and Petracca. 5) We were way quicker than North, who I suspect will fall away as the season goes along because they lack quality and are relying on 30-plus year olds remaining fit. And for the first time since 2000, we actually beat them at the clearances. In fact we played all over them after the first twenty minutes. 6) Those knocking Frost clearly weren't at the ground. Unfortunately the TV doesn't always show you who is making up yardage to pressure defenders and his athleticism is really handy to have. Sure he's still unrefined but give him a bit of time - is Darcy Moore nailing it each week? Ultimately though, he is a defender and once Weeds comes in, that's where he should play. 7) Well done to Harmes for shoring up his spot after a poor first two weeks and also to Kent, whose horror run kept going all the way until midway through the third term. Both will play next week. Not sure if Vanders is injured or just a little unhappy at not being given a run on the ball - but he's not the same spark player as last year - yet. 8) Did Billy do enough? He certainly worked hard and has a knack of getting to the contest, but as last player in this week, is he first player out to make room for Garlett? I hope he stays and that our Matt Jones experiment in trying to make him feel like he belongs at 28 ends now. Basically both can't play in the same side and I'd rather Billy's attack on the game to Matt Jones' outside accumulation anyday. If Matt was a thumping kick like Lewis Jetta then fine, but we all know he's not and he's now had over 60 games to have an impact. It ain't going to happen.

The closest thing to Robert Flower! Rob Murphy enscapulates all that is good about the game. He is one of the most skilful players ever to pull on a boot, Scrupulously Fair, Brilliant leader and spiritual host of the Bulldogs push into greatness this year! The closest thing to Robert Flower we have in the current climate! I hope that he recovers quickly and plays in finals and decides to call quits on his terms!! He is a champion and ornament to the game1 Good luck Rob! PF!

Lumumba played his best game for the club. Just sayin...

Look I really hate it when people post things like this, but I've got to question whether anyone who wants to drop Harmes saw the game. You just don't drop players who get 10 tackles.

Just some quick observations taking into account I left at 3/4 time. I went to see Petracca and Trengove. Didn't see Trenners at all as I was getting a burger at the beginning of the first. Petracca must have played most of his game on the grandstand side as my view differs from many here. I thought he was prolific, I must have just seen all of his possessions! Was on and off the ground three or four times a quarter and whenever he was on he had an influence. He was clean, made good decisions and executed very well. He played both inside and out and just did all things well without doing anything spectacular. For a kid playing his second game in 20 months it was a very good showing. When he's fit he'll just walk into the team and have an influence from day one I'd reckon. The other players have been covered pretty much but I was impressed with Mitch before he did his knee. Took a very good contested mark in front of us and moved and kicked well. Let's just hope for the best. And a quick work on Joel Smith. He did a couple of things in front of me that really impressed. He seemed very quick and strong with fantastic athletic ability and very good hands. Took a difficult half volley very cleanly and seemed really hard at the ball. He's a really interesting prospect and just needs to learn to find the ball and his kicking seemed suspect. Others to really impress me were Oscar Mac and ANB. I'm not as sold on ANB as many but he was our best last night along with Brayshaw I thought. Michie was better than others thought IMO. Frankston were pretty awful so all must be taken with a grain of salt. I've said it before and I'll say it again (to give perspective to those who are reading these reports). It's a terrible viewing ground and it's difficult to pick players up anywhere over the other side of the ground from the centre onwards. If a player played 4 quarters on the other side of the ground to where you were sitting you'd miss 80% of his output. It was particularly difficult given the lights are sub standard and I really don't understand why they play night games there.

A key factor in determining who comes in is how quickly the young mids already in the team can build their engines Against North the players with the least game time were Wagner (63% - 1st game), Oliver (65% - 3rd game), Tyson (68%) and Harmes (71%). These players would ideally be building to 80% (where Viney, Vince Vandenberg, etc are). Until they can play at that level of game time there's a limit to how many young players (especially mids) we can add to the team. Hence, the realisation of the Brayshaw error Vs Dons, and why Petracca and Trenners will be need to be playing 80+% game time at VFL before they can even be considered, as we simply can't afford to rest them along side those kids already in the team.

Stretch is not your typical soft outsider. I saw him last year really go in hard at the contests. Lets not forget he was playing his 12 game yesterday. Games like yesterday are just the perfect experience for him. He would have learnt alot.

Hasn't got much going for him apart from being a beautiful reader of the play, balanced with elite disposal as well as being highly articulate wordsmith and a great leader. Oh, and he has almost played 300 games. Pretty ordinary really.

By the way the other thing I saw up close was Watts get the absolute stuffing knocked out of him in the contest that ultimately resulted in the turnover. Without wanting to make excuses, seeing him during and after the contest, there was no doubt in my mind he lacked clarity of thought in that instant. Hogan's very short lead in to the pocket was also just rubbish - one of your side's best kicks has the ball in hand for a shot on goal - don't confuse matters by leading in to a spot where you'll end up in basically the same place anyway. It was a high risk low reward play by both players - who incidentally were both otherwise fantastic on the day.

A lack of class cost us. Too many silly mistakes and skill errors. The goals from frees and 50 metre penalties were crucial. The sooner Petracca, Trengove and (a fit) Brayshaw replace the likes of Matt Jones, Stretch and Bugg the better. I like Stretch, but he (and Harmes) has plenty of time to come in (and out) of the side as he develops. We really need to win the next 2 games.

This doesn't fit here but watching the replay and, just quietly, I think Clayton Oliver maybe an alien. North blokes tackle him and they have his arms all snugly wrapped up and then they appear well above his head dishing off to a running teammate. Possibly the AFLs first intergalactic recruit.

Watts payed well in my view. Three good goals and at least two effective goal assists. Only downside was attempting to pass to Hogan at a critical time.

I thought one week was fair until i watched the video again. Does anyone else think that if you got elbowed in the jaw your head would move sideways? Seems the North player has some incedible neck muscles that mean he can be elbowed in the jaw and only have his head go back and his arms go up. Incredible! The sessions with NIDA through the week are paying dividends for North.

Four changes! Sif. If there are any more than two, including the one forced, I'll eat my hat. It'll be Garlett for Vince, and possibly the next worst midfielder for Brayshaw - Bugg and vandenBerg front of the queue for mine. There is no hurry on Petracca while his fitness builds.

I went to Casey to watch Petracca for the first time. For those who have not seen him I would describe him like this. Around the packs he hunts the ball like Viney(who is a very good player) but he is bigger, stronger, better kick, can mark overhead and quicker. I have no doubt he will become a superstar of the AFL.

When you are using Supercoach points to assess a player's impact you know you are using a flawed system.

That is a harsh piece of advice to a poster who is never anything but completely civil. Especially since you are barking up the wrong tree regarding what incident it was.

Would "any player" include Nat Fyfe, Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell or Boomer Harvey?? Admire your faith in the integrity of the MRP.

I'm with you. Saw him up close for the first time yesterday (literally - I was seated basically on the fence on the flank where he kicked his first) and he's seriously impressive. It's not just the clean ball use either - he never seems to end up in the wrong position, ever. I saw him take one away just standing behind a pack of talls who all ran under it. Great judgement while playing in a gale. Love that everyone knew who you were talking about without you mentioning his name! Hard to believe some clubs didn't even think he was worth interviewing. He and Viney - who has without a doubt gone up a gear this year - make a formidable inside mid combination. The best part of it is it's already true; we don't have to wait for them to develop or play the "he'll come good" game. Just so bloody exciting.

After the siren apparently. But the ground I covered from the couch to the kitchen in the instant he dropped the ball to boot would see me get a serious look in come draft week.

Just thought that needed another airing.

Best post you have ever made

Look at me, look at me

I just got home from the game and like others I'm glad I went. Started to get a bit chilly near the end but definitely bearable. Parking lot needs lights, had absolutely no idea where I was. Between the 2 dim sims and sausage roll I've had my fill of reconstituted pet meat. Couldn't find the famed bacon & egg rolls; there was a significant line for the hamburgers though. It was an absolutely rampaging 2nd half from the Scorps and thoroughly deserved win, all the more impressive given they had 1 rotation for the entire 2nd half. Although it must be said that Frankston, despite having the most vocal support, were extremely ordinary all over the ground. As I previously noted their big ruckman must be someone they picked out of Euroleague basketball because he had little idea how to play footy or even cover the ground with any coordination. Awful player. They also had a dashing rebounding defender with blonde hair who thought he was Brodie Smith, checksiding his way out of the backline with regularity into the waiting arms of a Scorpion. I was also not a fan of their TJ esque full back, complete with 50s hair and long sleeve jumper, who couldn't punch the ball nor take the many uncontested marks that somehow fell his way. Onto the Dees listed players (and apologies for any I miss, this is recollection only): Brayshaw - All action game from Gus from the get go. He hits players bloody hard (you can feel it at this level when you are nearby) and his attack on the ball was manic. We know he can bring this side of the game; his evolution needs to come in his outside game. We know he can be damaging through the corridor but even when that worked last year I felt like the kick was often made to look better by the speed of Jeffy. There were times tonight where he was in the clear and completely fluffs the kick, absolute tumblers. He kicked 2 by my count, both when he broke clear in the forward 50 and ran into goal. Seemed to run the game out fine. Also liked how vocal he was in the 3QT huddle urging the boys on for another big quarter. Him and Trac have a fair bit of love going on and its evident they really enjoy playing together. Petracca - I was surprised he had 28 touches ; I didn't think he had it that much. Nonetheless a very noticeable player when he has the ball and at times without it; a real burst runner. There were a number of times where he absolutely bust his gut running quick alongside a contest to try and get on the end of it. Doesn't run quite as hard defensively but this will come. His kicking is low and hard with huge penetration; hit an absolute burner from the wing to Weideman on the lead at CHF in Q1 that big Sam grassed. Just as well too or young Sammy might have jarred all the bones in his hands at once. Not sure I've seen a kick with that penetration for some time. He has a touch of Robbie Gray about him in that he looks to sidestep and ride a challenge before disposing; I suspect when he plays AFL this will get found out a few times and he will be pinged. He has a fair bit of attitude about him and endless banter with both his teammates and the opposition. He continually demands the ball when teammates are lining up for set shots, begging for the ball even when he is surrounded by opponents and absolutely filthy when they don't give it. The type of player that teammates love and opposition players will hate. 1 or 2 more weeks and he will be right to go, but it's a weird feeling being both excited and terrified everytime he goes near the ball. We haven't even seen what he can do yet but I still have kittens everytime he is in a contest that *might* have awkward knee implications. Suspect I'm not alone here. ANB - Really warmed into the game and was a key reason for the 2nd half dominance. He's a good in and under player but I actually think he's not a pure inside midfielder as some have him pegged. He sort of a half-half; he'll never be receiving the ball streaming past on the outside but he's often the one on the end of the handball from under the pack in a yard or two of space. From this position he often finds a free player with a short kick; his lateral awareness is very good and his kicking has a quick and simple release. Could easily end up a 200 game player and if he comes in soon this year expect an impact in the 2nd half of games. His endurance is outstanding and he's quite a mature player for his age. Weideman - First time I have seen him play. He wasn't as dominant as he sounds from the stats but played a good game and created headaches for the Dolphins all night. Most of this was due to his height but he also times his jumps quite well and leads well for a young player. It's clear he has a good footy head on his shoulders and he reminded me a little of a skinnier, quicker, taller Darling. He's very aggressive in the air which I loved, but when he got involved in the play up the ground he generally turned it over. A couple of times he would take a grab or receive the ball in space and look to play it on quickly. This was good but often his execution let him down. Nonetheless I like his instincts and think he could be a good one. Pending our forward line troubles continuing he may get a look in at some stage. I feel like he will be good for Hogan because he actually leads all over the place which will drag the defenders away from Jesse's square. Trengove - Saw him take a mark in the backline and kick off in the first minute. Watching him follow the quick with his run, I thought he was covering the ground better and quicker than I remember. The next minute he had his head knocked off in a contest and was prone on his back for a good 5 seconds. Got up and had the dizzies so he went off and failed a concussion test. He was walking around later and seemed fine, if quiet. Pedo - Fairly average game. Didn't have to assume heaps of ruck responsibilities once Mitch King went down, but other than a few in Q2 he isn't clunking his marks like we know he can. I'm not convinced he has the sharpness or quickness of thought to ever be more than a role player and his age is not on his side. Michie - Whilst he probably got a lot of the ball and did kick a couple of classy goals, he just doesn't have enough damage to his game. He's rather one paced, doesn't work hard to get into space and for a clearance player actually has pretty poor composure. Tends to bomb it long rather than lowering his eyes and backing his skills and he doesn't seem to have the body type that modern AFL demands. He's skinny down low and big up top, which seems to make him easy to tackle and dispossess and limits his explosiveness. He's sort of like the polar opposite to Petracca... White - I'm a fan of this guy - he presents as a slightly odd player but most of his involvements are really positive. He's a strong body player, good size for a third or fourth defender, goes for intercept marks (not a bad leap on him) and has really good footskills. Could improve his ground level play where he is a little dumbly, but is very vocal and clearly seen as a leader. Not sure how Wagner is getting a gig ahead of him tomorrow and I remember liking his Rd23 game against GWS last year too. Handy sidekick for Salem I think with a bit more size. Hunt - Can be eye catching, his 2nd half was fantastic but I'm not completely sold. As mentioned it was an absolute rampage in the second half and Hunt was free to run off the HB flank at will with pretty much no defensive consequences. That said he had some really good set up play and is starting to use his evasion and speed really well. I'm not a huge fan of his kicking but he mostly plays to his limitations which is a trait I like in a young player. He will get a gig at some point this year and may do alright. Very quiet around the huddle and seems to be keeping his head down. Garland - Didn't notice him a huge amount, but contested well in the air whenever the ball went into the Dolphins forward line. They wouldn't have had many marks inside 50 which was a credit to the work he and Oscar got through. Despite being implored by the coaches to be brave and take the corridor, continues to look sideways and take the safe option. Also way too quiet around the huddles for a guy who is in the senior team leadership group. If I were on this team, I wouldn't see or feel he is a leader. Oscar - Could easily get a look in next week. He looked a fair cut above this level to be honest, which was surprising as I haven't been his greatest supporter, but he dealt with most inside 50 entries with ease and rebounded very well too. His footskills are more reliable than his brothers, still not great, but reliable and he generally doesn't make many mistakes. Seems a smart player. Was one of our best and I would have no issue if he was to come in next week. At this stage, at least the equal of Garland and could well be better, notwithstanding the potential of Garland's invisible leadership skills. Mitch King - Poor lad went down near me and was in a lot of pain, wailing from the moment he went down which given he has done it before, indicates ACL to me. I think it was an awkward tackle that did it; was hard to see. He seemed to be playing pretty well before that and I can understand the optimism I've been hearing. Terlich - Just standard. Kicked a good goal from just inside 50 on the run after breaking a tackle, but did little else noticeable. I don't know why he has never been trialled in the midfield or half forward flank pushing up, even the wing? We have played guys with worse endeavour and worse foot skills in those positions before. He is a see ball get ball player who generally pushes it forward with momentum. I think he is wasted in the backline because he doesn't have a defence first mentality. Hulett - He's a big lad and a bit of an enigma. When he gets it I think he is a mid as he's quick and mobile with a decent kicking action. At this stage though he's a fair bit off the pace and just doesn't quite know where to be. I'm surprised he isn't playing in the development league. Cops a fair bit of flak from his teammates constantly yelling 'Huey, get in position', including Petracca who taught him an absolute lesson about pushing up to the edge of the square as a half forward. He didn't listen and was second to the ball when it came forward out of the square. Trac let him know about it too. JKH - didn't have many (any) possessions but was specifically called out in the QT huddle for his work at the contest in the 50. He was certainly on some angry pills and was contesting everything, which was good to see. Disappointing to see him do his hammy; it seemed relatively minor at the time so should only be a couple of weeks I would think. Of the Casey players I didn't mind the smart little mid/forward they all referred to as 'Gussy' (No he wasn't Angus), they also had some good big forward targets who took a few big grabs. Casey barely missed a set shot in the 2nd half which added to the blowout. Don't think I missed anyone notable but happy to answer questions if I haven't covered something specific. Depending on how we go tomorrow I would think if changes are in order then Brayshaw, ANB, Oscar and potentially Hunt would come under consideration.

Ok so i should kick this off by saying that this is a hard match to comment on because of how one sided it was. I felt really sorry for Frankston as by the last quarter they were just uncompetitive giving up 12 goals to 1. At times it looked like a training drill in the 2nd half after the Dolphins were at least competative in the first half where they trailed by 35. Frankston seemed to come out with an intention to be as physical as possible. Trengove was knocked out with his head over the ball in the first 3 min, King did his knee with a Frankston player sliding into him when he was bending down and both Michie & Pedersen were dumped after disposing of the ball in the first half. Didn't see any of that in the 2nd half however. Still, you can only perform against the opposition in front of you. So here's my take on how the players went; Christian Petracca: Kicked 2 goals and did a few very exciting things. There's no doubt he's going to be something special, but i hope they don't rush him. Wouldn't play him next week myself as there's others who were better tonight and after last week i think making sure someone is fully match fit is even more important now. At least another week in the VFL for me. Jack Trengove: Got a couple of early touches before being knocked out with his head over the ball by a Frankston player who should find himself with a fortnight holiday. Tried to get up straight away but was very unsteady. Will likely miss next week, but should be back in a fortnight. Three solid weeks from there could have him in the frame for seniors by Round 8. He was around at the 3/4 time huddle which was encouraging. Angus Brayshaw: Solid game in the midfield and he'll be much better for the run. Kicked 2, possibly 3? And looked dangerous when drifting forward. A loss tomorrow and he'll be in contention for a recall. Colin Garland: Didn't do anything wrong, however didn't have a lot to do. My one criticism would be he could be a bit more damaging going the other way. Nothing wrong with his game, but he didn't dominate. Cameron Pedersen: Thought he was very good. Split his time between CHF and ruck where he was needed after King's injury where he and Casey's Keilty competed very well against the much bigger Sikora. Kicked 2 goals, but could have easily had 4 or 5. Viv Michie: In my top half dozen. Dominated around the stoppages, used the ball well and kicked 2 goals. I found the fact he kicked 2 important as in the past he hasn't hit the score board which is a conncern for such a good VFL level player. Next step is to learn how to get more easy outside ball. Kennedy-Harris: Did his hammy in the 2nd term, so will miss a few weeks. Must admit i'm a little concerned. Didn't have much of an impact and seems to have stagnated. Sam Weideman: Kicked 4 and looked good. Strong hands, a beautiful kick, moves well and gets to contests and competes. Is he ready for a debut next week? Look if we were to bring a key forward in for next week you'd probably go with Pedersen first, and that's probably best for Sam's development. He's ticking the boxes though! Liam Hulett: Not the best game, made a couple of errors, but he competes. Would like to see him again before forming judgement, but my initial thoughts are he's a defender playing forward. Oscar McDonald: Best game i've seen him play. At half time i'd of had him as BOG, however the ball barely came his way in the 2nd half. Regularly outmanouvred and out marked his opponent, ran off them and used the ball well. Based on tonight i'd recall Oscar before Col. Jayden Hunt: Great game and first 4 quarter game i've seen him play. Seemed to play wing/half back. Used his speed to burn off opponents regularly and link up play with overlapping hanballs. After tonight he should be an automatic selection for any matches at the fast track of Etihad. Horses for courses! Alex Neal-Bullen: Would probably give him my 3 votes for BOG. Was in everything. Got the ball inside & outside, ran all night, had great hands in close and generally used it well by foot also. Now i'm not saying he'll even be half as good, but for me, there's a lot of Rob Harvey in the way Nibbler goes about things. He's a true midfielder, and this is where he'll play his best football. Mitch King: Was competing well in the ruck against the much stronger and more experienced Sikora, until a Frankston player slid into his bent knee right infront of me and i heard his ACL pop! Was horrible! Really feel for the kid and hope he comes back from it. He seems to have a good leap, so hopefully this wont effect that. Mitch White: Reports were he'd been struggling this pre-season. Maybe he just likes the season proper as i thought he was very good. Mitch, Oscar & Hunt dominated the first half with their rebound from the half back line and Mitch used it very well also, just like he did last year. He dropped two marks you'd of liked him to take, but touch wood Mitch is back on track to improve further this year. Joel Smith: Showed some signs. Took a very strong pack mark in the first half and showed some dash from the back line in the 2nd half. Watching his development will be interesting. Dean Terlich: Sorry to say, but a typical Terls game. Turned over several kicks in the first half that were cringe worthy. Kicked a nice goal in the 3rd term, but i think we all know what's happening here at the end of the season. Special mention to Casey players Tim Smith with 5 goals & several strong marks, Declan Kelity who went into the ruck for King, giving up 10cm & 20kg but competed exceptionally well and whoever nnumbet 30 was (not in the record) who was very energetic and in everything. Will be nice to see Casey on top of the ladder at the end of the round!

Wasn't entirely sure where to put this, but did anyone just see Healy on On The Couch? There is something happening with Healy, who has traditionally shat all over us, but this season in particular, he seems to be showing a clear Melbourne bias. He's excited for us. Very strange, but welcome.

I just watched the game again and we wuz robbed! seriously I counted four goals to North from very iffy free kicks in the forward fifty. Not to mention clear marks that weren't paid to us. All the scribes were hailing the game as one of the best of the year so far.....pity the umpires didn't join the party.

Gawn was the better ruckman and Goldstein the better follower.

Really frustrating loss. If Roos was a more defensive coach we would have won that game.....

He kicked the goal. If he rushed and missed the knives would be out, can't win. There was time enough to score again.

Yes, except Vince stupidly handballs deliberately out of bounds, which I think resulted in a goal, and McDonald doesn't stick a tackle in the last he should have, which also resulted in a goal. There are still so many "little" areas we need to improve in.

OMG whilst I tend to agree, our guys didnt exactly prove themselves to be mentally anything other than butter on a hot summer's day last week either. Some may, once again, "get ahead of themselves" if they read your post.

HEARTBREAK IN HOBART by George on the Outer In the end it all came down to a hurried kick from Billy Stretch that slipped to the right of the goal post instead of the left. Had it gone the other way it would have been an ecstatic response from the Demon fans. But it was not to be, and they faced yet another heartbreaking loss. Not to say that the result could have so easily gone the other way as in the dying minutes, opportunities were squandered or lost….Vandenberg missing an easy snap, Watts passing instead of kicking for goal, the umpires failing to award an obvious mark to Harmes. But in a game defined by a strong wind to one end of the ground, the Demons just didn’t take those same opportunities all around the ground and in the preceding 95 minutes of football as well. It was a game of contrast. North had a 7 goal lead in the first quarter before Melbourne registered their first major. In recent times, that would have been the end of a Melbourne side, heads would have dropped and a further blow-out to be expected. But with the wind at their back in the second quarter the Demons responded and 9 goals saw them hit the front by the main break. When was the last time that this team kicked 9 goals in a quarter? Belief was back, but again with the wind, North were able to slam on another 7 of their own in the third, with the Demons kicking 3 to keep the game well and truly in sight for the final quarter. And a slog to the finish line it was. The Demons added another 6 goals but allowed North 4 against the wind. Dean Kent atoned for his appalling performance last week and put the side within 5 points and only 20 seconds on the clock. Again the mids won the contest and gave the team the chance. It was not to be. Importantly, this young side learnt some good lessons: · A game is never over until the final , no matter how far behind you may be. · Seconds count · Turnovers are critical, especially in the way the game is being played in 2016. · Each and every week you must play at 100% · There are no easy games. The contrast with the efforts and inputs from the previous week were stark. While the first quarter would have had Demons supporters saying something along the lines of “here we go again” or “all words and no action”, the second quarter erased those doubts. Likewise, this week the coaching staff must be commended for keeping a team 5 goals down after a single quarter enthused and eventually to lead at half time. And credit to Max Gawn. Pre-season he came out and said he wanted to set the standard, and the standard was Todd Goldstein. 63 hit-outs in an AFL match is unheard of. Especially against the best ruckman in the league. Goldstein kicked 5 goals ( although 1 was another howler free given by the umpires), but Max kicked 2 of his own, and had 17 contested possessions!. It was an exciting contest to watch all day. Probably neither beat the other on the day, but Max staked his claim to be at least the equal. Clayton Oliver showed once again why our recruiters thought him so valuable. 26 touches and 13 contested possessions from an 18 year old was something to be excited about. Let’s hope he doesn’t tire too soon during the season. Final comments…..when are we going to put a solid tag on Brent Harvey when playing North? It’s not that he is a brilliant player, but he just keeps getting touches and uncontested marks without a Demon player within cooee of him. 6 goals this week. …..what was the final margin? Bernie will probably face a nervous day as the MRP looks at an incident in the 3rd quarter. While we might be without him, there are probably 2 players at Casey ( AB and CP) itching to fill a hole in the middle. Collingwood next week, and what a chance to alleviate this weeks heartache. Let’s not fluff the chance 2 weeks in a row. NORTH MELBOURNE 8.2 10.4 17.7 21.10 (136) MELBOURNE 2.2 11.5 14.7 20.11 (131) GOALS North Melbourne: Harvey 6, Goldstein 5, Waite 4, Petrie 2, Gibson 2, Ziebell, Macmillan Melbourne: Kent 4, Watts 3, Hogan 3, Oliver 2, Gawn 2, Jones, vandenBerg, Dunn, Tyson, Harmes, Viney BEST North Melbourne: Harvey, Goldstein, Waite, Ziebell, Cunnington Melbourne: Vince, Viney, Oliver, Gawn, Hogan, Kent INJURIES North Melbourne: Taylor Garner (hamstring) Melbourne: Nil Reports: Nil Umpires: Nicholls, Kamolins, Ryan Official crowd: 12,607 at Blundstone Arena

Just a random though/concern that doesn't deserve its own thread but I have continued to notice. All of us demon fans rate Salem extremely highly, as we should. He is tough, smart, composed and has a great kick. However, either he needs to find a way of getting more of the ball or we as a team need to find a way of getting the ball into his hands more often. He ideally should be getting the ball 22-25 times a game through the backline and pushing up onto the wing. I'm not sure how we/he can manage this? Put him on the least dangerous forward consistently? Run him through a wing with a license to roam? It's not a huge concern but him increasing his output would be great for the team. He does everything well, but I'd love to see him more involved. Im proud of Gawn. He got killed by Goldy last year, set himself to catch up to him as he has desires to be the best ruck in the league, and has done everything he can to get there. He may have lost the matchup depending on what we you choose to look at it but he beat him in the ruck and was still effective going forward. Goldy is just that good that he found a way to still impact the game. Congrats to Gawn for having the balls to say what he wants to be and the desire/drive to try and get there. That's professionalism and leadership right there. His improvement has been amazing in such a short period of time. Watts/Hogan work well in the same forwardline (Watts obviously should have taken that shot though). Oliver, Jetta, Viney, H all stood up and gave it a real crack. Loved Viney's pace and finish in the past quarter.

For someone who didn't see the game you were certainly very strong on how pathetic we were, especially when many many people who did see the game were telling you we actually played very good football but were beaten by a better side (just) and some appalling free kicks. As to who got us back in the game, we actually played fairly well int eh first, the intensity was there, we were winning many of the stats, we just couldn't work out the conditions, which was a thumping gale to one end of the ground. In the second it didn't look like we were playing much differently to the first, we just had the wind at our back and North couldn't work out playing into the wind just like we couldn't in the first. In essence it was the wind that took us out of the game and then got us back into it. In the second half both teams worked out playing into the wind and the game evened out somewhat with the wind advantage only being 3 goals or so for the last half, not 8 goals as it was int eh first half.

It looks.like if Wagner can hold his own down back it frees up Lamumba, salem or jetta which is great for our rebound offense

Also kudos to the golden haired boy J Wagner. Nothing spectacular but a nice debut. Loved his tackle on Thomas (i think ot was) and uses the ball well. I'd give him another game for sure

If he gets done it'll be just the final bitter tinge to a day of almighty [censored] at the hands of the officiators.

Can't argue with this. He's a great player, very intelligent in the way he goes about it and I think criminally underrated by the "experts" who put out their top 50's and AA teams.

Some would ask you the same if you are saying to drop Watts.

An amazing, frustrating, exhilarating, heart stopping game of footy. Lots to love, lots to despair of. I know we will play a couple more howlers this year just like the Essendon one, probably at Etihad or against the Lions etc... But for the most part, I can enjoy watching the Dees play again. Who remembers just after the Neeld sacking - our % was in the 50's. Yep, the 50's. Today, after 2 losses, it is in the 90's. We are IN almost every game we play, even if we get 7 goals behind. We lack polish but we are at the contest, fighting, clawing, tackling and busting our guts. I hate losing and am sick of it. But at least I am enjoying the game again.

His name is Clayton Oliver and he is all you need for positivity. Get around him.

Hopefully a multiple premiership player from the Melbourne Football Club

Hold on if C Schwab had used this forum as a recruiting almanac, we would have done a lot better in our picks from 2007 to 2012 than we did!

He said he was pleased with the effort and frustrated with the loss. You're a [censored]

Ffs....there were a million errors in the game and you isolate Watts? You're kidding.....