deanox

i never leave a game early (well maybe the 27 minute mark to beat the rush). but on sunday, i turned to a freo supporting aquaintance as we kicked the first goal after half time and said "i'm giving you due warning that we're about to come back". at the time he laughed it off...

are you sure the pads arent considered the goal? id be interested to see the ruling on that...

while id love all these kids to be playing, i would suggest that only forced changes should be made for the adelaide game. a just reward for everyones efforts. of course if its an obvious match up issue then it could be justified.

actually i will agree about his handballing in the 2nd half, perhaps those two in the first half just have really stuck in my mind. bobby, what was your opinion of his kicking throughout the whole match, and relative to each half?

hards, i dont think the purpose has ever been to stuff around with the handballs, and i do believe that kicking long (and intelligently) is part of the plan. the 'run and carry' and 'handball use' is intended to allow players to run past and link up together (running in waves) so that the pressure is moved off the player with the ball. it is intended that the last player to get the ball (whether it is the 2nd or 5th in the andball chain) will kick the ball when he is clear and has a viable option. unfortunately the players have been thinking "oops i am under pressure need to handball off" and this results in two things. a) other players havnt been running and linking for them and b ) players with the ball are handballing to players who are standing still and under more pressure than the first player was. its not a kick or handball question, bomb it long, or handball to a player with no pressure who can kick it intelligently.

i'm gonna make y_m on this one. maybe he was a tad harsh, but i honestly thought that bruces disposal let him down. 30 something touches, had lots of it and ran hard to get it but wasnt damaging, and imo there were enough times in the 1st half when he turned it over when he shouldnt have that his game balanced out. 31 touches definitely not in my best on field though.

yep. thats what worries me as well. we had a good win, but i will be interested to see how that translates to next week against adelaide. we have struggled under pressure, but perhaps that is because we havnt learnt how to do it properly. the players need to know it will work. it will be interesting to see if they can stand up under pressure.

so we kick 10 goals more than the opposition in the second half, and you have a go at how many disposals our defenders got in that period?

best feeling since winning the prelim in 2000...

robbo kicked 4 goals in the second half (perhaps in the last quarter?). i cant remember the last time i saw him mark out in front instead of on the chest. he has a lot to do the next month to prove he still deserves his spot. and RE miller, 1 swallow doesnt make a summer. he marked, and kicked and ran hard today. i rate his effort and always have. but he needs to back it up. ive still never seen him play two games like that in a row.

following on from both these quotes, what i noticed was that as the ball was moved up the ground towards our forward 50, our forwards lead early. this is so that they are in position for the fast moving ball that is kicked long to them. if the ball is held up on the wing the players have all led forward, throwing our forward structure out. 2 chip kicks to the flank mean that suddenly all our forwards are either outside the 50 or are running back towards goal with 10 freo players. in the second half, the run of the players supporting each other meant that the long kicks were able to be effected by the last player onto the chain, and this kick linked up perfect with our forwards timed leads.

with jones stepping up in recent weeks and playing some good footy it means that there are now more players that opposotion teams willt hink about tagging. i dont mind they tag jones because brock uses it better, but i agree we as a team, and specifically a midfield group, need to learn how to deal with tags, not just individually but as a team. jones was tagged out of the game, but his team mates werent helping with the blocks, which should happen automatically. other options discussed above such as moving him forward or back should be used more often aswell...

sorry, i dont know how to do that. but everyones welcome to post their ideas at the bottom if they want...

what do you mean public?

we have been hopeless thus far, and i reckon if it was any other team there is no chance i'd tip them, but given we are playing freo in melb this week i just thought id get everyones opinions. are we a genuine chance or what?

probably indicates how much the draft penalties in 1999 and 2000 hurt us doesnt it? that hole in the list of mature players, at the peak of their games who should be leaders would be filled nicely by 17 year olds drafted in those years who would now be 25-28 years old...

i read that too this morning. i would like to here the opinions of some of the posters here who have both argued for and against baileys 'game plan'. it almost sounds as if jeff white was trying to quieten those critics down, but i couldnt imagine he was. it does seem to support what me and jaded have been saying, that the players seem unable to execute what should be a simple plan...

good to see his disposal average is up. i agree it does look like he is getting more of the footy. do you think those extra 5 touches have been valuable however, or perhaps easier kicks in the backline rather than trying to win his own ball in the midfield?

i think sylvia really needs to focus on doing the few things he does well. he is a good kick at goal. so when he takes a mark within 50 he needs to make sure of it. when running into goal, he needs to kick them from 50. if he throws himself in the contest and uses the ball when he gets it, i wont care if he only gets 15 touches, as long as he uses them all. at the moment i think he is floating a little. 15 touches but no real impact.

no you do make a good point, i am a bit despondent the way the season is going so far and perhaps am too quick to write him off. but i just cant see him coming in and making an immediate impact at afl that affects the course of a game. im not sure i can see him doing any better than the current crop are going. he will get a go at some point with neitz now on the LTI list and i wish him luck. but will his addition change our sides performances at all?

a long kick in the down the centre of the ground in the coridoor is a lower percentage option than kicking it short to a player on his own. we cant hit targets 15meters away. we struggled all day today with our disposal. why do you think its better to kick to a contest, a long way away, where if the ball spills to the opposition they are in the hot seat (50 metres out, directly infront, open forward line), than to try and maintain some possession? im not saying 15 m chip kicks is the way to go, but bomb it long and hope for the best, is not smart football. that the players appear to have lower skills than the D4 ammos is not the fault of the game plan. we have two distinct issues, gameplan and player skills/application. if the players could hit targets by hand and foot. take marks, sheppard and run according to the plan and we still got no where then yes i would blame the plan.

while i think he might get a run soon, do you truly believe that valenti, a rookie listed player, who has never played afl, only ever vfl will be so good that he changes our midfield? our defence isnt that bad, and stats suggest our forward line isnt that bad either (or wasnt today): based on scores from limited forward 50 entries. what we seem to struggle with is in the midfield and across half forward (60-70 out). we dont seem to a) have enough people running to make space and present or B) be able to hit targets when we do have players. ie handballs are sweeping and at feet. kicks are over heads. because most of the time a long kick in to a contest results in a spoil and then a turnover. a turnover usually results in an opposition shot at goal.

yep we have lost won. neitz won the first four then lost last week against juda$... at the time i thought it might be an omen.

you know you're a melbourne supporter when: your fantasy world onvolves the mfc see being competitive, and says nothing about them winning a flag

well make sure you realise that responses to an optional poll on an internet forum is NOT a random sample! i cant believe how many people i have to explain this too. lol RE 0% chance of winning a premiership. I think we could consider a 0% chance of winning if after all the draft concessions etc go to the two new sides, the afl decides in 2011 to go away with the salary cap and allow free agency. at that point we would have 0% chance of ever winning a premiership because we couldnt compete with the richer teams. i think i would support still, but my support may dwindle. i would most likely fade into non-existance as a football supporter, and rekindle the bond between me and my family and friends. and probably go to the beach more.