dazzledavey36

We were missing Langdon and Viney.

I said pre game that I question Brisbane mental capacity when it comes to big finals games. If we can get them on an MCG come September I'll be licking my lips. I question their leaderships ability to take hold of a game and swing it their way when going gets tough.

This is our coaching team drilling this kind of stuff into our players.

Funny you say that. When Sparrow initially fumbled I thought straight away Zorko's got him here.. nope, Sparrow had so much time in the world to pick up, gather and slot it through. Very poor and lazy leadership.

Official.

Mini Viney

Me too. This is why I think think the Weideman/Brown combo could still work. Let's just say if Brown was playing last Friday night, Andrews immediately goes to Brown leaving Weideman to the the 2nd and 3rd best defender. Weideman then gets off the lease and is able to impact further. Goodwin talks about forward cohesion and Weideman and Brown have played one game together at AFL level. Weideman, McDonald and Brown is a pretty strong forward set up.

This is a stab guess, but I think they really want to nail Boweys defensive game first. His offence is elite, but being able to defend first is something they'll be educating him first. This was something Rivers spoke about last week was the high importance in being able to defend first and the rest falls into place with the offensive side. Could be wrong though...

Mate, seriously? I'm not shouting about it at all about this topic. I have been measured in my response around my concerns with Weideman on the back of his performance this year. If I am not allowed to express that on here then I'll happy close my account for good. Read the response. All discussions have been good and well written out by everyone.

I never said it was about possessions? It's all good and well to says it's all about bringing the ball to ground, but at some stage he'll need to start impacting the scoreboard like good solid key forwards otherwise he'll find himself out of the team Ben Brown right now is a 60 goal per forward who's been able to do that for 3 years in a row. Brown may not be the player he once use to be. But as Montagna pointed out last night, for us to be a complete team then surely it's Ben Brown as first choice. Also I'm still intrigued about you saying we shouldn't be comparing him to the best young key forwards of the game in terms of impact, even though I mentioned those key forwards were in fact younger then Weids which is already a concern in itself considering he too was a high draft pick like them. But anyhow, what's the right comparison for him then? I named McKay and Hipwood as as two who were in the same draft but taken couple of picks later. I like Weid, I really do and want him to make it. I have been his biggest supporter even right through 2019 where he was simply disappointing. The first time I really questioned his ability and stay mentally in the game was at the end of last season when in the last 4 games of the year he kicked 1 single goal, had 7 marks in total and averaged 6 disposals for all 4 games. If he's playing a decoy role up forward in limiting the likes of Andrews, then so be it. Would be good if coaching staff could maybe clarify that? then at least it absolutely makes sense in his current role because then relieves expectation in a way. I had Weideman as an out this week. But the more I thought about it, the more I think they'll give him another chance. If he's role is to negate Darcy Moore then it'll be a good match up.

Yep. Playing the Neville Jetta lock down role and doing it just fine. You talk about sacrificing your game well Hibberd's done that this year. On form, he goes again next year.

He was a pick 9 in a draft that's now been seen as one of the quality drafts to be seen. Same draft as Hipwood and McKay mind you. Both those players are performing to the standard the should be now. The club has invested a lot with not much in return. I'll steal a quote about Sam Weideman that I stole from another Melbourne forum thay was discussed on First Crack last night. I don't know how much clear cut it's needs to be made out. He's simply not performing to the standard he should be. They had a stat on First Crack last night. Weid has never scored average or above ranking points for his position relative to his age. But more to the point, as a 24 year old KPF, this year his ranking points average is almost 60% worse than the average for his position.

Well said. This is his 6th year at AFL level. I'm watching the likes Ben King, Aaron Naughton, Oscar Allen and Harry McKay speed right past him in terms of talent and impact of games. Not only that, the first 3 players I named are at least 2-3 years younger then Sam. McKay came from the same draft as Weideman and he'll go close to winning the Coleman this year. I've been a supporter of Sam, but excuses are running out for him. We have a 60 goal a year key forward who's ready to go and right now if it was up to me he'd be playing right now.

I watched Collingwood on the weekend. They played a completely different brand and took the game on much quicker through the corridor. The same way Adelaide beat us. This game isn't a walk in the park. No game is. Bring that game style again on the weekend and Collingwood are a chance.

Me too please.

Surprised no one has mentioned Michael Hibberd's game on Charlie Cameron. I know he kicked 2 goals but he was completely shut out of the game and never looked like he he was going to threaten. Well done Hibbo.

Yes 100%

Great post mate, hit the nail on the head.

I too think this is by far the best Melbourne team I've ever seen. Our forward line is already a strength, but it's certainly got room to go up a level. Get that right and it's the complete package.

95 we missed finals. I thought about adding 1994, but I didn't see any games then as I was living in another country. I started supporting in 1998 so I just started from there.

Was having this conversation with the old man yesterday and we were discussing the best Melbourne teams for the last 20 years in competing for the flag. I started supporting the dees back in 1998 and to this day think that year was the missed opportunity of a flag. More so then 2000 even though we played off in the grand final. In 1998 we had a great blend of experience and youth and our forward line imo was the best in the business. We had Lyon, Ox, Farmer, Neitz and Robertson who were incredibly hard to stop in the back end of 98. Our backline was solid enough with Shanahan and Ingerson. We had a champion ruckman in Jim Stynes who was happy playing second fiddle to a young Jeff White. Todd Viney was our elder statesman in the midfield surrounding by youth once again. Unfortunately the finals campaign back then really [censored] us over. We thumped Adelaide in the first week in the final and they go on to win the flag.. In 2000 we were a young team who copped a much fierce and combative Essendon, and looking back they completely bullied us. We weren't built with tough nuts except Ox and Neitz who would play the flag, but other then that it dropped right off. We had a great forward line, and our midfield was build on run and carry instead of contested. Our backline was still sound, but a bit like 2018 we leaked goals far too easily. I honestly thought after that year we were in for sustain success with the likes of Bruce, Green, Wheatland, Whelan and Powell who all came in and contributed straight away. 2018 was a bit like 2000. We timed our run perfectly towards the back end of the year but exposed once again for our immaturity and leaky defence. We looked amazing attacking teams and playing on our terms, but again lapse in games cost us (Geelong and St Kilda come to mind). Looking back, going I to the prelim with Oscar McDonald and Sam Frost alongside Joel Smith as your main pillars in defence was a recipe for disaster. Hence why we immediately targeted Steven May. Our forward line was pretty potent with Hogan and McDonald and our midfield was certainly right up as one of the best in the comp when on song, but it lacked maturity. Which brings me to 2021. I'm taking into account that we are only half way through the season and a lot can happen still. But stats will point us to being a serious flag contender. Our midfield and defence have been the absolute key pillars for me in being in the position that we find ourselves and I think come down to the team buy I defensive mindset and mantra. It's honestly the best defensive structure and backline I've ever seen in my time supporting the dees and certainly the most potent midfield as well. We are still tinkering with how our forward line looks, and I think that's probably what's been the biggest positive for me, is that we've won games where our forward line hasn't really hit its straps as we liked. For me our best forward structure is when Ben Brown is in there.

He took 1 contested mark for the night?

No because May can play on a small like Elliot or DeGoey.

Sheesh.. Far worse [censored] going in the world then worrying about a couple of giant cardboard heads at a football game.

Pot kettle black here. Maybe ring Mark Williams and Greg Stafford and offer your expertise. Save yourself the embarrassment tiger.