Wylie

I’m hoping that the B Brown mid-season/pre-season story is true, as it helps explain the continued selection of Weideman and Brown’s absence from even being an emergency. If there is truth to that, then I’m definitely hoping to see B Brown in and confident he can provide a genuine target. Given Viney has the all clear, he comes in for Sparrow. That equals a strong team. While we are all hoping to see the Dees smash an opposition team, especially those lower on the ladder, I think the reason we haven’t is we actually play a higher risk/reward game style against the top teams. Basically, watching the Collingwood game, we were waiting for their errors, but not taking any risks with ball in hand. One of the commentators noted we were playing on from a mark 7% of the time, and the Pies 37%. We have found ourselves behind in plenty of games against teams outside the 8 because we don’t take as many risks with the ball and back ourselves in. Think about the incredible chains of handball against the Tigers - we saw nothing like that against the Pies. In many other games against bottom clubs our superior fitness and pressure has prevailed. Against the top teams though we look a different side, a genuine contender. This game is once again a test of the demons mindset, of our courage - the willingness to attack from the first bounce - not wait for mistakes. Every time a question has been asked we have been emphatic in our response. I’m completely mystified by what will happen Saturday, but I’m more confident than I was 15 mins into the game against the Pies. Go Dees!!

Salem in is huge. Melksham was a bit of a surprise, only because of his limited impact after a great first quarter and low % game time thereafter, which suggested an injury. My best guess is that he has recovered enough that selectors think we can get more than 1 good quarter. No tackles last week but 2 score assists (O’Brien only other player to have that many) sort of sums him up. Weideman stays in as B Brown NQR and M Brown as a last resort. I hope he can find some form. I’m also hoping that last week Melbourne were tapering in prep for tonight’s game, and that Burgess will have us ready to come out looking a different team. I’m worried that we’re actually tired and out of form and the Dogs will maul us. Just have to wait and see. Go Dees!

I hadn’t noticed that stat, but Crows were +55 uncontested. Against Richmond we were a massive +80. Again, the ability to apply pressure and work to stop easy marks had been a feature of our wins, and it’s absence a feature of our loss. While I think Dogs are clear favourites based on recent form, our system up until Saturday had been the match winner, not midfield depth or key forwards. I’m quietly confident the Dees will come out like we have against other top teams and make a game of it. If we don’t get it right though, Dogs will destroy us.

Looking at the stats during the game on Saturday, the Dees were going okay in most areas, but the big thing for me was Adelaide’s high disposal efficiency (75% to 70%), and the Dees high turnovers (78 to 70). Our pressure impacts opposition disposal efficiency. It wasn’t there on Sat. However, if we get it right, the Dogs will be properly tested. The Dogs started bombing long under sustained Richmond pressure and they lost composure. If pressure is high, and we don’t turn over the ball as much, I think we can win. Selection this week should be focussed on the ability to exert sustained pressure.

This is me thinking about the Dees at the dinner table.

Last week I liked Chandler in for Melksham given we had two tall forwards with less skill at ground level than Jackson. With Brown out and Jackson back, we effectively get a tall player who is very good when the ball is on the deck. Chandler has less value. Melksham’s marking ability comes back into play with Brown out and Jackson not being a stay at home forward. I also didn’t think Melksham’s form was terrible before he was dropped. Chandler was far worse. Sparrow is showing promise, but isn’t a forward. That’s about the only way I can see Melk back in. Brown has not looked particularly fit, whereas I thought the Weid covered the ground well and looked in good condition. Let BB know he’s not an automatic selection, might get the best out of him. We suddenly go from looking a bit tall and immobile to really flexible and better balanced. We still don’t have the mix quite right but in an amazing position to keep tweaking before the hard road begins.

I’m hoping that Melk being dropped might quieten those who seem convinced Goodwin favours his selection. TBH - I’ve defended the selection of Melksham but mainly in terms of not being our worst and that Goody is not Gody at selection. I neither love or hate him. What it does suggest to me is that one of his attributes - being an occasional marking target in F50 - is not needed with Weid in the team. Dees more than ever need genuine crumbers at the feet of BB and SW, which Chandler will provide. I like this decision as one of the concerns with Jackson out is we lose a tall who is a genuine gun below his knees. Chandler balances this a bit. I’m excited for tomorrow, wish I could be at the game. go Dees!!!

I don’t see a change this week unless someone has an injury that’s not on our official list. Watched the replay and Brayshaw was impressive in the first half, so I can forgive his very poor last quarter and hope that he can learn from his mistakes. People are still calling for Melksham to be dropped, but it won’t be for another tall like Weid. Regardless of any statistical similarities, they play completely different roles. Our team defence, and rebounding attack, relies on hard running and ability to create. Melksham plays this role, and he was clean on Saturday compared to many others, and is building form. Weideman just has to wait like Petty did before Tomlinson went down. Form is a bit patchy for some players, but you don’t change a winning formula unless you have to.

Just looking through responses it makes sense that special comments have value for televised commentary as ex-players can notice and explain what is happening in a (generally) interesting way. Even if their ego is off the charts (e.g Dermie), they actually do have insight into the game. I listen to and generally enjoy abc radio, but they have to describe what we can’t see. On the television, I guess it shows that there is a real art to calling the game while respecting the intelligence of the viewer. FWIW, Tim Lane and Denniss Commetti developed this skill, and others like Anthony Hudson are good because like Lane, come from the radio background. Bruce M had a few good years but became stats obsessed and every question became Rhetorical, but at least he had genuine passion and it wasn’t all about him. This I think is true of guys like Landy, Morphett and even Donegan - they seemed thrilled just to be able to call the greatest game on TV. The curse of modern footy journalists and callers is that the whole thing is a weird branding exercise and massive ego / status anxiety combination that makes a bunch of ‘blokes’ add extra eye liner and hair tints to get attention. But deep down they’re desperate not to lose relevance, which only leaves them end up on the Newman Express. If you’re reading this 7 - give us some humility, talent and passion, and tell the swinging [censored] they can powder their noses elsewhere. Over.

HM: ‘to put into context, it’s been so long since the Demons went 8-0 to start a season, Whinston Churchill, Michael Jackson and Courtney Love something, something, not born yet, not even dead.’ LD: ‘Even the way Kozi Pickett runs to the interchange bench, extraordinary’ HM: ‘player with ball has played football, XX games, born at Mercy hospital, mum was an elite netballer’ LD: ‘my powder blue jacket really brings out my eyes, impressive stuff’ HM: ‘I’m a grammarian, Et Tu Lingus?’ CL ‘Melbourne are good, but not as good as the team I led to 3 premierships.’ MR: ‘across every line I just can’t see a weakness for the Dees. Geez I wish I played on a team like this.’ CL: ‘You just can’t know what it feels like unless you’ve held it aloft’ MR: ‘I get to hold the Tigers premiership cups every Tuesday 8.30-9am’ CL: ‘like I said, you can’t know. I also own that pier in Geelong, great feeling you can’t know unless you own one’ HM: ‘Steely Dan recorded their first album 23 years after Melbourne’s last victorious season’ LD: ‘I’ve got better hair than Eddie, so impressive. Now I’m going to get excited about something. Jordan Jones!!’ ..... Seriously, while I’m loving the Sat Night exposure, it’s a terrible Seven combo. Richo and Lingy are fine, but Darcy and Mclachlan’

Our defence is so solid - never been so confident in our ability to shut out a game, and Swans goals required some creativity or above average finishing. If teams bomb it into our backline they won’t win. Clayton O has always been special but tonight was amazing, breaking tackles like Judd at his peak. Not sure what’s up with Brayshaw, this week and last he’s panicking or not clean. He’s getting in the right spots but it’s not working for him. Really happy to see Harmes back to his best and thankfully not kicking too much. His running and grunt was awesome. Sydney so impressive around the ball, well coached, good team. This is up there with the cats and tigers win. Go Dees!!

Fritsch back in the mix has changed my view to bring Weid back in automatically. I also thought Tmac could go back but watching Goodwins post match he very quickly raised Petty’s name (also noted Tmac’s good form). I thought Petty might also be injured but no mention on the injury list. The selectors chose to stick with Tmac and Fritsch against the Tigers. They have since brought in Brown. Do they want to continue changing the formula? If they want to tinker at the margins, then Petty comes in for Tomlinson and Tmac returns forward, with Weid out of the Team. Brayshaw wing and Sparrow replacing Baker. If they want to shake it up, Weid in as a forward and Tmac to wing, Petty back. Brayshaw miscellaneous role similar to Jordan. I know that pre-season this was trialled, but we are also 7-0 with Tmac as a forward. Will be fascinating to see what they do, but on precedent I’m looking at the former option (minor tinkering). wouldn't be surprised if one of our small forwards needs a rest and one of Chandler / Bedford come in. Or Jones replaced. Be back tomorrow night to change my opinion. W

Watching the second half against North I think Tmac deserves a shot in the backline. His kicking will never be perfect, but it has improved, particularly low hard passes. I like Petty, but physically, they are worlds apart. Tmac has a huge engine and is in great nick. Petty has been struggling with injury for pretty much two years and still doesn’t look 100%. I think give Petty more time in the twos until fully fit, or if Tmac is terrible. Fritsch out and Tmac in defense makes room for Weideman. With BBB and Weid replacing Fritsch and Tmac, we lose mobility, but I was impressed with BBB’s tackling in the forward half, and if Weid can get his defensive efforts up, we will be okay. The concern might be how banged up Spargo, ANB and Kozi are in terms of forward pressure. Baker wasn’t as bad as people on here seemed to make out, but Sparrow seems a better option to take on the defensive mid role, but also meet the Sydney contested ball winners head on. Jones is also getting more time at centre bounces where he is actually of value and also fills the Viney gap. His experience against the Swans will also be important. I’m not sold on Jonesy but he can have another crack at it. Harmes will come into consideration, but I reckon another run in the twos to get his kicking touch back is important as he is a liability when not kicking well - which requires not being fatigued. I guess that’s a long winded way of saying: Tommo, Fritsch and Baker out. Sparrow, Weid, Jones in (Baker sub).

Just thinking on Gawn today - he was physically worked over by the Tigers and Nankervis in particular last week. It’s always a bit surprising when he has a quiet day, but probably always a reason. What an effing treat it is to have a second year ruck be able to step up and take charge of the game. I’ve been happy with Taylor, but those three picks have put him in the top echelon of recruiters.

So far this season we’ve had a charmed run with injury / charmed run that our injured players haven’t impacted our performance. Today feels like we are no longer charmed, and on level pegging with the rest of the comp on the injury front. It’s amazing how quickly things can change and I’m actually really happy that we managed to show some ticker and get over the line in the second half. That would not have happened in seasons past. This is a reality check and in a way, a fantastic reminder to the group that there isn’t a team in the comp that we can relax against. Thankfully we have Petty to come in, or Tmac to go back and Weid to play forward. Our depth is now being tested with Viney out as well. The Richmond game felt like we had arrived, today’s game feels like despite being 7-0, we have plenty of work to do. AFL is as much a mental battle as it is physical, and we will undoubtedly have bad days and losses, when we least expect them. Right now though, a third of the way through the season, being on top of the ladder is an amazing effort. Start again next week and back in our system. Go Dees!

I had Melksham out first, just ahead of Jones, and only based on last week. However, on the season, Melksham has more runs on the board. On overall ability, as a forward: - melk is a very good mark on the lead and strong hands. Jonesy struggles with overhead / lead marking - melk is one of the better kicks to a leading player in the comp - Jones is okay if not under pressure, but I’m sure if you asked the forwards who they prefer it would be a unanimous vote. - melk is a proven goal kicker with many small bags to his name. Jones just doesn’t have natural goal sense - melk can run through the middle, but if I was selecting an on-baller I would take Jones as that is where he is a natural. But we’re not selecting an on-baller. The thing Jonesy does have over Melk is the level of absolute sacrifice for the club and teammates, whereas Melk plays like a forward, a bit selfish, doesn’t mind the odd cheap kick, and doesn’t always love the defensive side of things. So be it, he knows what’s expected. I also agree that Goodwin would not be dying in a ditch at selection to keep Melksham in the team. Yes, Goodwin brought him to the club, but Goody is one of many voices in the room, and right now the collective voices in the room are making all the right calls. I feel for Jones, but he won’t be writing himself off, it’s yet another challenge for him at MFC, probably one of the rarest he’s ever faced - the prospect of missing out on success. go Dees

Given that there are fewer rotations, and that our game plan relies on locking the ball in the forward half (for which we rank #1), we have be careful about balancing player capabilities. Part of the success of our forward line to date has been Jackson’s ability to compete in the air, but just as importantly win ground balls, and McDonald’s ability to run and run for 4 quarters (and take marks/be useful when the ball goes to ground). Brown and Weiderman are known for their marking and goal kicking, with Brown a useful forward line ruck. At the moment, due to this narrower skill set, I prefer not to have both in the side. They have the opportunity to work on ground ball/tackling/endurance in the twos. Given that McDonald and Jackson are utilities as much as forwards, I think we can bring in a Mark/goal forward without upsetting the balance too much. I noted with interest that when Weideman kicked 7 goals last week, Brown was seen all over the ground, popping up in the backline and ruck, as well as forward. As such, I would have Brown in not just because he is proven, but also because he has more strings to his bow around the ground than the Weid. We have the luxury of really giving Weideman time in the twos to really develop his game. I’m wondering if we don’t end up rotating Gawn, Jackson, Brown and McDonald around the ground, with TMac and Brown closer to goal. Brayshaw is going well on the wing, and I think Tmac stays predominantly as forward until Weid forces him out. If Brown comes in, the question as to who comes out is the interesting one. Low rotations make his a potential liability compared to runners like Jones and Melksham. All of the current roles fit nicely. However, given that Melksham only played 65% of game time suggests that taking him out of the side would not make a huge difference to our run. I’ll be comfortable bringing Brown in and dropping Melksham. If not Melksham, Jones would be next. Other than that, I would agree that if any of our younger players are really sore, one of them might have a week off as it’s a long season.

Spargo was matched up with Macintosh a lot last night - totally outsized and against a known running machine. Macintosh couldn’t take advantage. I think that speaks to the respect the coaching staff have for him, but also that after 3 full pre-seasons, he has the strength and endurance to start showing his full capabilities. He was both courageous and relentless, attributes that don’t show up on the stats sheet, but lift teammates and build a winning culture.