Deedubs

18 minutes ago, A F said:

I thought our intensity was off in the first 5-10 minutes of the game, otherwise it was pretty good. But each to their own.

Yeah, the first 5-10 we were off but we picked it up for the 2nd half of the quarter. 

Our forward zone that we set up after a behind wasn't working though. They got through it every time with ease.

54 minutes ago, rjay said:

It depends what role they have...and what the expectations are.

Both cover a lot of ground and whilst not tackling machines create problems by blocking outlets up the ground.

Their contest in marking or bringing the ball to ground is also critical for us to hit the scoreboard...

if excuses are offered up for these 2 then the same can be excused for Mitch Brown. I'm confident that Mitch Brown would average more goals per game than Weideman and T.Mcdonald.

4 minutes ago, Pates said:

Because May is an effing legend and is keeping the boys on the straight and narrow. He also basically said we take the wins and get on with the next job. I don’t take any win for granted whether it’s a 1pt win or a 100pt win, and May knows that things can turn quickly if we’re not switched on. 

He also knows we’re capable of better, so he expects better of them. 

Remember the feeling of losing by 70+ points and thinking the other team barely tried? Well the Eagles get to feel that, and that makes me happy. 

Lol. that's exactly what I'm saying. 2 sets of standards. But I'll take what your saying as I'm an effing legend too.  Cheers! 

I expected 1-2. not surprised with 2.

15 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Mitch Brown doesn’t get games because he’s inconsistent at the contest and poor defensively. He’s a backup in case of emergency or if needed for a specific role. Even though Weid isn’t quite consistent at VFL level his contested work is stronger, hence why he’s preferred.

Young players will be considered and picked when they demonstrate consistent AFL like efforts not just 1 flashy game. Bedford is now a consistent performer. As is Chandler. They chase, tackle and win the ball. Hence they are next in line. 

JVR played close to a complete game vs North, if he starts to do that regularly against decent opponents he’ll put his name up. Laurie was barely a factor in the game until the last quarter, it wasn’t the kind of performance coaches would be impressed by. 

I hear what you're saying but Ben Brown and Tom Mcdonald are horrific defensively. Mitch Brown is a far better player than Weideman who has had a lot more chances. I haven't seen what you've seen of Mitch Brown but the last time Mitch Brown played AFL he played a very serviceable game. 

7 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Bowey was best on ground in his first VFL practice match and performed well for most of the VFL season. They gave him things to work on and he ticked them off. 

The current crop of youngsters have played 1 good game against absolutely hopeless opposition. It’s unlikely they’ve suddenly ticked off all the things they need to do to play well at VFL week in week out, yet alone prepared for AFL. They all need to show consistently good VFL form, otherwise a debut is a waste of time.

 I don't think that there's a pre-requisite to getting into the 1's. Otherwise Mitch Brown would've been in the seniors a long time ago. Mitch Brown should've been given a go a long time before Weideman. And probably before Tom Mcdonald when he was out of form. He is extremely mobile and is a great shot for goal. I think him and Fritsch would've been really dangerous together. 

Nonetheless, I don't think consistent VFL performances really count for all that much. 

54 minutes ago, Pates said:

I don’t know what to think when I’m hearing fans of a team that watched us go through seasons of winning 2 games for the entire year complain about a 74 win that was just about stitched up by quarter time. 

Could we have played better? Absolutely. But I actually do buy the theory that our club ethos right now is do what we need but don’t over exert. I laugh about the fact that this time last season there were complaints that we weren’t putting teams to the sword. Now we do but it’s not enough?

Far out we are spoilt right now. We know the level these guys can go to, I trust the coach and the players to bring it when required. 

By the way, TMac getting a little bit better touch is only a good thing. I actually like the fact our forward line gets a spread of goal kickers rather than one guy getting bags of 5-7 and the others bobbing up for one or two. 

So why would May say that wins feel like losses? Because this is definitely how I've felted after scraping over the line against some pretty average teams. 

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/melbourne-demons/afl-news-2022-melbourne-def-st-kilda-steven-may-interview-undefeated-streak-fixture-how-good-are-they/news-story/15b4697e3786c5800a00a1ee995553a5

12 minutes ago, Deeko2 said:

It wasn't his best game but you need to give him a bit of slack.  He does takes the oppositions best defender every week and Tom Barrass is a very good defender.  Then, he had to deal with a mutliple time All-Australian CHB and one of the best interceptors in the game getting in his way.

There's a bit of difference losing some one on one contests there over JVR playing against Marty Hore in the twos.

Oh, I'm not saying Ben Brown deserves to be dropped or the JVR. You've taken what I've said out of context. I'd just like to use this very  rare opportunity to blood a kid. Otherwise it likely won't be until 2023.

21 minutes ago, picket fence said:

If I was a one legged prawn in a flock of hungry seagulls, I would have more chance of surviving than Ben Brown getting dropped! Just will not and should not happen!

lol lets not exaggerate. He was very close to getting dropped a few weeks ago when the Brown vs TMac vs Weideman started to circulate. 

He kicked 2 on the weekend and 6 possessions against very very weak opposition. 

Preuss is playing like such a beast at the moment. If we knew Jackson was leaving we would've held onto Preuss. But if we were to lose Jackson I'd rather lose him now than in 2-3 years time. Getting some key position talent for life after May and Ben Brown/Mcdonald etc. would be much needed. 

Van Rooyen looks a 2nd tall to me. 

11 minutes ago, FlashInThePan said:

Our game plan is built on contest and full team defence. We never take our foot off the gas when it come to pressure acts, restricting opposition ball movement, harassing and positional structure. Over a year and a half we have built THE MOST consistent team defence that the AFL has seen in a very long time, perhaps the best ever. We have super high standards and the cattle in the reserves to enforce that no-one on our team drops their head or compromises on our 'non-negotiables'.

We are not a media driven organisation, we are a performance driven one. We don't play for a headline or for BT to wax lyrical about our scoring power. We play to win games and ultimately finals and despite your whining we are actually very damn good at it. How much we win by is not a metric that we seem to care that much about. How we play our brand is one we absolutely care about. We push hard on that because that is what wins finals: ruthless, hard nosed, brutal contest and defence. Big scoring is cream on the pie, we score more than the opposition and that is enough. We have the tools to turn it on in attack but we do it the Melbourne way. We attack into areas that minimise our exposure us on rebound. If you are expecting us to do anything different you haven't been paying attention for the last year or two.

Thanks for your reply. And thanks for actually having a discussion which is what I thought this forum was for instead of people just slamming my opinion.

I agree in that our defence seems to never take the foot off the gas. Our structures seem to hold up for most of the game and when we leak it's usually for no more than a 20 min period.  I'm aware that our strength is in defence with May, Petty, Lever as well as Bowey and soon to be Salem but I feel like a lot of pressure has been on them this season. I think this is because our efficiency going forward has been way off so instead of an easy mark to a leading forward like Fritsch who would then take 30 seconds and have a shot for goal, it gets rebounded and we have to rely on individual brilliance instead of team defence. In my hypothetical, if Fritsch misses, we can set up our zone (which was non existent yesterday but that's not my point) and make it a forward half game.  So I think the forward half efficiency is crucial. 

You mention that it's not the margin that is the metric that we care about but instead how we play our brand and that's exactly how I am. How we play. My thoughts echo Steven May's thoughts: https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/melbourne-demons/afl-news-2022-melbourne-def-st-kilda-steven-may-interview-undefeated-streak-fixture-how-good-are-they/news-story/15b4697e3786c5800a00a1ee995553a5

So people who are telling me to 'get a grip' can also tell Steven May to get a grip. I'd like to think Steven May has a pretty good grasp on things and the way we are going. He wouldn't be content with how we're playing and either should demonlanders. 

the McGovern elbow into Viney was so extremely light, nothing will happen. It wasn't anywhere near as forceful as Viney's elbow in the past. 

I feel like Chandler will cop a suspension. I don't particularly agree with or like the decision. I wished the afl would start suspending guys that stage for frees but that's the story for another day. Guys like Hawkins, Weightman etc.

Ironically, if Chandler had of turned the tackler after he'd already hit his head he'd probably get off because it would look like an attempt to protect the head. I reckon he could get 1 or even 2. Which I don't agree with. Not for accidents.

When Salem comes back, I still want Brayshaw playing in defence. Hunt can go. Hunt is much improved but Brayshaw is playing so well in defence.

I still have faint hopes that Hibberd can come in and be the small forward blanket which is what will be extra important against Brisbane who have the best small forwards in the league. 

What I'd like to see: 

Out: Harmes, Ben Brown
In: Laurie, Van Rooyen

Just to breath a bit of youth into a game we'll win anyway.

What will happen:

Out: Harmes
In:  Dunstan

35 minutes ago, Sydney_Demon said:

Hello Deedubs, and thanks for returning to your old form. In case you hadn't noticed last night, West Coast's sole aim was to stop us scoring, as largely was St Klada's the week before and Port's earlier in the year. In turned out brilliantly for all those sides, didn't it. I've got better things to do with my time than go back and look at all your old posts (I don't need that much negativity in my life), but I'm just assuming after we beat Western Bulldogs in Round 1 you were disappointed because we didn't beat them by a larger margin than we did in last year's Grand Final.

I'm not quite sure what your expectations are but we've won 9 from 9, have a percentage of 159% (which would be 179% if we'd kicked half-straight), are a game and 8% clear of the next best team (and 2 games & 20% ahead of the 3rd team), are playing North next week (who have already played Brisbane & Fremantle). Our game is based on all-team defence. We have the best defensive record, yet have the 4th best record in attack. Fremantle have a similarly miserly defence, yet have scored 100 points less than Melbourne. After North we have 4 games at the MCG including games against Brisbane, Fremantle & Sydney (also Collingwood). We will be deserved favourites in all those games, Yes, we have some tough games to come but, rest assured, all those teams will be more afraid of Melbourne than we are of them.

You call them WCE, it was a vfl reserves standard team on paper with their outs. So I don't care what strategies they put in place or how they played to slow down our scoring. It's irrelevant. 

The round 1 game you reference was probably our best game for the season. 

2 hours ago, JimmyGadson said:

I've said it before but if Luke Jackson leaves, it could work out better for us long term given the ridiculous offer we'll receive for him. 

Obviously the club will be considering all of these possibilities as well.

He's a future star ruckman. But if we were to receive two top 10 picks with one inside the top 5 you'd have to seriously consider it given Taylor and co's history at the draft. 

We're also in this for sustained success over a period rather than being a flash in the pan great team so you've got to give up to get back. 

If we lost Brayshaw and Jackson in the next little period, it'd be scary to think what our draft haul could be over the next couple of seasons and that'd be another young core/crop that will grow and be the nucleus of the next wave once our current core push into their late 20's.

Always looking ahead, but still in awe of our current side. Eyes on finishing top two for the perfect platform for another crack at it. 

 

The problem with this Jimmy is that we won't get those picks. If he nominates Freo, they can only gives us their current 1st rounder and next years first. So that's like Pick 15 and Pick 16 next year. We wouldn't be getting great picks if he nominates Freo. 

If he nominates WCE, we'd get their pick 1 (or 2) and probably a late first or early 2nd next season. He's out of contract. We have no leverage. 

1 hour ago, djr said:

Of your 94 posts have you ever said anything positive. I would hate to think what you would have written 10 years ago. Then again you might have enjoyed that time more than now. Our game plan does not rely on perfection, its all about defense and strangulation of the opposition. We react to what the opposition bring to the table every week. WC were very physical and very defensive. They showed a lot of heart in those middle quarters. Your views are very old school. Relax and enjoy the ride.

I call it as a I see it. The supporters that say 'Oh we played in 2nd gear and still won' or 'we just toy with the opposition and go bang when we need' are illogical views and a strange stance to take. Do you think playing in 2nd gear is by design? Of course not. Keeping in mind that we played a WCE with half their team out and 22 players out in total. A team that Casey would've beaten by 10 goals. Eventually, the 2nd gear is our only gear if it's the only thing we know how to do. 

So at quarter time, Goodwin says 'alright guys, solid first quarter now take the foot off the gas'? Laughable logic. Then at half time just after we've kicked 1 goal in 30 mins and get outplayed for the majority of the quarter Goodwin and every other full time coaching staff gets the players in together and say 'no worries guys, another 30 mins of that will be fine. They're the standards that we're trying to set at the MFC. No need to be ruthless. No need for %. Let's just continue to make Connor West look like a 3 time Brownlow medalist. Let's just continue to give them the easy 45 kick from kick-ins and to exit our defensive zone with ease. Let's not hit the top of the goal square to a 1 on 1 when going inside 50m. Let's go to the pockets to a 50/50 or even better turn it over'. 

If the full time coaching staff aren't saying these things, which they clearly wouldn't be, then it's on the players. A trend has now become a habit and it's justifiably concerning that we go a full half against a VFL reserves standard opposition and kick only 3 goals. The first and last quarter should be the minimum standard for all quarters. 

'Old school views' are the views where people just look at the margin and that's the only analysis they possess. Some junk time goals in the last doesn't help fix our inability to score or to put the foot on the throat. Most of the commentators were all saying the same thing, as well as pretty much all official match reports. You can't analyse the match without talking about a full hour of football where a vfl reserves team restricted us to 3 goals in a half. 

I'm critical because I recognise that our tough games haven't even started yet and we haven't played a team in the top 5 yet. It would be nice if people actually analysed the game instead of being like '74 points, light work. Next'. It's these supporters that are absolutely gob smacked when we get smacked by 50 points one week to a bottom 8 team. 

But if you want positive, it was good to see Pickett hit some form and get through the game with no major injuries. 

 

1 hour ago, Kick_It_To_Pickett said:

Anyone else reckon Jake Lever is horribly out of form? He misread the high balls, constantly out bodied, drops marks and his kicking is poor. What’s happened? Seems to be ever since he had the Rona. 

Yep. Had a horrific turnover in the first minute of the match too.

39 minutes ago, one_demon said:

We're the reigning premier and the only unbeaten side in the competition?  Are people really dissatisfied?

I guess I just realise how hard our fixture is coming up:

Brisbane Twice, Fremantle Twice, Geelong in Geelong, Sydney,  Carlton , Bulldogs. 

We need to start showing our offensive side because we're not playing well enough at the moment. So many errors by foot and dumb decisions going forward. 

1 hour ago, bobby1554 said:

Hopeless? Really? Was it hopeless 7 days ago? A better choice of word may have been “unusual”

It's been hopeless all season. hopeless against Gold Coast, Essendon, Hawthorn, Port and now WCE.  That's the majority of games. Against Port we should've won by 100, instead we lost the 2nd half. somehow 

This is a perfect example of how a trend of not getting out of 2nd gear has now become a habit where we now can't kick goals. 

It's concerning. The skill level forward of centre was hopeless.

Petracca is going nowhere near my top 6. So many kicking errors and confirmed as one of the worst shots on goal in the AFL. 9.16 for the season now.  1 of his goals gifted to him by the umps too. 

6. Pickett 
5. Viney
4. May
3. Brayshaw
2. Langdon
1. Tom Mcdonald

This is terrible football. There goes our only chance of the season to belt a team and enjoy great percentage. bloody hopeless

We say all the right things when interviewed like 'we respect the opposition' etc. and then we have a VFL reserves quality team smack us for a quarter and a half.

4 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

Any risk we can play?

No. we don't know how to kick goals because we don't know how to play offensive football.