layzie

Should be a good show, have fun!

Well, what a day at the G yesterday! Went into this game more hopeful than confident. Went to the Tippler and Co for a nice lunch then off to the G for the action. Got there in time to see some of the Freeze festivities, I’ve never seen so many blue beanies, so proud of everyone that took part both Melb and Coll fans. In those first 10 minutes there was a sense of foreboding as Collingwood were skinning us on the outside and getting some brilliant overlap runs. It’s not just their ability to run all day with speed but the way they time their runs into space, I turned to my mate and said that it was like their team is full of track sprinters and have excellent reaction time to the gun. It looked great and I didn’t feel we had much of an answer as they got 3 goals ahead. However from that point on, the emphasis was on the inside and winning enough contested ball. The Carlton and Essendon game the night before was shaped similar and the Blues needed to keep things in close and not let Essendon get the uncontested marking game going, they obviously failed miserably. But the difference between them and us is that we are a better side that has the capability to execute a plan like this. We led clearances and contested footy for most of the day and this denied the Pies a chance to get their inside to outside game going enough. We also defended the corridor very well and kept play out to the wings unless it was extremely necessary, the influence of both Langdon and Hunter were crucial in this area. I felt that accuracy in front of goal was going to be our best shot at winning, if you told me that we would kick 18 behinds and essentially give Nick Daicos that many chances to create something that I’d have assumed that we lost, which actually makes this win even more impressive. We defended brilliantly all over the park. Clogging up the spaces and setting our structure up quicker than any team has been able to this year against Collingwood. It won’t win as much of the plaudits like great goalkicking or intense tackling pressure does but I’m so glad see us pressing higher again and forcing those dump kicks out of our 50. For so long it’s been Collingwood running and gunning, hitting teams on the break and piling their scoring on late. In this game I felt we physically intimidated the Pies a bit not just in the contest but by making them earn their possessions and getting in their face. The moment where McVee won there 50-50 which led to the brilliant bump from Hunter on Hoskin-Elliott typified this, had Grundy nailed the set shot it would have brought the house down, I had feelings of Neitz on McCabe or Whelan on Hird in that moment. We were not going to be hunted yesterday, we were the hunters (delicious pun). Looking on the Matter of Stats site last week it looked like both teams were highly ranked for quarter by quarter performance in 2023 except for 3rd quarters where we were ranked 8th and Collingwood 12th, I felt this was going to be a big one to perform in. We were inaccurate in front of goal, yes it is becoming a bit of a worry but I think the break will do us the world of good in this area. It gets said often that if you don’t take your chances you lose games and bad kicking is bad football but I said on here last night that if you’ve been dominating the balance of play and missing a lot of chances but still manage to pull out the win than that is actually a really impressive thing too. Especially against a side like Collingwood that can put you to the sword. I’m still sitting here marvelling at the fact that we hung on in this one and didn’t just become another one of those many teams that Collingwood have managed to mow down late because it was all setup for them to do that. I believe that makes this win even more impressive, we slayed the dragon and you need to be a good, disciplined side to do that. We needed a big one from Jack Viney and we got it, he did the work of at least 1.5 guys in the middle. Christian Salem showed just why we missed him so much, 10 marks and most of these intercept marks, hitting those targets as usual. The occasion was a big one for Brodie Grundy and I thought he handled it very well. It’s never easy playing against a club that moved you on but I thought he put on a good performance around the ground with some great hitouts to advantage, the set shot that he did kick was crucial as well. Trent Rivers continued his purple patch of form, making good decision and putting his body on the line. And this praise deserves it’s own paragraph. Our backline was simply outstanding yesterday. To hold a team who is averaging around 90 points a game to 62 points (their lowest for the season) I think you have to give them a lot of credit. Steven May is back, his last 3 games have been exceptional. I’m seeing some people here suggest that this could have been Adam Tomlinson’s best game for the club and I don’t think that is too far wide of the mark. Judd McVee going from strength to strength and Michael Hibberd as solid as ever. The score really did flatter the Pies in the end, don’t let your Collingwood friends rib you saying it was only 4 points, don’t let them use injuries as an excuse – Steele + De Goey vs Oliver + Petty is a wash as far as I’m concerned. This was just a pure good win with excellent coaching and a reminder to the competition that they are gettable and it’s a marathon not a sprint. Lets go into the bye and have a good rest, it’s not even 2 x weeks and before we know it we’ll be down in cesspool city on a Thurs night, Go Dees!

I get that he's not always perfect with 1 V 1 defending but I feel his mistakes do get scrutinised a bit much. For every error there's usually 2 or 3 amazing acts that prevent a goal or start a play for us.

The blueprint has been there for a while but executing it is another thing. The wingers did a brilliant job of holding the width and our mids towelled them up in contested ball all day which didn't allow the Pies to get their 'inside to outside' game going. They're a hard side to play against and they're gonna win a lot more than they lose.

Congrats to City, I can't/don't want to say anything else about it but the Treble is a massive achievement. Bring on the Summer transfer market.

I don't know either, but you can't take that guy anywhere.

22 pressure acts sounds like he did a job. The goals will come.

Had no idea they used something like that but it would make sense. A lot of set shots looked like they were kicking a flat footy and either raked across left or sprayed right. If the ball drop out of the hand was unexpected and a split second early or late than yeah the whole routine could get carked up.

Would Mitch Lewis be gettable? I reckon he'd be a nice fit.

Time in forward half is the key one for me.

Exactly, the most accurate sides can still have horrible days in front of the sticks. The important part is to not beat ourselves up about it and keep honing that technique.

Cheers mate, it's actually tomorrow but the KB game usually plays a big part in whether it's a good one or not being the same week!

Me too and I now want one.

There's nothing they can say at Victoria Park right now to make themselves feel better.

He must listen to the podcast!

I thought JVR did his job really well. How often were we able to get the ball to ground instead of Moore killing it and getting it out of there every two seconds. Good job young grasshopper.

Except tackles.

Finally a birthday not ruined by yesterday's game.

We're in the mix

6. Viney 5. May 4. Salem 3. Petracca 2. Fritsch 1. Hunter

Tell him to get stuffed

I kind of feel like when you've been that inaccurate in front of goal and you mange to pull out the win, especially against a side like Collingwood who make their living out of capitalising on inaccurate performances, you deserve a lot of credit.

We did pretty well today I thought, don't chase the perfect game at this point. We passed our test, the season is alive. Have a good week Demonland!

Goodwin out-coached Mcrae today

Thay Judd Mcvee is quite a player