bing181

Speculation.

There are no givens in sport, and much of what happens is beyond anyone's control (e.g. injuries/luck, your opponent's injuries/luck). Acceptable or not doesn't come into it. If as a club we do everything we need to to get to the finals, and we still don't, then so be it. Though I still think many here are seriously underestimating the impact of our non-preseason. Not in terms of player match fitness (though that's certainly a factor), but in terms of team play. If training together as a team wasn't important, players could just train their fitness individually then meet up at the club before each match. What we're currently seeing is exactly what you'd expect for a team that has had limited time *together*.

What would be most welcome would be that structure and gameplay are (more) effectively executed.

Maintaining possession our biggest current issue. Too many turnovers, and as Goodwin said, not connecting forward of the ball. Almost impossible for the moment to string together chains of possessions the way we were doing last year. Rusty as.

Suspect that the FD realised that. You don't send all those players in for (elective) surgery, thus compromising the pre-season for the whole team, if you're in a premiership year. I get the feeling that they realised that we still have some developing to do, so took the chance to sort out any potential longer term injuries so that they wouldn't impact the seasons ahead - when hopefully we really are premiership contenders. Short term pain, long term gain?

Agree with much of what you say, but I don't know that it is. That "outnumbered 3 to 1" situation that we saw time and time again in the forward line should have left Melbourne players to swoop in and get the ball once it hit the deck - after all, it nearly always WAS being brought to ground. But we don't seem to have any small, running forwards to do the damage and finish off. For the moment.

Not a question of lack of effort - teams (in any domain) have to train and play together, and that's what we're missing. We're not a well-oiled machine at the moment, we're hardly even a machine.

I don't see anyone here question us being Top 4 material. But that's Top 4 at the end of the season, not at the beginning where many of our key players are just cranking up after a reduced/non-existent pre-season.

Can't see us winning this, still too early, too many players underdone, and most importantly, too little time spent playing/training together. Still think we're going to have a rough few weeks, could easily start the season 1-4. I could be wrong.

He has a name: Esava Ratugolea

You're confusing preseason with off-season. Full team didn't start training till Dec 3, but then 3 weeks later were off for a mandatory 3 week Xmas break. They then had around 6 weeks from mid January till the first of two JLT matches. No surprise to see most of the 2018 finalists underdone - and losing as a consequence.

No need for the quotes - and this is one of the reasons people suffer in silence, often until it's too late. Disgusting.

Not only does he know nothing about KK, but can't even be bothered spelling his name correctly. Which isn't just lazy and ill-informed, it's a form of othering of foreigners and people of non-anglo descent. (I'm being polite here ...)

Neither can he.

Good idea. If you're only following the club because you think we're a realistic premiership chance, then you're setting yourself up for a painful 6 months. Apart from anything else, you need a lot of luck to win a premiership, there are any number of variables that can't be controlled. Personally, I don't think we're going to be genuine contenders for another season at least, and I have to wonder with what's happened over the pre-season and all those operations whether or not the footy department doesn't feel the same way. Been plenty of "something we wanted to sort out so he doesn't have any troubles going forward" type remarks. This is about the next 5+ years, not a single game, or even a single season.

You cannot have 1/3 of your list, including a number of key players, in rehab for 3 months and expect to start playing like grand finalists in round 1. Firstly there are players who are underdone in terms of both fitness and match fitness. Secondly, the whole team suffers because they just haven't had the time together they need - a point which was noted in the pre-season reports in terms of the difficulties of training systems and structures with so many players unavailable. Going to be a rocky first month or two until the whole team gets up to speed and on the same page. Though lord forbid any further injuries.

Petracca had a (very) interrupted preseason with a knee arthroscopy, and didn't start full training till mid-January, after which he had to go back into rehab after a flair-up. https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-01-24/track-off-track-but-demons-hold-no-fears-for-star

Right then. With Viney so off the pace, we were effectively one down around the ball all day, and it went downhill from there. We look so rusty, at this rate it could take us the first 1/3 of the season just to get going.

Viney and Petracca not exactly making their presence felt. With May to come back, Frost would want to be stepping up.

Fine for me. Though could have done without the getting up at 3.30 am part.

Yes. I was agreeing. (apologies for that not being clearer ...)

Exactly.

Of course it wouldn't have mattered much. The damage was already done.

Or an informed effort by the medical/coaching team in place who assessed that leaving him on the ground wasn't going to add to the recovery time he would have needed in any case.

We can all obviously save ourselves a fortune on medical diagnosis etc., just run whatever ails you past the experts on Demonland.