Mad_Melbourne

Yeh, but Gold Coast were considered a top 8 side and we beat them? With a devloping team we will be up and down, I still think we can be extremely competitive against Adelaide and what is the point of being depressed before the game starts.

If you look at our two games as 8 quarters and put that into 6 good quarters and 2 horrible quarters, it makes it all alot more manageable. if we can play 3/4 of the year as good football and 1/4 of the year as poor football then the season will have been a vast improvement from last year.

Will be interesting to see how Melbourne are able to play against the full ground press that Adelaide are using. Despite suring up our disposal from the backline with the addition of Salem and even Howe (although that was done last year) I think our biggest challenge will be working it out of our backline and preventing the repeat entries which produce large scores for Adelaide. There was an interesting conversation about how Buckley wanted to get the ball out of his defensive 50 long and wide to numbers hoping to force a stoppage against Adelaide, I think this is definitely the best option when rushed to make the decision, but would really like to see Melbourne look to take the ball out the back of contests in defense, use the handball and the swithc of play in order to maintain posession and take advantage of the out number. The biggest problem that we will face with this is the manic pressure that Adelaide have been putting on the ball carrier. Who will go to Danger in our defensive 50 seeing as Grimes did so capably against him last time, probably Garland but he would definitely be slower. Hope its an interesting contest.

It is an interesting concept, I was sure that the development coaches went to games with the 1st-3rd year players and I think it is pretty important for player development to be able to watch the best players, how they move, how many contests they get too, player positioning and even rotations. That being said, nowdays with all the technology and cameras at the game I would think that the coaching staff would be able to create a package from all 9 games with similar comparisons for the players to watch and learn from. At the end of the day if you want to get better you need to understand what the best do, but all the footage in the world doesnt translate into a player being able to develop the workrate or skillset that is present in the best palyers.

Anyway, I dont follow your posts and see where you post in order to check out your opinion I only stumbled upon it earlier in the week and to be honest you should stop making a fool of yourself.

Nail on the head

You made a statement about how Tom McDonald would not be able to maintain his style of play whilst playing on Jeremy Cameron as he would get "destroyed" and also made claims of his best match up being Rhys Palmer. But as I was explaining to you earlier, he would have been encouraged to take the game on and continue to provide an offensive output whilst playing on Cameron and did so successfully. To be fair player bias has nothing to do with football knowledge, but good by you, clearly related to the statements made about Tom McDonald and the matchups/style of play for this weekend.

Did you hear Paul Roos press conference in which he said that he encourages Tmac to play both way football. Not only that but I think is clear from the weekend that your alleged knowledge on football is questionable and your grasp on the current state of football is poor. That said, keep on keeping on fella. Eventually even a blind player throwing darts can hit the board

Yeh I see where you are coming from, I just think Viney won't be exposed by the height difference due to Griffin not being strong over head. That said Cross will make someone earn every touch they have, although I think he is noticeably slower from last season already. Cross intrigues me as a player, someone who must do everything incredibly well considering he has been on lists for nearly 15 years and has quite poor foot skills

I'm hoping they send Viney again, cross could be far too slow for Griffin on the outside

Griffin needs to be tagged, and the rest can just play accountable football. Their midfield has a good mix of inside and outside, which ours has massively improved on, but we still need a little bit more polish. We have a better back line and forward line in my opinion and if we can break even through the midfield we will win. Simple

Obviously if McDonald goes to Mcarthy then Dunn will play on Cameron. McDonald and Dunn will take key posts and usually Dunn will go to the biggest forward McDonald will play on the next one. Yes, the defensive forward would not go to him specifically for those reasons. It would be a waste for Rhys Palmer to play on him in terms of a GWS point of view. Over rating in a sense that thinking our defenders wouldn't back themselves to run off their opponents. As soon as we get the football they would try to become an option. If the ball is in their area they would try to intercept it.

I just think you are over rating Cameron and disregarding the role defenders play. Nowadays even key position defenders are not the 4 touch players they once were (apart from Zac Dawson). McDonald will play key position, if it's Cameron or McCarthy. He will not cop the defensive forward as it would be useless

The lol, was because the match ups just don't seam feasible. Tom McDonald will play on Cameron or Mcarthy and he will continue to run off them and try to effect as many contests as possible. Cameron will have to play accountable football as well and it's only a major issue if the ball is turned over, if we are able to maintain possession out of our defensive 50 then it's useless. Why would he not be leading the rebound 50s, sure he has to respect him but he can still take intercept marks and look to use his run when he has the football. I think your point is completely ridiculous. Why would he not play his style of football because he is changing his opponent, he would be encouraged by coaching staff to play in the same manner

no, thank goodness. He is the player that i would be most worried about. McCarthy is still young so not too much expectation, will be a good footballer but they would not be expecting 40 goals out of him this year!

i agree, but it does also come with multiple matches with team mates under high intensity situations and leadership on the ground, which it definitely looks like we are starting to get. the good thing about decision making is that it can be taught through repition and T-Mac has hopefully shown the signs of much improved decision making, getting rid of it much earlier rather than running himself into trouble

Only problem with the area is the far to abundant essendon supporters, after the not guilty verdict they have come out from under their rocks which is really annoying.

Lol, no. McDonald will play on Cameron. Rhys Palmer could well go to Jeremy Howe in the defensive forward role. Christian Salem will play in our backline. Frost will spend most of the time forward of the ball and then in the ruck. Garland will probably play on McCarthy and Dunn on Tomlinson although could go the other way. Looking at their forward line I am alot less worried about them kicking a winning score against us, just have to stop the midfield/smaller types kicking goals because that will be our biggest problem.

What a great location, should go watch Abers at home. You get some ripper ribs and they play some high quality football

Kicks the ball pretty well technically, some people just don't have it in them to be 70m darts. It's more about decision making and that comes with practice.

Hawthorn vs Geelong today had 73,000. Thats the simple reason why those teams that draw higher will play Geelong at the G rather than skilled

Wreckers: Categories: 3rd in marks 3rd in FD 4th in tackles How the draft panned out: The Wreckers have gone for midfield strength, grabbing 5 pure midfielders with the first 5 picks and after that just filling positions. Whilst I said JCB could well have the best midfield wreckers has 5 with an actual ranking under 40 which is exceptional from the draft, but it does mean he is a little stretched in other positions, backline and ruck especially. Draft Steal: Brent Stanton, now that the drug saga is over Stanton having slid down to 77 is a draft steal as he could well be in the top 15-20 ultimate footy category players this year. Finish: The midfield in this team will set some good totals in terms of disposals but his problem he will face is the defenders and forwards he have to not tend to find the football too much, Kreuzer and Seedsman who are injured at the moment could well be pivotal in Wreckers chase of back to back grand finals. How will you find Wreckers at the footy? He will be the person who is defending Jack Grimes and stating that there is clearly no replacement for him and that he must play 22 games. 7-UP: Categories: 1st in % 1st in HB How the draft panned out: Spread his early picks out grabbing mids but then also a forward and a back in his top 5 picks. But later in the draft going with the best pick available method he has ended up with a whole heap of forwards. He has two number 1 ruck men but his problem lies in midfield depth. Angus Brayshaw may well come in and play 12 odd games but an injury or two will send him to the waiver list. Draft Steal: Whilst it is not a steal it could turn into an inspired pick and that is Aaron Black with his last pick. North Melbourne have a huge wrap on this forward and with the addition of Waite he could well thrive in that 3rd forward position and has a lot of similar attributes to Gunston. Black could become the most improved player in the league this year due to less pressure and a midfield on the rise. Finish: Without injuries this side could push for the top 4, the lack of depth in the midfield is the only issue and if there are some suspensions or injuries he may be fighting for the spots in the bottom 8. Although a fit and healthy list is important for all teams, I think his best 10-12 puts him into the top 4 but the depth players (if needed) make it harder for him. How will you find Marc 7-UPat the footy? The bloke who is rolling off the stats the Brayshaw has had for Casey in the past few weeks or half time of the match that is being played while Melbourne play. The Goodvibes: Categories: 1st in score 5th in Marks How the draft panned out: Has looked at the dual position players especially the mid/forwards which is generally a pretty good tactic in terms of getting a score up, and it is shown by his projection of 1st in score. The only problem is that pure mids may find the ball a bit more than these C/F. Picked his defenders pretty early and looks to have good coverage in this area. Draft Steal: Patrick Cripps with his second last pick in the draft could be a master stroke, statistically over pre season he has had a ripper but not only that he will be a starting 5 midfielder at Carlton and I think he will play 22 games. He could well be a top 100 player and if keeper leagues were in place would have gone a whole lot higher. Finish: Top 6. Dual position players did well for me last year, but the biggest issue could be lack of pure midfielders. He grabbed some defenders that will have score impact but I think his possession counts might not be as high as if he had 4 pure mids and then 4 c/f. That said every player in his starting side apart from a ruckman is ranked under 200 which is a great draft. How will you find The Goodvibes at the footy? Hes the guy on his phone checking out the stats from the other games, but also extremely interested in great passages of play by crumbing forwards. Could be gutted he didn’t get Cyril. I Luv Tingay: Categories: 2nd in score 2nd in HO How the draft panned out: Jeremy Cameron will be the number 1 forward for GWS and if he can continue his projected improvement he will be a top 20, but I personally think he went a tad premature with pick 8. That said from then on he definitely was able to find depth for all positions on the field, especially in goal scoring forwards. Draft Steal: Purely based of actual ranking Leigh Montagna at 153 is a steal, but also considering he can be a top 30 mid emphasizes this fact. If Jack Steven can be fit and play 22 games the Montagna could have a season that pushes him back to the heights that he had a few years ago and could well be the best mid that ILT has. Finish: ILT will be fighting it out for a spot in the bottom end of the 8 I think, he went in with a clear draft strategy and has been able to grab multiple goal scorers but it just depends on how much football they can find. There will be weeks that he cannot be caught but other weeks he could struggle. How will you find ILT at the footy? Bleached blonde hair, massive biceps and an old school mullet, he is also the bloke that is shouting at the umpires that it was clearly holding the ball rather than in the back as Matt Jones gives away one of his standard two push in the backs a game. (Part 4 will be up later today, definitely before richmond v carlton, and before i head off to training at 5:30, have to do some work while at work)

If Melbourne, as a weaker team, can limit the opposition to scores which are attainable then more supporters will attend but we are also more likely to win games. At the end of the day football is a business and having 25,000 on a marquee slot is not an acceptable amount and the more competitive Melbourne get, the more supporters turn up. I have no problems with how Melbourne play football last year and will continue to hope we adopt a Roos based game plan with obvious adaptations to continue to improve. We will get what we deserve and if we become a consistent top 8 team we will get a favourable draw with an increase in big game timeslots.

Hawthorn do it the best and what they do is push up so there is a contest if there is a quick clearance and then the forwards push hard back towards their 50 and then peel back presenting to the player who has the ball. This is why they base their game plan on marking and swift kicking but also a a major component of how they are able to score multiple goals inside 50. They also use their wingers in Brad Hill and Isaac Smith in a similar role encouraging them to push incredibly deep into the backline and then sprint hard into 50, often losing their opponents. What it does is prevents the presses from actually squeezing the ball inside their defensive 50 as they are able continue to make players in these zones accountable and follow players through the areas. Port do it a little bit different and push all of their forwards up the field and then hope their quicker/fitter mids and forwards (Hartlett, Wingard, Matt White and Boak) are able to get into the pagans paddock effect. Melbournes problem is that our midfield has struggled to often win the one on one contests and when we have the outnumber our skills are often too poor leading to costly mistakes. Thats how i see it anyway

Galahs: Categories: 2nd in tackles 4th in % 5th in HO How the draft panned out: Early on grabbed midfielders and then after that he filled out his defensive spots. Was able to grab some good value in the forward half later on in the draft, this has given him a lot of depth to his list and coverage in each position. Heritier Lumumba with his 3rd pick was a bit surprising but on pre season form could well be the best defender. Draft Steal: Chris Dawes with his last pick in the draft is an absolute draft steal, whilst he is not the most influential forward in the game, barring injury he will play 22 games and work into a spot on his field being able to average a couple goals a game. Finish: The Galahs will be a team that is pushing into the top half of the ladder and alot of his hopes will depend on the improvement of Melbourne players and the natural improvement of a few younger players. If Jack Darling and Levi Casboult are able to take multiple marks and kick goals then this team will be a force. How will you find Galahs at the footy? A very happy Melbourne supporter when we are winning, but also encouraging Lynden Dunn to take every kickout and play on so that it counts as a stat. Will also be taking Zumba lessons so that he is able to dance with the Prince. Marc Remillard: Categories: 1st in handballs 3rd in Marks 3rd in tackles How the draft panned out: Looked for the midfield depth to start with and decided to run with a team based around more of a smaller player look. This tactic is one which commonly can do quite well in categories considering the increased emphasis on possession through the midfield in the modern game. Although the lack of key forwards could mean that posting a good score will be difficult for him round by round. Draft Steal: Lachie Whitfield was able to grab him with pick 261 and his ranking last year was 151. This year with the improved midfield that GWS have and his continual improvement he could well push into the top 75 category players and could well give him a selection headache when it comes to midfield and utility spots. Finish: He should make it into the top 8 and there will be some matches where his possession stats are impossible to catch and by doing this he will be able to win matches even if he loses on the score category. Ruck stocks could be a little bit of an issue for him as McIntosh is very injury prone and Witts is still developing. How will you find Marc Remillard at the footy? He will be the fella that is defending Jack Watts when the usual hero at the footy is screaming about how soft he is, will also be the guy saying he “told you so” when Watts is able to have a match winning performance. Jako 13: Categories: 1st in HO 2nd in Handballs 4th in FD How the draft panned out: Chased midfielders and midfield/forwards with his earliest pick and getting Dangerfield at 11 could be a steal as he may well be the number 1 player in the comp if he is able to handle the contract pressure that will be over his head. Was able to grab great depth in each position especially ruck with Jamar being his number one option but also having Gawn on the bench as if one is injured the other will play. He will be hoping that his defence will be able to improve from last years stats as this will increase his competitiveness. Draft Steal: Reports out of Essendon say that Cooney is absolutely flying and Brendan McCartney has also said this. The fact that he is a dual position and being a midfield forward he could be an absolute steal at 107 pushing into the top 30 stats wise if he is able to rekindle his form of a few years ago. Finish: if his defence is able to improve and increase as their effectiveness which should be expected of Mayes and Frost and if Walker is able to come back from injury and find the footy Jako will push deep into the 8. If not he will be battling for one of the low end spots in the 8. How will you find Jako at the footy? Bald, tatt sleeves and a surfboard under his arm cheering for Chunk as he leads our team to victories. Will be talking to Roosy about what he can offer to help get Danger in the red and blue next year. Vineys Vaginey: Categories: 3rd in score 3rd in % How the draft panned out: Has grabbed the most goal kicking forwards of anyone in this draft, with a good spread between key position and smaller forwards. Went deep in the midfield but his backline may have some challenges in depth and might need to get a new player on the bench if there is an injury to one of his key 3 defenders. Draft Steal: Kane Cornes, a massive accumulator and a very under rated in terms of his contribution to Port Adelaide and will be rated around 50-70 again and getting him at 181 is a steal. Finish: Will post a large score week in week out and if his mids are able to back it up and find the football then he will be pushing deep into finals. Great key position forward depth and I can see some trades to upgrade a mid or ruck as a key for his finals success. How will you find Vineys Vaginey at the footy? The only Melbourne supporter who is genuinely interested to see how many goals Mitch Clark has kicked for Geelong and not secretly hoping for another soft tissue injury. (sorry OMR you are in the group that i will be doing on Wednesday, hope you can hold out!)