Pates

That doesn’t explain why his general skills have become so poor, or maybe it’s tied into the same deal with his confidence in his own abilities. But that attempt at goal that ended up being a dribble kick was under 12 level and amazingly I don’t think he meant it to be a dribbler which almost makes it worse!

No doubt Lockhart should’ve gobbled that one up, I can only imagine he got a bit scared by inevitable contact. It was an excellent kick from Trac.

I’ve watched but more and it’s given context to a lot of things that have been said in here. Firstly on Garlett, he got himself in good positions which is at least an improvement and he was dangerous and creative enough to cause the hawks defence headaches. BUT what the hell has happened to his kicking and skills? Is it purely confidence? I don’t know what it is but they’ve gone from elite to horrific in the space of two years. Worse that Tom Bugg! I’m hoping as he gets more time out there his confidence will grow and his skills will improve. On Lewis, I saw the last quarter and he did some important things (although he played a part in a key turnover) but early on he did some terrible shanks that directly resulted in Hawks opportunities. He can’t keep going with those poor disposals, how long will the selection committee allow him to get away with it? Finally I have to pose question, what the hell is with Petracca’s shots for goal? Such a brilliant mark deserved a better finish, I’ve seen better shots for goal from Bugg, Godfrey, and Holland. This can’t continue, can they please hire someone to sort out his kicking (and get Hunt as well for that matter) because it’s costing us goals.

Was a very poor kick from Melksham, wasn’t aiming at anybody and frankly putting it in a super dangerous spot. Would’ve preferred him to either go for goal or at least put it deep where it could be smashed out for a throw in.

I only woke up to see the last 10min, my dreams were very bizarre before I did wake. It included us being up by 100+ vs Carlton and only just winning, losing to hawks by 100+, and our players turning up to the ground to find out we were playing all the best players in the league. Always funny when I’m asleep and I know footy is on! Anyway what I saw was madness but I also saw a lot more of our 2018 selves than I have for the first 6 rounds. High pressure, quick hands, and hardness at stoppages. Skills definitely still letting us down, and forward line didn’t appear to be clicking with the midfield but there’s hope. Looking forward to watching the replay, looks like the third quarter was our time to shine. Oh and I really like Hunt forward.

I'm sure I'm in the minority here but I'm not unhappy that OMac comes in to return to defence while Tom goes forward again. I didn't think Tom looked bad against the tigers in defence and I'm holding out a little bit of hope that the little break from being "the man" up forward might just bring him back into form. Dec coming in is a great reward for effort and I wish him all the best of luck. I'm not daring for a win though, I just want to see us get back to some confidence and play the brand we played last year.

Bloody hell thats sorry reading, we really are up the creek without a paddle.

I've avoided demonland as much as I can lately because this season has fallen off the rails so quickly it's shocked me. I'm starting to wonder at what point do we write the season off and decide to put key players in for surgeries that could get them cherry ripe for 2020, while also pumping game time into players that we know will be a part of next season. In theory we could recover this year if we are able to stop the rot right now but every player has gone backwards or is injured which makes hope for that very slim in my books. The most concerning part of the ground that we are struggling in is the front half, Weids and TMac are woefully out of form and for Sam it's embarrassing that he is looking for a new healthy contract at the end of the year and he is playing like he wants to be dropped. The defence is undermanned at the moment, but we need to find a way to recapture what made us such an exciting team from last year, our attacking abilities.

I missed the first quarter but yay managed to catch our goalless second quarter. Defence is better but we also seem to be in survival mode, preventing being scored heavily against rather than thinking about how to win. Big stand out differences is our lack of contested marking, Weids if you wanna ask for the big bucks then the step the F up and take a grab. Also lack of pressure coming out of the forward line, it’s why you’re in there Jeffy so give us something. General cleanliness with the ball is also a big problem, so many fumbles and missed handballs. Finally I gotta highlight one of the worst efforts I’ve seen for a long time. Brayshaw 100% gave up on the kicker before Dusty’s goal on the line. He is so much better than that so I hope one of the coaches grabs him by the helmet and gives him a spray. We are mercifully in it but it’s time we tried to win.

Agreed!

Salem would be leading our B&F in my books, he was the only one to put in solid performances in the first 3 rounds and yet again he was just silky and solid. Given the troubles he's had in the past it's great to see him playing such great footy.

Frustrating that May and Vandenberg appear to have had set backs, AvB could really make in impact if given the opportunity.

So I was finally able to watch the replay yesterday, very interesting game to look at and while I’m absolutely stoked (and still a little shocked!) by the win there will be plenty for the coaching staff to analyse with the players. Firstly in terms of positives I personally was really happy with Preuss’s game, yes he fade but he still had a presence even when not necessarily “winning”. I think it’s worth persisting because it seems to make TMac and Weiderman appear for released. Also it means that Gawn doesn’t have to run his guts off to get to the forward line, instead he can sit in the hole outside the 50 for the oppositions “get out of trouble” kick. Secondly I thought Hore did some really important things, we have sorely lacked someone taking a defensive mark rather than a fist in defence. He showed great confidence in running of his man to help out teammates. I also thought Hunt looked at home in the forward line, he chased, he tackled, he affected contests and kicked a couple of snags. If he can get his efficiency with shots on goal a little better he definitely becomes an asset. Finally gotta say I was so happy to see Jones make a strong impact on the game. Both captains kicked big goals when we needed them and there is zero doubt it makes the rest of the team walk taller. Lots more work to be done but this win will do our confidence the world of good.

3 games into what was meant to be a really promising season and it seriously feels like we’ve gone back in time. We’re back to looking at the fixture with dread to see who we’ve got next, and look at our available list thinking, “wow we’re in for a tough time.” This week needs to be focusing on controlling what we have within our control, injuries are a part of professional sport so we have to get over who is not available. What we have to start with is getting our defensive set ups right and prevent easy transitions that almost always lead to a genuine shot on goal. When we do have opportunities going forward, lower the eyes and look for passes rather than blazing away and kicking to a two on one. Go back to basics to start and build from there. Hopefully Pruess can make his presence felt.

I remember similar things seemed to happen to former Melbourne players going to other clubs and turning up thinking, “wow so this is how fit you’re meant to be”. It doesn’t excuse him from coming to the club in poor condition, as a big name recruit he should be taking it upon himself to be touch with the fitness staff and/or senior players to ensure he doesn’t miss a beat. He admits he’s made mistakes and now it’s on him to try to make up for it.

I did say for years, that was pretty much what I was picturing. ?

Yep and considering we don’t have Hogan anymore we need so much more from him. If nothing else he need to impact the contest and ensure they don’t have easy exits. Bottom line is though there’s so much work we need to do in all parts of the ground. We need to someone to stand the **** up!

Definitely, we are missing structure and marshalling in that area. We can argue Lewis’s playing ability for his age but there is no doubting we play better when he’s in the team. Off the top of my head the players that we are missing that were important during our final H&A games and finals are Hannan, AvB, and Lewis. While they aren’t brownlow medal contenders they each add something important in their respective areas that we are severely lacking in. Oscar and Frost are both very dumb players, they are one dimensional and panic when the heat is on them. Lewis being around them is a cool voice of leadership that lets them know what they might not be noticing. Taking a breathe and analysing all areas of the team it isn’t that hard to work out why we aren’t playing well. Key players have had interrupted pre-seasons and are underdone, average players such as Frost, and Oscar are not at their end of 2018 standard while Weiderman is struggling to recapture his break out form. ANB is also having a slow start not unlike how he was this time last year. We are down in form and quality in practically all aspects of the ground and in such a tight competition a drop of 5% means you’re already off the pace of the competition.

I want Frost out, the reality is a don’t know if there’s anyone that can come in. Our spine right now is as poor as I’ve seen it for years at both ends. TMac needs to be given hard words this week, I know the delivery to him has been deplorable but he also hasn’t been putting himself in the right positions.

There’s so much that needs to change and go right for us against Sydney, it starts with winning the clearances and then being able to lock the ball inside our forward 50. There have been some surprise results early this year, maybe it’s going to be our turn.

Delete please, wrong thread!

With the draw we’ve got this could really be a painful year, I think we’ve reached a ceiling with certain players and our quality aren’t coming to fore. Tom McDonald is better than what he’s showing, I think it’s a combination of poor delivery to him and low confidence but him getting his confidence back is important. Meanwhile our defence is a rabble, no one takes defensive marks and that’s the big difference. Lever is massively missed right now because right now all the defenders are doing/can do is unconvincing fists. I think we’re heading for bottom 6 this year, the draw we’ve got is very difficult and it would’ve been tough if we were on song. Now it’s going to ensure a year of pain. I hate to say it but the positive is that looking forward to 2020 (yes I’m becoming one of those people) we will have a favourable draw.

Dear Melbourne......?

Yet again forward entries are useless and making it difficult on the players, that said they aren’t leading well and demanding the footy. Melksham is a shadow of his 2018 self right now, he should have 3-4 right now but it just isn’t working for him. Our midfield is doing ok, but at both ends of the ground we are useless.

Definitely both frees unrewarded.