Pates

Being under three goals the game is still there if we’re good enough. So far we haven’t been, we looked sharp for much of that quarter offensively but gave up some very soft goals as well. Viney getting that goal before the end of the quarter gives us momentum, first goal of the last is massive. Maybe the umps will actually start looking at the free kick count and give some levellers. The bias has got that blatant even the Seven commentary are mentioning, seemingly grudgingly.

First off our kicking for goal is what’s made us be 21 points down. BUT FAIR BLOODY DINKUM THE UMPIRES MIGHT AS WELL BE WEARING BULLDOGS UNIFORMS. THEY ARE THROWING, THEY ARE BEING TACKLED BUT DON’T DISPOSE OF IT, THEY ARE BEING GIVEN AN ARMCHAIR RIDE THIS ENTIRE MATCH. Chalk at least two goals against the umps. On our side, we have to take our chances. 0.2 from Brown isn’t only disappointing, it’s deflating. Not just that he misses but that they are supremely gettable kicks, you would expect ANY AFL player to kick it let alone a FF who’s job it is to do exactly that. We actually had quite a bit of territory and decent opportunities but yet again butchered them. We have regressed back to what we did most of last year. Worst part is, I’m still in hotel quarantine after watching us have they great run earlier this year and I’m genuinely wondering whether it’s impossible for Melbourne to be a decent team while I’m in the country.

I've tipped against us in every match against a fellow top 4 contender, and I'm doing that again. If nothing else the form is good for the Dees every time I tip against us. This week I feel more deflated than other weeks though, last week was so disappointing and absolutely inexcusable. We really needed to bank the matches we're expected to win, and dropping points to the Hawks was just plain stupid.

Just watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics, like so many other events without crowds it just isn’t the same. Plus the amount of people involved it makes it look like it’s a dress rehearsal. Feel sorry for those involved, their opportunity at being a part of something special and it’s (yet another thing) ruined by the pandemic.

I’d be very interested to know where we ranked in this stat up until round 12, I’d hazard a guess we’d be closer to the pointy end. I also remember that until mid year we were one of the highest for tackles inside 50. I feel like tackle pressure is the one non-negotiable in footy that only requires players to be committed to the team and each other. It’s what Hawthorn brought that made us crumble, they didn’t do anything flashy or brilliant, they just made it a tough old slog and we simply didn’t match their intensity. It’s most certainly fixable, and needs to be addressed now.

I could not believe Clarry’s attitude when Spargo “took” his mark, he genuinely looked like a toddler who’d had his favourite toy taken away. And yet if I think if anyone had a choice between the two they’d go with Spargo every day of the week. Clarry’s set shots are disgraceful for a player of his ability. Brayshaw in the past has actually been really steady as a set shot player so I wonder what’s changed. Is it the higher aerobic expectations from playing wing taking its toll? It’s not an excuse by the way, we need players to be able to nail clutch goals and I honestly don’t know if we have any. I mean BB misses from a set shot he nailed at north every bloody day of the week! We got away with our poor conversation rate early in the season, we’ve now seen it cost us wins against Adelaide, GWS, and the Hawks.

No it has to do with both, the coach with the cattle available should be able to find a way to get the players to pull their finger out as well. It’s an equal parts blame, the coaches and players collectively failed as a team.

That’s not entirely a knock on Goody, Clarko is a damn good coach and his players executed the game plan they came up with. Even with Clarko putting the game on his terms the cattle we had out there should have been able to get the job done.

I’ve thought about what goes wrong against the poor sides and one thing that sticks in my mind with almost all the games we’ve either lost or been poor is forward entries from the opposition. The grand irony is that to get through our system you have to be random and unsystematic to a point, it’s like they have to work it intelligently or fast to the outer 50 but then instead of trying to place the perfect pass the chaos ball seems to be the one we [censored] our dacks at. Get it in, get it to ground and then outwork our defence with pressure. Then it seems once they start to do that our defence gets rattled and stop working to their roles, and that’s when the passes to free players begin to happen. The other thing that really stuck out last night was that May, Lever, and Gawn we’re all having poor games at marking. They dropped some absolute sodas that usually they take with their eyes closed. When those guys drop marks they should be taking, it’s up to the ground level players to win the ball and the Hawks players were simply more committed. We were outcoached, and the players did not put in the hard yards that they did earlier in the year. I’m not giving up on this squads potential but it has a stink of 2005 about it where we drop off at the end and finish outside the top 4.

I haven’t come in here since the match thread because I needed to decompress. I will say this; at least we got the draw which is what we should have got against Adelaide. But this much closer to a loss than a win, the players should be having a good long hard look at each because right they are deciding when they are and aren’t going to play properly. The moment we got out to our 26 point lead they stopped playing properly, they paid the Hawks zero respect and have paid the price. Our kicking for goal has been poor this year and in recent weeks it has caught up to us. Brayshaw should have dobbed his at the end, Brown should have kicked his in the first quarter, and we had entrance after entrance into the forward 50 that was to a big pack situation where no one was going to mark it. We’ve gone backwards since the start of the year with forward connection, but what’s infuriating is we keep doing the same f-ing thing! We as fans ask for respect from the media but performances like that prove we haven’t earned it yet. We didn’t look like top 4 contenders tonight, we didn’t even look like a top 8 threat. Once again the competition has a laugh at us, we are yet again a joke. Fabulous welcome home, this makes quarantine fun. ?

Back to kicking long without looking, while they look for leads. Who’s up the top again?

100%

Bloody hell Melbourne, this is utter garbage.

Wasn’t wearing gold and brown though so play on.

How was that a high free kick in our attack? The hawks player ran into McDonald!

Clarke has made this game into such scrappy mess.

#freekickhawthorn seems to be back. That 50 was utter [censored] and that was soft in the middle.

I think I’m sitting comfortably enough, but it just frustrates the hell out of me that we can’t do a clinical job on a team we are clearly better than. Worst is that at 26 points up I allowed myself to think that maybe just maybe we actually might just put a team away early. But of course that’s not us, we drop for 5mins and let them back in to get their tails up. Burgess can do all the fitness training he wants, Goody and co can create the winning game plan, but it’s up to the players to keep their minds focused throughout the game.

I’m a Viney fan, but FMD his disposal has been shocking. Two entries into forward 50 straight at a hawks player.

Why can’t we just bloody bury a team early!? 26 points up against 17th on the ladder, dominating where the ball is, but then take the foot off the throat....again! Not finishing our work, again. Brown has been good, but jeez you’d put that first shot in the bank usually.

I’m not really worried, just mindful that we have been off against lower ranked teams. I really want the player to bring a huge amount of pressure early to overwhelm them and get early scores on the board. I’m also excited, I arrived from the UK yesterday and am watching the game from quarantine. Great to watch a game at a normal time, and great to be home.

Maybe they should make the Grand final available only to double vaccinated people. In a completely unrelated note I’m so glad the UK provided me with my second jab a few weeks ago ?.

I actually think Geelong should be playing most if not all their home games at KP. The only caveat to that is they should be forced to provide more tickets to away fans. Tigers, Bombers, Pies, and Hawks should going down there as much as anyone.

Another hole in our budget with another home game gone, I’m not saying this would’ve been a huge boost but you’d have to imagine it would’ve at least given us a profit on the day. I know everyone is copping it in different ways but I can’t help but feel that we are getting it worse than others. I know it’s easy to say now but I wish the club had been proactive with the NT and AFL as we are playing in Darwin next week, and made this game in Alice, stay there all week and then go to Darwin the that weekend. Instead we have a game at the MCG with no crowd and no money. EDIT: Just to add to that thought, I really hope this won’t be the case and fingers crossed everything goes well but if it’s looking like it’s not let’s push to have the doggies game in Alice.

I remembered hearing a football writer/commentator (can’t remember who) say that every week there was a “worthy cause” connected to matches which diluted what footy was about, “forgetting you troubles for a few hours and having some fun”. COVID has meant that all too often we see the results of the pandemic with less or no crowds, so our troubles never seem to escape us in that respect. I can only imagine what it must be like for those fighting breast cancer or family members affected by it, and I doubt that footy fully distracts from it. This is such a worth cause and I am so proud that our club has been at the forefront of standing in tribute to those fighting and those who have passed away, and I can only hope that at the same time we raise some $$$ to aid in the R&D of treatment and a cure. Fraser Rossman hasn’t even played a game for us but he’s already got a gun a bloke and I’m happy he’s a Demon.