Diamond_Jim

Ten goal loss in the wet Double our scoring shots for almost the same inside 50's Almost no score between the 10 minute mark of third quarter and the 27 minute mark of the last Hard to see many positives

No it is very much alive but as mentioned now goes under the name of Australia Plus What did change a few years back that the budget was cut and programmes specially made for Asian audiences were discontinued. Now it has the ABC current affairs, lots of soaps and lifestyle shows plus the AFL. Rugby league is on the main sports channels. http://tv.australiaplus.com/ The scroll down does show times for Vietnam.... it is included as a "lifestyle programme" in my subscription and sits some 300 stations from the sports section if that is of any help

Sometimes the memory can play tricks but what I remember about watching the Reserves was near empty stadiums until around 3/4 time where the stands would start to fill and the reason for that was the short break of 10 minutes between the end of the Reserves and the start of the seniors. (My vivid memory was that because of the low crowds you could often hear what the players were saying on the ground.) Sure at finals time there were more but that occurred because standing room and the members were unreserved meaning people had to get there earlier than usual. If you had a half hour break between the reserves and the seniors to allow for warm ups and the now ubiquitous advertising I suspect the crowd watching even the last quarter would be low. On a diverse note it must be hard being a player for Casey where there are two bands of players (the MFC players and the non-MFC players). As a non MFC player it would be natural to feel some form of discrimination. Perhaps another topic over the off season.

Out of curiosity Reverend what is the picture quality of the broadcast in Beijing. In Malaysia where I spend a lot of my time the AFL (5 games per weekend) is shown on the Australia Television Network. The channel is standard definition unlike the main sports channels which all have HD duplicate channels but the quality of the AFL broadcast is below the other standard definition shows (say Q&A) that is shown on the Oz network. The game is on about five minute delay and I suspect the compression rate they are using for the broadcast transmission is less than perfect. It is a bit like watching a you tube clip meant for your computer blown up on the television. As we say in Hokkien ... cum siah

You are right... just checked the stats......... we won by 30 odd points after being two goals down at 3/4 time. Freo did not score in the last quarter !! round 11 2004 Time to make some new stories perhaps

Hard to see a win here but the wet weather could turn it into a low scoring lottery. For those who can remember it might be like the game in the West all those years ago where Vardy won it for us on what I think was almost the last kick of the day.

I believe Trengrove needs 6 games or so on the trot and then a rest if required. I say this because if we can get a B+ or better player for next year out of a player who many had written off it can only bode well for the future. The only way to get that player is to give him a sustained run. Of course he could build up strength at Casey but then we will still not know if he is "back" as we all hope he will be.

Just stopped on my way through Thailand. Always read the Game day thread before checking the scores. Helps me deal with the pain perhaps but this is looking good. Go Dees

Driving through Thailand today. Looking forward to a win but more importantly a solid effort from our mid to senior level players

out of interest what speed do you need for a decent high definition picture of an AFL game/movie

Hi I don't want to get into a debate over NBN etc... the point I was making is that with the HFC (hybrid fibre) roll out planned for the next two years high speed internet (sure it could be higher) will be available for most metropolitan homes. From the NBN site: What speeds will be offered? HFC technology over the nbn™ network is expected to offer the same wholesale speed tiers that are available on our Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network, ranging from up to 12 (download)/1 (upload) Mbps right through to 100 (download)/40 (upload) Mbps

I think that is the point. The Take up rate for cable television in Australia has been one of if not the lowest in the world. Within 2-3 years (if not earlier) the NBN will deliver reasonable internet speeds to the vast bulk of the population allowing online streaming of all content. Netflix, Amazon etc will be the big players and even less people will go for what is after all a relatively expensive product in the form of Foxtel. If you can get your TV shows elsewhere who would pay around $60 a month for a few games of football. From an MFC viewpoint we run a real risk of our brand being increasingly marginalised unless we can get exposure on free to air. Of course if someone were to come up with a streaming service with all games for $10 per month (not the low grade tablet streaming service we see now) it would be interesting to see what happened. I suspect it would still be outbid by Foxtel as their model is often to use sport as a loss leader.

Caroline Wilson has published an article in the Age suggesting that free to air games may reduce to 3.5 per weekend. This is because Channel 10 is having difficulty doing a deal with Foxtel under the new broadcasting deal commencing in 2017. Melbourne does not feature often on free to air and it could be even less next year. This has an obvious impact on sponsors. revenue etc With the introduction of Netflix and Optus getting the English Premier League Foxtel is fighting for its life. Hope we do not suffer in the cross fire Here's the link http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-tv-rights-deal-free-to-air-squeeze-on-games-20160608-gperpe.html

Not that many years ago it was a game we sold to Brisbane. Now it is Alice Springs and even worse Darwin. Sure... there will be many that say "we should win anywhere" but this is a game of "inches" where every little bit counts. Time the club gave us the "donate this" and we will not play there figures or is it if we do not play there the AFL money disappears. Time for some true equalization perhaps !!

As the good sergeant used to say... "I know nothing" but I hope we have a good plan B in place. It is obvious that we will offer Hogan very good dollars. If he goes I will be upset but I will be even more upset if we do not use those dollars to acquire the services of an A grade player. Now how that Plan B plays out from a timing viewpoint is obviously of some difficulty. In other threads people talk of a window in which Hurley may be available. Personally I think he will stay at Essendon. If however we want to have a go at Hurley and the money makes it an either/or proposition between Hogan and Hurley it may make sense to put some pressure on now for Hogan to answer.

I can remember the Collingwood game and being very happy at the end only to have a middle aged disgruntled female Collingwood supporter turn around and say to me that we would not win again. ( From that day on Collingwood supporters have had a special place in my heart.) While the Collingwood match was at the MCG, the Carlton match was at Waverley. There was rain on and off during the second half if I remember correctly. Not sure but I think it was reasonably close all day until we kicked away in the last 5-10 minutes. Went a small way towards erasing the memories of the previous year at the same ground (now that is a game that will never be forgotten.) The next week in the Grand Final we were beaten by quarter time and the dream was ended. All in all the nineties was a good time for the club. I have always thought we could have won the flag in 1990. There were a number of teams including ourselves that were relatively equal. (Unlike 1988 and 2000 where we came up against outright favourite teams at the peak of their form.)

Just finished reading this article. As often the case the comments make as good reading as the article itself. Loved this one on Dermie: " Dermott commenting on a players set shot for goal "its starting to rain and it's coming from the players left side, so the droplets on the ball will pull it left" classic Derm "

I can remember the Northey days very well. One of the joys was that supporters were welcomed into the rooms before and after a match. Just ordinary supporters mind. No need to be a member of a special coterie or the like. You could hear the fire in Northey's voice as he encouraged the players. After more than 20 years of mediocrity it was a special time.

As I understand it the "Diamond" is an offensive strategy that is utilised at disputed ball opportunities such as centre and near centre bounce. It may also be utilised at throw ins but I am not sure. Where the opposition is in a static kicking position (free kick or mark) the zone or press is what we adopt. As in the illustration given by Fox Footy the zone "ignores" the players who are beyond the perceived danger zone. (Around 60 metres from the kicker.) If however the opposition "penetrates" or "breaks" the zone these outside zone players have an easy receive. Not sure why we keep complaining about 1 or 2 defensive players who are on the extreme of the zone. The zone often falls down because it is penetrated at its inner core thus allowing disposal beyond the zone. While this may make the outer zone player look inept perhaps the failure is with others. Perhaps also as many writers suggest the zone as a tactic is too easily broken by teams with good foot skills. Not sure what the answer is. I have considered having an outrider that or two that sits beyond the "non dangerous" opposition players but I assume the problem is that it weakens the zone.

Hi as usual I find the tactical discussions wonderful. I came across this article from Fox Footy discussing the Eagles defensive zoning of last year. It appears to be a good explanation that I can understand. Would be very interested in comments on the similarities/differences to the zone defence that Melbourne is trying to implement. The illustration which shows five Richmond players goal side of the defensive zone is of particular interest. Thanks http://www.foxsports.com.au/breaking-news/weagles-web-fox-footys-gerard-healy-breaks-down-west-coasts-defensive-tactics/news-story/3f7bc9e8ce8bc81f09e977cda243a56d

Very good point mo64. Could explain why even with that number of possessions some writers did not name him amongst the best players. (This was one of the things the 3AW commentators were complaining about.)

You are right it is a long established UK paper with a reputation for being liberal (left) ...similar perhaps to the Age. A few years back it started publishing a US and Australian version and now have several good writers. The political comments are indeed a bit less respectful. (It has some great articles on TV shows with ensuing commentary. The ones on Game of Thrones I consider a "must read.")

Was listening to 3AW on the weekend and they were commenting on the importance of Heath Shaw to the Giants. In the game against the Bulldogs he had 38 possessions across the half back line. Apparently he was just sitting back mopping up the helter skelter forward moves from the Bulldogs. Another interesting stat was that of his 38 possessions he had 36 kicks and only two handballs. Even in a losing game against the Crows he had 26 odd possessions of which 24 were kicks. I was wondering in our defensive system who if anyone is our equivalent of Heath Shaw or are the Giants playing a different zone ?

Hi now that many of the newspapers have introduced paywalls I have become an avid reader of the online Australian edition of the Guardian. No paywall and unlimited access. Moreover it allows comments which frequently make for better reading than the articles. Anyway today is one of the first opinion pieces I have seen on the MFC. Shows we are "making waves". It talks of our game plan amongst other things including the dreaded MFCSS Here is the link if anyone is interested: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/may/30/fear-of-another-false-dawn-lingers-at-melbourne-after-demons-loss-in-alice

Thanks Dr Gonzo....... great and simple explanation. That explains perfectly why teams who have players who can run and carry for say twenty to thirty metres such as Harvey at North Melbourne are so vital to overcoming a zone defence. Similarly while over commitment to a zone (moving up too far) can come back to bite you so easily. Another question.... how many players are usually playing the zone defence at any one time. I realise it can vary but in this thread we are criticizing our backs in the main whereas the zone seems to encompass a few more than 4-6 players.