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  1. No sooner had the battle-wearied Demons stopped to rest and lick their wounds from the Anzac Day eve clash with the Tigers, than it was time to select the team to take on Essendon which grabbed their spot in the top eight with their triumphant win over Collingwood on Tuesday. Melbourne has certainly been through the wringer in the past month, particularly so after the events of the Carlton game in round 2. At that time, the headlines were about the loss to suspension of Jesse Hogan and Jordan Lewis but in the interim injuries in mid-game in rounds 3 and 5 to tall ruckmen Max Gawn and Jake Spencer interspersed with other injuries and calamities such as poor kicking for goal and poor decision-making at crucial times in matches have all taken their toll. So much so that what looked like being a bright start to a new era of success and likely finals appearances is unravelling before our very eyes. While Hogan and Lewis are now both free of their suspensions, the Demons have a crisis on their hands - they need to dramatically recast their side after three consecutive losses. This challenge is something that doesn't necessarily have to be looked at from a position of despair or loathing. Melbourne remains strong in the midfield and continues to be build up its stocks in this area with the return of a Lewis determined to atone for the sin of his three week suspension. Everyone agrees that Simon Goodwin needs to be adventurous to come up with a plan to overcome the current crisis, and if he succeeds, then it will strengthen his team in the long run and make it more formidable when his big men eventually do return. The main task at hand is to reshape the ruck lineup while ensuring that the forward line structure can also operate efficiently. In recent weeks, when the team's ruckmen have gone down in mid game or had to be rested, their replacements have come almost exclusively from tall forwards resulting in a depletion of their ranks causing scoring to dry up. With the shortage of tall ruckmen likely to be an ongoing issue for two months, the way that coach Simon Goodwin and his team respond to this crisis and the tactics and strategies they come up with to solve the problem could well determine the course of the club throughout the season and beyond. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium Sunday, 30 April, 2017 at 1.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 129 wins Melbourne 81 wins 2 draws At Etihad Stadium Essendon 3 wins Melbourne 1 win The last five meetings Essendon 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches Worsfold 0 wins Goodwin 0 wins MEDIA TV – Fox Footy Channel - Live at 1;00pm RADIO - THE BETTING Essendon $1.92 to win Melbourne $1.92 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Essendon 11.14.80 defeated Melbourne 10.7.67 at the MCG, Round 2, 2016 One of Melbourne's low points during the Paul Roos years was its loss at the hands of the depleted but determined Bombers at the MCG a week after they beat the highly fancied Giants. The Demons had been notable for producing massive form swings when expected to perform well but this one took the cake. THE TEAMS ESSENDON B: Patrick Ambrose, Michael Hurley, Martin Gleeson HB: Mark Baguley, Mitch Brown, Ben McNiece C: Travis Colyer, Zach Merrett, Andrew McGrath HF: Orazio Fantasia, Cale Hooker, David Zaharakis F: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Joe Daniher, Brendon Goddard FOLL: Tom Bellchambers, Ben Howlett, Dyson Heppell I/C: Josh Green, Conor McKenna, Darcy Parish, Jobe Watson EMG: Kyle Langford,Brent Stanton, James Stewart IN: Tom Bellchambers, Martin Gleeson, Ben Howlett, Kyle Langford, Conor McKenna, James Stewart OUT: Aaron Francis (rested), James Kelly (rested), Matt Leuenberger (rested),Brent Stanton (omitted) MELBOURNE B: Michael Hibberd, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jordan Lewis, Sam Frost, Bernie Vince C: Jayden Hunt, Nathan Jones, Jake Melksham HF: Christian Petracca, Jack Watts, Alex Neal-Bullen F: Jay Kennedy-Harris, Mitch Hannan, Jeff Garlett FOLL: Cameron Pedersen, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney I/C: Tomas Bugg, Oscar McDonald, Christian Salem, Dom Tyson EMG: James Harmes, Billy Stretch, Sam Weideman IN: Tomas Bugg, Mitch Hannan, Jordan Lewis, Oscar McDonald, Cameron Pedersen OUT: James Harmes (omitted), Jesse Hogan (family bereavement), Jake Spencer (shoulder), Timothy Smith (lung), Billy Stretch (omitted) GIVE US A REST PLEASE My how the worm has turned. This time last year, the Bombers were so light on in their playing stocks that they had to turn to the AFL for the right to supplement their list with additional top ups coming mostly from suburban competitions and retirees. Notwithstanding that they had half a dozen hacks in their line up, they were too good for the Demons in their round 2 match at the MCG. The Dees were just too arrogant - they thought all they had to do to win was to just turn up. Fast forward a little over 12 months and we see an Essendon brimming full of confidence following their famous ANZAC Day victory over Collingwood resting Aaron Francis, Josh Kelly and Matt Leuenberger for their match up against an injury-depleted Melbourne at their nemesis ground Etihad Stadium. The sheer arrogance of it? Knowing that the Demons are heading into Sunday's match up without their two leading ruckmen in Max Gawn and Jake Spencer, the Bombers have decided that the 201 cm, 108 kg Tom Bellchambers who hasn't seen duty in the AFL for almost two years will be good enough to do the job against a 193 cm Cam Pedersen who is now apparently several kgs lighter than his "official" weight of 99 kg recorded prior to his off season shoulder surgery. The Bombers can talk about resting players because of the short break but their supporters are thinking this time around that all their team has to do to win is just turn up. All the Demons will be hoping for is that Pedersen can stand up for more than the half a game of football their ruck personnel are currently lasting for these days in order that the team can get an even break at the stoppages. Whilst it's true that Melbourne has struggled to put together four quarters of consistency with key players going down in mid-game in recent weeks, I have a feeling that things might not be as bad as they look. After all, they managed to stay in the game against the Tigers until time on in the last quarter despite having virtually no rotations available. And they have Jordan Lewis back with the mission of atoning for his sins and actually giving the team something back for those barren three weeks of his absence. The Demons need to improve their efficiency inside fifty metres, particularly early in games. They had the opportunity in each of their last three matches to put away the opposition in the opening half and but for their failure to do so, could well have been sitting on 5 - 0 instead of a 2 - 3 win/loss ratio. There's a lot of coulda, shoulda and woulda in there but Simon Goodwin has promised to be adventurous and sooner or later, fortune will favour the brave. Melbourne has the midfield talent to overcome the apparent ruck disadvantage and besides, I think it's time for a turn of good fortune. If nothing else, the supporters deserve a rest after a month of things going horribly wrong. They're bound to go right very soon. Melbourne by 12 points
  2. After a promising start to the season with three NAB Challenge wins and another in the opening game of the season proper, everyone was lining up to board the Dee-train for 2016. The trouble is that it barely got out of the station before the supporters realised there were too many passengers (again!) and no-one was driving the locomotive. When players start believing their own publicity, and take a win against a crippled side for granted, then it seems Melbourne will guarantee an insipid performance and lose the un-loseable. Against the Bombers, with a side made up of retired geriatrics and kids, the performance was simply putrid. Gold Coast showed how to beat Essendon last week. Come on hard, early and put a couple of quick goals on the board, and they will wilt. No, our players came out half-hearted and expected someone, anyone to lift the tempo. Of course no-one did. And we continually gifted them goals with simply appalling turnovers. This kept them in the game and built their hopes. The end result was a foregone conclusion from the 1st quarter. Just as equally disappointing was the lack of response from the coaching box. Thank heavens Joe Daniher cannot kick straight, because the game would have been over at half-time. But all day long he was allowed to go one-on-one with his respective opponent, be that McDonald or Garland. His height will always win out and it did. Contrast that with the double and triple teaming against Jesse Hogan. That is how a coach can shut down a dominant forward, but nothing was done in 100 minutes of football.And we allowed Essendon to have unmarked wingers for the majority of the game. How a 2nd gamer in Tipungwuti was allowed such freedom to move the ball forward without an obvious opponent was damning. His 20 disposals was more than 18 of the Melbourne players! The selection panel has plenty to answer for again, for the omission of Dunn (save his having a mystery injury) left the team without a viable third tall in the backline and also someone who can kick beyond 50m to clear the zone that Essendon had set. He may not provide the run, but he doesn’t have to if he repels the attacks in the first place! Disappointingly, the mids failed to provide the necessary advantage that Gawn was providing in the ruck. Not at the centre bounce, but the lack of intensity around the ground where it was needed most. But that was only emblematic of a team going at half-pace. Brayshaw was obviously not ready for the seniors and ran out of puff early on, but Oliver showed his class with his efforts when he was injected into the middle. Matt Jones needs to stay at Casey permanently as he is just not up to AFL standard, two of his turnovers resulting directly in Essendon goals. Jack Viney and Nathan Jones battled all day, but Bernie Vince provided little, despite 28 possessions. Dean Kent in contrast provided nothing with only 5 touches. Ben Kennedy was fantastic and stood out in stark contrast to others on the field. With three goals and 21 touches, 11 of them contested, he was exactly the role model for winning. Sadly, others didn’t follow. Jeff Garlett is exciting when on song, but provided little in forward pressure. Hogan was similarly inclined, so the ball bounced out of attack all too frequently. This was a disgraceful performance from the side, not untypical of the worst of the past couple of years. How much have we progressed? Have we progressed? There is a good case to say nothing at all if you watched today’s game. Against the bigger bodies at North in Tassie next weekend we will struggle, if this effort is the best we can produce. Melbourne 1.4.10 6.4.40 7.7.49 10.7.67 Essendon 2.2.14 7.7.49 8.10.58 11.14.80 Goals Melbourne Kennedy 3 Garlett 2 Brayshaw Harmes Hogan Oliver Watts Essendon Brown Daniher Z Merrett 2 Hartley, Kommer, Langford, Parish Stokes Best Melbourne Kennedy N Jones Viney Gawn Essendon Z Merrett Daniher Zaharakis Parish J Merrett Goddard Kelly McDonald-Tipungwuti Changes Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil Essendon Fantasia (knee) Matt Dea (nose) Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Patrick Ambrose for rough conduct on James Harmes in the second quarter. Umpires Fisher, Stephens, Pannell Official crowd 50,424 at the MCG
  3. I'm sailing on the Yellow Sea somewhere between South Korea and China but my thoughts later today will be focused on the G. Go Dees.
  4. ON TRACK by Whispering Jack Nathan Jones is saying that the Demons are finally back on track. There is no doubt that the signs are good and they always are when you can number those who could potentially force their way into the best 22 from outside Saturday's winning team against the GWS Giants on the fingers of both hands. Yes, both hands. At Good Friday’s training session which was followed by an extended training session for players not selected which included game simulation and match practice with members of the Casey Scorpions squad, I counted a few there who were overlooked but who would normally have been pegged in as obvious selections. You can add a couple of the emergencies for Saturday who had to be rested and a couple of early draft selections on show for the first time coming back from long term injury. There are a couple of mates from Glenelg who have had a brief taste and are not far away, along with a couple of rookies fighting for an upgrade who had played well in Melbourne's last win of 2015 at Etihad Stadium - also against the Giants. This week's opponent is Essendon and by way of contrast to the above, you need only flash back three years in time when the teams also met in Round 2 under much different circumstances. Back then, it was Melbourne that was reeling in an out of control downward spiral and its list was so problematic that it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that half of the players who ran out that day might have struggled for games elsewhere. Such has been the rejuvenation of the Melbourne list in the interim under Paul Roos. However, it has not only been the change in personnel but also, there's been a sea change in culture, style of game and attitude and particularly so this year as the more attacking influence of coach-in-waiting Simon Goodwin begins to kick in. The greater depth in the playing group is an outcome of the work of Roos and co in the transformation of the club from a basket case to a contender. There still remain some ghosts of the past that must be laid to rest. The Bombers were at a low ebb when these teams met in Round 15 last year. They were sinking under the cloud of the long running drugs saga, their form was abysmal coming off a 110-point loss to St Kilda the week before, key players were missing with injury and James Hird's coaching tenure was under attack. It should have been an easy win for the Demons but they made a mess of it. Essendon is again at a low ebb now as it faces a season in the wilderness minus a dozen suspended players. The Bombers are in disarray. That would normally be a worry for a Melbourne team that seems to underperform when expected to do well but not this time. I expect Melbourne with its new found hardness, its purpose and more attacking mindset to lay to rest another ghost of the past. These things must be done to ensure the club remains on track. Melbourne by 40 points. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 2 April, 2016 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 128 wins Melbourne 81 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 65 wins Melbourne 45 wins 1 draw The last five meetings Essendon 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins The Coaches Worsfold 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV – Fox Footy Channel – live at 1.30 pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC THE BETTING Essendon $6.00 to win Melbourne $1.12 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Essendon 10.9.69 defeated Melbourne 7.18.60 at the MCG, Round 15, 2015 Melbourne dominated the play in the first half but couldn't put the Bombers away and was made to pay when they were outscored by one goal to six in the third quarter. Inaccuracy in front of goal didn't help. THE TEAMS ESSENDON B: Matt Dea, Mitch Brown, Mark Baguley HB: James Gwilt, Michael Hartley, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti C: Brendon Goddard, David Zaharakis, Jackson Merrett HF: Zach Merrett, Patrick Ambrose, Kyle Langford F: Mathew Stokes, Joe Daniher, Nick Kommer R: Matthew Leuenberger, Ryan Crowley, Darcy Parish I: Martin Gleeson, Orazio Fantasia, Adam Cooney, James Kelly IN: Nick Kommer, Michael Hartley (debut), Orazio Fantasia OUT: Craig Bird, Jonathan Simpkin, Shaun McKernan MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Heritier Lumumba HB: Matt Jones, Colin Garland, Christian Salem C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Aaron vandenBerg HF: Jack Watts, Cam Pedersen, James Harmes F: Dean Kent, Jesse Hogan, Jeff Garlett Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Clayton Oliver, Tom Bugg, Ben Kennedy Emg: Lynden Dunn, Billy Stretch, Sam Frost IN: Angus Brayshaw, Heritier Lumumba OUT: Sam Frost, Oscar McDonald
  5. ON TRACK by Whispering Jack Nathan Jones is saying that the Demons are finally back on track. There is no doubt that the signs are good and they always are when you can number those who could potentially force their way into the best 22 from outside Saturday's winning team against the GWS Giants on the fingers of both hands. Yes, both hands. At Good Friday’s training session which was followed by an extended training session for players not selected which included game simulation and match practice with members of the Casey Scorpions squad, I counted a few there who were overlooked but who would normally have been pegged in as obvious selections. You can add a couple of the emergencies for Saturday who had to be rested and a couple of early draft selections on show for the first time coming back from long term injury. There are a couple of mates from Glenelg who have had a brief taste and are not far away, along with a couple of rookies fighting for an upgrade who had played well in Melbourne's last win of 2015 at Etihad Stadium - also against the Giants. This week's opponent is Essendon and by way of contrast to the above, you need only flash back three years in time when the teams also met in Round 2 under much different circumstances. Back then, it was Melbourne that was reeling in an out of control downward spiral and its list was so problematic that it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that half of the players who ran out that day might have struggled for games elsewhere. Such has been the rejuvenation of the Melbourne list in the interim under Paul Roos. However, it has not only been the change in personnel but also, there's been a sea change in culture, style of game and attitude and particularly so this year as the more attacking influence of coach-in-waiting Simon Goodwin begins to kick in. The greater depth in the playing group is an outcome of the work of Roos and co in the transformation of the club from a basket case to a contender. There still remain some ghosts of the past that must be laid to rest. The Bombers were at a low ebb when these teams met in Round 15 last year. They were sinking under the cloud of the long running drugs saga, their form was abysmal coming off a 110-point loss to St Kilda the week before, key players were missing with injury and James Hird's coaching tenure was under attack. It should have been an easy win for the Demons but they made a mess of it. Essendon is again at a low ebb now as it faces a season in the wilderness minus a dozen suspended players. The Bombers are in disarray. That would normally be a worry for a Melbourne team that seems to underperform when expected to do well but not this time. I expect Melbourne with its new found hardness, its purpose and more attacking mindset to lay to rest another ghost of the past. These things must be done to ensure the club remains on track. Melbourne by 40 points. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 2 April, 2016 at 2.10pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 128 wins Melbourne 81 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 65 wins Melbourne 45 wins 1 draw The last five meetings Essendon 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins The Coaches Worsfold 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV – Fox Footy Channel – live at 1.30 pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC THE BETTING Essendon $6.00 to win Melbourne $1.12 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Essendon 10.9.69 defeated Melbourne 7.18.60 at the MCG, Round 15, 2015 Melbourne dominated the play in the first half but couldn't put the Bombers away and was made to pay when they were outscored by one goal to six in the third quarter. Inaccuracy in front of goal didn't help. THE TEAMS ESSENDON B: Matt Dea, Mitch Brown, Mark Baguley HB: James Gwilt, Michael Hartley, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti C: Brendon Goddard, David Zaharakis, Jackson Merrett HF: Zach Merrett, Patrick Ambrose, Kyle Langford F: Mathew Stokes, Joe Daniher, Nick Kommer R: Matthew Leuenberger, Ryan Crowley, Darcy Parish I: Martin Gleeson, Orazio Fantasia, Adam Cooney, James Kelly IN: Nick Kommer, Michael Hartley (debut), Orazio Fantasia OUT: Craig Bird (omit.), Jonathan Simpkin (omit.), Shaun McKernan (omit.) MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Heritier Lumumba HB: Matt Jones, Colin Garland, Christian Salem C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Aaron vandenBerg HF: Jack Watts, Cam Pedersen, James Harmes F: Dean Kent, Jesse Hogan, Jeff Garlett Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Clayton Oliver, Tom Bugg, Ben Kennedy Emg: Lynden Dunn, Billy Stretch, Sam Frost In: Lumumba, Brayshaw Out: Oscar McDonald (ankle), Sam Frost
  6. First of all, it seems that whenever we play the Bombers on the MCG, it's their home game. Good for their financial bottom line, not ours. Second of all, the last time they met, it was Round 15, 2015 and we were raging favourites against a side that had been ripped apart by 110 points a week earlier by the Saints. The selected teams were as follows:- ESSENDON B: Mark Baguley, Michael Hurley, James Gwilt HB: Jackson Merrett, Jake Melksham, Ariel Steinberg, Martin Gleeson C: Brent Stanton, Dyson Heppell, David Zaharakis HF: Zach Merrett, Joe Daniher, Michael Hibberd F: Patrick Ambrose, Cale Hooker, Jayden Laverde FOLL: Shaun McKernan, Ben Howlett, Brendon Goddard I/C: Alex Browne, Heath Hocking, Nick O'Brien, Jason Ashby, Shaun Edwards EMG: Jonathan Giles, Elliott Kavanagh, Kyle Langford IN: Patrick Ambrose, Jason Ashby, Alex Browne, Shaun Edwards, Heath Hocking, Jayden Laverde OUT: Adam Cooney (hamstring), Courtenay Dempsey (omitted), Elliott Kavanagh (omitted), Jake Melksham (hamstring), Jobe Watson (shoulder) NEW: Jayden Laverde (19, Western Jets) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Jeremy Howe, Tom McDonald, Billy Stretch C: Daniel Cross, Bernie Vince, Heritier Lumumba HF: Alex Neal-Bullen, Chris Dawes, Jeff Garlett F: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Jay Kennedy-Harris, James Harmes, Aaron vandenBerg, Dom Tyson EMG: Rohan Bail, Mark Jamar, Jack Fitzpatrick IN: James Harmes, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Heritier Lumumba, Aaron vandenBerg OUT: Rohan Bail, Matt Jones, Jake Spencer, Jimmy Toumpas (all omitted) NEW: James Harmes (19, Dandenong Stingrays) Third of all, after team selection on the Thursday nigh before the game, two more Essendon players dropped out with injury - Heath Hocking (back) and Jake Melksham (hamstring). They were replaced by virtual unknowns in Jason Ashby and Shaun Edwards. The Bombers were at their lowest ebb. Fourth of all, the lesson is that you can never be too overconfident when approaching any game of football. We all know the result of that game.
  7. B.T.D.T (been there, done that) by George on the Outer To quote from Demonland's own Oracle in his Match Preview: When, in recent history, has Melbourne ever won a game starting as the favourite? Once again the Demon supporters who have B.T.D.T knew all too well what was going to happen. Essendon on their knees, lost their captain, the club under a long-running drug investigation, senior players missing through injury, a 110 point thrashing the previous week, and not having a win since Round 8. Surely the reinvigorated Demons would be a certainty to chalk up the win, and better their whole season's performance from 2014? And as the Oracle noted, that a similarly depleted, (or even more depleted) Essendon side won against the Demons in the pre-season - another certain win that was just as equally squandered. But the heart won out for the Oracle over the head, with his final prediction of a Demon win, and guess what? Yes, the Demons managed to resurrect the career of James Hird, and shatter, yet again, the Demon supporters hopes. The first half of the match was a shocker for both sides, with both managing a meagre 3 goals each. Meanwhile the umpires (how do we manage to get Justin Schmitt as the senior umpire again?) were putting in a similar shocker to the Richmond-Carlton game the night before. Thirty-eight thousand plus spectators witnessed the first goal of the game to James Gwilt as being positively over the line on multiple replays, but miraculously the video umpire struggled to determine where the white line was. Simple for thousands but obviously not for one! A deliberate out of bounds against Essendon was not called until the field umpire who was 10 metres away from the action checked with Schmitty who was 100 metres away! What are these people paid to do? But it was Melbourne which was gradually throwing the game away in front of goal. Ultimately twenty-five scoring shots including three "posters" and a few more which went OOBs on the full, should have seen an easy win to the Demons but not when you can only muster 7 majors from such an effort! And ultimately it was effort which was severely lacking. With young kids like Harmes, Stretch, ANB, Brayshaw and Hogan in the side, the effort part of the game has to come from those of more experience. Yet not a peep came from Dawes, Garlett, Howe and a few others. ANB only got 8 touches, but he had more tackles (6), than Cross, Dawes, McDonald, Watts and Jetta all combined! All on a day where tackling was an easy option, with the congestion and slippery ball. In the ruck Max Gawn has cemented his position as our number 1 with an extraordinary 58 hit-outs. Now, all of them werent to advantage, and a fair number were toward exactly the wrong side of the contest, but at least he was giving us opportunities, particularly in the middle. If he can finally get a full pre-season, he will be a category 1 player for us in 2016. The return of Aaron Vandenberg was a positive and the efforts of Jones, Viney, and Vince in the middle and around the ground were of their usual high standard. Vineys work to limit Heppel was good, but he needed more support and at least and equal amount of effort from others in the side. The forward line was dysfunctional, as evidenced by the scoreline, and was shown up even more when Tom McDonald went forward in the last quarter and nearly won the game if only he had kicked straight! The fact that he was able to lead and mark when other couldnt for ¾ of the game was a tragic indictment on them. Yes, once again we managed to lose a game that screamed out as a certain 4 points. Once again the players approached the game with only a half-hearted demeanour, and they got the result that type of attitude produces. The game of AFL is to be played at 100% effort, for 100% of the game. We the supporters know that all too well, because too often we have seen those players in the Red and Blue do exactly what they did today. And each and every time the result is the same. Too often we have B.T.D.T.!!! Melbourne 1.3.9 3.9.27 4.13.37 7.18.60 Essendon 1.3.9 3.4.22 9.7.61 10.9.69 Goals Melbourne Garlett Hogan Howe Jetta McDonald Tyson vandenBerg Essendon Daniher 5 Edwards 2 Heppell Howlett Stanton Best Melbourne Gawn, Vince, Jones, vandenBerg, McDonand Dunn Viney Essendon Hurley Daniher Stanton Goddard Heppell Gwilt Changes Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Substitutions Melbourne Jay Kennedy-Harris replaced James Harmes in the third quarter Essendon Jason Ashby replaced Alex Browne (concussion) in the second quarter Injuries Melbourne Nil Essendon Alex Browne (concussion) Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Umpires Schmitt Mitchell Deboy. Official Crowd 38,861 at the MCG.
  8. Post your votes here please ... as soon as the final siren sounds
  9. RED ALERT by The Oracle This could only happen to Melbourne. Last Sunday, St. Kilda which had hitherto won just four games this season played a game against Essendon which was also on the same number of wins. The Bombers started as slight favourite and produced a performance that was so monumentally pathetic that it has to rank up there with the phenomenon known as "186" that was visited upon the Melbourne Football Club in 2011. After all, Geelong which inflected that defeat on the Demons went on to win the flag that year while the Saints who vanquished the Bombers at Etihad Stadium last weekend were not long ago considered wooden spoon favourite. They were so limp that they allowed the young Saints 141 more possessions, 23 more inside 50s, double the number of marks on the day (142 marks to 71) and effortless goal after effortless goal and in light of this, their 110-point loss, the seventh worst in their entire history was their equivalent of "186". The only difference was that the Essendon Board didn't sack the coach. Then came the news that Essendon skipper Jobe Watson has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury to join a swag of other household names at Bomberland sitting on the sidelines. Names like Paul Chapman (groin - 1-2 weeks), Adam Cooney (hamstring - 2 weeks), Tom Bellchambers (foot - 8 weeks), Travis Colyer (foot - 6-8 weeks), Jake Carlisle (ankle - 4-6 weeks) and the wonderful Orazio Fantasia (groin - 1-2 weeks). And the oldest man in the game, Dustin Fletcher who was in the game long before many current day competitors surfaced in their maternity wards has been missing for several weeks since he played his 400th AFL game. So the Bombers appear to be at their lowest ebb at the very same time when they face the Demons. They are so down in the dumps that the betting agencies have installed Melbourne as the favourite to win this week's game at the G and that's where the red flag comes into contention. When, in recent history, has Melbourne ever won a game starting as the favourite? Oh you might say that the Melbourne of 2015 is a different team to that of years gone by - that it's been competitive without actually winning more games than, say last year when it had the same number of wins at this stage of the journey. But let's not forget that Essendon still occupies one position higher by dint of its superior percentage (admittedly only by 1.6%). But how different is Melbourne right at this minute to the Melbourne of the past? Much was made of the fact that the team introduced seven new faces for the opening game of the season to go with some of the young up and comers introduced in the past year or so. I was contemplating this very thing in the early moments of last Saturday night's game in Darwin. Of the "seven", only Jeff Garlett and Jesse Hogan were still on the ground, the latter returning after missing a game through hamstring soreness. Where were the rest of the magnificent seven? Angus Brayshaw (subbed off with a neck injury after just two minutes); Sam Frost (missing since round three with a broken toe); Heritier Lumumba (foot); Ben Newton (at Casey coming back from concussion); Aaron Vandenberg (out for a month with a hamstring injury) And where were those young guns with promise who were there for that round 1 victory over the Suns? Jay Kennedy-Harris (at Casey after recovering from a groin injury); Dean Kent (missing since Anzac Day eve with a hamstring injury); and Christian Salem (also missing with a hammy first incurred two months ago and still 3 weeks away). All on top of that season-ending knee injury to Christian Petracca incurred back in February. This all suggests that the team hasn't changed much, that Saturday's game looms as the battle between the Norm Smith curse and the ASADA curse and the red flag has been well and truly raised. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 11 July, 2015 at 1.40pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 127 wins Melbourne 81 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 64 wins Melbourne 45 wins 1 draw The last five meetings Essendon 1 win Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches Hird 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel at 1.30pm (live) RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Essendon $2.35 to win Melbourne $1.59 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 12.6.78 defeated Essendon 10.17.77 Round 13, 2014 at the MCG This game produced one of the highlights of Melbourne's dismal 2014 season when a chain of disposals ended with a dramatic last minute mark and goal to Christian Salem to the Demons get up by the narrowest of margins against an inaccurate Essendon after trailing at one stage by 33 points. The lowlight was that it was the team's last win for 2014. THE TEAMS ESSENDON ​ B: Mark Baguley, Michael Hurley, James Gwilt HB: Jackson Merrett, Jake Melksham, Ariel Steinberg, Martin Gleeson C: Brent Stanton, Dyson Heppell, David Zaharakis HF: Zach Merrett, Joe Daniher, Michael Hibberd F: Patrick Ambrose, Cale Hooker, Jayden Laverde FOLL: Shaun McKernan, Ben Howlett, Brendon Goddard I/C: Alex Browne, Heath Hocking, Nick O'Brien, Jason Ashby, Shaun Edwards EMG: Jonathan Giles, Elliott Kavanagh, Kyle Langford IN: Patrick Ambrose, Jason Ashby, Alex Browne, Shaun Edwards, Heath Hocking, Jayden Laverde OUT: Adam Cooney (hamstring), Courtenay Dempsey (omitted), Elliott Kavanagh (omitted), Jake Melksham (hamstring), Jobe Watson (shoulder) NEW: Jayden Laverde (19, Western Jets) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Jeremy Howe, Tom McDonald, Billy Stretch C: Daniel Cross, Bernie Vince, Heritier Lumumba HF: Alex Neal-Bullen, Chris Dawes, Jeff Garlett F: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Jay Kennedy-Harris, James Harmes, Aaron vandenBerg, Dom Tyson EMG: Rohan Bail, Mark Jamar, Jack Fitzpatrick IN: James Harmes, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Heritier Lumumba, Aaron vandenBerg OUT: Rohan Bail, Matt Jones, Jake Spencer, Jimmy Toumpas (all omitted) NEW: James Harmes (19, Dandenong Stingrays) After team selection on Thursday night, two more Essendon players dropped out with injury - Heath Hocking (back) and Jake Melksham (hamstring). They were replaced by virtual unknowns in Jason Ashby and Shaun Edwards - even more bad news for the Demons who probably did zero homework on these blokes who will no doubt be the stars of the game The game is being billed as the Clash for Cancer and the face of the game from Essendon’s point of view is healed cancer sufferer Adam Ramanauskas. Given the club’s recent history with the illness and the loss of former greats Jim Stynes and Sean Wight and our association with breast cancer awareness, it’s a great cause and worthy of our support. The Essendon team appears to be falling apart with more injuries announced (as above) since Thursday night’s team selection. This is extremely problematic for Melbourne as the Bombers line up appears to be looking more and more like the one they one they put out on the field for the third NAB Challenge game back in March which was played at Etihad Stadium. Remember that? Essendon was coming off two shattering defeats including a pounding at the hands of St. Kilda (ahem). Melbourne had put in a fair performance in Fremantle against the Dockers and followed it up with a win against the Bulldogs in Ballarat. With the Bombers fielding a second rate side bereft of the remaining players among the Essendon 34 who were then awaiting the outcome of the AFL Tribunal decision on the ASADA doping charges, the Demons were raging favourites and a loss to this rag, tag depleted excuse for a football team was regarded as unthinkable. The unthinkable happened. So when the ball is bounced for the opening of the game at the MCG, let’s not labour under any delusions. It’s a danger game for the Demons. Former Bomber Matthew Lloyd has said that he expects the ‘little things’ to tell a big story when the teams meet. “I’m going to be looking at the first two or three stoppages, the effort around the ball, the contests, the pressure around the ball,” Lloyd said. “I think that’s where it all stems from, your confidence comes from all the little things. “The chases, the tackles, the smothers; and the rest just falls into line from there.” The likelihood of rain, strong winds and possible hailstorms promises a scrappy match in difficult conditions and in those instances, it’s the more settled team that wins in the end. I will therefore shun the curses, the red alerts, the history of Melbourne losing games when favourite and tip the Demons to finish on top by 22 points.
  10. To quote from Demonland's own Oracle in his Match Preview: When, in recent history, has Melbourne ever won a game starting as the favourite? Once again the Demon supporters who have B.T.D.T knew all too well what was going to happen. Essendon on their knees, lost their captain, the club under a long-running drug investigation, senior players missing through injury, a 110 point thrashing the previous week, and not having a win since Round 8. Surely the reinvigorated Demons would be a certainty to chalk up the win, and better their whole season's performance from 2014? And as the Oracle noted, that a similarly depleted, (or even more depleted) Essendon side won against the Demons in the pre-season - another certain win that was just as equally squandered. But the heart won out for the Oracle over the head, with his final prediction of a Demon win, and guess what? Yes, the Demons managed to resurrect the career of James Hird, and shatter, yet again, the Demon supporters hopes. The first half of the match was a shocker for both sides, with both managing a meagre 3 goals each. Meanwhile the umpires (how do we manage to get Justin Schmitt as the senior umpire again?) were putting in a similar shocker to the Richmond-Carlton game the night before. Thirty-eight thousand plus spectators witnessed the first goal of the game to James Gwilt as being positively over the line on multiple replays, but miraculously the video umpire struggled to determine where the white line was. Simple for thousands but obviously not for one! A deliberate out of bounds against Essendon was not called until the field umpire who was 10 metres away from the action checked with Schmitty who was 100 metres away! What are these people paid to do? But it was Melbourne which was gradually throwing the game away in front of goal. Ultimately twenty-five scoring shots including three "posters" and a few more which went OOBs on the full, should have seen an easy win to the Demons but not when you can only muster 7 majors from such an effort! And ultimately it was effort which was severely lacking. With young kids like Harmes, Stretch, ANB, Brayshaw and Hogan in the side, the effort part of the game has to come from those of more experience. Yet not a peep came from Dawes, Garlett, Howe and a few others. ANB only got 8 touches, but he had more tackles (6), than Cross, Dawes, McDonald, Watts and Jetta all combined! All on a day where tackling was an easy option, with the congestion and slippery ball. In the ruck Max Gawn has cemented his position as our number 1 with an extraordinary 58 hit-outs. Now, all of them werent to advantage, and a fair number were toward exactly the wrong side of the contest, but at least he was giving us opportunities, particularly in the middle. If he can finally get a full pre-season, he will be a category 1 player for us in 2016. The return of Aaron Vandenberg was a positive and the efforts of Jones, Viney, and Vince in the middle and around the ground were of their usual high standard. Vineys work to limit Heppel was good, but he needed more support and at least and equal amount of effort from others in the side. The forward line was dysfunctional, as evidenced by the scoreline, and was shown up even more when Tom McDonald went forward in the last quarter and nearly won the game if only he had kicked straight! The fact that he was able to lead and mark when other couldnt for ¾ of the game was a tragic indictment on them. Yes, once again we managed to lose a game that screamed out as a certain 4 points. Once again the players approached the game with only a half-hearted demeanour, and they got the result that type of attitude produces. The game of AFL is to be played at 100% effort, for 100% of the game. We the supporters know that all too well, because too often we have seen those players in the Red and Blue do exactly what they did today. And each and every time the result is the same. Too often we have B.T.D.T.!!! Melbourne 1.3.9 3.9.27 4.13.37 7.18.60 Essendon 1.3.9 3.4.22 9.7.61 10.9.69 Goals Melbourne Garlett Hogan Howe Jetta McDonald Tyson vandenBerg Essendon Daniher 5 Edwards 2 Heppell Howlett Stanton Best Melbourne Gawn, Vince, Jones, vandenBerg, McDonand Dunn Viney Essendon Hurley Daniher Stanton Goddard Heppell Gwilt Changes Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Substitutions Melbourne Jay Kennedy-Harris replaced James Harmes in the third quarter Essendon Jason Ashby replaced Alex Browne (concussion) in the second quarter Injuries Melbourne Nil Essendon Alex Browne (concussion) Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Umpires Schmitt Mitchell Deboy. Official Crowd 38,861 at the MCG.
  11. Does anyone remember the 2004 movie "The Day after Tomorrow"? It's one of the greatest films ever made about extreme weather conditions and features a combination of killer tornados, extreme hurricanes, incredible tidal waves, destructive floods and the commencement of a new ice age which just about sums up the forecasts for this afternoon's game and I must add ... in conditions such as those predicted ... anything can happen in a game of footy ... and it probably will
  12. This could only happen to Melbourne. Last Sunday, St. Kilda which had hitherto won just four games this season played a game against Essendon which was also on the same number of wins. The Bombers started as slight favourite and produced a performance that was so monumentally pathetic that it has to rank up there with the phenomenon known as "186" that was visited upon the Melbourne Football Club in 2011. After all, Geelong which inflected that defeat on the Demons went on to win the flag that year while the Saints who vanquished the Bombers at Etihad Stadium last weekend were not long ago considered wooden spoon favourite. They were so limp that they allowed the young Saints 141 more possessions, 23 more inside 50s, double the number of marks on the day (142 marks to 71) and effortless goal after effortless goal and in light of this, their 110-point loss, the seventh worst in their entire history was their equivalent of "186". The only difference was that the Essendon Board didn't sack the coach. Then came the news that Essendon skipper Jobe Watson has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury to join a swag of other household names at Bomberland sitting on the sidelines. Names like Paul Chapman (groin - 1-2 weeks), Adam Cooney (hamstring - 2 weeks), Tom Bellchambers (foot - 8 weeks), Travis Colyer (foot - 6-8 weeks), Jake Carlisle (ankle - 4-6 weeks) and the wonderful Orazio Fantasia (groin - 1-2 weeks). And the oldest man in the game, Dustin Fletcher who was in the game long before many current day competitors surfaced in their maternity wards has been missing for several weeks since he played his 400th AFL game. So the Bombers appear to be at their lowest ebb at the very same time when they face the Demons. They are so down in the dumps that the betting agencies have installed Melbourne as the favourite to win this week's game at the G and that's where the red flag comes into contention. When, in recent history, has Melbourne ever won a game starting as the favourite? Oh you might say that the Melbourne of 2015 is a different team to that of years gone by - that it's been competitive without actually winning more games than, say last year when it had the same number of wins at this stage of the journey. But let's not forget that Essendon still occupies one position higher by dint of its superior percentage (admittedly only by 1.6%). But how different is Melbourne right at this minute to the Melbourne of the past? Much was made of the fact that the team introduced seven new faces for the opening game of the season to go with some of the young up and comers introduced in the past year or so. I was contemplating this very thing in the early moments of last Saturday night's game in Darwin. Of the "seven", only Jeff Garlett and Jesse Hogan were still on the ground, the latter returning after missing a game through hamstring soreness. Where were the rest of the magnificent seven? Angus Brayshaw (subbed off with a neck injury after just two minutes); Sam Frost (missing since round three with a broken toe); Heritier Lumumba (foot); Ben Newton (at Casey coming back from concussion); Aaron Vandenberg (out for a month with a hamstring injury) And where were those young guns with promise who were there for that round 1 victory over the Suns? Jay Kennedy-Harris (at Casey after recovering from a groin injury); Dean Kent (missing since Anzac Day eve with a hamstring injury); and Christian Salem (also missing with a hammy first incurred two months ago and still 3 weeks away). All on top of that season-ending knee injury to Christian Petracca incurred back in February. This all suggests that the team hasn't changed much, that Saturday's game looms as the battle between the Norm Smith curse and the ASADA curse and the red flag has been well and truly raised. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 11 July, 2015 at 1.40pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 127 wins Melbourne 81 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 64 wins Melbourne 45 wins 1 draw The last five meetings Essendon 1 win Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches Hird 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel at 1.30pm (live) RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Essendon $2.35 to win Melbourne $1.59 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 12.6.78 defeated Essendon 10.17.77 Round 13, 2014 at the MCG This game produced one of the highlights of Melbourne's dismal 2014 season when a chain of disposals ended with a dramatic last minute mark and goal to Christian Salem to the Demons get up by the narrowest of margins against an inaccurate Essendon after trailing at one stage by 33 points. The lowlight was that it was the team's last win for 2014. THE TEAMS ESSENDON ​ B: Mark Baguley, Michael Hurley, James Gwilt HB: Jackson Merrett, Jake Melksham, Ariel Steinberg, Martin Gleeson C: Brent Stanton, Dyson Heppell, David Zaharakis HF: Zach Merrett, Joe Daniher, Michael Hibberd F: Patrick Ambrose, Cale Hooker, Jayden Laverde FOLL: Shaun McKernan, Ben Howlett, Brendon Goddard I/C: Alex Browne, Heath Hocking, Nick O'Brien, Jason Ashby, Shaun Edwards EMG: Jonathan Giles, Elliott Kavanagh, Kyle Langford IN: Patrick Ambrose, Jason Ashby, Alex Browne, Shaun Edwards, Heath Hocking, Jayden Laverde OUT: Adam Cooney (hamstring), Courtenay Dempsey (omitted), Elliott Kavanagh (omitted), Jake Melksham (hamstring), Jobe Watson (shoulder) NEW: Jayden Laverde (19, Western Jets) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Jeremy Howe, Tom McDonald, Billy Stretch C: Daniel Cross, Bernie Vince, Heritier Lumumba HF: Alex Neal-Bullen, Chris Dawes, Jeff Garlett F: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Jay Kennedy-Harris, James Harmes, Aaron vandenBerg, Dom Tyson EMG: Rohan Bail, Mark Jamar, Jack Fitzpatrick IN: James Harmes, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Heritier Lumumba, Aaron vandenBerg OUT: Rohan Bail, Matt Jones, Jake Spencer, Jimmy Toumpas (all omitted) NEW: James Harmes (19, Dandenong Stingrays) After team selection on Thursday night, two more Essendon players dropped out with injury - Heath Hocking (back) and Jake Melksham (hamstring). They were replaced by virtual unknowns in Jason Ashby and Shaun Edwards - even more bad news for the Demons who probably did zero homework on these blokes who will no doubt be the stars of the game The game is being billed as the Clash for Cancer and the face of the game from Essendon’s point of view is healed cancer sufferer Adam Ramanauskas. Given the club’s recent history with the illness and the loss of former greats Jim Stynes and Sean Wight and our association with breast cancer awareness, it’s a great cause and worthy of our support. The Essendon team appears to be falling apart with more injuries announced (as above) since Thursday night’s team selection. This is extremely problematic for Melbourne as the Bombers line up appears to be looking more and more like the one they one they put out on the field for the third NAB Challenge game back in March which was played at Etihad Stadium. Remember that? Essendon was coming off two shattering defeats including a pounding at the hands of St. Kilda (ahem). Melbourne had put in a fair performance in Fremantle against the Dockers and followed it up with a win against the Bulldogs in Ballarat. With the Bombers fielding a second rate side bereft of the remaining players among the Essendon 34 who were then awaiting the outcome of the AFL Tribunal decision on the ASADA doping charges, the Demons were raging favourites and a loss to this rag, tag depleted excuse for a football team was regarded as unthinkable. The unthinkable happened. So when the ball is bounced for the opening of the game at the MCG, let’s not labour under any delusions. It’s a danger game for the Demons. Former Bomber Matthew Lloyd has said that he expects the ‘little things’ to tell a big story when the teams meet. “I’m going to be looking at the first two or three stoppages, the effort around the ball, the contests, the pressure around the ball,” Lloyd said. “I think that’s where it all stems from, your confidence comes from all the little things. “The chases, the tackles, the smothers; and the rest just falls into line from there.” The likelihood of rain, strong winds and possible hailstorms promises a scrappy match in difficult conditions and in those instances, it’s the more settled team that wins in the end. I will therefore shun the curses, the red alerts, the history of Melbourne losing games when favourite and tip the Demons to finish on top by 22 points.
  13. This game produced one of the highlights of Melbourne's dismal 2014 season when a chain of disposals ended with a dramatic last minute mark and goal to Christian Salem to the Demons get up by the narrowest of margins against an inaccurate Essendon. The lowlight was that it was the team's last win for 2014. THE TEAMS ESSENDON B: Jake Carlisle, Cale Hooker, Courtenay Dempsey HB: Michael Hibberd, Michael Hurley, Mark Baguley C: Brendon Goddard, Dyson Heppell, Jake Melksham HF: Zach Merrett, Joe Daniher, David Zaharakis F: Jason Winderlich, Patrick Ryder, Patrick Ambrose Foll: Tom Bellchambers, Heath Hocking, Brent Stanton I/C: Paul Chapman, Dustin Fletcher, Ben Howlett, David Myers EMG: Travis Colyer, Cory DellOlio, Elliott Kavanagh IN: Michael Hurley, Jason Winderlich OUT: Cory DellOlio, Jobe Watson (hip surgery) MELBOURNE B: Jeremy Howe, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jack Grimes C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Daniel Cross HF: Nathan Jones, Chris Dawes, Rohan Bail F: Cam Pedersen, James Frawley, Jack Watts Foll: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Dean Kent, Jordie McKenzie, Aidan Riley Christian Salem EMG: Max Gawn, Dean Kent, Dan Nicholson, Dean Terlich IN: Dean Kent, Jordie McKenzie, Aidan Riley OUT: Max Gawn, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Dean Terlich
  14. "Elevator Driver carry me please Elevator Driver move Elevator Driver carry me please Elevator Driver move Past the stories of confusion To my penthouse of illusion, Elevator Driver" ~ from the song by the Masters Apprentices Teams, like colours, rise and ebb. When Melbourne last faced Essendon it was a Saturday night at the MCG early last year and in an atmosphere of helpless desperation they surrendered to an opponent which had something to prove in the wake of the raging supplements scandal. The mood of the supporters that night was one of anger and loss of hope as the Bombers treated their team to the tune of a 148-point crushing. Callers to late night talk back spoke in agonising terms of how their club and the players had betrayed them - so early in the season, the team was languishing deep in the basement. A lot happened after that night but the pain would persist throughout a season that saw two coaches come and go with little to enthuse the faithful or give rise to any hope that the team could lift itself out of those depths. The club needed something or at least someone to take control of its on field fortunes and to start a process whereby it could see some movement forward and upward. Enter the elevator driver - Paul Roos. He came to the club, rolled up his sleeves and began to work on its personnel, training and preparation, its tactics, strategy, its psychology and its culture and team philosophy. His advent has not come without controversy or criticism as was seen last week from the output of some of the more hysterical types in the media who were lashing the emphasis on defence which saw the team struggle to score goals in the final quarter and a half against Collingwood on Queens Birthday. Never mind that playing ugly has already seen Roos coach such ducklings and transform them quickly into premiership Swans in another time. Never mind that against Essendon, Roos' team was so defensive in mindset that it conceded 14 inside 50s before going into its own attacking circle and were goalless at quarter time - it's second consecutive term without a major score. Never mind because the Demons plugged away, hustling and bustling and thanks to the sterling play of those defenders, led by Lynden Dunn, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta, Col Garland and co dominating in the opposition's half, they had stayed within striking distance. Their efforts were reinforced by the efforts of Jordie McKenzie and Daniel Cross who had specific jobs to do, the Demon defence forced Essendon to butcher the ball under pressure, miss goals and targets and more importantly expend vital energy reserves in moving across the field to counter Melbourne's new found style. And so despite falling behind by 33 points by early in the second half, Melbourne was able to lift its game to the top floor. Inspired by the indefatigable leadership of Nathan Jones, the rising talents of Dom Tyson and Jack Viney, the experience and class of Bernie Vince and on a wave of power ruckwork from Mark Jamar, the turnaround came and the Demons struck the unsuspecting Bombers in the heart. Taking over in the midfield, the opportunities started presenting to the forwards who all played their part and in the end, a couple of unlikely young heroes in Dean Kent and Christian Salem played their part in bringing down the Bombers and signalling another move upward for their club. And you can put it all down to great team effort and another small triumph for the elevator operator. Melbourne 0.3.3 3.3.21 7.6.48 12.6.78 Essendon 2.4.16 5.12.42 8.12.60 10.17.77 Goals Melbourne Kent Frawley Pedersen Watts 2 Grimes N Jones Salem Vince Essendon Zaharakis 4 Ambrose Chapman Daniher Goddard Merrett Ryder Best Melbourne Dunn N Jones Viney Pederson Jamar Tyson Essendon Zaharakis Goddard Heppell Hibberd Carlisle Ambrose Changes Melbourne Nil Essendon Fletcher replaced in the selected side by Kavanaugh Injuries Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Essendon Nil Umpires Justin Schmitt Troy Pannell Brendan Hosking Crowd 44,622 at the MCG In memory of Jim Keays an Australian master musician and a Demon fan who passed away last week at far too young an age
  15. It's a big day for the sport today with Essendon taking the field for the first time since the issue of the SHOW-CAUSE notices on top of last night's results which mean that the Bombers will be in the top eight at the end of the round if they win. I imagine that there are many Bomber fans not happy with the course of the latest events re the ASADA investigation and it might be good policy for supporters to treat them with caution and respect. After all, if we lose today, our players are likely to be served with SNOW-CAUSE notices and you know how we would react to that sort of a ribbing.
  16. THE ALCHEMIST by Whispering Jack This week Melbourne faces Essendon for the second time since the February 7, 2013 media conference dubbed by former ASADA boss Richard Ings as the "blackest day in Australian sport". It is now widely acknowledged that the conference which suggested that there was rampant use in our sport, and in particular the country's two main football codes, of prohibited performance-enhancing substances known as peptides was a desperate ploy by the then government facing annihilation in the federal election due later in the year. Sixteen months later, the government agency charged with investigating the claims, the resource-stretched Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), has yet to issue its report and, other than one case where a rugby league player volunteered his guilt (and 10 months later still awaits his fate), there is little to show in terms of concrete action against the clubs and players allegedly involved. True, the leagues which run the two codes named have carried out their investigations and in the case of the AFL, it sanctioned Essendon and some employees on governance issues but the excruciatingly long wait for a final outcome, is taking its toll on all who are involved. The view with which I agree based on what I have heard and read about the Bombers' programme and the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) Code to which the AFL is a subscriber, is that ultimately some players from the Essendon Football Club will be penalised for their participation in a plan that went terribly wrong. The Bombers may well have undertaken the project to improve their playing group and its prospects of winning but it seems they might have employed alchemy instead of sports science. Clubs make mistakes. At the same time that Essendon engaged James Hird to take the helm as coach of their club, Melbourne employed Mark Neeld who came with excellent references and a significant role as an assistant to Mick Malthouse in Collingwood's 2010 premiership. Neeld saw the need to overhaul the Melbourne style of play and to bring it in line with the leading clubs, he sought to emphasise the defensive side of the game. He knew his list was brittle and not yet suited physically to the change in style and he didn't resort to the chemistry of the Bombers but instead tried to bring about the change naturally, a process which was going to take years and a measure of patience. In the interim however, he lacked the expertise and experience in the ways of dealing with such a list and was also burdened with a number of other issues during his brief term which he was unable to handle or to overcome. Neeld's failure was ultimately due to a different science to that which led to Hird's downfall*. He failed the simple basics of man management and ultimately this brought his term as coach to an abrupt end almost exactly twelve months ago. So the two clubs, Essendon and Melbourne, will lock horns at twilight on Sunday with different men at the helm, each charged with the mission of bringing renewed energy to his respective club by using a different brand of chemistry to that which was previously tried and which in each case proved to be an abject failure. This is the perfect prescription for an absorbing battle. * I use the word "downfall" which might sound a little strange given that he is currently advancing himself in his education somewhere in the French summer and earning $1m as part of his "punishment" in the peptides scandal but that is the way of the AFL in 2014. I don't believe that he will or should coach in 2015 or beyond for that matter, but of course, that's not my call. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Sunday, 15 June, 2014 at 4.40pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 127 wins Melbourne 80 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 64 wins Melbourne 44 wins 1 draw The last five years: Essendon 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins The Coaches Thompson 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA Fox Footy Channel at 4.30pm (live) RADIO 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Essendon $1.35 to win Melbourne $3.25 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Essendon 28.16.184 defeated Melbourne 5.6.36 Round 2, 2013 at the MCG It was a disheartened and dispirited Melbourne team that put in a disgraceful and unacceptable performance for a match played so early in the season. THE TEAMS ESSENDON B: Jake Carlisle, Cale Hooker, Courtenay Dempsey HB: Michael Hibberd, Michael Hurley, Mark Baguley C: Brendon Goddard, Dyson Heppell, Jake Melksham HF: Zach Merrett, Joe Daniher, David Zaharakis F: Jason Winderlich, Patrick Ryder, Patrick Ambrose Foll: Tom Bellchambers, Heath Hocking, Brent Stanton I/C: Paul Chapman, Dustin Fletcher, Ben Howlett, David Myers EMG: Travis Colyer, Cory DellOlio, Elliott Kavanagh IN: Michael Hurley, Jason Winderlich OUT: Cory DellOlio, Jobe Watson (hip surgery) MELBOURNE B: Jeremy Howe, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jack Grimes C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Daniel Cross HF: Nathan Jones, Chris Dawes, Rohan Bail F: Cam Pedersen, James Frawley, Jack Watts Foll: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Dean Kent, Jordie McKenzie, Aidan Riley Christian Salem EMG: Max Gawn, Dean Kent, Dan Nicholson, Dean Terlich IN: Dean Kent, Jordie McKenzie, Aidan Riley OUT: Max Gawn Jay Kennedy-Harris Dean Terlich SHOW-CAUSE In the days and weeks to come, "show-cause" will no doubt become a catchword in AFL circles but on Sunday, it will be up to Melbourne to show-cause to the football world as to why it deserves its respect and recognition. This is particularly so in light of two entirely unrelated matters - the team's last meeting against Essendon in round 2 of last year which resulted in an embarrassing 148-point slaughter that rocked the club to its very foundations and the team's three goal performance at its last start against Collingwood. I doubt that we are going to see Paul Roos address the team in the rooms before the game in the way that Mark Neeld did last year. Roos is too cool a customer for that. I don't expect his team to leak goals like a sieve at an average of seven goals per quarter either. Roos has tightened up the team's defensive structures this year but there are clear issues with his team's attacking side. Notwithstanding, it was an umpiring error that probably prevented his team from going into the final break last week on close to even terms. It is generally conceded that the umpire who disallowed Bernie Vinces goal late in the third quarter did so in error and the Pies were lucky that one or two other line ball decisions went their way but you're never going to win arguing the toss with umpires and, in the end, Collingwood won because it was the better side on the day but Melbourne proved it was at least a ten goal better side than last year. However, in this game, Melbourne needs to show far greater improvement than simply ten goals. The absence of Essendon's leader and major playmaker Tim Watson, will help but (and pardon me for saying this) the jury is definitely out on the effect of the Bombers' problems with ASADA. The dramatic events following the issue of show-cause notices could be a help or a hindrance and we won't know which way it will go until the first ball is bounced. In the past, this team has been galvanised by the difficult circumstances it has faced over the peptides scandal and it should be remembered that the round two triumph was only their second official game after the darkest day news broke and they won their first against the Crows with relative ease as well. Apart from knowing that Essendon is not going to crack easily under pressure, it also is experiencing winning form at the moment having lost just one game since Anzac Day and that was against the in-form Swans. They may not have been all that impressive at times but four out of five aint bad. They might have lost their skipper but they do have Michael Hurley and Jason Winderlich back in the side so it would be a fool who considers them ripe for the picking. Melbourne continues to be well served by its batch of 2014 newcomers and, despite Dom Tysons reduced output when tagged last week, the midfield led by Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince and Daniel Cross as the stopper is making heads turn. This game will be a close heart stopper and Im looking for Melbourne to convert a little better than it did last week. If it doesnt, we can expect a similar result.
  17. This week Melbourne faces Essendon for the second time since the February 7, 2013 media conference dubbed by former ASADA boss Richard Ings as the "blackest day in Australian sport". It is now widely acknowledged that the conference which suggested that there was rampant use in our sport, and in particular the country's two main football codes, of prohibited performance-enhancing substances known as peptides was a desperate ploy by the then government facing annihilation in the federal election due later in the year. Sixteen months later, the government agency charged with investigating the claims, the resource-stretched Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), has yet to issue its report and, other than one case where a rugby league player volunteered his guilt (and 10 months later still awaits his fate), there is little to show in terms of concrete action against the clubs and players allegedly involved. True, the leagues which run the two codes named have carried out their investigations and in the case of the AFL, it sanctioned Essendon and some employees on governance issues but the excruciatingly long wait for a final outcome, is taking its toll on all who are involved. The view with which I agree based on what I have heard and read about the Bombers' programme and the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) Code to which the AFL is a subscriber, is that ultimately some players from the Essendon Football Club will be penalised for their participation in a plan that went terribly wrong. The Bombers may well have undertaken the project to improve their playing group and its prospects of winning but it seems they might have employed alchemy instead of sports science. Clubs make mistakes. At the same time that Essendon engaged James Hird to take the helm as coach of their club, Melbourne employed Mark Neeld who came with excellent references and a significant role as an assistant to Mick Malthouse in Collingwood's 2010 premiership. Neeld saw the need to overhaul the Melbourne style of play and to bring it in line with the leading clubs, he sought to emphasise the defensive side of the game. He knew his list was brittle and not yet suited physically to the change in style and he didn't resort to the chemistry of the Bombers but instead tried to bring about the change naturally, a process which was going to take years and a measure of patience. In the interim however, he lacked the expertise and experience in the ways of dealing with such a list and was also burdened with a number of other issues during his brief term which he was unable to handle or to overcome. Neeld's failure was ultimately due to a different science to that which led to Hird's downfall*. He failed the simple basics of man management and ultimately this brought his term as coach to an abrupt end almost exactly twelve months ago. So the two clubs, Essendon and Melbourne, will lock horns at twilight on Sunday with different men at the helm, each charged with the mission of bringing renewed energy to his respective club by using a different brand of chemistry to that which was previously tried and which in each case proved to be an abject failure. This is the perfect prescription for an absorbing battle. * I use the word "downfall" which might sound a little strange given that he is currently advancing himself in his education somewhere in the French summer and earning $1m as part of his "punishment" in the peptides scandal but that is the way of the AFL in 2014. I don't believe that he will or should coach in 2015 or beyond for that matter, but of course, that's not my call. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Sunday, 15 June, 2014 at 4.40pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 127 wins Melbourne 80 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 64 wins Melbourne 44 wins 1 draw The last five years: Essendon 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins The Coaches Thompson 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA Fox Footy Channel at 4.30pm (live) RADIO 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Essendon $1.35 to win Melbourne $3.25 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Essendon 28.16.184 defeated Melbourne 5.6.36 Round 2, 2013 at the MCG It was a disheartened and dispirited Melbourne team that put in a disgraceful and unacceptable performance for a match played so early in the season. THE TEAMS ESSENDON B: Jake Carlisle, Cale Hooker, Courtenay Dempsey HB: Michael Hibberd, Michael Hurley, Mark Baguley C: Brendon Goddard, Dyson Heppell, Jake Melksham HF: Zach Merrett, Joe Daniher, David Zaharakis F: Jason Winderlich, Patrick Ryder, Patrick Ambrose Foll: Tom Bellchambers, Heath Hocking, Brent Stanton I/C: Paul Chapman, Dustin Fletcher, Ben Howlett, David Myers EMG: Travis Colyer, Cory DellOlio, Elliott Kavanagh IN: Michael Hurley, Jason Winderlich OUT: Cory DellOlio, Jobe Watson (hip surgery) MELBOURNE B: Jeremy Howe, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Jack Grimes C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Daniel Cross HF: Nathan Jones, Chris Dawes, Rohan Bail F: Cam Pedersen, James Frawley, Jack Watts Foll: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Dean Kent, Jordie McKenzie, Aidan Riley Christian Salem EMG: Max Gawn, Dean Kent, Dan Nicholson, Dean Terlich IN: Dean Kent, Jordie McKenzie, Aidan Riley OUT: Max Gawn, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Dean Terlich SHOW-CAUSE In the days and weeks to come, "show-cause" will no doubt become a catchword in AFL circles but on Sunday, it will be up to Melbourne to show-cause to the football world as to why it deserves its respect and recognition. This is particularly so in light of two entirely unrelated matters - the team's last meeting against Essendon in round 2 of last year which resulted in an embarrassing 148-point slaughter that rocked the club to its very foundations and the team's three goal performance at its last start against Collingwood. I doubt that we are going to see Paul Roos address the team in the rooms before the game in the way that Mark Neeld did last year. Roos is too cool a customer for that. I don't expect his team to leak goals like a sieve at an average of seven goals per quarter either. Roos has tightened up the team's defensive structures this year but there are clear issues with his team's attacking side. Notwithstanding, it was an umpiring error that probably prevented his team from going into the final break last week on close to even terms. It is generally conceded that the umpire who disallowed Bernie Vinces goal late in the third quarter did so in error and the Pies were lucky that one or two other line ball decisions went their way but you're never going to win arguing the toss with umpires and, in the end, Collingwood won because it was the better side on the day but Melbourne proved it was at least a ten goal better side than last year. However, in this game, Melbourne needs to show far greater improvement than simply ten goals. The absence of Essendon's leader and major playmaker Tim Watson, will help but (and pardon me for saying this) the jury is definitely out on the effect of the Bombers' problems with ASADA. The dramatic events following the issue of show-cause notices could be a help or a hindrance and we won't know which way it will go until the first ball is bounced. In the past, this team has been galvanised by the difficult circumstances it has faced over the peptides scandal and it should be remembered that the round two triumph was only their second official game after the darkest day news broke and they won their first against the Crows with relative ease as well. Apart from knowing that Essendon is not going to crack easily under pressure, it also is experiencing winning form at the moment having lost just one game since Anzac Day and that was against the in-form Swans. They may not have been all that impressive at times but four out of five aint bad. They might have lost their skipper but they do have Michael Hurley and Jason Winderlich back in the side so it would be a fool who considers them ripe for the picking. Melbourne continues to be well served by its batch of 2014 newcomers and, despite Dom Tysons reduced output when tagged last week, the midfield led by Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince and Daniel Cross as the stopper is making heads turn. This game will be a close heart stopper and Im looking for Melbourne to convert a little better than it did last week. If it doesnt, we can expect a similar result.
  18. We owe them big time! ESSENDON Backs Mark Baguley Jake Carlisle Dustin Fletcher Half backs Brendon Goddard Cale Hooker Brent Stanton Centreline Dyson Heppell Jobe Watson Alwyn Davey Half forwards Stewart Crameri Michael Hurley David Zaharakis Forwards Nick Kommer Patrick Ryder Jake Melksham Followers Tom Bellchambers Heath Hocking Courtenay Dempsey Interchange Michael Hibberd Ben Howlett Jackson Merrett David Myers Emergencies Will Hams David Hille Elliott Kavanagh MELBOURNE Backs Tom Gillies James Frawley Dean Terlich Half backs Jack Watts Tom McDonald Tom Garland Centreline Jack Grimes Jack Viney Matt Jones Half forwards Sam Blease James Sellar Jeremy Howe Forwards Colin Sylvia Mitch Clark Shannon Byrnes Followers Mark Jamar Jordie McKenzie Nathan Jones Interchange Aaron Davey Dan Nicholson Jimmy Toumpas Jack Trengove Emergencies Cameron Pedersen David Rodan Jake Spencer In Aaron Davey Tom McDonald Dean Terlich Jack Trengove Out Lynden Dunn (hamstring) Cameron Petersen David Rodan Luke Tapscott
  19. As disgusting and horrible as last week was, if we can somehow win tonight then i will forget round 1 completely and i bet the MFC does too and marches forward. Lets face it, last week was only one match. Yes we have been crap for a long time Yes it was atrocious, degrading, embarassing. Almost soul destroying. But the bottom line is that we can beat the Bomnbers and if we do it will be happy days again. GO DEMONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  20. RESPONDING TO FAILURE by The Oracle Sunday's mind-numbing performance by the Demons was shocking enough but what sort of experience lies in store for the long suffering fans of the game's oldest club? A clue to the answer to that question might have been subliminally implanted in my brain during last week's fiasco by a message they kept flashing up on the main scoreboard which kept saying, "Sleep at the G". I suspect this might have been the creation of some brain child at the club who thought it might be an interesting promotion for the club but thankfully, it's probably been shelved and put away in the same cupboard that contains Mark Neeld's game plan. Anyway, with or without the promotion, there's a fair chance based on recent history, that those of the club's supporters who come along to the G on Saturday night will be well and truly snoozing in their seats well before the half time siren sounds to awaken them from their reverie. All kidding aside, it was a shocking performance by the team to lose first up to Port Adelaide, but is it not possible that the Power are a lot better side than most of us thought and that, even though there's no justification or excuse for it in Round 1, Melbourne was badly in off mode for the game against an aggressive emotion-charged opponent? The Demons have taken some big hits from the top of the club to the bottom, but is one swallow sufficient justification at this early stage of the season to tear the club apart with demands that the President, the Board, the CEO and the coach all fall on their swords Richmond style? Is this the right way to respond to failure? One Demonlander had this to say this week:- RESOLVE LEADS TO VICTORY by MFC1858 I've failed many times and in many ways in life and football but there's so much that we can learn by understanding how we respond to failure. Failure in football is more than just losing matches. What we saw on the weekend was failure, not simply a loss. In today's game there is so much time and effort invested by clubs in ensuring that the skills, strategies, fitness, strength and composition of teams that one could be forgiven for thinking that these are the things which will lead to success if executed better than the opposition on any given day. The reality of the AFL is that all of these aspects of a team's preparation are more or less consistent with each other, being at the elite level. The small differences between teams may see teams lose by a goal or two, or even five. Results like that which we saw are caused by a deficiency in something else. Coach Mark Neeld and Captain Jack Grimes were both shocked at the result on the weekend, but maybe this is because they failed to understand what the critical elements of success in this game are. Confidence & Resolve Successful teams generally win games because they have either superior confidence than the opposition, because they are more resolute or both. Confidence affects the offensive aspects of the game, whereby a confident player will swiftly position themselves in an attacking position when in possession, or move the fall swiftly to such a position. On the other side a team lacking in confidence will hesitate when in possession, both in disposal and positioning. Confidence is somewhat fleeting, and can not be artificially imposed on players or teams, it comes from real outcomes. We often see this as scoreboard pressure - when victory is within reach confidence swells quickly, this causes momentum. The opposite of this is also true, making confidence an element of our game which leaders needs to understand but can't actually control. Resolve concerns the game where the opposition have the ball or the ball is in dispute. A resolved individual will be determined and disciplined in attacking a loose ball, tackling, chasing an opponent or lunging for a smother. If a team's resolve is greater than the opposition, it will accumulate to stifle confidence, and possibly even break their resolve. Once resolve is broken a football team fails, as we did on the weekend. Unlike confidence though, resolve can be developed within a team by its leaders, and this is the role that our coach and captains have at hand. What makes this difficult is that the triggers or stimuli for resolve in individuals differ. Some people respond to criticism and failure with resolve, others respond to encouragement with resolve. It's the old you can do it/you can't do it response. Our leaders should know which kind of approach to take to develop this resolve with every player at the club. Ruthless condemnation to those who will respond to it with resolve, and reinforcement of the strengths which they can do well for those who will respond to this. They then need to apply this personally and as a team with vigour. This is the job of a leader. What our club needs at the moment is not changes in personnel, we've seen first hand this is not the answer to questions of success or failure. Our club needs to develop leaders who genuinely understand what's required, and are motivated to impress this, to demand this resolve from the team. I hope that what happened last week was the wake up call that the team needed, but it needs to be used to develop resolve by our leaders. I'd love to see the same team run out this week with resolve which leads to confidence, success and then, maybe, victory. The supporters appear to agree that wholesale changes in personnel after one game will not solve things. A poll carried out on the site is currently showing only 33% in favour of such changes at the top. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 6 April, 2013 at 7.40pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 126 wins Melbourne 80 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 63 wins Melbourne 44 wins 1 draw Since 2000: Essendon 10 wins Melbourne 7 wins The Coaches Hird 0 wins Neeld 1 win MEDIA TV Channel 7 & Fox Footy Channel at 7.30pm (live) RADIO THE BETTING Essendon $1.10 to win Melbourne $7.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 8.10.58 defeated Essendon 6.16.52 Round 10, 2012 at the MCG Underdog Melbourne stunned the football world when it won this game by a goal against ladder leader Essendon which had looked a likely top four prospect. Coach Mark Neeld pulled some great moves including Colin Garland from defence to forward while Jack Watts slotted brilliantly into defence with a best on ground performance. The embarrassed Bombers went downhill while the Demons didn't go anywhere after this result either. THE TEAMS ESSENDON Backs Mark Baguley Jake Carlisle Dustin Fletcher Half backs Brendon Goddard Cale Hooker Brent Stanton Centreline Dyson Heppell Jobe Watson Alwyn Davey Half forwards Stewart Crameri Michael Hurley David Zaharakis Forwards Nick Kommer Patrick Ryder Jake Melksham Followers Tom Bellchambers Heath Hocking Courtenay Dempsey Interchange Michael Hibberd Ben Howlett Jackson Merrett David Myers Emergencies Will Hams David Hille Elliott Kavanagh MELBOURNE Backs Tom Gillies James Frawley Dean Terlich Half backs Jack Watts Tom McDonald Tom Garland Centreline Jack Grimes Jack Viney Matt Jones Half forwards Sam Blease James Sellar Jeremy Howe Forwards Colin Sylvia Mitch Clark Shannon Byrnes Followers Mark Jamar Jordie McKenzie Nathan Jones Interchange Aaron Davey Dan Nicholson Jimmy Toumpas Jack Trengove Emergencies Cameron Pedersen David Rodan Jake Spencer In Aaron Davey Tom McDonald Dean Terlich Jack Trengove Out Lynden Dunn (hamstring) Cameron Petersen David Rodan Luke Tapscott New Dean Terlich (23, Norwood, SA) PROFESSIONALS? by The Oracle The opposing teams both took on opposition from South Australia in Round 1 with dramatically contrasting outcomes. Essendon crossed the border and beat Adelaide (3rd in 2012) by 35 points on its own home patch while nine days later, Melbourne went down to Port Adelaide (14th in 2012) by 79 points at the MCG. This information alone is sufficient to suggest that the unchanged Bombers are set for an easy night on Saturday. Melbourne has made four changes to the side that was bashed by Port Adelaide last Sunday and, on the face of it, each of the changes is a plus for the team. The players being replaced had a minimal contribution to the team effort while those coming in all have the capacity to play important roles for the team. Of course, in order for Melbourne to be competitive (let alone win) against the Bombers, it will need more than just the four newcomers to fire up. It requires an enormous lift all over the park. It needs its players to perform like the highly paid professions they profess to be. The Demons are coming off a six day break while the Bombers should be well rested having last played 15 days ago. Most of their players had a week off before that which makes Saturday's game only their second in 29 days. This could well be the weakness for Melbourne to exploit because, just as it came out looking lethargic and playing that way last week, there remains the possibility that its players have been stung by the reaction to their insipid first up performance. Then there's also the possibility that we've all underestimated Port Adelaide and overestimated the Crows or that the Round 1 results were aberrations. That's it. If Essendon look at the way Melbourne played last week, it should come out this week with supreme confidence. There's no need for an analysis of match ups. If James Frawley comes out and meanders around the park as he did last week, then Michael Hurley will have a field day. Multiply that 22 times but allow for a handful of Demons who put in an effort and it's going to be a slaughter. Time for Melbourne players to come out and look and act like professional footballers. Essendon to win. I make no prediction as to the margin.
  21. It was a major upset last year. If we get up on Saturday night it will be much more than that. ESSENDON Backs Cale Hooker Dustin Fletcher Courtenay Dempsey Half backs Ricky Dyson Kyle Hardingham Jake Carlisle Centreline David Zaharakis Jobe Watson Brent Stanton Half forwards Angus Monfries Stewart Crameri Patrick Ryder Forwards Leroy Jetta Michael Hurley Alwyn Davey Followers Tom Bellchambers Ben Howlett Heath Hocking Interchange Travis Colyer Sam Lonergan Nathan Lovett-Murray Melksham Emergencies David Hille Tayte Pears Henry Slattery In Dustin Fletcher Kyle Hardingham Leroy Jetta Out Mark McVeigh Tayte Pears Henry Slattery MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Tom McDonald Half backs Jack Trengove Jack Watts Colin Garland Centreline Jack Grimes James Magner Nathan Jones Half forwards Rohan Bail Mitch Clark Joel Macdonald Forwards Jeremy Howe Brad Green Luke Tapscott Followers Mark Jamar Brent Moloney Jordie McKenzie Interchange Sam Blease Lynden Dunn Daniel Nicholson Colin Sylvia Emergencies Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell James Sellar In Joel Macdonald Colin Sylvia Out Jamie Bennell James Sellar
  22. ENDING THE DAYS OF PAIN by Whispering Jack The media is reporting that one of the Melbourne Football Club's responses to recent intense media criticism in the wake of the team's poor winless record after nine rounds has been to institute a series of meetings for selected supporters where they can question the club chairman Don McLardy, CEO Cam Schwab, Coach Mark Neeld and his assistant Neil Craig on matters relating to all aspects of its performance. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the first of these sessions on Tuesday night and can vouch for the fact that the evening could in no way be described as a "crisis" meeting although that is precisely the impression that many have of the club at present - a club in crisis. It was however, all about the way the club is moving to end the long days of pain it has been experiencing for more than half a decade. From my point of view as a concerned supporter, the one and a half hours were in fact as positive, constructive as they could be in the club's circumstances. The three speakers, McLardy, Neeld and Craig outlined their plans and strategies and made a good fist of reassuring a group of fairly hardnosed supporters that the club is on the right path despite the fact that it sits winless at the foot of the AFL table in a season in which two very young franchises are currently ahead of them (albeit narrowly). I know there are many sceptics but I have to say I was impressed by what the three had to say. McLardy outlined where the club is off the field and this has been well documented. We a positive net asset position despite the loss of a major sponsor. McLardy defended Cameron Schwab and pointed to the red and blueprint which Schwab put together and which has earned praise from the AFL administration. Neeld put together a very impressive presentation. He presented statistics of various indicators to show how his game plan is developing. It's a game plan that's based heavily on defence - not just from back line players but from every position on the field. He pointed out that statistics indicate that only one premiership team in the past three decades hadn't finished in the top four in defensive statistics (Brisbane Lions in 2003 were sixth but in the second half of that season were first). Neeld cited Dean Cox who said the difference between WCE of 2010 and 2011 was that the players adopted and embraced a strongly defensive approach. Needless to say the coach is convinced the tide will turn but it might still take time. Both he and Craig said they were staggered that players were saying they went through their toughest pre season after the new guard took over. They said that in their view, training loads were kept fairly conservatively (to avoid major injuries) and the intensity will be ramped up more during the next pre season. Neeld's view is that many players are brought up with attacking mindsets. The most talented players coming into the TAC Cup system are usually midfielders or forwards. They often remain good attacking players but don't measure up defensively. He found this with many players at Melbourne. He is convinced that the indicators show that his methods are working. Against Carlton, Neeld was happy with the figures both from a defensive and an attacking viewpoint. We were good in a number of areas but during the last quarter when the players were tired, Carlton was able to ramp up the pressure and many of our players reverted to old habits and didn't work hard enough defensively. The easy way to coach would probably have been to follow the same path as Neeld's predecessors, a path that might have brought better results in the short term but would never have given the club a chance to challenge the big boys in much the same way as it struggled against them last year. We all well remember the meaning of "bruise free" and "186" from 2011 even if there were some big moments against the competition's lesser lights. It goes without saying that we can expect changes in the makeup of the team and clearly, the midfield will be the area that gets a fair bit of attention. Craig defended Neeld and his other assistants and pointed to the unbelievable initiation he's had into coaching ranks including the Jurrah situation, the Davey/Mifsud racism furore, the death of Jimmy, the injuries and poor form. Craig also defended Schwab noting that he hadn't seen any sign of interference from the CEO into football department matters (nor McLardy for that matter). Craig was full of praise for the entire leadership group. For all that, Melbourne remains on the bottom of the AFL ladder, and faces Essendon and Collingwood in its next two matches. The days of pain may not be over yet. THE GAME Essendon v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday, 2 June 2012 at 7.40pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Essendon 126 wins Melbourne 79 wins 2 draws At the MCG Essendon 63 wins Melbourne 43 wins 1 draw Since 2000: Essendon 10 wins Melbourne 6 wins The Coaches Hird 0 wins Neeld 0 wins MEDIA TV Channel 7 Fox Footy Channel live at 7.30pm RADIO 3AW Triple M THE BETTING Essendon $1.05 to win Melbourne $10.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 15.11.101 defeated Essendon 10.8. 68 at the MCG It was a great night for the Demons as the unexpectedly bested the Bombers in all parts of the ground. It was a big night for Melbourne's young midfielders with Gysberts, Trengove and McKenzie in outstanding form and Scully doing well on return. The problem from Melbourne's point of view is that its goal kickers that night were:- Green 4 Jurrah 3 Jetta Moloney 2 Howe Scully Sylvia Watts How many of these players will be in action on Saturday night? THE TEAMS ESSENDON Backs Cale Hooker Dustin Fletcher Courtenay Dempsey Half backs Ricky Dyson Kyle Hardingham Jake Carlisle Centreline David Zaharakis Jobe Watson Brent Stanton Half forwards Angus Monfries Stewart Crameri Patrick Ryder Forwards Leroy Jetta Michael Hurley Alwyn Davey Followers Tom Bellchambers Ben Howlett Heath Hocking Interchange Travis Colyer Sam Lonergan Nathan Lovett-Murray Melksham Emergencies David Hille Tayte Pears Henry Slattery In Dustin Fletcher Kyle Hardingham Leroy Jetta Out Mark McVeigh Tayte Pears Henry Slattery MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Tom McDonald Half backs Jack Trengove Jack Watts Colin Garland Centreline Jack Grimes James Magner Nathan Jones Half forwards Rohan Bail Mitch Clark Joel Macdonald Forwards Jeremy Howe Brad Green Luke Tapscott Followers Mark Jamar Brent Moloney Jordie McKenzie Interchange Sam Blease Lynden Dunn Daniel Nicholson Colin Sylvia Emergencies Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell James Sellar In Joel Macdonald Colin Sylvia Out Jamie Bennell James Sellar THE TROUBLES by Whispering Jack It's hard to fathom that twelve months down the track from their last meeting that the two combatants in this game would be at almost polar opposites to each other and that Essendon would be starting as such an odds on favourite to win. The Bombers are sitting in equal top position on the ladder with just one loss for the season (by a single point to Collingwood on Anzac Day) while the Demons have lost their first nine matches of the season. That's enough to make it a lay down misere that an Essendon brimming with confidence will win and win easily and that's how I'm predicting the game to pan out. Part of the question why is already explained above in some shape or form. The type of game that is being instilled into the Melbourne team is radically different to that which applied in past years and the team is not yet ready in terms of make up and fitness to conquer top eight teams in full flight. In last year's encounter, we caught a glimpse of a better Melbourne midfield. It was headed by Brent Moloney who won the club's best and fairest and polled 19 Brownlow votes. Beamer's form has been well down on that and he would be very lucky to have polled a vote at all to this stage of the season. But the better midfielders that night included Jordan Gysberts, Jack Trengove, Jordie McKenzie and Tom Scully, who all racked up good numbers on their possession counts. Two of those players haven't played this year. Gysberts is injured and Scully jumped ship. The so called "compensation" for the latter won't kick in for a while. Other potential young midfielders on the list also languish with injuries and loss of form. So the club's all important midfield has taken a hit just at the time when it's most needed and much development time is being lost. But if the midfield has taken a hit then there's also the matter of the attack. Even with the changes that Neeld's defensive approach entails, the end game is always to score ... at least more than the opposition in any given game. So here is something that the club's harshest critics seem to have missed. Last year, Melbourne's top three goalkickers were:- • Liam Jurrah 40 goals • Brad Green 37 goals • Colin Sylvia 25 goals That's 102 goals between the club's three most attacking playmakers. These players alone directly contributed almost five goals per game between them and I dare say would have been responsible for setting up a few more goals to others on a weekly basis. It's not unreasonable that we should have expected this trio, Mitch Clark and perhaps Ricky Petterd as well, to do most of the team's scoring. Alas, after nine matches we have had very little from the players we might have otherwise expected to contribute to the scoreboard. Instead, we have this:- • Liam Jurrah 0 goals • Brad Green 2 goals • Colin Sylvia 1 goal Now, if you take the three top goalkicking forwards as completely out of the equation as the above figures indicate, it's not likely that a young team with a completely new style of play to learn is going to show very much, particularly if the midfield is also performing at well below its best. Sure, you might say it's the coach's role to get the best out of his players and that will certainly be the case in the medium to long term but after nine games in these circumstances, there's is no reason to do anything other than to cut him some slack. The troubles are by no means over but there needs to be a much greater understanding of Neeld and his team's plight. When it all starts to click the results will be quite dramatic; the club will be in a much better place and the days of pain will be over. But, I don't think we can expect that to happen this week. Essendon by 34 points.
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