how to beat melbourne...

TigerFan said:

own the corridor, simple.

the Eagles played accountable football down the corridor, with Dean Cox's effort around the ground on Jeff White pretty much sealing the result.


Melbourne were pretty easily shut down by the Eagles by simply controlling the centre square, eliminating the CHF position - brad miller didn't seem to have much influence, most of his marking is done in the 70-80m from goal area, often in the centre square.

Melbourne were able to get the ball forward often enough to kick a winning score, but they just couldn't get enough 'quality' I50s.


hence, I think Melbourne will not have a very big impact upon the September action. they are virtually unstoppable if allowed to 'play their own game', but good accountable sides can shut them down.

face it Demons, there aren't going to be many flat tracks for you to bully upon this September, and a straight sets exit would not surprise me in the slightest.

good luck

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feelyngood said:

I dissagree tigerFan,

after one loss to the best team in the compitition, which came after a five day break, and without the captain, it maybe a little to early to completely write off a team sitting in second position.
But, aside from the 5 day break, Melbourne lost to a better team at the minute, due to wc great toughness/pressure all over the ground and dominating out of the middle. If you've watched much of the dees this year you'd know that jeff white has a big say in out centre clearances and dean cox killed him. hitout's were 48/18. This gave the eagles super midfield the better chance of winning the footy at all stoppages. Melbourne's normal level of defensive pressure was almost non existant for patches of the game particulary late in quarters as the leg got tired.
Melbourne found it hard to score goals due to poor disposal inside 50, which made it hard for the small forwards that have been kicking goals. with chick accounting for yze, and no neitz it was hard to see many demon goals with poor inside 50's and against an underrated wc backline. The eagles have a grand finals spot in the bag but there definetely beatable at the G.

Next up, brisbane at the gabba. God that's some bad timing right there, they looked good today. Lets see how we go now that teams know to "simply control the centre square", i hope i get to see another win. I thought our good form this year was due to a great list in good form.
Maybe it is that simple, the tigers went down after a 'simple' smother from matty whelan.

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TigerFan said:

enjoy the sunshine Melbourne supporters, god knows you might catch the back end of the ski season if Melbourne bomb out early enough...

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TigerFan said:

firstly, I overestimated you guys, I thought we'd get at least a couple of decent posts before the 'look at Richmond'-type sh*te.

now we have that out of the way...



firstly, I very much believe that melbourne will make the top 4, if for no other reason than other teams playing dumb footy against them.

Melbourne are a highly skillful side, but their game doesn't appear to stand up against tough, disciplined, accountable opposition. the aforementioned style of football is prevalent in successful teams, teams which make meaningful impact upon the finals series.

regarding the quote in bold, it all comes down to simple discipline. I have viewed 11 of Melbourne's 13 games this season, and Melbourne tends to struggle against teams that are willing to adhere to an effective game plan. The Fremantle and St. Kilda losses were simple displays of Melbourne being beaten soundly at their own unaccountable game, but the Hawthorn and West Coast losses, even the first half against Collingwood, were prime examples of this.


regarding the Richmond loss, we played unaccountable football through the midfield, allowing Melbourne unpressured disposal into the Forward 50. Despite this, we were rather competitive until the Nathan Brown incident, with victory still a possibility at that stage of the game. If I remember correctly, much of the 57 point margin was accumulated after this point, as much as half even.


to ram home my point, I distinctly remember looking rather good with a month to go (they were on top weren't they?) in the 2004 H&A season, but they went down virtually without a whimper. pressure does that to people, and pressure football brings Melbourne unstuck rather easily still.


enjoy the sunshine Melbourne supporters, god knows you might catch the back end of the ski season if Melbourne bomb out early enough...

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demonfire said:

after a 5 day break and without our skipper we lose to the top team by 15points..

BANG!!!

MELBOURNE SUCK!!!

and jsut incase you were wondering melb were up by 32 when brown went off and the game was truly over..
not to mention this proves your a one man team..

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sinepari said:

Really deserved 25+ points.
No Gardiner, no Sampi, had to travel after playing in the wet.

I think that evens a few things out.

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