Autopsy Round 8, 2025: Positives and Negatives vs Melbourne

[Grahame]

Melbourne turned a six point deficit at half time into a 29 point lead. That is, they outscored us by 35 - to win by 32.

Again, we do okay for a good part of the match but just can’t stop a run on.

Still, that’s inexperience for you.

 

[Priddis Is Done]

Still dirty the club didn't insist Nic Nat to shed a lot of weight.

 

[ep2018]

Richmond next week is a very winnable game. Even without Gov. If there is a genuine chance we get band 1 for Oscar its not in their best interests to go three wins above us. Just saying.

 

[garlic munchers]

Where’s Harley at? Just think he still looks overweight. Might get going by July just by pure time on legs. Worried for him a little bit. Wouldn’t be the worst strategic trade.

Reid is overweight.

The half time camera shot from the changerooms with his jumper off was not flattering.

Presumably we aren’t able to insist on standards like when McGovern was sent to the fat farm.

 

[ioppolo]

I'm not at games often but here's a few things that stood to me from the stands...

*Maric was not great at all despite apparently having 26 disposals. Was a lost chicken tonight.
*Graham's kicking is actually so ****ing bad. Maybe it's this bad every week but it stood out a hell of a lot more tonight.
*TK appears to do everything he can to avoid opposition players or any physical contact.
*I see some people praising Oscar Allen

12

Oscar Allen

Age

26

Ht

196cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.8

2star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.1

4star

No current season stats available

D

8.6

3star

K

5.8

3star

HB

2.8

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.2

4star

's game but he looked like a fish out of water in defence all night.

But what stood out the most was the fact Melbourne would have free players at every contest somehow. There'd be a 3v2, we'd halve it or get the ball forward, and then another 3v2 would happen. Where the **** are our extra guys hiding? I only counted one time that we had an extra at any point.

 

[eaglespremiers]

But what stood out the most was the fact Melbourne would have free players at every contest somehow. There'd be a 3v2, we'd halve it or get the ball forward, and then another 3v2 would happen. Where the **** are our extra guys hiding? I only counted one time that we had an extra at any point.

I mean, that's been part of the problem all year. Tonight was no exception.
Our players just don't run hard enough between contests (or they aren't quick enough).

 

[squashface]

also, i may have misinterpreted, but did i hear simmo claim that hough in the middle is due to necessity rather than development? I mean clearly mini thinks otherwise, but thought simmo's comments on that one was some serious tunnel vision. again i may have misinterpreted that one.

No you got it exactly as he said it.

It may be me who misinterpreted it then but I thought Simmo said that he started as a backman out of necessity? One of the flogs asked if Simmo was surprised that he was playing mid then he said no and that he was drafted as a wingman so I interpreted that as he came in as a mid then played back because he had to.

 

[Rowan18]

Negatives:

We won’t win a game this year.

You know what, I'd rather win no games than 1 or 2. Zero wins puts a lot of pressure on the AFL to actually pay attention and fix the blatant inequalities that lead to 2 or 3 clubs being absolutely non competitive each year.

 

[Rowan18]

Do umps even pay push in the back anymore?

Yes, against us only.

 

[maverick001]

I have to call you out on Graham, he was the reason th rot started in the third term, he decided to jog after a Melbourne player who sprinted from the half back flank all the way forward to create the demons first third quarter goal, Graham was right with him and should have stayed with him, could easily have to stop that goal, but he pretended he was "gassed" in the first two mins after half time, pathetic effort and needs calling out.

I think we’ve got bigger problems than Graham’s defensive pressure

 

[DorothyG]

It’s never as bad as it seems

I love the optimism, Ive been overly optimistic of the train crash that's been the past 4 years as well, butttt yeah it's bad. We are bad. So very very bad.

Fingers crossed it's the bottom of the badness and things start to get less bad

 

[maverick001]

You know what, I'd rather win no games than 1 or 2. Zero wins puts a lot of pressure on the AFL to actually pay attention and fix the blatant inequalities that lead to 2 or 3 clubs being absolutely non competitive each year.

I wouldn't
Imagine what that does to the players

 

[DickDunn]

Watching from the stands, Gawn’s presence is remarkable. At kick-ins, he often sets himself up near the 50m arc. We know Flynn is no chance of outmarking him or even splitting the contest, so going through the corridor is out of the question (not that anyone has bothered making a strong lead). So we go long down the line or short and then switch. Either way, we have no easy outlets.

At one point we did manage to get quite a nice transition chain going, only for busted fridge Graham to kick it straight to Gawn who had dropped back into a forward pocket. You have to laugh

 

[Kegs15]

I'm angry at a lot of the negatives as well but trying to at least see some positives out of that first half especially.

Ginbey is awesome. Gives his all and is one of the few players to just never drop his head or stop playing in a positive manner no matter how badly we're doing or what mistakes he's made.

Gets his nose busted open, then comes right back out and resumes being someone who tackles with intent.

View attachment 20250503_210930_1.mp4

And that absolute disgrace of a response from senior players when De Goey took out Hewett - there was a similar (not even half as bad) incident on Bo Allan in his first game, and Ginbey steps up, does the right thing and remonstrates hard (without giving away a stupid free). Leader stuff.

View attachment 20250503_202855.mp4

Hough as well - is having some up and down moments as a midfielder but would just happily bleed for this club - love that he cares, love how much he hates to lose.

View attachment 20250503_222251.mp4

Snake for Captain for the next few seasons IMO, but after that it'll be one of these two leading our next contending side.

 

[DickDunn]

Ginbey is a warrior. Hewett might be the most talented player on our list. Both are absolute studs - they’ll play in a lot of wins for us once we remember how to do that

 

[Kegs15]

Also yeah we got smashed in the clearances (first couple draft picks, whatever they are, on genuine clearance mids plz), but some passages of general play did look really fun to watch.

View attachment 20250503_220748.mp4

Can't rely on it all game, can't let it be our one wood but it's at least an aspect of our game you can see some identity in.

Sort out the middle, get our small forward balance and vibe right, and we'll be an enjoyable side to watch if nothing else.

Also in that passage of play Oscar really threw himself in - he competed extremely hard all night and while he wasn't perfect it was the first time this year he's actually looked like he was playing with resolve, good to see.

 

[WCEswift]

Also yeah we got smashed in the clearances (first couple draft picks, whatever they are, on genuine clearance mids plz), but some passages of general play did look really fun to watch.

View attachment 2304448

Can't rely on it all game, can't let it be our one wood but it's at least an aspect of our game you can see some identity in.

Sort out the middle, get our small forward balance and vibe right, and we'll be an enjoyable side to watch if nothing else.

Also in that passage of play Oscar really threw himself in - he competed extremely hard all night and while he wasn't perfect it was the first time this year he's actually looked like he was playing with resolve, good to see.

If you havent or can, try watch the first half of the wafl match, the ball movement from the kids was amazing

 

[squashface]

Also yeah we got smashed in the clearances (first couple draft picks, whatever they are, on genuine clearance mids plz), but some passages of general play did look really fun to watch.

View attachment 2304448

Can't rely on it all game, can't let it be our one wood but it's at least an aspect of our game you can see some identity in.

Sort out the middle, get our small forward balance and vibe right, and we'll be an enjoyable side to watch if nothing else.

Also in that passage of play Oscar really threw himself in - he competed extremely hard all night and while he wasn't perfect it was the first time this year he's actually looked like he was playing with resolve, good to see.

It's an incredible Ferrari game style if it comes off flawlessly.

Unfortunately, it very often does not do that and as Simmo said on the call - the second someone fks up a handball, we are completely out of position on defence and get burnt on the rebound. So for it to work, we have to be very very very good at it. Which we are not.

 

[Kegs15]

If you havent or can, try watch the first half of the wafl match, the ball movement from the kids was amazing

Yeah I watched the game. Malakai will be a great fit for this style when he comes in, had moments where he just thought and moved too quickly for the pace of WAFL. Though still needs a big preseason in the gym before his game will hold up for long term stints in the AFL side IMO. Could do worse than him in for Owies though.

It feels like the same game style is trying to be played at WAFL level as well - but when we have a midfield that actually wins clearances and a competitive ruck battle, it goes a lot better. We absolutely must, must must, short of getting priority picks, at the very least secure some extra Cat B or even regular rookie slots, plus a time extension for the current ones. We absolutely need a fuller list to work with to properly build from the ground up, and won't always have an injury list as empty as it is now.

Good at least to see that we've ideally drafted players that suit this type of gameplan - Gross will have a big year next year I reckon.

 

[Kegs15]

It's an incredible Ferrari game style if it comes off flawlessly.

Unfortunately, it very often does not do that and as Simmo said on the call - the second someone fks up a handball, we are completely out of position on defence and get burnt on the rebound. So for it to work, we have to be very very very good at it. Which we are not.

If we win the midfield battle more often, even just to give our backs a bit of a chance to rest, set up, plan their next counterattack etc, I think the rate at which it comes off increases as a function of that. It came off enough to put us in front in the first half - but our backs couldn't sustain the energy. Players like Maric and Baker had awesome first halves but couldn't sustain the energy from just doing it constantly.

As you say, we're not good enough at it yet, but it's just nice to see signs of something actually developing as a strength - last year you couldn't really see any light in the tunnel at all.

Was very disappointed with Kelly today. Reid was poor as well, though it's incredibly rough being the only player teams need to tag so they put their entire defensive strategy into you in your second season, when you're admittedly not as fit as you need to be.

 

[squashface]

If we win the midfield battle more often, even just to give our backs a bit of a chance to rest, set up, plan their next counterattack etc, I think the rate at which it comes off increases as a function of that. It came off enough to put us in front in the first half - but our backs couldn't sustain the energy. Players like Maric and Baker had awesome first halves but couldn't sustain the energy from just doing it constantly.

As you say, we're not good enough at it yet, but it's just nice to see signs of something actually developing as a strength - last year you couldn't really see any light in the tunnel at all.

Was very disappointed with Kelly today. Reid was poor as well, though it's incredibly rough being the only player teams need to tag so they put their entire defensive strategy into you in your second season, when you're admittedly not as fit as you need to be.

Definitely seeing genuine improvement now where we are actually getting chains that are resulting in score and time in forward half - gives me a touch of optimism that we can keep getting better. Just need to improve to a point where it comes off more often that not so that getting burnt on rebound is less of a complete game killer and the defenders get ambushed way way less.

 

[jdisc]

Still dirty the club didn't insist Nic Nat to shed a lot of weight.

to be fair he is Fijian

 

[Dark Sharks]

How funny is it having Simmo in the commentary box telling us how bad we are, knowing full well we paid him out and he's still getting his salary for 2025 along with what Channel 7 and Fox Footy is paying him.

 

[Ruben Grubarb]

+ve

Green shoots. That small window around when we hit the front. You could see the looks on their faces. We're building a young group who want to play with each other. Hewey, Ginbey, Harley, look like a good nucleus. I think Ginbey will end up back in the midfield.

Oscar was good. Just play him there for most of the season. Pump his value while getting games into Archer and Williams.

-ve

One less green shoot by coughing up #3 last year. We need to hope Oscar leaves and take the best 2 mids available.

 

[Zuma]

I'm not at games often but here's a few things that stood to me from the stands...

*Maric was not great at all despite apparently having 26 disposals. Was a lost chicken tonight.
*Graham's kicking is actually so ****ing bad. Maybe it's this bad every week but it stood out a hell of a lot more tonight.
*TK appears to do everything he can to avoid opposition players or any physical contact.
*I see some people praising Oscar Allen's game but he looked like a fish out of water in defence all night.

But what stood out the most was the fact Melbourne would have free players at every contest somehow. There'd be a 3v2, we'd halve it or get the ball forward, and then another 3v2 would happen. Where the **** are our extra guys hiding? I only counted one time that we had an extra at any point.

Until skills and workrate improve, we ain’t winning any games. Simple! They are trash and they know it