Blueinblood
Cancelled
FORM
Dees: 0-4- L4 Ladder position 16th
Blues: 1-3-W1 Ladder position- 12th
Last week:
The Demons sunk to a 4th consecutive loss, beaten by the Brent Harvey led Kangaroos. 48 points was the final margin but it could have been worse for the Demons if the Roo's had kicked straight. Dean Bailey said the club went backwards from last weeks competetive effort against the Cats. Some positives for the Dee's were the form of livewire Aaron Davey and 2 goals from Austin Woaneamirri. Russell Robertson finished with 3 goals although all of them came in the last qaurter when the game was in junk time. The general concensis among the media is that Dean Bailey's game plan is not working as the the Melbourne FC simply dont have the skill to excecute it.
The Blues had a surprise win against top for contenders Collingwood at the 'G'. The Blues ferocious tackling and classy midfield outplayed the Pies for most of the match although never put the Pies away. For the first time since RD 1 in 2007 the Blues conceded less than 100 points and broke a 14 match losing streak. The Blues blew off a last quarter challenge from the pies responding with 3 quick goals after Collingwood kicked 2 in a minute. Brendan Fevola was the stand out with 7 goals in a dominant performance. Jarrod Waite was as good if not better than Fevola down the other end keeping Rocca to 6 possesions and 1 goal in the final term whilst gathering 25+ possesions of his own including 10+ marks. Other noteable performances were from Marc Muprhy, Michael Jamison who beat Paul Medhurst easily, Bower who outplayed Trav Cloke, Richard Hadley and Chris Judd. The Blues didnt have a bad player on the ground but O'hailpin could have beena bit better. Coach Brett Ratten described getting his first win as coach as getting an 80kg monkey off his back.
Possible Changes:
Melb: Brad Miller faces a 1 week ban. David Neitz may be omitted after a string on low performances. Dean Bailey may make a statement and make numerous changes.
Carl: No injury concerns but Ryan Houlihan may get a recal after a hip injury forced him out of the Rd 4 clash. Ohailpin looking shaky. May keep unchanged lineup after win. Hartlett and Edward kicked 4 each in the reserves.
Key Matchups:
Russell Robertson vs Michael Jamison
Russell kicked 6 last time these two teams met in a lackluster clash. If the Demons are any chance of winning the Demons may require a similar type of performance from their high flying forward. If Jamison can keep 'Robbo' quiet it is hard to see were the Demons can kick 15- 20 goals from.
Brendan Fevola vs Nathan Carroll
Nathan Carroll has had trouble containing the enigmatic forward and he faces a huge task this week. Fevola has kicked 15 goals in his last 2 games and is in red-hot form. Carroll will need help from his midfielders and fellow backman if he is goign to contain the Blues sperahead.
Nathan Jones vs Richard Hadley
The key to either teams midfield is the engine room and these 2 players look like the 2 'hard nuts' for their respective teams. Hadley gathered 18 disposals last week and had a 100% efficiency whilst Jones was beaten by Brent Harvey. Jones is noted as a hard nut who can finish around goals whilst Hadley gets down and dirty and his main focus has been getting the ball out to the Blues runners. Jones can do a great job at thsi but his form has not shown the player he is. Hadley has kicked 2 goals in the lst 2 weeks and layed 14 tackles in the same time.
Key Points:
Brendan Fevola was absent in both matches against Melbourne in 07 and the Blues missed him dearly, losing both matches.
Russell Robertson has performed well in the last few performances against the Blues kicking 6 last time they met and a bag earlier in the year.
Summary:
It will be expected that Melbourne will come out firing if as expected they cop it from the media. If the Demons can get a good start they are a big show to get their first win of the match but on the other hand if the Blues dont get to cocky and start well it could get ugly for the demons with the Blues on a high. The Blues midfield is starting to look really good with Nick Stevens and Chris Judd almost back to full fitness. The 'Dee's' have some midfield talent on paper but they have not shown their worth in the opening rounds. The ruck battle will be intriging with the 2 work-horses in Jeff White and Cameron Cloke with support of Jamar and Kruezer respectively. Both backlines struggle under pressure so the key will be which midfield can get the ball down quicker and better to their key men up forward.
Tip:
The Blues look to have too much midfield class with names like Judd, Stevens, Hadley, Murphy and Simpson running around and with Fevola on fire the Blues could be hard to stop if they get on top early. If the Dee's can get some pints on the bard early it could be a close contest
TIP: Blues by 36 points
Dees: 0-4- L4 Ladder position 16th
Blues: 1-3-W1 Ladder position- 12th
Last week:
The Demons sunk to a 4th consecutive loss, beaten by the Brent Harvey led Kangaroos. 48 points was the final margin but it could have been worse for the Demons if the Roo's had kicked straight. Dean Bailey said the club went backwards from last weeks competetive effort against the Cats. Some positives for the Dee's were the form of livewire Aaron Davey and 2 goals from Austin Woaneamirri. Russell Robertson finished with 3 goals although all of them came in the last qaurter when the game was in junk time. The general concensis among the media is that Dean Bailey's game plan is not working as the the Melbourne FC simply dont have the skill to excecute it.
The Blues had a surprise win against top for contenders Collingwood at the 'G'. The Blues ferocious tackling and classy midfield outplayed the Pies for most of the match although never put the Pies away. For the first time since RD 1 in 2007 the Blues conceded less than 100 points and broke a 14 match losing streak. The Blues blew off a last quarter challenge from the pies responding with 3 quick goals after Collingwood kicked 2 in a minute. Brendan Fevola was the stand out with 7 goals in a dominant performance. Jarrod Waite was as good if not better than Fevola down the other end keeping Rocca to 6 possesions and 1 goal in the final term whilst gathering 25+ possesions of his own including 10+ marks. Other noteable performances were from Marc Muprhy, Michael Jamison who beat Paul Medhurst easily, Bower who outplayed Trav Cloke, Richard Hadley and Chris Judd. The Blues didnt have a bad player on the ground but O'hailpin could have beena bit better. Coach Brett Ratten described getting his first win as coach as getting an 80kg monkey off his back.
Possible Changes:
Melb: Brad Miller faces a 1 week ban. David Neitz may be omitted after a string on low performances. Dean Bailey may make a statement and make numerous changes.
Carl: No injury concerns but Ryan Houlihan may get a recal after a hip injury forced him out of the Rd 4 clash. Ohailpin looking shaky. May keep unchanged lineup after win. Hartlett and Edward kicked 4 each in the reserves.
Key Matchups:
Russell Robertson vs Michael Jamison
Russell kicked 6 last time these two teams met in a lackluster clash. If the Demons are any chance of winning the Demons may require a similar type of performance from their high flying forward. If Jamison can keep 'Robbo' quiet it is hard to see were the Demons can kick 15- 20 goals from.
Brendan Fevola vs Nathan Carroll
Nathan Carroll has had trouble containing the enigmatic forward and he faces a huge task this week. Fevola has kicked 15 goals in his last 2 games and is in red-hot form. Carroll will need help from his midfielders and fellow backman if he is goign to contain the Blues sperahead.
Nathan Jones vs Richard Hadley
The key to either teams midfield is the engine room and these 2 players look like the 2 'hard nuts' for their respective teams. Hadley gathered 18 disposals last week and had a 100% efficiency whilst Jones was beaten by Brent Harvey. Jones is noted as a hard nut who can finish around goals whilst Hadley gets down and dirty and his main focus has been getting the ball out to the Blues runners. Jones can do a great job at thsi but his form has not shown the player he is. Hadley has kicked 2 goals in the lst 2 weeks and layed 14 tackles in the same time.
Key Points:
Brendan Fevola was absent in both matches against Melbourne in 07 and the Blues missed him dearly, losing both matches.
Russell Robertson has performed well in the last few performances against the Blues kicking 6 last time they met and a bag earlier in the year.
Summary:
It will be expected that Melbourne will come out firing if as expected they cop it from the media. If the Demons can get a good start they are a big show to get their first win of the match but on the other hand if the Blues dont get to cocky and start well it could get ugly for the demons with the Blues on a high. The Blues midfield is starting to look really good with Nick Stevens and Chris Judd almost back to full fitness. The 'Dee's' have some midfield talent on paper but they have not shown their worth in the opening rounds. The ruck battle will be intriging with the 2 work-horses in Jeff White and Cameron Cloke with support of Jamar and Kruezer respectively. Both backlines struggle under pressure so the key will be which midfield can get the ball down quicker and better to their key men up forward.
Tip:
The Blues look to have too much midfield class with names like Judd, Stevens, Hadley, Murphy and Simpson running around and with Fevola on fire the Blues could be hard to stop if they get on top early. If the Dee's can get some pints on the bard early it could be a close contest
TIP: Blues by 36 points
