Preview Essendon vs Melbourne

[Slattery_20]

I think it's going to go one of three ways:
Either we have done really well to re-set & re-group in the mini-break; come out firing with the pressure & zone right up, right back to our early form and do an absolute number on the Dees (a la WCE's victory in about rd 5-6). 6-7 goal win and well & truly back on track.
Or, after an even start or the Dees just nipping in front, we hold our nerve, show a bit of character & grind away and just do the job, for a 3-4 goal victory without really looking in danger - IMHO most likely.
Or, Dees get a flyer out of the blocks and we get rattled like last week and get done. Shouldn't happen still with Fletch, Hille out there but possible, especially if we have injuries.

I'm also not entirely sure of which players you will have as permanent forwards. Team lineups mean very little these days.

Hille's roughly a permanent CHF, Crameri effectively FF; one of Bell/Ryder; and Zaha, Gus, Reimers (now Colyer?), Jetta rotate anywhere from wing forward.

 

[melbournemartin]

Okay so I'll put Frawley on Crameri still and Rivers on Hille.

Martin or Watts can take Bell/Ryder.

Strauss, Nicholson and Macdonald can be the small defenders.

 

[DapperDon]

Can I please get some matchups for these forwards:

Green
Jurrah
Bennell
Resting ruckman (Gawn/Martin)
Howe
Sylvia
Watts
Resting midfielder

.

I'll give it a try

Green - Fletcher
Jurrah - Hardingham
Bennell - NLM
Resting ruckman (Gawn/Martin) - Fletcher/Hardingham
Howe - Myers with Slattery on his shoulders (Could see Ryder down back for this actually)
Sylvia - Slattery
Watts - Hooker
Resting midfielder - Heppell/Hibberd

 

[melbournemartin]

I'll give it a try

Green - Fletcher
Jurrah - Hardingham
Bennell - NLM
Resting ruckman (Gawn/Martin) - Fletcher/Hardingham
Howe - Myers with Slattery on his shoulders (Could see Ryder down back for this actually)
Sylvia - Slattery
Watts - Hooker
Resting midfielder - Heppell/Hibberd

Hardingham is a bit short to play on resting ruckman isn't he? Martin is 198, Gawn is 208.

 

[Slattery_20]

Myers would step over to Fletcher's man & Fletch would mind the resting ruck.

 

[DapperDon]

Hardingham is a bit short to play on resting ruckman isn't he? Martin is 198, Gawn is 208.

He is short, but he has a fair leap on him to spoil the ball, and when the ball hits the ground would run off them fairly easily.

With their heights we don't have anyone for a perfect match up, so you'll more than likely see Fletch and Hardingham just trying to get the ball to ground.

 

[melbournemartin]

Yeah, as soon as the ball hits the ground in our forward line it's normally an easy rebound for defenders

 

[DapperDon]

Yeah, as soon as the ball hits the ground in our forward line it's normally an easy rebound for defenders

Ha, Richmond killed us in this department in our last match so could be a re bounders dream game.

 

[hank31]

Ha, Richmond killed us in this department in our last match so could be a re bounders dream game.

Potentially the ultimate game of aerial ping pong...

 

[Valve Bounce]

Melbourne will win tonight.

We always win in these circumstances.

Then we'll get belted by Collingwood.

I'm 100% on Melbourne tips this year and have tipped us tonight.

Well, did you sell the car and put the lot on the Dees at 4's?

 

[Yoda_]

I'll give the match ups a try

Green/Browne
Jurrah/Hardingham
Bennell/Slattery
Resting ruckman (Gawn/Martin)/Fletcher
Howe/Myers
Sylvia/Heppell
Watts/Hooker
Resting midfielder/Mcveigh

Not sure it will look like that, perhaps Heppell could go to the resting midfielder and Mcveigh could go to the more physical Silvia, I sense that they (Silvia and Mcveigh) may play as extra midfielders any ways.

 

[eth-dog]

Green-Slattery
Jurrah-Hardingham
Bennell-Heppell
Resting ruckman (Gawn/Martin)-Fletcher
Howe-Myers
Sylvia-McVeigh
Watts-Hooker
Resting midfielder-Browne

 

[coleman10]

I'm not so sure it will be the whitewash most are expecting. There are some major factors at play here:

1) The bye. Teams coming off the bye have generally struggled the next week.

2) Melbourne's poor form of late. Isn't everyone a little worried by the fact that over recent years, it seems as if all of the "strugglers" have lifted and got seasons back on track against us? We seem to be the side that can give those struggling teams a bit of confidence.

3) IT'S OUTDOORS!!!!!!!!! We just seem to have become a basketball team. And until we can win without a roof over our heads, we will find it hard to be a top 4 side. For some reason, we just don't play well at the Home of Football (or any outdoor venue for that matter).

Thankfully, Melbourne's injury list is of far greater consequence than ours and that we have a little more depth than they do.

I am tipping us to win a close one, but as Port Adelaide proved on Saturday, anything is possible. I am by no means confident.

Told ya.

 

[Super Gusto]

Every game we've played this year has been classified as a danger game by supporters still living in the Knights era of mediocrity where we'd suffer a pathetic loss at least once every 2-3 weeks.

We've lost one game out of nine this year in which we were expected to win and didn't. That was against Richmond. Hardly earth shattering stuff.

Some people are making out that Melbourne are going to come out and possess Geelong like qualities and have superstars on every line because they were criticised by an opposition club. That might stack up for 20 minutes, but not for four quarters.

They have lost four of their last five games for a reason - they aren't very good and that is underlined even further with six or seven first choice players missing. You can't turn good form on like a tap, even after a bit of media criticism.

We've suffered one disappointing loss against Richmond in nine games, and that was with several key players missing. A loss to the Demons in the form they are in would rival all the disappointing losses under the Knights era combined. Just not going to happen.

You don't think??

 

[blured]

Such a great get with these quotes, well done on the research.

Another reason to put this insipid football club back in their box on Friday Night. The biggest glory hunting supporters in the AFL by so far it isn't funny. They'll be all out in force this week (just like they will in the Queens Birthday the week after), the two games a year the fickle types that follow this mob bother to go to the football. The guernseys come out of the wardrobe twice a year, the 'LG' sponsored Melbourne guernseys with the number 9 (Neitz) on the back or the David Schwarz or Adam Yze. They make me truly f'ing sick.

A 2000 Grand Final style result is only going to do this game justice on Friday Night. I love the usual suspects earlier in this thread claiming the scoreboard flattered Essendon in their game last year, despite Melbourne receiving SEVEN goals from 50m penalties which resulted in goals and Essendon having SIX more scoring shots for the game. Melbourne scored a famous 19 point win that day, rated as one of their "finest" under Bailey (shows you how well the shit kickers have gone in the last few years). 4 wins over Victorian sides in something like 46 games... complete, utter RABBLE.

You won't get a soft two or three goal MCG win over the likes of a soft interstate team this week, Dees.

They were dancing in the aisles at the Dons woes last year in that one meeting, it's time we well and truly send the coffin down on their 2011 season this week.

This one needs to get brutal. We can be our own worst enemies though. Surely Hird and Thompson won't accept a soft loss to this mob under the Friday Night lights.

Again thanks for the research on some Melbourne supporters opinions on our list. Certainly interesting reading. As usual all huff and puff in the off season and then fall in a heap.

Did you know the Dees team is younger than the suns...

 

[Kong]

Don't you look silly now, Macca?

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

Thanks Carlton. Demons will get smashed next week as they were playing on pure anger tonight. However, they played better than us tonight and deserved to win.

 

[Geddy Lee]

Melbourne will win tonight.

We always win in these circumstances.

Then we'll get belted by Collingwood.

I'm 100% on Melbourne tips this year and have tipped us tonight.

Never in doubt.

 

[djrossie16]

Everything coming into this game pointed to Melbourne the build up, the MCG and what really bothered me was the fact Trengove and Scully come in while we have Watson and Hocking (who i'm even more annoyed at now) out.

The kids we seem to be playing at the moment guys like Brown and Hibberd leads me to believe Hird must be really in for the long haul which is good.

I would love it if we traded for an elite midfielder. That's what we need so we are not so reliant on Jobe.

Also Scully is unbelievable best player in the comp potential. I would cry if he left the club as a Dees supporter.

 

[Kong]

Never in doubt.

Congrats. Now scram.

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

Everything coming into this game pointed to Melbourne the build up, the MCG and what really bothered me was the fact Trengove and Scully come in while we have Watson and Hocking (who i'm even more annoyed at now) out.

The kids we seem to be playing at the moment guys like Brown and Hibberd leads me to believe Hird must be really in for the long haul which is good.

I would love it if we traded for an elite midfielder. That's what we need so we are not so reliant on Jobe.

Also Scully is unbelievable best player in the comp potential. I would cry if he left the club as a Dees supporter.

Gawn balances out having Scully. Never have I seen a bigger gump.

 

[Macca18]

I still hate Melbourne. And love Essendon.

Funny though... so many quiet all week and then everybody suddenly has the guts to get the quotes back out when it's all said and done... so typical.

Fancy me being passionate about the club I support and despising the opposition. What a shit supporter.

Melbourne should enjoy their one week of form. Normal programming will resume next week and probably the weeks after when they play sides a lot better & more switched on than the dysfunctional & soft team they played tonight. Neither side playing tonight is anything special, let's face it.

 

[GoldenboyHird_5]

I still hate Melbourne. And love Essendon.

Funny though... so many quiet all week and then everybody suddenly has the guts to get the quotes back out when it's all said and done... so typical.

Fancy me being passionate about the club I support and despising the opposition. What a shit supporter.

Melbourne should enjoy their one week of form. Normal programming will resume next week and probably the weeks after when they play sides a lot better & more switched on than the dysfunctional & soft team they played tonight. Neither side playing tonight is anything special, let's face it.

It's not about being a 'passionate' supporter or what have you.

It's about the respecting the opposition, acknowledging that they have strengths that can expose your weaknesses.

Recognising that weaknesses such as our ineffectual press (as illustrated by ant555) are leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the ground that Melbourne took advantage of time and time again in the second half and Richmond did too a few weeks before in the third term.

Acknowledging that since the first quarter of the West Coast game, we have seen a disintegration in our ability to maintain our structures, exposing anybody who isn't willing to run both ways and set up defensive systems for the entirety of the game.

You can be 'passionate' all you like and it'll get you where you are now, wondering 'what the hell just happened?'; the key is to look at both sides as objectively as one can.

On a another note, Sam Lonergan is an absolute warrior for this club. That pick-up after getting tackled and bouncing back up in the last term should have been inspirational to his teammates; sadly, he was left to play a lone hand too many times.

Watching us slip and slide tonight on the slightly damp MCG surface, I am not looking forward to our Friday Night engagement with the Crows. It'll be incredibly dewy and wet as usual.

Strange that both times we've played at the 'G and played well have been sunny days where we've been able to cleanly handle the ball, regardless of the calibre and greater pressure of Carlton and Collingwood.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

Arrogance does not suit you Melbourne fans.

Win a flag in colour TV. Then you can be smug.