Autopsy Freo v Melbourne - How many Demons does it take to defeat Freo at the MCG?

Jul 15, 2007
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A: At least 3 more ...

What a tough game. Melbourne, well rested after the bye, had to dig deep and play some of their best footy for the year against a team short of rotations and carrying a few around the ground too - and even then they only get away from us with minutes to go.

Good effort in many respects, but not good enough to get a winable game.

Anyway, lets have it out here I guess ... or mods, fix it as you see fit (Allikat, Tayl0r, ?).

- Votes for this game over here.
- Changes thread for next week.
 
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Sep 20, 2008
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Just got back from the game. I can't fault our effort and yeah some of the skills were poor but the wet ground and slight rain didn't help one bit.

I think in the end it was the lack of rotations and a recharged Melbourne coming off a bye that hurt us.

Also all game we couldn't seem to really skip ahead like we should have, those late second quarter goals hurt a lot. But this'll go down like those other two games against Essendon and GC in the "Should have really won against a worse opposition but didn't"

I guess that's where we need to see improvement in the young side, on not only getting up for the big games (Pies, GWS) but also for the games against minnows.

Can't just expect to win against a lesser side.
 

Mags98

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i’ve not seen us take options so s**t like we did today. those two shocking kicks by walters, hamling a few times handballing to either a player under pressure or just to empty space in our defensive 50. stephen hill w a mark inside 50 then scuffing the kick to get a tighter angle? made some seriously aggravating decisions all game which we haven’t seen for a month.
also seemed to get absolutely burnt by the melbourne spread some how, they’d always manage to get space on our players and take an easy mark mean while we could never do that and barely had any easy options to take all game and that was before we lost hill and hogan.

strange game, leading for the most part but never really felt like we were on top


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Jul 15, 2007
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TBH, I thought we were lucky to be as close as we were. Just felt like we were always holding back the tide. The lack of rotations hurt, no doubt, but it was also a case of their strength (being their ball winning midfielders) making it hard for us to really get enough ball to ever take control of the game.

Bad:
- Injuries, injuries and injuries .... argh!!! :mad:
- Cox is just, well, I don't know. He kicked a nice goal, and with Hogan going down it gets even harder for him, but he's just seems such a slow mover (not laconic, relaxed or unhurried ... I mean flat out slow). He just can't get separation from good defenders. Maybe a better pre-season and he'll be back on track.
- Losing SHill and Wilson basically out too hurt more than Hogan. I reckon we can win even if he goes down, but the lack of run from the back half was just too much. It was the one area we have over Melbourne and we could never really use it.
- Poor options when we did have some control of the game. We could have broken out to a 4-5 goal lead with some smarter moments.
- Mundy had a poor game. Just looked off all day TBH. His usually strong last quarters didn't eventuate and it cost us.


Good:
- Darcy did well in very tough conditions against the leagues premier big man. Had some good and bad moments, but for young kid (remember he's only 21yrs). Did well. Hopefully those ribs aren't too bad.
- Fyfe was strong.
- Walters took his moments as he does.
- Langdon and BHill had good games as I thought they might. Really unfortunate we couldn't take advantage of that.
- Logue and Ryan immense down back I thought.
- Brayshaw is building this season nicely. I think his best game of the year. Absolutely crucified by the umps with that HTB decision for his brother. Criminal.
- Tucker sort of, kind of, maybe bounced back from last weeks stinker to be OKish in this game. Liked his work rate at least. :think:
- Matera continues his career best year - three great goals and knows where to be on the field.
 
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Yeti

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Positives
- Fyfe, BHilly, Walters, Langdon and Darcy really led the midfield well. Hopefully Lobb gets back soon and is used as a forward / backup ruckman.
- Matera, he is having a great year. Tackled well, took goals. Just converts. We need more players being goal hungry like that.
- Brayshaw, what a tough nut he is. Love that guy, hope he sticks around long term.
- Luke Ryan. Is a classy player with a nasty streak. Isn't afraid to go head to head with anyone. AA back pocket for me.
- Hamling. Under rated, a star in my eyes. Go-Go gadget arms and poise under pressure. Makes great decisions when to come off his man.
- Logue is showing a bit.
- Not having too many players sucked into the contest like usual. That was Melbourne doong that in the first half.
- Players were off their feet in the last but tried their guts out. Loving where this team is headed.

Negatives
- Hogan injured.
- SHilly injured.
- Players not taking a ping on goals when at the 50 (Tucker I'm looking at you)
- Mundy not great, if anyone wants him dropped I'll fight you.
- That commentary. Made me want to gouge out my ears with a spoon.
 

estibador

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I thought it was a pretty gutsy effort from our boys. Dare say we would have pinched it if we'd had a full bench for the whole game. I haven't seen our guys look so gassed in a last qtr as they did today and a number of them were getting hit by cramps.

I thought Langdon's run was magnificent today, just when we needed it the most with our lack of rotations.

Is it just me or did the umps give us a pretty hard time in the last qtr? Felt like they jumped on the same 'Demons fairytale' story the commentators were crapping on about all game.

And those commentators, my god, I can only assume they think we're an amazing team because we were leading for 90% of the match and all they could talk about the whole time was how amazing Melbourne were for keeping up with us.
 
Jul 15, 2007
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...

And those commentators, my god, I can only assume they think we're an amazing team because we were leading for 90% of the match and all they could talk about the whole time was how amazing Melbourne were for keeping up with us.

Got that right.

Everybody likes an underdog, but FFS, we're an interstate mid-tabel team, playing with 2-3 less players against a team that went deep in the finals last year on their home deck. That Melbourne won at all is the least they should have achieved, yet they were carrying on like we were playing the Jamaican Bob Sleigh team from Cool Runnings.
 
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Sep 2, 2012
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I personally think we were cooked at quarter time after hogan went down. S Hill inclusion looks even more indefensible now. Umpires called a good game only our selves to blame reverted to 3 on 1 kicks down the line


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Daddoo

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Being down two rotations (and Wilson for the most part) hurt us badly obviously. I loved the effort and the passion they played with all game. Our decisions were like a roller coaster, up then down, good then bad. Bombing into the forward line with one slow tall (cox) was a bad plan and doesn't show we can make in-game adjustments well. But, we're a young team on the rise. I'm over the loss already. In 2020, we find a way to win that game. Bring on Carlton.
 

westy1

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Weight of numbers cost us
From about half way through the third quarter I sorta knew we weren’t gunna win
The boys fought it out and left nothing out there, which is all i expect

Not enough love given for Matera’s 50 metre boot off the ground along the boundary line, that was amazing

Who cares about the commentators, if we win it just makes it sweeter, I never get why people give so much of a * What they say
At one point one of them said “ Freo have got the player Gold Coast thought they were getting “ about Matera, which I thought was accurate
 
Jul 15, 2007
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Weight of numbers cost us
From about half way through the third quarter I sorta knew we weren’t gunna win
The boys fought it out and left nothing out there, which is all i expect
...

Yeah, same. You could see we were fighting the tide even though we hung in there.

I suspect that against some teams we still could have won it even with all those rotations missing. But, as ordinary as they've been, Melbourne know how to win the ball. That makes controlling field position difficult. We had to play too much of the game from our back-half. That means lots of energy getting the ball fwd. Unless it goes perfectly well, we ran out of legs covering them on the way back and that was that. Was just a matter of time before they were going to get on a run. In the end, it was late in the game, so well done to us for hanging in there and at least giving us a sniff.
 

yyou

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Sep 18, 2014
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i’ve not seen us take options so **** like we did today. those two shocking kicks by walters, hamling a few times handballing to either a player under pressure or just to empty space in our defensive 50. stephen hill w a mark inside 50 then scuffing the kick to get a tighter angle? made some seriously aggravating decisions all game which we haven’t seen for a month.
also seemed to get absolutely burnt by the melbourne spread some how, they’d always manage to get space on our players and take an easy mark mean while we could never do that and barely had any easy options to take all game and that was before we lost hill and hogan.

strange game, leading for the most part but never really felt like we were on top


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
Spot on analysis. :thumbsu:
 
Apr 25, 2011
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Without talls to kick to (yeah, technically we had Cox. Darcy was in Gawns shadow), we weren't marking on the wing and our best hope was to send the ball over the boundary. Killed our transition out of defence. Also, just too many kicks directly to an opponent without a purple jumper in sight.
 

UYD 4 Life

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Without talls to kick to (yeah, technically we had Cox. Darcy was in Gawns shadow), we weren't marking on the wing and our best hope was to send the ball over the boundary. Killed our transition out of defence. Also, just too many kicks directly to an opponent without a purple jumper in sight.
Kills our ability to lock it in our forward half as well. Once it becomes easy for them to roll off and intercept mark it's pretty simple to quickly transition out of defence.
 

How's the dirty little prick in Walters trying to blindside Viney with this week effort only to bounce off him and sat right on his ass

Delicious ❤💙
Congratz on winning what appeared to be your Grand Final. Never seen a team more pumped to win a home and away match. Its no wonder your club has had one year of making finals and then gone backwards with the culture you lot have
 
Sep 22, 2011
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How's the dirty little prick in Walters trying to blindside Viney with this week effort only to bounce off him and sat right on his ass

Delicious ❤💙
Mr Faux tough Viney. He loves bumping players, probably has mares over rookie Stack giving him a good ol fashion.
Well done on winning at the G.
4-9. Most overrated list in the comp. Finally McDonald comes to play.

Flag favourites to bottom of the ladder. But hey wooden spoons and negative win loss records your thing the past 50 years.

Have a great watch of Gawn’s miss then Weideman’s against Adelaide.
On the same day Walters did his thing. I’ll post videos later if you want. Weideman’s kick was like your season floating away. Absolute sideways, finished.
 

StingBitten

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On the commentators - it doesn't bother me so much, but you need to understand that teams like Melbourne are the protagonists, which doesn't exactly make us 'evil' but we are the necessary villain on some level.

Again, that's going to happen but the annoying thing is we are effectively framed to 'not exist' - the match is about Melbourne's great story, their great drama. We've won three in a row which means we are a 'form team', and one that Melbourne can beat against the odds.

Our own story, such as our worsening injury crisis, the Ross-as-Coach saga, our 3 years of horrific form - doesn't matter because we're not third-dimensional to them.

It's been the case for many years and it's unlikely to change until WA lead our own broadcasting box.
 
Apr 12, 2014
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Mr Faux tough Viney. He loves bumping players, probably has mares over rookie Stack giving him a good ol fashion.
Well done on winning at the G.
4-9. Most overrated list in the comp. Finally McDonald comes to play.

Flag favourites to bottom of the ladder. But hey wooden spoons and negative win loss records your thing the past 50 years.

Have a great watch of Gawn’s miss then Weideman’s against Adelaide.
On the same day Walters did his thing. I’ll post videos later if you want. Weideman’s kick was like your season floating away. Absolute sideways, finished.

I don’t condone random trolling but Viney isn’t faux tough at all.

s**t to see Jesse go down, I wanted him to have a stinker but never like seeing a player get injured like that. Hope he can finally get over this foot bullshit.
 
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