Toast How can this Melbourne side be stopped?

[Gazza Greatness]

Goodwin is pretty stubborn, I don’t see him moving away from what worked last year in a hurry.

If he changed it up and put Petracca forward, which he did do when Petracca had the ‘flu against Fremantle, he wouldn’t take Brayshaw out of the backline.

It would mean more midfield time for Harmes and Sparrow, or potentially Dunstan comes back into the team.

Back to the topic of how to stop Melbourne. Simply play better, like Geelong did. Plus 13 scoring shots, plus 20 inside 50s and plus 18 clearances. Melbourne still won contested possession, but Geelong had better quality contested possession.

While Melbourne’s forward line is really struggling, it’s not why they lost, and moving Petracca almost completely out of the midfield to play forward is probably going to hurt why Melbourne lost even more.

May had his worst ball in hand game
I can recall. The fumbling early from multiple players and the general butchering of the ball was the worst Melbourne have done this year. If that becomes the norm then they will be stopped several more times.

What I thought was very noticeable was Geelong got a hand in to disrupt the handpass chains multiple times for the players who do use quick hands. They were also right onto Viney and Harmes who like to try and bounce off or break tackles rather than use quick hands. They defended the right way against particular players.

Congrats to you Lampers, you have a high football IQ, with your last paragraph intellectually perceptive, extremely intuitive and spot on, bloody hell I wish there were more Big footy members that were like you, rather than just trolling or pumping up their own tyres or egos to make themselves feel better, but one things for sure, I'll keep my eye on you in future, many thanks Richard.

 

[demondavey]

Now 1-2 against the remaining sides in the Top 4, 2-4 against sides in the 8.

The Dees are flat track bullies.

The 2021 finals series might dispel that.

 

[La Dispute]

The 2021 finals series might dispel that.

This thread is present tense - we don't need to go back in time.

In 2022 the answer is 'play a Top 8 side'

 

[demondavey]

This thread is present tense - we don't need to go back in time.

In 2022 the answer is 'play a Top 8 side'

Who actually gives a duck in July? It’s astonishing how reactionary you people are. Melbourne drops a game to Geelong at that crap hole down the Highway (like everyone else) and we are flat track bullies?

Please…

 

[demondavey]

Melbourne’s best football is still the absolute bench mark. Hopefully we rediscover that coming into the last 4-5 weeks.

 

[La Dispute]

Who actually gives a duck in July? It’s astonishing how reactionary you people are. Melbourne drops a game to Geelong at that crap hole down the Highway (like everyone else) and we are flat track bullies?

Please…

How many games did the Dees drop to quality sides at this point in time last season? How many had they dropped at all? You can point to losing the Geelong game, but the Dockers, Swans and Pies all beat them at the MCG.

Some of the lustre has worn off and teams have worked them out to a reasonable extent.

Whether there is any impact in September, when it matters, is unclear but the evidence so far points to a drop off. The Dees have also had minimal injuries to contend with to undermine those losses.

 

[purplearmy]

For a second I thought this thread read Can This North Melbourne Side Be Stopped?

 

[demondavey]

How many games did the Dees drop to quality sides at this point in time last season? How many had they dropped at all? You can point to losing the Geelong game, but the Dockers, Swans and Pies all beat them at the MCG.

Some of the lustre has worn off and teams have worked them out to a reasonable extent.

Whether there is any impact in September, when it matters, is unclear but the evidence so far points to a drop off. The Dees have also had minimal injuries to contend with to undermine those losses.

I am really not concerned.

 

[STPer18]

Tom Atkins

30

Tom Atkins

Age

28

Ht

180cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.5

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

6.5

4star

M

1.4

2star

T

4.3

5star

MG

123.5

2star

D

6.5

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.5

2star

M

0.8

1star

T

1.5

2star

MG

100.0

2star

D

11.6

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

6.6

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

4.8

5star

MG

130.0

3star

.

 

[demondavey]

Tom Atkins.

And?

 

[STPer18]

And?

Cam Guthrie.

 

[demondavey]

Cam Guthrie.

Very good

 

[Guy Threepwood]

This thread is present tense - we don't need to go back in time.

How many games did the Dees drop to quality sides at this point in time last season?

So last year is relevant now? Great, guess that proves we aren't flat track bullies!

 

[La Dispute]

So last year is relevant now? Great, guess that proves we aren't flat track bullies!

Nice mental gymnastics.

Obviously you need a point of comparison to when the Dees couldn’t be stopped.

You understand how rolling threads work?

 

[demondavey]

Nice mental gymnastics.

Obviously you need a point of comparison to when the Dees couldn’t be stopped.

You understand how rolling threads work?

‘Mental gymnastics’ - who are you? An AFL journalist?

 

[Skull Face]

Answer was simple all along, Get May on the beers around the boys and watch them fall apart.

Going to be tough to get the 18th-26th guys on the list to buy in between now and September.

 

[WilloTree]

Who actually gives a duck in July? It’s astonishing how reactionary you people are. Melbourne drops a game to Geelong at that crap hole down the Highway (like everyone else) and we are flat track bullies?

Please…

Everyone else?

 

[demondavey]

Everyone else?

View attachment 1442566

Well if we bugger it up I hope you go deep and win if Geelong don’t.

 

[La Dispute]

1-2 against Top 4 sides, 2-5(!) against sides in the Top 8.

Was 2021 a flash in the pan performance against a tired opponent in the Grand Final?

The Dees have had one of the better runs with injury and still continue to drop winnable games against reasonable sides.

Things are not going well at present.

 

[demondavey]

1-2 against Top 4 sides, 2-5(!) against sides in the Top 8.

Was 2021 a flash in the pan performance against a tired opponent in the Grand Final?

The Dees have had one of the better runs with injury and still continue to drop winnable games against reasonable sides.

Things are not going well at present.

So now the bulldogs were ‘tired’ last year?

Ok….

We clearly aren’t great this year but I don’t think the WB were ‘tired’. They’ve been s**t most of the year to be fair.

 

[raven echo]

1-2 against Top 4 sides, 2-5(!) against sides in the Top 8.

Was 2021 a flash in the pan performance against a tired opponent in the Grand Final?

The Dees have had one of the better runs with injury and still continue to drop winnable games against reasonable sides.

Things are not going well at present.

How do you explain the prelim and semi?


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[La Dispute]

So now the bulldogs were ‘tired’ last year?

Ok….

We clearly aren’t great this year but I don’t think the WB were ‘tired’. They’ve been s**t most of the year to be fair.

The Dogs did more travelling in last years finals series than any other side and it clearly caught up with them in the Grand Final, which more than explains the mountain of goals kicked in the second half.

 

[demondavey]

The Dogs did more travelling in last years finals series than any other side and it clearly caught up with them in the Grand Final, which more than explains the mountain of goals kicked in the second half.

Right. So. Let me run some BF logic over this.

Melbourne lose a home and away game to the WB, last years GF is brought into the discussion and tonight’s game is used to validate their loss because they were ‘tired’.

Right…

 

[La Dispute]

Right. So. Let me run some BF logic over this.

Melbourne lose a home and away game to the WB, last years GF is brought into the discussion and tonight’s game is used to validate their loss because they were ‘tired’.

Right…

The thread is clearly about Melbourne being ‘stopped’ which was case up to the 2021 Grand Final, to which they played a side that had travelled more than any other side that finals series and then predictably collapsed due to being fatigued and playing a side in red hot form that’d dominated that year.

Flick to 2022, the Dees are seemingly unable to beat many decent sides after decimating a number of lower ranked teams in the first half of the season. There are also clear cultural issues and the very real possibility one of the leagues brightest young stars is going to head back home.

That’s fairly easy to understand I would have thought?

 

[demondavey]

The thread is clearly about Melbourne being ‘stopped’ which was case up to the 2021 Grand Final, to which they played a side that had travelled more than any other side that finals series and then predictably collapsed due to being fatigued and playing a side in red hot form that’d dominated that year.

Flick to 2022, the Dees are seemingly unable to beat many decent sides after decimating a number of lower ranked teams in the first half of the season. There are also clear cultural issues and the very real possibility one of the leagues brightest young stars is going to head back home.

That’s fairly easy to understand I would have thought?

‘Brightest young star’ that got me laughing.

He was HOPELESS tonight. All of a sudden he is the brightest young star when it suits your argument? He is definitely not interested at the moment and distracted by the big carrot. He isn’t playing well at all. Definitely not worth the sum being offered.

The WB travelled extensively in 2016 and won. Hawthorn travelled extensively in 2015 and won. Brisbane in 03. There a lot of examples of teams travelling in finals and winning.

You’re simply wanting to heap s**t and get some likes for bumping a thread.