Game Day Melbourne vs Sydney Swans Sat 8th May 7:25pm

[the hypnotoad]

I thought the defense was very good tonight but looking at where their goals came from it seemed we needed another tall. On that sort of night you would have expected the smalls to have an impact but we blanketed Fritsch, Pickett and the rest effectively. Just Macdonald and Brown had an impact.
We are limited for options and both Rampe and Fox can play tall to some degree but got exposed a bit tonight. Nevertheless it wasn't our defense that cost us the game.

i'd bet brown and mcdonald won't kick seven goals between them again in a game all year ... i wouldn't have said either dominated, things just went right for them ... mcdonald somehow twinkle toes his way through a pack for one goal, kicks one from the boundary and gets that iffy mark for one late ...
i thought, largely, we lost it tonight more than they soundly beat us, and some things just fell their way ...
geez, i'll say it again, we were close!

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Not our night. Defence held up and Parker and Mills were terrific. Another runner would have been handy and no doubt we missed Heeney. In the 2nd Q it looked like it would blow out but to our credit we fought it out.

Heeney was definitely the missing component - but his ongoing ankle injuries are a worry.

 

[mattpolo8]

Rough. Walking home from the g.

Definitely too tall. They made it out of our 50 really easily. Sinclair wasn't fantastic and kinda feel like McLean could have pinch hitted the ruck cuz Jackson beat Sinclair anyway.

Mighty proud to go toe to toe with an unbeaten side. Really does prove that we are a legit finals side. Just need to string those performances together. We really should do a number on the pies next week.

 

[Wolfgang West]

Be satisfied with the effort but execution underlined by some terrible decision making cost us the game. Btw Melbourne are the worst 8-0 side I have seen. They are any good with the players missing from the structure of our side they should have been 6 goal better side. Heeney plays we win.

 

[elastic]

I think Bud is going to have to play within his limitations from now on. He has lost a little bit of pace and agility which is perfectly normal for a 34 year old. Seems to have lost a bit of distance on his kicking. He has never been a great overhead mark but his speed and strength have made him a difficult matchup. He is still going to get the better of many opponents but some of the better defenders will be able to edge him now.
It won't be easy for him but he needs to be able to play a role if he is getting beaten. I'm not sure how a coach has that conversation but it's no longer a matter of Bud just demanding the ball wherever he is. If he still has the tank he may need to work up the ground a bit more and open up space for others. I'm not sure how much the 1000 goals is playing on his mind but I hope he can put that aside and do whatever he needs to do to help the team.

 

[WillHayward]

I think Bud is going to have to play within his limitations from now on. He has lost a little bit of pace and agility which is perfectly normal for a 34 year old. Seems to have lost a bit of distance on his kicking. He has never been a great overhead mark but his speed and strength have made him a difficult matchup. He is still going to get the better of many opponents but some of the better defenders will be able to edge him now.
It won't be easy for him but he needs to be able to play a role if he is getting beaten. I'm not sure how a coach has that conversation but it's no longer a matter of Bud just demanding the ball wherever he is. If he still has the tank he may need to work up the ground a bit more and open up space for others. I'm not sure how much the 1000 goals is playing on his mind but I hope he can put that aside and do whatever he needs to do to help the team.

Yeah I felt the players handball and kick to Bud way too much.
May was wearing him like a glove so it almost never worked out well.

 

[WillHayward]

Longmire should have done a Hardwick.
Don't even bother with Sinkers.
Play another runner.
Then just chuck anyone in the ruck when Hickey not there.

 

[SwansProudly]

Let's now post to the autopsy thread https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/swans-vs-dees.1266847/