Preview Official Preview - Demons vs GW$

[Wonaeamirri33]

vs

THE GAME: MCG, Sunday, June 24, 3.15pm

MEDIA

TV: 7 (live in Victoria, WA) 7mate (live in all areas of NSW, Queensland, ACT) Southern Cross (live in Tas, NT), Fox Sports 1 (live)

RADIO: 3AW, Triple M, ABC, NIRS, 5AA, Heart FM (Tas), 6PR

SUMMARY:

This should be a relatively regulation win for us. Although we were uncompetitive throughout the first few rounds of the year, we showed something of our capability and potential against the Bulldogs, St Kilda and Geelong, and though we fell back substantially in the two weeks after that, we've improved a good deal of late, with a better effort against Carlton, where we were in the game for three quarters, followed by the big win over Essendon, and a very competitive and creditable display against Collingwood, with Mitch, Grimey, Jonah, Howe, and Sellar leading the way throughout.

Sellar's willingness and intensity has stood out in extraordinary fashion, as shown by the fact that he's been the best in the AFL for "1%ers" during the last two rounds. He's clearly found his niche in the backline, and together with Rivers, Frawley and Watts, he's becoming a real force to be reckoned with.

Our contested marking has gone from strength to strength, to the point where we're now the second-best contested marking side in the AFL, and gaining steadily on the Eagles in this area.

And Garland has been a big factor over the last two weeks in this regard, while Mitch and Howe continue to perform exceptionally. The two of them took 9 contested marks between them against Collingwood.

Our contested ball effort, our work at the clearances, our tackling, overall disposal efficiency, service inside 50, our ability to launch attacks from our backline, our workrate and intensity in general, have all stepped up particularly noticeably throughout the last few weeks, with Watts being a huge factor especially in our ball-use and our transition game, the vast majority of our attacks running through him.

Although of course, such a large number of people outside of our club and our supporters continue to desperately hope he'll fail, and refuse to give him any credit for anything. As Jack's performed better and better this year, particularly over the last few weeks with his best-on-ground performance against the Bombers, it seems the anti-Watts mob have shed all pretence towards reality and passed into a world of their own devising where fiction-based hysteria and hype rules all. Watts denialism is now a phenomenon as baffling as global warming denialism in various ways, it seems. With the same symptoms often exhibited by those who practice it.

An especially ludicrous example, almost without precedent in its absurdity, being the way numerous people have recently, in all seriousness, proclaimed Patton to somehow be a better player than Watts now - based on this one game where he touched the ball seven times and got the one goal. When I first heard the talk about him, before I checked for myself, I thought he'd taken over half a dozen marks and kicked four or more at least. I was astonished when I saw otherwise.

There's been a huge degree of overreaction about Patton as a general rule since last weekend. That being said, I think he'll be a pretty good player. He's a likely type and at 105 kg already, he's about as strongly built as you could ever expect of a 19-year-old playing his first game. That's a good thing and he'll likely build further physically as time goes on. He also played as well as you could reasonably expect of a KPF on debut at that age. This hype isn't at all fair on him either. He deserves time to develop without having to deal with such absurd expectations, just like Watts deserved to have that.

Meanwhile, GWS have been essentially uncompetitive in most matches, the vast majority decided by the end of the first quarter. Aside from the game against the other franchise, and against Richmond last week, they've only had two others where they've even been in it for half the match, let alone beyond that. In point of fact, notwithstanding the result of the duel between the franchises some weeks ago, GC have actually been competitive more often. But this isn't saying much.

Sheedy's talked a good fight throughout the leadup - fuelled, as many of us think, by resentment about his having originally missed out on becoming our coach after Daniher - but those words are unlikely to be backed up with serious action on the field.

We've heard fanciful talk from people outside the club, and certain quarters in the media, largely very uninformed at that, suggesting that somehow we'll be up against it in this match. Including claims that GWS have been consistently competitive in the first half of the season, despite the overwhelming body of available evidence showing otherwise. Even absurd claims that this opposition are supposedly better in contested ball, clearances, tackling etc. than us, when the facts clearly show that's not true.

It seems there are a substantial number of people, including certain quarters of the media, and particularly various opposition supporters, looking for us to suffer embarrassment on Sunday, and by the magical alchemy of wishful thinking, even talking themselves into believing it's somehow a likely outcome.

The overwhelming likelihood is that those people will be embarrassed after Sunday, not the Demons.

If we turn up and play the way we have throughout the last few weeks, this should be a pretty comfortable match. Our strength and experience should prevail, and it's difficult to find any area, whether it be in the backline, up forward, in the ruck or generally in midfield, where we don't have an obvious superiority. But we shouldn't settle simply for the points alone, nor should we take anything here for granted. The playing group need to push hard and work hard from the outset, regardless of the opposition. We need to be ruthless.

And Demons supporters expect exactly that.

Many supporters of our game, both us Demons and others alike, don't like the AFL's franchising experiment one bit.

Nor the fact such large amounts of money are being spent, and likely wasted, on said experiment, in areas where teams are unlikely to be able to be successfully established in the long term, nor ever be anywhere near sustainable.

The draft and salary cap concessions enjoyed by these franchises are to the clear detriment of the rest of the league, and the amounts of money being spent on players by them is arguably the main reason why free agency is coming about, and that will weaken the integrity of the salary cap, and indeed the integrity of the league as a whole, overall into the future. Developments such as franchising, free agency, dramatically increased salaries for certain players, are things that open the door to a creeping Americanisation of our competition, with all the negative consequences associated with that.

Aside from these points, the fact $€U₤₤¥ did what he did last year was an unmitigated disgrace.

The issue isn't anything to do with our team being worse off without him. We're not. I'd happily have taken Mitch over him in a heartbeat every day of the week. And I'm confident we'll be substantially better off still after the draft.

There were many of us who didn't think he was living up to the hype whilst he was with the club. Many of us are more vocal now he's left. Others have changed their opinion over time as a result of his on-field performances, which for us, were often sub-par.

The bottom line is he looked Jim Stynes in the eye and lied to him. Lied to all of us.

Jim's autobiography will be released later this year, and reportedly it has a specific section about this. As said, it appears that he and his father Phil were in Stynes' lounge room halfway through last season, both looked Jim in the eye and promised that there had been no contact with GWS (proven to be a lie already) and that Tom was going to stay at the club.

Then at year's end, before he flew up to Sydney, he claimed he hadn't made up his mind yet, and was just going up there for him and his family to look around and see what it was like. The very next day, he rang up the club to say he was signing with GWS.

One reason why Jim is brought up in this regard would be the comments he made earlier last year regarding players being forced to lie. By all reports Stynes was a great reader of individuals, which was why he had such a great impact with Reach. And Stynes read him that day, which is why those comments came out.

The lies about his father's contract with GWS are a particularly appalling element of this. Here we have the spectacle of a guy like Jim, who's never put himself first, and has always sought to help others, being lied to by this kid and by his father over money, when there wouldn't have been anything 'lost' by them telling the truth. But they decided to lie anyway.

Then there's the press conference. No other player targeted by either of the two franchises, whether they ended up departing their club or remaining at it, called such a conference. Scully saw fit to, and proceeded to fill it with lines like 'I'd like to remain a one-club player,' distinctly leaving open the possibility of him leaving by not putting in the 'I'm staying' line. If you're going to do that, why hold the presser at all?

Finally, he dragged some of our playing group into this with him. His most outspoken defender in 2011 was Jack Trengove. Three or four times, Trengove fronted the press in defence of his fellow top draft pick. And Tom let him down completely.

Also, of course, when he left, he made up false justifications for doing so, dishonestly attacking our club in the process, making up derogatory claims about us to rationalise his duplicity.

He is a mercenary, and a traitor, and deserves the scathing reception he'll get on Sunday.

WALKING WOUNDED:

Melbourne:

Brad Green (hip) is out again, and set to miss the next fortnight. Liam Jurrah (ankle) will miss between two to four weeks also, but Ricky Petterd (hamstring) could return this week to add a much-needed option inside the forward 50. Clint Bartram (knee) and Rohan Bail (concussion) will be given until the last minute to prove their fitness, while big man Max Gawn (knee) is out for the rest of the season. Neville Jetta (ankle) is also on the sidelines and the most optimistic return for him is a fortnight away.

Bail has been named in the starting 18, while Tapscott is out through suspension, and midfielder Matthew Bate, forward Aaron Davey, defender Joel Macdonald and the yet-to-debut Troy Davis have been included on the extended interchange.

James Magner, Cale Morton and Sam Blease, who all played against Collingwood on Queen’s Birthday, are also on the initial bench.

GWS:

GWS's injury list is shortening a little, with Setanta O'hAilpin (knee) and Liam Sumner (foot) the long-term casualties. While the Irishman will miss the rest of the season, Sumner could return from Round 18 onwards. Young guns Stephen Coniglio (hand), Jacob Townsend (jaw) and Dom Tyson (shin) are all at least a fortnight away. Israel Folau (back) is still a week away from a return.

Ruckman Jonathan Giles is back after a week off with a calf strain, while Jack Hombsch, Nathan Wilson and Will Hoskin-Elliot have all been named in the squad. Sam Schulz is out after suffering a corked calf against Richmond last Saturday.

FORM:

Demons' Past Five:

Round 11: Loss, 13.9 (87) – 19.15 (129) v Collingwood, MCG
Round 10: Win, 8.10 (58) – 6.16 (52) v Essendon, MCG
Round 9: Loss, 6.13 (49) - 15.17 (107) v Carlton, MCG
Round 8: Loss, 5.7 (37) - 21.12 (138) v Sydney, SCG
Round 7: Loss, 6.13 (49) - 15.25 (115) v Hawthorn, MCG

GWS's Past Five:

Round 12: Loss, 12.2 (74) – 11.20 (86) v Richmond, Skoda Stadium
Round 10: Loss, 9.7 (61) - 19.12 (126) v Geelong, Simonds Stadium
Round 9: Loss, 7.11 (53) - 18.11 (119) v Essendon, Skoda Stadium
Round 8: Loss, 5.10 (40) - 19.18 (132) v Brisbane, Gabba
Round 7: Win, 13.16 (94) - 9.13 (67) v Gold Coast, Manuka Oval

WHO'S HOT:

Mitch Clark – The former Brisbane Lion is battling with Nathan Jones for Melbourne's Best and Fairest at this stage of the season. He has kicked multiple goals in seven of his 10 matches and has 25 in 10 matches, putting him on track for above 50 this season. Clark is enjoying the increased responsibility of being the club's main forward.

Toby Greene – It is rare than an 18-year-old comes into the AFL and has as much of an impact as Greene has. The Wesley College product is a smart reader of the play and has averaged 24 disposals in his nine matches in 2012.

___________________________________________

Round 13 teams

Melbourne

B: James Sellar, James Frawley, Jared Rivers
HB: Daniel Nicholson, Tom McDonald, Jack Watts
C: Rohan Bail, Jack Trengove, Jack Grimes
HF: Jeremy Howe, Lynden Dunn, Nathan Jones
F: Mitch Clark, Colin Garland, Colin Sylvia
FOLL: Mark Jamar, Brent Moloney, Jordie McKenzie
I/C (from): Matthew Bate, Aaron Davey, James Magner, Joel Macdonald
Emergencies: Troy Davis, Cale Morton (sub), Sam Blease

IN: Matthew Bate, Aaron Davey, Joel Macdonald, Rohan Bail
OUT: Brad Green (hip), Luke Tapscott (suspension), Cale Morton, Sam Blease

GWS

B: Sam Darley, Tim Mohr, Jack Hombsch
HB: Toby Greene, Phil Davis, Shaun Edwards
C: Adam Treloar, Callan Ward, Tom $€U₤₤¥
HF: Rhys Palmer, Jeremy Cameron, Taylor Adams
F: Mark Whiley, Jonathon Patton, Nathan Wilson
Foll: Dean Brogan, James McDonald, Dylan Shiel
I/C (from): Tomas Bugg, Jonathon Giles, Devon Smith, Luke Power
Emergencies: Chad Cornes, Andrew Phillips (sub), William Hoskin-Elliot

IN: Jonathan Giles, Jack Hombsch, Nathan Wilson
OUT: Sam Schulz (calf), Andrew Phillips, Chad Cornes

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

Quotes from Mark Neeld:

“We’ve got some targets we’d like to hit in the second half of the year, beginning on Sunday. That’s all about outcomes and you can’t achieve those outcomes unless you have some actions along the way.

“[Indicators] are different for different clubs, because everyone is at a different stage of development, trying to achieve different things.

“We sat down with Clint and went through what his rehab is going to look like and in the initial stages that is tough. He'll be right, he's a good strong resilient character and he will get through it, I'm sure.

“Probably the last thing that I’m going to do is get involved with any mind games - I’m not playing mind games with Kevin Sheedy.”


Quotes from Jack Fitzpatrick:

“That Sunday after our first win, I came and did recovery with all of the boys and was fine, but from that Sunday afternoon, things got a bit different.

“I was really thirsty and I had to go to the toilet to pass urine every half an hour and I was drinking a litre of water in an hour and still thirsty. I was parched with dry lips.

“By Tuesday morning, I was weighing 86kg [from my usual 92kg] and I thought ‘hang on a minute, you don’t lose six kilos in three days’. I thought something might be a bit strange. So I spoke to the doctor and had a blood test on Wednesday morning and it went from there.

“[Bates said] ‘you have to hang around, we need to get this sorted’. It turned out that when I went into hospital the first time - [my blood sugar reading was] supposed to be between five and 10, but it was too high to read on their machines, when they tested it.

“After a bit of insulin the second time, it was 46.7, so the doctors say that if you’re about 35 to 40, you can generally go into intensive care and drop into a coma. I was probably pretty lucky there.

“I came into the club two Wednesdays ago and was ready to go down to Torquay with the rest of the boys and lucky I ended up packing, because I was going to hospital for two nights. I found out I’ve got type one diabetes and the last two weeks have been full of education about diabetes and how to manage and how to incorporate it back into footy.”

“The doctors say that they are both (chronic fatigue syndrome and diabetes) related to the immune system, but the two illnesses, if you want to call them, aren’t linked themselves. I’ve just been a bit unlucky or unfortunate that I’ve managed to get both in the last 20 or so years, but you can’t do much about that.

“It was nice of ‘The Flea’ (Dale Weightman) to put it out there in the media that he was more than happy to help me, if I need that, which is nice and appreciated. In terms of footy, if mismanaged, it can certainly be dangerous, but with proper treatment it can be dealt with,” he said.

“At the end of the day, there are people worse off than I am. I consider myself lucky that I got into hospital before anything more serious happened - 46.7 is pretty high when you think about it, and chronic fatigue, I’ve had since five.

“You learn to deal with … diabetes, which I’ve just got. I’ve been asked by a few people ‘are you upset or are you annoyed or angry?’ To a degree, you think ‘why is this happening to me?’

“But I’ve always been a big one for believing that there is no point worrying about something that you can’t control. No matter what I did or what I do from here on in, there is no point sooking up about it, so now I’ll just manage it the best way I can to make it as little an issue as possible, which I believe I’ve done with chronic fatigue over the journey.

“Hopefully for my playing career … that lasts as long as possible, because that’s been done by other blokes and is still being done by players in the AFL. Life after football as well, if I can manage it whilst playing football, I think life will be easy after that, because the demands on your body physically and even mentally aren’t as high. Your routine is more consistent.

“You’ll be able to start eating at the same time of day, whereas with training and travel [it can be difficult]. If I can learn to manage it during my footy career, life after that will be fairly easy in comparison.”

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks, but the amount of texts, phone calls, Facebook messages … getting support from random people … obviously family, friends, players, coaches and staff here [at Melbourne] - you’re thankful and you appreciate it a lot. It’s easy to send someone a text when they’ve played a good game or they’ve just made their debut … that’s easy. Are you there for them when they really need you?

“That in itself has been very encouraging.”


Quotes from James Magner:

“We’re looking to use this as a second season starting now. We’re just looking forward to the second half of the year and really trying to put in some better results and hopefully get a few more wins on the board.

“If you had have said to me this time last year ‘would you be happy with what I’ve done?’ I would’ve said ‘you’re crazy’ first of all, but I definitely would’ve been happy.

“I’m not the type of person to get content with where I am. I want to be better and I want to just strive towards more, but I’m definitely happy with what I’ve done. But I’m looking to do better.”

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

ANALYSIS:

The mantra concerning the Melbourne Football Club has, since the start of the season, been midfield, midfield and more midfield. From the time Simon Black and his cohorts sliced us open in the middle of the MCG in Round 1, it's been the same story.

The result on Queens Birthday Monday was that Collingwood iced the game in the opening minutes by going bang, bang, bang out of the middle and before the midpoint of the opening term they had a four goal-plus lead.

But to our great credit, the team managed to regroup and we almost worked our way back into the contest, kicking three in a row before the half time break, making it four in a row after the main change and moving back to within four goals at stages within the third quarter. Led by Mitch with four, and Howe and Dunn with another two each. Obviously things weren't helped by the odd self-inflicted gaffe. Turnovers which lead to easy opposition goals can be heartbreaking, but the playing group fought doggedly and refused to wilt.

Faced with a similar picture in 2011, we sank into the oblivion of a near 15-goal defeat, but we were genuinely competitive in this match, even after the Collingwood midfield opened the last quarter by going bang, bang, bang again and converting a slightly worrisome 26 point differential into a seven goal lead in the space of less than three minutes. We fought back impressively again, reeling off yet another four goals in a row. But that was as good as it got, as the Pies continued on kicking straight - nine goals from nine scoring shots in the final term - to record an easy 42–point win. Given that they booted the first eight and were so accurate at the end, the result could have been so much better than it was for us.

Even with Collingwood's midfield as strong as it was on the day. Without Scott Pendlebury, they still dominated in that area as expected, with our comparative lack of run and spread continuing to be a substantial disadvantage. Dane Swan, last year's Brownlow Medalist, returning after two weeks from a hamstring injury, racked up 42 disposals, eight marks and two goals. Dayne Beams was almost as prolific with 37 touches, Steele Sidebottom was close behind with 36 possessions and Jarryd Blair had 27 with two goals also. Our best in the midfield was Jonah, with 30 possessions, and Grimey also worked well throughout, with 25.

Jeremy Howe continues to improve in leaps and bounds, with two goals from this game. Mitch Clark was dangerous with four goals up forward. Their contested marking ability was a major feature of this match, and one of the reasons why we kicked our highest score of the year.

Our ball-use wasn't bad either, but of course, up against this opposition, there was still a noticeable gap, and as I say, turnovers hurt us throughout.

With no chance of any finals action this year, it's inevitable that Neeld will look more and more to the future in the rounds to come. There are some young kids performing impressively at the Casey Scorpions. Some play in the middle and some in key positions. Their time is coming.

Statistical rundown:

Contested possession count - 130-149. A long way from the best we've done this year, but not too bad, considering what we were up against with the likes of Swan, Blair and Sidebottom in the Pies' midfield. Jonah led the way for us in this area again, as he has so often this season, and Jordie, Grimey and Mitch also did some great work.

Hitouts - 38-41. The Russky had an iffy day against the Pies, but with 28 hitouts (and 6 clearances), I think he did reasonably well - assisted at times by Mitch, pinch-hitting with another 9. Overall though, he was beaten slightly by Jolly, and we wouldn't normally expect that. The need for a strong number 2 ruck is more apparent with each passing week, and the sooner Stef Martin is back in the first team again, the better.

Clearances - 33 to us, 41 for Collingwood. Again, while a fair way below our effort against the Bombers, it wasn't a bad effort, given what we were up against.

The Russky was the best for us here, and Jonah again as always, with another 5, Jordie also did good work here, achieving the same, and Beamer did well too, with 4.

Contested marks - 16-14. It's been a fair while since any opposition have bested us in this area of the game, and it was the same again in this match. Mitch and Howe did excellently well, with 4 and 5 respectively, the best of any player on the field. Greeny also did some really good work in this regard, pulling down 3, although his set shots were fairly disastrous, of course.

Disposal efficiency - 73% to us, 74% to Collingwood. Again, our ball-use was pretty good throughout, although obviously we didn't have near the same success with our pressure on their disposal. Turnovers are reducing, but as I said further up, they were still very costly, and the Pies took full advantage every time. Their run and spread was far better than anything we could produce by comparison, and it showed.

Total possession count - 308-384. The uncontested stat tells the biggest story. The Pies played very secure possession football, thanks again to their pace around the ground, and we found it hard to break that down as we did against Essendon.

Inside 50s - 45-55. Again, while not as good as the last match, we did alright getting the ball in there, compared with so many other weeks this year. As always, the majority of our attacks were started by Watts, and his ball-use was quality again, although not quite as good as in previous weeks. Beamer, Grimey, Blease and Jonah worked well here and provided the bulk of the service to our forward line, with 4, 5, 6 and 8 inside-50s respectively. But Blease made 4 clangers, and his poor disposal continues to be a real issue. He was close to the worst of us again in that regard.

Again it's significant that we had more marks inside 50 than Collingwood - 14-13. Our forward line is very strong, and we win many more contests there than we lose. If we had a quality small forward, like Aussie was back in 2008, we'd be doing much better on the scoreboard right now.

Even so, our forward pressure was noteworthy again, and we often did a good job of locking it in there when we went inside the arc.

Tackle count - 60-71. Again, a drop back from last week, and a little disappointing, but the speed of Collingwood's midfield was telling in that respect as well. The biggest reason why their uncontested possession count was as high as it was, and why we struggled to break down their attack. Trengove, Frawley, Grimey and Riv did the best in this regard, with 4, 5, 6, and 6 tackles.

1%ers - 50-45. Our smothering, chasing, tackling and shepherding again was good, and I think we worked harder than Collingwood overall. But this didn't make up for their superior run and spread.

Sellar was immense once more, and he had 14 1%ers in this game. Riv and Tom McDonald also worked as hard as anyone, with 4 each.

Not time enough to do a full player rundown I'm afraid, but I'll bring that back again in the future.

PREDICTION:

When the AFL issued its programme of matches way back when the full roster of Franchise Two players was far from finalised, we anticipated a probable crushing of an entity we had quickly grown to loathe just as much as the other franchise.

Things haven't gone well for us with injuries, loss of form, a slow adaptation to a new style of play and some extraordinary and well documented on and off-field events derailing the first half of the club's season. Not even in our wildest nightmares did we expect to be on only one win at this juncture. But we've performed much better over the last three games, and there's not too much to affect the expectation of a comfortable win.

The franchise beat the other one earlier in the season, but they've been largely uncompetitive for the overwhelming majority of the season thus far, with many games over very quickly indeed.

On Sunday, they play at the MCG for the first time, and the big ground should suit them a bit better because they run and spread reasonably well, a feature which has for the most part been lacking for us this year. But we've loaded up with big bodies in order to exploit their lack of size and experience, and this should be a plan that reaps results.

One puzzling decision from them is the choice to omit Chad Cornes, who's often performed well against us in the past, and whose form this year has been widely acknowledged as one of the better parts of that team's performance so far. Last week he had 23 touches against Richmond and whilst not as prolific against Geelong in the game before that, his contribution was significant. In his team's only win this year, Cornes had 28 possessions, took 12 marks and was easily best on the ground. It's hard to believe that he's been rested for this game on this ground and in the heavy conditions anticipated for Sunday. I wouldn't be surprised if this was yet another Sheedy ploy and a late change will see Cornes running out for the game.

We need to get off to a good start again this time. After a couple of weeks of competitive starts against Carlton and Essendon, we started off like molasses in the Arctic, and went on like that for a quarter and a half, conceding more than eight goals as a result of some sloppy play, loose checking and poor kicking for goal against the Pies on Queens Birthday. A similar start will open up the possibility of a nightmare scenario in this game.

On the other hand, GW$ will need everything to go their way to have any chance, much as it did last week against the Tigers, when virtually every foray into the forward line resulted in a goal, while Richmond was extremely wasteful up forward. The result being that the home side needed only fourteen shots to achieve twelve goals, while the visitors scored one less goal with 31 attempts in their two-goal win. In other words, only accuracy in front of goal was the difference between a close result and an absolute thumping.

So we certainly need to make sure we kick straight, of course.

In any case, I believe the time has come for us to kick off a better second half of the year and I think we'll win and win well. Prepare to wave your jackets in the direction of the Franchise Two coaches' box at the end of the game! And hopefully we'll have plenty of anti-$€U₤₤¥ and anti-franchise banners out there too.

Demons by 40.

 

[Logger]

The last time we went into a game with favouritism was Round 1 against Brisbane. The last time we went into a game as a legitimate chance was probably the Bulldogs in Round 4 or St Kilda in Round 5. That means: firstly, we've been crap if there were only three winnable games in the first half of the season, secondly we've had a really tough draw so far and thirdly, we have no idea how the players will react to going into the game with the pressure of a win expected of them.

It's going to be a very interesting game...

 

[MAXIMUM GRUNDAGE]

I wish James McDonald and Tim Mohr all the best this weekend.

I'll be there to see somebody hopefully smash the living shit out of that other bloke who used to play for us.

 

[raven echo]

Given it's going to be a wet day, what are the GWS smalls like?

Can't see any of the big men having too greater impact in this game due to the conditions.

 

[Bluelegs]

Given it's going to be a wet day, what are the GWS smalls like?

Can't see any of the big men having too greater impact in this game due to the conditions.

Not much rain on Sunday I'm hearing but yeah the ground will probably still be wet.

 

[Theo X]

Cornes (rested)? They're tanking already

 

[Tulip]

Reading that Jim part really did make me see what a rat he is. Him and Phil sitting there, bouncing lies off eachother: Any decent human being would tell their boss, let alone a man like Jim, that they're even considering going.

Rodent.

 

[rhaz]

Davey, Bail, Macdonald and Bate in.

Probably the worst 4 in's i've seen this year. Bail is fine but the other 3 have no future at the club in my eyes.

 

[Tulip]

Why would Davis not play ahead of Joel MacDonald?

 

[Spirit of 39]

Why would Davis not play ahead of Joel MacDonald?

Because they're after match-hardened, bigber bodies against a young GWS team in cold and wet conditions? (See also Bate's inclusion for this reason.)

 

[MAXIMUM GRUNDAGE]

Don't understand why Sam Blease was dropped.

 

[Tulip]

Don't understand why Sam Blease was dropped.

Shocking decision, hopefully just being rested.

 

[spudmaster]

Great preview as always mate

The perfect chance to grab the 4 points and start the second half of the year off successfully.
Having a quick look at the draw, with the exception of the Crows, the Dees don't face any of the top teams so fingers crossed you blokes will get to see lots of more-competitive games in the second half. GWS twice, GC and Port will perhaps be good opportunities to notch up wins and belt out the club song.

Their young, fragile kids won't like the wet conditions when coming up against hardened bodies, and they might get stage fright playing on the mcg for the first time as well. Can't wait to see who flattens that lil' gold digger either.

 

[RandB]

Don't understand why Sam Blease was dropped.

It's an interesting one.

 

[MAXIMUM GRUNDAGE]

It's an interesting one.

I read the article posted by Bluelegs and yeah, I can see what Neeld is doing there.

“He is lightning quick and a beautiful kick — a beautiful kick at training, an unbelievable user of the ball at training and at Casey. Now Sam's challenge is to have that stuff ingrained at AFL level. You can train endurance, so Sam has a big future in AFL footy. He has played what, 10 games? So he has a lot of upside.”

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/staring-down-the-storm-20120622-20ttb.html#ixzz1ya0iKEJn​

 

[Sir Hugh Percy]

Only been on BF for a few weeks but these preview threads by Wona have been a highlight of my brief time here. Great detail and excellent analysis; thanks very much for taking the time (must be heaps) to this every week. Can't be easy fitting it in between running battles on the bay.

However, I think a failing of the Dees over many years has been complacency. Too often we have dropped games against weaker opposition with the players appearing almost disinterested in the outcome. It’s like they have all bought into the hype about the talented young list and expect that that will get them wins and finals appearances rather than working their arses off. The Brisbane game was a classic example. I felt like there was a lot of expectation that we’d smash them and instead they came out and took it right up to us. Instead of the players going in at half time and saying to themselves that we need to dig in and hammer them with everything we’ve got, they seemed to pack up and hope for an easier go at it the next week.

This, in turn, is confidence sapping; because as time goes on the players know that they’ve dropped a game that they should have won and it’s not going to get any easier. The reality is that the opposition see us as an easy four points as long as they make it tough, so they’re bringing their A-game while we’re still wondering what went wrong and fumbling, making poor decisions, scrubbing kicks, etc.

In light of all this, I see this as a real danger game for us. It’s just the kind of game that we’ve lost in the past. It could set us up for the rest of the season or reduce us to laughing stocks. Had we beaten Brisbane, like we should have, we might have taken a lot more confidence into the following games and maybe snared a couple more wins against the likes of the Dogs or Tiges. We could have and been 4-7 with our tough start to the season and that would have us holding our heads a lot higher in these parts. Crumbs, even Norf supporters are giving it to us for being a rabble.

Despite what Wona has said, the GWS have been far better at contested ball and pressuring the opposition than Gold Coast and Sheedy will ensure that they are pumped for a big win; playing off the stuff about $cully and how we don’t like it hard. As Wona also said, we need to learn to be ruthless - not just this week or because of that lying $hitbag $cully, but every game. Talent alone will never get you a win against anybody. Gameplans may be the point of difference that decides a Grand final, but never get you there in the first place on its own. It’s all about INTENT. Let this be the beginning of new chapter in the Demons long and varied history. Let this be the making of a Melbourne that poleaxes weaker teams and brings intent to every contest for four quarters; building confidence and respect, nay AWE, on the way to premiership glory.

As for $hitbag $cully, I hope he costs GWS a flag against us in the years ahead because they can’t hold onto far more capable players, coz they’re paying that hack and his wannabe dad too damn much.

 

[stretcharmstrong]

Don't understand why Sam Blease was dropped.

Came in to make this exact point and ask the question why!?

He's named as emergency so it's not an injury. Can't see the reason for it...

I wonder if Neeld is hesitant to play Blease and Davey in the same team seeing as they both tend to fade out of games after half time?

Edit: I think YDKJ is suggesting something similar...

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

Thanks for the appreciation again Comrades

Been a busy last couple of days - been away from BF since yesterday morning because of that, but I'll make sure I finish the 'analysis' section of the preview before the end of the night tonight as well...

 

[Dory_77]

I admire your optimism and previews each week Wonna, but I don't think this will be a 'regulation win' for the Dees. GWS will be pumped, Melbourne will be coming off the bye and are going in with the expectation that they'll win, but I don't think it'll be a comfy win. Might blow out a bit if the lads get on top early, but GWS aren't quite the pushovers that GC were and the boys can't afford to give them a sniff. Coming off the bye, and the general inconsistency of the side I'm unsure that they'll be able to put them away early and cruise to a win. Although I think we should win I'm not 100% sure of it.
Also, Blease out; WTF? Can go missing, but thought it would be a good chance to show his stuff and build up some form. Morts out was unsurprising; one or two stupid errors, even if you have a good game otherwise, can't be tolerated. Davey is playing for his career; JMac and Bate too I feel especially in light of Riv's comments. Bail should go alright though (I hope). The players will need to be very switched on, and while I look forward to Scully being put on his arse, I'd rather us thrash the whole GWS side, rather than just the grub.

 

[Bluelegs]

I admire your optimism and previews each week Wonna, but I don't think this will be a 'regulation win' for the Dees. GWS will be pumped, Melbourne will be coming off the bye and are going in with the expectation that they'll win, but I don't think it'll be a comfy win. Might blow out a bit if the lads get on top early, but GWS aren't quite the pushovers that GC were and the boys can't afford to give them a sniff. Coming off the bye, and the general inconsistency of the side I'm unsure that they'll be able to put them away early and cruise to a win. Although I think we should win I'm not 100% sure of it.
Also, Blease out; WTF? Can go missing, but thought it would be a good chance to show his stuff and build up some form. Morts out was unsurprising; one or two stupid errors, even if you have a good game otherwise, can't be tolerated. Davey is playing for his career; JMac and Bate too I feel especially in light of Riv's comments. Bail should go alright though (I hope). The players will need to be very switched on, and while I look forward to Scully being put on his arse, I'd rather us thrash the whole GWS side, rather than just the grub.

After the start we had to the year I don't think we'll take any game for granted.

 

[deestar3]

Final team - Morton sub - blease - j macdonald - Troy Davis emerg

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

Analysis section is up now. Team lists updated as well...

 

[adamelliott]

As Wona says in the summary our marking has improved a lot and we seem to have a bit of a heart beat now. Still, GWS are going to see this as a chance. We need top kick straight and play that chasing tackling opportunistic football, that when you kick straight, results in a good score