Elton Johns Wig
Premiership Ruckman
- Moderator
- #1
It was Sat 26th Aug 2017, and the air was thick with hope, yet one could also feel the trepidation in the hearts of the smattering of Dees supporters amongst the Magpie throng.
This once mighty club had been through the ringer, time and time again. No flag since 1964, no finals since 2005, no finals wins since 2002. They plunged into debt, got fined $500k for tanking-not-tanking, but they had righted the ship, and things were on the up.
I was there to support a mate, MJ. A mate who had not at all been kind to me. In fact he had death ridden the Tigers all year, to no effect. We were safely ensconced in the 8, destined for greater things. But I’m a magnanimous fellow, so I went along to watch, and be happy for him if his beloved Dees could see September action. I was a guest in the MCC, as is a Demons fans want. They don’t buy memberships. Why would they when they are members of the MCC? w***ers.
This was the day for Melbourne, the Demons, the Dees. They were going to play finals, it was really going to happen. I mean, the club had already sent out the packages. What could go wrong? They were 7th, all they had to do was win against the 13th placed Magpies, and no one could take it away from them. Right?
Unfortunately for the Dees, and MJ, they were a rabbit in the headlights as the expectation again proved too much. Jack Watts did Jack Watts things, Gawn was huge with 8 disposals. The Dees, with everything to play for, shat the bed against the Pies, with nothing to play for. Delicious
It was all too much for old mate. I looked beside me as he had not said a word as the inevitable happened, and I was immediately concerned. His eyes were bulging and his face was a sort of purpley blue colour. MJ, MJ what's wrong? He was furiously pointing to the half eaten cheeseboard and then to his mouth. As each second passed slowly the panic grew as he tried to force the food down his throat. He had to breathe. The burning in his chest grew worse by the moment as he writhed in pain. Slowly the world started to spin, to fade, as the sound of the crowd grew dull. A world of black rushed over him, pulled him down, and his body went limp in his seat.
MEDICCC!!!!!! The ambos come over and went all heimlich on him, thankfully managing to save the day. "Will he be alright?" I asked. "Sure mate" said the ambo, "he'll be fine. Nothing unusual here. We see this a lot in people affiliated with Melbourne".
Knowing he was going to be ok was great. "MJ, any chance of some finals tickets?".
It's fair to say he wasn't enjoying life. This bloke, as soon as Dees didn't make finals, was into us. Straight sets, he said, straight sets. You can't beat Geelong, you're gone. Waste of a season. Haven't won a final in blah blah blah.
We beat the Cats. One and done he says, one and done. No mate, try again. So we were there.
As much of a knob jockey as he had been all year, he as least did provide tickets to the Granny. Can you believe it, at the ground, he's in to me. You're no chance, Crows unbeatable, you got smashed by them. They'll smoke you. Waste of time. For *'s sake mate, I'm at a GF, let me soak this in. What a campaigner.
We all know it was the greatest day. I'll happily admit I cried. And every time I see the footage or hear the commentary, it still gets me. Prestia goal, final quarter. Every. Single. Time.
The game came to it's conclusion, the crowd absolutely euphoric and going nuts. This was the best day of my life, no question. Wedding? * off, this s**t on it. Birth of my children? Pretty good, but this s**t on it.
I was lost in my own world, and completely forgot about MJ. Hugging strangers, kissing men, brilliant. I turned, and saw him. Crestfallen was the best word I have. He really didn't want this, truly. If the Dees couldn't win, he didn't want us to. Petty campaigner. He was staring, empty, lost. The most vacant stare I have ever seen. He was wishing he was anywhere but at the G that day. He was broken.
"Hey MJ, MJ!!!" I yelled above the throng. His head slowly lifted and his dead, soulless eyes met mine. "Hey MJ............GO TIGES!!!".
Well, I didn't expect to be where we are today.
The Dees. Pre season, they were my pick for the flag. I thought they had the mix pretty much right. I thought Lever and May were decent ins. Depth was pretty good.
Put it simply, they've been deplorable. Their system is breaking down badly at the moment. Both forward and back. They are currently scoring 26 points a game less than last year whilst conceding 24 points a game more. Not great reading for Dees fans.
Defensively they've let streaks of goals happen against them on multiple occasions. R1 v Port 5 goals. R2 v Cats, two streaks of 6 goals. R3 v Bombers 8 goals. And again yesterday, v Saints, another streak of 8 goals against. They really need to address this.
The Tigers. Regulation Round 1 win, soured by the loss of the defender of his generation. And it's taken the Tigers a while to recover from this. Apart from being a bloody great player, the fact he was also basically an on field coach is where it's really hurt. We were headless in Round 2, running around like chooks. Collingwoods chippy game tore us apart. I actually thought we were OK against GWS and faded late, and then good against Port. We should have beaten Sydney by more. Grimes, as everyone knows, has been enormous. It's actually funny watching the media give him long overdue plaudits. campaigners.
Player Focus
Clayton Oliver - campaigner. Insanely punchable head. Bloody good player though. So clean in the contest, lightning hands. Phenomenal work rate. Professional diver, will be at Tokyo 2020
Steven May - Fat campaigner. Won't play.
Jordan Lewis - Bald campaigner, but won't admit it. Puts shoe polish on his head to cover it. Was a good player. Now slow as treacle.
Shane Edwards - never get sick of watching this bloke through traffic. Slippery sucker.
Sydney Stack - courageous little midget isn't he? A bargain.
Tom/Tim Lynch/Lunch - Delicious. Loves the contest and usually a very good set shot.
The Midfield
This is an interesting battle. When firing, the one thing Dees have in spades is inside grunt. Solid group of contested ball winners and Oliver is elite. Add Jones, Viney, Brayshaw into the mix. The thing that goes against them is it's all very much the same. If you can go close to matching them inside I think teams can really burn them getting away from the contest. This is where I believe we can get on top. Our midfield may not have the same base power contested ball wise, but I believe the balance of inside /outside mix is far superior to Melbourne.
Forwards v Backs
If Melbourne play like they did against the Saints, this could be ugly. With Jack due back, you'd think he'd play a higher role as Lynch has done a bloody good job from deep. So who plays on Jack? This will be a real issue for the Dees. Looking foward to the Jetta/Rioli and Hibberd/Caddy type battles. I think our pressure, which has thankfully returned, will see the Dees struggle a bit in transition. I expect goals from Lynch as I can't currently see a Melbourne defender than will dominate him. Hopefully the umpires are looking out for holding because he copped a fair bit of that against the Swans. Up the other end Buddy goes all WWE on Grimes head but gets a free. Go figure.
Backs v Forwards
A surprise for the Dees is that Pruess is kicking goals. Massive unit. Pruess, meet Astbury. David, this is Pruess. Grimes to McDonald who is horribly out of sorts. Edwards off half back has been a massive win for us. I think after 3-4 weeks without Rance we have settled a bit and the pieces are just about all where they need to be.
Mentality
This is where, forgetting about one on one battles for a moment, this is where we win the game. We're a tough, hardened team. And the young players we've bought in, Stack and Ross, are not wallflower types. I'm wondering how much damage was done to the Dees in that Prelim, because they don't look like they believe at the moment. Gawn you know you can put off, he's also incredibly flaky in front of goal, which tells me a lot. Petracca should be tearing the competition a new one, but he is your absolute looks like Tarzan plays like Jane footballer. He's dead set going at 60% and seems happy with it.
Line ups not announced, but we know Cotchin isn't playing. Jack likely. This is a bloody great spectacle under lights, a superb occasion. As a former serviceman, I really love what ANZAC Day is, and how we as a nation properly pay our respects.
Tiges by 27pts
This once mighty club had been through the ringer, time and time again. No flag since 1964, no finals since 2005, no finals wins since 2002. They plunged into debt, got fined $500k for tanking-not-tanking, but they had righted the ship, and things were on the up.
I was there to support a mate, MJ. A mate who had not at all been kind to me. In fact he had death ridden the Tigers all year, to no effect. We were safely ensconced in the 8, destined for greater things. But I’m a magnanimous fellow, so I went along to watch, and be happy for him if his beloved Dees could see September action. I was a guest in the MCC, as is a Demons fans want. They don’t buy memberships. Why would they when they are members of the MCC? w***ers.
This was the day for Melbourne, the Demons, the Dees. They were going to play finals, it was really going to happen. I mean, the club had already sent out the packages. What could go wrong? They were 7th, all they had to do was win against the 13th placed Magpies, and no one could take it away from them. Right?
Unfortunately for the Dees, and MJ, they were a rabbit in the headlights as the expectation again proved too much. Jack Watts did Jack Watts things, Gawn was huge with 8 disposals. The Dees, with everything to play for, shat the bed against the Pies, with nothing to play for. Delicious
It was all too much for old mate. I looked beside me as he had not said a word as the inevitable happened, and I was immediately concerned. His eyes were bulging and his face was a sort of purpley blue colour. MJ, MJ what's wrong? He was furiously pointing to the half eaten cheeseboard and then to his mouth. As each second passed slowly the panic grew as he tried to force the food down his throat. He had to breathe. The burning in his chest grew worse by the moment as he writhed in pain. Slowly the world started to spin, to fade, as the sound of the crowd grew dull. A world of black rushed over him, pulled him down, and his body went limp in his seat.
MEDICCC!!!!!! The ambos come over and went all heimlich on him, thankfully managing to save the day. "Will he be alright?" I asked. "Sure mate" said the ambo, "he'll be fine. Nothing unusual here. We see this a lot in people affiliated with Melbourne".
Knowing he was going to be ok was great. "MJ, any chance of some finals tickets?".
It's fair to say he wasn't enjoying life. This bloke, as soon as Dees didn't make finals, was into us. Straight sets, he said, straight sets. You can't beat Geelong, you're gone. Waste of a season. Haven't won a final in blah blah blah.
We beat the Cats. One and done he says, one and done. No mate, try again. So we were there.
As much of a knob jockey as he had been all year, he as least did provide tickets to the Granny. Can you believe it, at the ground, he's in to me. You're no chance, Crows unbeatable, you got smashed by them. They'll smoke you. Waste of time. For *'s sake mate, I'm at a GF, let me soak this in. What a campaigner.
We all know it was the greatest day. I'll happily admit I cried. And every time I see the footage or hear the commentary, it still gets me. Prestia goal, final quarter. Every. Single. Time.
The game came to it's conclusion, the crowd absolutely euphoric and going nuts. This was the best day of my life, no question. Wedding? * off, this s**t on it. Birth of my children? Pretty good, but this s**t on it.
I was lost in my own world, and completely forgot about MJ. Hugging strangers, kissing men, brilliant. I turned, and saw him. Crestfallen was the best word I have. He really didn't want this, truly. If the Dees couldn't win, he didn't want us to. Petty campaigner. He was staring, empty, lost. The most vacant stare I have ever seen. He was wishing he was anywhere but at the G that day. He was broken.
"Hey MJ, MJ!!!" I yelled above the throng. His head slowly lifted and his dead, soulless eyes met mine. "Hey MJ............GO TIGES!!!".
Well, I didn't expect to be where we are today.
The Dees. Pre season, they were my pick for the flag. I thought they had the mix pretty much right. I thought Lever and May were decent ins. Depth was pretty good.
Put it simply, they've been deplorable. Their system is breaking down badly at the moment. Both forward and back. They are currently scoring 26 points a game less than last year whilst conceding 24 points a game more. Not great reading for Dees fans.
Defensively they've let streaks of goals happen against them on multiple occasions. R1 v Port 5 goals. R2 v Cats, two streaks of 6 goals. R3 v Bombers 8 goals. And again yesterday, v Saints, another streak of 8 goals against. They really need to address this.
The Tigers. Regulation Round 1 win, soured by the loss of the defender of his generation. And it's taken the Tigers a while to recover from this. Apart from being a bloody great player, the fact he was also basically an on field coach is where it's really hurt. We were headless in Round 2, running around like chooks. Collingwoods chippy game tore us apart. I actually thought we were OK against GWS and faded late, and then good against Port. We should have beaten Sydney by more. Grimes, as everyone knows, has been enormous. It's actually funny watching the media give him long overdue plaudits. campaigners.
Player Focus
Clayton Oliver - campaigner. Insanely punchable head. Bloody good player though. So clean in the contest, lightning hands. Phenomenal work rate. Professional diver, will be at Tokyo 2020
Steven May - Fat campaigner. Won't play.
Jordan Lewis - Bald campaigner, but won't admit it. Puts shoe polish on his head to cover it. Was a good player. Now slow as treacle.
Shane Edwards - never get sick of watching this bloke through traffic. Slippery sucker.
Sydney Stack - courageous little midget isn't he? A bargain.
Tom/Tim Lynch/Lunch - Delicious. Loves the contest and usually a very good set shot.
The Midfield
This is an interesting battle. When firing, the one thing Dees have in spades is inside grunt. Solid group of contested ball winners and Oliver is elite. Add Jones, Viney, Brayshaw into the mix. The thing that goes against them is it's all very much the same. If you can go close to matching them inside I think teams can really burn them getting away from the contest. This is where I believe we can get on top. Our midfield may not have the same base power contested ball wise, but I believe the balance of inside /outside mix is far superior to Melbourne.
Forwards v Backs
If Melbourne play like they did against the Saints, this could be ugly. With Jack due back, you'd think he'd play a higher role as Lynch has done a bloody good job from deep. So who plays on Jack? This will be a real issue for the Dees. Looking foward to the Jetta/Rioli and Hibberd/Caddy type battles. I think our pressure, which has thankfully returned, will see the Dees struggle a bit in transition. I expect goals from Lynch as I can't currently see a Melbourne defender than will dominate him. Hopefully the umpires are looking out for holding because he copped a fair bit of that against the Swans. Up the other end Buddy goes all WWE on Grimes head but gets a free. Go figure.
Backs v Forwards
A surprise for the Dees is that Pruess is kicking goals. Massive unit. Pruess, meet Astbury. David, this is Pruess. Grimes to McDonald who is horribly out of sorts. Edwards off half back has been a massive win for us. I think after 3-4 weeks without Rance we have settled a bit and the pieces are just about all where they need to be.
Mentality
This is where, forgetting about one on one battles for a moment, this is where we win the game. We're a tough, hardened team. And the young players we've bought in, Stack and Ross, are not wallflower types. I'm wondering how much damage was done to the Dees in that Prelim, because they don't look like they believe at the moment. Gawn you know you can put off, he's also incredibly flaky in front of goal, which tells me a lot. Petracca should be tearing the competition a new one, but he is your absolute looks like Tarzan plays like Jane footballer. He's dead set going at 60% and seems happy with it.
Line ups not announced, but we know Cotchin isn't playing. Jack likely. This is a bloody great spectacle under lights, a superb occasion. As a former serviceman, I really love what ANZAC Day is, and how we as a nation properly pay our respects.
Tiges by 27pts
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