Review The positives to come from this week's debacles

[Demon 86]

How quickly the gloss can come off a 96 point win.

Grimes, Jamar and nearly all backup ruckman going down, then the Trengove travesty. But I believe there are some positives to come out of this.

1) The solidarity of the players.
Some people have questioned the solidarity of the playing group, saying there were divides amongst some of the players that were causing issues. Well I think the way in which all of our players have stood up for Trenners has proven this is not the case, or at least has brought them closer together. Twittergate to me, was not only amusing but a great sign that our players will stick together no matter what crap is thrown our way.

2) The leadership of Brad Green
The fact that Brad Green kept tweeting about the injustice done to Trenners after being given a please explain by the AFL was considered foolish to many. But to me it was a sign that he is trying his arse off to stick up for our playing group, no matter the consequences. He finally had a cracking match on Sunday and his passion for the club has never been in question, and I think this week has shown he is passionate about his team mates as well (no homo).

3) The making of Martin?
Jamar going down was akin to someone urinating on you after kicking you to the nuts and knocking you to the ground. Hopefully this will be where Stef shows us that the glimpses of form he has shown so far this season aren't an aberration, and that he belongs out there. I am cautiously optimistic that he can deliver.

4) Further opportunities to Tappy, and other rookies
Tapscott will become even more crucial to us off the half backline now that Grimes is down, and I have 100% faith that he will step up and deliver. The Bull is a competitive beast, and having more responsibility upon his huge shoulders will only be good for him. Furthermore this may allow us to see if the likes of Nicholson and Evans off the rookie list are worth persisting with, I think we'll see one or both of them out there at some point and lets hope our tradition of unearthing rookie gems continues

I am not normally the overly optimistic type, but I really think this week will be important in the making of our team moving forward.

 

[Wise Guy Sam]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

All very good points.

Some short term lose good mean long term gain.

Brad Green is a star, I have been pretty hard on him (privatly) so far this season because I know he can do better. I really think he is starting to find his feet as captain. Good job Brad

A key injury will teach the FD alot about where the players are at. IRC this is where Ryder and Clarke made their name when the ruck duty was thrown to them. Martin and Tapscott have alot to gain here, as do the midfield brigade as some of our fringe players have a chance to step up without Trenners. Jetta has the talent and had a great preseason, as did Maric lets see what they do.

LTI are one of the worst things in footy but we have a good record with rookies. A few promo's and we might uncover another AFL star.

I'm also hoping the players to galvanise over this and take their aggresion out on the opposition. Twitter is one thing but the breaking of the ethihad and north hoodoo after a week like this and their would be no question that the Dee's are coming.

 

[Crusty Demon]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

Some very good points raised.

I especially have noticed and loved the way the playing group have come together over the Trengove suspension. I know there was some bullshit thread about the dividing of our playing group on this board last week, but I reckon the players sticking up for Trengove and showing a united front has dispelled that rumour. And Trengove also mentioned in an interview that the players were a tight knit bunch of guys. So hopefully they show there response to the AFL by smashing the kangas tomorrow.

Good call on Green as well. Has shown really good leadership in the last week or so. Needs to continue improving his form on field though. Been far from impressive this season, but the last week or so is a step in the right direction on and off field.

As for Martin, well, I'm not totally convinced. But hey, he has hic chance and so too does Newton by the sounds of it. This is the one area that makes the great teams hard to beat, depth! If Martin and Newton can somehow prove there worth over the next 5-6 weeks while Jamar is injured, it will be a massive bonus to our side. Martin especially, as we are really looking for that back up ruckman to Jamar. It's crucial one of Gawn, Martin, Spencer or Fitzpatrick step up.

And the Bull is a gem! His hardness at the ball and kicking style is a feature and something that we desperately needed. With some rookies pushing for spots over the coming weeks, there certainly is some positives to come out of a horrow week. Add in McKenzie back playing and Scully not far from returning and things will look up very quickly...

 

[demonsize]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

Nothing pulls a team together when there has been an injustice done against one of their own, i think we have found out alot about our playing group this week, this will only make us stronger as a team and a club.
The outrage from all footy supporters (even Collingwood ones) over the Trengove decision has been felt all over Australia, the appauling way the AFL has handled this hot potatoe has been nothing short of embarassing.

As for the Raging Bull across half back, cant wait until he deliveres the perfect tackle on an unsuspecting opponent.

Sometimes strength comes out of adversity.

 

[Wise Guy Sam]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

Nothing pulls a team together when there has been an injustice done against one of their own, i think we have found out alot about our playing group this week, this will only make us stronger as a team and a club.
The outrage from all footy supporters (even Collingwood ones) over the Trengove decision has been felt all over Australia, the appauling way the AFL has handled this hot potatoe has been nothing short of embarassing.

As for the Raging Bull across half back, cant wait until he deliveres the perfect tackle on an unsuspecting opponent.

Sometimes strength comes out of adversity.

I hope its not too perfect, could cop weeks

 

[Demon 86]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

I hope its not too perfect, could cop weeks

Lol

Well I guess points 3 and 4 of the OP were kind of pertinant.

Martin was pretty good on the w/e, needs to work on being more mindful of where his opponent is around the ground but got 20 touches of his own which was good.

Whilst Tappy wasn't great, another few injuries () will surely mean that we'll see another debutant soon? Evans impressed again for Casey and may get a gig for Bail...

Brad Green showed that his off-field talk was just talk, and racked up 20 possies, 0 tackles and an overall poor performance that is not befitting of a skipper.

 

[syl]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

Martin was fantastic, there's no other way of putting it. He faded, but that's due to the massive amount of responsibility and the fact he was already underdone.

He effected 6 clearances by himself, (2nd highest in our side), was all round putting in an effort.

Green was a ****ing disgrace again.

Tapscott was serviceable, due to more injuries, either elevate Evans or put Tappy in the mids for a run, he is a star in the making, give him a go!

 

[On the bench]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

I took absolutely no positives from this game!

Look at our last four games

Gold Coast-90 point win
West Coast-54 point loss
Adelaide-96 point win
Nth Melb-41 point loss

Gold Coast result was pretty much a given but the other three are against sides around us on the ladder yet we've been belted by two of them & belted the other one,can someone plaese explain these erractic performances?

We played a side who have won just one game thus far had them on the ropes at quarter time then concede 16 goals to 5 from then on,pathetic if ever there was a game that the players gave up on this was it sad thing is that i can see it happening all over again against a spent force this week in St.Kilda!

 

[Ando727]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

Look at our last four games

Gold Coast-90 point win
West Coast-54 point loss
Adelaide-96 point win
Nth Melb-41 point loss

It's like how we used to go finals, no-finals, finals, no-finals. etc. for about a decade. Now we are doing it match to match. We have a very brittle mentality at Melbourne.

 

[Andy_Mac]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

I took absolutely no positives from this game!

Look at our last four games

Gold Coast-90 point win
West Coast-54 point loss
Adelaide-96 point win
Nth Melb-41 point loss

Gold Coast result was pretty much a given but the other three are against sides around us on the ladder yet we've been belted by two of them & belted the other one,can someone plaese explain these erractic performances?

We played a side who have won just one game thus far had them on the ropes at quarter time then concede 16 goals to 5 from then on,pathetic if ever there was a game that the players gave up on this was it sad thing is that i can see it happening all over again against a spent force this week in St.Kilda!

I hate digging the boots into the bloke as I actually think he is/was ideal for us at the time BUT Dean Bailey is now for what ever reason unable to get the best out of the players on a consistent basis.

I don't think it is anywhere near as bad as the Matty Knights situation at the bombers last year, but I'm not sold that the players are either 100% behind Bailey or they current coaching staff is not able to get the team rowing in the same direction. Chip even said it after the game, they stop trying. If you are truly committed to each other as a playing group that includes the coaching staff then you never let that happen to a teammate. Right now Dean Bailey has his head over the ball but no one is prepared to shepherd.

A side can not go from kicking 7 goals in a quarter to 5 for the rest of the match regardless of injuries.

 

[Kimbo]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

I hate digging the boots into the bloke as I actually think he is/was ideal for us at the time BUT Dean Bailey is now for what ever reason unable to get the best out of the players on a consistent basis.

Curious.

 

[Demon 86]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

Curious.

Really.... Gonna add anything more to that?

Will be interesting to see if the post match spray Bailey gave in front of everyone does anything...

 

[demonfan9]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

I hate digging the boots into the bloke as I actually think he is/was ideal for us at the time BUT Dean Bailey is now for what ever reason unable to get the best out of the players on a consistent basis.

I don't think it is anywhere near as bad as the Matty Knights situation at the bombers last year, but I'm not sold that the players are either 100% behind Bailey or they current coaching staff is not able to get the team rowing in the same direction. Chip even said it after the game, they stop trying. If you are truly committed to each other as a playing group that includes the coaching staff then you never let that happen to a teammate. Right now Dean Bailey has his head over the ball but no one is prepared to shepherd.

A side can not go from kicking 7 goals in a quarter to 5 for the rest of the match regardless of injuries.

I said that after the West Coast game and I still stick by it. Bailey is not getting the best out of the players anymore.

I am worried that we were actually more competitive last year than this year. Last year we rarely gave up, rarely got belted, of course we were outclassed on a number of occasions but you could see there was a real determination there.

The major difference is - going into 2010 we were unsure if we could win many games (coming off two consecutive wooden spoons) but we tried our arses off. This year, we know we can win games (and win well), but we don't seem to have the same level of application as last year.

That shouldn't be happening at this stage in our development, and it suggests to me that the players aren't fully behind Bailey anymore.

 

[Kimbo]

Re: The positives to come from this weeks debacles

Really.... Gonna add anything more to that?

That's safe to say on your board? Probably not.

I am worried that we were actually more competitive last year than this year. Last year we rarely gave up, rarely got belted, of course we were outclassed on a number of occasions but you could see there was a real determination there.

But this probably says more clearly what was meant by Andy_Mac, and I get that.

 

[Tas]

I don't want to get drawn into bagging an opposition coach, especially on their forum but last year I was making comparisons between the Bailey style and the Knights style.

You see erratic results based on if opposition sides let you run and have space and we definitely did that in the first quarter but were able to put more pressure on in the other quarters.

I think if Hird/Thompson came into Melbourne end of last year you would have seen a similar change. While I do believe the Knights/Bailey style looks better when on song it is a bit of a false dawn because no side can maintain that style of play all season. We tried it in the early 90s and we used to kick some cricket-like score but it is the lack of consistency that always gets you in finals.

It wasn't until Pagan focused on defence that we started to win flags.

 

[master bate]

I don't want to get drawn into bagging an opposition coach, especially on their forum but last year I was making comparisons between the Bailey style and the Knights style.

You see erratic results based on if opposition sides let you run and have space and we definitely did that in the first quarter but were able to put more pressure on in the other quarters.

I think if Hird/Thompson came into Melbourne end of last year you would have seen a similar change. While I do believe the Knights/Bailey style looks better when on song it is a bit of a false dawn because no side can maintain that style of play all season. We tried it in the early 90s and we used to kick some cricket-like score but it is the lack of consistency that always gets you in finals.

It wasn't until Pagan focused on defence that we started to win flags.

Bailey and Knights have very different styles. We are very focused on defence, just look at our points against last year. However our problem is we defend deep by getting men back and then get trapped in presses and unable to keep the ball in our forward when we do go forward.

The question is can we lift the intensity (as players mature and get fitter) and turn this game plan into a more successful one or is it fundamentally flawed.