Wonaeamirri33
Lovable Whore With A Heart Of Gold
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Bay 13: Flog of the Year
Chocolate
Artist
Ruby
- May 10, 2009
- 28,743
- 44,821
- AFL Club
- Melbourne
- Other Teams
- FITZROY, Aylesbury United, St Pauli
WHERE AND WHEN: Patersons Stadium, Saturday April 7, 2.40pm
LAST TIME: Melbourne 9.8 (62) lost to West Coast 16.14 (110), round 21, 2011 at Etihad Stadium
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 42, Melbourne 15 wins, West Coast 27
GENERAL INFO:
West Coast have made the perfect start to their 2012 season, beating the Western Bulldogs on the road in emphatic fashion - but you couldn't script a more deflating round one for us.
Mark Neeld's players need to earn back respect after a 41-point loss to the Brisbane Lions, but the Eagles boast a 6-0 record against us at Patersons Stadium since 2003, and it seems impossible to think that could somehow change on Saturday.
It seems no matter what happens, whether the truth is told about us or not, whether we do the honourable thing or not, we're going to get rocks thrown at us, and the critics are out there like vultures circling their prey, particularly because we're vulnerable at the moment.
And perhaps it's because of that vulnerability that the West Coast Eagles are treating this game with a touch of caution. They happen to be almost the flavour of the month after coming into last season as the previous year's wooden spooners, rising to preliminary finalists and opening last week with a big away from home win against the Bulldogs (who should prepare themselves for a stoning if they fail in Adelaide on Saturday).
The Eagles don't have an elite midfield like the other premiership contenders, but it's handy and has some emerging young contenders like Shuey, Gaff and Masten to go with experienced hands in Priddis, Kerr, Scott Selwood and Rosa. The Eagles also have what many would call the competition's predominant ruck division in Cox and Naitanui.
The comparison with us couldn't be starker if you go on last week's form, where we got nothing from our ruck division or from our onballers at the stoppages. When you then consider that the Demons couldn't better the Eagles at home two years ago when they were wooden spooners, it suggests we're in for another one-sided contest again this weekend.
While the indications are that the team hasn't bottomed out after the disruptions of the past month and the process of adjusting to a new style of play, there are some glimmers of hope on the horizon.
The two young co-captains are in the starting midfield. Jack Grimes had about four minutes there in last year's Adelaide game before he was injured. There are many who believe he has the capacity to add some flair to our on-ball division. Likewise, Trengove, who had an interrupted pre season and showed some early good signs in last week's match, is ready to take another step forward in the midfield. Nathan Jones is progressing well in his second year in a leadership role, Jack Watts easily ranked amongst what was a short list of strong performers over the course of the match, and so did James Magner, who proved to be a revelation in his debut last week.
With players like these stepping up to the plate, there is no reason why we could not improve quickly around the stoppages and reverse the disasters of the last half of last week's game.
It's a tough ask, especially with Melbourne winning only 4 of the last 28 games on the road (half of them on neutral territory). On the other hand, the Demons have a strong defence when it gets its act together and it’s been augmented this week by the size of James Sellar. Similarly, the attack now has a tall key forward in Mitch Clark, who took a while to get going last week. This week Ricky Petterd and Lynden Dunn come in to assist him, along with Watts and Jeremy Howe, who was also amongst the few solid performers against Brisbane.
Hard not to keep coming back to that 1998 game when the Demons won against all odds in the west. And to think about how competent and composed the current squad looked against Collingwood a month ago, and how that same team dominated possession in the latter half of last week’s first term but failed to convert on the scoreboard. We are capable of being competitive in this match, but I'm certainly not holding my breath expecting it to happen.
KEY POINTS:
West Coast
1. Can the Demons shut down West Coast's rapid scoring from centre bounces? Worsfold's men were beaten by the Bulldogs in clearances (36-45) in round one, but their work in the centre square was clinical when it came off and resulted in a number of quick-fire goals. Naitanui's tap-work was instrumental.
2. Andrew Embley wore the green vest for the first time in his career in round one after an interrupted pre-season, but he is back in the 21 this week: so how will the Eagles use their substitute? Midfielders Chris Masten and Andrew Gaff were regular substitutes last year, but they have also justified being in the team's starting midfield. The role could be rotated week-to-week to keep the team's key runners fresh.
3. Which West Coast onballer will the Demons target with a shutdown match-up? Daniel Kerr wore a hard tag from Bulldog Liam Picken in round one and had just seven possessions before being subbed out at three-quarter time, but the Eagles have too many ball-winners to contain. Matt Priddis (33 disposals and 17 clearances), Matt Rosa (31 and eight inside 50s), Scott Selwood (27) and Luke Shuey (24) were all influential.
Melbourne
1. Smashed at the clearances last week and leaking goals in the second half, the Demons head to Perth in the unlikely hope of redemption at a venue where the team haven't won in a decade. Co-captain Jack Grimes said he was confident that the club could improve quickly around the stoppages if it stuck to its structures.
2. The Demons have lost 24 of their past 28 games on the road, but hope to reverse that recent history of poor records away from the MCG under the new coaching regime, and have tinkered slightly with their routine in preparation for this match.
3. Melbourne's defenders, and ruck division, are entitled to a sleepless night thinking about the Eagles' talls, in Naitanui, Cox, Lynch, Darling and Kennedy. They will rotate through the forward 50 and try to dominate the stoppages.
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From Chief:
