Preview Round 1, Melbourne Demons vs GWS Giants, Sat 26th March 2016, 1.40pm, MCG

[Ichabod Noodle]

I'll PM you

PM me too please.

 

[Land of the Giants]

What a dee-saster.

Leading by 3 goals going into the last quarter and then blowing it.

They must have thought they had it in the bag and switched off. Never saw Melbourne coming.

They won't forget a loss like that.

 

[Colonial]

I'll PM you

Sorry to be a pain mate. Can you send it to me as well?

 

[Colonial]

What a dee-saster.

Leading by 3 goals going into the last quarter and then blowing it.

They must have thought they had it in the bag and switched off. Never saw Melbourne coming.

They won't forget a loss like that.

You would bloody hope not

 

[Andre the Giant]

Cheers MODS for dealing with the issue

RE the game, it was weird but even though we had a bunch of extra shots I never felt we were on top and always had a feeling they would get over the top of us.

From a positive perspective I thought Davis was amazing, Lobb very promising, Wilson, Ward, Marchbank, Corr, Scully all really good. Mummy worked his way into the game and is still ring rusty.

On the negative side I think Shiel really looked like he suffered without Treloar, Shaw had one of his worst games for us even though he still did a few good things. We really struggled in the centre clearances and looked bloody slow through the guts. Our link play on the rebound is awesome but we're still lacking continuity in offense. We have a lot of grafting samey samey players and in Hopper and Kennedy you can add two more....next draft a priority is to bring in an electric quick midfielder (hopefully one around).

Changes?? Nick Haynes in for Adam Kennedy, Cogs for Greene and Patton in for Stewart are the obvious moves. Lobb is now our 2nd best forward and needs to stay for the rest of the year. Pickett or WHE might be another option to bring in some speed.

 

[grouse mate]

Really needed that win, tough run for the next few weeks. Stewart and Tomlinson need to start showing something as fwds because Lobb goes from strength to strength and these 2 aren't really cutting it at AFL level. I like Tomo as a footballer but if he wants to be a fwd he has to hit the scoreboard, still think his best position is CHB. Long term I think Patton, Cameron and Lobb with Lobb giving Mummy 5 mins rest is our best structure even if McCarthy was fully fit and interested. Today we looked small up fwd but the cattle to fix it is on the list.

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

I like Tomo as a footballer but if he wants to be a fwd he has to hit the scoreboard,

This.

Had his chance today and blew it. Woeful shot on goal with 2 minutes on the clock. Much, much better on the wing/swing. Thommo is simply not a forward.

 

[Colonial]

This.

Had his chance today and blew it. Woeful shot on goal with 2 minutes on the clock. Much, much better on the wing/swing. Thommo is simply not a forward.

Yep. I've been a big advocate for Ads but he had his chance today. Bring in the General

 

[schmuttt]

Realistically we were very lucky today. Your running game was very impressive and you should have buried us with the shots on goal, but thats footy. Do you think Cameron will change the way you play when you have some more reliable targets up forward? (Also Lobb was very good, just needs to work on goalkicking).

 

[_GT_]

Realistically we were very lucky today. Your running game was very impressive and you should have buried us with the shots on goal, but thats footy. Do you think Cameron will change the way you play when you have some more reliable targets up forward? (Also Lobb was very good, just needs to work on goalkicking).

Jezza's return won't change the way we play that much. Patton in good form would straighten us up with strong leading in the outer 50. That would be the bigger impact on our playing style.

Good to see the Dees heading in the right direction. Good luck for the season.

 

[Land of the Giants]

Realistically we were very lucky today. Your running game was very impressive and you should have buried us with the shots on goal, but thats footy. Do you think Cameron will change the way you play when you have some more reliable targets up forward? (Also Lobb was very good, just needs to work on goalkicking).

Jeremy won't make any difference to the way we play, he's supposed to be on the receiving end of the run-and-carry.

His absence wasn't the reason we lost, we had 8 more scoring shots, we didn't take our chances. Painful lesson.

 

[Topkent]

Tough luck on the loss guys but I have no doubt the way you guys carved us up through the middle of the ground on multiple occasions will click this season and tear some very good sides apart.. we were very lucky to still be in it at 3 qtr time

Just wanna make mention of the game Phil Davis played, Hogan beat some very good 1 on 1 players last year but Davis put him to the sword for 3 quarters and nearly single handedly won you the game

 

[Cmarsh]

Only saw the 1stQ before I had to go to work but Lobb looked terrific up forward as did Davis down back. Hope he can actually stay fit this season. Need Nick Haynes back, as well as Cogs. But that is the type of game that may come back to haunt us if we just miss out on finals.

 

[dlanod]

Only saw the 1stQ before I had to go to work but Lobb looked terrific up forward as did Davis down back. Hope he can actually stay fit this season. Need Nick Haynes back, as well as Cogs.

If you watch the replay, stop at three quarter time and assume we won.

 

[Cmarsh]

If you watch the replay, stop at three quarter time and assume we won.

Lol I got the score updates at work and was grumpy for the rest of the shift after about a quarter to five

 

[Land of the Giants]

On the negative side I think Shiel really looked like he suffered without Treloar...

If that's the case, he needs to work something else out real quick.

Treloar was probably Collingwood's best player in last night's flogging by the Swans, but even he was shell-shocked by the way Sydney's midfield absolutely tore Collingwood to pieces, especially in the first half.

As we got done all day yesterday at the centre bounces, Leon's going to have his work cut out for him in a couple of weeks at the SCG.

 

[Big dog 25]

Watching the game now 2nd quarter a lot of missed opportunities Greene very quiet so is griffen and Whitfield

 

[van peebles]

Watching the game now 2nd quarter a lot of missed opportunities Greene very quiet so is griffen and Whitfield

First time without Conig's and Treloar.

 

[JC100]

First things first I was absolutely gutted at full time yesterday but there was plenty of positives to take away from the game (and a few negatives) that mean the season isn't all doom and gloom and I still expect finals come September. Here is my 2c on the game

I'll start. With the negatives and though
*centre clearances are an issue IF mummy doesn't win the tap. If we don't win the tap our mids aren't great at reading it off the opposition ruck. Max Gawn had a field day yesterday and the mids looked terrible at the centre bounce
*tackling - my to was close to getting hurt with the amount of times our tackles were shrugged off by their mids. We would do the hard work put the pressure on then let the break the tackle and they were away.
*efficiency in front of goal. The simplest part of this is the easy shots at goal both on the run and set shots. The second part is that we aren't great at hitting a forward on the lead and giving them an easy set shot. Is this the forwards timing? Poor delivery to the forwards? Poor forward structure? Not being at the game it's hard to tell but it's not new.
*Two absolute school boy errors. Nathan Wilson appealing for the deliberate when the ball didn't go out and Josh Kelly dropping the ball after running into another giant - the boys will learn but this shouldnt EVER happen!

Now the positives
*Phil Davis - that was the first time I have seen him play like the dominant back that we recruited him to be 5 years ago. Age, experience, full pre season, confidence would all be part of this and it was great to see because it made everyone around him better
*Scully - by far the best game I have seen him play for us. His pressure was fantastic, found plenty of the ball and was damaging with it
*Lobb - what he did yesterday will benefit our forwards for the rest of the season and help with my hard point above particularly when Patton and jezza return. Having a guy in the forward line at that size who can take a grab puts immense pressure on the defence and having seen his contested marking power teams will now have to pay him the utmost respect which will take the focus away from the other forwards. Think of the conundrum for opposition coaches if we end up with Patton, jezza and Lobb up front - who do you send your key backs too? You can't double team any of them and it will create a big mismatch in our favour.
*our midfield - this will seem like a contradiction to my above point but outside of the centre bounce our midfield was absolutely dominant. The run and carry through the middle was quick and efficient and was our main avenue to goal for most of the game. With the change in rules with less stoppages and more open corridor we will hurt sides with this all season
*The backline worked really well together and really stepped up under pressure which finally cracked in the last which I don't blame the backs for. It's bloody difficult defending when the ball is delivered with so much time from the middle.


Players under the pump
*stewart - earned his spot through the pre season and deserved to be in the 22 but was barely sighted and Patton was dominant playing on Ted Richards yesterday in a practice match. Will depend more on where they see Patton at than his game yesterday.
*tomlinson - some areas of his game up forward such as his marking was as good as it has ever been but if you want to play forward you have to be able to kick it between the big sticks and missed another opportunity to prove this. I feel that not only is his place in the 22 on the line at the moment but his place at the Giants. With Jezza and the general to play 1's in the coming weeks on top of Lobbs form, he will likely make way so if he doesn't step up and may not get another crack
*Steele - was okay without being great but with cogs ready for a return it will likely be last in first out.
*Greene - same as Steele although has more runs on the board so should be safe although if he is playing largely forward then he might also come under pressure from WHE who is a better forward and will provide a bit more pressure. The question will be how much midfield time do the coaches want from him.
*Marchbank - I was actually pretty happy with how he played and is coming along nicely but the fact remains that with Haynes and Patfull playing ressies he is behind both of them.

Pushing for selection - we weren't terrible so don't expect wholesale changes
*cogs - should come straight back in against the cats
*patfull - has now played three games so if it isn't this week it should be next week.
*patton - comes down to confidence - simply to good to not be in the 22 in the coming weeks
*Haynes - will probably need at least a couple more weeks to get the match fitness up
*WHE - will be right in the mix for the cats
*Williams - Wilson and Kennedy both found a bit of the ball and didn't do enough wrong to lose their place in the side

The team will be filthy with the result and I fully expect the guys to bounce back and come away with the 4 points against the cats.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Big dog 25]

To goal hungry not team orientated, should of played patfull, conligio and Patton they should of been straight in

 

[Andre the Giant]

First things first I was absolutely gutted at full time yesterday but there was plenty of positives to take away from the game (and a few negatives) that mean the season isn't all doom and gloom and I still expect finals come September. Here is my 2c on the game

I'll start. With the negatives and though
*centre clearances are an issue IF mummy doesn't win the tap. If we don't win the tap our mids aren't great at reading it off the opposition ruck. Max Gawn had a field day yesterday and the mids looked terrible at the centre bounce
*tackling - my to was close to getting hurt with the amount of times our tackles were shrugged off by their mids. We would do the hard work put the pressure on then let the break the tackle and they were away.
*efficiency in front of goal. The simplest part of this is the easy shots at goal both on the run and set shots. The second part is that we aren't great at hitting a forward on the lead and giving them an easy set shot. Is this the forwards timing? Poor delivery to the forwards? Poor forward structure? Not being at the game it's hard to tell but it's not new.
*Two absolute school boy errors. Nathan Wilson appealing for the deliberate when the ball didn't go out and Josh Kelly dropping the ball after running into another giant - the boys will learn but this shouldnt EVER happen!

Now the positives
*Phil Davis - that was the first time I have seen him play like the dominant back that we recruited him to be 5 years ago. Age, experience, full pre season, confidence would all be part of this and it was great to see because it made everyone around him better
*Scully - by far the best game I have seen him play for us. His pressure was fantastic, found plenty of the ball and was damaging with it
*Lobb - what he did yesterday will benefit our forwards for the rest of the season and help with my hard point above particularly when Patton and jezza return. Having a guy in the forward line at that size who can take a grab puts immense pressure on the defence and having seen his contested marking power teams will now have to pay him the utmost respect which will take the focus away from the other forwards. Think of the conundrum for opposition coaches if we end up with Patton, jezza and Lobb up front - who do you send your key backs too? You can't double team any of them and it will create a big mismatch in our favour.
*our midfield - this will seem like a contradiction to my above point but outside of the centre bounce our midfield was absolutely dominant. The run and carry through the middle was quick and efficient and was our main avenue to goal for most of the game. With the change in rules with less stoppages and more open corridor we will hurt sides with this all season
*The backline worked really well together and really stepped up under pressure which finally cracked in the last which I don't blame the backs for. It's bloody difficult defending when the ball is delivered with so much time from the middle.


Players under the pump
*stewart - earned his spot through the pre season and deserved to be in the 22 but was barely sighted and Patton was dominant playing on Ted Richards yesterday in a practice match. Will depend more on where they see Patton at than his game yesterday.
*tomlinson - some areas of his game up forward such as his marking was as good as it has ever been but if you want to play forward you have to be able to kick it between the big sticks and missed another opportunity to prove this. I feel that not only is his place in the 22 on the line at the moment but his place at the Giants. With Jezza and the general to play 1's in the coming weeks on top of Lobbs form, he will likely make way so if he doesn't step up and may not get another crack
*Steele - was okay without being great but with cogs ready for a return it will likely be last in first out.
*Greene - same as Steele although has more runs on the board so should be safe although if he is playing largely forward then he might also come under pressure from WHE who is a better forward and will provide a bit more pressure. The question will be how much midfield time do the coaches want from him.
*Marchbank - I was actually pretty happy with how he played and is coming along nicely but the fact remains that with Haynes and Patfull playing ressies he is behind both of them.

Pushing for selection - we weren't terrible so don't expect wholesale changes
*cogs - should come straight back in against the cats
*patfull - has now played three games so if it isn't this week it should be next week.
*patton - comes down to confidence - simply to good to not be in the 22 in the coming weeks
*Haynes - will probably need at least a couple more weeks to get the match fitness up
*WHE - will be right in the mix for the cats
*Williams - Wilson and Kennedy both found a bit of the ball and didn't do enough wrong to lose their place in the side

The team will be filthy with the result and I fully expect the guys to bounce back and come away with the 4 points against the cats.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Agree with a lot of that except Kennedy, he made some really costly and poor errors and deserves a spell.

 

[Big dog 25]

Our three best forward are Cameron, Patton and lobb

 

[van peebles]

Was at the game and on telly you probably dont see the full picture.
But players trying to kick miracle goals and not passing to mates in better positions was dreadful.
This game was easily a 40 point victory completely derailed by fat headedness.
Coaching staff should be fuming and its a chance to nip this in the bud before our season gets well and truly rooted.

 

[JC100]

Agree with a lot of that except Kennedy, he made some really costly and poor errors and deserves a spell.

I'll have to get back to you once I watch it again tomorrow but watching it yesterday I think he did enough right that he will keep his spot. The only changes to the side next week in my view will be to bring back the guys that are coming off injuries. So maybe Patfull, cogs and Patton and all play different position. You don't lose all the pre season credits from s couple of mistakes

 

[Gigantor]

Now that I've settled down a bit, an important point to make is that we basically had our top three forward talls missing, and Rory bobs up to take a stack of inside 50 marks. It's pretty rare to see a bloke taking contested marks inside 50 in the modern game, so down the track this wil become a pretty valuable option if he can keep it up (as a resting ruckman, with reduced interchanges, etc).

Agree with vp who has said a couple of times that too many blokes went for the glory option when the obvious handball to the bloke in the clear was the correct option, but let's be honest - how many easy set shots did we miss? Just one of those would have given us the win.

It's going to be a very tight season in the middle of the ladder - so this loss could make a very big difference by the end of the season.