3 things learned from Rd 1 vs Melbourne 2024

[The Bulldogs Bite]

1. This is the most mentally weak group of players to have ever put on the jumper. They fold every time it gets tough. Great at saying all the right things but their words count for nothing.

2. I want Richards in the mid group. We're so stale and have no physicality or dare. Get Treloar out and put him on a wing. I also want Weightman and Naughton to take their turns in the middle. Basically, CHANGE.

3. Daniel would have played in the starting 22 in every other side in the comp. Not that he needed to but he proved it anyway when he came on. That we can't find a role for him OR choose to pick others ahead of him was damning.

I was prepared to back some of our decisions in, and the group in general given what we have heard all preseason, but all I saw was the exact same coaching and playing. Guarding grass which allows them to walk the ball from D50, momentum from front of stoppage, outmarked etc.

These players roll over like no others have before them. It's embarrassing

[angelopetraglia]

1. Nothing has changed through the off-season. Still playing Bevos favourites, long high kicks into 50, killed on the turnover, killed in the ruck. out marked constantly in defence, players ran out of legs in the last quarter
2. It took 1.25 quarters to concede the first 5 goal bleed
3. We just don?t have a system - guarding blades of grass, slow and stale ball movement (outside first quarter) and never right side of the pack for the fall of the ball

Yep. This sums it up.

[azabob]

1. Our forward line is too one dimensional. Marra, Lobb, Naughton and Weightman are all too similar. When it goes wrong it goes wrong!

2. Changes off field don’t mean squat if the players onfield don’t play with passion or intent.

3. I couldn’t see any changes in our game plan or style of play. Maybe it is still a work in progress otherwise we are in for a long, long year.

[MrMahatma]

1. West was a beast
2. I think our fwds and mids are trying hard to transition to a better style of connection. I saw signs.
3. We are Melbourne’s absolute bitches. We can laugh at Oliver and his off field stuff, or say Goodwin is a crap leader…. They absolutely own us and live rent free in our heads with a tax deduction and negative gearing, while making us do their cooking and cleaning.

[mighty_west]

1. Naughton has to play the Centre Half forward position, yeah it's fine to run deeper towards goals at times but he has to get on his bike and run his opponent (May) around, if May zones back fine, but it does keep them guessing and busy working out match ups, not moving up really played into May's hands, we remember one of Naughton's early games v Richmond as a forward where he took a dozen or so grabs, a lot of those were running up on a wing, and was moving up more during the pre season games yet come round 1.........

2. Why oh why can't we use a tagger? it's getting ridiculous, time and time again we get belted in the ruck which in turn get's one of the oppo's mids cutting us up which gives them the momentum and confidence to really run through us and in return, put's us on the back foot and continually puts our defenders under huge pressure, in the past few games Newcombe, Kelly and today Oliver cut loose and looked a class above, we had Harmes not doing much, yet he could have........

3. I'm going to make an excuse here and say the team looked spent before half time, our running and efforts weren't good enough but you can excuse that for fatigue against a team who have already played a full game. let's hope that work rate improves in the next few weeks especially defensively.

[DOG GOD]

1. Dale and Williams are shadows of their former selves. They reached their peak, now on the way down.
2. Our defence will once again be our Achilles heel. I wonder if a new coach would have the balls to move Naughton to CHB ?
3. How is McNeil, Harmes, Gallagher and VDM selected in starting side over Daniel. I’m sorry but that’s taking the piss.

[Bullies]

1. No problem with Buku playing down back but teach him in the 2's over a period of time. He has no touch or awareness on where his opponent is. He is not ready to play key position as yet.
2. McNeill should have been delisted last year yet here he is again and we had players such as Daniel and Macrae missing out.
3. Harmes played in the 2's last year for Melbourne. I wonder why.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

1. Dale and Williams are shadows of their former selves. They reached their peak, now on the way down.
2. Our defence will once again be our Achilles heel. I wonder if a new coach would have the balls to move Naughton to CHB ?
3. How is McNeil, Harmes, Gallagher and VDM selected in starting side over Daniel. I’m sorry but that’s taking the piss.

I've no problem with them being selected. It's not taking the piss at all.
They don't do this for shits and giggles?.
They would have supporting arguments and data to support it.
I am glad it seems the club is effectively trying to change things.
It didn't work today, but the club has established some selection principles in preseason and I guess they felt they had to adhere to them .

[AshMac]

1.
3. We are Melbournes absolute bitches. We can laugh at Oliver and his off field stuff, or say Goodwin is a crap leader. They absolutely own us and live rent free in our heads with a tax deduction and negative gearing, while making us do their cooking and cleaning.

This is 100% correct. They stand taller and we shrink every time. The fact we never watched the replay and got closure as a playing group of the 21 grand final turned them into a cultural fear for us

[azabob]

I've no problem with them being selected. It's not taking the piss at all.
They don't do this for shits and giggles?.
They would have supporting arguments and data to support it.
I am glad it seems the club is effectively trying to change things.
It didn't work today, but the club has established some selection principles in preseason and I guess they felt they had to adhere to them .

But did they? English clearly underdone and plays, same with Dale. The message out of the club all summer was no underdone players.

[angelopetraglia]

But did they? English clearly underdone and plays, same with Dale. The message out of the club all summer was no underdone players.

Reading in between the lines after listening to the Bevo presser. He thought they could hurt Melbourne with leg speed across the ground. That is what drove the thinking behind playing players with running abililty ahead of Caleb and Macrae.

What we learnt today, it don't matter how hard or far you can run if you turn over the pill or you can't get it. You ain't hurting anyone.

[Mofra]

Reading in between the lines after listening to the Bevo presser. He thought they could hurt Melbourne with leg speed across the ground. That is what drove the thinking behind playing players with running abililty ahead of Caleb and Macrae.

What we learnt today, it don't matter how hard or far you can run if you turn over the pill or you can't get it. You ain't hurting anyone.

I thought our clangers today were much quicker than last year.

[angelopetraglia]

I thought our clangers today were much quicker than last year.

Ha ...

[Grantysghost]

I thought our clangers today were much quicker than last year.

Hahaaaa

[Willofwest]

I thought our clangers today were much quicker than last year.

I could not believe the spread the Dee?s had on us. They had one or two outside of pack, we guarded space. When we had a chance to switch we didn?t, kicked down the line to a contest which by the time we kicked it Gawn was there. I?m sorry our selections for leg speed didn?t work. My outs would by VDM, Baku and Dale. JOD in, Williams to half back and give me a crumbing forward. I totally agree with stating Naughton high and roll through a couple of centre bounces. JUH, or Lobb in goal square and the other wide. And STOP kicking to packs??? I?m still mighty P1ssed about the game, had high hopes, and they all came crumbling down. End of Rant.