So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye…

September 2, 2014 by sally
Filed under: NSW Demons

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye…
(By Darren Spence, this time apologising to Rodgers and Hammerstein)

And so the 2014 season for Melbourne Football Club is (officially) over. A season that started full of hope with the appointment of the Messiah, a win over the Tigers in the first pre-season game and the salivating expectation of seeing Dawes, Clark and Hogan in the forward line terrorising opposition defenders sadly never came to fruition and the season finished only with more suffering for Demons fans and now only the anticipation of another high draft pick(s) and possible hardened players traded into the club during the silly season remains.

The game on the weekend really was a non event – Norf had already qualified for the finals and only really cared about no injuries and/or suspensions whilst for the Demons the end of the season couldn’t come quick enough – save for the players coming out of contract and literally playing for their AFL careers.

In a game where we had more possessions and more inside 50s, kicked 7 out of 9 goals during the match if it wasn’t for all too familiar lapses in concentration in the 3rd term we could have ended the season with a surprise victory. Alas victory at Etihad in any game that really counts continues to elude us and so it appears Norf as we haven’t beaten them in 8 years.

On the weekend Kent arguably played his best game for the club with 3 goals – he has had a good year in my opinion and plays that high half forward role that is becoming a critical position in the game today. On goals; Tommy Mac finally broke his duck and kicked 2 goals, once again the ever reliables in Tyson, Jones, Vince and Cross featured in our best players – each of these are sure to dominate the votes come the night of the Bluey!

So now the season is over it is time for reflection… what worked and what didn’t.

Let’s start with what did…

1) Dom Tyson making Damian Barrett look like a fool.
2) Dom Tyson
3) Jack Viney – he is harder than a cat’s head and continues to grow into a champ
4) Roos signing on for another year
5) Dom Tyson
6) Bernie Vince and Daniel Cross were great recruits for us this year
7) I liked Chris Dawes’s season…..his aggression, leadership and the fact that he had to play a role (main forward) that he wasn’t recruited for is a credit to him
8) I am saying Max Gawn (touching wood that this doesn’t fall flat on my face with him doing his ACL – I am writing this before I know), he developed this year and is going to be a great replacement for Jamar when his career finishes
9) Dom Tyson
10) I liked Tom McDonald’s season…for most of the year he took the main opposition gorilla and he is now a key player in our side
11) The fact we were more than competitive this year – we were in many games right into the last quarter
12) Our defence – if measured by points scored against – improved out of sight
13) Dom Tyson
14) I liked Dean Kent’s season – he again has improved
15) JKH is going to be an excitement machine
16) Christian Salem is going to be a gun
17 Nathan Jones used to be the most under rated player in the league…..not any more everybody knows how much of a star he is
18) Dom Tyson
19) Cameron Pedersen was one of the most improved players in the league this year
20) If Pedersen wasn’t then surely Lynden Dunn is!? He has to be a near certainty to make the extended AA list……
21) Jeremy Howe – no huge hangers this year but his role reversal down back has been a success
22) The assistant coaches and leadership from the board is setting the club on the right track
23) The win against “Essedon”
24) The win against Adelaide
25) Dom Tyson
26) The win against Caaaaaarlton
27 The win against Richmond
28) The fact Collingwood didn’t make the finals
29) The fact Caaaaaarlton didn’t make the finals
30) Our ability to win the footy this year – especially contested possession – improved greatly
31) Roos has no instilled a style/type of footy that he wants our proud club to play – we now have a brand of footy we play
32) and finally Dom Tyson

Now let’s look at what didn’t go so well

1) Jesse Hogan – need I say more
2) Mitch Clark – even less reason to explain
3) The 3rd point is directly related to the first 2 – we just couldn’t kick goals this year.
4) Jack Trengove – his injury was a huge loss for us
5) The fact we couldn’t get our entire leadership group on the park for one match
6) James Frawley – look we all know he is going – this whole situation has hung like a cloud over the club all season
7) To beat 2 finalists and only win 4 games for the season can only be seen as a major disappointment. On the one hand to be in games longer is a positive but next year we have to win these games
8) I am not going to bag our players but you and they know who they are – there were many players this year that didn’t lift and many of these will have played their last game for the MFC
9) To lose to GWS and the Bulldogs twice as well as St.Kilda and Brisbane – these are all winnable games – we just have to start winning games like this…..it is great to beat sides that make the finals but…

So there you have it… not bad to have 32 positives and only 9 negatives in a season review where the Demons finished second bottom!

Thanks to all the positive responses I receive from you guys that are always forwarded on by Sally… I really do appreciate it.

Enjoy the off season and I am certain that next year we will move ahead much further than this year – Roos has already said for the boys to get ready for the hardest pre-season of their lives so watch out for the mighty Demons in 2015!

Go Dees

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