Melbourne v Carlton – Round 20 Match Review

August 12, 2011 by sally
Filed under: NSW Demons

Melbourne v Carlton – Round 20 Match Review
By Darren Spence

Some at Carlton claimed the Dees play ‘bruise free’ footy but on Saturday we played ‘Blues free’ footy as the uncontested possession rate of Carlton rose at an exponential rate in line with the current US debt. The first 20 minutes of the game offered Demons supporters an optimistic ray of hope, however poor conversions and the Blues moving into another gear quickly snuffed out any chance of a fairytale start to Viney’s coaching career. In what possibly is a first, the game contained five Number 1 draft picks though the spectacle didn’t rise to any soaring heights. In my thinking we were missing either through injury or poor form arguably seven out of our best 22. For those interested the seven I am alluding to include the Russian, Grimes, LJ, Morton, Bail, Sylvia and Strauss (counting him due to time of injury). Especially the loss of the Russian through injury certainly didn’t help our cause as the Blues relentlessly cleared the ball at stoppages. Melbourne was smashed in the clearances and in what seems to be a recurring theme these days; our turnovers received full punishment whilst we failed to capitalize. The fact that we remained on par with Carlton on inside 50s for most of the game appears an anomaly as an eight goal to nil 2ndquarter ensured a Carlton win. Our shots for goal have not been too bad this year but you aren’t going to win too many games kicking 7.16! Let’s have a look at some of our better contributors for the game.
Lynden Dunn– since coming back into the seniors this lover of facial hair has been a solid contributor. He continues to provide a decent target up front and once again capitalized on his opportunities to kick 2 goals. A continuation of this form in the last four games would be the goal for Lynden and I for one hopes he achieves this as I firmly believe a fit and firing Dunn is a major asset for our team.
Col Garland– Col is often under rated by the football community but certainly not within the confines of the MFC. He is super consistent and rarely gets beaten. He is great over head both marking and spoiling and on Saturday read the play especially well causing multiple intercepts and turnovers.
Manlove 1update – Regular readers this year may recall an Ancient Arabic saying I quoted stating that the Pyramids fear Luke Tapscott; well I failed to take into consideration Stefan Martin’s ‘the most improved player in the league’ knee. His courage and attack on the footy sets the standard for the team and after taking 2 hard hits to the head Luke was carried off on a stretcher and off to the Epworth. From all reports he is fine but we will not know if he will be rested this week till closer to the game.
Manlove 2– The Gys continues to be amongst our top clearance men and was good around the stoppages on Saturday. Again playing against a top shelf midfield augurs well for his continued development.
Hounding Howe– People are really starting to take notice of this guy as he is going from strength to strength every game he plays. A mature age 33rdpick he is proving to be a great find for the club. His contested marking is exciting to watch and his disposals are good. As he grows in confidence you can see an improvement in his defensive skills as well. I for one am looking forward to seeing him play in the red and blue for many years to come. I salivate at the thought of both Howe and LJ roaming around the forward 50; you will be assured some great highlight packages!

Nathan Jones– Jonesy worked very hard on the weekend and provided good physicality at contests. He racked up the possessions himself and should be proud his game on Saturday.

Ricky Petterd– Ricky has been quite consistent the last few weeks. He again provided a dangerous target up forward and took some great contested marks. Another player who is looking to consolidate and finish the year on a good note.
James Strauss– I felt I needed to mention ‘Johann’ and wish him all the very best for a speedy recovery and to get back playing soon. His injury seemed to coincide with the Dees fortune as once Strauss left the field Carlton took over and we never gained the match lead again.
Jack Watts– ‘Killer’ was our best player. He kicked two goals (one a fantastic blind turn around Brock) and was solid in both offence and defence. He was moved back as a loose man in the back line and there took many marks and switched play very well.

We now look forward to this Sunday and a ‘home’ game against the Eagles at Etihad Stadium. Our record there rivals the success of Eddie the Eagle and this game provides a great challenge. I do give us a real chance – the availability of the Russian is a key; plus a win (unbelievably) keeps our finals chances alive!

Go Dees

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