Round 14 - Melbourne v Brisbane Lions
Gabba
Pre Match:
• Game versus Port was a very hard running game so priority was given to recovery early in the week.
• The Gabba has not been a happy hunting ground for us in recent years so we had a big motivation to turn this losing pattern around. Winning on the road is something good teams must do. It helps build confidence & self belief.
• Made one change to the team bringing Brad Miller in for the unlucky Lynden Dunn.
• Brisbane Lions always play a hard the ball, uncompromising brand of football. It is their trademark. To win against them you must be able to match or beat them at winning contested ball both in general play & stoppages. Tackling well is also a key component. This was the teams focus coming into the game. We also wanted to move the ball quickly when the opportunities come because they have flooded heavily this season. Slow, wide movement of the ball would play into their hands and make scoring difficult.
• Wore black armbands to honour the memory of Sandringham President Gary Gilchrist who passed away suddenly last Wednesday. Gary played a hugely important role in forging and maintaining the Sandy / MFC partnership and his presence will be greatly missed. Our condolences go out to his wife Libby and his children. We are all shocked & saddened by his sudden departure.
During the Match:
• We appeared very lethargic at the start of the game and as a result they jumped us and threatened to take the game away from us. The Lions were harder at the ball and tackled ferociously. They smashed us at contested ball & clearances and Bradshaw was on fire. We struggled to play with any system and our ball movement was too wide, giving them time to flood back. We were forced to play tempo footy in the latter half of the quarter in an attempt to take away Brisbane’s momentum. Although this appears to be an ugly way to play it was nevertheless effective and allowed us to stay in touch.
• Lifted our work rate and intensity after the quarter time break and as a result managed to kick the first 3 goals of the quarter and get the game back on an even keel. Jared Rivers saved us time and time again down back and a number of players started to get into the game. Col Sylvia also gave us a lift up forward when he came on. We kept the Lions scoreless for most of the quarter so it was disappointing when they snared a couple at the end to go into half time with an 11 point lead.
• At half time encouraged the players to persist with their much improved efforts. It would be a matter of wearing them down with our work rate. Focussed on improving our ability to get our hands on the ball at the stoppages and winning the first 10 minutes of the quarter. It was important that we closed the gap on Brisbane rather than allow them to get their confidence up with early goals.
• Couldn’t have asked for a better start with Brad Green supplying quality opportunities to Neita who kicked 3 goals in no time to give us the lead. Brisbane hit back as our work rate dropped again but late goals to Davey & Green meant we’d kicked 5 goals to 3 for the quarter to have scores almost level at ¾ time. Had some good fortune with Brisbane missing a few easy shots at goal but importantly we had started to get on top at the clearances & contested ball. Our tackling was superb.
• The game was in the balance at ¾ time. We just had to keep persisting with our basics and I was confident we could get through. We managed to kick 4 of the first 5 goals of the quarter to get out to a 19 point lead. Brisbane remained persistent and kicked 2 late goals to give themselves a chance of achieving victory. We kicked a couple of points in the dying stages to put the game beyond doubt. It was a relief to all of us when the siren sounded.
Post Match:
• Even though we didn’t play all that well it was good to get a victory against the Lions after the 3 consecutive thrashings we’ve received in recent seasons.
• The Lions came to play and they threw everything at us. It showed good mental toughness and resilience on our part to claw our way back into the game after quarter time. Our persistence paid dividends in the end.
• Our tackling was the best feature of our game and no doubt contributed significantly to our victory.
• Jared Rivers & Matthew Whelan played excellent games in defence. Greeny was in sparkling form and Neita gave us a strong focal point up forward. Col Sylvia game us some energy when he moved into the forward line. It is good to see him getting back into really good form after a few injury setbacks.
• Our midfielders really lifted in the second half to reverse the first half thrashing we received on contested ball & clearances. This showed good resolve and maturity in the group.
• We have 6 days to get ready now for our big Friday night clash with the in form Tigers. It should be a great game. We are looking forward to the challenge. We will need to improve certain aspects of our game to give a good account of ourselves.
