Wonaeamirri33
Lovable Whore With A Heart Of Gold
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Bay 13: Flog of the Year
Chocolate
Artist
Ruby
- May 10, 2009
- 28,743
- 44,821
- AFL Club
- Melbourne
- Other Teams
- FITZROY, Aylesbury United, St Pauli
THE GAME: MCG, Sunday 2 June, 2013, 3.20pm AEST
HEAD TO HEAD:
Overall: Melbourne 74 wins, Hawthorn 81
Since 2000: Melbourne 5 wins, Hawthorn 15
At MCG: Melbourne 35 wins, Fremantle 40
MEDIA
TV: 7 (live- Vic, NT, SA, Tas, WA), 7mate (live- ACT, NSW, Qld), Fox Footy (live)
RADIO: Victoria- Triple M, 3AW. SA- Triple M, 5AA. Tas- Heart FM. Perth- 6PR.
Ladder position
Melbourne: 17th
Hawthorn: 1st
LAST TIME: Hawthorn 15.25 (115) def Melbourne 6.13 (49), Round 7, 2012, at the MCG.
Bar the first quarter (won by 3 points) and the third quarter (drawn), it was a horror night. Could be described as "mean average"- i.e. "bloody awful".
Demon recruit of the decade Mitch Clark was one of the few highlights when he sent flutters through the hearts of the Hawks' fans early in the evening, kicking three great goals despite starting in the ruck. At one stage, we were almost double that of the opposition so those in the crowd who believed in miracles were becoming enthralled at the possibility of a boilover. Miraculous, because when the Demons led late in the opening term they had half their opponents' possession and trailed in almost every statistical category available except on the scoreboard.
But forty minutes after Clark had booted his third goal when the half time siren sounded, the Hawks had added a further 7.8.50 to the Demons' 0.2.2 (from three shots of which .666 of them were from sitters directly in front). Clark was still Melbourne's sole goalkicker.
There weren't all that many stars in the Melbourne lineup other than Clark. James Magner, Clint Bartram, Nathan Jones and Mark Jamar all putting their hands up, but too many of their teammates seemed indifferent to the task at hand. As usual there was little run and spread and the Hawks beat Melbourne for skill and execution.
For the most part, they basically did as they pleased and too many of our playing group simply failed to produce. Colin Sylvia (6 disposals in 85% of game time), Jamie Bennell (4 - 91%) and Ricky Petterd (5 - 84%) had statistics barely better than the spectators in the stands.
There was one absolutely damning statistic (among many available from this game) and that was scores from stoppages which Hawthorn won 8.8.56 to 0.4.4. That with a ruck division which had 31 hit-outs to 26 on the night but whose hit-outs to advantage were half that of the opposition. Therein lies 95% of the problem. A systemically dysfunctional on-ball division. Still the overwhelming majority of the problem we face today.
GENERAL INFO:
The gulf in talent between these two sides is vast; taking into account who played for Melbourne last weekend and is likely to play this week, only three Demons – Nathan Jones, James Frawley and Jeremy Howe – would be rated as highly as most Hawks.
The only issue ahead of Sunday's clash is what the Hawks want to get out of it. They were scrappy for large parts of their win over Gold Coast last weekend and, according to coach Alastair Clarkson, have a bit to work on.
It is Hawthorn’s last match before the bye, so look for Clarkson to pick his best team and to have a red-hot push for four quarters to enter the break on the best possible note. It shapes as a long afternoon, and how the Demons approach the task and stick with it will have a huge bearing on what happens for the rest of the season. Careers are on the line here.
Selection notes
For the Demons, co-captain Jack Grimes (collar bone) and spearhead Mitch Clark (foot) are still six weeks away, while youngster Jimmy Toumpas (ankle) is close to full fitness but won't play this week. Shannon Byrnes is out with a wrist injury. Jack Fitzpatrick, who kicked five goals in Casey's 13-point VFL win against Geelong, has been called up, along with Cam Pedersen, who had 23 disposals and 10 marks playing in defence.
Dean Kent, James Strauss, Joel Macdonald and David Rodan also come back into the team for this game. With five otherwise left out, including Sellar, Jetta, Nicholson, and, very surprisingly and somewhat weirdly as far as I can see, Max Gawn and James Magner. You'd certainly hope there's some sort of reason to do with injury as to why neither of them have been selected.
On the face of it, those two omissions look very strange to me, and not particularly justifiable - unless there is another reason we don't know about.
Hawthorn regain Grant Birchall (back soreness) and David Hale (ankle) for Sunday's match after both trained strongly during the week, with Jack Gunston out due to a calf injury, and Max Bailey omitted. In other news for the Hawks, midfielder Xavier Ellis made a successful return to football for Box Hill on Saturday. Ellis has been sidelined with a calf injury since the pre-season, with his game for Box Hill his first of 2013.
Players to watch
Melbourne:
Jack Trengove: The Melbourne co-captain was one of the few shining lights for the Demons last weekend. Trengove led from the front, laying six tackles and gathering 20 touches. The young midfielder continues to improve each week after missing much of the pre-season with a foot injury.
Mark Jamar: An All Australian ruckman, Jamar looks far from the form that won him the honours in 2010. In that year, he combined impressive ruck work with the ability to play as an extra midfielder and push forward and kick goals for his side. This year, he is struggling both in the ruck and around the ground. He had just one possession against Fremantle last week and needs to bounce back against Max Bailey this week, though it’s not an easy task as Bailey had one of his best game for the Hawks last Sunday.
Jack Watts: Watts will most likely play across half back again on Sunday and be a key player to get his side out of trouble, and he's proven himself to be very skilled in driving the transition out of defence before now. Hawthorn are one of the best at locking the footy inside their forward half.
Jeremy Howe: He is an excitement machine, but now the Melbourne forward has combined the ability to win the footy and take spectacular marks. He is now a threat in every aspect, given he kicks goals and can gather 20 plus disposals. He has pace and provides opposition's with a match-up headache because of his versatility.
Hawthorn:
Bradley Hill: Hill has stepped into the void left by Cyril Rioli, adding plenty of excitement and dash to the Hawthorn team. Now in his second year, Hill uses his blistering pace to full advantage.
Jonathan Simpkin: Simpkin will be enjoying playing against struggling sides as he continues to gel with his new teammates. He was given the chance to play four quarters against GWS and Gold Coast and has responded with 23 and 33 possessions in those games. Another strong performance on Sunday will make him, hard to overlook against Carlton in Round 13 where he will have the opportunity to show he can have an impact against sides challenging for the eight.
Lance Franklin: His first half last week was something not many have seen from Lance Franklin since he became one of the competition’s best forwards all those years ago. Dropped marks, fumbles and poor skills were part of his game last week and continued in the second half despite a marked improvement in his ability to handle the footy. He finished with five goals and proved the match-winner, but will be looking for a much better outing against Melbourne.
Isaac Smith: He is one of the players at Clarkson’s fingertips with genuine leg speed, but Gold Coast were able to force the speedster into kicking errors by forcing him onto his wrong side. A talented left footer, Smith struggles with his right and the challenge for him is to find ways to catch out opponents and not allow them to dictate his play. If he can establish successful ways against lower ranked sides, then he can take that confidence into the second half of the season as he heads towards finals. A key player for the Hawks.
Key matchups
Chris Dawes v Brian Lake
Dawes has been one of those really putting in and delivering a good performance regularly for the Demons in recent weeks, now that he’s been able to string games together. Lake is also settling into his role at the Hawks after crossing from the Bulldogs.
James Frawley v Lance Franklin
It’s always exciting when a first class forward and defender match-up. Frawley is one of the few defenders in the league who has the size and speed to go with Franklin. But Frawley will need plenty of assistance to stop one of the best in the business.
LAST FIVE MEETINGS:
R7, 2012: Hawthorn 15.25 (115) d Melbourne 6.13 (49) at the MCG
R18, 2011: Hawthorn 20.12 (132) d Melbourne 12.6 (78) at the MCG
R2, 2011: Hawthorn 16.26 (122) d Melbourne 12.5 (77) at the MCG
R20, 2010: Hawthorn 15.9 (99) d Melbourne 12.6 (78) at the MCG
R1, 2010: Hawthorn 17.15 (117) d Melbourne 8.13 (61) at the MCG
BRIEF POINTS
1. Hawthorn has a nine-match winning streak over Melbourne coming into this clash, including four by more than 50 points. The Demons last beat Hawthorn in round eight, 2006, when David Neitz kicked six goals in a 75-point victory.
2. This will be the 156th clash between the sides, with Hawthorn winning 81 games to Melbourne’s 74. At the MCG, there have been 76 previous contests, with the Hawks victorious in 40 of those.
3. Defender Kyle Cheney is a former Melbourne player, while senior coach Alastair Clarkson and assistant coaches Adem Yze and Cameron Bruce also played for the club. Director of coaching Chris Fagan is a former assistant coach and administrator as well.
4. Hawk superstar Lance Franklin has kicked 29 goals in nine games against Melbourne, with a best of six coming in round 1, 2008 at the MCG. Despite his five goals against Gold Coast last weekend, Franklin dropped out of the top 10 in the Official AFL Player Ratings. He now sits in 11th place.
5. Hawthorn averages 118 points per game in 2013 compared to Melbourne 70. Hawthorn averages 57.7 inside 50s in 2013 (equal second); Melbourne average 39 per game, although conversion rates from those inside 50s are amongst the best of any club.
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From Chief:
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