Hawthorn vs Melbourne Round 7

Barra13 · May 14, 2015, 10:25:18 AM

READY FOR THE KILL by Whispering Jack

A couple of weeks ago, we breathed a sigh of relief when two of Hawthorn's most important players lost the plot and earned themselves a few weeks holiday courtesy of the AFL system which punishes such indiscretions as whacking unsuspecting opponents in the head and the like.

It didn't take long for the suspensions of Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis to have a negative impact on the Hawks. Their surprise defeat at the hands of the GWS Giants put them three games behind competition leader Fremantle and, even at this early stage of proceedings that makes the possibility of them having to negotiate an interstate final a likely outcome given the line-up of teams currently near the top of the table.

All this spells trouble for Melbourne reeling from consecutive big losses at the hands of two of those big guns and now staring down the barrel at a confrontation with the wounded reigning premiers. They are not likely to take the Demons easily or give any concessions but rather will approach this clash with a heightened sense of "unsociability" given how problematic a surprise defeat at the hands of an AFL minnow would be to its prospects of pulling off an AFL premiership "threepeat".

So Melbourne fans going to Saturday afternoon's away game at the MCG should not draw any solace from the fact that Hodge and Lewis are going to be sitting in the stands along with one or two of their key defenders. Hawthorn will come out fully pumped, ready for the kill and out to add to its imposing string of impressive wins by large winning margins stretching out to almost a decade. And sadly, judging by how meekly their opponents have succumbed in the past couple of matches, they won't need to whack any heads to achieve that feat again on Saturday.

THE GAME

Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG Saturday 16 May 2015 at 2.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Hawthorn 83 wins Melbourne 74 wins

At MCG Hawthorn 42 wins Melbourne 35 wins

Last 5 meetings Hawthorn 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins

The Coaches Clarkson 1 win Roos 0 wins

MEDIA

TV â€" Fox Sports Channel 3 at 2.00pm (live)

RADIO - Triple M 3AW

THE BETTING

Hawthorn $1.13 to win Melbourne $6.00 to win

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Hawthorn 17.13.115 defeated Melbourne 9.11.65 in Round 20, 2014 at the MCG

It was just another one of the many since Melbourne beat them on a Friday night in 2006 before the deluge came for the Demons. Nothing changed. They came out. Went bang. We lost by 50 points.

THE TEAMS

HAWTHORN

B: Shaun Burgoyne, James Frawley, Ben Stratton
HB: Grant Birchall, Josh Gibson, Taylor Duryea
C: Bradley Hill, Sam Mitchell, Matthew Suckling
HF: Isaac Smith, Jack Gunston, Cyril Rioli
F: Ben McEvoy, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Breust
FOLL: Jonathon Ceglar, Paul Puopolo, Liam Shiels
I/C: Ryan Schoenmakers, Will Langford, Angus Litherland, Billy Hartung
EMG: Daniel Howe, Jonathan Simpkin, Tim O'Brien

IN: James Frawley, Angus Litherland

OUT: Jed Anderson, Brendan Whitecross

MELBOURNE

B: Christian Salem, Tom McDonald, Colin Garland
HB: Jack Grimes, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe
C: Daniel Cross, Nathan Jones, Heritier Lumumba
HF: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Rohan Bail
F: Jeff Garlett, Chris Dawes, Aaron Vandenberg
FOLL: Jake Spencer, Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince
I/C: Matt Jones, Viv Michie, Billy Stretch, Jimmy Toumpas
EMG: Max Gawn, Ben Newton, Cameron Pedersen

IN: Rohan Bail, Jack Grimes, Matt Jones, Viv Michie

OUT: Jay Kennedy-Harris (groin), Ben Newton, Cam Pedersen, Jack Watts

Purple 77 · May 14, 2015, 11:26:05 AM

Really wish Hawthorn won last week :-\

Purple 77 · May 14, 2015, 05:02:02 PM

The Demonlanders say Nev Jetta can't make this match :(

He must have had a nasty concussion. :-\

Big Mac · May 14, 2015, 05:45:32 PM

Quote from: Purple 77 on May 14, 2015, 05:02:02 PM
The Demonlanders say Nev Jetta can't make this match :(

He must have had a nasty concussion. :-\

I don't think it was that bad

He's just had a bunch since Christmas

Big Mac · May 14, 2015, 06:56:30 PM

IN: Bail, Grimes, Jones, Michie
OUT: Watts, Newton, JKH, Pedersen

hmm......this team doesn't exactly fill me with confidence :-[

Purple 77 · May 14, 2015, 07:00:36 PM

Oh lordy, are those ins unattractive. Oh wow.

Just... my stomach is queezy :-\

Happy about Michie though.

Barra13 · May 15, 2015, 09:50:23 AM

Yes a bit different. I'm happy with Grimes and Jones(ish). The other 2 not so much. :-\ One thing to note though is Frawley is back in.

HAWTHORN

B: Shaun Burgoyne, James Frawley, Ben Stratton
HB: Grant Birchall, Josh Gibson, Taylor Duryea
C: Bradley Hill, Sam Mitchell, Matthew Suckling
HF: Isaac Smith, Jack Gunston, Cyril Rioli
F: Ben McEvoy, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Breust
FOLL: Jonathon Ceglar, Paul Puopolo, Liam Shiels
I/C: Ryan Schoenmakers, Will Langford, Angus Litherland, Billy Hartung
EMG: Daniel Howe, Jonathan Simpkin, Tim O'Brien

IN: James Frawley, Angus Litherland

OUT: Jed Anderson, Brendan Whitecross

MELBOURNE

B: Christian Salem, Tom McDonald, Colin Garland
HB: Jack Grimes, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe
C: Daniel Cross, Nathan Jones, Heritier Lumumba
HF: Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Rohan Bail
F: Jeff Garlett, Chris Dawes, Aaron Vandenberg
FOLL: Jake Spencer, Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince
I/C: Matt Jones, Viv Michie, Billy Stretch, Jimmy Toumpas
EMG: Max Gawn, Ben Newton, Cameron Pedersen

IN: Rohan Bail, Jack Grimes, Matt Jones, Viv Michie

Purple 77 · May 15, 2015, 11:57:18 AM

Is this our worst 22 of the year? :-\

Also think Newton has been going OK, maybe a little unlucky?

T Dog · May 15, 2015, 12:22:23 PM

Matt Jones making his move. Any chance he can be a regular?

JBs-Hawks · May 15, 2015, 12:31:04 PM

Quote from: T Dog on May 15, 2015, 12:22:23 PM
Matt Jones making his move. Any chance he can be a regular?

If you're a Melbourne supporter you'd hope not.

Big Mac · May 15, 2015, 03:47:50 PM

Quote from: Purple 77 on May 15, 2015, 11:57:18 AM
Is this our worst 22 of the year? :-\

Also think Newton has been going OK, maybe a little unlucky?

Think he isn't giving 100%, so Roos has gone with someone who may not perform as well but will give it all they've got. More about building culture I think - Newton will have to earn his spot again

Purple 77 · May 16, 2015, 04:55:02 PM

This is the 22 players that played today.

The bolded players should play next week.

Nathan Jones
Colin Garland
Jack Grimes
Cameron Pedersen
Daniel Cross
Tom McDonald
Jeff Garlett
Lynden Dunn
Bernie Vince
Dom Tyson
Jake Spencer
Matt Jones
Viv Michie
Angus Brayshaw
Rohan Bail
Heritier Lumumba
Jeremy Howe
Chris Dawes
Aaron Vandenberg
Billy Stretch
Jimmy Toumpas
Christian Salem (Injured, otherwise bolded)

So, I propose these changes:

Jake Spencer for Mark Jamar
Matt Jones for Alex Neal-Bullen
Viv Michie for Aidan Riley (Jack Viney if fit)
Rohan Bail for JKH
Jeremy Howe for Jack Watts
Chris Dawes for Jesse Hogan
Jimmy Toumpas for Cale Morton for all I care. I dunno, oh, Nev Jetta if fit.

It won't happen, but I would love it if it did.

Big Mac · May 16, 2015, 04:57:34 PM

VandenBerg, Brayshaw and Tyson all need a rest

Purple 77 · May 16, 2015, 04:59:34 PM

Will Toumpas be on an AFL list next year? He is out of contract. It's a genuine question, not trying to stir the pot.

Big Mac · May 16, 2015, 05:05:30 PM

Quote from: Purple 77 on May 16, 2015, 04:59:34 PM
Will Toumpas be on an AFL list next year? He is out of contract. It's a genuine question, not trying to stir the pot.

Someone picked up Kane Lucas

I'm sure Toumpas will be on a list next year. Doesn't deserve to be based on today's performance though