Naarm back in eight after downing Euro-Yroke; Dawson leads Crows past Eagles

NAARM 14.16 (100) d EURO-YROKE 9.8 (62)

KEY POINTS

STRUGGLING SAINTS IN A HOLE
It’s just over two months since Euro-Yroke ran Collingwood off their legs. They look a shadow of that team now.

The run and dare which they showed against the reigning premiers is not evident. For long periods of the game, the Saints made even the most basic skills look difficult.

In the first term, they were stifled, at times resembling a local club’s reserves side in the way they hacked the ball blindly out of defence. They had a few passages in the 15 minutes before then after half-time where they moved the ball with speed, drawing within two goals, only for the Dees to regain control.

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, electric on that March night against the Pies, is getting more attention. The Saints love the ball in Brad Hill’s hands but his effectiveness plummets when he’s under pressure. Liam Henry hasn’t gotten going since he was injured.

The one thing they do have is their team defence but that was picked apart with alarming ease in the second half. Ross Lyon has a lot of work to do to get the Saints back on track.

DEE-FENCE RULES
For a premiership contender, the Demons sure look clunky at times in the way they move the ball but their defence is stingy, even without Jake Lever calling the shots. They showed last week was an aberration with another miserly performance, holding the impotent Saints to just nine goals, three of which came in junk time.

Steven May was excellent against Max King, who finished with three goals but only two came against Narrm’s backline general. His 25 disposals, 11 of which were intercepts, was a big factor in the Saints’ struggles, so too the pressure which the Dees maintained around the ball for much of the game.

The Demons have another three months to bed down their forard structure but their control behind the ball will win them plenty of games and give them every chance to have a plum spot on the grid in September.

WHERE TO PLAY PETRACCA
Christian Petracca is Melbourne’s best midfielder. He would vie with Bayley Fritsch as their best forward if permanently stationed inside 50. Therein lies the conundrum as to where Petracca is best placed for the Dees.

As wide as the gulf in class was between the two sides, it was not until the second half when it was reflected on the scoreboard.

Petracca spent periods forward during that time when the Dees were at their most potent and though he played his part he was not needed to tear the game apart. He finished with 24 touches and two goals, one of which came from long range after he burst from the centre clearance.

Against Carlton, he was moved forward as a Hail Mary, with he and his team struggling. This time, the switch came with the points in the bag. If Harry Petty can’t get up next week after being subbed out with an ankle injury, where to place Petracca’s magnet will no doubt feature more prominently in Simon Goodwin’s planning.

My sense is against the best, the Dees need Petracca forward.

KEY STATS

That’s all for the blog tonight everyone.

Thanks so much for joining us and we will have more AFL coverage throughout the week and more blogs once round 12 begins.

Bye for now.

We had Andrew Wu down in the coaches press conferences at the MCG following Narrm (Melbourne)’s 38-point win over Euro-Yuroke (St Kilda).

Saints coach Ross Lyon had a bit to say on his team’s woes, and is sure to find his club under plenty of scrutiny this week.

Read what he had to say here: Ross the boss at a loss as ‘sloppy’ Saints slide into deeper hole.

The prospect of a triple-figure margin is live in this game, in fact one good kick could produce it for the Crows.

There’s five minutes left in the final term, and they lead by 94 points: 20.11 (131) to 5.7 (37)

NAARM 14.16 (100) d EURO-YROKE 9.8 (62)

KEY POINTS

STRUGGLING SAINTS IN A HOLE
It’s just over two months since Euro-Yroke ran Collingwood off their legs. They look a shadow of that team now.

The run and dare which they showed against the reigning premiers is not evident. For long periods of the game, the Saints made even the most basic skills look difficult.

In the first term, they were stifled, at times resembling a local club’s reserves side in the way they hacked the ball blindly out of defence. They had a few passages in the 15 minutes before then after half-time where they moved the ball with speed, drawing within two goals, only for the Dees to regain control.

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, electric on that March night against the Pies, is getting more attention. The Saints love the ball in Brad Hill’s hands but his effectiveness plummets when he’s under pressure. Liam Henry hasn’t gotten going since he was injured.

The one thing they do have is their team defence but that was picked apart with alarming ease in the second half. Ross Lyon has a lot of work to do to get the Saints back on track.

DEE-FENCE RULES
For a premiership contender, the Demons sure look clunky at times in the way they move the ball but their defence is stingy, even without Jake Lever calling the shots. They showed last week was an aberration with another miserly performance, holding the impotent Saints to just nine goals, three of which came in junk time.

Steven May was excellent against Max King, who finished with three goals but only two came against Narrm’s backline general. His 25 disposals, 11 of which were intercepts, was a big factor in the Saints’ struggles, so too the pressure which the Dees maintained around the ball for much of the game.

The Demons have another three months to bed down their forard structure but their control behind the ball will win them plenty of games and give them every chance to have a plum spot on the grid in September.

WHERE TO PLAY PETRACCA
Christian Petracca is Melbourne’s best midfielder. He would vie with Bayley Fritsch as their best forward if permanently stationed inside 50. Therein lies the conundrum as to where Petracca is best placed for the Dees.

As wide as the gulf in class was between the two sides, it was not until the second half when it was reflected on the scoreboard.

Petracca spent periods forward during that time when the Dees were at their most potent and though he played his part he was not needed to tear the game apart. He finished with 24 touches and two goals, one of which came from long range after he burst from the centre clearance.

Against Carlton, he was moved forward as a Hail Mary, with he and his team struggling. This time, the switch came with the points in the bag. If Harry Petty can’t get up next week after being subbed out with an ankle injury, where to place Petracca’s magnet will no doubt feature more prominently in Simon Goodwin’s planning.

My sense is against the best, the Dees need Petracca forward.

KEY STATS