Angus Morgan previews season 2009 for Melbourne FC

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Dogs win in the wet
Dogs win in the wet
14/03/2009 4:52 PM
Angus Morgan at Casey Fields
Sportal
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The Western Bulldogs have tuned-up for the opening round of the new AFL season with a 38-point win over Melbourne in their NAB Challenge Series clash at Casey Fields on Saturday

2009 CAPTAINS
THE QUESTIONS WE ASKED

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey believes his AFL side has improved, but warns the theme he continues to push will soon become boring.

Lucky for North Melbourne it did not trade ruckman Hamish McIntosh last October.

SEVERAL truisms have applied to modern North Melbourne sides on the field, the most notable of which is that they routinely exceed expectations through the home-and-away season and satisfy them in September.

MELBOURNE's season in 2008 didn't open. It closed. A 104-point mauling from Hawthorn first-up, which featured for emphasis just one goal in the first half, stopped the campaign dead on day one.

In an afternoon of rare access, The Age was inside the war rooms of both coaches at the MCG on Sunday as North and Melbourne did battle.

T'S A long haul up from the bottom of the ladder, and sometimes simply a matter of taking baby steps. Melbourne took one in the first quarter against Collingwood yesterday, an impressive 30-odd minutes of football that promised plenty for the afternoon ahead.

COLLINGWOOD 3.1 8.3 14.7 17.15 (117)

MELBOURNE 5.2 7.2 9.4 10.4 (64)

GOALS: Collingwood: J Anthony 4 A Didak 3 T Cloke 2 T Lockyer 2 D Beams D Swan J Fraser L Davis N Brown P Medhurst. Melbourne: B Green 3 B McLean B Miller C Bruce C Morton M Bate P Johnson R Petterd.

BEST: Collingwood: L Davis B Johnson D Swan A Didak T Lockyer J Fraser J Anthony. Melbourne: A Davey B Miller C Bruce C Morton M Bate.

INJURIES: Collingwood: D Thomas (virus) replaced in selected side by D Beams. Melbourne: Nil.

REPORTS: Collingwood: H Shaw (Collingwood) reported by field umpire S McLaren for rough conduct on J Rivers (Melbourne) in the third quarter. Melbourne: Nil

UMPIRES: Chris Donlon, Scott McLaren, Heath Ryan.

CROWD: 43,176 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey blames turnovers for a drop in confidence that cruelled the Demons' prospects in the second half against Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday.

Port Adelaide's milestone player Daniel Motlop has urged some of his team-mates to chase and tackle harder or suffer the consequences.

WINNING what the club knows will be a rare victory this year, Melbourne president Jim Stynes encouraged his club to enjoy its moment over a hapless Richmond — a win soured only by the disappointing loss of Brad Green with a broken jaw.

MELBOURNE coach Dean Bailey has urged the Demons' success-starved supporters not to get carried away with the club's solitary win.

The coaching career of Richmond's Terry Wallace is hanging by a thread after his toothless Tigers suffered their most humiliating loss yet - at the hands of wooden spooners Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.

The Melbourne Football Club has broken its all-time membership record, 29,706, which surpasses the previous record of 29,619 set last season.

verall mark: C

Win-loss: 1-10 (LLLWLLLLLLL)

The run home:
Round 12 Essendon at Docklands (A)
Round 13 Brisbane Lions at Gabba (A)
Round 14 West Coast Eagles at MCG (H)
Round 15 Port Adelaide at MCG (H)
Round 16 Geelong at Skilled Stadium (A)
Round 17 Sydney Swans at Manuka Oval (H)
Round 18 Richmond at MCG (H)
Round 19 North Melbourne at Docklands (A)
Round 20 Fremantle at MCG (H)
Round 21 Carlton at Docklands (A)
Round 22 St Kilda at MCG (H)

IT WAS a pitiful fortnight for Melbourne. One view had it saving its worst performances for the year for the two games played before the biggest audiences. The other view was that the two matches simply exposed more people to how poor Melbourne has been all year.

PREMIERSHIP contenders Geelong, St Kilda and Collingwood form the bulk of this year's 40-man All-Australian squad, after the AFL announced the initial list following the selection panel's final meeting on Tuesday.

What went right?

Liam Jurrah, a 20-year-old from remote Central Australia, became one of the stories of the season. The forward quickly dazzled the AFL with his aerial tricks and cat-like skills. He now looms as an integral part of Melbourne's future.

MELBOURNE has delisted midfielders Simon Buckley and Shane Valenti.