3 hours ago, bing181 said:

Lewis played 4 games, one with a broken hand/finger. In the other 3, he was twice named amongst the best.

As for Pedersen, he's had one decent game in the VFL, to go along with his average games in the VFL and 2 poor games in the firsts.

You see what you want to see, and ignore what you don't.

What match was Lewis named amongst the best other than North? If you think he was in the best against Geelong, Brisbane or Hawthorn you are sorely mistaking. 

22 minutes ago, Wolfturdo said:

What match was Lewis named amongst the best other than North? If you think he was in the best against Geelong, Brisbane or Hawthorn you are sorely mistaking. 

Too difficult to check?

BEST 
Melbourne: Petracca, Gawn, Oliver, Jones, Hogan, Lewis
Geelong: Selwood, Ablett, Menzel, Duncan, Parfitt, Kelly 

1 hour ago, ENYAW said:

Would be intersesting to see the roles of Hogan/T.Mac/Weed/Lever this week.Who will be the 2nd ruck? Will Gawn play in defence for part of the match.  Where will Spargo play? Lots of interest but if we lose what's next? 

draft picks and a sacked coach for not making the finals.

I don't think we'll come back from 2 and 4

I'm curious, who else here has lost interest, in some form or one way or another?

For me, I don't know if it's due to the hype and expectation to make finals or just related to other matters in my life. This for me is quite the contrary to those Bailey and Neeld years where I went to nearly every home game and as frustrating as it was, more so than now, I got my kicks from watching individual performances by Jurrah or the ever so reliable Jones.

I apologise as I don't want to fuel the negativity, I'm still here and in it for the long haul, just curious else has felt interest waiver since half time of the Hawks game (after that brilliant first quarter). I just hope we get up and beat Essendon, I think all is fans need a very good win so we all feel back on track.

I'm curious, who else here has lost interest, in some form or one way or another?

For me, I don't know if it's due to the hype and expectation to make finals or just related to other matters in my life. This for me is quite the contrary to those Bailey and Neeld years where I went to nearly every home game and as frustrating as it was, more so than now, I got my kicks from watching individual performances by Jurrah or the ever so reliable Jones.

I apologise as I don't want to fuel the negativity, I'm still here and in it for the long haul, just curious else has felt interest waiver since half time of the Hawks game (after that brilliant first quarter). I just hope we get up and beat Essendon, I think all us fans need a very good win so we all feel back on track.

47 minutes ago, ignition. said:

I'm curious, who else here has lost interest, in some form or one way or another?

For me, I don't know if it's due to the hype and expectation to make finals or just related to other matters in my life. This for me is quite the contrary to those Bailey and Neeld years where I went to nearly every home game and as frustrating as it was, more so than now, I got my kicks from watching individual performances by Jurrah or the ever so reliable Jones.

I apologise as I don't want to fuel the negativity, I'm still here and in it for the long haul, just curious else has felt interest waiver since half time of the Hawks game (after that brilliant first quarter). I just hope we get up and beat Essendon, I think all us fans need a very good win so we all feel back on track.

 

48 minutes ago, ignition. said:

I'm curious, who else here has lost interest, in some form or one way or another?

For me, I don't know if it's due to the hype and expectation to make finals or just related to other matters in my life. This for me is quite the contrary to those Bailey and Neeld years where I went to nearly every home game and as frustrating as it was, more so than now, I got my kicks from watching individual performances by Jurrah or the ever so reliable Jones.

I apologise as I don't want to fuel the negativity, I'm still here and in it for the long haul, just curious else has felt interest waiver since half time of the Hawks game (after that brilliant first quarter). I just hope we get up and beat Essendon, I think all us fans need a very good win so we all feel back on track.

So true - the possibly over-hyped elation from finally shedding the monkey on our back regarding North Melbourne was rudely ripped away by our efforts after 1/4 time against Hawthorn.

Lose to Essendrug and we are 2 - 4 and our season is looking seriously dodgy.

Defeat Essenscum and we are 3 - 3 and effectively 'back on track'.

As the late Chrissy Amphlett opined, it truly is a "fine line between pleasure and pain"......

6 minutes ago, mdemon said:

 

So true - the possibly over-hyped elation from finally shedding the monkey on our back regarding North Melbourne was rudely ripped away by our efforts after 1/4 time against Hawthorn.

Lose to Essendrug and we are 2 - 4 and our season is looking seriously dodgy.

Defeat Essenscum and we are 3 - 3 and effectively 'back on track'.

As the late Chrissy Amphlett opined, it truly is a "fine line between pleasure and pain"......

If we can't defeat Essendon with the side they have out in the park, we don't deserve to even contemplate finals. We will win by 5 goals plus. 

Dees will beat up on the Bombers this week! We love Etihad...

Clayton Oliver will turn into a Monster this week!

And I am looking forward too see Charlie running around laying tackles and kicking snags. 

i think hogan might be even more up the ground than he has been with trac out

he's actually just playing a classic wide-roaming chf at the moment; i don't understand people making a fuss about him being up the ground so much

i'm really interested to see how hannan and fritsch can work together in the same forward line; fritsch in the first half against the cats and hannan in the second both had patches, but never together

t mac is an aerobic beast so i have no issues with him playing afl over vfl if he's fit enough to play; better to get touch at senior level than on comparatively suburban grounds at a lower level with lower intensity

jetta - o mac
lewis - hibberd - lever - vince - hunt
gawn - oliver - salem - tyson - jones - hogan
hannan - t mac - anb
weideman - melksham
bench: harmes - spargo - anb - fritsch

i am nervous as all get out about this game

We either win by 5 to 7 goals or the free kicks total is close to 30 to five in their favour. Cannot be both.........

B: J.LEWIS, O.MCDONALD, JETTA

HB: HIBBERD, LEVER, BRAYSHAW

C : SALEM, OLIVER, HUNT

HF: FRITSCH, HOGAN, SPARGO

F: MELKSHAM, WEIDEMAN, T.MCDONALD

FOLL: GAWN, TYSON, JONES

IC: HANNAN, VINCE, HARMES, NEAL-BULLEN

EMERG: J.WAGNER 

5 hours ago, WERRIDEE said:

B: J.LEWIS, O.MCDONALD, JETTA

HB: HIBBERD, LEVER, BRAYSHAW

C : SALEM, OLIVER, HUNT

HF: FRITSCH, HOGAN, SPARGO

F: MELKSHAM, WEIDEMAN, T.MCDONALD

FOLL: GAWN, TYSON, JONES

IC: HANNAN, VINCE, HARMES, NEAL-BULLEN

EMERG: J.WAGNER 

Harmes doesn't deserve a game. 

8 hours ago, ignition. said:

I'm curious, who else here has lost interest, in some form or one way or another?

For me, I don't know if it's due to the hype and expectation to make finals or just related to other matters in my life. This for me is quite the contrary to those Bailey and Neeld years where I went to nearly every home game and as frustrating as it was, more so than now, I got my kicks from watching individual performances by Jurrah or the ever so reliable Jones.

I apologise as I don't want to fuel the negativity, I'm still here and in it for the long haul, just curious else has felt interest waiver since half time of the Hawks game (after that brilliant first quarter). I just hope we get up and beat Essendon, I think all is fans need a very good win so we all feel back on track.

Since round 23 I've been very indifferent. It's tough to care. The North game I was vocal because I wanted to beat that mob so badly, but beyond that, the results thus far have just proven that it's not worth the emotional investment. I'm not going this week or next, I've already planned my Sunday morning and plan to casually go home and watch it. No way I'm planning an entire Sunday around it. But I've now come to the conclusion that I'm not going to a game again until it's firmly established that we're out of this 10-year funk. That will probably taken a clinched finals berth.

Call me a bandwagoner or whatever. I've had way too many a weekend ruined by caring too much. I'm still reeling from that Collingwood match, and the team hasn't done anything yet to earn back my support and trust.

10 minutes ago, praha said:

Since round 23 I've been very indifferent. It's tough to care. The North game I was vocal because I wanted to beat that mob so badly, but beyond that, the results thus far have just proven that it's not worth the emotional investment. I'm not going this week or next, I've already planned my Sunday morning and plan to casually go home and watch it. No way I'm planning an entire Sunday around it. But I've now come to the conclusion that I'm not going to a game again until it's firmly established that we're out of this 10-year funk. That will probably taken a clinched finals berth.

Call me a bandwagoner or whatever. I've had way too many a weekend ruined by caring too much. I'm still reeling from that Collingwood match, and the team hasn't done anything yet to earn back my support and trust.

It’s hard isn’t it, I travel 2hrs to get to most Melb games and also fly to PERTH games. I’ve wasted so many weekends I’m starting to feel sick about it. Love the club and obviously want it to succeed but wasting weekends because of it.

Reason I’m annoyed at the moment is we’ve gone backwards in a big way and our skills are atrocious, I’m also very suspicious that there’s something not right within the four walls at the moment. Which I’m also sick of. 

Will go to bombers game but if we lose I’m taking some time off, especially if we dish up the same rubbish as the last 27 weeks. The headless chook game plan is just dumb and every supporter here can bloody see it, why so hard for coaches to fix.

9 hours ago, ignition. said:

I'm curious, who else here has lost interest, in some form or one way or another?

For me, I don't know if it's due to the hype and expectation to make finals or just related to other matters in my life. This for me is quite the contrary to those Bailey and Neeld years where I went to nearly every home game and as frustrating as it was, more so than now, I got my kicks from watching individual performances by Jurrah or the ever so reliable Jones.

I apologise as I don't want to fuel the negativity, I'm still here and in it for the long haul, just curious else has felt interest waiver since half time of the Hawks game (after that brilliant first quarter). I just hope we get up and beat Essendon, I think all us fans need a very good win so we all feel back on track.

Personally, it’s just not enjoyable at the moment. I found 2016 a lot more pleasant to watch except for the ending of that season. Like you said, maybe it’s the expectation and the fact we have stagnated. Last year there were too many emotions within the one game, apart from the Dogs game where we basically controlled the game for four quarters. 

For the first time in a long time, we are questioning whether we should turn up tomorrow. Going to the footy with the bigger 2 has become our “thing” the last few years. It’s like a bad movie at the moment but we can’t bring ourselves to switch it off. 

Fully divorcing yourself from the MFC is hard to do.

Go Dees!!!

 

9 hours ago, ignition. said:

I'm curious, who else here has lost interest, in some form or one way or another?

For me, I don't know if it's due to the hype and expectation to make finals or just related to other matters in my life. This for me is quite the contrary to those Bailey and Neeld years where I went to nearly every home game and as frustrating as it was, more so than now, I got my kicks from watching individual performances by Jurrah or the ever so reliable Jones.

I apologise as I don't want to fuel the negativity, I'm still here and in it for the long haul, just curious else has felt interest waiver since half time of the Hawks game (after that brilliant first quarter). I just hope we get up and beat Essendon, I think all is fans need a very good win so we all feel back on track.

Good question ignition. I guess for me, I had perhaps pumped myself up more in preparation for this season a lot more than in recent years on the back of 2017. I could not wait for this season to begin. So to see what has transpired to date is truly demoralising. I flew down from Brisbane for the Richmond game and although not really expecting a win, hoped we would play better but the last quarter not only disappointed me, it angered me. A broken little finger attests to that. 

Having  supported the team for more than 50 years, my general mindset has tended towards being content with reasonable performances - win or lose. This year I (foolishly) expected more and now it looks like a lot less. I think a lot of us are in that same boat. It does cause extreme disappointment and disillusionment but hey, we DO support the and blue and those things tend to come with the territory although very bitter tasting this year.

I think the talls gives us really important balance.  Max will need more rest than usual after a short break, for starters.  I see the importance of Tom staying back at FF, Hogan, Weids and Max offering chopout marking options (Max CHB, Hogan Centre and Weids CHF) coming forward and max, Hogan and Weids offering a defensive wall at 50-70m on their kick-ins to block up the exits.

We have been outmarked so often, and have needed our tall forward to push too high up the ground leaving no option for a target on entry inside 50.  If TMac stays home with Charlie at his feet, and Hogan and Weids can crunch packs and give chop out options, we will look much better.  The taller players also give us a better chance to switch to a target, then find a runner.

Going inside 50, I see Hogan as a delivery vehicle, TMac to mark and Goal, and Weids to make contests , crash packs, get the ball to ground, and maybe grab a few marks himself.  

I think this is the most important change that we have made to the team balance.  

 

2 hours ago, samcantstandya said:

Harmes doesn't deserve a game. 

He is a lead up small forward and not a mid/2nd ruck. Hasn’t played there all year and hasn’t the finesse or skills to play mid/ruck and it is showing. 

Id try something different. This will not happen as its a 'bridge to far' in terms of anything likely to have been part of trained- structures.

The better functioning area currently is defence. It still has canyons through it but its possibly the least dysfunctional. Lewis adds , for mine, a bit of stability. Our path to goal is stalling.  

Left field perhaps: ( but not untried ..in bits )

Play Weed out of the square as lead up fwd. Max resting there as swap out...ie Weed to pinch hit ruck to rest Max. Max CAN mark. Hed be a bloody nuisance for Ess defence. How to match up..stuffs their structure maybe.

Tmac CHF. Just cruise around provide target. He can/knows how to spot up ( in front arc lol )

Hogan as R/R like utility between the arcs... but swap with Tom as a psuedo rotation to keep our fwd 50 fresh...and stuff up their ideas about match ups. 

If the ball can make it into our 50 enough times Milkshake will have a good time..Spargo will be lively, hopefully wanting to impress... Fritsch is quite capable.

Ess were dlcking around the back a lot with the Pies. I don't think Collingwood put nearly enough fwd pressure on this. 

I can't see us winning by a mile but there's potential for exploiting their mediocrity.

This won't happen of course.. we'll be instructed to play dumb again.

 

 

18 minutes ago, Redleg said:

He is a lead up small forward and not a mid/2nd ruck. Hasn’t played there all year and hasn’t the finesse or skills to play mid/ruck and it is showing. 

I agree but as a small forward he is hopeless in front of goal.

1 minute ago, chook fowler said:

I agree but as a small forward he is hopeless in front of goal.

We have better

Bring back the switch, where has it disappeared to?

1 hour ago, praha said:

Since round 23 I've been very indifferent. It's tough to care. The North game I was vocal because I wanted to beat that mob so badly, but beyond that, the results thus far have just proven that it's not worth the emotional investment. I'm not going this week or next, I've already planned my Sunday morning and plan to casually go home and watch it. No way I'm planning an entire Sunday around it. But I've now come to the conclusion that I'm not going to a game again until it's firmly established that we're out of this 10-year funk. That will probably taken a clinched finals berth.

Call me a bandwagoner or whatever. I've had way too many a weekend ruined by caring too much. I'm still reeling from that Collingwood match, and the team hasn't done anything yet to earn back my support and trust.

I'm so rusted on I'm actually less stressed sitting at the game watching the boys then I am checking the scores while attempting to concentrate on something else. Been to so many losses over the last 20 years you kind of get (partially) immune to it, even though Collingwood last year was probably the worst I've ever felt at the footy and for ages after. I'm too scared to not go because that's exactly when we'll have a ripper win!

1 hour ago, praha said:

Since round 23 I've been very indifferent. It's tough to care. The North game I was vocal because I wanted to beat that mob so badly, but beyond that, the results thus far have just proven that it's not worth the emotional investment. I'm not going this week or next, I've already planned my Sunday morning and plan to casually go home and watch it. No way I'm planning an entire Sunday around it. But I've now come to the conclusion that I'm not going to a game again until it's firmly established that we're out of this 10-year funk. That will probably taken a clinched finals berth.

Call me a bandwagoner or whatever. I've had way too many a weekend ruined by caring too much. I'm still reeling from that Collingwood match, and the team hasn't done anything yet to earn back my support and trust.

Yep you’re a bandwagoner, so don’t come back, easy

To many supporters blowing their own trumpets saying how tough it is following this mob, l suppose we’ll see you when we start winning again.

l was born in 64, seen bugger all sucsess live 4 hours away and will continue to come down most weekends 

Weed out these so called supporters & it might help to change the culture 

34 minutes ago, Billy said:

Yep you’re a bandwagoner, so don’t come back, easy

To many supporters blowing their own trumpets saying how tough it is following this mob, l suppose we’ll see you when we start winning again.

l was born in 64, seen bugger all sucsess live 4 hours away and will continue to come down most weekends 

Weed out these so called supporters & it might help to change the culture 

Lol

Edited April 27, 20187 yr by SFebey