12 minutes ago, Cards13 said:

Maxi’s kicking really improved over 1 week.  ?

I stand by those comments mate. He's an ordinary kick, I'm surprised that's up for debate, but each to their own.

And I said he shouldn't play forward, but rest on the bench or across half back. Fortunately they didn't crowd our forwardline by playing him forward and instead crowded Hawthorn's by playing him as sweeper. That's absolutely his go.

7 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

If we played Essendon and beat them this week, we'd be in the eight. 

We're not far off the bottom 4, but we're just as close to the top 8 IMO.

Gold Coast are currently 6th, and were in the 8 when we beat them last week.

I'll take the correction to my comment. How about we see how we do against Brisbane next round. I think we are still fragile and how we handle the Lions will tell us a lot more.

Most enjoyable afternoon i can remember for a long time, but we'll  see where we really sit after next week (hopefully 4-3). 

9 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Woewodin.. but Mitchell is closing in on that  really quickly.

Woewodin had a really good year, and we where third on the ladder at the end of home and away, and the bombers had so many stars taking votes that year. Brownlow are on that year, not one's whole career.

Jackson and Tim English from Footscray will be the next Gawn and Grundy comparison 

1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

So glad we got his signature back in March - absolutely love this guy and love that he is a Demon

We had to have a gun like Petracca he is a  super player and rightly so that we picked him thanks to St Kilda picking  McCartin.

. Starting to become a match winner.

27 minutes ago, A F said:

It's the sort of kick he's been trying his entire career and it has rarely come off. But everything's coming together for Trac now, which is great.

It's gotta be down to fitness. He's finally able to show what he's got because he is fine tuned like an F1

4 minutes ago, don't make me angry said:

Woewodin had a really good year, and we where third on the ladder at the end of home and away, and the bombers had so many stars taking votes that year. Brownlow are on that year, not one's whole career.

Scott West and Anthony Koutafides had much betters years.

2 hours ago, bingers said:

Clarkson was actually magnanimous in defeat. Said how good Melbourne was. Didn't make a comment like "they're not that good", which he did after the loss to Jee-long.

If Geelong are not that good? What does that make the Hawks look? And how often can that [censored] tard say that, would make him look like a spoilt brat. The super coach was so desperate not to bottom out, that he held onto too many old farts, now he is in a whole lot of pain.

10 minutes ago, whatwhatsaywhat said:

Jackson and Tim English from Footscray will be the next Gawn and Grundy comparison 

Rowan Marshall isn't going anywhere.

1 hour ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Shout out to Frosty who managed to kick the ball directly to a Melbourne player for the first time in his career. 

Hard man!!

8 minutes ago, don't make me angry said:

If Geelong are not that good? What does that make the Hawks look? And how often can that [censored] tard say that, would make him look like a spoilt brat. The super coach was so desperate not to bottom out, that he held onto too many old farts, now he is in a whole lot of pain.

Clarko was full of praise for us.   We left him no choice though.

 

Posted this in the game day thread....

Pickering of the Liam variety thinks it will be a walk in the park for the Hawks today.

Honestly, I think he is way off the mark and look forward to sending a text to him at SEN complimenting his total lack of football knowledge.

Will, be tracking down 'Pickers' this week, be interested in his expert opinion of the game...lol.

Anyone know when he's next on SEN?

Edited July 19, 20204 yr by rjay

Few thoughts

- Oscar and Lever were brilliant in 2018 together, let's not forget that. I really hoped Joel Smith would've taken the role as 3rd key defender, but Oscar has now for the second time proved himself as a great defender when has a good mix of bodies around him.

- Our defence is looking better because the pressure is sustaining for longer. Any defence will look ordinary if it's getting bomb barded. Mids and Forwards locked the ball in and held up the play well for the zone to set in these last two weeks.

- Gawn and Trac dominated from start to finish.

- Fit Viney is an elite mid. Gawn, Oliver, Viney and Trac is an elite midfield. They showed it once before, need to do it again.

- Brayshaw and Harmes dissapointed today for me. I never question their attitude or desire, but both butcher the ball. Harmes is giving a way a lot of silly free kicks as well. Both need to and can lift.

- Weideman looks like he is playing with some real anger. He got clattered 3-4 times and was first back to his feet everytime. Also when your mids kick the ball to your lead you will look good, but Weid has everything to be that dominate forward. If your in the opposition you don't want to let Weid take a mark inside 50, because he will punish you.

- Hannan and Vanders both have been big ins for us. They both look like they know what we have been doing wrong and look the most fustrated when someone isn't doing the right thing.

- Bennell has only played 3 games, but atleast for two of those he's been better then i thought he would be. Hopefully he stays fit. We can work it out with him in team if we start him deep in our forward 50 and almost let him roam. Against Brizzy or another top team it will be interesting if we can afford to have him cheating as he does. However, he was quite physical today which i liked.

- Jackson looked like he had adjusted to the physicality and speed of the game well today. Looked like he could do everything, loved the ruck work today as well.

- Kozzy just looks AFL made. Like he is the full package. Speed, Silky, fancy feet, great set shot, unpredicatable and effective with disposal. Also not a bad looking young man, hopefully a dee for a long time to come. 

2 hours ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

I'm looking forward to the day when our midfield of Gawn, Oliver, Petracca, Viney and Brayshaw is as ominous as Garner, Marshall, Holding, Roberts and Croft. 

Patterson and Walsh as well 

1 hour ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Shout out to Frosty who managed to kick the ball directly to a Melbourne player for the first time in his career. 

Pure gold 'Ethan'...

1 hour ago, Little Goffy said:

In case it hasn't been noted by anyone else... 

Sam Weideman is currently No.2 behind only Charlie Dixon for contested marks per game.

AND

Sam Wiedeman is currently number one in the AFL for marks inside 50 per game.

AND

Sam Weideman is also equal first for goals per game.

 

On a non-Sam note, Fritsch is 3rd for marks inside 50 per game, but his aren't as noticeable because his job seems to be to provide the wide lead and then assess - kick it to someone in a better spot (which is does pretty well) or take the shot.  Everyone should take regular moments to remind themselves of that role when they see Fritta's poor-looking accuracy - he's typically taking the shots from 45 out on the boundary.

Fritsch played full forward in the first 3 rounds and butchered easy set shots. I like that he's getting a mixture of time now deep and a bit higher. He and Weid seemed to have a nice set up today of leading to different spots inside 50.

I'd be tempted to give him a bit of Brayshaw's wing time and have Gus fill time at half forward, just to get Fritter a bit more development around the ball and in the game.

He's been a bit hit and miss in every aspect so far this year, a touch disappointing given in preseason he looked a class above the rest of our forwards.

1 hour ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Shout out to Frosty who managed to kick the ball directly to a Melbourne player for the first time in his career. 

very good ET

(though ironically untrue - did he have clanger today?)

I'm not even half way through the replay yet, and already $cully has been violently accosted by all 3 of Viney, Petracca and Oliver. This is enjoyable.

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Woewodin.. but Mitchell is closing in on that  really quickly.

Woewodin could be damaging at times and had far more penetration in his kick than Mitchell. 

Agree with you that he is a very bland footballer 

53 minutes ago, binman said:

very good ET

(though ironically untrue - did he have clanger today?)

I’m not someone who rates Frost as high as any others here but I actually thought he had a decent game today. Seems like he’s chasing lower clubs though! ?

My two boys were playing today and I did listen to the last quarter driving home from my oldest's game, so knew the score when watching the replay which I just finished.

Awesome effort loved that we weathered the early pressure and the second week of smarter and more composed ball movement.

Gawn was absolutely awesome as was Trac, backline good again as a unit and the Jackson/Weid combination had me smiling with a lot of promise shown. 

Looks very much like Gawn, Oliver and Viney have taken the criticism after the Tigers game personally and are playing angry with points to prove.

Next week will be interesting 

God that was great to watch twice.
 

Gawn was ridiculous.

Petracca has officially arrived. We can use the term “elite” now  

Langdon, Viney, Oliver  Crucial players.

Hannan dropped off a little, but his first quarter really steadied the ship. We need him game in, game out.

Weid, playing with confidence, makes TMac instantly depth. 

I don’t think we had any particularly poor performers today. Brayshaw perhaps. But watching the second time, it was interesting to see how many times he was the victim of questionable delivery. He does need to lift though.

AVB needs to work on his disposal by foot.

Kozzie and Jackson are contributing to the team like second-year players already. Particularly Koz. Great signs. 

Omac playing with composure and poise which is great to see.

Theres more to say but I am lockdown-sozzled.

Watching Goodwin slam his hand down in rage when we were 38 points up in the last quarter with only five minutes to go gave me a very unexpected feeling of hope. I like seeing such obvious signs that he’s expecting a standard to be upheld, no matter if the game is effectively won. 

Essendon are holding our rightful place in the eight right now. When are we going to get to play this missing game of ours and smack those bomber-pretenders?

The only thing better than beating Hawthorn is beating Essendon. And vice versa. 

 

 

Anyone else on their 2nd lap of the replay?

Some observations -  COVID... meh, who cares? We have been suffering from MFCSS for so long, we played 4 quarters of attractive football, the world just became a better place... But more sort of seriously..

1. Koutoufides, that is what Trac has become, 1996 Kouta, just moves like a god, who would have ever backed Trac in a foot race with Scully. Playing with an Xbox cheat code this season.

2, I don't normally lose faith in players, but I must admit Oscar had lost me a little, so glad to be wrong, I think he will double his salary if he keeps playing this way. Our back 6 will be premiership standard before long, this has not happened in 50 years to have all the pieces. Hibberd for rebound playing like a man possessed. Salem sharp shooting. Three big tall bodies gliding across the park, I believe they can stymie any of the other attacks going around.

3, Harley is just amazing, before the end of the year his highlight reel will be all Red and Blue, starting with that handball, was a bazooka, like something from the 70's - a Chrysler Valliant V8 of a handball with a supercharger bolted on. 

4, the love for each other is just like 2018, they really get around each other, back to valuing the score assist more than the goal. 

5, Tmac for VDB, am sorry to say but his disposal was the only worry today, I know he is a beast but we have a couple. Don't go getting down on Tmac because he wasn't part of this win, we are better with him in the side, he is very close to a purple patch soon..

6, Weid a serious step in the right direction, but I still think Tmac need to be in the same side, along with LJ, Fritsch and Kozzie gold dust. Can we get back to 2018 scoring? I don't think so yet, but I hope to be wrong.

7, it's been said many times, but what a game when there are no passengers hey!?!

8, Gawn as Captain, I don't believe it, when was the last time a Melbourne player got better while being Captain? Jones went close but I struggle to remember another.

Note: (Please take the COVID comment in the light handed manner intended, seriously my prayers for anyone affected)  

6 hours ago, Pennant St Dee said:

My two boys were playing today and I did listen to the last quarter driving home from my oldest's game, so knew the score when watching the replay which I just finished.

Awesome effort loved that we weathered the early pressure and the second week of smarter and more composed ball movement.

Gawn was absolutely awesome as was Trac, backline good again as a unit and the Jackson/Weid combination had me smiling with a lot of promise shown. 

Looks very much like Gawn, Oliver and Viney have taken the criticism after the Tigers game personally and are playing angry with points to prove.

Next week will be interesting 

It's all about standards - they can play happy, angry, sad, bored, etc  -as long as they play with urgency and composure. Today was a tick. 

On Viney - I've always (perhaps we all have) likened him to his Dad - courageous, tough, great work ethic, ordinary kick. The last two weeks, he has been very very considered and accurate. And it feels like such a marked difference, and I can't quite put my finger on how it has come to pass. What I mean is, he has always had the skill to be accurate (otherwise he couldn't have the last two weeks) so what is enabling it? Is it him? Is it the players he is kicking to? 

I'm thrilled for him, that he can prove to himself that he can execute, at an urgent pace.  He was bloody ferocious.

Edited July 19, 20204 yr by Engorged Onion