Jump to content

Featured Replies

13 hours ago, Cheesy D. Pun said:

Yep. It annoys me that some are applauding that he has stepped up.

I've been a fan from year 1, but statistically, his improvement has been massive this year. He's laying 3 times as many tackles per game compared to last year (4.5 vs 1.5), which is probably his main KPI. The effort and competitiveness have always been there - no doubt he's benefitting from a couple of pre-seasons.

It's still such a novel concept seeing promising young footballers actually develop into consistent senior players at this club.

  • 2 weeks later...
 

Has turned himself from Whipping Boy into the Human Cannonball. Becoming a favourite.

 

I love what Charlie is doing. Best pressure forward in the comp. Had an off day last week v the Hawks but was back to his brilliant best yesterday.


He isn’t flashy but he plays his role - I think one of the new draftees was being touted as replacing him just after the National draft. I found it laughable.

Guess who is laughing now? Well, I guess all of us, or none of us if that’s an odd thing to laugh about...

His chase down on Houli last night was awesome. He has stepped up his pressure game and playing so well and doing his role for the team. 

 

Spargo was matched up with Macintosh a lot last night - totally outsized and against a known running machine. Macintosh couldn’t take advantage. 
 

I think that speaks to the respect the coaching staff have for him, but also that after 3 full pre-seasons, he has the strength and endurance to start showing his full capabilities. He was both courageous and relentless, attributes that don’t show up on the stats sheet, but lift teammates and build a winning culture.

 


 

That tackles and Lever's first intercept mark which turned into a 50 metre settled us down when the tigers were well on top.

Don't care if Charlie isn't scoring if he's bringing that fight. Lock him in for next week.


I actually thought Charlie's most impressive defensive effort was in the first minute of the game in the backline. Richmond had kicked it to mackintosh and Spargo. Brayshaw had come in to help out but taken the whole pack out. Richmond had two other players closing in on the ball. Spargo was first to get up from the contest, pressured rioli who had to handball to broad and then straight away applied enough pressure to force Broad to go over the boundary. He effectively recovered first from a contest to half a 2 vs 1 and pretty much a certain goal. 

Short bloke with strong shoulders = low centre of gravity. Tackle master. Still the apprentice... but one more preseason will see him become one of those little c$#%s that frustrate the soul out of the oppo, like Libba......

2 minutes ago, Beetle said:

Best 6 possession game I reckon I’ve seen.

Agree. His best play was when he didn’t have the footy. Deserves his place in the team. 
 

Though Charlie has to bring this every week as the standard. 


Love how he goes about it. His tackling is so good, he's smart with the ball and also keeps his feet. Watch the contest I think in the fourth where we stream down the wing and he streams into our 50, makes a contest, keeps his feet and then is awarded a free and goal for high contact from. The second player. In that contest if he went to ground then the two players would have ran it out. It is this sort of example that is why he, Neal Bullen and Pickett are so important to us.

i wonder if he will eventually transition into the midfield, ala sam mitchell, or is a small forward now? maybe too small to be a mid? loved him last night. love how he stuck up for his teammates at times too. legend.

1 minute ago, Rocky said:

i wonder if he will eventually transition into the midfield, ala sam mitchell, or is a small forward now? maybe too small to be a mid? loved him last night. love how he stuck up for his teammates at times too. legend.

I feel like with Oliver, Petracca and Viney plus Jordan, Brayshaw and Pickett, add Sparrow to the mix too, there probably aren't too many opportunities for Spargo to step into the midfield. Buy I would expect him to rotate through there as one of the high half forward adjacent midfielders, like ANB does.

I love Charlie’s attack on the ball and any opponent that gets between him and the ball, it’s a tough gig being a small pressure forward. Luv your work young man. Go get em.!!!


5 hours ago, deanox said:

I feel like with Oliver, Petracca and Viney plus Jordan, Brayshaw and Pickett, add Sparrow to the mix too, there probably aren't too many opportunities for Spargo to step into the midfield. Buy I would expect him to rotate through there as one of the high half forward adjacent midfielders, like ANB does.

Spargo is the type that will rotate across half forward and the bench or be deployed as needed. 

Pivotal play.

5 hours ago, demonstone said:

?

Sorry mate, autocorrected to another great, but slightly better known, sportsman's name.

 

I’ve always rated Spargo and have tried to defend him over the last couple of years.  It became quite challenging at the back end of 2019 and start of 2020.

He’s always been a very ‘smart’ player, but he’s added a hardness to his game this year that has seen him really start to show what he is capable of at senior level.

He’s only going to get better too.


Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

Featured Content

  • FEATURE: 1925

    A hundred years ago today, on 2 May 1925, Melbourne kicked off the new season with a 47 point victory over St Kilda to take top place on the VFL ladder after the opening round of the new season.  Top place was a relatively unknown position for the team then known as the “Fuchsias.” They had finished last in 1923 and rose by only one place in the following year although the final home and away round heralded a promise of things to come when they surprised the eventual premiers Essendon. That victory set the stage for more improvement and it came rapidly. In this series, I will tell the story of how the 1925 season unfolded for the Melbourne Football Club and how it made the VFL finals for the first time in a decade on the way to the ultimate triumph a year later.

      • Love
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • PREVIEW: West Coast

    Saturday’s election night game in Perth between the West Coast Eagles and Melbourne represents 18th vs 15th which makes it a tough decision as to which party to favour. The Eagles have yet to break the ice under their new coach in Andrew McQualter who is the second understudy in a row to confront Demon Coach Simon Goodwin who was also winless until a fortnight ago. On that basis, many punters might be considering to go with the donkey vote but I’ve been assigned with the task of helping readers to come to a considered opinion on this matter of vital importance across the nation. It was almost a year ago that I wrote a preview here of the Demons’ away game against the Eagles (under the name William from Waalitj because it was Indigenous Round).  I issued a warning that it was a danger game, based on my local knowledge that the home team were no longer easybeats and that they possessed a wunderkind generational player in Harley Reid who was capable of producing stellar performances playing among men a decade and more older than he.  At the time, the Eagles already had two wins off the back of a couple of the young man’s masterclasses and they had recently given the Bombers a scare straight after their Anzac Day blockbuster draw against the then reigning premiers.

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 1 reply
    Demonland
  • NON-MFC: Round 08

    Round 08 of the 2025 AFL Season kicks off on Thursday with a must-win game for the Bombers to stay in touch with the top eight, while the struggling Roos seek a morale-boosting upset. Friday sees the Saints desperate for a win as well if they are to stay in finals contention and their opponents the Dockers will be eager to crack in to the Top 8 with a win on the road. Saturday kicks off with a pivotal clash for both sides asthe Bulldogs look to solidify their top-eight spot, while Port seeks to shake their pretender tag. Then the Crows will be looking to steady their topsy turvy season against a resurgent Blues looking to make it 4 wins on the trot. On Election Night a Blockbuster will see the ladder-leading Pies take on the Cats, who are keen to bounce back after a narrow loss. On Sunday the Sydney Derby promises fireworks as the Giants aim to cement their top-eight status, while the Swans fight to keep their season alive. The Hawks, celebrating their centenary, will be looking to easily account for the Tigers who are desperate to halt their slide. The Round concludes on Sunday Night with a top end of the table QClash with significant ladder implications; both Queensland teams are in scintillating form. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

    • 123 replies
    Demonland
  • PREGAME: West Coast

    The Demons hit the road in Round 8, heading to Perth to face the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium. With momentum building, the Dees will be aiming for a third straight victory to keep their season revival on course. Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Thanks
    • 562 replies
    Demonland
  • REPORT: Richmond

    The fans who turned up to the MCG for Melbourne’s Anzac Day Eve clash against Richmond would have been disappointed if they turned up to see a great spectacle. As much as this was a night for the 71,635 in attendance to commemorate heroes of the nation’s past wars, it was also a time for the Melbourne Football Club to consolidate upon its first win after a horrific start to the 2025 season. On this basis, despite the fact that it was an uninspiring and dour struggle for most of its 100 minutes, the night will be one for the fans to remember. They certainly got value out of the pre match activity honouring those who fought for their country. The MCG and the lights of the city as backdrop was made for nights such as these and, in my view, we received a more inspirational ceremony of Anzac culture than others both here and elsewhere around the country. 

      • Love
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • CASEY: Richmond

    The match up of teams competing in our great Aussie game at its second highest level is a rarity for a work day Thursday morning but the blustery conditions that met the players at a windswept Casey Fields was something far more commonplace.They turned the opening stanza between the Casey Demons and a somewhat depleted Richmond VFL into a mess of fumbling unforced errors, spilt marks and wasted opportunities for both sides but they did set up a significant win for the home team which is exactly what transpired on this Anzac Day round opener. Casey opened up strong against the breeze with the first goal to Aidan Johnson, the Tigers quickly responded and the game degenerated into a defensive slog and the teams were level when the first siren sounded.

      • Clap
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland