To the [censored] Demon supporter behind me (we were just back of the main cheer squad in M4) who complained about me behind my back ....

"He's not even part of the cheer squad and he's screaming all night" 

Firstly i wished i'd heard that directly and not 2nd hand after i'd left the ground.

Secondly, i am part of the CS (paid up member more than three years).  And maybe you could join in next time instead of whining all night about ppl in front standing up.

Other than that, losing another very winnable final, wondering why we picked Schache and then didn't use him, had so many horrid disposals and forward entries, crappy forward craft most of the night and missing too many set shots, i enjoyed the rest of the night.

48 minutes ago, leucopogon said:

Also, we sure have a lot of players that cannot keep their feet. You would thought they were playing on a ground they'd never set foot on.

This was one of the many things that drove me crazy tonight

1 minute ago, titan_uranus said:

Also I know we want to soften the blow but I don’t buy the “Brisbane would have killed us next week” stuff. 

If we held on tonight, got the monkey off the back, and then got to get on a plane and galvanise as a unit against a side we hate, but match up well against, and who is the only other side in it who has anything like the pressure that we have, I genuinely would have backed us in. 

Who knows what we might’ve served up next week. You'd have thought after the Petty controversy last year we'd have been fired up to take them on in a final ON OUR HOME GROUND. Yet once again we sh@ the bed.

7 minutes ago, JimmyGadson said:

 

 

I've been posting about it for the last two full seasons. Just because I don't come in here to gush over every win, doesn't mean I don't celebrate them. 

It's been clear since last year that we need significant personnel changes across the field and we need a more significantly altered game-plan. 

Goodwin is a master of staying true to what he 'believes in'. And he's been believing for too long, ignoring all warning signs and trends that we've all witnessed for so long. 

Struggling to score, struggling to hit targets, struggling to kill games when they should be killed. We are a bottom four side when going inside 50. Do people realise how broken that is? And don't give me this 'repeat entry' bulltish. We have more than enough opportunity for players to hit targets. We just don't take them both because of instruction and limitations across our players who all share the same weakness. 

This is both personnel and gameplan and Goodwin hasn't done anywhere near enough to fix it. 

The coaching group needs to be reshuffled, Goodwin again needs to be challenged by some outside thinking. We need to refresh this list, move on some players who are simply not cutting it for us in certain positions, bring in youth and bring in a better blend of players so that we can actually use the ball going forward. 

 

 

Good post doesn't excuse your gloating though. By the way were you on holidays after we beat the Swans?

2 minutes ago, Dusty_Hill said:

Well said. What was it 5? weeks ago Max got double teamed by these two and we lost. This time we leave another All Australia in the stands and go in short as and then play Schache as the sun. Beggars belief. 

Then Max did mark finally in the third he carries on and goes back and misses a sitter. Love the guy but it was embarrassing 

Grundy played the last game

6 minutes ago, YearOfTheDees said:

Yes. Didn't address the reason we lost just said we didn't take our chances.

Jesus what a revelation

 

We were in both finals up to our eyeballs. A few players had stage freight but then again a lot of best 22 were forced to watch from the sidelines through injury. Petty brayshaw melksham all improve the team. 
 
I know I hark on about umpiring but I couldn’t believe Max wasn’t (in the umpires eyes) impeded in the forward pocket late in the third. So many soft ones their way that actually impacted. Very frustrating. 
 

if any Melbourne fan was denied a ticket from the wonderful people at ticketek  then please request an inquiry because we were severely outnumbered. Not sure if was the injustice from tribunal, the pending straight sets or the cost of living crisis but we fans need to support the team better. 
 

Lastly our draft hand is impeccable this year. Do we get a gun midfielder for the next 10-15 years or do we look to bolster ruck, defence or forward line? Either way, a gun player will be walking through the door with a team prime for more finals. 
 

I’ll watch the replay and make a more informed decision on the performance. But from the pocket of the Olympic stand we so could have been the victors. Chin up. Come back hard next year. 

3 minutes ago, JimmyGadson said:

 

 

I've been posting about it for the last two full seasons. Just because I don't come in here to gush over every win, doesn't mean I don't celebrate them. 

It's been clear since last year that we need significant personnel changes across the field and we need a more significantly altered game-plan. 

Goodwin is a master of staying true to what he 'believes in'. And he's been believing for too long, ignoring all warning signs and trends that we've all witnessed for so long. 

Struggling to score, struggling to hit targets, struggling to kill games when they should be killed. We are a bottom four side when going inside 50. Do people realise how broken that is? And don't give me this 'repeat entry' bulltish. We have more than enough opportunity for players to hit targets. We just don't take them both because of instruction and limitations across our players who all share the same weakness. 

This is both personnel and gameplan and Goodwin hasn't done anywhere near enough to fix it. 

The coaching group needs to be reshuffled, Goodwin again needs to be challenged by some outside thinking. We need to refresh this list, move on some players who are simply not cutting it for us in certain positions, bring in youth and bring in a better blend of players so that we can actually use the ball going forward. 

 

 

I don’t disagree with a lot of your arguments but there’s a time and a place for them.

And you do seem to enjoy a loss more than a win, just saying 

48 minutes ago, No10 said:

Except ANB was a goal

Ive  never seen a goal overtired like that.  The review was inconclusive

 

That's 4 goals in 2 weeks that the AFL pets have got from crooked score  reviews. Add in onefrom Petracca in rd 22 and its simply corruption at the highest level

1 hour ago, Jibroni said:

I dont know a team that has lost both finals back to back. Heads needs to roll for this.

Because it’s the first time in history 

7 minutes ago, rufus said:

We didn't lose because we were missing those guys...we lost because we produced and epic choke job for the 4th final in a row.

So you're saying that Brayshaw instead of JJ, Petty instead of TMac, Melksham instead of Spargo, and JVR instead of, say, Chandler, wouldn't have helped? At the very least they would have kicked straighter.

 

Still speechless really. Two straight sets defeats. Pressure will be firmly on us next year.

I'm as devoted as they come and I will still be at games next year but the feeling right now is that fronting up week after week from March to September has been a waste. It's a hell of a lot of time to sink into going to the football when life has plenty to offer. People have been patient and made sacrifices so I can enjoy the game I love bit twice now it's come down to this 7 and 8 day period and everything is erased in an instant. I'm sorry to be morbid but I'm just finding that really hard to deal with right now and maybe stepping back a touch would help.

I'm sure this will change when the membership needs to be renewed.

Has our spud of a coach had a press conference yet.

3 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Ive  never seen a goal overtired like that.  The review was inconclusive

 

That's 4 goals in 2 weeks that the AFL pets have got from crooked score  reviews. Add in onefrom Petracca in rd 22 and its simply corruption at the highest level

There was no soft call if they was it would not have been overturned. The ARC made a decision to review it with out being asked. All goals are reviewed but no idea why they believed that was touched.

Edited September 15, 20231 yr by YearOfTheDees

There’s a real unhealthy arrogance in our group. They all think they’re superstars but they are just mostly average footballers who prefer playing golf. 
 

The culture needs a massive shake-up. And goal kicking practice. 

Can anyone give an example of another team in history that loses the way we do? Sure, you can lose the odd game due to poor kicking, but to dominate games and lose them so often isn’t something I’ve seen before.

We were set this year too. Fit, match hardened, on our home ground…and we crumbled under pressure.

Sucks that despite this being the best Melbourne team in my lifetime, I haven’t got to watch a winning final at the MCG since 2018.

We blew both games again this year. We controlled both games and generated more shots. Just didn’t convert. Maxs misses, Kozzies misses, you have to kick those. Feels like we’re wasting a great list and strongly bonded group. Our window won’t last much longer with Max, May, Viney all getting older now and others retiring or done already like Hibberd, Brown, Melksham, McDonald etc.

2 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Ive  never seen a goal overtired like that.  The review was inconclusive

 

That's 4 goals in 2 weeks that the AFL pets have got from crooked score  reviews. Add in onefrom Petracca in rd 22 and its simply corruption at the highest level

Not trying to start an argument - is it corruption or is it just that it’s amateur hour at the AFL? The technology is beyond a joke. 

1 minute ago, mauriesy said:

So you're saying that Brayshaw instead of JJ, Petty instead of TMac, Melksham instead of Spargo, and JVR instead of, say, Chandler, wouldn't have helped? At the very least they would have kicked straighter.

 

Not saying they mightn't have helped, but I'm suggesting the reason we didn't win is because we are chokers and it wouldn't have mattered who was out there. We generated so many chances to win and once again we shrunk.

Langdon and ANB must have slipped over 25 times between them

 

wtf? Youre professional athletes. Fix your boots 

Just now, layzie said:

Still speechless really. Two straight sets defeats. Pressure will be firmly on us next year.

I'm as devoted as they come and I will still be at games next year but the feeling right now is that fronting up week after week from March to September has been a waste. It's a hell of a lot of time to sink into going to the football when life has plenty to offer. People have been patient and made sacrifices so I can enjoy the game I love bit twice now it's come down to this 7 and 8 day period and everything is erased in an instant. I'm sorry to be morbid but I'm just finding that really hard to deal with right now and maybe stepping back a touch would help.

I'm sure this will change when the membership needs to be renewed.

You can run the same “it’s a waste” argument for any of the 17 sides who don’t win the flag. 

Part of the fun of football is going to and following the games each week. 

I’ll never lose that, I don’t think. I suppose others might not share my view.

I know plenty on here are effectively telling everyone else to stop enjoying the 2021 flag, which to me is pretty much hurtful to see coming from fellow MFC supporters. 

Another moral of the story is that players who have lengthy periods out through injury never come back at anything like their peak. Oliver and Fritsch to name but two, and applies equally to Salem and McDonald.

2 minutes ago, mauriesy said:

So you're saying that Brayshaw instead of JJ, Petty instead of TMac, Melksham instead of Spargo, and JVR instead of, say, Chandler, wouldn't have helped? At the very least they would have kicked straighter.

 

You're not talking match winners here. And it's not like we didn't put ourselves in a position to win. We were clearly in positions to quite easily win without those players. We choked. You mean to tell me Collingwood playing without a ruck for half a season, missing Moore, Daicos, Sidebottom for large chunks... actually you don't mean to tell me anything. They still find a way to win.

We choked. Deal with it.

1 hour ago, Stiff Arm said:

Why select Schache as sub if Goody won't put him on, despite Tmac being a witches hat?

Gotta wonder. Stupid stupid stupid 

1 minute ago, everythingsablur said:

There’s a real unhealthy arrogance in our group. They all think they’re superstars but they are just mostly average footballers who prefer playing golf. 
 

The culture needs a massive shake-up. And goal kicking practice. 

Agreed. The club in general was arrogant coming out of 2021 including proclamations of the 'changed culture'.

Did the stuff about aiming to be at peak fitness on preliminary final weekend come from the club or from Demonland? How about just winning a single final before worrying about preliminary final weekend.