3 minutes ago, Little Goffy said:

uncontessendon

Best portmanteau yet. 😁

genius will be seen next week against Fremantle! tougher ruck challenge. 

But huge credit- the defensive setup was outstanding, and the younger players are filling roles exceptionally. The ruck setup hit the nail on the head for the conditions. 

1 hour ago, Swooper1987 said:

He's a premiership coach - the only Melbourne premiership coach in my lifetime and he deserves to be respected as such.  I think his footy acumen is desperately underrated. Last night was an interesting one.  I watched from mu usual spot on the second tier right on the members wing.  Petty was uncompetitive in the ruck as I expected and Draper did as he liked. 9 disposals, three clearances, 3 marks and 9 hitouts v Petty 1 handball and 3 hitouts.  It looked an Essendon game. But JVR stood up in the second and absolutely turned it around. 5 disposals, 3 marks and 4 hitouts v Draper 4 disposals, no marks and 7 hitouts effectively neutralised what was the biggest advantage Essendon had.  Our gut runners went to work - Langdon, Windsor and ANB. Oliver, after a horrid first quarter showed glimpses of the 3 time AA, 4 time B&F Clayton and Melksham led the front half magnificently.

So overall, Simon had a good night.  Petty is not a centre bounce ruck and he has proven that a few times.  But as Draper tired her became more competitive in short bursts later in the game. Goody's faith in Petty was misplaced but as a good coach does, he righted the ship. Kudos to him.

Dare l say it Goody swinging JVR into the ruck at the commencement of the second quarter had something of David v Goliath about it. Especially  when the heavens opened up. Or more comically Charlie Chaplin as the new recruit in Easy Street. Draper of course plays the behemoth bully. He certainly has the appearance and facial expressions of a vaudevillian villain.

But seriously JVR is a big lad, physically he appears to have caught up with Steven May. No shrinking violet himself. Terrific to have that flexibility and dual impact in your back pocket. (Tall forward and midfield/ruck).

ps Good summation Swooper

Edited July 14, 2024Jul 14 by Tarax Club
Sunday School edit

10 hours ago, monoccular said:

PaulRB - I have been waiting to see the MQualter influence mentioned as I have not observed him in previous years and don't quite know what he offers as a point of difference.

Can you please elaborate for my education.

Many thanks

Was responding to Maldon’s comment about our surging the ball forward through traffic with a wave of runners till we get it out the back, being very Richmond in their recent heyday.

And speculating that our midfield coach, former Tigers assistant coach, McQualter, was teaching/training that method. 

Love it when it works. Like end to end bang-bang-bang.

Great footy.

 

Edited July 14, 2024Jul 14 by PaulRB

4 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

We won despite the idiotic decision to ruck Petty. Petty did mostly SFA apart from falling over a lot & we had to move JVR onto the ball to get some drive.

This left the fwd line short & allowed McKay to dominate. We got away with it due to the wet conditions.

With all sincerity, I love it cranky.

I really value consistency.

7 minutes ago, binman said:

With all sincerity, I love it cranky.

I really value consistency.

No problems. I often fantasise about what John Northey or Neale Daniher would have delivered with the list Goodie has.

I'm sure ND would have liked May & Lever instead of Mathew Collins & Alistair Nicholson.

3 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

For some, he never will be. It’s sad, because for a coach who has achieved so much and steered this club to that win without Brayshaw, Trac, Gawny and the shadow of Clarrie is a great effort. 
 

Congrats Goody and thanks. 

It's remarkable really. 

We win a flag and then out in straight sets x 2 and people call for goody's head.

Do people really not understand how difficult winning a flag is? 

Or how difficult it is to finish top 4?

I mean, surely of any group of fans dees fans understand these things?

Sure we went out in 2 in 2022.

But we finished top 4 in 2022 - the year after winning the flag.

Ask dogs, cats and pies fans how easy it is to back up after winning a flag.

We made top 4 again in 2023 - without a forward line.

We are currently in the 8, still an outside chance of top 4.

This despite losing 2 best 22, senior players prior to the season starting. 

And not having another in melk available till round 16 and losing our equal best player in tracc.

And having lever and salo out for big blocks of time.

And as a result having to field a team more akin to a team in the third year of a rebuild than a contender.

What exactly do people expect?

Edited July 14, 2024Jul 14 by binman

20 minutes ago, binman said:

It's remarkable really. 

We win a flag and then out in straight sets x 2 and people call for goody's head.

Do people really not understand how difficult winning a flag is? 

Or how difficult it is to finish top 4?

I mean, surely of any group of fans dees fans understand these things?

Sure we went out in 2 in 2022.

But we finished top 4 in 2022 - the year after winning the flag.

Ask dogs, cats and pies fans how easy it is to back up after winning a flag.

We made top 4 again in 2023 - without a forward line.

We are currently in the 8, still an outside chance of top 4.

This despite losing 2 best 22, senior players prior to the season starting. 

And not having another in melk available till round 16 and losing our equal best player in tracc.

And having lever and salo out for big blocks of time.

And as a result having to field a team more akin to a team in the third year of a rebuild than a contender.

What exactly do people expect?

They expect their entitlement to be met, that’s what they expect.

58 minutes ago, binman said:

 

And having lever and salo out for big blocks of time.

And as a result having to field a team more akin to a team in the third year of a rebuild than a contender.

What exactly do people expect?

You seem to be ignoring the issue of the talent the coach has. I'd argue that over the last 4-6 years the consensus among media and supporters is that Melbourne has the best list in the comp.

The best defence, the best ruckman, the best midfield and some reasonable forwards.

Richmond with a less talented list delivered 3 flags.

We were disappointing in 2017, poor in 2019 & 2020 & stuffed it up in 2022.

1 minute ago, Cranky Franky said:

You seem to be ignoring the issue of the talent the coach has. I'd argue that over the last 4-6 years the consensus among media and supporters is that Melbourne has the best list in the comp.

The best defence, the best ruckman, the best midfield and some reasonable forwards.

Richmond with a less talented list delivered 3 flags.

We were disappointing in 2017, poor in 2019 & 2020 & stuffed it up in 2022.

So you are angry at Goody cos everyone else has been wrong? Cos the consensus half way through the 3rd quarter in the 2021 GF was that Bont had a premiership medal and a norm smith around his neck - everyone was wrong about that too. 

We won a flag in 2021, didn’t go back to back cos all our good players were hurt by finals in 2022, lost two finals by less than 2 goals combined in 2023 and we’re still in with a shot of playing finals this year. Maybe just enjoy the win instead of holding on to your anger about prior years. No one is owed a flag, a lot needs to go right no matter how good your list is and we haven’t had much luck since ‘21. 

5 hours ago, beelzebub said:

As posted otherwise... yes that was a good win Goodwin.

He made some clever calls and lucked out with some, and the weather. But kudos, that was most likely the outcome if the gods came to the party.

Credit where due. 

Genius ? .. i wince.

Geater credit to those out there on a rubbish night.

 

🥴

Not Goody’s biggest fan, but loved that he and the boys came in to the game with a clear plan of attack.

More of the same is needed this week if we are to roll the Dockers over there.

Edited July 14, 2024Jul 14 by Demon Disciple

5 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

You seem to be ignoring the issue of the talent the coach has. I'd argue that over the last 4-6 years the consensus among media and supporters is that Melbourne has the best list in the comp.

The best defence, the best ruckman, the best midfield and some reasonable forwards.

Richmond with a less talented list delivered 3 flags.

We were disappointing in 2017, poor in 2019 & 2020 & stuffed it up in 2022.

Not your best work cranky.

I mean, not even I thought we had the best list six years ago!

Stick to the surreally ridiculous.

A question.

Do YOU think we have had the best list in the last 4-6 years?

19 hours ago, DiscoStu17 said:

“Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.”

I couldn't agree more. The only genei I know are me. I once got 88 out of 100 for an IQ test you kno.

Edited July 14, 2024Jul 14 by Queanbeyan Demon

2 minutes ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

I once got 88 out of 100 for an IQ test you know.

Pfffft.  I just finished a 50-piece jigsaw puzzle in only three days.

On the box it said "5 to 7 years".

10 hours ago, Deecisive said:

the team won even goodies brainless idea of using petty in the ruck. for someone on the ball so much and supposedly a leading target for kickins etc he did stuff all, that is because it is not his position. the rest of the team stood up and need to be commended for a great team effort. if we had someone taller who could wrestle and event punch the ball away for the taller essendon rucks who were marking everything when it was dry then we may have done even better. goodie has done well because of the quality of the players and team he has. petty has been played in the ruck multiple times and to me has failed everytime. may as well throw woey in the middle at least he could immediately tackle the opposition ruckman when they take the ball straight out of the ruck instead of going for the hitout.

Not educated by the Jesuits - that's for sure.

6 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

You seem to be ignoring the issue of the talent the coach has. I'd argue that over the last 4-6 years the consensus among media and supporters is that Melbourne has the best list in the comp.

The best defence, the best ruckman, the best midfield and some reasonable forwards.

Richmond with a less talented list delivered 3 flags.

We were disappointing in 2017, poor in 2019 & 2020 & stuffed it up in 2022.

Come on Crank. You and I have been watching footy for a cumulative total of close to 100 years. Yep, Hardwick delivered three flags and Goody one (to date). Hardwick had the best player I've seen in 50 years deliver in the finals - and especially in the grannies. He also had Lynch - who will go close to kicking 600 career goals (all being equal). Without Lynch, they win two flags at best. 

I do concede though, we left one on the table last year. If Tom Lynch played for us - we waltz away with the '23 pennant. The margin between success and what might be considered a 'failure', is paper thin (about 5 gsm actually :-)).

Edited July 14, 2024Jul 14 by Queanbeyan Demon

1 hour ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

Come on Crank. You and I have been watching footy for a cumulative total of close to 100 years. Yep, Hardwick delivered three flags and Goody one (to date). Hardwick had the best player I've seen in 50 years deliver in the finals - and especially in the grannies. He also had Lynch - who will go close to kicking 600 career goals (all being equal). Without Lynch, they win two flags at best. 

I do concede though, we left one on the table last year. If Tom Lynch played for us - we waltz away with the '23 pennant. The margin between success and what might be considered a 'failure', is paper thin (about 5 gsm actually :-)).

Agree except we didn't need Lynch last year.  We just needed a fit Melksham.  He'd have made the difference in likely both finals, but certainly the Carlton game.  And from there, who knows?

10 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

No problems. I often fantasise about what John Northey or Neale Daniher would have delivered with the list Goodie has.

I'm sure ND would have liked May & Lever instead of Mathew Collins & Alistair Nicholson.

Probably would have moved him to FF...

17 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

You seem to be ignoring the issue of the talent the coach has. I'd argue that over the last 4-6 years the consensus among media and supporters is that Melbourne has the best list in the comp.

The best defence, the best ruckman, the best midfield and some reasonable forwards.

Richmond with a less talented list delivered 3 flags.

We were disappointing in 2017, poor in 2019 & 2020 & stuffed it up in 2022.

St Kilda under Ross Lyon never won a flag. 

Geelong in their Danger/Cameron/Stewart era have just one. 

Carlton with Cripps, Walsh, Curnow, McKay, Weitering haven’t won one.

Brisbane have been up for 5 years with no flag. 

Sydney with Buddy for a decade didn’t win one. 

West Coast with Cox, Cousins, Judd and Kerr only won one. 

Edited July 14, 2024Jul 14 by titan_uranus

12 hours ago, binman said:

Not your best work cranky.

I mean, not even I thought we had the best list six years ago!

Stick to the surreally ridiculous.

A question.

Do YOU think we have had the best list in the last 4-6 years?

I think between 2019 & 2023 we had the best list.

Certainly the best defence, ruck & midfield in the competition.

I was definitely one that had raised eyebrows at no recognised ruckman being picked, but it was definitely the right call given the weather. What I do want to know is where the club is going from here with the ruck situation into the future.

We can't run JVR in the ruck on a regular basis, it robs us of his forward abilities. We don't need to get the worlds greatest ruckman next trade period but we need someone who is a solid body and can at least compete. Ideally would be in the 22-24 range.

I was glad that Goody switched it up to have JVR do primary rucking duties over Petty. Gotta feel sorry for Harry, he's a top level defender being forced to play forward, then play ruck. He is so much better than what we're getting from him.

Edited July 14, 2024Jul 14 by Pates

2 hours ago, Pates said:

I was definitely one that had raised eyebrows at no recognised ruckman being picked, but it was definitely the right call given the weather. What I do want to know is where the club is going from here with the ruck situation into the future.

We can't run JVR in the ruck on a regular basis, it robs us of his forward abilities. We don't need to get the worlds greatest ruckman next trade period but we need someone who is a solid body and can at least compete. Ideally would be in the 22-24 range.

I was glad that Goody switched it up to have JVR do primary rucking duties over Petty. Gotta feel sorry for Harry, he's a top level defender being forced to play forward, then play ruck. He is so much better than what we're getting from him.

Next year Will Verrall should be starting to make his way

He is the heart and soul of the football club. He walks the talk when it comes to culture.
At the end of the day more is said than done. He is a true leader that ‘does’.  
The impression I get is that the playing group are proud to follow.  I’m proud to be a supporter.

4 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

I think between 2019 & 2023 we had the best list.

 

Yes we had Omac and some other guns, but it is patently absurd to suggest out 2019 list was the best in the AFL.

I don't mean to knock these blokes but we had the following fringe players in and round our best 22: Vanderburg, Weed, Jay Kennedy Harris, Hore, Oskar Baker, Corey Wagner, Jay Lockhadrt, Frosty, Billy Stretch - not mention players like Kade Kolodjashnij and Aaron Nietschke who couldn't get on the park) for the sake of argument lets say you are right.

You may also recall that we had a horror run with injury in 2019 and went into full experimental mode early on - playing Fritter at half and developing the Goodwin contest territory game for example.

But for the sake of argument lets run with your opinion we had the best list for five seasons (i'm assuming your posting history reflects this opinion).

Strength of the list is absolutely a key factor in the chances of winning a flag. But injury and luck are arguably even more important. Given that, every single club would take one flag from five.

Anyway cranky, i'm really not sure why I'm bothering responding to your silliness. I will go back to just reading your random troll bites and having a quiet chuckle.

Keep doing you.

Edited July 15, 2024Jul 15 by binman