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I went down and had a look today. Fitzy was excellent at CHB. Lots of intercept marks and used the ball well JKH really good in patches. Played mostly in the middle. Kicked 2.3 - Casey's classiest Harmes impressed me. First time I've seen him live this year. Played a good inside game. Continues good form Jamar was dominant. Excellent second half particularly. Pity the midfield didn't take advantage of the service. King. Tougher day this week for Max. Was number 1 forward so had their best back all day. always had 2 or 3 other defenders hanging off him when the ball was in the air. Never dropped his head, kicked a goal in the last and was serviceable in the ruck. Terlich and Mitchie both just had games. Both got a bit of it without ever really influencing the game. McDonald and White both showed glimpses competing well down back.

It's clear that sports medicine isn't one of your strong points, but numeracy? We have 3 Hamstring injuries (Kent, Salem, VDB ... oh look, all young players ...) Hogan doesn't have a hamstring injury, he has hamstring tightness. By pulling him out, Misson is doing his job, by, you know, helping to PREVENT injuries (hamstring or other ...) BTW, lucky you don't follow Fremantle .... currently with 5 Hamstrings. Or Adelaide with 3 bung ankles. Or maybe you'd prefer the Lions with 5 Knees, same number as Geelong, though the Cats are doing better/worse with 4 foot injuries as well, unlike the Swans who seem to be able to limit their injuries primarily to Knees (4, which are 67% of their total) ... etc. etc.

I'd really like to see us put a few of their blokes down from the outset. Viney slamming Selwood in a tackle would set a nice tone. If he's going to play for head high make it a real one.

It's the midfield stupid. N Jones, Vince, Tyson, Cross, Viney and Brayshaw with two first rucks will make sure we get our hands on the ball regularly. We won't get smashed. We're missing a heap of key players and losing Hogan and Pedersen hurts our structure but our six best midfielders have rarely played together this year. Brayshaw is getting better each game. Tyson and Viney will be in better shape than previous weeks. N Jones seems to be shaking whatever ailment (shoulder?) that has impeded him somewhat this year. Vince and Cross are in good form. Gawn is gaining in confidence. Add Toumpas and Watts coming off good games and M Jones and Bail possibly playing for their careers and Stretch and Neal-Bullen looking to prove themselves and I think we've named an exciting team. Geelong are missing 5 ruck options in Vardy, Simpson, McIntosh, Stanley and Clark. Add Bartel, Kelly and Duncan to that list and they've been dealt a similar hand to us in terms of injuries. I'm looking forward to this game. Now I've just got to re-read what I've written a hundred times before the game and I might actually believe it . . . .

Go easy on the common sense bing181.

That bench is pretty heinous. The only chance we have is the Cats already planning their post-game celebrations. We re-wrote the script for Tommy Hafey's tribute. Maybe we can re-write another script, with the help of a miracle or two. At least make them hurt. If you're going to play pigdog, instruct him to line up Selwood at the first bounce and flatten the little [censored].

Can I just add that any Melbourne supporter that has the aggots to actually turn up to this game has my eternal respect and admiration, for you have bones made not of calcium, but of structural steel.

It's always a sad moment when Carlton win....

Big Spencil to knuckle Enright in his 300th. Wouldn't that get the crowd up.

Agree RtG. No one including myself is giving us a chance to win, we simply don't have the stock. Hawkins would be pumped for this one, make him earn his goals, throw him in to the dirt and hurt him.

Great move by the club. I don't see how anyone could see it differently. Not only does he get this weekend off but with the bye next week he has ample time to rest and allow himself the best possible chance to play as many games as possible in the second half of the season. A calm, clever and mature decision by all involved.

Great to see we've gone like for like with McKenzie for Hogan. Already pencilled him in for a lazy six.

I remain an optimist about how we will finish off our season but the chances are that we will finish bottom four or five. The chances are also that we will be raided by other clubs making huge offers for players like Jeremy Howe and perhaps Colin Garland and I can see us getting heavily involved trades. This also looks very much like a draft where you want to have a couple of picks at the pointy end in the top 10 and beyond that, who knows you might get a Nat Fyfe or a Luke Tapscott. Darcy Parish stands out to me as the player for Mrlbourne to get (have I said that before?)

Fitzy in the best Should be playing tomorrow ahead of Dawes or Spencer

I am going to torture a real Cat during the game as part of my Voodoo rituals. Also going to use a photo of Booby Davis as toilet paper. "Only an idiot keeps repeating the same actions expecting different results".

I don't understand why the AFL can't get the clash jumper situation right. Step 1) Every club has a home jumper and an away jumper that is different Step 2) The home club always wears their main jumper and it is the away teams job to change Step 3) If there is NO CLASH then don't bother wearing the away jumper. Pretty bloody simple.

Can someone please explain to me why our game vs Geelong will be the 6th time in the last 7 meetings we have had to go down to that shithole? What is the justification for such a blatant imbalance and obvious disadvantage? It never gets mentioned, I actually do not know the reasoning for it.

Tom Boyd sucks Looks clueless and has no presence

And Olisik would be posting even more crapola about Misson.

I think the Bulldogs have absolutely shafted themselves for the next 6 years with this Boyd deal. I don't think he'll be much more than a solid key forward and his paycheck is ridiculous.

Not sure if anyone is watching the "blockbuster" tonight, but the Bulldogs are getting everything from the umps tonight. Feel horrible for the hapless Lions. Boyd is miles off the pace right now. Has kicked 3 goals tonight; 2 were from laughably soft free kicks, the other from standing in the goal square while his teammate won the hardball for him. He also nearly botched it when he fumbled it with his hands a metre from goal. Apparently he was disgusted at being subbed last week; he need only look in the mirror to see why.

And only Melbourne supporters would bring it up every single week.

Geez it annoying watching Stef Martin an athletic ruckman run around at the lions. I get at the time at melbourne he may not have played this well but at the moment he'd be handy for us. We traded him for picks 52 (Matt Jones) & 71 (Daniel Nicholson). Was that trade under Neelds watch?

Surely I'm not the only neutral who raised his eyebrows at some of that umpiring. 24-10 and 6 in a row to Carlton in the dying minutes, most of them highly dubious and all conveniently inside or near Port's F50. Hard not to be sceptical. Doesn't change the fact that Port stunk, but the umps blatantly got Carlton over the line by consistently interfering with every Port effort inside 50. Calling out Boak for a throw in a game filled with throws that go unnoticed, for example.

Any chance Brad Miller wants to sneak on and drop a knee into Selwood's kidney like he did to Lonergan a decade ago? Edit - obviously this is tongue in cheek, not seriously wishing injury on anyone!

Basically noone at the club had any idea it was all Dank. If you go to google news and search for "James Hird and Essendon’s drugs scandal: the inside story" it will bypass the pay wall

Aren't we all?We're grossly undermanned tomorrow, but I really, really, don't want a meek game....really physical. Time for Roos to rein them in, play defensive, big packs, stoppages....make it ugly....[censored] up their day.

Good point. Poor result aside in that game he clearly played the following games well which showed that it was the best thing for him. We won't have to manage him like this forever, but if it's done in the short term to help him in the long term then I think it's a good move.

By the way, the conclusion of this very authoritative article states: "While Cas has stated that it is not bound by the rules of evidence, it is required to examine and apply standards, burdens of proof and presumptions. it is suggested that the manner in which this is done is consistent with that of the common law, with the one minor departure being the establishment of a clear third standard of proof, that of comfortable satisfaction, which is defined as being between the two common law standards. The standard of proof for the athlete is,however, based upon the balance of probabilities, which Cas has defined as being 51 per cent". Lance Uppercut might like to read and absorb this conclusion since he has continually accused me of mis-stating this position. It is much more complex and nuanced than you make it out to be Lance. Get used to it.

I hear you OD but need to keep in mind he's only played 2 games. I'm more basing this on his last season. But he is ranked 6th overall for contested marks. Not enough games to really judge this by i realise but on last year's performance where he had 9 games he was ranked No.1 for general contested marks! Inside 50 you are correct. My statement again pertains mostly to last year. I did say a "few" and he was ranked equal 9th there. You haven't seen it because he hasn't yet Jumbo lol. So my statement is more pertaining to the 9 games last year vs the 2 played this year (see above). Still think he is better than Spencil for marking i50 albeit at least Spencil has 1 mark i50 lol (but from twice as many games as Gawn...so far). My understanding is that expecting tall ruckman to rest or drift forward nowadays and clunk a heap of contested marks is considered pretty much old school by current day coaches anyways. They are mostly just after their ability to get to a contest and bring the ball to ground, then compete once it hits the deck. Any contested marks (by today's ruckman) are considered a bit of a bonus as they have so much work to do at stoppages around the ground now as well as the bounce.

Parish is very, very slick DemonAndrew.

Matt Suckling of the Hawks is OOC and has put off talks. Would be a nice pick up for the right price - deadliest foot in the league.

More to the point Tim, Jesse saw the correct thing to do in the circumstances. Who would have thought a player might understand the requirements of his own body more than the good folk in the stands/their lounge room?

I don't agree with this at all. Roos is showing signs over the past couple of weeks of almost being at the end of his tether with this group. He looks fed up. 'Message not getting through', 'sometimes they don't listen' etc. I don't think he'll tread water with minimal changes and be content with another 6-8 win season next year. If a player is clearly not up to it they should be moved on immediately, regardless of the draft. Last year was supposedly a weak draft as well and we've brought 4 quality mids in with 4 picks in the top 42, and found a 150 game player in vandenBerg with a rookie pick.

Max King's exploits from last week feature on the VFL highlights reel from the round -

You have a point about our core midfield being basically intact. I count 7 players in our side who aren't currently in AFL grade form though (either through inexperience or just not being that good), in addition to Tyson who has been well below his best.I don't see non-competitiveness as a foregone conclusion as others do, but we either need those midfielders to carry a herculean load, or those 7 or so players to all lift and surprise us all at once.

Any good student of history knows what happened after that.

provided they all agree with me.

I'm taking a wild stab in the dark and guessing you're reasonably young Moneider. This is what 40+ years of barracking for the MFC does to you!

Couldn't be bothered trying to place them into positions nor do a full on review but this is my best 22 based on weighted average of stats so far this season (ranked on averages so it's fair vs games played). This may include too many talls etc due to the fact it's purely based on stats. Yes i know it's a horrid way of ranking but frankly i CBB going in depth this season given it's all over already (again). 1 Nathan Jones 2 Bernie Vince 3 Tom McDonald 4 Daniel Cross 5 Jack Grimes 6 Jack Viney 7 Dom Tyson 8 Lynden Dunn 9 Jeremy Howe 10 Jesse Hogan 11 Heritier Lumumba 12 Colin Garland 13 Jimmy Toumpas 14 Ben Newton 15 Aaron Vandenberg 16 Angus Brayshaw 17 Jack Watts 18 Cameron Pedersen 19 Christian Salem 20 Jake Spencer 21 Jeff Garlett 22 Max Gawn Outside the 22 are.... 23 Neville Jetta 24 Aiden Riley 25 Jack Fitzpatrick 26 Viv Michie 27 Chris Dawes 28 Jay Kennedy-Harris 29 Matt Jones 30 Mark Jamar 31 Billy Stretch 32 Dean Kent 33 Rohan Bail 34 Sam Frost 35 Alex Neil-Bullen Out of those i would persevere with Jetta, JKH, Stretch, Kent, Frost and ANB.

I've seen enough after 40 plus years to write a short novel Lamash. Only wish it was mostly the former but alas. I'm now following the lead of some on here and instead focussing my efforts on JD & other stuff.... like Bailey's Luxe. Great for warming the heart during the cold of winter!

I don't really care if we play Geelong in Geelong or not (I'd obviously prefer not to go there), but there is merit to the argument that there's a degree of unfairness in things. Carlton hasn't been sent to Geelong since 1997. They were a basket case in 2005-2007. They don't pull enormous crowds. Richmond's crowds would be bigger and they were sent down in 2012. Essendon hasn't been since 1993 (one premiership in that time). Collingwood hasn't been since 1999 (one premiership). We don't stop Collingwood/Hawthorn/Essendon/Carlton from playing at Spotless Stadium. We don't transfer home games away from the SCG when a big club is playing Sydney there. We don't even move games from Etihad to the G when the option is available and the crowd is a sell out. Equalisation requires the big clubs to go to Geelong. Geelong isn't a Melbourne club, they shouldn't be hosting games in Melbourne. I recognise that's going to shut supporters out of Simonds Stadium. I don't care. When GWS is pushing for the premiership in the next 3 years the same problem is going to happen in Western Sydney. It's going to happen in Perth too, given Domain Stadium barely holds 45,000.

He blocked the people who were stalking him.

Possibly Stu, but being found out by injuries has probably got more to do with carrying guys that have limited ability such as Bail, MJones, Terlich, Fitzy, Spencil, McKenzie and possibly Hunt. In recent years it's also included Nico, Evans, etc. A rookie who's been on the list for less than a year and whose widely considered to have a deadly left foot is worth persevering with for at least another year IMO. Given Roos/Taylor/Viney selected him (as opposed to Neeld), he deserves 2 years at least.

Those comments are misguided, wrong and frankly should be banished from this site. Our supporters should know better. It is not an equal competition. Geelong make $750k from a crowd of 20k at their home ground. We lose money with 20k at the MCG. We don't have corporate box revenue, signage etc etc. The fixture is full of compromises with ANZAC day, Derby's, clashes of traditional rivals, friday night games, QB games, twilight games, broadcast times etc etc. Teams get dudded and we are one of those. We play Richmond at Etihad in the past. and have played Geelong once at the MCG in around 11 years from memory. We usually play Essendon at eth G as an Essendon home game. When we draw against a decent Melbourne club we get good crowds so the argument about us not drawing crowds in franky [censored]. The AFL has a draft and salary cap which goes part of the way to making the competition even but WCE and COllingwood spend $300k A WEEK more than us on their football departments and its because of the situations outlined above. This is partly why there is an equalisation fund. FOr our own supporters let alone ignorant opposition supporters and media to spout that Melbourne, North , Bulldogs etc are getting handouts is infuriating. Stadium deals and fixturing are killing the game and the clubs. The clubs collectively are massively in debt with I think only 3, in surplus. Those that are getting Equalisation funds are not being fully compensated for the rorts that are going on elsewhere. Yet ignorant media and opposition supporters claim that they are 'supporting' weaker clubs etc. The AFL need 18 clubs. If you didn't have them the broadcast deal would be reduced heavily. We are not a team on welfare but a founding memeber of the competition that has been dudded on a number of fronts and that his kicked a number of own-goals as well. The more people start to recognise that the better, and the more that campaign for equal treatment will see us competing on an even footing.

game interest factor approaching absolute zero now

Really? Was injured over pre-season. Has developed nicely. Getting better every week.

A sagacious and insightful post, as usual ENYAW.

I think I'll avoid watching this one due to general soreness...

Would love to see the Cats fail miserably in 2015. Used to like them as a club, but they've become a bunch of smug pr!cks over the last 5 years...