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Still 28 points on offer. Far too early for Tanking let's fight for a spot in the 8 Far more exciting

I was actually very graceful and dignified in victory, you would have been quite impressed. I kept my celebration low key, similar to below. Confetti, tux, lighting and all. I even paid for some extras to come in and clap me on. On departure from work, I drove down the Main Street of Fremantle with my scarf out the window, the club song playing and verbally abused anyone I could.

We have done plenty of blooding. We have the youngest team by a mile. More wins please.

I think they've been pretty bold all year tbh. Giving regular gigs to Hunt, Oscar, Wagner, then dropping Gartlet...or Oliver, to name a just a few few. In fact this forum has been in melt down regularily because they've made choices we didnt agree with or understand at the time. This club needs wins first and foremost. Maybe the last round we give someone their first game but up to that point pick the side thats going to win.

He should host it.

I love Jayden Hunt. I can't believe how good a player he is going to turn out to be! Who would've known!

Mature win, reality is the second half was terrible and our inability to score despite heavy forward half dominance was disappointing. But we need to start having these wins, playing poorly for large parts of the game but still being able to dispatch poor opposition. Not happy with our second half execution but happy with the result. On to next week!

Raising the gratuitous player swipe to new "heights" ...

Do I think Grimes is best 22 going into the future? Probably not. Do I think that he is a fantastic depth player who can cover multiple roles and will always give you 100%? Absolutely Everyone is talking about him being done next year, and that may be the case. If another club gives him more opportunities I would be absolutely thrilled for him, but if the choice was cutting him loose for nothing or keeping him on, I would keep him on. There are a few others who I would cut first (Terlich, Michie, Newton, Dawes??), and given we do not have a 1st round pick this year, and are not likely to make more than 4-5 list changes, Grimes may well stick around, and I for one hope he does. It is an absolute credit to him that he continued to be so professional all year in the VFL, took the criticism on the chin and worked on his game. He, along with Watts, probably have had more role changes in their career than anyone on our list. These things take time, and for him to come on half way through the year, play his first game in a new role, with the team playing a different style, and rack up 32 meaningful touches, is a brilliant effort. He well and truly deserves to play his 100th next week. We forget how much we ruined his development by making him captain when this club was on the brink of extinction. The weight this guy had to carry around, while also managing injury after injury. I hope he has a wonderful 100th, and I hope the boys get up and win for him. He really does deserve it!

Really disrespectful and harsh comment. We will be a better team when we have our young guns back but no need to speak so poorly of others. Players like Matt J and Jack G deserved their spot and played exceptionally well. They should be congratulated.

Despite a lot of negative talk about how our defence 'leaks goals like a sieve', I'd argue that our FD would be quietly confident with this year's return. At the start of the year, they tried some older heads, hoping the Dunn's and Garland's of the world would provide some much needed experience down there, to steady the younger heads that would eventually get games. Things didn't go to plan and those older guys were dropped in the first quarter of the season. That meant we were bound to struggle for consistency back there as inexperienced players were teamed together to play a defensive system that none of them had ever played before and required a bit of game day learning. I'd proffer for the betterment of our team, at this stage of the year, we've now got multiple games in a row into Oscar McDonald, Sam Frost, Jayden Hunt and Josh Wagner. Tom McDonald and Jetta have obviously been mainstays, but now that there's a bit of continuity and understanding back there, I'm excited by what this new-look defence offers. They're brave, they're bold, they're decent spoilers, they're quick. The major deficiency as everyone knows is our disposal coming off half back. Some of that will be eradicated by game experience and hopefully the rest will be solved by gaining new personnel for that area of the ground. Due to the lack of experience in defence, we'll still make stupid errors from time to time, but IMO, this area of the ground is a work in progress that is further along than I think some posters give credit. I've no doubt we'll look to strengthen our list with defensive reinforcements and they'll have to come in and learn the Melbourne way. We now have a defensive brand. That is, turn defence into attack as soon as you take possession. This is worlds apart from previous years, even under Roos' leadership. I can see where this defence is going and I can see how important they are to our attacking prospects, but ultimately, hopefully most games will be won in the midfield and with a young midfield currently second in the competition for contested possessions and clearances, we have a team on the rise with exciting options all over the ground.

Well, I can't believe so many on here are so negative. It was a professional win, a win you would expect a good side to accomplish, one we so often stumble over in the past. We have some like ones coming up, particularly St. Kilda next week, a side we should beat easily, but IMHO probably will not given our record at Ethiad. If we do, then I would say we have really turned a corner, and we are on the way to being a good side. Some comments: i think Pettraca will take another two years before he becomes the superstar of the competition which I have no doubt he will be. I think in this context we should acknowledge what a gem Jack Viney is: he has been a star from his first game at the club, and has stamped "leadership" all over himself from day one. There are very very few players in that catagory and even less that are got at draft 24 ( albeit through father son). This season has seen a wonderful maturing of players who have been around for a while who many of us though they would never achieve their potential A grade status: Gawn, Watts, N. Jones, Tyson, Vince, Hogan. All have shown this season they will form the basis of our next premiership team, and are at it near A grade status now. It is a very very long time since we could say that. We also have a number of young players waiting in the wings who have the potential for A grade stutus and are already immensely talented: Salem, Trengove, Brayshaw, Weideman We can be immensely encouraged by this, but I detect the hierarchy are getting impatient about our win loss record as could be seen from the less than flattering interview at half time with our Chief Execuitive. It is very encouraging that we no longer will tolerate second best. It is about time! .

Worked his backside off all night and finished with 20 disposals 12 marks 5 tackles 9 score involvements 4 goals 2 behinds - couldn't ask for a more well-rounded game from a CHF.

Only two times and one of them was a number two.

There once was a fella named Jack Against Freo it was his first game back He was put through the ringer Before flipping supporters the finger By putting in and having a crack! Welcome back, Jack!

N.Jones - 4 quarter constant Vince - a limited role Hogan - a concerted performance Watts - great first half Petracca - always looked dangerous Viney - bullocking work horse Gawn - dominated the centre Tyson - prolific but wasteful Stretch - gave some run Kent - excellent small forward Frost - improving each game T. McDonald - was virtually unpassable O.McDonald - promising before injury Hunt - second gear acceleration Grimes - an impressive return Kennedy - made little impression Garlett - was virtually unsighted vandenBerg - bullocking and creative Jetta - a strong rebounder White - looked at home Harmes - steady in defence M.Jones - career best game

About six weeks ago when he first claimed the same thing he alluded to it being inside knowledge. Today he added that Hogan won't be coming home at any stage. He thinks Melbourne will be able to offer the same amount of money as Fremantle, that Fremantle are a mess and the go home factor so he can surf with his mates is a joke. He didn't really add much and it's quite common sense stuff but any talk of him not leaving is good talk.

Calling Picket Fence.... *crickets* We must must must sign him. There are no ifs or buts about it. I'd rather overpay him than be left without a single KPD on the list.

It's not a Melbourne vs. St Kilda game if it isn't: 1. Played at Etihad 2. A chance for sh!t ordinary players to rip us a new one 3. A time for Reiwoldt to remind us how much he enjoys playing without an opponent 4. An opportunity for Montagna to remind us why he is a c0ckhead 5. A loss

And Oscar. Gotta be someone rotating through off the bench. I don't care what sort of mistakes he has made so far this season, Oscar will be every bit as good as his brother.

So you fully expect both Brayshaw and Oliver to have clanger free games, setting the bar a bit high there? 360 would put him back facing the way he was by the way

Matt has obvious deficiencies but I think he should be given credit and respect for his improvement. He is a hard worker and 30 disposals at 70% is a good effort even allowing for some clangers.

Rotation for 6 weeks after the bye was/is essential for the 6 day breaks, 3 i/state games and manage our kids. So some players will be rested next week and then called back to go West for WCE the following week. I think next week's match will be very different to rnd 6: Hickey caught Max by surprise last time. Maxy will have a QB Collingwood type game when he decided to take down their 3 pronged 'giant' rucks, single handed. Proud man, our Max. Hickey won't get the better of Max, this time. It was Petracca's first game - has a better feel for the game now Wagner and Hunt had had only a couple of senior games - smarter players now. Oliver didn't play and comes in fresh as a daisy. Wagner also comes in fresh. Ditto other possible inclusions such as ANB, Bugg... Frost will play back rather than forward - help stop the leaking of goals out the back which cost us numerous goals last time Jesse loves to kick a bag at ES We have 10 more games experience with our game plan and defence Since the Port game we have stemmed leaking easy goals out the back. Jeffy is due to kick a few...owes the team. Acres will be stopped!! Bugg recall?? They are the team with the 6 day break. Vand in this time so will help stop the ball getting out the back. Yes, we will be a lot better prepared. Both in player selection and in game tactics. We will be 'fresh' and we will win.

Absolutely dominated

And just while I'm in the stats mood, Gawn now 130 plus hitouts ahead of his nearest rival. He's only a goal behind Goldstein and is averaging more possessions and more marks. How much fun is it going to be watching Max on Brownlow night?

To the muppets in the game day thread who called an end to Grimes' AFL career after his first three touches, I hope you enjoyed the next 29 after that.

I'll echo what Nasher said, and add that earlier in this thread there were many who felt we couldn't win this game. We put that to bed early with some excellent footy and, while the second half was tough to watch, it was to be expected. Our backline held up really well today with Tommy Mac playing the game we want from him each week, while the addition of White was great. Grimes also played a great game which was excellent to see. Lots of other winners around the ground - Hunt, Viney, Gawn, Hogan, Watts, Kent etc. So much to like and we won a game we should have won. Yeah, we could have won by more and kicked a few more goals, but I'll take a 32 point win every day of the week. Bring on the Saints and an end to another hoodoo next week!

After last night's game surely Jayden Hunt deserves a Rising Star Nomination. Great stats last night. His metres gained stat is impressive considering he's played only 12 games.

I think the addition of Grimes would prove that we absolutely should NOT just blood the kids. Listen to Bolton from Carlton - all he is talking about now is getting games into the kids. They won't necessarily have earned those games, but they want to 'fast track' their development. We all know the dangers of doing this. We are now in a position where we don't need to do that. Roos and the FD will make sure they pick the BEST side each week until the season is over. Why change it now? We are building a good culture and there is no need to start blooding kids for the sake of it. They'll get their chance. If, for example, Hulett gets a game at some stage then hopefully it's because he has earned that chance, not because we want to gift him a few to finish off the year. We've done that numerous times before and look where it got us. Plus we are still, although highly unlikely, a chance to play finals. We are playing a good brand of footy and we need to stick to that. So it's time to be bold and STICK to what we are doing. No deviation for any reason.

What he did repeatedly last night was run and spread to create options. That cannot be underestimated given what we have had top put up with for many years. And he defended well when he had to. It's exactly what we need from him. Well done Jack. Congrats on reaching 100 games.

Fwiw Tim Gossage on SEN once again reiterated Hogan is no chance to go home to Perth. Lucky Gossage has never been wrong..never.

After today's West Coast v North game, we'll know exactly what we need to chase to make the 8. A fading North that, looking at their fixture, could conceivably finish the season with only one or two more wins, maybe even none! We'd be chasing three wins on them, but % would take care of itself. or The flat-track West Coast, just 2 games and % ahead of us, and who finish the season with Giants (away), Hawks and Crows (away). And we play them. The percentage difference between us and West Coast works out to about 250 points, or about 6-goals a game better margins over the remaining 7 games. All I'm saying is, it is not quiiiiite time to 'play the kids'. Beside, it is a bit of a moot point when so many of the kids are legitimately in our best 22 anyway. Just on exposed form, and barring injury or illness, we could reasonably have ten players on the field aged 21 or younger.

Matty has been selected to play every game for which he has been fit for this year. Just because Bugg was omitted this week is no reason to compare them; they are not easily interchangeable as they play quite different roles. Bugg is our Hayden Balllantyne - be a pest, rough them up, get in their face and generally make life hard for the op player. Requires sacrificing his own game. Matt plays a more attacking/link man role. It is not either/or as they both have a role and Buggs selection will sometimes depend on match-ups.

Well and truely earned his hundredth next week. Best of luck Grimesy.

Very happy with the win....this was a big danger game and off a 6 day break against a team that had 15 days, I thought we showed resilience in the last half after they got on top halfway through the third. I'm certainly not going to try and get this one on "Name a Game" but there were some really positive signs...they led 12 to 6 quarter and before you knew it we were up 56 to 13, so to kick 7 on the trot was very pleasing. We completely dominated the first 2 and half quarters. Big game next week against the Saints, who are 4-5 goals better at Etihad. At least we get an 8 day break. and it wasn't a bruising encounter so I don't think we can use the "we played in Darwin" card if we lose this week. I just hope we decide to man up that blonde centre half forward for St Kilda this time....

The club MUST make sure we get the bye after the Darwin games.

They see a skinny kid with a headband and assume he's soft. They couldn't be more wrong.

You're in la-la land. That's what's too bad.

Three weeks in a row opposition clubs have used some interesting physical stuff on Hunt. A fair bit has been very ordinary , but most impressed by Hunts focus at the footy.

Very good call dropping Dawes and having another runner. We smashed them in the first half.

I'm a massive Grimes fan and hope he can get a few more games under his belt before the end of the season - but I reckon his style of play doesn't align with the rest of the team. If he gets caught in traffic he'll hold onto the ball and lock it in. Every other demon player now tries to move the ball forward - no matter how scrappy. If the ball comes to him and he's almost out of the scrimmage he tends to then handball back in and often so quickly it's a complete waste of a posession as no opposition players have moved towards him to then create space for the person he handballs back to. Flat out can't kick to a team mates advantage - which is a particular concern when he's often kicking to a contest: He's often kicking to a contest because once he gets a mark he doesn't move the ball on quickly. Love his effort and would love for him to be part of the team going forward but until he can get a bit more urgent and forget the teachings of previous coaches I'm not sure he stays in the best 22.

Great return game. Couple of dodgy kicks, but he worked hard and his tackling and ball use overall was very strong. If you aren't bias, his game is as good as any game we got from Bugg this year. I'm thrilled for him!

Well if the Melbourne players are trying to stop getting too excited over a win, this is a very good way to do it. Most boredom inducing 5 goal victory I've seen from us in a while. But we had the game on ice after the first quarter and coasted for the rest of the match. How often have other teams (including Freo) done that to us in the past?

It was predictable that the quality would fall away late; it was clear this was going to happen with how hard all the players were blowing even at quarter time. I know it's frustrating that we couldn't bury them, but we're the youngest team playing in summer like conditions, and we're ranked 10th. People need to lower their expectations a bit. Grimes was fantastic and was one who didn't drop off - in fact I'd say he lifted in the second half. Looking forward to his 100th next week.

A win at TIO - another hoodoo done and dusted.

Thanks for your insight.

And Watts up to 10th. How long since we've had two in the top 10? Neitz and Robbo probably?

Dermott referred to someone as a "progress in work". Brain damage .

Decent win in trying conditions. If we kicked 15 goals instead of 15 points it'd be a better reflection on the way the game was played. Jesse wouldn't be thrilled by what he saw by Freo. Tracca started stalking around the ball and looked dangerous. Needs to maintain his focus when he has the ball as his skills are better than he showed. Watts is a star. I'm so bloody glad to be typing that!

On ya jack. Shut a few people up tonight. If you think different your letting your bias overtake your view.