Leaderboard

Well I have to say it ..... Elephant 1 Viney has been very very average in the three games as captain and needs to lift! I wasn't that happy with his premature elevation to captaincy with Jones and I still haven't seen anything to make me change my mind that he is up to it! Tries to break tackles after tackles a la Dangerfield and Selwood , which , ah he is not! Elephant 2 Watts was simply Outstanding today, All the Watts knockers need to liberally eat that famous pie "Humble" His leadership, courage and skills shone out today in a role which he is not cut out for. Great game Jack and that goal , taking on opposition was "Priceless"

What was with the kick backwards by ANB? Did he fall out of a wheelie bin and hit his head or something?

Lots of comments about the high 'cost' of the two late goals to Geelong in the third. I couldn't agree more. Not only did they cost us a handy lead, but they handed the momentum back to Geelong, and we never really regained the ascendency. This is where the leadership and positioning of Jordan Lewis would have been invaluable. I've noticed repeatedly during the first two rounds (and the JLT), that he was always on hand to marshall the troops and play a role down back himself in circumstances like these. Crying over spilt milk I know, but ..................

Relax. It might have just been cannabis.

Hawthorn are suffering from what scientists are calling "the Vickery effect."

There is a happier elephant in the room... We have the longest injury/suspension list in the AFL including multiple best 22/best dozen players, several of our players from both established (Vince, Tyson) and new (Hannan, Weideman) had absolute stinkers, we had a freak show lack of accuracy on goal while our opponents were putting on the opposite freak event in their favour, we lost our most important structural player in the second quarter, and we still nearly snatched the win against a clearly finals-bound team. If either one of Selwood or Dangerfield had had a slow day, we'd be giddy with happiness right now. We had a cr4p day but there was no reason to think we are a cr4p team. So, my elephant in the room - The Melbourne Demons are no longer irrelevant. It takes a bad day for us to lose.

That is if he's not out with emphysema.

I hope Goodwin kicks 19 behinds this week.

We could be a chance of scoring Marlboro for our back of jumper sponsor now though.

I'd think he should be put on after school detention and the club should call his parents. Very naughty indeed. He won't think he's so cool when his father finds out.

Great to see both Cripps and Rowe out there for Carlton today. TOTALLY nothing in it. Youd think with a fractured jaw Cripps should be wearing a helmet? They stitched us up and added a week to each suspension. Absolute dog of a club.

Jayden Hunt with the highest match votes on Sunday Footy show, and at HALF BACK on Matt Lloyds week by week All Australian team. Well done Junt!

Melbourne Footy Club will be putting up a video soon ALL THE POINTS.

In: Spencer Out: Gawn. Keep the faith in the struggling young forwards. Thanks for the belly laugh to those who have put up 4 changes. Extra credit for those who included OMac.

5 players out of 22 got a tick? Time to give this away mate......

Bloody hell. Watts is dying in a ditch from exhaustion from rucking all day and Hogan is smoking darts at a music festival...

The stats confirmed that Oliver was very quiet: only 28 disposals and 8 tackles this week!

Some random comments: -I thought Gawn's discipline was poor. He gave away 3 silly free kicks in their forward half which became immediate goals. I think there was another in the middle which became a goal after a bit of fumbling by Geelong. The behinds we kicked aside, those goals alone kept Geelong in the game. -The slick pick up by Watts in the middle was a joy to watch finished off by that fabulous goal. -Our mid-field was superb keeping the ball in forward half after kick-ins and lets face it we gave Geelong a lot of practice at kick ins...made the job easier for our defenders. -Another salute to Watts - he had only two 3 minute rests in the second half. A Herculean effort on his part. He showed immense determination - like he knew it was up to him and he did it! I hope the coaches and the players who took him to task in the media in the preseason give Jack a lot of love this week. He deserves it. -Petracca had 2 players on him a lot of the time and he usually won the ball! Opposition already see him as a dangerous player (especially in Hogan's absence). -Too many players went missing. But that bodes well for when we have 22 contributors. -We took our eye off the ball: the two junk time goals at the end of the 3rd cost us big time and after the break they kicked two more so 4 goals in 5 minutes. Shows the need to be switched on for every minute. -The Eithad hoodoo has been put to rest! -A terrific game. We fought and fought and fought. It could have so easily been our W. -So proud!

INS- spencer, pedo, bugg OUTS- Gawn, weed, hannan

I'm going to make the huge call and say I don't think we will notice the loss as much as people think. I think jake spencer is a capable ruckman who lives in the shadow of the best ruck in the game and an extended group of games will see him rise to the occasion and prove he is a capable afl ruckman, and it will help our mids not expect to win every single tap and play the ball

Jake spencer is a very good player and extended run in the seniors might be just what he needs. He will be hungry and we know he has a red hot crack

Whooly dooly aren't Hawthorn in for a world of pain over the next couple of years....

Hawthorn 0 -3 Tigers 3 - 0 Coincidence?

So both Essendon and Hawks lost/losing, all of a sudden the Dons win vs Hawks Rd1 looking a lot less impressive, hoping today's performance is a more realistic assessment of where the Bombers are.

Anyone who isn't enjoying seeing the Hawks get absolutely smashed right now isn't a true supporter of AFL football. I'm loving every minute of it!

I'm hoping they fall over and lose. I hope Essendon also lose. I hope they're all disqualified and their clubs deregistered.

Have you got any changes of your own to contribute, or are you sticking with your usual fare of critcising others? At least he put his opinion forward without feeling the need to sink the boots into someone else by saying they have 'no idea'.

It's worth noting that even in a game where he started with a hard tag and wasn't at his best, he still managed 28 disposals, 5 clearances (equal third most on the ground) and 8 tackles (third most on the ground). He is going to be a super, super player.

Over the journey I, and many here, have wondered what Watts had done to disenfranchise himself to many team mates on game days. His ability to find space, often the right space, would go ignored or overlooked. Terribly frustrating to watch let alone for Jack to deal with. Today should if nothing else engender Jack to the playing core. He climbed a mountain in that game. Understable he was stuffed. He wasn't without any mistakes but all in allI hope he's now 100% visible.

Jones - Led from front Viney - Schooled by champions Salem - Reliable and confident Watts - Answered the call Petracca - Damaging albeit slow Gawn - Solid before injury Tyson - Must improve disposal Oliver - Learnt from best Stretch - Commanding and driving Kent - Erratic yet useful Melksham - Solid defensive game Hannan - Battled but beaten Vince - Needed to lead T.McDonald - Great defensive form O.McDonald - Tired by end Weideman - Needs a rest Hunt - Exciting but erratic Neal-Bullen - Having great 2017 Garlett - Solid and pressuring Smith - Great first half Jetta - Mr Super Reliable Harmes - Was almost damaging

Viney had 30 pressure acts. 2nd most behind Watts funnily enough. Limited Dangerfield to very little influence for 3 quarters. Limped off in the last. He's not 100% coming back from hip surgery and I wouldn't worry much at all about how he's playing or the captaincy. His round 1 game was very decent as well in a similar role - clearances, pressure, limit Jack Steven.

I know my watching was on TV, but I cannot believe some of the ratings given. Watts : played with heart Plus a lot of skill. Plus should have silenced ALL doubters Neal Bullen : Put in all day OMac : Top 1% TMac & Jetta: Bloody terrific Stretch : Improved each match. Petracca : Provided a focal point Salem: a go-to machine Oliver : Involved all right Apart from their kicking I think today was one of the best efforts you could ask of a young still developing side. Proud of them

Effort was top shelf. Kicking for goal was under the counter (but occasionally those days just happen). A win in the circumstances would have been unbelievable. A loss is hard to take, but I'm just so proud of our boys. In a strange, perverted sort of way, Melbourne might have arrived today.

He's a grown man, they can't pull the pin on anything of the sort. If they start trying to be all draconian on him, the club knows full well it will lose him. He's always going to want to go back to Perth, so be supportive and flexible about it. So long as he comes back fresh, fit and focused, who cares. Honestly. The only thing the club should be doing is saying "mate, next time please make sure you save the dart until you get home".

I heard that too. I hate Essendrug with every fibre of my body. May they lose everything forever don't tell me who i like Dick Head

Hawthorn's next two games are Geelong and West Coast. Sydney's next two games are West Coast (away) and GWS. There is a not unrealistic chance both of them will be 0-5. The competition will benefit enormously from that happening.

Not ideal, but it is what it is. Spencer is at his peak age and will break even in hitouts with most rucks. The Dogs won a flag last year without a recognised ruckman. I'm far from writing off the season.

this loss particularly hurts because we did the hard yards yet everything went against us. lots of positives jayden hunt is a star Jonesy is a star oliver is going to be a-grade watts has a bigger heart than many demonlanders know billy stretch is developing nicely we lost because 1. our inaccurate kicking 2. cats accurate kicking 3. last 3 minutes of the 3rd quarter and first 7 minutes of the last. 4. maxy gawn getting injured 5. umpires still puzzling me 6. we are still developing and learning through how to win 7. missing Lewis and Hogan hurt us anb's backwards kick was a shocker but he will learn (hopefully)

Not being a big Oscar fan (yet) I started to get caught up in the idea of upgrading to Jake Lever. Then I thought - well is it? Not watching other games very closely I thought I'd do a Footywire stats comparison for 2016. Looks as though we'd be paying a lot for what we already have - at least statistically. Is there an X factor that doesn't show up here that I'm missing, or is it just a grass is greener view that us supporters have? Jake has an even higher 'clanger' average. Player Statistics Comparison Jake Lever Name Oscar McDonald Adelaide Crows Team Melbourne Demons Defender Position Defender 37 Career Games 20 Calder Cannons Origin North Ballarat Rebels March 5, 1996 Date of Birth March 18, 1996 Turned 20 in 2016 Age Turned 20 in 2016 195cm Height 196cm 93kg Weight 97kg 2014 National Draft Last Drafted In 2014 National Draft Round 1, Pick #14 Last Draft Position Round 3, Pick #53 Adelaide Crows Last Drafted By Melbourne Demons 2016 Stats for Season 2016 24 Games 15 10.3 Kicks Per Game 7.8 5.4 Handballs Per Game 8.5 15.8 Disposals Per Game 16.3 5.2 Marks Per Game 4.2 0.1 Goals Per Game 0 0.1 Behinds Per Game 0 1.0 Tackles Per Game 1.8 0 Hitouts Per Game 0 1.4 Inside 50s Per Game 1.3 0.1 Goal Assists Per Game 0.1 0.7 Frees For Per Game 0.7 1.0 Frees Against Per Game 0.6 5.6 Contested Possessions Per Game 5.7 10.1 Uncontested Possessions Per Game 10.4 12.1 Effective Disposals Per Game 12.7 76.6% Disposal Efficiency % Per Game 77.9% 2.2 Clangers Per Game 1.4 0.8 Contested Marks Per Game 0.5 0.1 Marks Inside 50 Per Game 0 0.1 Clearances Per Game 0.4 2.8 Rebound 50s Per Game 2.4 5.1 One Percenters Per Game 5.7 0.2 Bounces Per Game 0 84.0 Time On Ground % Per Game 85.4 59.5 AFL Fantasy Score Per Game 59.1 70.5 Supercoach Score Per Game 68.9

The most pleasing thing about this game for me was the way the team played after we lost Gawn. Didn't drop it's bundle and all but dominated Geelong for the next two quarters. In the end the only things which really beat us was inaccuracy in front of goal combined with the inevitable physical fatigue compared with Geelong from having a ruckman short. Can't fault our players effort and attitude to the game. The only couple of things which could have improved the performance was some better mental application in front of goal - no one guilty player, but if two or three of those could have been slotted through and had we not lapsed for the last three minutes of the third quarter it could have been a victory to remember.

Viney has been poor this year. His numbers still look ok, but his intensity around the contest is completely gone. The past few years he was like a terrier n there smashing into guys and barking out orders and insults. This year he's completely lacking in intensity and ironically leadership. It's lucky for us Jones has stepped up again and our midfield is now a lot deeper so it's not as noticeable and isn't as big an issue as it would've been in the past. He definitely needs a kick up the ass though. Not good enough from a captain to miss simple goals and go into his shell instead of leading the way. Hope he finds intensity soon because he's ineffective at present. I've been a Watts defender in the past and it's great to see he is having another good year. He wasn't at his best in rounds 1+2, but he was still good. I'll take 20 touches and 2 goals a game from him every week if that's what he offers on top of the many he sets up. He was outstanding yesterday. He must be one of the mentally tough players to ever play the game to cop the amount of crap he does from everywhere and still bust his gut time and time again. We know he's skillful but yesterday he ran himself into the ground for the team in a position he's not suited to playing. He gets my respect for busting his ass and having such a big impact. If only his teammates had his skill and drive, we would've won by 70 points!

Some of the extended changes mentioned here are completely unjustified & a knee jerk reaction. We kick straight.. We win. Wholesale changes aren't necessary .. Out Gawn . In Spencer Out Boots . In New Ones

Oh, also, the other elephant in the room is overuse! Overuse of what?!! Of exclamation points! And short declarative sentences! Which makes everything seem confrontational! Everything! Big Ted and Mr Squiggle are from different shows! Everyone who was there knows that!

I can't recall too many games where a player is virtually unsighted and you start to look at the team sheets to check if they are actually playing. Sam Weiderman had one of those today. Needs to go back to Casey for a bit.

We let them in for 2 goals at the end of the third - that [censored] us.

Horribly frustrating loss. Hard to fathom how we lost that game when we had so many winners across the board. Our kicking for goal was ordinary to say the least, but I guess we were due as normally we're not too bad. But those second and third quarters killed us and we should have been 6 goals up going in to the last quarter. But I'm proud of the boys. When Max went down we stood up and gave it everything. Look at some of the excellent performances from guys like Hunt, Stretch and ANB. Guys like Oliver and Petracca gave us something as well. We did everything we could, but when you miss so many shots your luck will only last forever. Shout out to Nathan Jones as well. Mammoth game and further proof that he is a star of the competition. Onwards and upwards from here. Let's go out to the G and smash Freo next weekend.

Ben Guthrie‏ @BenGuthrie_ For those interested, Jake Spencer had around 30 hit-outs, 12 disposals and kicked a goal for Casey today.

The better team lost today. We lick our wounds and learn.

I f a r k i n g hate Geelong especially flogwood.