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or an alternate for gus

^ You're totally right. I have no idea where Freo would be without Ethan Hughes.

Helmets don't help with concussion. This is an automatically-generated response. Please do not reply to this message.

Do you wanna lose by 12 goals ?

Great logic. We need key backs so we'll trade away the ones we have. Brilliant.

someone stole saty's password?

God I hate seeing that awful word next to Jesse's name, cant they just list him as illness?

The issue for dees this year and last is we don't know how to play when we are the hunted, we have been the hunter for so long we have forgotten. When we are wining the clearances and getting our hands on the ball more than the opposition we still always look backwards as the first option when we should be pressing the advantage. Every game when we are forced to take risks we look so much better, even if we don't always pull it off it creates random opportunities, when we play it safe and try to massage the ball round the ground we inevitability turn it over or give the opposition time to setup and counter attack.

This season we could probably have managed with injuries to 5 or 6 mids. Brayshaw & VDB are already out, and we have ANB, Stretch, Ben Ken & even Trengove playing for Casey, all of whom would be handy backups. We could have managed with injuries to a few small defenders too - of those who aren't already in the team there's Melksham*, Harmes, White, and again Trengove, Stretch & ANB. But we were always going to struggle if we'd lost one of Gawn, Hogan & T-Mac. Not only did we lose 2 out of those 3, but also Gawn's only backup in Spencer. Yes, we could have done better. But it's not the disaster it could have easily been. We're at least getting ourselves into winnable positions late in every game so far. There's just the next step of hauling yourself over the line once we're in that winning position. For a team that's been so down for so long, it's not surprising that we haven't yet got that right, but that's probably the last element that's going to slot into place. * Speaking of Melksham, next time we play North, we use Melksham's "extra talents" and put him on Cunnington. And get Lewis to hold regular master classes for the whole list in "unsociable footy".

You're not suggesting that players can be things other than perfect or a dud are you?

One thing we do need to do is to expect that other teams aren't just going to play us on our talent. And anticipate that they will: * Headhunt the cream of our younger players, namely Oliver, Petracca and Salem, and Hogan when he comes back. * Take advantage of our lack of talls by holding off the ball (mainly Watts) and blocking (mainly T-Mac, by far our best remaining tall in a contested marking duel) * See if they can get away with blunting our unbelievable advantage at clearances (where even though we get smashed in hitouts we win the clearances against even the best of midfields) by playing outside the rules. Specifically, they'll try out a blatant illegal act early in the game, and if the umpires don't pay it (and they almost always don't), then they've got us for the rest of the game. We repeatedly seem surprised that other teams don't want it to be a fair fight. We play such a naive game, especially at the start, and expect the other side to stick to Queensberry rules. We need to do what Jack Dyer used to say: "Retaliate first!"

I don't think the club is somehow owed something from an injury to a player, should Fremantle get an extra pick for Morabito doing his knee 4 times?

I have no expertise whatsoever on the particular matter, but it's more that there are some comments that should generate an automated response to save everyone the hassle of repeating themselves. He should wear a helmet: Helmets don't help with concussion. We need to plan for the slippery NT conditions: Alice Springs is in the middle of an arid desert. Trengove is too slow: Greg Williams and Sam Mitchell are slow.

It's what we do ... go overboard when we win and pot everybody when we lose, regardless of circumstance. The analysis is mind-numbingly repetitive.

I think Watts is playing very sore and understandably so. He's had one game where he's been a genuine back up to Gawn, two games where he was our number one ruck for the majority and a number where he's spent considerable time there. Opposition rucks have been understandably hurting him and it's catching up I think. We underestimate the collective physical damage an undersized ruck would suffer when asked to do it over a considerable period. It was interesting that McDonald rucked all the last quarter and not Watts because on face value we would most likely have been better the other way round. Take that as you may, but he hasn't played the role that is his since round one and he's played pretty well over the course of the season. He was poor on Sunday but potting him for it shows little insight.

Demonland the day after a win: The premiership is ours! Demonland the day after a loss: Trade everyone! (Closely followed by 14 pages of arguing with each other about the order in which to trade - and who is the 'softest' of our players)

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-05-24/guest-whos-back-at-the-club Welcome back Ashleigh!!!

What would Hawks give to GC they have no picks.

Nah. Not ready yet. Pederson should take off his boot and use it to reach for the ruck tap this week. I mean, it can't be illegal if it hasn't happened yet? Right???

I'm hearing Hawthorn are now well and truly in the mix and the VERY early favourites to secure him. If GC want to get near the offers that are being talked about, expect to see Ablett back in the hoops to free up some cap space. Unrelated but the same source also said not to expect to see Brayshaw on the park this year. Long term prognosis positive, but not much to be gained by bringing him back with 3-4 weeks left in the season.

We're a better team than most here dare admit.

I doubt you are

How does JKH make the deal any better? The bloke has zero currency. I look forward to the day when we don't assume our average players will be the difference in a deal like this. It won't happen.

You would be furious trading a first rounder for May? I'd be furious if we didn't jump at an offer like that. He would be in the top 5 tall defenders in the competition.

I have a sleeve tat and it's not compensating for anything - it's just trying to distract from the horror that is my face.

Planning to start ..... Not " will sit down and..." But..... planning to start .. Sounds like me when talking with wife about landscaping the backyard.. Yes darling... I'm planning to start that..... Hmmm?

Hibberd was offside.

His career has been disappointing to date. Will need to show something before season end but my vote would be on trading him if we can get some value.

I was there and didn't see Tyson do too much wrong. He had the same disposal stats as Jones (14k, 12h, 26 disposals @ 69.2%), yet he had two more goal assists, four more clearances (Jones had zero), two less clangers and two more contested possessions. I didn't see you put "most overrated footballer" next to Jones.

Remember when we were worried about whether Jack Watts could provide an effective chop-out for Max Gawn, and if Jesse Hogan could carry the forward-line in his absence? When trying to find room for Jake Spencer seemed like a stupid idea, and we argued if Cameron Pedersen should ever play again? What fond memories. Now we have to contend with Watts providing a chop-out for Pedersen, while Weideman leads a forward-line without Watts. Or otherwise Tmac filling-in for Pedo, while brother Oscar holds down the defence. You can't keep competing at the top level with severe scoliosis. It puts pressure on all the surrounding muscles, and can lead to problems with co-ordination through over-compensation.

Finally some sense. Has played most of this year as a significantly undersized ruckman, then expected to float forward, take the best defender and consistently kick a minimum of five goals. He's an athlete, being placed, due to lack of personnel, in a position where he has little chance to use his athletic advantages. He's playing an incredibly valuable role for the team just getting out there and giving a contest in the middle. Anything else he manages to deliver before Gawn and Hogan return, should be considered a bonus.

Could someone please tell the admin to pin the 'helmets don't help' response?

you can judge speed from statistics? impressive

We are a young side, and still learning a new game plan (as well as to trust it). Seems we have patches where we drop off 5-10%, and it really hurts us. Seems we have brain fades and try to take on too much (kicking it straight to the opposition over and over, rather than seeing what the hell is going on ahead), and some players still go missing. We match up well against some teams, and less well against others. Our backline is not elite, and we rely on controlling the defence from the midfield forward - our backs get caught out against big bodied leading forwards all day. We did Adelaide for Jesse, and couldn't bring that effort again the week after. We are also a young team that were bullied by Brad Scott's less-than-legal tactics, and completely sold up the river by the umpires in what was the worst performance I have seen in years. We are significantly better than last year, and significantly better to watch (so much more competitive when we are on). I think there is massive upside, and we are going to be at the better end of mid-table this year. We have some big holes to fill in our roster, but we have some emerging talent that will be the basis of something special in years to come. Adelaide shows what is possible. Norf shows what reality is.

If any other Demonland whipping boy had the four clangers that Jones produced (two of them leading to opposition goals), there'd be calls to send them back to Casey never to play again. Tyson has been good for the last couple of weeks.

Draft picks intrigue me. For all the hullabaloo they often are far less valuable than given. Now that the fwd picks can be 'marketed' a new dimension is created but imho the underlying and only true value of any pick is what you as a club gain from it. The focus needs to be on the list, and the type of player, if none specificly ( player) in mind. What is your need ? A lot of discussion goes into this kid or that or the depth we need etc etc. The reality is neither of those qualities or metrics affect a game. What does are those ready ,capable and suitable on the day. So , if we have a need now, especially an urgent KPP type hole on the team sheet , youd be foolish not to spend the required and available currency ( picks) to get him. Bird in the hand stuff.There are many avenues to get players , either the project types or kinds naturally need longer development time but the ready to go gems need pouncing on. I would say historically the so called golden early picks often go bust ad much as they prove worthy. They are a risk (high) and are proof that all that glitters is not gold. Im all for spending picks on a known entity, esp when it fills a bloody big hole. One that causes us losses. A no brainer for me. Other players will come along , just like the next bus or train. MELBOURNE...get a bloody Full Back !!

CALL FOR THE DOCTOR by George on the Outer Not just for the players, but for the supporters as well. Once again, a Melbourne side comes into a game off the back of a first class performance against Adelaide, playing against a team that lost by nearly 7 goals the previous week, at home ... yes there was only going to be one result. Another match that should have/could have been won ... and it wasn’t. Once again the side failed to turn up in the first quarter, and it was obvious from the first ten minutes that Melbourne weren’t playing serious committed football. It was fortunate that North couldn’t kick straight with 13 scoring shots to 7 and only a 26 point lead at quarter time. In a bad coaching mistake, Tom McDonald played at full forward while his brother Oscar was left to mind the North man-mountain, Ben Brown. Tom didn’t get a touch and Brown had a party, as Oscar is not physically well developed enough to take on someone built like Brown. Tom goes back and Brown doesn’t get another grab until the final quarter. With the proper structure reestablished, the backline suddenly looked solid again as Frost and Hibberd in particular provided the solid attack out of defence, instead of struggling to contain the North big men up forward. Once again the Melbourne fight back come and the Demons found themselves down by 2 points at the major break. But coming from behind just saps strength and eventually the players pay. The third quarter was just a repeat of the first quarter as all around the ground the Melbourne players just looked tired. Dom Tyson just continues to go through the motions, especially when the ball is beyond his reach. He was the same last week, yet it was covered by the efforts of others around him. He no longer gets a start in the middle, yet cannot generate enough vigour to make the contest around the ball when playing off the wing at centre bounces. Two tackles in a game is simply not good enough for someone who plays around the ball. Jack Watts looks even more tired, but can be expected since he has now had to shoulder ruck duties for over the past month. He simply isn’t built for that job, especially when he is brought in against the current best ruckman in the competition in Goldstein. Cam Pedersen played another great game, but Goldstein simply was able to feed his mids with precise taps, something Jacobs didn’t do last week. With Clayton Oliver tagged and Bernie Vince tagging Higgins, it left a solitary one on one situation in the middle. Goldstein was always able to tap it to the right spot to advantage the North player, no matter who was standing there. Without a proper ruck, and without a proper forward, Melbourne were always going to struggle against a bigger bodied North. But with tired players now crying for the mid-season bye, the battle became even harder. At the end of the third quarter the Demons again found themselves 22 points down. And despite a spirited comeback in the final quarter, to get within a kick, North just had too much strength and finally won by a 14 point margin. We had chances, Tom Bugg in particular who with 3 set shots and an easy snap, scored 4 points. Bernie had the chance to give us the lead in the final quarter with an easy snap, but again missed. In the end, the opportunities were lost, and all the momentum with it. Our opportunities were further stymied by a simply appalling umpiring display. Not a single holding the ball was paid in favour of Melbourne, deliberate OOB paid against us after a North player knocked the ball out, a blatant kick out on the full was paid a mark, and from at least two of these North goals resulted. With a final tally of 22 frees to 10 there was a one sided disparity, yet the unwillingness to award obvious frees is now becoming endemic within the umpiring fraternity. Play on seems to be the only call some umpires are capable of making. Unfortunately, the Demon tank is rather empty still. Weidemann is getting games, simply because we have no-one else at Casey who can play forward. We haven’t the luxury of leaving him there for a couple of games to gain confidence, and he was shoved aside and monstered by Tarrant and Thompson. He doesn’t help himself with a complete lack of second efforts and also just stops once the ball is outside his reach,as he watches his opponent stream downfield. Kent, Bugg and Wagner had shockers, but once again the pickings at Casey are slim, and to be honest, not much of an upgrade in the forms of Melksham, ANB, Trengove or Stretch. We are scraping the bottom of the barrel, and any further injuries will severely deplete our ability to put a competitive side on the park, at least until we see the return of Gawn, Spencer, Hogan and Vandenberg. With the current injury list, the side has been making good use of the medical profession. The supporters have been suffering a severe case of MFCSS (Melbourne Football Club Supporter Syndrome), yet in both cases there is no short term cure. Do we expect to win against Gold Coast in Alice next week? The MFCSS says probably not, as 2 metre Peter, Ablett and Lynch are due for break-out games, as they come off a bye. We have some very tired individuals and no prospect of injured players returning. So based on these facts, there is a better than even chance that the Demons will come out and trounce the Suns. We certainly hope so, or the fans will be calling for the doctor themselves. Melbourne 2.5.17 8.7.55 9.9.63 13.12.90 North Melbourne 6.7.43 8.9.57 12.13.85 15.14.104 Goals Melbourne Hannan 3 Pedersen 2 Frost, Jetta Jones, Kent Lewis Oliver Salem Viney North Melbourne Brown 5 Wood 3 Garner 2 Cunnington Higgins McDonald Williams Ziebell Best Melbourne Hibberd Viney T. McDonald Jones Hannan Jetta North Melbourne Brown, Cunnington, Turner, Goldstein, Thompson, Tarrant Changes Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Injuries Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Cunnington (right ankle/knee) Reports Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil Umpires Nicholls, Hosking, Hay Official crowd 33,218 at the MCG

I generally like your work Wise, but I reckon you are being very generous to Dean on this one. He's teased with the odd cameo, but I can't remember a decent contribution from him when we've been down. The weekend's game was the last straw for me. It will take a string of very good games for me to climb back on his bandwagon, and I don't think he's got that in him.

One of those contacts is his brother, Ben, who's been in the player management game for a fair while now. Jake's articles (when it comes to list management issues) have been pretty good over the journey and he has a solid understanding of that part of the game.

jake = woogie but generally speaking his 'mail' is better than most

Acting? I sit near the bench and he came off very distressed and was spewing on the sidelines. Unless he's a baulimic that's some seriously good acting!

I think Higgins had about 10 disposals to the half and was rattled (while Cunnington was off the field and partly hobbled). In reality, our biggest mistake was retracting from the fight or being told to cool our jets. I don't know why people are complaining about North's tactics - we answered or drew them into a fight and were absolutely killing them when it was on. Even the commentators were suggesting one of our seniors should instigate it again to spark us up in the third. It was reminiscent of when Bernie got stuck into Danger, but we didn't have the talent then to fully back it up. North were beating us for height, spread and run, and our true mistake was not carrying on with the scrap to shut them down.

Your total dislike of Tyson does cloud your view just a little though, joeboy. Even you would have to admit that.

Do other clubs' supporters show the same level of self-righteousness as this? Or turn on their own as readily? If someone hits you with a throat punch and you're not expecting it (and a coward will only hit you when you don't expect it), you'll probably end up on the ground.

Tyson - solid days work JoeBoy - Stayed at home Mate if you're going to do your boring little 3 word analysis, at least be fair dinkum and watch the game

Agreed. We have definitely improved and there are good reasons why we lost. The intensity of the game is such that it is difficult to maintain an edge over the opponent every week. Look at all results to-date. Virtually every side has had trouble maintaining the mental and physical edge every week. Crows supporters tell me that the Demons appeared ready for the battle at the start of the game, whereas the Crows did not. A week later this edge was lost and regained for the respective sides. Anyone who has competed at a highly competitive level in a sport knows how difficult it is to maintain mental and physical intensity from one weekend to the next. Coaches try and get their charges to "peak" at different times during a sporting season, but particularly for championships and finals. They understand that during the season there are going to be good and not so good performances and the challenge is to maintain a level of consistency and to reduce the variability of results. There are champion individuals and teams that can do enough to keep winning but in most cases there are going to be wins and losses. We are still not halfway through the season. Hopefully, we will regain some players that will make a difference. At this stage, I am still confident that our improved performances will turn into wins.

Geezus dude, you are on some wild gear if you honestly think we will win 8 of our last 11.

Surprise, surprise. A poster responds to your puerile offer of $10 to a poster to find 'one strong attribute that Oscar has to his game'. A poster responds with not one but two 'strong attributes' - one percenters (which is actually a goods stat in terms of assessing a players effort level) and endurance, which is an obvious strength of OMac. And you derisively reject both points. Classic case of confirmation bias if i ever saw one. OMac played well last week and was ok this week. And i watched both games. His effort, spoiling, ability to run back with the flight of the ball and not give away a free, his ability to play his part in a zone defense, his work ethic and his team first attitude are all strong attributes that Oscar brings to his game. You can give my $10 to Demonland.

I heard a few weeks back we are into May and Lever, cannot remember if it was on radio or an article somewhere like Fox. Remember it clearly though. A KPF, KPD would be handy. I don't think any of the McDonalds or Weideman are our answer to anything.