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Simon Goodwin I take my hat off to you. To be going into your 4th game in 18 days, undermanned, under enormous expectation and pressure, with a great deal at stake and to take the hard road by not allowing these fools to be selected speaks volumes of you and your principles. For all those questioning this decision, you are witnessing the very thing that is making this proud club great again. As a coach of elite swimming, I for one am awe of this guy! Keep it up Simon, we are privileged to have you as our coach.

Back onto the game itself. It was probably the most disappointing game for Casey all year, fumbling, a lack of intensity and totally out worked by Port Melbourne. Casey were outnumbered in the forward line sometimes by 6 to 3 and then had players free out the back when Casey pressed forward, tell tale sign you are being completely outworked. Port Melbourne pressure was good the inability of Casey to get into any sort of rhythm was very disappointing. There were times that Casey broke through the press and they seemed that but they had no targets or idea of what to do with the ball, this caused panic with the ball carrier which led to some awful turnovers. All the Casey players were down as well and just lacked any winners on they day, Fritsch and Hutchins were the best of the Casey players. Joel Smith - Looked good on return and was one of Casey's best, lacked a bit of touch but this wasn't helped by teammates. He is probably 1 -2 weeks away from consideration but at the rate we are losing players might be chance. JKH - The best of the Dees from what I saw, was terrible in the first half but responded and looked lively in the second half trying to get the team back into it. Disappointingly though he lacked impact in the midfield as Casey was smashed by Port in close, probably the most likely to come in from the game. Ben Ken - Got the ball and effort was there in tight but an inability to have an impact with disposal is keeping him from the AFL, also doesn't spread well enough for someone with is pace. King - Liked his game, has limited minutes but his tap work is good and is a whisker away each week from taking a few contested marks. He just needs to build some strength but he looks likely. Trengrove - Has his step and agility back which is great, one of his poorer games though in terms of disposal. He displayed very good hands but tried to generate some ball movement with riskier kicks which didn't come off. Also struggled to put defensive pressure on which was disappointing. Spencer - The most disappointing on the day, looked a mile off it and Casey were beaten in the stoppages. Hasn't regained the same form yet from last year after his injury. Weiderman - Looked OK but not a great day for the forwards, he was outnumbered all day and wasn't able to impact the game. The only real criticism was that he got sucked up the ground to much leading to some of the issues going forward, gave the team a spark when he went into the Ruck. Maynard - Got a lot of ball in tight but wasn't able to generate any impact from his disposals, wasn't able to get much of the ball in transition which limited his impact. Kielty - Competed well in the air but not much influence with the ball. Johnstone - Was ok but didn't have much impact on the game, there was almost no forward pressure on the day so from that point of view was disappointing but DJ spend some time on the wing as well. Kent - Played on a wing and had a crack, needs to improve his kicking and work rate but if Garlett misses he is a chance. He doesn't use his pace as much as he should and his kicking can sometimes be way off especially in the midfield.

Do you have a video of that? Would love to tag Lloyd in it and give him a serve. These former players really have short memories of some of the thuggish things they did. Leigh Matthews calling for a sin bin. If they had one when he was playing he would never of finished a match on the field! I'm disappointed in Bugg's actions but the media response is just ridiculous. He f'd up and admitted it. Also all the Swans players coming out complaining. Barry Hall's hit was one of the worst in history. The double standards are astonishing.

Trial by media and disappointing that a number of Demonlanders have been sucked in and are joining in the chorus. Take a step back ffs. The media has conveniently pitched this as good versus evil re Houli and Bugg. Houli is a great bloke and Bugg is a [censored] ant. The only trouble with this is that Houli knocked someone out cold before he hit the deck. Bugg did not knock his opponent out, as mindless as his action was. And given that it's all about the medical report, Bugg really shouldn't get more than Houli. Or have the rules conveniently changed again to satisfy whipped up media blood lust? And for those saying 6+, you've got to be kidding. So it was as bad as Hall's hit on Staker? Not by a country mile.

I remember when he used an "Arm Guard" to smash Josh Thurgoods cheekbone. Kid never played again. I also remember how he smirked through an interview about it when he got off. This is also the same poser the AFL had to implement 30second shot clock for.

Taylor Adams must be beside himself enjoying all this success at such a successful club!

Can you believe the unbridled hypocrisy of Leigh Matthews arguing for a send off rule - the biggest thug in AFL/VFL history. His frontal lobes must be gone.

Bugg's going away party.

Someone should ask Taylor Adams if Dunn is really enjoying his footy in the last month.

How much longer can the Pies be stubborn for in terms of Buckley? This loss today basically snuffs out any finals chance and they have consistently gone backwards under his coaching. I know it's good to see them down and out while McGuire puts on a brave act for his mate, but they stink and are going absolutely nowhere. It's fun to watch, though.

Essendrug hahahahhaah Oh god,. LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Not a should step up, but who I'd love to step up: Jesse Hogan. Heard he can play.

Wow. Sometimes footy kicks you in the nuts, and then Essendon get beaten by the bottom team and it draws you right back in again.

The one who really needs to step up is Jordan Lewis... I think he's been ok but the questions for me are. 1. Is he past it? Father time waits for no one... and there is no doubt Jordan has played his best football but can he rise to the occasion for another tilt. 2. For all the good words, is he still a Hawthorn player at heart...I'm not having a go at him here, he's been a good get but in the end it must be hard for a 4 time premiership player at another club to really step up. How invested is he really deep down in his sub conscious. Why do I think he's the one to step up and why have I made the points above. Well when the Hawks were missing the big guns...Hodge and Mitchell then had Rougy go down, it was Lewis who stepped up and big time. He almost single handedly pulled them over the line. Some of the best individual games I've seen were from Lewis when the chips were down. Can he do the same for us...points one and/or two above if correct say no. Lets hope he can pull the finger out and have a good go at it. It's time for Lewis to step up...

As an aside, BT's tirade following the incident was bloody pathetic. As if that bogon has any standing to comment on 'unclassy' acts. He should listen to some audio of himself sometime soon and then immediately retire. I don't want his voice trespassing in my house anymore. Bugg apologised and has shown genuine remorse. Plainly he regrets the incident. In fact, he has displayed a lot of class since the spur of the moment, stupid act. I already liked the bloke, but his actions since the incident have reaffirmed my view of him - he is a top clubman and he is genuinely invested in this club. I hope he uses the break to work on his set shot kicking skills.

I really like Bugg. Silly act obviously, which he no doubt regrets - but he plays on the edge and he represents the new era for this club. He's hard at it and he's always present and willing to step up for his team-mates. In fact, I love the bloke.

Jesus. How have this mob even lost a game this year? I think I'll plonk down some coin on them for the flag.

Agree, although ultimately I feel the season will end up in our hands. We are still going to need to win most, if not all, of the Carlton, North, St Kilda, Brisbane and Collingwood games irrespective of what St Kilda, the Dogs and Essendon do.

What a disappointment this guy is. He picks and chooses and rarely goes for a hard ball. But hey, he's got 4 flags already. I get it. He's also now got kids. He's lost the edge and isn't super hungry like he once was. He's here for his super. I'm OK with it to an extent, as I believe his IP and time around our developing players is invaluable, but I no longer expect much from him during the 120 minutes of game play.

God exists wiseblood. he's just f#@*&ing with us

its been said already, and not all agree and thats fine But Bugg was retaliating, and way way too crudely and carelessly, and he should not have done that, and he was stupid. He will take his 5 weeks (because we are Melbourne it will be 6) and come back next year. He is NO Barry Hall, He is NO Carl Deitrich, He is NO Leigh Mathews. He is NOT a thug But he is a little bit aggro. And he will receive a premiership medallion with us And I love it

Goodwin

Sensational effort from the Bears that's the end of Essendrug 2017

Are you sure they want ?

Got to love the posters who demand we "move on" and stop discussing players breaking team rules on a discussion forum where the thread is about the fermented foursome breaking team rules! Lol

The Velvet SledgeHammer how i hated that man when he played. Losing a Granny to that thug was so hard to take

I remember Neil Daniher stating that "Every club needs a cowboy." Like it or not .... Buggies ours. And FWIW , he ain't going nowhere. Just signed JKH for another year and Buggs obviously higher than him in the pecking order.

Buggy

I have VERY little confidence about this game

The heart of our contested ball-winning brigade has been torn out with Jones, Viney and probably Tyson gone. Oliver and Petracca can't do the heavy lifting on their own. To me this looks like the ideal time for Trengove to step in and take over as the inside ball-winner. His lack of pace won't be a huge factor for that. Hopefully he still has the quick thinking and skills he displayed when drafted. We could do a lot worse than bringing him in to fill the role.

I suggest we put a false nose and moustache on Bugg and let him run amok

As a supporter and member I can please myself as to my views. I can't stand Bugg and hope he's played his last game in red and blue. Mainly because he's sh1thouse.

You know that as a supporter you support the players who play for the club right?

Just reading bomberblitz to cheer me up. Usual comments but this one got me chuckling as it also so much applies to the MFC: "Pity the VFL was televised this week. I'd like to pretend there were options in the twos. "

He was 2nd in Hawthorn's B&F last year and was given a 3 year contract. I expected more output from a playing perspective.

Pies gone... hee hee hee

Going for the Hawks as I don't want St Kilda getting a top 5 draft pick

Watching Hawthorn v Collingwood. Shocking standard, so many turnovers and missed shots for goal. Not sure who I "want" to win. Kind of like the dilemna would I prefer cholera or typhoid. My "enjoyment" is enhanced by the commentary team of Bruce "demented shrill" McAvaney and Brian "fat turd" Taylor.

iiiiiiits Trengove Time (surely?)

Bruce Macaveney today: "Hodge on the goal line." "Hodge the quarterback." "Hodge the goalkeeper." "Hodge the old champ....ooooooooooooh" .... Several seconds of silence on the broadcast where I assume all the other commentators exchanged awkward glances . Then commentary resumes with BT saying "Sicily" with a big pause after.

Overheard Jon Ralph on Fox earlier and he elaborated on Petracca's comments. I believe he said the 4 players were kept appraised on the injury situation as it developed during the West Coast game. But rather than call it a night, they disregarded the messages and partied on. Hard to defend that and certainly not just "a beer or two," as cited by some posters.

Give me a break! We have 8 days off, and all the players at that function are senior players, who have runs of the board and who I trust completely to do the right thing. I doubt any of them are getting wasted at a function during the day with their wives/partners. We are finally a professional club setting standards. Thank god for that!

Losing a Granny to that team of thugs was hard to take.

Matthew Lloyd on The Footy Show just gave Bugg a serve. Lloyd must have forgot about his own last game of AFL football.

Bizarre. The overrating of our list on this board is absurd... I post about the opposition's 10 best players and you think I am overrating them? Like us, their issue is their bottom 6 and their depth. Ours has managed to play reasonably well this year, fitting in to a good attacking gamestyle. Their bottom 6 is average (see N Graham) and they play a heavily defensive gamestyle which won't win them many games but is keeping them in the hunt. All I am saying is it would be foolish to underestimate them. You can bet Goodwin and the club view it the same way I do. Consider that your reaction to my listing of their top 10 is how every non dees supporter reacted to David King's article about us.

That's it for Spencer - he is the senior player- time waster.See ya. JkH young and impressionable but suffered the most.Would have played. Kent looking dumber by the day. Normally I don't care about this stuff but with the injury list sit is they let us down.

Fake news, what's a drinking session, couple of pots, wasn't that long ago standing around a barrel on Sunday was mandatory!

Unlike Schofield ...who lined up an unsuspecting player when there was no play actually happening with and elbow to deliberately hit the victim in the face; Bugg reacted ( albeitly careless and recklessly )to another's action. Mills started it.. Bugg finished it. He would not have thought he'd likely hit Mills anywhere in particular...i.e a wild swing. These often miss entirely. This one, was right on the button. This neither excuses the action or mitigates the penalty but it does give a context. Your's and many other's reaction is quite frankly ridiculously over heated.

She's a woman. But gender doesn't matter, she's a person, and a [censored] one at that. Killed a 69 year old lady in a car crash and failed to take any responsibility. And is responsible for one of the most vile families that kids these days now look up to as role models. The respect society shows this idiot is a joke. There are far more worthy of the spotlight transgender people than Caitlyn Jenner.

Dangerfield likes his own work a little too much for me. I'd prefer to listen to Maxy. He doesn't seem to be trying to posture for a long term media role, he has a laugh at his own expense, and he seems passionate about life in a way you can't fake. How good was it at half time last week when he turned to Peter Bell and said 'wouldn't mind you roving to me'? I like Bob Murphy for the same reasons I like Max. Enthusiasm is infectious, and an ability to see the game as part of something simultaneously much bigger, and smaller, than life.