Leaderboard

Plays in a GF in his 8th game.

That's quite frankly ridiculous.

Reminds me of 2004 when Scott Thompson requested a trade to SA. Reluctantly we accepted pick 12 from the Crows and he went on to be an All Australian and play 300+ games. There's the precedent.

A Freudian slip there, BPP?

Patton out - SEN just announced

Bump! http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/essendon/top-afl-forwardhalf-pressure-numbers-revealed-in-the-drill-podcast/news-story/ccfa5915beec1bedf0b446e0a486b268 While barely mentioned in the article, the tables show that ANB is second in the league for forward turnovers and scores from those turnovers. That puts him in the 'elite' category for the year. He plays the role in a true 'team first' manner as he feeds the scorers rather than score himself so misses out a bit on the accolades. The coaches would love him for performing that role so well. I think that is why he kept being selected over Kent. I think he is a bit underrated on this site in part as this his first year as a team regular and in part because his role isn't very glamorous. He hasn't re-signed which makes me wonder about whether he will stay with us. In other threads some posters put him in the 'fringe player' or 'steak knives' category. If he goes he will be worth a lot more. Other recruiters would not miss his excellent forward work and team work and would value them quite highly. The future aside, ANB has had an excellent year and thought others on here might like to see his achievements (with an aberration last Saturday). He may not become an 'elite' of the game in the media but he is certainly putting in 'elite' performances for the job he is given. He is making the most of his talents and opportunities. If we had 22 players who did that, well the sky is the limit!

Goodwin just confirmed he will be playing this weekend through the midfield (on Fox)

I wish i could say the same

Oliver vs Selwood at the same age. http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_player_compare?playerStatus1=A&tid1=12&pid1=4166&fid1=O&playerStatus2=A&tid2=10&pid2=1725&fid2=O&type=A Oliver beats him apart from frees received ?

We play a zone defence; we're not likely to recruit a gorilla tamer - I don't think it would suit the game plan as it stands If are are able to get Lever plus hold onto Frost and the Macs, our defence will be built around closing down space and interception I think if we are fortunate enough to get Lever we are ensuring that T Mac will play forward on a more permanent basis, but he can be thrown back if required So the backline will be formed out of three 'bigs' in Lever, Frost, and O Mac, then the interception and rebound of Jetta, Hibberd and Hunt (plus Lever who also adds excellent rebound kicking to his defensive responsibilities) plus the rotation of Vince, Lewis, Jones, ANB and I think probably Brayshaw and I am seriously excited about our defence It's more about what we have to give up from the midfield / forward structure that will see how our game plan is effected with the addition of Lever It's why I am totally unopposed to giving up 17 and 18 first round picks - ideally getting something 'back' from Adelaide (say, 2018 second round pick) I am REALLY excited about the idea of getting Lever, But not sure why this thread isn't just part of the general Lever discussion...

^ It hasn't been posted yet, because it's got nothing to do with the subject of this thread..

Called it.

That he's played 8 games is imo testament to his character. Suspension, father's death, cancer. That trifecta may have knocked anyone else out for the season. He is a great kid with a great head on his shoulders. He'll bounce back.

SEN is a rabble

Not sure how this got past the censor!

We haven't beaten University for 113 years.

Just in case Barrett does read this:

No

Happy with all the changes this week. Trengove and JKH were always going to struggle to keep their spots, Hogan is the forced change and Hannan certainly needed the rest. I like the choice of Pedersen this week as well, and you get the feeling had this been 2015 they may have just given Weideman some games. But with finals on the line we need a bigger body and more experience out there, so Pedersen is the right choice. Plus he gives us a little more flexibility.

Near Kew or far Kew?

Jones and Vince back. Maynard to debut. One of Weid or Pedo to replace Hogan. (Simon Goodwin on MFC twitter)

2 first rounds??? You have to be joking. He has only had 1 good year and plays as a 3rd tall back. Gary Albett went on 2 first rounds. Worth a pick in top 10 and a late 40's pick.

I'm happy to start a "Welcome to the MFC Jake Lever" thread if you all are?

Haven't checked but is this the first game of the season where our gun mids have all played at the same time? And by gun mids I mean the magnificent 9 - Gawn - Jones - Viney - Oliver - Lewis - Salem - Vince - Petracca - Tyson

So out of character. He is usually a tackling machine

Good, strong, aggressive team that has been named this week. One of the first things I look at when a team is named is the list of emergencies. I think this gives a good indication of how deep the list runs and this week I do not believe we would be losing much if the three emergencies were playing rather than the team we have named. Stretch for ANB, Weid for Cam and Wagner for Harmes? Added to that the players we also have injured or running around at Casey and I think the list has good depth.

Patton has definitely got hammy "awareness", from a mate who knows him personally. Unlikely to play.

Did someone say Vince Jones was back

Good Luck young man The 1335th player to pull on an MFC Jumper Play well and September could reward...

Finey is a joke.

i think the main things is exactly what has dropped off in the last 5- weeks - manic pressure and attack. A goodwin player if i ever saw one - fierce at the ball, big bodies and loves the contest. I'm not sure about his kicking though.

Goodwin: Corey Maynard will make his AFL debut this weekend. It's very exciting for the club #MFCMedia Hope he continues his fab form from Casey. Goodwin also confirms Vince and Jones will play

Let's just deal with facts for now rather than individual Utopian views. So let's say it'll be pick 10 and Tyson for Lever and pick 36. Tyson has his knockers about butchering the pill a bit but there's no doubt he's one of our best ball winners in the team. I think Dom has got immense improvement left in him and is a key player type to execute our game plan. Lever looks great and probably deserves our first rounder but not one of our top line mids as well - I wouldn't even give ANB as part of the deal. For all of the posters gushing over Lever there's a few that also recognise he plays in a defence that has an AA defender in Talia and another big bloke in Hartigan and a jet in Laird. I just think you're proposal is way overs mate.

Yep people calling for him to be dumped after last week, which is rubbish. Make no mistake, with our lack of a KPF for most of the year, that we've been able to score so well (mostly) demands that we applaud the work that both Garlett and ANB do. Both doing exactly what we expect of small forwards: PRESSURE! That we have two ranked so highly shows we are extremely well placed. A healthy and performing Hogan, a roaming Watts, and hopefully a maturing Weeds makes for a very potent and dangerous forward line. We just need our mids to score more. Tyson and Oliver need to hit the scoreboard more.

So much hyperbole - you must have a very short memory if that's the worst loss. It was entirely predictable (and yes I tipped and bet against us). North have a great record in Hobart, were at full strength, played an older more experienced team, we were missing Jones and Vince, and then Hogan going off hurt us more than Waite going off. The last quarter was disappointing when we were in a winning position, but we did well to put ourselves in that position. I think we're a very good chance to win this week against GWS.

Let's worry about it and seasons end we have bigger fish to fry

Strangely I reckon this actually might have been the case. Watch Geelong get a favouring finals venue or two

and we got the average brother yet again...

Tyson won't leave melbourne, we won't trade him. Even if they offered a straight swap

this is the reason. he is in possession of the ball for such a short time that if you blink you miss him

Wouldnt overlook Brisbane either..... /MFCSS

Forget about the falling over under pressure, kicks off the ground to avoid picking the ball up, fumbles, yelling at team mates going harder at the ball than him and dodgy hospital disposals. What position does everyone expect him to play? Loose man back seems to be his best spot, but we can't carry a player just for that role unless there's a predicted breeze. He's yet to play half forward at the Dees. I'd like to try it but now isn't the time to be trying a new position. Half back - against the likes of Deledio and Dev Smith (both too quick) or maybe Stevie J (too skilled a forward). Wing - against Scully and Whitfield - both running machines who do huge km's at speed, that won't end well, they'll over lap off him all game. On ball - against Kelly, Shiel, Coniglio and Ward - all 4 are running machines and strong contested ball players, plus the first 2 especially have great pace. I can't see him sticking with them. Lewis has been and will be of tremendous value to us but I just can't see a role for him against the Giants. Most sides have weak spots that will let us blend him in on ball, wing, half back and spare defender, but I just don't think the Giants are like that. Goodwin backs in his style and system against most sides which is fair enough but I think a lot of beating the Giants is having the run to go with them. If we let them charge forward as they like to do the result won't go our way.

Is Clayton Oliver statistically the best second year player ever? The only other players I can remember such an impact in their second seasons were Chris Judd and Joel Selwood. Is anyone able to somehow check his second season stats against other superstars? This kid is a ripper. He's had an unbelievable season for someone so young, and will be the main ball winner in our midfield for the next 10 years!

At least side show brown doesn't sook it up when he doesnt get a free kick, puts in second and third efforts.

I don't know if I can handle watching this game.

Letting us take Lever is the least they can do for taking Scott Thompson off us all those years ago.

Clarry is just taking the pizz with those numbers by the way how did he not make the team of the week, do they only put players in from a winning side, had a much better game than coniglio who made the bench

The most contested possession across two games (career): Trent Cotchin - 36 Dane Swan - 37 Joel Selwood - 39 Dustin Martin - 40 Jobe Watson - 40 Gary Ablett Jr. - 41 Chris Judd - 44 Nat Fyfe - 46 Josh Kennedy - 46 Clayton Oliver - 46 (2017; in career games 30/31) Patrick Dangerfield - 48 (2017; in career games 190/191)

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2017-08-01/the-stats-files-why-the-demon-rollercoaster-is-wobbling Interesting article on afl.com today that shows we have dropped off big time in scoring, quarters won and contested ball. Hopefully the coaching staff have got solution to get us back on track as we're currently on the cusp of missing finals.