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You've got to at least take it out to dinner first.

I'm really quite surprised that so many on here are missing the cues from Goodwin. His agenda and that of his coaching panel is to win a premiership for the MFC. There are non-negotiables in how you go about that in the eyes of the FD. Defensive and pressure acts are clearly key. The game against St Kilda and a finals appearance this year are secondary considerations because the coaching panel knows that all is for nothing if the fundamental building blocks aren't in place.

Just came back from training. Good to see the boys work on ball movement from stoppages and coming out of the backline. I don't think I saw garlett...? Can anyone else confirm if he was there. I am hoping that was just an injury prevention thing as he is incredibly important to our forwardline mix. TMac trained as a backline player on Weids in the main session which tells me he will go back with Pederson playing forward. Pedo was doing some ruck drills with Gawn, which seems to confirm that. Doesn't say they won't mix that around depending on how we are going. Brayshaw was getting some pointers from Lewis on positioning in the backline, so see him playing half back with some time in the midfield. My guess would be that Wagner is the emergency at this stage. Also interested to see Melksham in the centre of he ground positioning himself in a tagging role on Oliver in some of the drills...could he be preparing for a Jack Stevens role this weekend. Fox Footy preview suggested we have a tagger on Jack Stevens who was well held for 3 quarters against WCE until he had 11 touches in the last and helped the saints get home. I will be interested to get some thoughts from the others who were there at training. I wasn't there the whole time so could have missed a bit.

Regardless if we win or lose, it is a great decision by Goodwin. He is setting positive expectations and minimum standards. Watts has been terrific, then injured, then sub-par. It sends a great cultural signal to the group. I hope he smashes it at Casey and kicks the door down to get back in.

No he didn't. He posted video from a band playing a concert in a pub like venue. He's not partying or anything, just watching a band play. This is the reason he gets slammed by everyone for his commitment or lack there of. Misinformation. If Jack is dropped then we've obviously given up and don't want to play finals. We haven't kicked a decent score in nearly 2 months, and we'd be dropping our second highest scorer of the past two years.

If he plays next week then they've treated him by injecting him with Jack Viney's blood.

https://twitter.com/melbournefc/status/895825154583875584 MFC has also tweeted that Goodwin stated that Gus will definitely play.

Gaints song makes me want Vodka and hunt some religious russian minorities.

The same reason Basil calls Pedersen Colin Garland.

Here's the Green footage taken from the goal line camera.

I reckon we'll be roses this week with no wind to confound the coaches box. "What the [censored] is this fast air blowing in from one side?? How do we defend against it?? Someone get a meteorologist in here!!"

I was born 5 months after our last premiership, I think I understand the dynamics. I have seen many false dawns. I happen to concur with Goodwin and McCartney on the brand of football that wins finals - replay the 2000 GF if in any doubt. The ultimate driver of memberships, sponsors, prime TV slots etc etc is sustained success. That will only come from a club culture and brand of football that holds up. Read the Neitz comments on where the club is headed if still uncertain.

It is not 'an extra 2 down back' it is an extra two coming off the defensive side of the square and allows us to have extra numbers on the periphery of a contest. And it only lasts for a few seconds until they reset forward of where the ball is. It is very smart IF you don't bomb away and IF you win the footy. Goodwin's biggest mistake last week, ironically, was not having a loose man in defence in the first quarter. As TT says above - going to it always at the same time is a problem.

Gus and Trac starring in a big win in this 'elimination final' will have Saints fans officially slitting their wrists over taking McCartin at pick 1 ahead of them.

This bloke doesn't cop opinions He cops abuse Defamation Unrelenting Cruel Unnecessary Tiresome Litigious Leave Him Alone!!

That should be just fine for any Demon supporter. Who cares where we play as long as we get in.

Someone take Dahlhaus to see Carltons doctor immediately! brain haemorrhage - by midweek he'll be right to play

If we were relying on Watts to 'switch on' and get us the win we were screwed. He deserved to be dropped.

I needed to find solace after convincing myself that Goodwin was making a massive mistake, so I went away, looked back on some results, and reminded myself of what we achieved earlier this year while undermanned and have managed to restore a little confidence/sanity. Copuchas made some good points in my mind, and they did occur to me. What good is finals if we don’t have the required intensity to compete once we get there? And that’s the key issue. Goody wants 100% intensity, 100% of the time. It’s also something that Salem seems to switch in and out of. Fair enough. Can’t really disagree. I’m sure the other factor with Jack is that as much as we all recognise he’s a great distributor, he’s also playing either full forward or centre half forward, every week. He needs to be able to take a contested market, let alone an uncontested mark. And he’s not doing that. Fair enough. (Took all my strength to write this as an unabashed Watts defender).

hes playing in the VFL. Can you stop with the "he injured" bs

For those of you who missed the Demonland podcast last night, Troy Chaplin said Jesse will be doing some contact work on his shoulder at a session tomorrow, and could be back as early as next week. "We're actually looking at doing some contact training with him on Saturday with a view that he may come back next week, depending on how it goes. "His turnaround has been fantastic, he hasn't given up on the year, he really wants to come back and contribute to the team. "We're looking forward to having him back because we know what sort of quality player he is. He's probably learned so much about himself this year, and his resilience, no-one can question that at all, and for a 22-year-old, it's quite unbelievable really."

Because it has nothing to do with the stats. It's about his effort or lack thereof. As I said in another thread, people who defend Watts do not understand why he gets criticised, thank you for succinctly highlighting this point.

We are lucky to have him back and doubly so to have Reiwoldt out. Concussion giveth and taketh away .

I agree he is not at full pace or range of movement. I believe you may have the real reason for this but people here like to imagine Jacks just had enough of footy and will be joining a band.

While Tim's at it, maybe he can campaign Hird and the EFC to release all the documents

"After sewing his head back on, we think he's a chance this week."

Best thing he's done for us was against the pies. He went to tackle Pendles, who saw him coming and dropped the knees and ducked his head into the tackle to milk the free. While many would have tried to avoid the contact, Vanders just said "fine, you want the high contact, you can have it" and absolutely HAMMERED him. Beautiful play.

Agree very ballsy of Goodwin to make this call. Look when Melbourne don't do well Watts cops it but over the past 3 weeks he hasnt been great. Yes he isnt the only one but last week he didnt register a kick in the 1st half. From watching over the past 3 weeks his tackling pressure wasnt there, he dropped easy marks and he was trying to take them stretching out the 1 arm. This is his 8th season not his 2nd or 3rd. He got dropped in the pre season for form and attitude. I know it's his nature to be calm and laid back but sometimes we need more from him. Anyway if we lose Goodwin will have everyone gunning for him but I admire his stance. Personally I would have given him 1 more week but anyway this is why Im not the coach. Bit disappointed Maynard got dropped. I thought he showed something to give him another week. I'd like to see Maxy play forward a bit more on sunday. Happy to see Brayshaw back in. Gee I hope he goes well and obviously do not want to see him get any head knocks.

SCULLY go wash ur mouth out with soap Lord.

So we go in Gawn - Viney, Oliver and Brayshaw.. that is a premiership midfield.

What a hectic week of travel but thankfully I've just boarded the tin pigeon in Sydney heading down to Melbourne town and I'm getting pretty excited about seeing only my 3rd H&A game for the year. Essendon win Eagles win Saints ? I only grace you with my presence a few times each year so don't disappoint me Dee's. ????

There's only one JT. We need Vanders bigger body and bone crunching tackling.

Which all goes to prove that we demonlanders have only the faintest idea of what is going on.

I feel like we've played our best footy when we have to lower our eyes - with a smaller forward line we will have no option but to do this. I'm confident we can kick a winning score with the players we have. On Watts - he is no different to Frost or Salem. If you don't bring the intensity required, then you miss out. Simple. I know Salem and Watts are two of our best users of the footy, but they can't do much for us if they aren't getting their hands on it enough. I like the message Goodwin is sending.

Food for thought We have scored 15 goals or more eight times in the first 14 rounds but not once in the last 6 games. The league-wide average for scores per inside 50 sits at 47%. Against GWS we had 55 entries (more than the Giants) but scored from just 12. Of the 171 games played this year no team has been as inefficient once inside forward 50 as Melbourne was on Saturday in Canberra.

Jack has been shown this season that nothing is going to be gifted to him like it has been in the past. There is a certain benchmark that needs to be hit and near enough is not going to be good enough. Let's hope Jack has a ripping game for Casey and is back in no time.

If Watts is dropped, and it's still an if at this stage, it will be because he hasn't been hitting enough of the KPI's that have been set for him. I would rather see him dropped and Goodwin reward others while also continuing to set the tone for what is expected when you play for the Melbourne Football Club. If Watts isn't doing this, and you could argue that he isn't, then he needs to be treated like anyone else, regardless of the 'class' he may bring to the side.

Just on Watts, He has had a bulging disc in his back the last few weeks, which has severely hampered him (as it would anyone). Hence why he isn't covering the ground as well and therefore playing like shizen.

Yeah makes sense. In other news Casey should kill it tomorrow, Watts and Fritsch leading up forward, with King and Spencer to chop out, and Frosty, Dec and Hutchins commanding down back, and at home. Look for a big win.

I have been and always will be a fan of having players forward to kick it to.

Strange that we drop our best two ball users in Watts and Salem. They must have a plan to use brute force, an all out attack very physical game,more goals from mids etc.

Just seems selection hasn't got it right this week, can't see us kicking enough goals.

If we win it will be a terrific decision by Goodwin. If we lose it'll be the worst decision ever by Goodwin Sometimes you just can't win whether you're the player or the coach.

Easy.....Gibbs to Adelaide, Lever to Melbourne....(now you fill in the gap) _________to Carlton.

Justin Plapp: Angus Brayshaw: Angus had 34 disposals, including 16 contested possessions, seven clearances, six inside 50s and five tackles. It was really pleasing to see Angus get back to his best, as it’s been well-documented that he’s had his challenges with concussion. To see him come and play, and invest himself in the game the way he did, was really exciting to see. He was the most dominant player on the ground for mine – he used his speed and was able to win two or three critical contests. He sent a big message on the weekend.

I can't believe what I am reading here. We need to win the next three games to play finals, and people would rather have Weideman in the side than Watts? Have any of you seen Weideman play, or are just looking at his draft number? The guy is an irregular contributor at VFL level, and is probably two years off being able to have an impact at AFL level. He doesn't chase, doesn't tackle, doesn't contest on the ground. His one trick is marking, and the chance of him receiving decent delivery, based on the past two weeks, is negligible. Watts, on the other hand, is the best kick at the club, and has the best football brain at the club. He is about the only player in that forward line I have any confidence in with ball in hand. Frost & Salem have both been bitterly disappointing in the past month, and it is hard to argue with their demotion. That said, we haven't replaced Frost which leads to yet another highly unbalanced team. Goodwin's selection and coaching has gotten worse as the season has progressed, and is probably our biggest issue at the moment. I hope Brayshaw plays, because at least you know he can kick properly. Not sure why Wagner is anywhere near this team - he is not AFL standard. Maynard probably gets a second game, but I don't see the point of difference that he offers in a midfield full of plodders who would rather handball than kick.

You see..this is where you really do become unstuck, you overreach and then show how "rusted on" you are. So ..I make post of an article on which i did read the executive summary. - but I never said I read all of it. My only comment was that I found it interesting. You said you didn't have the energy to read and dissect it it but go on in your next post to say to say it is an "Alarmist article". So for all your intelligence and open minded approach to this issue I'll pose a simple question. If you admit that you didn't read it how do you know it is alarmist ? You want my argument ? Here is my argument - people way smarter than me and probably you, with lots of fancy degrees in the specific area of climate have written a report to be handed to the highest power in the USA. It makes predictions ( that are rated ) and makes suggestions. This is another report that points to in a direction on the climate change debate that i find truly scary. Am a 100% certain that they are right ? Nope. But I on the balance of probabilities I think they are. There you go. I think there is extreme commentary on both sides of the debate but my main problem discussing this with you is your mind is made up as evidenced. I do read this thread but rarely post anymore for this exact reason.

Leave Brittany alone!!!