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Ben Brown runs off with Cirque de Soleil perhaps?

Best comment on the SEN post for this article: Agree, he'll move back in his media career....you know, that time when ex-players start talking to fill air time.

As promised: The Josh Schache marking file: an AFL Stats pro adventure Here are the facts: Took 8 marks All but one was uncontested His one contested mark was excellent and was taken on OMac He only had one mark after half time 3 of his marks were inside 50 - none were contested Omac was not on him for 2 of the 3 inside 50 marks Schache took The other occasion Omac was on him but could not be blamed as Tmac turned the ball over (poor kick to Vince) and Schache was gifted a goal with an easy mark running back into the goal square 5 of his marks were across the middle of the ground (wing or in the centre square), including his 1 contested mark OMac was playing well off Schache and of the 4 uncontested marks he took up around the middle of the ground was playing 10 metres in front of Omac who sagged off him and let him take the marks unopposed (as per coaching direction no doubt) So in summary Omac was beaten once in a marking contest by Schache, which was the one contested mark he took all day. The majority (five of eight) of his marks were well up the ground which no doubt our coaching staff loved seeing given he is a key forward. And none of the his 3 inside 50 marks were the fault of Oscar. Here are some of the facts about Omac's game, courtesy of AFL stats pro: 9 Contested Defence One On Ones (season average 4.1) 11 one per centers (season average 6.8) (A note on 1 percenters - they include marking contest spoils. Stats pro records a marking spoil as a spoil AND as a once percenter. Not sure why, but in the advanced stats in the match report, which is how stats pro is structured, they don't list spoils, just 1 percenters. But most 1 percenters are actually spoils, so really good stat to use to compare defenders playing similar roles. As an example of Omacs 11 1 percenters 9 were spoils) 9 spoils (season average 6.4) with 6 against Schache and 3 against Cordy who was the main dogs deep KPF in the second half Took a nice intercept mark in their goal square when he out read and out marked Schache 91.7% disposal efficiency (season average 70.4) - by the by ANB had 17 disposals at 100% which is pretty impressive So in summary, whilst you could argue with some justification he was no star it is very difficult to mount a credible argument that he was 'loose and unconvincing', particularly if that assessment was partly based on Schache getting 8 marks (by the by his other opponent, Cordy, had 2 marks for the day). Easier to argue he had his best game since Lever went out. I think it was H T who suggested there might or should be a discussion about Omac being replaced by a Keilty or Pedo (i think or perhaps he said Smith?). Apologies to H T if someone else but there is zero chance Omac gets dropped this season. Zero. Indeed as i argued at the beginning of the season it will be a long, long time before he plays another games at VFL level. Dr Cool will play 200 plus games as a key defender for the dees.

I expect to get bucketed for this but here goes! Today's papers report that WC successfully reduced the influence of Sidebottom and Pendlebury by playing taggers on them. In the game we played v Dogs, Harmes tagged McCrae with some success after half time. The best tagging job by a MFC player that I can recall, was by Bugg on Pendlebury a couple of tears ago. For some unknown reason Bugg hadn't been used in this capacity thereafter.. i regard Bugg as a capable player. Ge can get the ball and us tough. Kicking for goal is a problem but in my view he would offer more than a couple of Saturday's team if he were to play an old fashioned tagging role. And this week v Cats would be a great place to start

Nathan Jones has had a very good year, is incredibly resilient and consistent, and has plenty more to offer. https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/pg-melbourne-demons--nathan-jones He's had 2 down weeks which is very uncharacteristic and any reasonable deduction is that he's injured or sick. He was misused in a tagging role against the Hawks and look at the result. Some people don't know what they got until it's gone. He'll be back with a vengeance

That’s revisionism - at least in Martin’s case. Many were spewing when Neeld traded Martin. He was a good ruckman when he was here, the problem was that he was behind Mark Jamar in the pecking order and he couldn’t play anywhere else. There were also a few personal issues at the club that might have prevented him from staying anyway.

Yawn....

James Harmes went on to MacRae after halftime last week and shut him down. Theres your tagger. We cant afford to carry Bugg, we are trying to make finals. His skills are brutal.

Once, just once, I would like to give Geelong a gold old-fashioned belting. Since I was a kid, they have consistently belted us every few years, starting with opening round 1996, 98, from 2007-2011 (including that infamous performance...), and most recently in Roos' last game. We should have beaten them the last two times, if not for poor kicking, injuries, and poor defensive accountability. I genuinely believe Geelong is on the way down, to cushion the fall is three of the game's best midfielders, including arguably one of the best players of all time. Make no mistake though, with us on the rise and them firmly being a mid-table side, there has been no better time in the past decade to dish them a belting than now. How awesome would it be to just smash them by 10 goals on their turf? Hasn't happened in Geelong for a while. Would love to be the team to do it! I just really want to smash these overrated jerks, and at the same time shut the doubters up. This is the game we separate ourselves from the run-withs, and join the contenders group.

Hogan feeling at home in Melbourne by Ben Guthrie 31 May 2018 JESSE Hogan says he is not actively contemplating a return to Perth ahead of his contract at Melbourne expiring at the end of 2019. "I've lived here (Melbourne) for about six years now and I'd almost call it home," Hogan told AFL.com.au. "I still love going back to Perth obviously. But with each year I stay here, it's probably that little bit further away from going back to Perth."

Well that was a big load of nothing. No explanation as to why, other than Freo needing him. Stick to car raffles, Boomer.

and brayshaw had 7 clangers (highest on the day) and 0 1%ers it's easy to cherry pick stats to suit any argument

Call it leadership, guts, determination, leading by example, never say die. I get a bit bemused at reference to leadership groups, "leaders", and, opinions, even moral judgments, about a persons qualities as a leader. Leaders can comprise individuals with a range of different personality types. Team success does not determine whether an individual has been a capable leader. Military history is littered with the bodies of great leaders that fought on the losing side or who fought in a losing battle. Gallipoli comes to mind. Like many on the battlefield, Jones has been a shining beacon of virtue during the dark years. Sure, he is not as skilled as many and he has deficiencies in his game, but no-one could doubt his mental toughness, perseverance and never say die attitude. During these years, he was the only Demon that came anywhere close to being captaincy materail and when the honour was bestowed on him, it was richly deserved. When most of his teammates went missing in action each week, Jonesy was always fighting it out to the very end. He led by example, but most of teammates were incapable of stepping up to the plate. He has been an outstanding person and player over many years and deserves the respect of the club and its supporters.

Windy. Should suit our bombing. It's like a WW2 London or Dresden campaign. Somebody check the ancestry of these players. Too many RAF pilots and not enough RAAF Spitfires and Wirraways. Every player should have to go to sleep all week to the hypnotic tones of Sean Cosgrove "lower your eyes, lower your eyes. Just kick it in." Happy Gilmore style. Just tap it in. Taaaap it in.

This is what playing AFL footy until you’re 40 does to your brain.

Good healthy discussion

He deliberately pulled his kick because he looked up and saw Bulldogs all down the line. We were right behind it and saw what he saw. It was a deliberate skill error.

Why do we give any credibility to the opinions of this pumped up little rat ????

I've probably said it before (sorry, but I'm a senior) but one of his real weapons is his ability to kick with both feet. So he doesn't have to 'wheel around' on his preferred if the best/first option is to quickly kick with the non-preferred. It amazes me how many players can't kick with both feet. Jack Viney would be so much better if he could kick with his right foot. Same with Dom Tyson. Don't start me on Robbie Flower ...

It's hard having an opinion on here sometimes and probably because there are a lot of ordinary posts about. However, just because you think Jones isn't good enough anymore and state that he has always lacked vital leadership qualities, doesn't mean you're being mean-spirited. I've been on record for many years as saying Jones stood out because he played in one of the worst teams in VFL/AFL history. A good player, but not a great player. Not an A grader. And not an onfield leader. He's been a captain by necessity, because of a vacuum; it must be said not created by him, but by the horrible recruiting of CC and BP and poor development standards set by CS - yes, we've had those discussions over and over again through the years. But it seems there are some discussions we can't have around here without getting defensive. Or rather, some players or people being sacred. Nathan has always stuck by the club when he could have gone and this has often afforded him the defence of some posters on Demonland (and my respect), despite his lack of genuine A grade quality or A grade leadership ability. IMO, there have been multiple games over the years where his lack of leadership has cost us games, yet some posters refuse to admit this and instead revert to defence mode immediately. His lack of onfield leadership when the chips are down has been evident by mere body language, decision making and connectivity with his team mates for years. He seems like a really nice bloke and he has eked out every drop of himself, but if the end is coming, why can't we call it out? He's managed 250+ games and that is an incredible effort, but he's almost done. It's fine to accept that.

Think outside the box...look for up and comers on the fringe at other clubs, don't just recycle the same names. Trade our not getting a games or what we have surplus of & trade for needs... Look to trade in to the first round with a package of players.

I would keep him on the list on one condition... he comes in for grand final day and does a repeat of his Sydney game on the oppositions best player in minute 1 of the game. Glory ensues. Retirement. Lives happily ever after selling beach cushions.

Gaffs at 75% DE for the season which is very good. His 66% DE on the weekend brought his season average down a little however only a simpleton would judge his DE on one game.

Reckon the Blues will have a sniff at Buggy come years end. He wont stick around if he cant crack into the senior team.

Small forward: Tyson Stengle kicked 6 for Tigers VFL on the weekend. But there's not a heap going around. Draft might be the option here Wing: Gaff, Polec the big names. Tom Sheridan is a guy from Freo who's going ok and might be cheap and available Those 2 positions are the ones I think are the biggest needs. We simply have to add something at those spots. The wing has been patch work all year and Garlett is the only genuine small forward on the list and is nearly done. Medium backmen: Think we need to add at least one ready to play general purpose defender to take over the Vince role. This won't be popular but if gets cut from the bombers I'm actually a fan of Matty Dea Back up ruck: Hard to convince a back up to come play behind Gawn. The current guys, in particular Mitch King might be worth giving one more year to see if he improves Midfield depth: It might be keeping Tyson, getting Maynard back healthy and not bringing in ready made help but if we make some trades we'll want a mature body. The idea of trading Tyson for a top 40 pick and adding Mitch Wallis as a free agent appeals to me

There is a role for him. He's playing it at Casey.

Well documented Binman and some sensible background for this opinion-type weekly thread which I sometimes wonder if i was at the same game. On O'Mac - I'm convinced for sure about the cool and can't wait to watch a Lever/OMac defence for the next 10 years.

He’s grown a little, now 2.04 metre Peter.

I might be jumping the gun, but i would be looking for another inside mid.. I think personally Jack Vineys foot is cactus and we just simply can't trust him to get 22 games out of him anymore.. Could Mitch Wallis be an option?

Normally this is true and he's got a very accurate long kick, but boy there were some shanks on the weekend. Don't get me wrong he was fantastic for us, and he was a key part of our third term destruction of the dogs, but that one that came off the side of the boot and went out would've made Simon Godfrey himself blush! Loving seeing Gus play great footy, gives me a warm fuzzy feeling every time I see him singing the song. He's done it the hard way, and boy he deserves it.

Lol click bait at its best, no inside word just a gut feel from boomer, from memory Jesse recently said the longer he stays in Melbourne the harder it will be for him to go back home.

Completely agree RE: players developing at different rates, but Bugg has a fundamental flaw with his kicking and IMO poor decision making is very rarely corrected. If he's still making these mistakes at 25, I'm sorry, but it's not going to click for him. I can see the horizon for Harmes and ANB might get there one day, although I'm skeptical. The major thing these two guys have that Bugg doesn't, is time. They're both 22.

Make finals and players outside, will look at The MFC. How many midfielders would love to work with Max... But we simply must get to September and make a statement.

It’s great to have 2 newbies in Spargo and Fritsch that know how to use the ball. Because of that they don’t have to have a zillion possessions to impact. Spargo seems very focussed, concentrates and doesn’t go in for extravagant celebrations. Love watching Charlie and Bayley play. Great recruiting

Our team mates really need to help Frost out when it comes to his disposal. I noticed on several occasions, Frost will kick it to the player who is declaring for him to pass the ball. He doesn't anticipate or notice who is around that team mate, he will just do as asked. This is what Gawn did on the wing, lead up and declared for the ball, only to be surrounded by 3 doggie players at ground level. When the ball is in Frosts hands, his team mates should only be declaring and screaming for him to pass it if it's completely safe to do so. Otherwise point and tell him to go long to the boundary.

Oscar - (unlike 95% of his teammates) rarely misses targets and/or Oscar - kicking technique excellent (unlike 95% of his teammates) and/or Oscar - is Doctor Cool (unlike 100% of his teammates)

Can't stand that bloke. Reminds me of a younger, better looking Craig Hutchison. Smug, feigns outrage, sensationalist. can't watch anything with him on it.

Honestly we have done everything right by him, including becoming a good team and letting him play his natural game. If he leaves then so be it, it certainly won’t feel like a case of “if only we did better or did more to keep him”.

I am 100% sure Jones is a great leader in the changeroom, in the gym and during training, but he rarely imposes himself on a game. That’s the bottom line. I am sure he wants to, but it just doesn’t happen. Was he involved in the 3rd Quarter Blitz that did change the game? I don’t recall seeing him in any passages of play September is red hot

Jeez the wording in the title was really similar to the Jack Viney thread, I was worried he'd turned up on Monday complaining of a sore shoulder and being put into surgery or something! In terms of him leaving us to go back to Perth I wouldn't put any credibility on Harvey's word, he's not a former player turned reporter with his "ear to the ground" he's just giving his opinion which is based off other opinions. All reports say he's very happy in Melbourne and honestly if he didn't go back to Perth after everything that happened last year I feel like he'll be less inclined as the years go on. He also looks like he's enjoying his footy at the moment (why wouldn't you when you're hird on the Coleman medal), which to me seems a bit different from his last couple of years. Last year his head was obviously not in it, understandably so. Remember everyone said it was a foregone conclusion that Pavlich would return to Melbourne.

He's got a good tank too, does Harmes. He could make it as a tagger and winger. I've written him off before, but if he keeps working on his skills and limiting mistakes, he has enough flexibility to play 100+ games for the club.

I would look at Jayden Short. Might get squeezed out of Richmond.

PLEASE DELETE THIS VIDEO (We can't let the NFL poach another one of our players!)

Wikipedia: In Ken Piesse's The Complete Guide to Australian Football, Flower's player summary quotes Brent Crosswell "...beat Flower and you could just about retire from League Football because anything else smacked of anti-climax.

One thing is certain, this year we won’t miss finals due to %

In his under 18's days he was known to have quality leader credentials. Opportunity for him now to really grab that with both hands now Viney will miss a few weeks. Could really stamp himself in the league over these next few top sides.

Holy guacamole!!! Corey Wagner's stats look really good.

If true that doesn't negate my comments about how reliable his kicking, which is super important in a team with so many poor kicks. And he is Dr Cool. But i don't recall him getting out marked on 8 occasions by Shache. And he wasn't playing man on man on Shache either IIRC so his 8 marks are not on him entirely.I will do an AFL Pro audit and get back to you.

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2018-07-15/thanks-razor-dees-lowfive-of-gratitude#/ Anyone concerned that Brayshaw might leave should have those fears allayed by these comments: "How could you leave this team?" he said with a wide grin. "I keep talking about it, but the last two years I haven't played a lot of footy and the 10 minutes after a game is the golden 10 minutes I missed the most. "I love all my teammates and I love the place, so hopefully (my new contract) gets sorted sooner rather than later."