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Beautiful morning for training. They appear to not be getting ahead of themselves. Quietly going about their warm-ups. Rehab had Jack Viney, Joel Smith, Jayden Hunt and Oskar Baker. Unlikely any of them are ready for the weekend. The test group included Aaron vandenBerg and Christian Salem, all joined the main group later. The players using their voices to encourage, instruct and call for the ball during drills and contests. The coaches encouraged direct football, "not sideways, go straight towards goal ". Also instructing them to create more space at stoppages, "make a larger circle" around the ball. The backs continue to have Cam Pedersen and Josh Wagner. They practiced plenty of punches and spoils, as well as defensive crumbing. The forwards working hard on goal kicking. The mids had Jay Kennedy-Harris and Charlie Spargo working hard in match ups. They had them 30 meters from throw in, so as to encourage positioning and match ups as they ran to where the contest would be. The simulations used the entire field and all the squad on at one time. Usually it was 2/3rds of the field and a 1/3rd of players rotate off. Seemed direct football was also the style of play. Unfortunately their were plenty of errors, though it was congested play with some hard tackles being made. They all wanted to win and compete. Josh Wagner (looking fit and strong), Tim Smith and Tom Bugg had steady session. A few are carrying niggles, as expected this time of year. Tom McDonald getting work on hip, Clayton Oliver foot and lower back, Christian Salem groin. They will be looking forward to a week off. I didn’t notice Pat McKenna out there. Dean Kent doing lots of goal kicking practice at the end of training. A shortish training session, they seemed serious and with purpose. Bernie Vince and Jake Lever on the track helping with drills and advice. Plenty of supporters around the track today. The staff were up and about, lots of happiness amongst them.

Warning THIS IS A RANT. I have never been to a final before. My husband (hawks) has been to a zillion finals plus 4 grand finals. You know what he said when I told him I would be road tripping it to Sydney if we end up having to play there? "You aren't single anymore, you have a family & kids to look after. Plus your team is not the only team in the finals (i.e. if you go to Sydney I have to stay home & MIND MY OWN CHILDREN & hence will miss out on seeing my team play finals". My response "ok ok, we will cross that bridge if it comes to it, stomped out the room & yelled BUT I AM GOING & YOU CAN'T STOP ME....!!! Bloody selfish poos & wees supporting husband..... Rant over. Thanks for listening my fellow demons :-)

Nothing says “no change” like that ins list.

I took my two little boys down to training today So impressed with how friendly and accommodating all of the players were after training. Happy to say hi and chat, sign autographs, take photos - such legends! ?

You are right Deeoldfart, very difficult to assess what you ask. The training is for a 1 1/2 to 2 hr period. So much must go on behind closed doors. Often it is the coaches inputs that give me a hint as to what the teams focus is. They influence the intensity. The trainings purpose is probably dictated by game reviews and strategies. At the moment, defense and goal kicking seems to be the focus. Last week it was getting the basics right and 20 to 30 meter kicks. It is all guess work though. The performance on training field is variable and doesn't seem associated with anything in particular. Though after a win they are more joyful and relaxed. After a loss it seems a little heavy. All as we would expect, given human nature. Sometimes I see players being tested for a role or team inclusion but again, alot is up to interpretation. The quality of training seems independent of anything. It is all a bit warm and fuzzy to say definitively what the cause and effect is, (so subjective). Though there are times when they are switched on but whether that is associated with a good performance in the next game, I am unsure. The general quality of the past 5 weeks seems to be "steady as she goes".

The fact that we have signed Austin Bradtke, 17, 205cm tall as a Category B Rookie means that at least one or both of Filipovic and King will most likely not be retained. While both of them are young and it takes time for ruckmen to develop, I think the club needs to bite the bullet and go for a player who would be able to fill Max's shoes if he gets injured in the future. Bradtke would assume the role of development ruckman and others such as Tom McD and Sam Weideman can play the role of forward/ruckmen to help out. I think that's about all a club can carry given there is no VFL development league these days.

IMHO there is so much wrong with the proposal to "sell Jessie". Why would you discard a player who opposition coaches think so highly of they always double team against him? And that's despite the fact that we crucify Jessie every time we bomb it in long. He is not a pack mark but he is fast and if we lowered our eyes and learnt to hit our targets he'd get more confidence in leading. Buddy is not a pack mark either - in fact he would have dropped more marks than Clarry has had handballs - but the swans are always lowering their eyes to his leads. Why would you throw away an established key forward who is your leading goal kicker, and near top goal assist player, for a first round pick that may or may not pay off a couple of years down the track? Does not make any sense. We are now on the threshold of becoming a great team (for many years i believe) and that is being built around the young talent we have, so why would you break up that talent? Jessie was the first of this young group and the key man around who we built our talent pool. The team culture we have built to date with this lot would be destroyed if we were to sell Jessie. Weiderman may or may not become a good player. Jessie is a very good player now. Do we need another mid so badly that we'd take this risk? I don't think so! Our mids are good and will only get better, as will Jessie as we mature as a team and feed him properly. Sell Jessie? FFS give me a break!

It is never on the rails Dof.

You can put that miraculous turnaround down to the amazing feats of the MFC Team Manager at the time, a genius of a man. Oh, wait a minute, that was me.

Hibbo is good to go. Moving well, plenty of voice, was matching up against some of our taller players and reliable disposals.

This is compelling viewing imo: On The Mark: Neville Jetta Neville is an outstanding young man! We all know him as 'rock' in our defence, but this is more than matched by the snippets we learn about his 'journey', his family and the work he does away from the limelight of the AFL. Extremely well spoken, with a sense of humor that I hadn't seen before. Brilliant!

I just don’t understand why a Melbourne supporter would go so far out of their way to attempt to rain on our own parade with this first level rubbish.

Well you've reached the key talking point for the next two weeks after this Sundays game. Is Viney's return an obvious selection given the teams chemistry at the moment? Main pro and con in my opinion: Pro: He is a competitive beast made for finals intensity and physicality. As noted by others the team would generally get more confidence/insperation on the day with Jack putting his 100% into every contest. Con: From what we've seen so far he only really plays inside mid or as a close tag. The worry is that Brayshaw and Clayton are our key ball winners at the moment around the contest and doing it brilliantly. When Viney came back in earlier in the year he and Oliver were literally bumping heads at contests trying to win the ball. They did eventually build some chemistry and system but then Viney got injured again. I think he will come back in regardless of what we discuss on here. I hope they can build a rotation where he rests on the wings when Oliver is in the middle or rotates a tag with Harmes.

Why would you bring Bugg in when we just beat West Coast in Perth with Spargo playing? Don’t mess with a team that is well balanced.

This forum needs Thumbs Down emoji functionality ?

The squad is in: Melbourne squad: round 23 B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis HB: Christian Salem, Sam Frost, Michael Hibberd ? Angus Brayshaw, Clayton Oliver, James Harmes HF: Jake Melksham, Tom McDonald, Aaron vandenBerg F: Bayley Fritsch, Sam Weideman, Alex Neal-Bullen Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Christian Petracca I/C (from): Charlie Spargo, Dom Tyson, Dean Kent, Mitch Hannan, Cameron Pedersen, Jay Kennedy Harris, Tomas Bugg, Josh Wagner In: Pedersen, Kennedy Harris, Bugg, Wagner Out: - No change I think...everyone did their job last week and deserve to stay in the starting 22. So i/c: Charlie Spargo, Dom Tyson, Dean Kent, Mitch Hannan

You've been around long enough to know that we at Demonland are robots who automatically react to every attempt at humour by merging it with another thread involving the person in question being ridiculed so that it gets buried never to be seen again.

What a fantastic win against West Coast - the club showed tremendous mental strength after a week of solid bashing in the media to beat the team 2nd on ladder and at their hostile home ground. I recommend a close listen to Simon Goodwin's press conference. He always makes a lot of sense if you listen carefully. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2018-08-19/rd-22-simon-goodwin-media-conference "[Our supporters] have got a team they can really support" There is a whole new generation at the club and they are only responsible for what happens on their watch, not what happened 10, 20 or 50 years ago. This new generation has been unfairly carrying the burden of lack of success over the ages. They are only responsible for their own creation - and yes there have been failures e.g. 2017 R23, but there's been progress too - a lot more progress than failure. We're a young team learning the hard lessons the hard way. Losing culture is just in supporters minds - nowhere else. The club name is the same, the colours are the same, the supporters are the same - but the team is new. The biggest risk is supporters who have experienced disappointment over many years putting their own burden of poisonous negativity onto this group - you don't have to look far to find that here. We supporters need to show some mental strength and not jump off at the first sign of a speed bump. I want to appeal to all Melbourne supporters to really get behind this team through thick and thin. I'm very confident we're coming into a golden era for the club.

my view is simply that the standard of umpiring is below what i expect of such a professional sport and needs improvements it's not all the umpires fault per se, but the whole system from the afl's rules administration, the afl's week to week interference with umpiring, the umpiring dept administration and the fact we have part time umpires in a full-time professional multi billion dollar industry we can do better and we should always strive to do better, it's not that hard to understand

C.Judd = a Bunnings item. Absolute tool.

Almost positive that Hogan played CHF his underage All-oz year but was NAMED at CHB...in much the same way that one year Pavlich played forward all year but was named at FB He’s a natural CHF, roaming up and down the ground, using his endurance to best effect

I think that is true, but we have tended to wave away all criticism from sane sources because of the extremism of a few posters that I literally don’t see anymore (ignored). The beauty is in the grey and Goodwin is a smart and talented footy person with good relationship building skills. He has struggled maturing a team whose expectations jumped because of the level of talent that has been flooded into the club and the way the players have embraced the contested footy and aggressive ball movement. If we had split the games we lost by less than 10 points. We would be 15 and 6 looking at being a win away from a home prelim... I didn’t expect that in year two of Goodwin. And I also didn’t expect that Hawthorn result and said as much at the time...

Watch this space - We'll beat GWS, then knock the Cats out of the finals in triumphant fashion. Third time lucky sort of a deal. ...and it will be so sweet.

I have it on first hand knowledge that it was a disagreement about the principles of Hegelian philosophy.The sticking point was something to do with rationalism vs absolute idealism and they eventually came to blows overs the concept of sublation.They'd been at it all day and eventually the Frenchman cracked it because Nev had refuted his point using a solipsism.

At this point I've got us playing Geelong in an elimination final, Hawthorn in a semi, and the Pies in a prelim. It won't be easy!

Who knows what happened. One thing is certain, Jetta is a gun who took Le Cras to the cleaners and Le Cras is a whinging biatch.

It feels like we've barely played GWS of late. We played them in Round 1 2016, then once last year, and now Round 23 this year. So that's once in nearly three full seasons. In the same period (i.e. from Round 2 2016 until now) GWS has played Sydney seven times. Not particularly relevant/important, but just another of those AFL fixturing quirks.

His wife secretly filmed it without knowing.. So bloody good!

THE STYLE GUIDE by Whispering Jack The graphic shown this week during a segment of “On the Couch” laid out some extraordinary statistics about the Melbourne Football Club’s season to date. The numbers read as follows:- • Contested possessions differential – #2 • Pressure – #2 • Points for – #1 • Points against – #9 • Points from turnovers differential – #2 • Points from clearances differential – #2 • Inside 50 differential – #1 • Time in forward half – #1 • Forward half intercepts – #1 • Points from forward half chains – #1 This was a selection of the numbers available and is by no means all inclusive about the story of the team’s style this year. They tell the story of a team that’s willing to take games on and that plays an exciting, attacking brand of football but, while the both the style of game and the actual figures are impressive, until last Sunday, they raised a question mark about why this team was desperately fighting for its life as a 2018 finalist, rather than sitting comfortably in the upper echelons of the competition preparing for qualifying finals in the coming weeks. The question was answered partially by Age writer Michael Gleeson before that game in The questions the Demons need to answer where he wrote about the alternate AFL ladder:– “It is the ladder that says what would happen if the team that lost the close games won them instead. So what would happen this year if the teams that lost games by 10 points or less won them? “The answer? Melbourne would be two games clear on top of the ladder.” Gleeson also alluded to the positive statistics such as the Demons’ #1 ranking in the competition for contested possessions but raised the spectre of its then inability to beat a top eight side and pointed to a wide gulf between its performances against top and bottom half teams. The answer according to Gleeson was that the team’s inability to stop the ball going the way of the opposition when it attacks. “Actually, the point is that Melbourne don’t defend.” That was part of the answer but it needed empirical proof and that came by means of the way that Melbourne finished off the game against the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium on Sunday. In those final ten minutes, after their game-long lead had evaporated before their eyes and their season was on the line, they defended stoutly and showed they had learned the lesson of their soul-destroying loss on enemy territory a month earlier against Geelong. And they did it with the style that should hold them in good stead in the weeks to come. THE GAME Melbourne v GWS Giants at the MCG, Sunday 26 August, 2018 at 3.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall – GWS Giants 5 wins, Melbourne 5 wins At The MCG – Melbourne 3 wins, GWS Giants 1 win Past five meetings – Melbourne 2 wins, GWS Giants 3 wins The Coaches – Cameron 1 win Goodwin 0 wins THE MEDIA TV - Channel 7, Fox Sports 3, Live at 3.00pm RADIO - Triple M 3AW ABC ABC Grandstand THE LAST TIME THEY MET GWS Giants 14.13.97 defeated Melbourne 10.2.62 at UNSW Canberra Oval, Round #, 2017 The Demons suffered their second consecutive loss and dropped out of the top eight after they were thumped by the Giants in Canberra. Things started well enough with the opening three goals against the wind but GWS rolled into gear with the next eight goals and by the first break it was all but over. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis HB: Christian Salem, Sam Frost, Michael Hibberd ? Angus Brayshaw, Clayton Oliver, James Harmes HF: Jake Melksham, Tom McDonald, Aaron vandenBerg F: Bayley Fritsch, Sam Weideman, Alex Neal-Bullen Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Christian Petracca I/C: Mitch Hannan, Dean Kent, Charlie Spargo, Dom Tyson Emg: Tomas Bugg, Jay Kennedy Harris, Cameron Pedersen, Josh Wagner No change GWS GIANTS B: Jeremy Finlayson, Phil Davis, Adam Tomlinson B: Adam Kennedy, Nick Haynes, Harry Perryman ? Lachie Whitfield, Callan Ward, Jacob Hopper F: Sam Reid, Jeremy Cameron, Aiden Bonar F: Zac Langdon, Harry Himmelberg, Josh Kelly Foll: Rory Lobb, Stephen Coniglio, Dylan Shiel I/C: Matt Buntine, Lachlan Keeffe, Daniel Lloyd, Tim Taranto Emg: Dylan Buckley, Isaac Cumming, Brent Daniels, Zac Williams In: Josh Kelly, Sam Reid Out: Brent Daniels (omitted), Ryan Griffen (hamstring) It was the Jake Lever injury that sent Melbourne’s 2018 season into a month-long tailspin and three consecutive defeats in mid-season and which ultimately set the scene for the team’s revival that led to the securing of a berth in the finals. The Lever departure required some tinkering with the defensive line up with which the selectors grappled, struggled and finally got right. There were other elements that required attention, small kinks here and there but despite the pain of the last gasp defeat by Geelong and the confused mess of the Swans game, the 17-point victory over West Coast last weekend, proved they were worthy of participating in the finals after an absence of twelve long years. The irony is that Melbourne’s tough run leading into the finals with three matches on end against three fellow finalists is going to hold it in good stead in September. As far as I’m concerned, coming up against Sydney, West Coast and the GWS Giants represents a perfect preparation, immeasurably better than say, the Cats, who were given the task of playing against witches’ hats on their own home turf in the finals lead up. For the Demons, the game against GWS presents a perfect opportunity to tune up against quality opposition without in any way releasing the pressure valve. Aside from the remote chance of making it back into the top four should the Pies stagger against the Dockers, there’s a home final at stake (although Melbourne seems to play just as well away from home these days). Thankfully, the failure of Port Adelaide and North Melbourne to stitch up opposition teams in recent games, has allowed the Demon faithful some temporary respite for their fraying nerves knowing their team will definitely be featuring in next month’s action. They will no doubt recall the humiliation of their team’s encounter with the Giants in the national capital last year when, after kicking the first three goals against the wind, it conceded an unanswered 8 goals 6 behinds before quarter time to be well and truly blown off the park. The carnage in Canberra this week pales into insignificance against that dark day. The star for GWS was Josh Kelly who returns for them this week to make for a fascinating battle of the midfields. We know how strong the Demons are in this area with their young guns and iron man Nathan Jones. They will have the support of All Australian big man Max Gawn who should match up very favourably against Rory Lobb in the ruck contests but the Giants are the highest-ranked clearance team in the AFL. Ultimately, I believe the Demons will triumph because of their forward line strength (they are the highest-ranked team for scoring, inside 50s and marks inside 50), the defence has at long last settled with Oscar McDonald and Sam Frost solid, and the visitors have the deeper injury list. That’s enough for me to tip Melbourne to win an epic encounter at the MCG by 5 points.

This is a question of curiosity. Why are so many prepared to put the player...before the club ?? Thats not to disrespect or dismiss the worth of anyone...but clubs win games/win premierships.. So says the great North Smith..and he knew a thing or two. Maybe we listen to his words a bit more and the curse might lift ?? Im not the only one here suggesting a balanced reappraisal of his worth/position to Melb is warranted. These are professional footballers who whilst playing for a jumper are actually incredibly well remunerated. He was brought in as the classic messiah /silver bullet type draft. Getting him will fix everything. He's but one player. At times very good, at others woeful in attitude. There may well be reasons for that but just like fitness..you cross that line you better be focused....or go sort life out. Thats not said in nastiness...just maybe what some need to do..Other players have. He struggles against better sides.. Arguably isnt helped by some coaching/selection but what is..is. If he get nullified in games where his real footy ability would be real handy..what value that ?? Im not opposed to playing him down back @binman will recall we discussed this exact notion in other thread only to be howled down by those ...you know...know it alls!! I dont think he's ideal as a mid either...smart yes...slow to react at times.. that burns play. Hes a very talented footballer...i just dont know what his position is now at Melbourne. Too many better coaches have figured him out. Ours needs to too and quickly .

There is no better news breaker after the event than Ethan. He is a Giant among his peers.

Jesse Hogan will consider his future at some stage. #ETthetradewhisperer.

Does this thread mean we can 'take the lid off' now!?

Can we trade all the "supporters" who constantly bag him throughout games where I sit at the G instead?

The Coach and the Players. The Team Managing was sensational.

Hard enough these days for a team to carry one ruck let alone two. Anybody remotely good would be looking for a number 1 spot or at the very least a club where you had a chance of challenging for number 1. Good example is North with Goldstein slowing down. As earlier posters have mentioned we need to pick a couple of KPP's and teach them ruck skills and rely upon those people as back ups. If they are in the best 22 all the better but perhaps they could be at VFL level on the cusp. Weideman is an obvious candidate but he will not stay post 2019 unless he sees a future.

This comment reminded me of the setup at the stoppage in the backline last Sunday that ended in the goal that put us back in front. Max tapped the ball down in Jonesy's direction, who was boundary side of the stoppage. In a circle and goal-side, pretty much on their own, were Salem, Tyson & Gus. The ball fell at Jonesy's foot. He controlled the ball with his foot, before scooping it up and dishing off a hand ball to (I think) Tyson, who hand-balled to Salem. While this was happening, Gus had sprinted forward, to take a contested mark of Salem's kick. Then, a kick down the line to Fritsch, another down the line in front of Hannan, who landed the ball into the arms of Melksham as he sprinted into an open goal. A true thing of beauty, the entire play -- from stoppage on the back flank to goal, and the lead! And, it all started with that perfect setup at the stoppage with our ring of players perfectly set up to receive and clear the ball. So, certainly hope to see it replicated on numerous occasions over the next few weeks!

Currently on St.Kilda's rookie list is Rowan Marshall. 201cm 100kg 23 and this kid seriously can play. Great mark and has the body to ruck already. If there is any chance to get him, I would throw the kitchen sink and the rest of the kitchen, but I suspect the Saints will lock him in for a very, very long time.

Those asking to trade Jesse better not be the ones in the next few years who get stuck in to a player for lack of loyalty if they don't sign a contract. We can't be so blase in just wanting to ship a player off and then cry foul when another doesn't want to sign. It works both ways.

In case of an emergency, call @000

"In those final ten minutes, after their game-long lead had evaporated before their eyes and their season was on the line, they defended stoutly and showed they had learned the lesson of their soul-destroying loss on enemy territory a month earlier against Geelong. " Mr D'Land I think they learned more from the lessons against Sydney than they did against Geelong....ball control, composure, tempo. Much better on the weekend.

Current value as a KPF who has suffered a season-ending navicular injury? Just think about the perception of that in the marketplace: suffers navicular injury, then quickly put up for trade... I think his value on the market has never been lower. Most clubs would be wary of offering too much.

I’m single. Wear for comfort rather than for someone else ?

I don't necessarily disagree with what you're saying. But I also accept that success doesn't happen overnight, it is a journey and there will be hiccups on the way. When those hiccups happen it is ok to be disappointed but to me it's disheartening when, for example, supporters start calling for a second year coaches head instead of acknowledging he is on a journey too and has done a pretty decent job to date.

I've felt similar. Richmond, Hawthorn, Geelong and Collingwood are tough propositions at the G. I think Geelong is the "easiest" to beat of the lot and we didn't get three job done either time. GWS is scary in its quality but with some injuries and their lack of history in finals they could go either way. Still not an easy prospect. WCE and Sydney are probably the flakiest of the other 7 finalists. But even then on their day are very strong. WCE probably has the better talent but might struggle with injuries and suspensions. Sydney have the mental strength to do anything. I do think we're the wild card though. Could go out easily. But also coud catch others off guard. I honestly think draw and venue's will play a large role in the finals. Unfortunately we've played our best football away from the G, but there's where we'll likely play. Perhaps the best outcome could be Geelong at the G, Sydney in Sydney then WCE in Perth? Although a MFC v CFC prelim at the G would be a thriller!

As long as no-one leaves the cake out in the rain. I don't think that I could take it.

Lecras was saying that all constructs are fabrications of man. Nothing exists unless you believe in it. For example, in order to feel pain, it is necessary to first believe in the existence of pain. Nev was putting the theory to the test. It's always difficult to cope with your world view being turned upside down

You have to be kidding. People jump off on a weekly basis, that’s why there’s a “is Goodwin the right man for the job” thread still on the front page of this forum. That is a classic example of lightning a bunsen burner under the coach’s arse for absolutely no good reason.

Jesse has no problem with a hard ball. What I'd like to see him eradicate completely is him appealing to umpires while the ball is still live.