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Max had plenty of bandages on his leg but looked in good form. Plenty of one on one aerial drills. T Smith and Baker back in full training. Hore joined the main group after 30 odd minutes in rehab. So it was Lever, Louis, Petty and Jeff fulltime rehab. Melchum looked fit and was impressive in the one on one drills. Two Poms stood near me when the game simulation was on and they were talking amongst themselves trying to work out what game it was, how the off side rule was working, it’s like rugby but different and that the blues were trouncing the whites. When one said he was going to go to google to find out what sport it is I thought I better intervene; there is no off side, 360 degrees, you can go anywhere, the aim is to kick the ball through those tall posts over there and yes it is a full contact sport. Not sure what they made of it all. Then it was time to leave. Any questions I will try to answer.

Sounds to me like he is stating "Its a massive challenge away from home in a hostile environment".

It was a bit more than that. The procedure did involve a GA, drainage, sutures, antibiotics etc that would have made him feel pretty disgusting. It was actually a significant area that was affected. Before I get accused, I am not breaking any medical confidentiality. I actually know someone close to Max who told me and many others this last week well before the game. On going by what I was told, I was extremely surprised to see him out there at all.

'We'll help him as a team'. Well what happened on Saturday? He received absolutely no support from his midfield mates. I hope they stand up for him if (more like when) it happens again.

Oliver needs to shave his entire head and start again.

Got there early to see the rehab group come out first, Lever, Louis, Petty, Jeffy, Hore, Viney and to my dismay May! No AVB, JKH or J Smith. the main group then appeared and thankfully May joined them immediately. Viney joined the main group after about 30 minutes running and exercising with the rehab group. He looks to be moving freely and was OK in the ball drills but who knows. Saw JSmith walking around not in running gear, not limping but not doing any rehab.

Seriously the AFL needs to start basing these suspensions on the intent of the action, not the outcome. If you throw a punch that isn't something that is could reasonably an action of playing the ball (i.e. a spoil or handball) - automatic 1 or 2 week suspension. Whether it glances or makes good connection, what's the difference. A glance is only good luck away from becoming a Tom Bugg/Andrew Gaff outcome. If physical injury occurs as the result, then the minimum 1 - 2 weeks can be increased. Players and clubs hardly care about fines - they care about missing games.

With Viney was off for much of the game, it was Jones' job to defend Max and rally teammates to help. In Lewis' and May's absence it was even more critical that Jones stepped in and set the example. He didn't and reflects poorly on him. When Roos took over he had to teach Jones 'team-first' ie not just focus on his possessions, his tackles, his goals, his stats. On Saturday Jones reverted to those old behaviours of self-first. I hope being in the last year of contract Jones does not go down the self-preservation/self interest path. He is still co-captain and needs to set the example on team-first behaviours. I'm glad May is back this week, he will add some much needed leadership.

Any chance for some positivity from Melbourne supporters? How about getting behind the boys instead of acting like spoilt brats? Yes Round 1 was disappointing but the last time we played Geelong we beat them in an Elimination final. There is so much negativity going around atm from supporters it's quite ridiculous. It's round 2 FFS and we have a very important game coming up. Let's chuck the dummy out of the cot when it is Round 4 and we are 0-4.

More interested in a fresh set of feet.

Can't believe you'd play a player not 100% in the early rounds. Just baffling.

When things are quiet, Ben Guthrie is our reporter and tweeting the players are doing a bit of top up conditioning work at the end of training. He also said Viney out there with no strapping on knee but still not 100%.

Oh, how about that, there's a controversy about the MRP and in particular the inconsistencies of the underqualified AFL appointment, and whaddaya know, within a day the 'totally neutral, independent news portal' afl.com.au comes up with an article explaining to us all how we are simply mistaken in our perceptions and 'crackdown on striking including jumper punches' wasn't really a thing in the first place. Oh, and it is the umpires problem anyway, they should be awarding free kicks. Because obviously, umpires have cameras everywhere, all the time in the world to consider the case, and can easily observe every behind-the play 1/4-second jab. Unlike the match review which is in no position to adjudicate, obviously. Just another layer of stink added to the foul odour of the AFL executive culture.

It must drive you insane that goody agrees with my assessment not yours. Even more insane that he picks omac each week. And will continue to do so. How on earth is this bloke a senior coach you must think. I mean after all he continues to pick a player in a top 4 AFL team simply beca8he is tall. Truly bixxare. And to think they saw fit to extend his contract for another 3 years. You must have wept when you heard that. So look after yourself jnr. Thursday night's this season will be difficult for you. Perhaps you can see if rather than grumble on dl about omacs precence in rge side you can get an audience with goody and make your case.

Correct but we didn't and can't see how we expected to with Max out of sorts and being bashed all over the place. When we did win it our wingmen were sucked into the contest while their wingman stayed out and before long we had a turnover. It seemed the day for more defensive set-ups, especially as we are 'slow on the outside' at the best of times. More importantly, we didn't change tactics when it was obvious they weren't working. Not enough respect paid to Port by coaches or players.

I'm just shocked we actually spoke up to the AFL about something. It's about time!

It seems to me that he is stating the truth or the bleeding obvious, it will be a massive challenge to win at the Geelong fortress. Geelong after a good win, some of their match winners in form and the capacity Geelong crowd baying for blood. And lots of easy frees from the umpires who will respond to the noise. Of course, if our mob has some backbone it might work to our advantage.

Some fresh eyes and ideas certainly won't go astray

I dont think Dave Misson will be missed....

Salem may hunt Stretch but Harmes Fritsch...

Apart from the first 15 minutes, there was SFA to cheer about. I reckon most were gob-smacked with how unfit our entire team is. Then there’s the OMAC and Frost debacle, Viney and Gawn’s very poor form, followed by the worst dropped mark in AFL history. Any cheering last Saturday should’ve only been ironic. Seriously, what did we do for 6 months? Coaches and playing group must have listened to all the press and didn’t think training intensity to be that important? I hope Goody plucked his head out of the sand long enough to send an absolute rocket up the playing group. Whose fight, our fight? On Saturday’s performance it was like a toddler up against an MMA fighter. There bloody well better be a response from the playing group this Saturday night. Stick Petracca on Jenny Craig and a treadmill, feed the rest concrete so they can all harden the phark up

He has a name: Esava Ratugolea

Hard to get excited with that dross. Watching us miss easy marks, get left flat footed, kick to opposition defenders time and again? Not score for a whole quarter? perhaps if they gave us even the remotest thing to cheer....

People in shock.....are often quiet

It was described as a cyst or a boil on TV tonight. Was also mentioned that he was under general anaesthetic for the procedure to remove it. Potentially far more serious than some of the flippant comments in this thread suggest. If true, it wouldn't surprise me at all if it impacted his preparation or his performance.

If you are in hospital, your condition isn’t “mild”. If you are in hospital then play footy a few days, you are not 100% at your best.

I’m sure people will tell me to shut up because I keep banging on about the same thing every time our lack of leg speed is bought up but as long as people keep bringing it up I will put my 2 cents in. I believe speed in AFL is completely overrated, the fastest way you can play football is by quick ball movement. Clean disposal by foot & quick chains of handballs. Our lack of speed is bought up every single time we have a bad loss or loss for that matter, we have been beaten in those games because we have not been aloud to play our style of football. Look at the total possession count from the weekend, we couldn’t get the footy off Port. I’d have a guess if you look at most of our “bad” losses over the past 2 years it would be we have been well beaten in the possession count, we just couldn’t get the ball of Port & control the game in any way. Another point on the speed factor, take frost or hunt for example. They take off a million miles an hour, burst away, kick long & turn it over, that footy is sling shot back inside our defence 50 by FOOT, not legs, I repeat GOOD foot skills not speed before Frost or Hunt could even turn around to defend. Agree we are not the fastest side in the comp, but we are playing football not racing a 100m sprint. Good ball use particularly by foot is what makes sides fast.

Most likely an infected cyst that they probably hoped would clear up with antibiotics but needed surgery at the last minute. Mid season with Preuss in good form in the 2's you'd either play both or rest Max entirely. Just bad timing that it happened in round 1. Max didn't play well but we still did very well at centre bounces and we should be good enough to move the ball around the ground without the safety net of the long bomb to Max. The off ball umpires should cop an absolute hiding in their reviews for missing copious blocks and holds miles from play from the first bounce and throughout the game. I actually like when a team targets a player but they should be copping free kicks for some of the stuff they did. You can't tackle a guy 100m from the play.

like how he had O'Meara up for the final ? or how half their backline has been missing for ages ? I think the clubs with more mature players over the years give us a biased assessment of fitness staff like they are miracle workers. Wingard playing is hardly a miracle, and Scully has yet to perform at AFL level again. so we will see. same with Mitchell.

Dear Geelong Cats, If you do beat us this week, can you please have the game wrapped up before the siren this time around. Best regards, MFC supporter.

This is quite possibly correct. Viney hasn't played 100 games yet. Gawn just played his 100th game. Frost has played 70, OMac 63. That's the point I'm making: our key players aren't in the same age/experience bracket as Port's (or most other good sides'). You're not wrong about the actual experienced players being poor though (Jones and Jetta were terrible, Hibberd did a lot of good things but his kicking was atrocious). But we weren't looking to Jones and Jetta to drive any improvement, we were looking to Oliver, Brayshaw, Viney, Gawn, Salem, Harmes and Petracca and, of those, Gawn is the only 100-game player (with the weekend being the 100th game). Our 2018 shows that this isn't the be all and end all. These players, despite their age/inexperience, can get the job done. But I believe it is important for us to keep our list demographic at the forefront of our minds when we look at performances such as this one.

Sounds like KK and May are both in. expect a fired up Dees outfit on Sat night

They will have had nine months to find a replacement so I would hope they find a good one.

Off the ball blocking.

interesting comment on AVB Goodwin: Aaron vandenBerg is progressing nicely, but his foot is something he will need to manage throughout his career. Perhaps all is not lost

Completely irrelevant in isolation. We were terrible against Collingwood in round 23 2017 and similarly inconsistent and poor against Geelong in round 1 last year but no one made the connection. If you want to talk about trends then fine but seasons should be treated in isolation. Besides, we were x10000 worse in the Prelim. We were within a goal on Saturday at the 12 minute mark of the last quarter. Like I know people are trying to justify their irrational angst, but comparing two games, 6 months apart, in two different seasons is just silly.

So often, Frost realises that he is the only defender and the clearance is 'up to him, and him alone. He is seldom 'backed-up', he is a hunter in the desert of defensive support. Who wouldn't panic, at times?

Personally, I wouldn’t omit Hunt. To me it looked like Hunt was designated a negating role on Motlop in the back half and did well in that regard. I could be wrong, but he went to Motlop numerous times whereas our other defenders seemed to be chasing the nearest Port forward. We all long for Hunt to show the dash of 2016-17 but maybe he was instructed to play a defensive role last Saturday.

This is what you get for putting an ex- Filth player in charge. Mark Jacko Jackson would be a better choice.

The first sentence is blasphemy!! As for the second - you could have a thread on anything and he'll do a best 22. Jaguar is our new sponsor, so who are the next best 22 we could have as a sponsor? No runners anymore? What are the best 22 ways we can send messages out during a game? It could do on forever.

They don't work on Clinical Anxiety, nothing does except Cam McCarthy kicking 5.

I know it's not really the thread for it, but I'll be interested to see what Goodwin decides to do once Lever is ready to return. Last year, when we had Lever, Frost and O Mac available, we only played Lever and Oscar around a mixture of Hibberd, Jetta, Salem, Lewis and Vince. Frost was fully fit, yet he was stuck at Casey. There is a big part of me that thinks we may do the same again and just got with May and Lever as our key backs (May to take the best forward, Lever the next best) with guys like Hibberd and Jetta to potentially take the third tall and their best small forward. It worked pretty well for us last year. That's just my take, though. That could easily change, but past selection hints otherwise.

He might be worse at this than he was as a Channel 10 commentator, and he was a garbage commentator.

We received a reality check in last years prelim... How many reality checks do we need? I thought we would win too but looking at it dispassionately the writing was on the wall...we went in with no form. We were kidding ourselves and so were the tipsters. Then add Max's story to the mix then yeah the loss was there to be had.

They had every right to be. At the game we thought we couldn't believe the performance we were seeing and although engrossed in the game spent the time discussing whats going wrong rather than mindless cheering

If only we traded in another ruckman to cover for Max under such circumstances...

Why didn’t he take the bandage off and rub himself against Jonas, Lycett and Ryder???? cue BBO

Then why was he played?