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Oh goody. A thread to shitcan Carlton to detract from our own abysmal situation. Carry on.

Love this kid. Three games in and he already looks the goods. Dont forget to smash that Like button if you agree.

I’m an unabashed Weideman fan. Instead of concentrating on the missed shot at goal I’m concentrating on the fact that a 21yo key forward was able to take a contested pack mark against strong opposition in the dying moments of a knife edge game. Yeh, he missed the shot. I could go back over the years and show you every great player missing from dead in front. What a shocking moment for the kid and what a great learning experience. Bounce back Sam, you’ve a great opportunity in front of you to become a really good player and I for one am right behind you.

He is rivaling Barry Prendergast as the most inept recruiter in history.

Not a contest for me Essendrug win by the length of the straight.

Weideman actually had a decent game despite his two misses. He is the least of our problems and I was heartened to see his performance early where he was clunking some marks and getting to where the ball was.

The TMac thing is just baffling to me. I just don’t understand what’s happened. The “gets the best defender every week” argument doesn’t come close to explaining it. I know Hogan was in the side last year but TMac kicked 50 goals last year; mediocre forwards don’t do that. He would have been attracting pretty handy defenders last year too. The gap between quality of this year and last is so wide I can only assume it’s due to something invisible to us on the outer, either injury or something psychological. I just hope whatever it is gets resolved before next season and he comes good again.

All State and federal governments are concerned about is increasing female participation numbers or look like they are trying to do this. Even the Victory announcement was for their Womens team and academy. We need to expand our club, the facility needs to include Male and female Football, you need to get the Vixens on board and another group, North was the Hub, Pies I think was VIS and the community running/walking hub for the yarra, Richmond has received funds for the Bashar Hawli Academy, Hawthorn is looking at their facility to have high performance Basketball and Netball. It is almost turning the clock back 30 years to the old Sports Club model, we started this with Team Melbourne, great concept just didn't gain any real momentum. Join forces with the Vixens look at the land near the State Netball and Hockey centre, there is already Football Ovals there between the centre and the Childrens Hospital, think outside the box with something that can tie into the Children and Women Hospital maybe a secondary rehab center that caters for out patients. Look at a Ronald Mcdonald house as an extension of the facility. You need something that will not only benefit the MFC but the broader community

Thank God they are some level heads around here. I've been stunned by the negative feedback on Weidermans game... He presented well, was our best key forward option all night, kicked a goal, made a contest whenever it when his way and took 4 contested marks along with that. Sure he missed the last shot but aside from that it was good, what the hell do people expect from a 20 odd game key forward? I would have said weiderman playing the way he did was one of the positives to take out of is the game.

The jungle drums are beating of the prospect that Bolton might get the chop. While i have always felt that Bolton was the right man for the job coming from the Hawthorn environment, i am bewildered that the blow torch is not on their list manager SOS. Right now they would be laughing with pick 1 in their pockets sewn up, but traded it during the draft period to adelaide who currently have pick 1 now. Over the years SOS hes brought in VFL standard players to fill in list position. The names of Jarrod Pickett, Rhys Palmer, Alex Fasolo, Cam O' Shea, liam Sumner, Aaron Mullett, Andrew Phillips, Tom Bugg, Matt Shaw, Daniel Gorringe, Sam Kerridge, Billy Smedts, Kristian Jacksh, Hugh Goddard and Matt Kennedy are just some of the names that he has stockpiled with and that have been unsuccessful. With those names that he has bought in surely he has to come under the microscope?

We should take them over. They have some good kids, a good trading ground and club facilities. Just pander to the Carltonites for five years by using the jumper every now and then. we will pick up 10% of their supporters and have a great facility in inner Melbourne. It would be way cheaper than all the hair brain schemes suggested to give us a home.

Perhaps also the most difficult game to officiate out of any professional sport. And the AFL should do something about that. It should start be reducing the number of rules where umpires have to make judgement calls. For example, why require an umpire to decide whether a ball is juggled over a boundary or goal line before deciding whether to pay a mark? Why not just say if the player touches the ball prior to the ball being over the line and completes the mark whether the ball is juggled or not, the mark gets paid. The deliberate out of bounds rule is also too subjective. The reasoning is sound but the execution is too difficult. Change it to something that is less subjective. For example, could the rule be changed so that a free kick is always paid if the ball only bounces once inside the line? In other words, "out on the full" would be become "out on the full or only one bounce". Rather than spending its time in denial about umpiring and virtually never admitting the umpires make mistakes, the AFL would help everyone if they made the job of umpiring significantly easier.

I suspected there would have to be at least one fool suggest Frost be dropped. If Frost were to be dropped, which won’t happen by the way, there would never have been a player dropped previously that has come off such a solid bank of games. Last night he soundly beat Tex Walker, a 400 career goal kicker, and you want him dropped. WTF.

Did he keep those ‘fresh ideas’ under lock and key whilst he was at Carlton?

Don't laugh but watching Oscar reminds me very much of a young Brendan Goddard. He is tall, balanced, quick and can kick the ball and hit a target. I remind the group that he was part of the Brisbane academy so they obviously saw something in him. His drop from there coincided with his mom's illness, so maybe it wasn't ability that saw a dip in his form. He may be the best pick up in recent times

I loved weeds game, he is going to be a huge part of our club for years to come. Disregard the depressing masses here who can't see the forest for the trees. It's misguided to focus on that last kick so much - it was a team effort to let the crows back in and get us to that point. As I said earlier, weeds has had an enormous burden bestowed upon him with Jesse leaving and that kind of pressure for a 21 year old with bugger all games under his belt is incredible. A kind of pressure that few here could even relate to. Yes, its a disappointing effort that last kick, but these are the sort of experiences that make a young key forward in the long run. He will be better for the experience and since the season has been over for weeks already, why don't we stop focusing on results that don't matter and start focusing on the improvements and positives in what has become a year for further development.

Have you seen who we're putting on the park? We're not a strong club, not on the field anyway. I find this whole discussion ... well, absurd is probably a safe bet. It's as if you can just throw a VFL-level team out there and when they lose you're "making excuses". You take out your entire first-call back line, you're more likely to lose than win. You play a bunch of 20-gamers in your forward line, you're more likely to lose than win. Not rocket science.

He played 100 times better than he did the week before. I thought his game was a positive. Anyway the guy is 19, barely out of nappies. He’s such a long way off being the finished product that declarations of being a wasted selection or having no AFL traits are nothing short of outrageous. Give him a bloody break.

Jesus. Viney finally starting to find some form. Last game he looked fitter and able to do more and last night I thought he was one of our best.

Max is currently 3rd in the Age player of the year and equal 12th in the AFLCA Award. He has possibly polled Brownlow votes in 5 games between rounds 4 and 11. I'd think he would poll against Sydney, Hawthorn, West Coast, GWS and Adelaide. We only won two of those games so 3's might be thin on the ground. He's got career best disposals averages in 2019 and his influence on games is pretty obvious to all except the Herald Sun footy writers who couldn't even find a vote for him on Saturday night when he was either best or second best on the ground with Crouch from Adelaide. I think the $67 on offer from sportsbet is too juicy to refuse. If he continues with this form and we win 6 or so games in the second half of the season I think he's a huge chance. He certainly has nobody taking votes from this year like Brayshaw and Oliver did last season. He'd have to be back in AA calculations as well, given they picked both him and Grundy last season. Can't wait to see the Gawn v Grundy battle on Monday!

It’s ok everyone, we can relax, the AFL is fixing the problem. What is the problem you ask, well a kick for goal by a Docker was touched by a Pies player and not picked up by the review. On the TV you can see Mayne’s little finger touch the ball. It was reviewed by the AFL heavily last night after the game, as a missed touch to Collingwood could seriously harm the game. The Pies received 7 frees in their inside forward 50 to the Dockers one. 4 goals were gifted to the Pies from blatant incorrect decisions but let’s not worry about that. We got 1 free inside our forward 50 to 4 soft goals to Crows yesterday but we are only Melbourne and not Collingwood . Blatant Melbourne frees ignored as per usual. The AFL said we are not worried about Melbourne as who really cares anyway. We look at the issues that count and that matter to our great game like this missed touch on the ball. Heads will roll over this. Maybe if our club mattered as much as the tip of a Collingwood players little finger we would become relevant. We clearly are not. The game has seriously lost a lot of its enjoyment to me.

Max is now the best player in the country, which sadly has been overshadowed by our horrible season.

They should call in Garry Lyon to handpick their next coach.

I finally got a chance to go through the tape again and I've got to say the game was a bit like the Eagles match, in that even with a dodgy defence we finally seem to have the legs and run to drive the ball through the middle - fantastic efforts by our entire midfield brigade and backed by Hunt who linked up spectacularly and Trac who is getting closer to a breakout De Goey type game. Obviously our key issue is being beaten close to goal so often both forward and back. And in defence it wasn't just O.Mac. Fritz made two howlers back there early before becoming very effective off half back. With Jetta out our only player who seems to be play the last line percentages correctly is Hibberd and even he struggled with an inspired Betts in the final few minutes. Sadly we don't have a Tom Stewart or a Dylan Grimes or a Shannon Hurn to make the strong and smart plays on the last line - maybe that will change a bit this week with May and Lever back on top of Salem and Hore. The other problem is our lack of ability near the goalsquare up the other end. T.Mac, as has been mentioned, was a huge failure again on Saturday, although his strength last year was using his endurance and running back into the area. He has never had a leap and he doesn't have the pace for a lead (his defenders invariably beat him to it when he does) but he does have great marking judgment. As I've said elsewhere, he could still beat almost any footballer in a marathon, but his pre-season injuries meant he didn't spend time on his acceleration out of the blocks and it continues to hurt him and us. He also missed almost all the 200m pre-season rep sessions. He needs three weeks of just pure speed running and with the season now over - there's no point in not resting him and getting him speed fit. The bye is his chance to finish the season on a good note. Pleasingly on Saturday we did have an extra tall (Weid) up front which meant the ball did hit the ground quite a bit and Jeffy and Spargo and Trac and Hunt all looked dangerous. Yes I get the Garlett toughness vitriol but it was probably also his best night for crumbing all season - he messed up about four chances though and still kicked three. Having Hannan back at least gives us another mid-size quick marking option and whilst it wasn't his night, he gives us more balance and more hope when it gets down there. So ultimately I think the doom and gloom of others here was misguided. Our midfield was on top almost all night and I'm sure they will be excited by the chance to play against the Pies and their highly rated midfield. It was great to see Baker and JKH providing more outside run (albeit with a few turnovers) and Angus was so much better playing predominantly in the middle. Our defence should also pick up with four keys back in the side next week, although Goody will have to think long and hard about stopping Stephenson over the back. He also will have to again try and figure out his best balance up front.

finishing 13th and below is a slight advantage both in the draft choice and also in the draw for 2020. In theory the bottom 6 do not play the top six twice. Both Richmond and the Bulldogs won the GF from this position.

The seven blokes that missed before Weiderman in the last quarter are earning a hell of a lot more......& If they had done there jobs properly then Sam wouldn't have missed I'm sure of that. Maybe you should hang them instead of hanging a kid still finding his way?

The guy was in tears! There’s no doubt at all it was burning in his guts.

Re the Weid miss I"m just as disappointed in Smith missing the cider a few minutes prior to Weids and Smith probably had even less pressure on him. Conversely I was stoked with the poise of Hore slotting through that pearler on the run against the GC a few weeks ago. You win some, you loose some, although as we move forward I would like to think that we will develop that confidence and poise that we win more than we loose in this situation.

Can't understand the obsession with getting Lever back in ASAP. If his knee goes again, he is finished at AFL level. The season is gone. Mathematically possible but practically impossible. He is a massive investment for the club. Not only the dollars we are forking out; not only the length of contract; but also what we gave up. No need for him to return until late July for mine. This may prove yet another example of a risk-reward decision that is out-of-kilter. For where we are at and where he is at, I'd rather us 99.2% confident over 97.6%, even if that means that he/we forgo 6 games or a month-and-a-half of football. Then, at least if the worst happens, we can look back and know we gave it every opportunity to succeed by being overly-cautious and risk-averse.

Surprised by the 'surprise" expressed in the post game thread about the crowd being Pro Adelaide. NT has been a major supporter of South Australian teams for decades. Similarly due to geographical location Adelaide has always been the "big smoke" for NT residents. If anybody thinks we are building support in the NT by this fiasco they believe in fairies at the bottom of the garden and that Port will have 200M Chinese followers after today. It's about money pure and simple. A few people have been potting Pert lately but I'm not sure he has had much time to do anything wrong. Last year IIRC Jackson re- signed us to another four years of ignominy in the North. If Pert can get rid of these games he'll have my backing for that alone. No one else does such a ridiculous transition... (Port in China is a joke)... Tasmania is reasonable and will change soon when North relocates (I hope.) Even the Bulldogs are now paid to play in Ballarat whereas in recent years they were sent to Cairns. Last year all the members had to pay $5 to go on the waiting list for GF tickets that never eventuated. We happily paid it. Would we each pay $5 to Ditch Darwin.

Just glad we are not playing them this weekend.

I agree with you Dazzle. SOS has done some terrible work in his time at Carlton. He originally drafted a heap of these kids at GWS and when they identified that they were no good he doubled down and traded for them at Carlton. The Stocker trade is looking to be the cherry on top of a long list of bad decisions. If Bolton goes then surely Silvangni goes too.

Out: Oscar, Tommy, Spargo, Wags All are either horribly out of form and showing no signs of regaining it (Tommy), not the future of the club in terms of winning a premiership in a premiership window (which will close in the blink of an eye) or depth at best. In: May (for Oscar), Pruess (for Tommy), Lockhart (for Spargo) & Lever (for Wags). As you say, Jeffy stays for now only because there is no other (AFL ready) alternative at this point. JKH and Stretch also depth only but again, need other alternatives which aren't on offer at Casey.

Just a couple of points about the MCG that need to be cleared up. Firstly the portable lighting system used to stimulate grass growth. It’s on most days during the winter, and fills much of the northern side of the ground, thus making the ground impossible for training purposes. I don’t think it’s used at night. And just on facilities for visitors. There are 2 cafes open on week days, used mainly by tradies and tourists. (Enter gate 3). Any thought of returning to the MCG as a training facility is real pie in the sky stuff. I wish it was not so, but it is!

My views on his return are form based. He has not demonstrated the ability to run out a full match and play to the required standard. I fully anticipate that he will return to form so it boils down to a question of 70% game time at AFL level where he may struggle or the same or more at VFL level to see if he has touch. As the season is done and dusted it's rather irrelevant but I don't envy him returning in a "big match" and being lambasted by supporters because he's not on the top of his game.

Frost could be a real asset with Lever and May back. He's the perfect guy to play on second talls or, where required, mediums like DeGoey, Dustin Martin etc. who are too strong/explosive for anyone else in our backline. Despite his occasional brain fades he adds a totally different dimension to our backline and we always look more exposed when he's out of the side.

I would keep Hannan and get rid of Spargo. Otherwise this looks good.

Exactly right, Said a page back that with our season officially over i would now switch into development mode and just play Weideman for the rest of the year. Just get games into him. If he plays for the rest of the year that will take him into 2020 with 38 games meaning he will hit that 50 game mark next year. I think next year Weid will go up a level and become a permanent 22 in our side.

May did what Oscar cannot - straight swap. Salem immediate in if his gastro has settled, as is Hore. Would think there are a few who could go out, possibly Wagner, JKH, Spargo, Stretch. They could all make a case for another week, too. Weids stays in. He did enough to warrant a recall. TMac needs something (a rest, a foot rub, to be dropped??) Corey Wagner did well at Casey, but has claims behind Salem and ANB I would think. Hannan stays in. Didn’t do much, but hopefully will be better for the run.

Neal Daniher

Baffled by the rushing lever back argument. We have been very conservative and waited the full 12 months. 2 games at vfl and a week off. You think there is less chance to re injure his knee at vfl level on dodgy grounds?

We allow opposition players time and space to get balanced while we move it on too quickly even when off balance. The quick hand off is compounded by the player giving off does not shepherd the player he gives it too creating continuous pressure

Players lazy. Don't give a stuff? You have to be joking. You , Picket Fence and other haters go and watch some other sport.. the absurd aspect is that if Weideman's kick had been a goal none of you knockers would have bern writing the crap you now are. every player tried his guts out, every player was bitterly hurt. When Melbourne was easily the best ream in 1955, they kicked 5.15 then 6.16 then 8.18. Surprisingly enough they lost all three matches. It happens to every team from time to time.

How about he just kicks the goal? It was an effing soda 25m out. If a bloke needs a cuddle and a Tony Robbins motivational chat to kick those just delist him now.

The answer for 99 out of 100 supporters is never. Too hard to get to. Plus, the MCC don't offer a bar or cafe at the G during the week because it would affect their contract with Spotless. The priority is to get a good training ground, good indoor facilities and an admin base that are reasonably close together. My guess is that if we were to build the latter two near Goschs, the ground itself wouldn't be an issue. Eg. the triangle of land near the tollway off ramp or towards Olympic Blvd

A day later and I’m over the loss. It was nice to see some good ball use going inside 50 and our overall intent was quite good, especially considering we are missing so many key players. I have no doubt that if even just Hore played we would have won. Our backline was uncompetitive against 3 big man and losing a tall pre game really hurt. Hibbo was also underdone as you expect, leaving Frost as our best defender down there. You can’t win games a football with that sort of defensive quality. Or lack thereof. Encouraged by Weideman who other than the poor kick at goal was quite good, especially given he was battling a hip issue just a couple of weeks ago. Also another good showing from both our gingers. Oliver was superb, so much so they got Gibbs to tag him. All in all another disappointing season. Injuries have killed us, but equally so has our inability to adjust our game plan to new rules and losing our key forward.

Wow. Scroll back about two pages and the site was glowing about his potential after a very good first year. The kid has a lot of talent, with great creativity and awareness. What he doesn't have at the moment is confidence; he running on a flat zero in that department. He is a developing player in his second year who is struggling to back it up. Not only is this not unheard of, it's common in league football. Form is temporary, class is permanent; and I'm a believer.

Playing a Queensland side or GWS would reduce the natural crowd bias. Playing WCE in Alice is a classic example of an own goal if the game meant anything this season. Strange you know... AFL would be desperate to get games in Darwin so it really should not be an issue demanding we play team X. The problem is we did a deal with the NT Government without doing a concurrent deal with the AFL. We can be so dumb off the field as well as on sometimes.

Sure the free kicks can matter, but if you kick 1.8 in a qtr when you have the lead, and it has been a trend for years where we kick more points than goals. Easy to blame umps and AFL. Good teams win, good teams don’t regularly give up leads, good teams bury opponents, good teams have leaders who turn games, good teams have coaches who influence games, good teams don’t worry about umps. How many of those boxes have we ticked in the last 5, 10, 15 years... Id rather worry about things we should be changing than what the filth do/get

Given JKH has not played a senior game this year I didn’t think he was too bad. I actually thought Spargo wasn’t that bad either. At least they try and get the ball at a contest, unlike you know who.