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Dunkley’s set shots for goal were outstanding. Hats off to him.

We were clearly trying to adjust our style but the post I responded to was just having a crack at Goodwin about refusing to change his chaos plan which we haven't really been doing since the bye and particularly not tonight. So I just had to wonder whether the person actually watched the game or just saw the result and started ranting about "Goody and his chaos game" Considering the fact we had our forward line missing, May and Jetta out and had resorted to having Oscar, Preuss and JKH back in the side along with Dunkley, Wagner and Baker; considering we were playing the form team in the comp who are probably going to win the flag; considering I expected to lose by 60-80 points; and considering we were attempting to play a different style of footy which was working to an extent before the rain poured down; considering the fact we got absolutely nothing from the umps for half a game if footy - considering all that yeah I was actually surprised we got to within 5 goals. No I'm not happy with the result but I also understand context. I don't just have a tantrum every time I don't get what I want because, you know, I'm an adult.

My thoughts as well mate. It sucks to lose again but I was expecting a belting tonight and the players did well early until the rain came. Goodwin is clearly changing things up too, we played a more possession based game and used the corridor more but this pretty much went out the window when it started pouring. Couldn't get a break from the umps either which cost at least 2 goals. Plus we had so many first string players out including May and TMac. Had we had a key forward target in the first half we may have kicked a couple more goals. Result sucks but it wasn't like it came out of nowhere. Richmond are likely to win their 2nd flag in 3 years and pretty unlucky not to be on a hat-trick. We're trying to get to the end of a horror season. But as usual the whingers on here will complain about any and everything they can.

I didn't read pages 3 to 6 but the earlier negative comments are really laughable. Some posters just enjoy being miserable. Here we are 17th playing a premiership favourite team in hot form. We lacked 2 of our best defenders, and no big forwards and yet kept with them till it rained. Most expected us to lose by a huge margin. Where's the evidence Richmond were playing in second gear - it's easy to say to fit a narrative, hard to prove. In fact they had lots of motivation to thrash us but didn't. Yes, we made errors in the first half. But it is not as if Richmond missed shots to keep us in the game. Sure they may have run over us even if it had't rained, but we don't know for sure - many of the people saying that were also saying we'd be run over from the first bounce (as many of us expected), but we weren't. It is also clear that the style of play we had in the first half does not work when it is wet. So not surprising Richmond took advantage. Obviously this is something we have to fix (along with much else). But in contrast with many posters here, I just hope the players look at what they were capable of in the first half and take some confidence from that.

I just don’t understand why people keep harping in about this. Fritsch was put back out of necessity! No Lever, May, Jetta in the backline for the majority of the season meant that Goodwin had to put someone back who could at least jump at a contest and is a reasonably reliable kick out of defence. That is why Fritsch was played back - not because of any stubborn, misguided Goodwin decision. Who else could he have put there? It’s no surprise that, now he’s able to revert to the forward line, we are starting to see why we recruited him.

Wow Not sure what everyone was expecting? Premiership contender v 17th - the 2nd stringers tried hard and did ok JKH was good, Petty can mark, Dunkley made space and Hibbo tried all night Oliver and Gawn were fantastic and Fritta finally kicked straight Let's go to the draft, get our forward line back and then reassess

20 disposals, 10 kicks, 10 hand passes at 80% DE.

Yes, but then again, Petty May Fritta away his opportunities with his lousy kicking for goal! (Sorry! Couldn't help myself! LOL)

I thought JKH was a damn sight better than ANB as far as actually doing something with the ball. Dunkley will be great, just needs time. Just need to find a tall Forward and a speedy winger in the off season and have a bit of luck with injuries, hopefully get Vanders on the park and a big preseason for all, with a killer instinct to start off next season.

Oscar McDonald can't keep with an opponent Frost can't stop brain fading Preuss can't do anything Lewis can't put his body on the line and compete Melksham was clearly rusty Dunkley is far from a natural wingman Petracca and Baker are only good in the midfield for under a half All of that and for a half we structured up well, moved the ball in to dangerous spots with clever counter attack getting space in the corridor and whilst they stuffed around with the ball the team Why we're so incompetent when the rain came - did we not have someone aware of conditions at half time - is indefensible. We were never going to win it when the rain came but we should've adapted faster and at least kept the game alive at 3/4 time, but whatever. In the first half we didn't set back and play safely down the line. We took the game on and moved the ball against a superbly organised Tigers defensive team. I wish we could play the Tigers every week. We get such a good look at who can and who can't match it when them. Lately that's meant getting embarrassed as it becomes clear we are a mile off them. Maybe I'm delusional but tonight I thought well.... get May and McDonald back, add a couple of outside runners and a small forward and we'd at least be a chance.

Went along with other family members to try and win a Jag but really enjoyed the first half of footy only three points in it at half time despite some very poor none decisions by umpires who have no feel for the game and I am getting more uncertain whether they know the rules or maybe I have just lost the plot. Once the rain came the Tiges played some great wet weather footy in the third and iced the game. Thought our boys fought hard all night but so many disposals just off the mark or kicked with to much hang time making it easy for them to spoil. We now have a really good core of players and I thought that Petty, Dunkley, JKH, Corey W and Oskar B also showed a bit (Dunkley can kick), add Marty Hore and Lockhart to that list and we have found a few this year. Just need to get our big guns back next year.

Been very emotional and scathing of the side thus far this year.. I watched last nights game as a casual observer. So many times we had the ball in great position with players making options, then we butchered it. We were poorly out of position and gifted easy goals. I actually agree with Goody. We are only 5-10% off, but it kills ours play. We look unaccountable and lazy, but in reality we have 12 blokes running to make position, who get burnt by errant kicks or handballs. I honestly think we will turn this around next year.

The players don't give a stuff? Really? You saw it tonight and thought that? I can't believe it. They were outclassed. Close to the weakest team on paper that I can ever remember. Guys like Baker and Kennedy Harris ( who didn't play well) nevertheless gave it a red hot go. Fritsch played well, Petty showed a lot, even Wagner had his moments. And at half time we trailed by 3 points. Cameron Ling's comments about Richmind in the wet are dead right, we weren't up to it but no-one wasn't trying

Gawn's ability to never give up never ceases to amaze. Oliver is an able accomplice and Fritsch has clearly improved since being moved forward. Lewis did a solid job on Grimes, and Frost tried hard. I didn't mind Dunkley's effort as well. Preuss looks a long way from the standard required. He's not Robinson Crusoe though.

I support the Melbourne Football Club. I always have. I also support Simon Goodwin. I have supported Melbourne from before I can remember. I love the Melbourne Football Club. My favourite player is Robbie Flower R.I.P. My favourite current player is Jake Melksham. I can't wait to see him play again this Saturday. I was born in the month after Melbourne's last premiership victory in 1964. I have never seen Melbourne win an AFL/VFL day premiership. I endured ridicule from my classmates throughout my 12 years of schooling for barracking for Melbourne. The ridicule has not stopped. It was hell being a Melbourne supporter in the 70s and 80s. During this time, my father took my brother and me to football games aligned with our opposing teams. Hawthorn enjoyed great success then, and they usually won. Melbourne usually lost. How to recover... Melbourne and this exacerbated Melbourne's to ameliorate the needs o f watch Robbie Flower. As a young boy he meant everything to me as afootbaleeJacko... And the Wizard... And Jokovich.... He endured as a goal kicking talent and indeed superb entertainment throughout a depressing period of the MFC which included the return of coach Ronald Dale Barassi and his inability after his spectacular success at North Melbourne to do the same at the MFC. ite this, and in the decades following same, I have remained steadfast in my support of the the greatest and oldest sporting club in the world.rne didn't. In 1987, after finally breaking through and winning one of the first night Grand Finals against Essendon, I ran onto the ground (with thousands of other Melbourne supporters) at VFL Park when Melbourne beat Essendon in the 1987 VFL Night Grand Final. I got to touch the Premiership Cup. That was a night of elation and optimism. A time of hope. We came close again in the day competition that year (1987) but lost the infamous preliminary final after the siren against the Hawks. It steeled us to make the GF the next year but once again the Hawks were too good in 1988. Melbourne and Essendon were particularly strong In the finals (2018), we beat Geelong and Hawthorn. Think about that for a moment. These were two sides that had smashed us for almost two decades and to defeat them in front of 90,000 people (the majority of which were Melbourne supporters. Add this: Aussies smashing Poms in the Ashes. Poms truly [censored] WEAK.

If hawthorn get him, he will make a full recovery, recapture his best form, improve some and be the 2020 Coleman medallist. If the Dees recruit him, he will be a dud.

And if it does, I care not. We took the consensus 1 & 2 in 2009, missing out on Martin at 3, then Cunnington at 4. We’ve all heard it before but Fyfe went at 20 and Cripps at 13, even Oliver at 4. Our fate won’t be determined by sliding back 1 place in the draft; it’ll be determined by the culture we foster, the bahviours we instill and the standard we set.

We were clearly playing a different style, holding on to the footy more and playing the angles into the corridor. It worked. We just couldn't maintain it when the rain came and the tigers mids started to get on top. That's what I was responding to, the incorrect assertion that Goodwin refuses to change up his chaos game style (which is dumb because we haven't really played that way since the bye)

I sometimes forget that Viney is one of our captains, but then I remember and just shake my head in disbelief. I really hope Gawn being sole captain gets some traction in the media to put some pressure on Goodwin.

You've nailed it Dr G. It's worth remembering some in the pre-game were forecasting an 80-point drubbing. It's disappointing that people on this site are so slow to pick up on the change of style mid-season.

Why would you expect a belting? Is it psychological padding for the fade-out losses so they're more honourable? We haven't been belted all year. We do however repeat the same performance over and over where we're in the game for a few quarters (doing well) before falling away in the 3rd or last because of turnovers or poor inside 50 conversion. Irrespective of whether it's Richmond or St Kilda, the result is the same. At least our forward line has seen some improvement and converted a little more accurately though these past two weeks. Tonight was an extremely predictable game that I expected would mirror our earlier match against the Tigers. We'd take it up to them until they wore us down and kicked away. No shame in the performance, but i don't think absence of players, umpires, or the weather had anything to do with losing the game. They would've kicked away, like they did last year. We still have to make some big off-season changes to our personnel imo. 3 or 4 ready to go players on each line and playing 1 or 2 draftees and then i would guess that wed still probably be 1 more elite midfielder away from contending very deep in the finals, which also might mean another years development could see Oliver fill that need by excelling another level. Have seen some positive signs with the way we've been slowing up the game and switching, so i'm remaining positive too.

Was at the footy, the boys had a go, but once the rain came Richmond took control. The umpires were atrocious we couldn’t get a free until the game was over.

Goodwin has no bloody idea. How he got us to a prelim finals seems staggering. He hasn’t changed his tactics from last year and all the other clubs have worked us out. No plan B or C and has us stuck in concrete boots. The ‘play on’/hand-pass at all cost game plan is flawed and invariably leads to a turn over. Players have also lost faith in it. Hawks won 3 premierships is a row (a feat that might not be repeated this century) possessing the ball by foot. Learn something from that football and adapt it slightly to suit our side. Whatever style game you have us playing now, Goodwin, is [censored]...

Well done JKH...not the worst

Looked at the ladder today and we're only 4 games + percentage behind Adelaide who are in the 8. If we win our last 4 and everyone from 16 - 8th lose all of their remaining games and we can make up 20% percentage we could still theoretically play finals. Throw in a couple of doping investigations and we will rocket into the 8 and as the doggies demonstrated in 2016 and with May, Tmac, Weid, Jetta, Vanders, J Smith to come back in the remaining rounds anything is possible. Stay positive!

Smith reminds me of Steve Waugh or Allan Border. Gritty fighters who played for keeps. Not classical players but they don't have to be. Most players edging towards a century would show some sort 'tell' that close to lunch. But not Smith ... didn't look remotely fazed. And then took a single off the last ball so as get the strike after lunch. Cool as a cucumber. He's way ahead of the game isn't he?

Smith is an absolute classic. I don't believe I have seen a better batsmen play for us. 20 overs to go till new ball so they should be careful in the first few overs after lunch and then go for it a bit. A Smith double ton would be great.

I would call in the AFL integrity officer. Oh sorry I forgot, the AFL has no integrity.

Can we just start banning people who suggest Frost on the wing? It's absolutely ridiculous.

Yes - JKH 5 clearances last night. He played pretty well IMO. Should play for the rest of the season. There were some positive signs in that match - there's is no way the players threw the towel in. I was expecting a belting but it didn't come. Petty, Baker, Wagner and Dunkley all showed a glimpse of AFL capability, Petty more than a glimpse, against very strong opposition - they can build on this over next pre-season. OMac was crucified by the umpires - Lynch is one of the worst free kick stagers I've seen for a very long time. Dusty is just a class above anyone else playing the game.

Why would Brown leave Norf? Especially to go to MFC.

Clearly there is no will to finish the season on a high. Players mentally checked out 5 weeks ago but they never really checked in 6 months ago. They play like they should for the first half but there is no incentive to fight the game out. We have little to play for unlike our opposition. A token effort for the most part keeps some supporters onside. I still believe our list is good but the culture really sucks along with ineptitude from the coaches and management. I’ll just keep on dreaming and look forward to the bounce back next season. This season has been a disaster and contrition and atonement expectations on and off the field are very high for next season.

Jordon was still on for the 2nd half, was quite heavily rotated through the bench though so may have had a niggle. At times in the 2nd and 3rd quarters it looked like Richmond had a heavy tag on Stretch which was interesting, I thought he worked into the game very well with his workrate getting him to many contests. Losing Munro was massive, he's been our best player all year. Josh Wagner attended several bounces in the centre square in the 3rd quarter which I can't remember seeing before. Lockhart by his standards was very quiet. We squandered two dubious free kicks inside 50 and a 50 metre penalty against Menadue, all 3 shots were sodas that we missed, particularly White's who is normally a good kick for goal. This killed all the momentum we had in that 3rd quarter and it was only a matter of time before their senior listed players overran us. Marty Hore's game was incredible, his intercept marking and reading of the play which is his best asset came to the fore, easily BOG and if he's not selected for the AFL need week I'd be amazed.

May in - play him forward (if available) JKH deserves another chance Omac stays in, albeit by the hair of his chinny, chin chin PS - A boundary umpire that throw the ball back into play further than 5 metres!

Because Richmond are the form team of the competition who were looking for percentage on their way to a top 4 finish and we were playing with a completely makeshift forward line and half a backline and are waiting for the season to end. Did you not watch the Tigers dismantle Collingwood a couple of weeks back?

Josh Jenkins is like Tmac a second or third tall forward. If they have salary cap issues I wouldn't mind targeting Harry Himmelberg from the Giants, whilst also a second forward is mobile and a lot younger than Jenkins with more upside

I think you mean a quality tall forward DZ. Unfortunately they dont grow on trees and everyone wants them. Being a minnow club also means it is difficult to attract them and the AFL's free agency model ensures the stronger clubs just get even stronger (eg, Lynch to the Tigers, Ablett Jnr back to the Cats, Frawley over to the Hawks etc etc). Never thought i would say this but in just a few matches Petty has looked more like a decent forward in work rate, general craft and finish than either of Weid and T-mac (other than his last match) in an entire season. Might not be getting alot of attention right now though so not getting overly excited either. We also need two super competitive speedy smalls to crumb, feed off any talls and pressure inside 50 so we can lock the ball in for more than just the initial entry. The ease at which the opp has escaped this year is frightening.

Excellent comments. Not all is lost. Thought Frosty also gave his all albeit some brain fades but that is what we will get with him. Heart in mouth stuff.. Good finish in last 3 games which we can win and get to work in preseason and onward's and upwards in 20 with some clever drafting and de -listings

Did you actually watch the game tonight?

As long as they had a crack, enjoyed themselves & made some new friends out there! good on them

Preuss is a dud. The big lumox couldn’t even stick a tackle - one of their smalls broke free of him far too easily. He can’t play with Max pure and simple.

Dont know how Max gets the motivation to play with these blokes. Their lucky they cant look him in the eye.

Don't bother mate. Just enjoy the melts. There is no point talking complicated issues with simple folks

I’m fairly surprised by the pessimism here. I spose I shouldn’t be. I can be critical of this team as much as the next bloke, but I thought the first half was pretty decent and we had good intent. There at 6 players, at least, playing that won’t be in the side rd 1 next year. We are stretched and our depth isn’t great. It is what it is. I expected to be belted all game. We were in for 2.5 quarters. Some ordinary decision making in the 3rd, namely handball at all costs, and some frees that went their way turned the game in their favour. That’s the best summation I can give. Positive were Gawn (immense) Fritta forward and Melksham, while off the pace, showing some glimmers. OMAc is a farkiiin spaz. That is being nice. He must be traded out. No use

Footy's a bloody tough game. Unfortunately as a club we make it look even tougher, outside of about one half of competitive effort and results or, doing really well, we might do it for three quarters. Too easy to beat. I couldn't be bothered going in to the mess that is the MFC for almost a quarter or two of pretty much every match this season, even against the worst opposition. Amateur is about the best way of describing it. Certainly not AFL worthy over four quarters. The first half we actually appeared to be on track for a close contest and, all round, it was certainly a solid effort with some better ball movement, skills, some decent switching, a reasonable team grid/zone defense happening and some hard work to maintain structures around the ball (yes even on the outside!). But i clearly forgot about our ability to maintain this is usually poor and should have realised that as our conditioning, strength, general skills and ability to run both ways dropped away severely, the Tigers would maintain theirs, and the rest is as they say, history repeating. General skills, footy smarts in the wet, intensity and ability to move the ball and maintain possession Shizen in the second half! Thought i saw a substantial change up towards a bit more of a possession / patience tempo game at stages in the first half though. So Goody might already be changing things up a little on the training track. Has someone been having some hard words with the coach outside of the FD? Who knows. Pure speculation. But he's clearly expressed (as have the players in their pressers) a reluctance to change much of anything. One of the best passages was the play that(for me) demonstrated what i thought was an example of this change up, was off HB all the way up the field with some precision and deliberation. Finished with Dunkley converting after marking a short ball from Jones (?) on the lead (i think it was Dunkley). A great example of general skills and decision making working beautifully, WITHOUT the insanity of the usual "play on at every opportunity and hand ball / kick wherever without truly assessing first / numbers numbers attacking the resulting spilled or loose ball" chaos rubbish. Unfortunately we seemed to go into our shells (or the Tiges put us there) in the second half and normal chaos footy began to dominate our decision making once more. I guess it's hard to maintain a change up to method / style after playing with nothing except "numbers at the ball/chaos play on footy" for most of the season. Old habits die hard but unfortunately our very ordinary skill levels reappeared once more. We should see some improvement next year with a decent pre-season and minimal injuries (obviously it wouldn't take much to do so given this year's horribilis) but only time will tell if it is just a dead cat bounce ....or something more. Will Goody finally bite the bullet and realise that major changes/additions are needed to game style and same with the list? He and the FD must be thinking the same re the list surely. As with all things MFC, hoping for the best...preparing for the worst in 2020.

If the players don’t give a stuff , the administration don’t care either, the coach talks in epithets with no answer or responsibility and I cannot see any future why the eff should I care. After too many years this is the worst I have felt, over it all. My wife thinks I am an idiot, wanting to watch this crap, she might be right . She usually is !

0 tackles for Viney and Jones. Was at the game and saw Jones Coast off the back of packs trying to get cheap touches. Didn’t see him get into a sprint once. His done.

Well, I follow Melbourne because mu uncle's teacher left his school in the Wimmera to play with Melbourne in the middle of the year. THat wa in the mid 1920's and my uncle followed them all his life ( he died @ 92). As a kid in 1950's, I thought I was onto a good thing (still do) ..First saw Melbourne play in 1963 @ Junction Oval (CArl's first game ) Robbie Flower made it worthwhile going to the footy . Gary Hardeman could mark anything and Stan Alves owned the Members wing. I still think we are recovering from the hidings from Hawthorn and the loss after the siren. I was numb !!! The good thing about Melbourne was that any little success became great. Beating Carlton on the eve of the finals when we finished in bottom part of ladder and they won the Flag nearly was equivalent. Last year was the start of our Decade of Arrogance , but it seems it has hit a hiatus. This year has taught us to be humble in our period of greatness. ( and I have only just opened my bottle of red !!!) Normal Arrogance will resume next year !!!