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Fraser Rosman must have forged his birth cert! He looks 28 rather than 18.

That's like watching a train wreck on an infinite loop!

I'm on the record as supporting what Goody did up until 2018 as a job pretty well done. I don't think he really was provided with a huge chance to mold the list, he added Melk, Hibbo and Lewis to bring in some skill and then went out and won games. If anything I think he was the victim of being a first time head coach surrounded by this club mantra of winning contested ball and being hard at it. The Roos, McCartney, Viney even Jason Taylor mantra was flowing full bore and we were winning more than we had previously, it's pretty easy to see where we fell in to a trap. How much should've been changed faster than the end of 2018 and how much of that is on Goody? I'm not confident to say one way or the other. Our draft picks for a long time had a skill/speed/run component, way back to Hannan and Johnstone, Spargo, Fritsch, Baker, Jordon, Bedford, Chandler. Plus key defenders with Lever, May, Petty. Bringing in KK. We had Langdon pretty much locked in a year before he came too. I'll give him some benefit of the doubt with the list, there's too many others responsible for the failings too. Changes to game plan - we should've seen more in 2019 but the whole year was a dumpster fire, 2020 was better at least with the defensive zone and after a bad start with the tempo coming under control. Positional changes - meh, we've had so many one dimensional players for so long it's hard to move them around. The big faults are failing to turn over assistants and failing to create the right processes that prevent issues building up. We've needed a skills coach for a long time. We've needed a fresh voice for the midfield. We've needed to train more on MCG sized ovals. Etc etc. Those kind of little details that add up to important things on the ground are where he's lacking. Attention to details is one of the most vital things for a coach in any sport and I don't think Goody really has it

I doubt that very much... as I understand it, he is relatively new to the game and was taken due to his natural athletic prowess. In some ways he is a project player, so I'd be a little surprised to see him get a game at all this year.

Ben Brown at training moving well also completed 4 time trials and I assume it was for all coming back for the official start . That is a good sign.

Good lord jimmy, you seem not to have understood what I have said at all. Perhaps I was unclear, so i'll give it another go. 1. I just don't see how this theory can be correlated with our current state as a footy side. The theory is that the evidence suggests the coach does not play a very big factor in making a great team. Which to be clear, is not to say the coach is not important - the role of the senior coach in an AFL tis critical. But players make great sides, not coaches. And i don't need Sam Walker to tell me that. I have 40 odd years of watching the dees fail under some pretty good coaches (Barrasi says hi) and other teams win flags (Scott says hi) to come to the same conclusion . 2. The players aren't ready to perform consistently due to a variety of reasons. Sure, but at the end of the day they are professionals and just like i am responsible for my performance at work, not my boss, so are they. Once a game starts the buck stops with them not the coach. That said, I noted the coach is responsible for motivation and creating the optimal environment and of selecting the right players. And in response to you critique that 'I missed out' key responsibilities, also noted that it goes without saying that developing and implementing the game plan is a key responsibility of a senior coach. 3. You speak about it in such simple terms. Really? I wouldn't have thought so, but maybe I need to simplify things even more given it appears you've misunderstood what i wrote. 4. Using your example of the two games that in your view were the reason we didn't play finals last year, your diagnosis is that the players simply didn't 'turn up'..?! Where did I say those two games were the reason we didn't play finals last year? I mean, I might have at the time, given losing those two games were in fact the reason we didn't play finals (personally I think the dogs game was the killer), but not in this thread. And why are you using quotes around the phrase 'turn up'? Are you quoting me? If so, i'm not sure why given I never wrote those words. Perhaps they were paraphrasing quotes, if there is such a thing. If so, still wrong, given my 'diagnosis' for the two losses in Cairns was not 'the players simply didn't turn up'. What I did say was that the players were clearly not switched on. That is on them as pros. Unforgivable. Particularly the second game. But sure let them off the hook and blame Goody. I'm sure the players would love that. Or at least some. Steve may not so much. But the players not being ready to play a season defining game was not the only 'diagnosis' for losing those games. I also said the players were simply too lazy to stop Freo's spread, just as they were against the dogs, and against the Swans they played stupid football in the wet and windy conditions. I also noted that once a game starts it is 95%, maybe more, on the players. Sure that is subjective, but I stand by it and I'm glad to have Sir Alex Ferguson (and any number of other coaching luminaries) in my corner on that. And by the by the other 5% provides plenty of scope for the coach to be the reason a team losses a given game. 5. It's far more nuanced. Good to know, i'll factor that into my analysis of footy from now on. 6. Just as it was when we consistently played an underdeveloped and underperforming Oscar McDonald for the amount of time we did in our side. These things fall on Goodwin. Selection, gameplan, connection, player positions, gameday strategy, messaging, communication etc etc. You seem not to be able to let Omac go. Touching. I totally agree that selection, game plan, connection, player positions, gameday strategy, messaging, communication etc fall on Goodwin as coach. But not being facetious here (i promise) - it would be too simple to say it falls totally on him (noting that you didn't say that). There are many other pieces of the puzzle and other people who have key responsibilities, which is why we have spent big on getting people like yze to the club. 7. Honestly, use google to find the evidence binman. It's there. And if you didn't hear it, then maybe you don't watch enough football. People from Ross Lyon to Jason Dunstall and many in between have made comment on how easy we are to play against. What is this business about evidence of people saying we are easy to play against? You're right, there's probably plenty of examples to back up that argument. But that is not the the assertion I asked for evidence of. Your assertion I asked you to provide some evidence for was (my emphasis): 'there are many footy experts both in the media and or who work within the AFL who know full well that Goodwin's shortcomings as a coach in a variety of areas are the main contributing factor as to why we are a middle of the road side right now'. And, no i won't do the work to find the evidence. You can do that. 8. A head coach takes full responsibility for moulding a team over a period of time to play a certain way. He/she might well do and as Old Dee noted the buck stops with the head coach. Which is why, historically they get sacked when success doesn't come (by the by this seems to be shifting somewhat - Hardwick being the obvious example - as AFL clubs start to realise the coach isn't the key factor at play). But whilst they might take full responsibility, they are not in fact fully responsible for moulding a team over a period of time to play a certain way. Sure they are the most important element but as I noted there are many other pieces of the puzzle. For example Jennings had fair bit of responsibility for our game plan up to the end of 2018, McCartney was critical in terms of instilling a certain approach and guys like Yze and Williams will have similar responsibilities. 9. He has been too slow to make change to the list in general, positional change and change in the way play. I agree that under goody (and Roos) the club has recruited too many similar type players - contested ball winners. And that we have not recruited enough outside players or elite kicks. That's not all on him - again there is a team behind such decisions but he sets the agenda no doubt. But collectively they brought in Lever and May to address the defensive weaknesses you highlighted and last year recruited Langdon to fill a glaring gap. May and Langdon are probably in the top 10 players we have recruited in the last 50 years in terms of impact. And they went outside the square in selecting Kozzie and Jackson, two players with x fact that are a million miles from the glass eaters they have previously recruited. And in Rivers they have look to address the need for elite kicks, something they have continued to focus on this season with Bowey and Laurie. Rosman is another x factor selection and Brown represents another pretty big change to the list given it signaled Tmac was unwanted. So in the last two years, half of his time as coach, Goody has hardly been slow to make changes to the list. As for being slow to make positional changes and changes to the way play are we watching the same team? I mean seriously, it is actually quite remarkable how much our game style (not the fundamentals) has changed since Goody started coaching us. To be honest if you can't see that i can't be bothered pointing out how. But the players we have recruited give a clue, as does the scores we concede, how much we now score and our scoring to possession ratio, amongst a myriad of other indictors. And slow to make positional changes? Perhaps you mean positional changes during games. If so, then it is true he doesn't make many but it is really a subjective thing as to whether this is a bad thing or not. But if you mean playing players in different positions week to week, he has been anything but slow to try different options. Tmac from back to forward, Petty from back to forward, Gus from the center to the wing (and back), Jones all over the shop, Harmes mid/tagger/half back, Smith forward/back, Weed as back up ruck in 2018 and then not again, etc etc. 10. We've been losing in an almost identical manner for three years now under Goodwin, No we haven't. Goody has coached for four seasons. In 2017 and up to about the mid point of the 2018 season the common dominator of our losses was the best teams opening up and hurting us on the rebound by punishing us for our super aggressive high press and [censored] foots skills. We ran up big scores against the mid rung teams but the best teams not only beat us they did so by 5 or six goals. We then made significant changes to our game plan, stopped being so aggressive with our press and stopped running players of the half back line. From that point to the end of the 2018 season we became the hardest team to score against in the league. And in 2019 and 2020 we remained pretty hard to score against, which is reflected in the fact we have less blow outs (even in 2019 when we had so many injuries). Another difference to the way we have lost in the four seasons Goody has been coaching is that a factor in our losses in 2019 and 2020 has been our woeful inside 50 to scoring ratio. That was not such an issue in 2017 and 2018, when we were much more efficient, a fact reflected in our high scoring. So no, we haven't been losing in an almost identical manner under Goodwin, unless you mean the opposition has scored more than us in those losses, which if the case is an issue we have struggled with for 165 years. What i would say is there is certainly repeating themes about our losses (and many of our wins for that matter). Probably one theme that has been there throughout Goody's tenure is our propensity to give up runs of unanswered goals. And i would argue another consistent theme in our losses is too many lazy players who don't put in the required effort. Other themes include turning the ball over too much, gifting easy goals to the opposition and failing to hit targets inside 50. The other obvious theme in 2019 and 2020 is so much effort for so little reward. To be clear as senior coach Goody has a responsibility to address all these weakness and you could argue his game plan might magnify them. By the same token the player have to take level of responsibility and once the game starts most of the responsibility.

It’s the AFL making that choice isn’t it, like the smaller groups training?

BRIDESMAIDS AGAIN by Whispering Jack Historians of the future will have little difficulty in finding words to define the year 2020. “Covid-19”, “pandemic” and “plague” come readily to mind. The Covid-19 pandemic dominated the year in every aspect of life and it certainly didn’t spare AFL football or the Melbourne Football Club. In the circumstances however, it didn’t treat it as badly as the Spanish Flu epidemic which raged a century earlier from February 1918, through 1919 and into 1920 when it finally petered out in April of that year. Melbourne was in wartime recess in 1918 but returned for a winless 1919 season and a wooden spoon. One hundred years later, the competition had doubled in size to 18 teams and the Demons finished 17th with five wins. Hence, the improvement in pandemic-ravaged 2020 to 9th with nine wins in a shorter 17 game season would on the face of it, appear to be satisfying, but it truth, it left most supporters with hollow feelings. We were the bridesmaids again. The year began with the expanded AFLW competition played under the much maligned conference system. The Demons won four games out of six to make the finals but, as in the past, they were routinely inaccurate in front of goal. They managed 1.8.14 in going down to the fledgling Saints (3.1.19) in Round 3 after early wins against North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, recovered for a couple of good wins but were on the ropes after a capitulation to the Blues before the finals were called early. A stirring final quarter saw the Demons 4.5.29 home by three points in the Elimination Final against Giants 3.8.26 with Lily Mithen booting the winning goal with 30 seconds left on the clock. A few days before that game was played the world officially entered pandemic mode and AFLW season was called off with no premier declared. Stalwart Karen Paxman was the club’s best player in the truncated season. The AFL men’s season was also called off on the following day without the announcement of a return but not before the Demons lost their opening round match to West Coast in Perth by 27 points in the final match of the round. The opening game was played to an empty stadium under new rules to enable players to cope better with the pandemic including shorter quarters. The AFL left it until half an hour before the start of this game to let the public and the players know and Melbourne capitulated giving away four consecutive goals in a few minutes before the first break. Over the ensuing months, Australians were asked to abandon their normal lives to control the impact of the disease. There was no vaccine and no cure, and like 100 years earlier, the people relied on quarantine, supportive medical care and the goodwill of the community. As the months passed, plans were made for the resumption of the season. The AFL factored in the possibility of further restrictions and while the eventual restart happened in mid-June, the worsening situation in Victoria meant that clubs were shipped around to interstate hubs, the fixture was changed randomly and willy-nilly. The idea of the football frenzy with daily/nightly games to compact rounds was introduced to ensure that the season could proceed with the minimum of disruption. However, the Melbourne Football Club was one of two clubs that simply couldn’t avoid disruption and it probably paid a very high price for that eventuality. After destroying the Blues in the first half of the return game and then barely managing to hold on to win by a point, the Demons’ third game was scuppered when Bomber Connor McKenna returned the only positive test of the season. Much later, that game was declared a bye with the encounter rescheduled to the end of the season, meaning that both clubs were deprived of a vital rest during the frenetic second half of the season. Who knows whether the benefit of such a break which was available to all other clubs might have helped the club across the line in those vital games lost in Cairns to Sydney and Fremantle? The club’s season was already on the line when it played its first game for the year on the MCG against Geelong. A sluggish start proved costly for the team which took time to get going and, in the end, a narrowly missed shot at goal by recruit Adam Tomlinson in the last 40 seconds was costly. They performed well against the Tigers but lacked the class to take advantage of opportunities to keep in touch and, as the clubs evacuated Victoria, the possibility of making finals was looking remote. With Melbourne moving up to its first hub home in Sydney, a minor revival was under way. The Demons disposed of Gold Coast and Hawthorn but then faced the top two clubs in Brisbane and Port Adelaide within four days playing out of their new Queensland hub. They nearly stole the match against the Lions at Metricon Stadium but collapsed in a heap to the Power at the Gabba drawing the ire of the club’s Chairman, Glen Bartlett. The tongue lashing had the desired effect with three resounding victories on the trot against Adelaide, North Melbourne and Collingwood that saw the club enter into finals contention. The Demons were raging favourites against the Western Bulldogs but a poor third quarter saw them tumbling to defeat. Melbourne was becoming a team of nomads and their next stint saw the team sneak home by two points in Alice Springs against St Kilda. With four games left of which three were against teams that were out of contention for the finals and the other fading fast, it seemed only a formality that Melbourne would play in the finals. However, there was a catch. The team had to dash across the continent and play two games in four days up in Cairns, the first against Sydney in trying conditions after a long trek out of their hub on the Sunshine Coast. Disaster followed disaster four days later against Fremantle and, despite victories over the Giants and Bombers, a ninth placed finish two points behind Collingwood was the club’s epitaph for 2020. Christian Petracca had a superb season and took third place honours in the Brownlow Medal along with his first Keith “Bluey” Truscott Memorial Trophy. Clayton Oliver was once again imposing as a midfielder although hampered by problem shoulders that required post season surgery. Steven May was outstanding in defence while skipper Max Gawn shrugged off some knee issues and close opposition contact to dominate the club’s ruck. Jack Viney and Christian Salem also stood out during the year while the consistent Ed Langdon was the club’s best recruit and gave great drive from a wing. First year players Luke Jackson, Kysaiah Pickett and Trent Rivers all showed great promise for the future but the experiment with Harley Bennell ended in disappointment after some glimpses of excitement for a reprise of the early days of his career. To make the finals, the club needed more from Tom McDonald and Jake Melksham who were down on their previous standards and it’s to be hoped that 2021 will see them back to their best. What to make of the coach’s year given the challenges of managing a team of nomads and life in the hubs with no second tier competition to gauge his reserve players? We could point to a number of miscalculations with regard to player positions (eg James Harms in defence) and team selections both early in the season and during the period of the cross continent games that ended in the twin debacles in Cairns. All in all however, Simon Goodwin managed a difficult task reasonably well and without too much luck. The fact remains that he will inevitably start 2021 under the pump! The club goes into 2021 with a key on field recruit in full forward Ben Brown, some interesting young recruits, a couple of significant coaching inclusions in premiership coach Mark Williams and former star Adem Yze and high hopes of rising further up the ladder. The club posted a loss of $2.9m thanks mainly to the effect of the pandemic but thanks to some fancy accounting and asset revaluations, we’re not supposed to feel too bad about the result. Like the feeling of always being the bridesmaids and finishing ninth on the ladder again.

Geez I miss training reports, COVID can go eat a [censored]

Between the virus and training at Casey these reports are now full of nothing. How I long for the reports from Goschs. information this year is close to zero and March seems forever away in the distance. well I guess there is the Washington circus to watch.

Lockhart May Hibberd Lever Tomlinson Rivers Langdon Brayshaw Salem Petracca Weid Spargo Pickett Brown Fritsch Gawn Oliver Viney Int: Harmes, Jackson, Hunt, Sparrow

Clarry __can take the next level by being more penetrating by foot. Maysie __ To follow up where he left from in 2020 He was superb. Jackson-- showed with a hand full of games he has what it takes to make the grade. Ben Brown -- is a vital piece and chomping at the bit. He will show why. Rivers -- 9 games under his belt plays like a 100 gamer. Amazing.

Chocco Williams, Yze, Burgess, no more excuses full stop!

Ben Brown Petty Weideman Lever TMac

Our bottom 5 whoever they may be need to improve and make us a good all round team. No use having our better players dominate when bottom 5 or so do nothing. That is where we move to a to 4 side

Can have 30k at a boxing day test but can't have several spectators at a standard footy training session... On ya Dan..

Beyond the AFL, and I'm a Lib voter McGowan's border closures have been fantastic for those of us living in WA. We went hard early and have pretty much been living normal lives since May Kids missed 5 weeks of school (2 of which were school holidays) Work is pretty much back to normal with the main impact being the job keeper payments are making it hard to attract staff for some businesses Gyms, swimming pools etc all operating normally for several months Pubs restaurants etc functioning pretty normal Junior and Community sport all got seasons in and summer sports still continuing. I'm sure we will get a cluster, but for now very happy with how things are going Sorry but life goes beyond the AFL

Great post! I been banging on about the benefits of mindfulness and knowing how great it has been for a club like Richmond who were prior to that perennial underachievers. It gobsmacks me why you would not try and gain every little possible advantage that you could in an industry where a % difference can mean playing finals or not. Of all the clubs out there i think we could benefit the most out of it due to our past history. I expect we will do it in like 10 years time where and when the whole industry will be using it to gain every advantage possible. i really pray we get onto it much sooner. Most of our issues are "up top!"

So it was all my fault! ??

Yep, must say we've been very lucky over here. Hate to think of the mental health implications with lockdown

So do I Bda. I was lamenting the lack of info.

Yes that is probably a better description ht.

God I can’t wait to see BBB snaffling marks in the fwd 50! (And slotting them). What a difference a proven goal kicker will make for us, those games we get on top in the midfield and backline but either can’t take a mark or turn a mark into a goal. 2-3 more wins based off of BBB alone in expecting*. *I expected us to be top 4 the last 2 seasons as well...

Knee still heavily bandaged. Hopefully just a precaution.

i don't get the love for hore... hopefully i'll be proved wrong but he was dropped multiple times as a senior recruit in his first year, finished the season in the vfl, and then was crocked the entirety of 2020 smith is ahead of him for mine by dint of being regularly IN the side last year seniors B: Smith - May - Lever HB: Rivers - Tomlinson - Hibberd C : Langdon - Petracca - Salem HF: Melksham - Weideman - Harmes F: Fritsch - B Brown - Pickett Foll: Gawn - Oliver - Viney I/c: Jackson - Brayshaw - Hunt - Baker Emerg: Jones - Spargo - McDonald - Sparrow magoos B: Jetta - Petty - Lockhart HB: Bowey - Hore - Chandler C : Nietschke - Jones - vandenBerg HF: Neal-Bullen - McDonald - Spargo F: Laurie - M Brown - Bedford Foll: Bradtke - Sparrow - Jordon I/c: Rosman

I've typed this before believe it or not but I'll now put it in the proper thread. MELBOURNE B: HIBBERD, MAY, LEVER HB: SALEM, TOMLINSON, RIVERS C : LANGDON, PETRACCA, BAKER HF: FRITSCH, JACKSON, MELKSHAM F: PICKETT, B.BROWN, WEIDEMAN FOLL: GAWN, OLIVER, VINEY IC: BRAYSHAW, HARMES, HUNT, HORE CASEY B: JETTA, HUTCHINS, LOCKHART HB: SMITH, PETTY, BOWEY C : MUTIMER, JONES, FOOT HF: NEAL-BULLEN, MCDONALD, VANDENBERG F: SPARGO, M.BROWN, WHITE FOLL: BRADTKE, SPARROW, MUNRO IC: JORDON, ROSMAN, LAURIE, CHANDLER

I'm never gonna live this down am I? I could do a best 22 if you want?

Weidman is a interesting one. I feel he will need another year or two to fill out and be able to contest in one on one's . But I believe he is 200 gamer if his body holds up. With Brown he should grow and his output in the forward line will improve.

Why unfairly for Lions and Suns? They had the advantage in 2020 now it's our turn!!!

Only the premiership matters!

"Learnings means winnings"

1. Do not think dishonestly.

Creed - “kick the f&$)&!n goal”.

Now that's a creed!

I have hope of seeing our great club play at the Gee in front of a crowd in 2021 and in front of their members waving red and blue flags and cheering the boys on. Twenty thousand or so mostly members and singing the song as they venture out onto the ground. So be it to start with. The adrenalin pumping through your veins and being loud just supporting the boys in that famous jumper. I won't miss it for the world. Ending the day with a big win singing the song again and again, Bring on the opening round against Freo.

100% correct.It just stuns me with the borders. It is a virus and there will be a vaccine in march. if WA wants to play hardball then sit out eagles and dockers for the season. mcgowan can get stuffed.

I think an important variable is how much goody, if at all, improves as a coach. Much harder to gauge improvement of a coach than a player as so much of their work is largely unseen by fans and the kpis are less black and white (other than wins of course - but how much is on field success down to the players and how much the coach - an age old question).

Salem would bowl a mean doosra

Personally I hate Friday night games always a rush, no parking and a late night home after walking back into the city to pick up the car and driving back to Doreen.!!!! Merry Xmas all on Demonland,,,!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully placating them in preparation for denying them a home final.

And yet you've got Fritsch as your display photo?

His association with the Kangas must have had some extended, very dark moments, and these must have been repetitive. A path of no return must have been created on one or both sides of the coin. That's all I think about when measuring our great success in securing such a gun footballer (with some of those 'Robbie Flower-esque' characteristics). Dark days seem over for us, as well. Welcome, Brownie! Wear you Dees' jumper with pride ... all the best.

I suspect Logan MacDonald is part of the answer to that question. Still doesn't explain why they let Brown go so cheaply.

Hunt is no certainty and will need to play well in the preseason to get a spot. I think Lever will play. My point was that Lever and Hore probably don't play in the same team.

agree with all you say especially J Hunt. He is in my Team... BUT have to disagree with you on Lever. His is in my number one team.

Melksham was hampered by injury this year. Assuming he’s good to go next season, not fielding him would be a mite foolish and kinda disrespectful.