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Feel like Ben Brown had an 'almost' game. Could have easily kicked 4 goals. His 3rd shot was inches away from being over and the last quarter he spilled a contested mark in front of the square. Couple of times as well he just couldn't complete 2nd grabs. I put this all down to playing his first AFL in a long time and getting use to the speed and intensity. These marks will stick in the next couple of weeks. The other aspect people need to look out for from a team perspective is that several times yesterday Brown was able to draw 2 defenders with him which then release Fritsch to get on the scoreboard like he did. I can guarantee Fritsch doesn't kick those 6 goals yesterday without the work of Brown. We haven't had someone as big as a presence up forward probably since Hogan in 2018 where he was able to take draw defenders and Tom McDonald being able to hit the scoreboard like he did that year with 52 goals. This honestly could really benefit Fritsch, Jackson and Weideman development up forward. They had a good match up in Ben McKay who is 201cm tall, so he was able to match him for arm reach and height. He'll have an interesting match up on Sydney's tall defender in Tom McCartin who is much shorter at 193cm. I think we'll see a much improved performance from Brown this weekend.

A few weeks back Ben Cunnington knocked Rory Laird out, he was taken from the field but returned, and played out the game. The MRO classified that as medium impact, Cunnington appealed to the tribunal, and the tribunal downgraded it to low impact. How much difference is there between the impact on Laird and the impact on Powell?

I think it’s a travesty when an honest hard working Demon can’t whack a scummy Roo in the chops without getting in trouble

Look I could be wrong, but my gut feeling is WE ARE DEMONS AND ON TOP OF THE LADDER is not likely to be a very compelling argument for the tribunal.

North have now played 4 of the top 5 sides - Geelong, Port, Western Bulldogs and Us - plus Adelaide when they were good and Freo at Freo and Suns on the Gold Coast. They are probably a way better side than they are being credit for and must be more than a sneaky chance to roll the Pies next week. And how good would that be!

I officially give up. It's a losing battle. Nuffies gonna nuff, I guess.

Serious? I must be watching a different game to you because I think he's been exceptional so far. Biggest difference in change that I've noticed is he's not playing the rugby scrum style he's been doing the last few years. He's keeping it simple and playing a good selfless game and actually getting his teammates involved. His game against Richmond was the best he's played since 2018 finals. He's a huge loss and on the weekend it certainly showed.

Yep. I hope Tommo will be working in the coaches box after his knee is rebuilt. Important part of the team

It's stipulated in Melks contract that he's only to receive pats on the head, and not taps on the shoulder from Goody I am neither pro or anti Melksham, but I am anti prejudice and injustice. My first impression was that he was quite good today so I watched the game again. It’s really interesting doing that after reading what people think of players’ performances. For those with the knives out for Melksham, I suggest you take a second look and see how many times he delivered the ball beautifully in the forward line, presenting opportunities for Brown, ANB, Gawn, Kozzy. Not every one of them was gobbled up, but that said more about the receivers than Melksham. For example, Max tried to mark on his chest instead of with outstretched hands. Melksham was directly involved (twice) in one of Kozzy’s goals that went coast to coast. He missed a tackle or two, kicked out on the full and was caught with the ball. But the same could be said of Kozzy, Jones and Brayshaw. But as they say, haters gonna hate.

Can the DL terms of service be amended to: No Racism, Xenophobia, bigotry or Discussions on how percentage is calculated

No reason not to appeal. The tribunal can't dish out extra weeks, the MRO offered one match or one match for an early plea. There is zero risk in appealing, worst case he gets the week he was offered. At best this was low impact.

If we have a free hit we should take it & appeal.

So he needs to kick more goals than any forward since Kennedy in 2016 (80 goals) to be best 22? Pretty high bar to set mate. The value in any key forward is the goals they create as much as the goals they kick. All he needs to do is bring the ball to ground, kick his 2-3 each week, and not be a complete liability defensively. On another note, pretty sure Fritsch is only the 3rd Demon since Neitz to kick 6 in a game (after Hogan and TMac). Sheesh.

Another solid performance (vs North) 20 disposals @ 90% disposal efficiency, 7 tackles, 7 score involvements, 4 clearances

The defender continually held him down by the hips, out of sight of the umpires, which prevented Brown from getting separation or jumping at the ball. Also his knee may not yet be strong enough to run, turn, leap or withstand the pressure when he lands. The benefit of his presence was it took one or two defenders which allowed Fritsch to roam freely until North realised who was doing the damage and double teamed Fritsch. From a team view I thought the role he played and 2 goals was a good debut by Brown.

Yesterday was the first time I’ve seen him live. His second/third and fourth efforts are exceptional and really demonstrate his fitness improvement. His balance (except for one notable slip) is out of this world. His goal in the third qtr was started just in front of me with the first of his 3 possessions in the chain. Once he had the ball and was running at goal you didn’t doubt he’d finish too. Love watching him play.

Petty and tommo both trained over preseason as the lockdown full back. Both started the preseason in the frame for that role. Tommo won the spot because of a super preseason. And I think petty also had a slight interruption. Tmac was great down back yesterday. But he is not, and has never been a deep lock down defender. Petty will now take the role.

Petty was out on the ground with a trainer and later Burgo after the game doing his kms for not playing, so he was a travelling emergency. Looked to be moving absolutely fine. I know this because after the game they blew the siren a second time which meant you cold go out onto the ground for a kick. I'm not entirely sure that the club staff or ground security were fully aware of this because they had to hasten to stop people going inside the forward 50 arcs where Petty was up one end and the North sub was at the other. I was in a foot race with a security guard because I wanted to hit Petty up on the lead a couple of times with my son's AusKick footy. If I didn't have my backpack on I reckon I could have laced him out at least once but it slowed me down too much and the 50 was secured by the time I got there.

Jonesy showed us why he didn't deserve to be dropped, really rated his performance and leadership when we were challenged.

The negativity around Melksham is bordering on War of The Worlds mass hysteria. If you took the time to watch the second half replay you might notice that Melksham played a key link-up role in our recovery... Nah! you wouldn't notice!

Christo trying to justify his job. Covid cuts missed this peanut.

The last time the dees were on top I was a virgin teenager in high school. Now I'm in my 30's.

Yay! I did it! Just like the mighty Deez I never gave up!

Your questionable selections are Pickett, taking LJ at pick 3 instead of Hayden, Lever, May, Langdon, Tomlinson and Jordon. Somehow you managed to go 0/7 on that, which is incredibly impressive. Thats 1/3rd of the starting 18 of an undefeated team and all of them are guns. Jason Taylor might be the best recruiter in the country.

Apologies if this is covered above (cant read all 14 pages.) Viney out late a big loss, our back line thrown out early and the forwards still adapting was a lot to deal with. However our coaching has improved out of sight on game day. You can argue it came late but we put a tag on Cunnington in the 3rd and Fritta was given a role on Ziebell, Goody swallowed his words and put Tmac back and we moved Gawn out of the main ruck. Each of these moves (along with a returned intensity) changed the course of the game. What also struck me was each of the players clearly knew their role which indicates our preparation has been very good. Our kicking is vastly improved. Brown will be better next week on the G and having spent some time with the forwards. Swans will be tough but we are a real team these days.

If that were the case I'm surprised they didn't select sparrow as emergency, who I would have thought was a more like for like alternate than Baker.

The tough Aussie Blundstone boot is made for true blue collar workers, and so it was at this aptly named stadium in Hobart, that the Demons were made to work their hardest for their seventh consecutive win of the season. From the outset, North Melbourne put scoreboard pressure on Melbourne with two majors at an early stage in the first quarter. The Demons fought back and temporarily had the lead but the Kangaroos responded to lead by five points at quarter time. This was not what the public was expecting from a potential top-of-the-ladder side pitted against an opponent on the very bottom rung without a win in 2021 and in the midst of a 13 game losing streak. And things were only going to get worse in the second quarter. The Demon woes began before the game. Jack Viney (toe) was replaced prior to the start by Oscar Baker with Nathan Jones brought in as medical sub. He wasn’t to spend too much time on the bench when his services were required after Adam Tomlinson went down with a suspected ACL injury barely five minutes into the game. This completely upset the structure not only of the defence but the entire side. Baker is primarily a winger, and Brayshaw was moved into the middle. When Tomlinson went down, Tom McDonald had to be swung into defence, thereby depriving the forward line. Jones became the interchange in the middle. The Demons just couldn’t get their act together without the structure that had served the side so well in previous games. They weren’t helped by the fact that North were playing the old “rope a dope” style of game, chipping the ball around, and amassing huge numbers of uncontested possessions. At one stage before half time, they had 90 more than Melbourne. North also took advantage with turnover goals as the pressure that Melbourne had brought to the game previously, simply went missing. In the ruck Goldstein was beating Max Gawn, not just with hit-outs, but clearances as well. He was ably backed up by the umpires who made numerous incomprehensible calls in the ruck contests, which favoured the Kangaroos. Melbourne went into half time with a three goal deficit, and things were looking ominous as far as maintaining its unbeaten record for 2021. Indeed, when interviewed at half-time, Simon Goodwin confessed that his team was being beaten in “all phases of the game”. The coach made a few telling changes made at the break. Firstly, Luke Jackson was moved into the ruck for much longer than usual. With Goldstein following Gawn on and off the field, suddenly Melbourne had superiority in the ruck contests to which North had no answer. Jackson finished with 22 possessions, seven hitouts and two clearances. But it was his mobility and contribution to team second efforts which helped to bring the other mids more into the game. The defenders suddenly got their act together, with the usual May, Lever and now McDonald intercepts that meant the ball was now regularly finding the hands of Christian Salem and Ed Langdon and consequently finishing in the forward 50 more and the scores started to come. Clayton Oliver lifted his work-rate to finish with 25 touches, including seven clearances but still, the Demons looked flat. In stepped Kosiaiah Pickett, with a couple of breathtaking efforts and goals that simply shouldn’t have happened. Bayley Fritsch couldn’t miss and had 5 majors to his name by the time the ¾ time siren sounded. The Demons had hit the front, having kicked six goals to one for the quarter. The final term saw a workmanlike effort again. By now, North had spent all their petrol tickets, and were simply unable to make any scoreboard efforts work. Still, early on they managed to be only a single kick behind, and once again, up stepped the youngsters for the side. James Jordon nailed a difficult crumbing goal to open up the margin, and Fritsch brought up goal number six. Further goals came with the final margin finally blowing out to five goals and a 49 point turnaround from half time. While the Demons have now cemented themselves at the top of the ladder the injuries suffered will cause a dramatic reshuffle for next week’s game against Sydney. Viney is out for at least a couple of weeks, Tomlinson now looks like missing the rest of the season. Angus Brayshaw suffered a shoulder injury, but played on. Ben Brown suffered a heavy head knock but hopefully won’t be a candidate for a concussion spell. Fortunately, Melbourne have plenty of available soldiers to replace them. Harry Petty will surely come in if fit and available, and Tom Sparrow will be putting up his hand for selection, after a 32 possession effort with Casey. But the Demons cannot afford to play the same way as they did in the first half of this game against the Swans. Multitudes of players were well below their best. Christian Petracca got 23 touches, but wasn’t his usual damaging self. Gawn was probably beaten on the day. Oliver was our best in the middle, but North certainly won the clearance battle on the day. Neither of Alex Neal-Bullen and Jake Melksham did anything for their respective causes and would only stay in the side because of other replacements needed. What Melbourne need to do is come out with the workmanlike efforts of the second half of this game. The Blundstone boots are tough, and the Demons need to be likewise to keep on kicking winning scores. MELBOURNE 3.2.20 6.4.40 12.7.79 16.7.103 NORTH MELBOURNE 4.1.25 9.5.59 10.6.66 11.7.73 GOALS Melbourne Fritsch 6 Pickett 3 Brown 2 Jackson Jordan Langdon Oliver Spargo North Melbourne Campbell Cunnington Larkey 2 Atley Mahony Powell Simpkin Zurhaar BEST Melbourne Fritsch Jackson Salem May Pickett Petracca North Melbourne Cunnington Hall Powell McKay Turner Simpkin INJURIES Melbourne Tomlinson (knee) North Melbourne Bonar (corked thigh) REPORTS Melbourne Nil North Melbourne Nil SUBSTITUTES Melbourne Jones (replaced Tomlinson) North Melbourne Menadue (replaced Bonar) Umpires Chris Donlon Justin Power Simon Meredith Crowd TBA at Blundstone Arena

I must have be on my own and watched a different game. I thought it was as poor as a performance as you'll see. I'm honestly also yet to see this supposed run and carry that he's suppose to bring bring the table. All I see is dinky little 20m chip and no follow up to get the handball receive. Do be honest he's no different to say Brayshaw in terms of style of play when playing on the wing. Difference is, Brayshaw is a better footballer. If we are fair dinkum as a footy side then Baker simply does not play in this football club until he gets the basics right. Right now I have about 5 other blokes I'd rather be playing then Baker.

I’ve learnt a few things today 1. Never get ahead of yourself when it comes to the Dees 2. Never underestimate North in Hobart 3. How percentage works Over and out

Unfortunately, an MRI scan very very rarely comes back negative for an ACL rupture when the clinical tests show patent instability. They are almost flawlessly predictive when there’s a clear positive. Two tests - the “pivot shift” test, and the “Lachman’s” test. Look ‘em up on YouTube if you’re interested. S**t luck for the big boy, as it always is of course.

Challenge it. Challenge it hard and make some real noise in the media. This horse**** cannot stand. Time for the club to stand up. We always seem to get a poor run at the tribunal and we just bend over a take it. Multiple other players got off for similar incidents (Dangerfield and Hipwood as examples), so should Fritsch. If that’s suspension worthy, then players are officially no longer allowed to protect themselves from impact and the rules of the game need to be altered.

Yeah and Bailey was in play, with a player coming at him, and he has a broken hand. Hawkins was trying to lose May and swung an arm. He didn't need to swing his arm at all. Besides, my point still stands. Medium impact for no injury is ridiculous. The guy came off for 5 minutes. Hardly medium impact.

Cop the week?!? Bugger off!!! Hawkins fractures May's eye socket and got off no case to answer. Fritsch caused no injury at all to the kid and gets a week. If this isn't overturned on dispute, I'll be astounded.

If you tick the boxes, you get this outcome. But the boxes weren't ticked this way for Dangerfield in the Grand Final. Why? Because "it was the view of the MRO that Dangerfield's actions were not unreasonable in the circumstances". Implicitly the same result was reached in the Hawkins and Hipwood incidents earlier this year (I can't find any MRO statement on either of those incidents). So why was Fritsch's incident deemed "unreasonable" when the other three weren't? Each of the other three resulted in worse injuries than Fritsch's, so that can't be it.

Dangerfield knocked out a bloke in the granny and nothing... Hypocrits.

As they say in Africa, “no gnus is good gnus.”

on the basis of how we've been treated in the past he will probably get life.

I just had lunch, but could fit a donut in. So i'd estimate i'm at 97% capacity.

Oh my word! First, people with no idea of maths lecturing on percentage, now somone with no idea of physics. It's momentum you're looking for. Baker's momentum increases with his velocity. His mass stays constant.

If he does get a week then we have to challenge. To compare to recent incident dismissed: Fritsch - In play accidental forearm to head of opposition player who was a waste height bending down to bump/tackle. Fritsch is bracing for contact with split second time to react and the opposition player played out the game. Fritsch has no MRP record. Hawkins - In play accidental elbow to the face caved in Mays eye socket and he missed the remainder of the match and subsequent weeks match. Hawkins also has a horrible MRP record.

Still a virgin and at high school though!

When does the MRC spin their wheel?

I'll back Hibberd to cover him

Noah had yet to build the ark. well, that’s how it feels anyways. ?

Just want to put my hand up and say I never thought he'd come on so quickly or demonstrate a tank like he has. Anyone else? I was very impressed with his draft video, but all the same his growth has been exponential.

Won in Tassie

Completely agree. Flying in on the game for a 1pm kick off is amateur. Much better prep to stay the night

The team should not fly to the venue on the morning of the match. Flights seem to suck the life out of the players!