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No Mercy Demons. They deserve DECADES of Pain Foot on the Throat HARD

Bigfooty Their Round 7 Thread title says it all: Hawks v Dees at the G after a 5 day break......ouch. Other doom and gloom: Expecting a bloodbath. Time for my annual public service announcement for all Supercoachers to make big Maxy your Captain next week as we continue our time honoured tradition of kicking it to him at every conceivable opportunity Hope we don't go with the "kick it to Max Gawn" game plan even though its great for supercoach. Pretty much every other team seems to have adopted that tactic too . Would like for Finn to get a run with role with one of the Dees stars. Going to get spanked so give him an opportunity to play in his best position. Can actually see dees resting a few. Will beat us in a canter. don't shoot me for suggestion, but we may need to bring back older bodies (Shiels, Howe) to prtect younger players who are both gassed and will get murdered by Dees Doesn’t matter which way you cut it, we’re not getting close to the Dees. Manage anyone that needs it and make sure we’re cheery ripe for the bombers the following week. If we can put the final nail in their coffin, the season is a success. They get Lever and Viney back too. FMD. Gawn, Oliver and Petracca vs our midfield is going to be ugly. If Dees up their behinds from 22 to 35+ we could b in with a chance That (2021 draw)...was a real surprising result, bad sadly I can't see lightning striking twice. Melbourne just have this aura about them ATM, won something like 13 games in a row and have a flag behind them. Some optimisim, sort of: Good learning experience coming up. Petracca also looked pretty sore last night , May was feeling his hammy late, Jackson got a head knock so better to be safe than sorry . Think thats another 3 changes for them ...they are going to drop one. Who knows, it could be us. Why not. We could also lose by 12 goals and that's fine ... Well what did we do late last year to draw with this super power? 10 goal win My favourite: Dear Melbourne, please rest Max Gawn & Clayton Oliver. They’re both in desperate need of a break. Sincerely Hawthorn F.C Footnote: Their fan forum 'The Mighty Hawk' requires registration and login to read site. Couldn't be bothered. Enough reality and laughs from Bigfooty above.

Some bizarre discussions around selections going on here. We've proven time and time again over the past 18 months that we simply do NOT make big wholesome changes if we win or lose. Lever and Viney will be in. Dunstan (really stiff) and Smith out. There will be none of this crap of James Jordon, ANB or even Tom Sparrow of being dropped.

That’s just typical over the top footy fan pessimism. Identifying every minor hurdle as a completely insurmountable task is par for the course. The weekly Demonland mass suicide was the same right up until late last year, it didn’t seem to matter how bad we ACTUALLY were. Hell, there are people on this site complaining about our form now, with 13 wins on the trot, one of which was a grand final.

1st Qtr: Good crowd👍🏽 Petty’s a jet Jordan has a high footy IQ. The kids developing nicely Likewise Bowey Sparrows a good bird Jeez Kozz😳 Good Joel Hard af Steven May 0. 0. 6. 😕 Browns huge for our forward structure Clayton getting busy Ben worked had for that. Good man👏🏽 That ump had his plumbs bounced 2nd Qtr: That would’ve been a beauty Claz😔 2. 10. 22. 🙁 In control, It’s a Demon game😈 Could watch Bowey kick all day Tig fans aren’t happy Our team defence rattles the comp Ok these misses are getting silly now Great kick Jack (Riewoldt) Petty 1 Bolta 0 Dunstan will be very handy Should be up by 4gs. Trail by 3p🤦🏽‍♂️ Petty 2 He’s opponent 0 3rd Qtr: Yeah that was bad Joel Gus’ field kicking has been sharp of late Weids growing - here’s your chance mate That was selfish Harmes. Had 2 blokes if he lowered his eyes there Clary best on Man we hate to concede Just not working for Nibbler tonight LJ been quiet tonight 4. [censored] 16. 40🤯 Lol imagine if Langdon missed that😂 good boy We love a 3rd Qtr 👑 Fritta loves a 3rd Qtr! Bowey’s closing in on 200 games yeah Up by 19 feels like 40 Nice patch from Trac Besides that HB to Lynch, has Joel smith been that bad?🤔 Game should’ve been absolutely iced by now - 8. 19. 67 4th Qtr: Just great to see Gus full of confidence. Been great tonight Keep at it Weid. Good lad Smith’s bounced back ok since his howler Dunstan got rocked!😵‍💫 Petty’s a rock Clary’s to legit to quit! BOG by a mile🐷 Dees love a snooze fest ay 🥱😑 Super clean from Bowey 9. 22. 76 6 & 0. 13 in a row & Bow Wow still undefeated 🥳 🔴🔵

Other teams are taking note and adjusting accordingly. Swans probably had an inkling they'd run over them. Now every other team knows to wear them out and then wait. Few clubs we owe as much as we do the Hawks. 87, 88, 96. We have barely started paying them back.

Unbelievable! I share your pain. In 1964 I was 5 years old and my brother was given a Melbourne footy jumper and I got a Hawthorn jumper. (We were kids from immigrant parents and my mum bought jumpers that had no white in it - easier to keep clean!). The Dees won the flag that year of course, my brother was happy as was the kid next door (he barracked for Melbourne). I refused to wear the Hawthorn jumper from that day on and hopped on the ‘gravy train’, so I thought. One could say it was a bad career move. We all know what happened to the Dees and I think Hawthorn snagged 12 flags since. As I got older I at times thought I may never see us win a flag. Didn’t help much as the league expanded from 12 to 18 teams. It seams the odds were always against us. All I can say now is, it was worth waiting for. GO DEES!!

To quote of my favourite shows as a kid:

I really really despise of the Hawks. During their dynasty, they often gave us a spanking (a lot of teams did - but the Cats and Hawks were without mercy) i want us to register a 10 goal+ win.

Amazing to think last year when Tomlinson went down ( who was having an almost AA start to the year) we replaced him with Petty who made us better. Then when hunt went down, who was also having a great season, we bring in Bowey who made us virtually bullet proof. A golden era on all counts .

10 Clayton Oliver (MELB) 7 Ed Langdon (MELB) 6 Nick Vlastuin (RICH) 3 Steven May (MELB) 2 Christian Petracca (MELB) 1 Angus Brayshaw (MELB) 1 Tom Sparrow (MELB) Coaches Split: 5/5 Oliver 4/3 Langdon 4/2 Vlastuin 3/0 May 2/0 Petracca 1/0 Brayshaw and Sparrow Leaderboard Votes Player Club 37 Andrew Brayshaw FRE 35 Patrick Cripps CARL 31 Callum Mills SYD 31 Clayton Oliver MELB 28 Christian Petracca MELB 27 Jack Higgins STK 24 Darcy Parish ESS 24 Bailey Smith WB 22 Jordan De Goey COLL 22 Lachie Neale BL 22 James Sicily HAW 21 Jeremy McGovern WCE 21 Touk Miller GCFC 20 Jeremy Cameron GEEL 20 Steven May MELB 20 Hugh McCluggage BL 20 Jack Sinclair STK 20 Jack Steele STK 19 Tom Green GWS 18 Max Gawn MEL 4 Dees players in Top 20. Rapt that Steven May is ranking so highly. Well deserved If one of our players isn't in the lead, I like that Andy Brayshaw is the clubhouse leader at this stage. He is a very good and fair player. Quite a spread in the top echelons of the leaderboard and only the Dees with two players in the top 10 drawing votes from each other unlike Brayshaw, Cripps, Higgins, Smith et al. Note: Votes for yesterday's games announced today so may affect the leaderboard. ADMIN EDIT: Included the votes from Yesterdays games into the leaderboard.

Have some sympathy for your view about Smith: the club rates him too. But dropping Hunt would be a travesty. Was really excellent against Richmond, on his 100th. Did it without fuss and without histrionics. Appeared in some of the votes. Hawthorn has some nippy types. He's needed, and he's in.

I think the Anzac Eve game is now the highlight of this round. The night ceremony is so atmospheric and moving with the flame and lights in the crowd. Well done to the organisers and the participants. Hopefully we have it long term.

Part of the reason all our 2022 opponents so far, sit 11 to 16 is because they have played us.

Dissent - 50 meters!

Something's been on my mind for a while now and has become far more noticeable recently, so I thought I'd throw it out there. Back when Roos took over, and certainly for all of his time with us and even into the Goodwin era, the coaches were all 'take the first option'. It was pretty much our mantra. That's no longer the case from what I see, and we now choose the right option. Taking a stab I reckon the right option is only 40% of the time the first one. My question is for the track watchers I guess, are the coaches still barking that instruction, or have we moved beyond that? For everyone else, agree/disagree?

In his press conf Goodwin spoke about Weideman. One comment was that he took his opportunities. He said a significant point was when we were 4.16 and the pressure was on the next player having a shot. Weideman was that player. He absorbed the pressure and slotted it. Nailing a goal under pressure like that is another big step in his development. Regardless of what folks think his faults are I doubt he is being dropped any time soon.

And even if ANB doesn't dominate the stats, he is one our unacknowledged "leaders" and his impact in that role is significant !!

Agree. There has definitely been a change to the option we take when we get a mark or free - and even when a player is running with ball in hand. The rule appears to be go quick and take the first option, but only if tbat option is the best one. But if there is not a good option, then hold onto it and wait until either a good option appears (eg a player leads up for a short hit up) or until the players ahead of the ball, and behind, can get into their structure (eg tall marking targets an crumbers to a specific spot). It works well for a number of reasons. It supports our tactic of controlling the tempo of the game. It helps us keep our shape offensively, but more importantly defensively as players who have pushed forward or back can reset. It means we are not always going flat chat, so when we need to go we have the energy to do so. It supports the option of giving a handball to a player running from behind. It reduces the opportunity for opposition teams to bounce it off half back and slingshot because we are not kicking it to a one on one or outnumber. Which is important because some teams rely on doing so to generate scoring, for example the hawks and dogs. And it reduces turnovers. A lot of the turnovers we win are on the back of opposition teams going fast and taking the first option. Freo have implemented a lot of our key tactics and that includes not taking the first option all the time.

We are a lot fitter than we were a few years ago and we are committed to creating options. Fact is, not so long ago if you didn't take the first option then there probably wouldn't be any other good ones come up. Now, if a player isn't sure of that kick then they can look around confident that at any time there will be teammates working to create both a good attacking option and a good escape hatch and defensive outlet. You wouldn't dig up your garden unless you actually thought there was buried treasure. Similarly, now that there is a real prospect of good options being available, our players have built the habit of looking for them. We are a very good, maybe even great, football team.

Umpires might be now taking note. No frees for him this round. In one instance in one of his well honed signature moves he was tackled from behind, flopped knees first forward, Adelaide player fell hard on his back and no free paid. Commentators were aghast why no free paid to wonder flopster. Not a good move telling the world he’s playing umpires for suckers.

Other supporters often think we're going to thrash them, but we rarely thrash anyone

A giant of a man!

Not sure why I bothered, they never have a positive word for Melbourne but I watched that football show on 9. all they could talk about was Ginnevan and his blond hair and how good he was and the rising star. just plain ignorant and self important. They cannot see that Bowey is by far the Rising star this year. they are hopelessly biased and introspective. Go Dees

Let's hope a team plays some attacking footy and actually tries to beat us for once First halves of our games are almost unwatchable

For mine, one thing that has had a major impact on the options available is that we're now an elite team at running without the ball. Used to always drive me crazy watching our players just stand around waiting for the ball to come. How many times a game do we see the 'give and go' now? Particularly Langdon, Petracca, Oliver, ANB, Jackson and Gawn too. I would say the first option for us is now the right option a higher percentage of the time given our movement without the ball.

I think there's definitely more of a 'have a think for a split second and then choose the best option' mentality. In 2020 our push button instant reaction way of thinking was holding us back and now seeing us work through situations mentally is one thing that has taken us to that next level, even if it is just that split second extra hanging on to the footy. There's also more situations where we are thinking a few steps ahead and on Sun night I realised just how good we work as a team to get the ball out of dangerous positions down back with a handball to a guy who may not be in the best position to run and carry or sink his boot into it but he is able to get it on to the next guy who can. We'd be a great side to coach right now.

Wouldn’t surprise me if Bowey ends up on a wing. He just needs to build his endurance. I am so impressed by his hardness considering he’s 12kg soaking wet. I suppose when you’re next to May you would feel invincible.

ok.. it’s simple. you’re banned from attending :-)

Mitch Clark was doing pretty well for us until he was injured. I think May would have to take him. 2022 team would just have Lever picking off any passes anyone tried to send to Watts. At the other end, Frawley would have his hands full with a fit BBB. I'd definitely pick 2022 Tom McDonald in my team, just so that 2012 Tom could be sent to him. I'd back the 2012 version to keep himself quiet. Nathan Jones was at peak power in 2012 but our 2022 midfield would absolutely smash them. And as a desperate tactic if I was Mark Neeld, I'd pick 2012 Max, have him wear a fake beard and try to fool the 2022 team into passing the ball to him. 2022 by 276 points.

I'm surprised Petracca got votes and the captain got nada.

Lol no we won't! We'll still keep them to 3 goals, 10 points.

And not only that, he took the decision up to the ARC so we could enjoy watching him get hit continually in the knackers for a further good couple of minutes. Backwards and forwards......

It's their grand final

Stupidity to even think ANB should be dropped. He is the ultimate team player and would be in the first picked each week.

I mentioned in game day but seeing it live the closing speed of our defenders is very impressive. Hunt and Smith have limitations for sure but I don't see them going out for another player who doesn't have the same ability to close down space or spoil that puts huge pressure on the opposition. We can wear some slip ups from those 2 but we can't replace the value of the above. The Tomo's and maybe Hibbs become back ups and only come in for injuries.

Viney and Lever are straight back in. Then, incredibly, we have to squeeze Salem in when he's right. Three players are going to make way for them. Guarantee it won't be Bowey though. He's incredible. Here's a bold call. It'll be a long, long time before we lose a game with both Bowey and Salem in the team. They are weapons of mass destruction!

And if the club listened to fans, Neal Bullen and Spargo would be delisted and not premiership players

That was with Hunt out injured. Hunt isn't injured any longer, and the FD has him ahead of Smith for the small lockdown defender role, so with Lever back in that leaves Smith with nowhere to play except for Casey.

This kid's nickname should be 'The Waiter' because he always delivers on a plate to team mates.

Couldn't agree more, he has no problem backing into a pack and nothing fazes him at all when he has the ball in hand. Thought he had a ripping game on Sun night.

A few Essendon supporters rang SEN earlier this morning LH saying Parish was BOG by a mile which I don’t agree with. He only had 3 inside 50s from his 44 possessions, 30 in a half is a fair effort but I thought DeGoey was far more influential in the first half than Parish.

A few matches next week between teams in the present top 8. A great opportunity to put a gap between us and several teams. Hawks seem to run hot and cold.

A week or so ago I forwarded my opinion that Tomlinson and Petty were about on par last year and hard to split. I'm a Redlegs fan, so have likely followed Petty a bit longer than most on here. I've always liked him, but kudos to our recruiting team and the man himself. An absolute pleasure to watch right now. So much self-assuredness and time. I didn't see it in his earlier days. I've never been particularly enamoured by any of our defenders throughout my time watching the MFC. Now we have May and Lever and Petty, the latter who could just about otherwise be one of our best ever over that period if he keeps up his current form.

What was it? I'm not suggesting they were incorrect, but it felt like we had a lot go our way, especially during an important stretch in the game.

I’d be very surprised if JJ was dropped, he’s barely put a foot wrong as stand in def winger. Really like Rivers but he would be my pick right now.

After a shaky first 2 rounds, Hunt’s getting better by the week and should be in our side for the rest of the year. I’ve noticed his one on one defending has been excellent this year. If you’re getting the points over a tricky opponent in Bolton, you should be considered a key staple in our defence.

Normally when one side outpoints the other, it is because of an emphatic victory. Against Richmond in the annual ANZAC Eve Blockbuster, the win by Melbourne was anything but emphatic, as they managed to miss the “big sticks” an incredible 22 times! The groans from around the ground as the Demons failed to put the Tigers away, eventually turned into ironic cheers for each successive point on the scoreboard. However, this irony from the fans was only possible because Melbourne had complete control of the game across the whole ground. They just couldn’t deliver the coup de grace on the scoreboard. The evening was spectacular, as it is every year with the lights dimmed for the solemn ANZAC memorial. Surely the players from Melbourne would have been impressed by the experience of playing in front of 70,000 at the G on this night. If it was this good, imagine what a GF experience will be like in front of their own fans. Something to look forward to? Unfortunately, what the game had in pre-match spectacle, it lacked in on-field performance. Richmond are a mere shell of the team which won 3 out of 4 Premierships, and are facing further decline as they try to hold it all together with old stagers in Riewoldt, Cotchin and Edwards. Only 7 touches to Edwards and with no Dusty, Grimes or Houli from the glory days, they are absolutely no chance to challenge again in 2022, as many thought in the pre-season. The Demons were just as ruthlessly overpowering as they were in their own GF appearance from last year, except on the scoreboard. The defensive unit once again held the opposition to below sixty points, with May, Bowey and Petty just racking up the intercepts when the ball came down their end. Nine each to May and Bowey with Petty chiming in for 8. No Lever? It didn’t matter, as the others just filled in with his absence. Jayden Hunt probably played his best game for the side this season in his 100th game, and importantly played defensively, not his attacking mode. He used his speed to shut down his opponent and let others do the ball movement upfield. In the middle, Petracca had a quiet game … but only because it was measured against an incredible performance from Clayton Oliver who was judged best afield on the night. Petracca’s mere 25 touches with 7 contested possessions was simply eclipsed when Oliver turned on the jets to produce 41 touches and an astounding 22 contested posssessions! Tom Sparrow is establishing himself as the third rock in the centre square as the coaches give him more time in the engine room. Twenty-four disposals in the hardest section of the ground, and still just 21 years of age. Then the side has a couple of reliable backups in Harmes and Dunstan and let’s not forget that Jack Viney is due to return next week. As noted last week, opposition sides should be very, very afraid. But the whole night was summed up by the enigma of the forward line. Sam Weideman received another chance, and despite three goals, they all came from fortuitous circumstances, not his own efforts. A solitary uncontested mark for the whole game is not what should be coming from a forward in his seventh year at the club. He will probably be given another chance to show if he has a future, but we keep revisiting this hope without an emphatic answer. Finally, in the third quarter Bayley Fritsch showed the side that someone up forward could kick straight and started a 5 goal streak that put the game beyond any doubt. Was it Christian Salem’s boots that he wore this week, and if so, the rest of the side needs to be issued with whatever Salo has sitting in the back of his locker. Hopes of a better game from therein for the fans however, was dashed as both teams could only manage a solitary goal each in the final quarter. And the Demons managed to out-point the Toiyges yet again in that quarter with three more minor scores to their two. It was just enthralling football to watch. Not! Next week the Hawks who are experiencing an up and down season. They are missing major components of their side particularly in the ruck and up forward. The Demons yet again face selection table problems with Lever and Viney available, while Tom McDonald put in a more than credible performance at Casey with three goals. The Demons certainly out-pointed Richmond and probably will do the same to the Hawks, but it is worth pointing out the winning streak is now out to 13, and Jake Bowey continues to know no other match result. Point made!  MELBOURNE 2.6.18 3.12.30 8.19.67 9.22.76 RICHMOND 2.2.14 5.3.33 7.4.46 8.6.54 GOALS MELBOURNE Weideman 3 Fritsch 2 Brown Langdon Petracca Spargo RICHMOND Lynch Riewoldt 2 Baker Bolton Graham Rioli BEST MELBOURNE Oliver Hunt Langdon May Gawn Petty RICHMOND Vlastuin Nankervis Gibcus Short Graham D Rioli INJURIES MELBOURNE Dunstan (head) RICHMOND Dow (leg) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil RICHMOND Nil SUBSTITUTES MELBOURNE T Bedford (not used) RICHMOND Parker (replaced Dow) UMPIRES Leigh Fisher Andrew Stephens Robert Findlay CROWD 70,334 at The MCG

Just another +14 for the Doggies there. How long until this farce gets the proper attention it deserves? I know the free kick count doesn’t need to be even or close for that matter, but when it’s a pattern of favoritism and by the end of the season one team has nearly 200 more free kicks than another, then surely it needs to be addressed?!

Loved his intercept mark then long kick for a goal against gws.