Leaderboard

He doesn’t have to do jack. Clearly the Club think so to, hence the “deafening silence.” How about trusting the Club’s decisions and handling of this situation?!

[censored] me! there was some beers, insults and a few punches thrown. punishments handed out and apologies made Let's move on FFS

Yes they do.

I reckon we've got this week's winner of the Mixed Metaphor Medal.

Rate him or not, it’s literal trash to tell a teammate that you’re basically happy he got injured and didn’t play in a flag. If the shoe was on the other foot and May didn’t pull up from his hamstring, he wouldn’t want Smith to joke about it. These guys have worked their whole lives and have sacrificed everything to win premierships. Would May say that to Jones? No he wouldn’t! Considering May spent 10 years at a rock bottom club achieving nothing, it’s bloody rich of him to be pulling out this garbage. Really poor behavior from someone who is meant to be a leader of our club and the leader of the backline. How does he expect to command respect from the rest of his teammates after pulling this crap? Also he was clearly not sober, which considering he is recovering from a head injury, just shows me he has really bad judgment and probably an inability to not consume alcohol.

Give it a rest mate Are you Ned Flanders?

Hunt dropped seems harsh. No idea why Weideman is in unless we are planning to drop Mitch Brown. Turner likely debuts if Petty isn’t right to go. I am still so mad that May isn’t there thanks to his utter stupidity.

just bloody win Monday that will shut the bastards up

You're going to give away an AA defender to one of our rivals for nothing? Some of the takes in this thread are beyond ridiculous

It's in his interest to keep the story going, he gets worse and worse every year with his self righteousness

jesus man ease up yes its bad but the media beat up is throwing fuel on the fire here

At least Mitch Brown stayed in front of his bloke which is a standard Weideman hasn’t set for himself. Have some respect.

This week is going to tell us quite a bit about just how good this team is Coming off two disappointing losses, a week a utter stupidity and juvenile behaviour, players missing and out of form I'm waiting for a big response - this week could be season defining - roll over like the Melbourne of old and it might be an ugly second half of a season that only a few weeks ago promised so much The memory still burns of a club and its playing group who were best known as talking a big game and rarely if ever delivering - I really hope we aren't heading back to that place

Why?? He worked his guts out and did a few good things. He could bob up and kick a couple of goals! I think your comments harsh!

Just because a bloke mouths off when he's had a few does not make him an alcoholic I'll take it you're one of those people that's never had a beer and said something you maybe shouldn't have Bloody hell the dramatic reactions from some here is nauseating

I just hate all of this. I love May, he has been so good for our club, but i hate reading about what he has said and the way he has carried on. I love Melksham and he has given a fair bit to the club as well, love that he stood up for himself and his teammate, absolutely detest that he used violence. Hate it. Just hate all of it, leaves me with a sick feeling in my guts. Cant say too much more about it really. Its just a huge mess.

The club has liaised with the AFL. They have agreed to mfc actions and penalties imposed. Last night he tried to compare it to the Shane Bolton nightclub incident where the AFL stepped in and imposed a $20k fine. The AFL stepped in because Richmond didn't tell the whole story, said 'nothing to see' and took no action. The Bolton story is worse than May as he belted a member of the public and Richmond failed to act. Not sure that Bolton ever apologised. Whately knows all that but it suits his agenda to not tell the complete Bolton story. It will be a very bad precedent if the AFL, having been involved, steps in at this stage as it will be in response to the bloodlust of the media. I don't often give the AFL credit but I very much doubt they will want to be seen to be led by media pressure.

Yes it can, but ultimately you would want all of your players peaking at the same time (September) so would want to provide a program that prepares all your athlete to peak at the same time. By running multiple schedules you risk a portion of your group being flat at the wrong time. Remember other factors affect the preparation, so if you add a layer of complexity (multiple schedules) and then cop injuries/illness you may not have the ability to effectively facilitate (due to budget/personnel constraints) so many variances. Plus it's often better for motivation (mental/emotional readiness) for the whole group to be roughly on the same schedule as the team pulls each other along to higher levels of training. Don't forget 'loading' is applied differently to different physiological types, Petracca v Langdon being a good example. They won't both increase load the same, so there will already be a layer of specificity applied to different groups of players.

Going to Melbourne Grammar does not mean you are well educated. It just means that you are sat in a room where you have a better opportunity of becoming well educated than some other environments. I have worked in top private schools and they are full of people who are not intellectually aware.

If we all stop giving it any thought it stops having any power. It happened. Move on. Remember when Spargo and Pickett got suspended for taking an Uber during Covid, or when Oliver got caught drunk driving, or when TMac said vaccines shouldn’t be mandatory? I don’t really either - as I had to google all those stories to fact check. None of these things matter if the team plays well together. Take a deep breath, picture Gawn holding the cup, and let it blow over. The footy media is just bored as we are in the bye weeks. Don’t get sucked in.

He'd walk into our forwardline this year...

Wonder what Caro thinks of that

Agree a bit stuff on Hunt, though not disputing the fact that he's been dropped, especially with Hibberd and Rivers available. But last week was a bit of a perfect storm for him, the backline a bit all over the shop without May there and Salem still off the pace, and he got stuck one on one with Papley and Heeney, two of the best in the business.

Good to have 2 albury residents in the team Although debutants on qb give me the heeby jeebies

Bloody oath. We should be winning this game based on desire, talent, system and purely that we are further advanced than them Great sides who have won premierships over the years have always been able to win games with key players out. The last two weeks have been understandable because of who we've played. But seriously, if we don't win on Monday I will be genuinely disappointed and slightly concerned about our second half to the year. We also owe these flogs who caused a huge upset against us last year. And they were missing a handful of their top 10 players and still beat us. It sometimes comes down to big club vs small club mentality. We better respond. Especially after the week in the media we've had. I expect a galvanised group who are committed to the cause for four quarters. And I expect to win.

I wonder how long until the story involves a dwarf being set on fire.

May is finished. It's June

Why are you so hell bent in hearing from Melksham? Let it go..

You'd see it nearly every week if you had a look. For example, Jackson Archer has been listed on the extended bench at North on a few occasions this year without making the final team. He's been named again this week on the extended bench with (new) beside his name.

Agree Jaded, Hunt unlucky IMO….there’s more than a couple that have struggled the past fortnight.

Mihocek = McDonald Vastly underrated player

Mihocek is a very good player and underestimated by many. He's no Kingsley.

Elliot is too strong and too good one on one for hunt i reckon. Hibbo would be the match up for Elliot - can match him for strength and is excellent one on one. I'd go Hiiberd in, and plays on Elliot. And Hunt goes to Ginnivan.

To paraphrase Joe Strummer “should I McStay or should I go”… I only hope he remembers to pack his McCluggage.

Not sure what Goodwin can add. Unless more stuff comes out before his scheduled pre-game press conf I hope he just plays questions with a straight bat and subtly steer the press snake pit to Daniher and MND. Hopefully, footy tonight takes over as the main topic. It is really sad that the May saga has completely overshadowed Daniher and MND. Hopefully, the club gets that back in the limelight where it deserves to be.

I'd add to AF's terrific post that the other two key elements connecting our defence and offence is the incredible amount of all team running we do and our transition game (when at our best). Goody talks about the three phases. Defence is one, transition another and offence the third phase. Our mids, half forwards, wingers - hell even players like Brown - all push back deep into defence in numbers to help. This up and down the ground running, which more often than not is unrewarded (in an individual not team sense), is incredibly taxing. Watch spargo in a game when next watching live to get a sense of that. Of course that commitment helps our defence and increases our chances of winning ground balls in our back half. But it is also is a key part of our offence, and when fully wound up a big driver of our capacity to score quickly and heavily. That's because when we win the ball in our back half and then transition, the wave of players that have pushed back, sweeps forward. We run in waves and whoever has the ball usually has multiple team mates running parallel or slightly forward - almost like rugby union. Freo and the Swans (and the Hawks for that matter) generate one on ones up forward though quick, precision kicking - if possible through the corridor (though freo also have elements of our swarm, which is one reason why they can be so damaging - they have two methods of transitioning the ball). We do the same, but move the ball quickly with less precision ball movement and more swarm and that wave of players sweeping forward. Think Langdon tight on the boundary on the hb, flipping it to kozzie, who flips it back, and so on. Suddenly we are at the wing or our hf line and have multiple options. We can kick to a lead up flanker or tall. or go deep inside our 50 and if we don't mark or crumb it, create a stoppage and as AF notes, trap it inside our 50 (which also requires us to be at full fitness to work properly). But that wave, swarm running when on, also creates lots of one on ones and often free players inside our 50. Think of our goals early this season when a player kicking inside 50 has multiple free options to kick to. This happens because oppo players, particularly late in games, literally can't go with their direct opponent and are left gassed and trailing behind them. It looks as if we have extra players on the ground and is thrilling to watch. And it is all built on all team gut running and selflessness in the sense that most of that running is unrewarded in an individual sense (eg the off side winger may not touch the ball for big blocks of time, but has to do the running for the system to work because, one he provides an outlet option, and two his opponent has to go with him) Because our opposition has to go with us all game we exhaust them, and as so often happens, opposition teams just hit the wall. And when they do, like in the grand final, our offence looks a million dollars because we sweep it forward with ease and the opposition can't get back quick enough to clog up our forward line. If, across the board, we are fatigued, all that wave running and swarm breaks down. It impacts every part of our game, but arguably our offence most of all. When we can't swarm, our forward line looks stodgy and always crowded. And Brown for instance is always flying in a pack with our players and theirs (because that is our method - when in doubt kick to a pack and win the ground ball). Tmac is a huge out, and the main reason is he does a huge amount of up and down the ground running and his opponent can't go with him.

Which actually means absolutely nothing. He has to debut sometime and he ain’t JW.

It’s simple. Win this week and by the time the bye comes around the media blood trail will have diverted onto their next target. Lose this week and the stench will linger… Let the club sort May out. I take solace in knowing this will only make him even hungrier through embarrassment alone.

So a new account of what is supposed to have happened appears every 12 hours and we see 5 pages of posters commenting on it as if it is an accurate account and wringing their hands. Then a new account appears and we are off again.

How about instead we help him stay off the drink and keep our best key back and one of the most important players in the club.

Why would today be any different? 🤣

We're not that club anymore. We proved it beyond any doubt last September I agree this could be the spark that ignites our season We’ve been off and apparently Goody has been concerned with complacency sinking in Having the blow torch on us this week will shake us out of our lethargy I expect a big performance against the pies and I expect to win And Steven May, who has behaved like a complete prat, will be one of our best players for the rest of the season

He is lucky but lets be fair first game back in about 14 months. If he's poor again this week then out he goes.

This issue has the potential to galvanize the club really. We can have a big love in, and people can tuck their egos back in their pants and have an all in love session. Apologise for indescretions, apologise for the terrible communication and behaviour, and vow to be a better man. It will be hard to get over for some people but if people can let go and forgive and move forward, this can turn into a big positive for the club internally. It does really revolve around 1 player who needs to completely let his walls down, become a better human and team mate, and can strengthen our club no end

If there was ever a time to let our footy do the talking now is it. No more [censored] around with this and that. We are approaching the business end of the season and we need to put the foot down and work our butts off.

Like it or not - this is a story. One of our stars evidently had too much to drink and revealed the disconnect in the group between those that won the flag and those ‘also rans’ that didn’t. Until we recover from this and host a Prelim at the G this year - no one can talk about our great culture. No more podcast diatribes, no more President lunches groaning on about how great we are. Just sort it out and prove you have sorted it out.

Just that we play a territory game, based on trying to turn the ball over as close to goal as possible. If our team defence isn't there, we can't apply pressure to make the opposition turn it over. Up the other end of the ground, if we apply good post clearance pressure (defence) from stoppage, our defenders behind the ball can intercept and slingshot back the other way before the opposition mids have a chance to block up space on transition. If we have to play slow from the back half, we need pressure (defence) on the ground ball if our talls don't mark it but bring it to ground. We then either hope to lock it in for a stoppage reset and go again; or swarm and outnumber to get a clean look at 50, goal or a forward hit up; or simply surge the ball forward to gain extra territory and put the opposition defence under pressure in our attacking 50. The last two weeks we've been incredibly inconsistent when the ball hits the deck and been beaten by the opposition to important ground balls and that’s even if our talls have managed to bring it to ground at all. Our game starts from a position of contest or defence ("building from the contest out" was the mantra) and it's about getting the ball back as quickly as possible (think the Klopp Liverpool press, which is why we've so often compared 2021 MFC to Liverpool). But like Klopp's system, it requires amazing fitness and concentration. We first got this one wood clicking in the Collingwood game in 2020 and later in the St Kilda game that year, where we strangled them and didn't allow them to slingshot off half back (our half forwards and mids were on that day/night). It was a markedly different way of playing. It's now being aped by numerous opposition, with less talented personnel.

According to Jay Clark, Melbourne is among 4 clubs that's officially interested in Daniel McStay. Free agent so would get him for free. Stoked to hear we're interested.

If you want to see how blessed this football club is to have a Max Gawn there as a leader, watch his presser. All class, doesn’t bite at the journalists (not sure how he controls himself, frankly), manages to put a positive spin on it and all whilst being at turns completely authentic, seriously considerate of the incident, yet wholly Maxy. He is simply unique in football, a playing statesman of the highest order.