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We're not losing to Brisbane.

Back on topic (Dire Straits) - this was posted here in December 2020 after it was announced that Josh Mahoney was going to Essendon and that Mark Williams had been hired as an assistant at Melbourne. "I know we've been in dire straits, but I didn't expect to lose Mahoney for nothing and get Chocs for free."

Riveting.

I guess this is the most appropriate thread for this. Apologies if it's a re-post! Either way, enjoy! 😎

After all his input, hard work, effort, widespread player encouragement and other desirable features in his career with the Dees, who could deny him the sunset reward of some success at the Filth? He was a sturdy rock in our defence and that, from a player who was no champion - just a hard-working and battling team member - his performances over time were highly commendable.

I mean, of course Dunny jumps on the bandwagon when we're good again. He should have been reminded of these comment back in 2019.. https://www.sen.com.au/news/2019/05/03/i-wish-i-had-come-to-the-pies-10-years-ago-dunn/

While the Gabba looks like a 'fortress' they play weaker teams there, like Geelong at Kardinia Park. A look at their record there this year: Wins: Port, North, Coll, Eagles, Giants, Saints, Bulldogs, Suns, Carlton Losses: Ess Only two of those teams made finals last year. Of the two wins vs this year's top 8 teams the Coll win was early in the season when they weren't doing much. Like Geelong they tally up wins at their Home ground but fall short in finals when they come up against the best teams. Dees by 5 goals!!

Is jake Lever one of our most intelligent and calm-in-a-crisis footy players wev'e had for some time (I'm sure he's a smart boy but I'm talking footy I.Q.)? Casting my mind back to Round 23 2021, Jake was the player that provided the perfect pass to Max, admittedly he and Max were on the same page, so credit to Max also. Gets the Dees the minor premiership. Last Saturday, final 30 seconds Lever puts the last play inboard after setting up the directions. Dees win thanks to heroics of Hunt, Brwon, Melk and Pickett. But it starts with Jake. Again. What can he do for the team this week I wonder?

I like this thread much better than the other one on the top four.

Maybe. For those that don't know, Expresso Love is a 30-year old Dire Straits song. Music lyrics in the early 1990s were probably more subtle with their references to that particular physical activity than the music of today. (Mind you, not as appalling as the Starland Vocal Band's nearly 50-year old "Afternoon Delight"). I've always thought Expresso Love was blending two themes - appreciation for a woman with a love for coffee ("tastes just like a peach", "with the honeysuckle musk" and "I don't want no sugar in it"* are all, in my view, references to coffee). NB: *Demonstone - please direct your complaints about the double negative to Mark Knopfler.

i mean can you blame him, we were a basketcase... there wasn't a soul in footballer who wanted to be associated with us

He was playing in that game. I'm going to give him a pass on that one even though it hurt at the time. Wouldn't you allow him to support both clubs?

No. He bloody deserves it and me personally would stoked for him. I never in my time watching Ooze play thought he be a senior coach. Just never struck me as the type that would.

You're correct dazzle, it is a terrible comment , if it is construed to mean lacks courage. Anyone who plays footy at that level does not lack courage. I was at the game on Saturday and payed particular attention to Viney and I wan't to share some observations. There were two occasions, I won't detail them, where he ran flat out to make a contest that he could not possibly make. But he just would not give up. Another of note is after Kossie kicks the matchwinner and players surround him laughing and congratulating him. You see Viney near the group but not actually joining in ..... simply because he is totally and utterly [censored]. My point is that Viney is a totally maniacal competitor ........ he just can't seem to help himself... it's in his nature. Weid has skills .... he has demonstrated that but he lacks that total competitiveness of a Viney. Jack Watts was a bit like that. Some players have it ....and they play above their skill level. Others don't and either succeed or not. That's just humanity I suppose.

Harmes tagged Neale out of the game R15 and in the QF last year. This was instrumental for our midfield dominance in both games. Surely Harmes must come in to do this job again.

Quite a pleasant surprise to see Lynden Dunn in this Tik-Tok video. Great to see him wearing a Demons scarf! He did play 165 games for the Melbourne Football Club after all! https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSRkVKqA3/ Was a bit of a cheeky comment by Lynden to that Jordan bloke from Melbourne Fan TV but having said that I wouldn't be able to be runner at the club either. 😂😅🤣

It should, but you might want to go on Friday instead of Saturday.

How about a game where Hunt and Melksham were crucial to victory Who are you guys going to bag now ?

Except it's chicks for free....have you been singing Alex the Seal whenever our lips are sealed comes on for 40 years too Bin??

I think this is what the club value re Lever, he understands what the moment requires and makes good decisions. Hunt is another player who has on quite a few occassions when we've had to go has won a contest, broken free and hit up the right target in our forward 50. Last year I think he matured alot from decision making perspective and he has been very good since returning to the side.

Hunt is playing like someone who knows he is in with a shot at playing in a GF. Form has been excellent

It’s important to note that King compared our last 7 rounds this year to our last 7 games (including finals) last year, which is skewed because we all know how bonkers our clearance work was during the finals. I think the comparison between the same periods in both years is actually much closer. King just using selective statistics to back up his opinion.

A big factor in the change to those inside 50 scoring ratio numbers is fatigue related to loading. Makes sense because our defensive sytem is completely reliant on all team defensive running. If that is off even a little bit our abilty to get back inside D 50 in numbers is compromised. But even more significantly, our abilty to put pressure on the final kick inside 50 is compromised and that makes it much easier for the opposition to kick to their forwards advantage. Fatigue wasn't an issue in the first half of the seaon, which is a factor in our better numbers in that period. Fatigue is not the only factor of course. For one thing, we have played some really good teams since Round 16. Other teams know tbey have no chance to beat us playing slow and therefore fast ball movement is critical. That is risk reward, and the reward is a higher inside 50 to score ratio. We also elected to play high tempo, aggressive footy against the dogs, never seemingly trying to slow the tempo. We did the same in the first half against the pies. That style risks giving up lots of uncharacteristic slingshot, rebound goals. And that is exacctly what happened against tbe dogs and the pies, particularly in the first half (at half time, the pies had 8 goals 2 from only 17 entries). That's two games from kings seven game sample where we elected to play a different, more aggressive, high tempo model than our normal method. Shoot outs. So a nearly a third of his sample size could be considered outliers, or at the very least factored into the analysis. That's exactly what annoys me so much about kings shallow analysis. He doesn't consider or give any context to the data he speaks to. Or try and understand what might be behind the numbers. The numbers are symptoms and indicators of a problem not the cause of the problem. Misunderstand the symptoms and you can't give a proper diagnosis, or more importantly land on an effective solution. And leaving aside ignoring loading as a factor, any dees fans watching our last seven games would concede the opposition have been running out games better. So at the very least king should be suggesting fitness levels and fatigue relative to our opposition are possible factors in the numbers. Which would be well worth pointing out, because relative fitness levels are obviously going to be a key determinant in who wins the flag and are if we are not as fit as our finals opponents we are in trouble.

“Was” an All-Australian ”is” a 29y.o (next year) who is not wanted by his club, after coming off a year of serious injuries. Definitely not worth a first rounder.

we have won our last 11 in a row interstate.. we travel better than we play at the MCG.

Coffee truck is down here again. Just waiting for the players. Watching the storm go through their paces, they're switched on! Light duties include: Lever, Spargo, Viney and BBB. Yesterday's players aren't on the track, Bedford is training as is Rosman, but not Chandler. They are mainly in runners, and after some jogging around the hats they played a soccer game. Moniz-wakefield and Tmac in rehab doing plenty of kicking. There is no strapping on Kossie knee.

Just like to say thank you to everyone who contributed to the thread and I wish everyone and their family peace, joy and happiness

For a club that is small and irrelevant, supporters of the "big" clubs sure do love beating us. You just sense it's a bit of classism and fear of the elite being better than them. Richmond and Collingwood supporters I know can't STAND Melbourne. Which is weird becauae they keep talking about how irrelevant we are.

Lol, McGovern flopping possibly cost them the game. That was a good pick up by the guy.

Cmon man! Hardly on the same level and your statement about Rioli being drug free is ridiculous.

Haha ball!.............crickets Gold

Should i ask why this thread has begun?

Watch the vision Lever was signalling the corridor and when he got the ball that's where he kicked it . Champions make their own luck. But that moustache...geez I used to thimk he was mocking Taylor Walker but he still hasn't got rid of it

I had the voice of McGoo in my brain when posting this topic. Good Call. But I am dissappointed at some comments on Lever. The issue for me was that he DID make this kick in a calculated manner. It wasn't luck, he bee-lined the ball, he had already done the set up instructions to others. The analysis on Kayo was very, very similiar to that a year ago re: the kick to Max. No fluke, this bloke thinks about it. hence my memory was jogged. I also acknowledged , in my words, 'the heroics of Jayden Hunt and the others that turned what Jake initiated into a sublime football experience. Iv'e never seen the MCC area go nuts like they did in this moment. (and that includes Flower's first final triumph in 1987.

It wasnt Collingwood that stopped us.....we did. We were well in front of the Lions the round before building up vital % that would of made it too hard for the eagles to catch us in r23 . Then Melbourne stopped and useless Wagner under no pressure kicked the ball straight to a lions player and the run was on. Lions piled on the goals, we still won but we blew our % gap against the eagles. Melbourne naturally lost to Collingwood . Eagles needed to beat injury hit Crows by 29 points from memory. They did exactly that! They pushed us out of the finals by 0.5%. We missed finals in 2017 because we Melbourned the last 15 minutes against the lions thanks to Wagner (delisted).

It’s so good in fact that if we get a home final, I’ve heard the Club are considering, early in the week leading up to the final, having an interstate training camp, and flying in for the game!

Jaspa Fletcher is also a F/S who is expected to go in the earlier part of the draft. They don't have enough points for both but will get a good comp pick for Mc Stay, bring some of their 2023 draft currency into 2022 and they will get the deals done. As you say they may also trade out players for picks this year.

So moral of the story, do we need to spend big for Grundy?

When I am in dire straits I prefer money for nothing (poetic licence invoked)

Our interstate record is impeccable of late. Let’s hope it stays that way.

I have always liked Spiderman for wearing a red and blue outfit!

This is a terrible comment

I paid too much for a car, it only has a few years left in it at best. Currently un-driveable. I expect you to pay heaps for it because it was worth heaps when new. What do you reckon? I say Collingwood need a dump (salary) they can pay $300k we swap a 2nd round tip for 3rd round (to keep nuffies happy) and deal done if Richmond doctors say he's ok.

You can't blame the fixture for the fact that 17th placed Collingwood has zoomed into the top echelons and that 9th placed West Coast has ridden the elevator to the basement. Nobody could have foreseen those two things happening. On that basis, the draw/fixture is not unfair. The way the cookie has crumbled has worked in Geelong's favour.

The Howe trade isn't so bad in that we got pick 29 back which became part of the pick trade package with GCS that enabled us to get Oliver. There were other aspects of the Coll and the GCS trades which I've left out to not overly complicate the end result of the Howe trade. I can come back and list them if anyone wants to know all the permutations. But the bottom line is we got Oliver.

Late last year, Charlie got goal-side of Smith and away a few times for goals. I would much rather trust Hibberd than Smith or Hunt. Rayner is quick but not as tricky, i.e. Hunt or better Salem who the data on-line during the match says is much quicker than he looks; should bends the knees more just for appearances.

With regard to Riccardi, if you're going to go after 23-year-olds you'd want to make sure they can play the game. In his first two games he kicked six goals and won rave reviews. Has pretty much done nothing since.

When are these sort of [censored] posts going to stop??

Treloar was best on for WB in last years GF. Grundy WAS a top 5 ruck. Who is just gone under the knife again, who they are desperate to trade out. I don’t see what you see.