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No contact to the head. Stopped and was reaching for the ball. Appeared to brace and didn’t use elbow, forearm or shoulder. No injury. Rozee played on without any treatment and kicked the winning goal in fact. All commentators during and after game said it would be looked at, but should be ok, as he did everything right to protect Rozee as players are being taught. Verdict, life imprisonment.

I thought we missed Sparrow's physicality. I know many don't rate him but he adds that extra hard edge to our midfield which was missing last night. Jordon did not much when he came on again, I would give him a decent stint at Casey, it can't be good playing a quarter of a game most weeks. Our pressure and tackling was horrendous last night except for that patch in the 3rd. I don't know if that made it worse because they showed they could do it when they could be bothered. Umpiring was atrocious and not just in the last quarter. I hate whinging about the umpires but fair dinkum it is just so amateurish, it frustrates and aggravates you watching the game when ticky touchwood frees are going their way and blatant ones are missed the other way. It breaks momentum and I have no doubt it was a contributing factor to our inability to get going in the first half. When we did get that run on in the 3rd surprise surprise, some free kicks started going our way! It has far more of an impact on the flow of the game than many give credit for.

got to say Trent Rivers deserve some serious credit, tried so hard all night. He's got some serious dare and run which at times can be sorely lacking from our transition out of d50.

That handsome Sam Weideman fella from Bombers looks decent.

I though Salem was solid last night, given how much time he's had out of the game. I really appreciated that ability his decision making and ability to hit a target coming out of the back line.

Pretty much entirely agree with this. It’s just missing a paragraph about Fritsch. JVR will get a chat, but I don’t agree with the people calling to drop him (not that you are). He needs games drilled into him, and he needs to learn the only way. He’ll be feeling rubbish for giving that free away, as he should. But rubbing his nose in it at Casey doesn’t serve the team well. Especially when you look at our ghostly forward line at present. Koz has enough moments of brilliance to distract us from the fact that he is still an incomplete footballer. But even by his own patchy-standards, he was very poor tonight. He just seems selective about when he chooses to take the game on. I’m watching Eddie Betts on the broadcast now, and thinking about how he would just hunt for the heart of the match and always be a massive presence. Maybe it’s how he’s being coached, but Koz is just not taking these recent games on. TMac is the random object you use when you’ve lost a Monopoly piece. He’s become a barometer for me about where our best 22 is at. If he’s in, someone better is injured. Hoping Ben Brown is ready to come back now, and determined to play his best football. May was great. Hibbo has become crucial. Lever’s intercept marks were sadly missed. Trac and Oliver were brilliant at times, but Trac’s first half was one of his worst in recent times. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, and thinking it would have been tough conditions for an iffy ankle. Oliver’s chaos didn’t pay off enough times. Gawn was well and truly taken out of the game. The only thing that can fix that is coaching, but nothing stuck. ANB, Chandler, Spargo and Koz couldn’t seem to get near the ball, which in a game of wet weather football is unacceptable from our smalls. But I’m not despairing after that loss. Horrible conditions and easily the most hostile away-game arena. We don’t fold now, and this is a huge thing that was missing for so long.

FARRRRRRRRRK OF AFL he braced for collecting the ball mm THIS [censored] BASKET CASE ****KING [censored] CONTINUES yet [censored] CRIPPS CAN LAUNCH INTO THE AIR AND GET OFF GO FAARK URSELVES HYPOCRITES

Well, it wouldn't be the first time a Demon had been suspended for standing still while someone else ran into them.

Totally agree. And also a significant part of our game plan/brand is that oppo teams need to be strong enough for the entire game, port lost control of that in the third quarter, and were only brought back into the contest by disgraceful umpiring You don’t win every game by 10 goals, you don’t win every single clearance, oppo teams put enormous amount of prep into beating our systems. They do this because they know that if they don’t the game could be over by quarter time. Our defence held up, this is a corner stone of our game plan. May’s kick ins to the left wing position, well guess what, we are the best kick in scoring team the comp by doing this. Melbourne changed the momentum of that game, got it on our terms and then horrendous umpiring changed that momentum, why should any supporter accept that. Filthy that games continue to be decided by poor umpiring, this one just happened to be a game we were involved in

I get people are emotional after a loss but for [censored]’s sake there is some absolutely ridiculous stuff in here. We lost by 4 points on the road to a top 4 side in extreme pressure in the wet. Only Melbourne supporters with wildly misguided expectations interpret that to mean we’re done for the year, or that Goodwin can’t coach, or that our side has lost its hunger, or worst of the lot, the classic “we fluked the 2021 flag” rot. I’m gutted that we didn’t hold on but we got the wrong end of the umpiring stick when the game was on the line and we couldn’t shake the fumbles when we needed to. Our unbalanced side (Salem for Sparrow didn’t work) couldn’t stay with Port when the crowd and momentum lifted. The third quarter showed how good we can be but we started too far behind and needed to kick the first of the last to steady the ship. JVR’s free kicks late capped off a really ordinary night. I thought TMac was terrible too and I’d prefer not to play them as our two talls next week.

Michael Christian would serve footy better by serving fans at a food outlet. at lake boga Home games

I think our performance has been covered enough in this thread, but I will say it’s great to see May find some form again. I thought he was the only one who stood up for 4 quarters last night. Worrying signs, but we have a run of games ahead against quality sides to prove me wrong.

The footage makes it look like Hunter was moving towards the ball because the camera is following Rozee. If you follow Hunter relative to the signage painted on the ground he is practically stationary and all he does is turns his body and picks up the ball. Shouldn't have even been a free against in my view.

Hunter seems to have pulled up to me. Not much else he could do except step away ..... and that's just not football. Who knows? We'll just have to wait for the chook lotto draw.

You’ve undone your own argument by referring to Collingwood. Collingwood get beaten in key areas for 1-3 quarters many weeks. But they win because of their system and belief. They often only need one quarter (often the fourth) to get the job done. That was nearly us last night. Our system is such that we held up well enough defensively despite the ball living in our back half, and whilst they missed some shots, 8 of their behinds were from 45+ metres out. They were taking low-ish percentage shots. Like the GC game, the general vibe amongst non-Melbourne supporters is that last night’s game was a good game of intense, finals-like footy. Many of us on here have set their expectations so high that seeing us in an arm wrestle and struggling to dominate equates to non-competitive or incapable of winning the flag. I don’t agree with that argument.

Demonland is a hard read after a loss.

I don't think we are a play anywhere, anytime, any condition kind of team anymore. Give us the G, on a dry, windless day, and we gun. Other times, we want champagne footy to lift us, when grunt over 4 quarters is the way. Last night was an example. Port wanted it more, and Hinkley told them to go harder and test our metal. His players banged us, and as many said in the JVR saga in the Tribunal thread, it is a physical game. The majority didn't want to fight, leaving it to a few. Wet and cold, needs head over the ball and playing for territory. They had it in our defensive area most of the game, except for the 3rd. We nearly stole it, but when the game was on the line, our plan was not appropriate for the conditions. Where was any swarming, with most players in at the area of the ball. Butters ran around the lines too easily, meaning we gave them the back of set-ups, and he stepped through the holes anyway. JVR is young and requires support from leaders, looking at TMac, and to be team first acts. I also want him to hit the packs from the side, as his straight leads and his youth make it too easy to push him under the ball's flight. We are still a good team, and hard to beat. These next games at the G, leading to the bye, will make our season (or break). Cannot put Gus on the ball. Viney looks like he has a niggle. Kossie is not a mid and needs to work on his specky's. We need an enforcer out there. (Sorry about the larger than normal script but can't make it revert to default)

I have been very optimistic about this side. For me it’s not the losses now, it’s the trend. We have less than a 30% win rate against top 8 sides over the last 12 months (and we’ve played a lot of games against them, so there is good data). Losses are understandable, but that stat says we can’t currently compete with the best. As a result my optimism has turned into pragmatism. The numbers tell the truth.

Interesting in Goody's presser he said they chose to not make Butters accountable after half time once we hit our purple patch in the 3rd. Yet Butters still had 18 in the 2nd half, incl 9 contested, and kicked 2 goals Had he been shut down we would've won Dumb, stubborn coaching

Not to worried about the loss, i'm happy for us to idle away in third/fourth place going unnoticed. I know we will hit our straps soon and show our quality later in the year. I tipped us losing this one several weeks ago in the ladder predictor. What is concerning though is that we lost to a side with essentially their best forwards out in Dixon, Marshall, Rioli... I wouldn't want to play them in finals on their home deck. Definitely a dangerous team right now.

If we accept Hunters 1 week suspension I’ll be checking out from the 2023 H&A season. I’ve never been so disheartened by the direction of the game and its management. It’s just too infuriating.

I swear Oliver could have 9000 touches and people will complain he didn’t have a good enough game. He is one of the all time greatest midfielders and he and Trac, as per usual, turned the game around for us in the third. But by all means let’s complain about him when about a dozen of his teammates barely touched the footy all night.

I can’t believe Jonas won the free but got suspended. What a farce the AFL is

Is it too late to call up the great man?

I really wish Fox would realise Adam Papalia is their best commentator and use him more.

No Jaded, it’s the haircut. He’s been Sampsoned.

The North bench stuffed it up and paid a massive price. What a rotten way to lose a match. Look on the bright side. The win edged Sydney above Freo on the ladder.

I think you miss the point. It’s not that we just lost by 4 pts, it’s we lost playing a poor brand for 3 quarters and made to look 2nd rate. It’s a brand that many know deep down won’t cut it in September. That’s why I’m seething. When the Pies put everything on the line they continually find a way - it’s not a coincidence that they have won so many close games- their method holds up and we have seen It time and time again for 18 months. The game plan still looks suspect and now teams have not only worked us out defensively but are now working on our stoppage and midfield game.

31 disposal and 11 tackles against Dandenong Stingrays last night. Pretty much BOG.

He stopped going towards the ball Rozee ran into him.

Sure, they should have been further up at half time, but we should have brought pressure and work rate for the first half and didn't. Nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems. We're in the top 4 for most attacking and defensive stats. Yet, we have a lot of room for improvement. Given it's May, there should be some room for optimism. But you've already planted your anti-Goodwin flag, so that'll be harder to see past.

It was also their job to pay other blatant frees too, not just umpire for the crowd. How could a forearm to Max’s face in a marking attempt not be paid, or the hit to his head on the wing, or the hit to Tracc’s head, or Tom Mac being grabbed around the face by Jonas and then copping holding the ball, or the 15 metre throw in towards Port’s goal and straight to a Port player not be recalled, just as a few examples of disgraceful one sided umpiring. It happened to the Bombers and Pies there as well recently with the only difference being their coaches mentioned it. That said Port deserved to win. I thought with the rain we were a bit top heavy as well.

They could'hve easily switched viney onto him as he was being subdued by them. It's really really bad coaching. Goodwin would've fixed 2 problems and Viney loves the shutdown role. It frustrates the hell out of me. I didn't take last night's loss at all well.

Bit rough given the utter garbage served up by our leaders for most of 100 minutes of football. How about we start there instead of pinging the 6 gamer?

On the positive side, Salem had a very good return.

Wow, it's a miracle we didn't lose by 186 points.

I reckon Woewodin will play his first game next week if Hunter is rubbed out. I think we need some fresh energy.

Players should start getting suspended on both ends of this action IMO. Hunter has an obligation to protect his opponent, and his action can be construed as a bump. But his opponent if he had acted exactly as Hunter did would not have been injured. Therefore suspend them both, as both of them contributed to the injury. This protects the AFL from litigation (I think this is the fundamental reason why they're suspending based on impact more than the action, so they can say "well we suspended the player who caused the injury, what more do you want from us"). It also disincentivises players from acting with reckless disregard for their own well-being, as Rozee did.

Will 100% get a week for that. The AFL will say he chose to bump and needed to stand back and let his opponent have a free run at the football.

Yes it stings. But not worried one bit. We have been in darker darker places. Salem had a run. No injuries

Lost by a country mile.... scoreboard flattered us.

I’m in the same boat as you @The heart beats true Putting aside everything else that made us great in 2021 - the one thing that gave me belief above everything else was our ability to match it with and beat the best sides Every team we beat in our finals campaign we had beaten during the H&A season - and it was that fact that gave me the ultimate belief that no matter what position we were in in a match, that we could never be counted out (19 points down in a GF, anyone?) However, ever since then we’ve been making up the numbers against other contenders I’m personally at a point now where I’m treating matches against anyone who’s not a contender as fugazi - not that they don’t matter, but that they’re not going to tell us anything substantive about how we will go in a finals campaign A win against Collingwood on King’s Birthday is now a non-negotiable if we’re going to be a legitimate premiership threat - lose that, and we will have lost to them, Brisbane and Port, arguably the three most likely teams to win the flag Come on Dees, give us that belief again!

I'll preface this by saying...I know I have an optimistic outlook. I'd argue that every single team that concedes a goal, every single week (let alone loses the match) will lose out to a single or multiple high pressure acts and the loss of a contest, that's the nature of the sport. Cliches abound. Including mine - 'You are never as good or as bad as you think'. The narrative would have been different if we'd got up by 2 or 8 points... "found a way etc etc..." I guess I think about what is a realistic expectation for me to have around, how long can our players keep up the effort quarter to quarter, and match to match and month to month. What's the expectation, is it 100% all time and if not, what is acceptable? And is it appropriate that players give 'less effort' and we win? Or is it only a problem if we lose. Again, is it realistic for me to think a player (or multiple players) will be up and about and on quarter after quarter after quarter after quarter. Another thing I like to think about is.... Are there any appropriate losses for Narrm to have along the way to a finals campaign? Do I feel that, If we lose to a team above us - we're making up numbers and...If we lose to a team below us - we're just not good enough. My, that's a pretty catastrophising response EO 😇* apols if that's condescending as [censored]. Anyway...another 3.5 months of football to go... that'd be another 13 matches. *what I’m saying is that it is not psychologically or physiologically to be up or on each week or quarter to quarter be it for an individual or a range of individuals. Once we start to understand that, due to the demands of a sport that are collision based and the fatigue that comes with that, perhaps our demanding entitlement as supporters might change a bit. No other sport in the world goes for as long throughout a season with the amount of impact physiologically and thus psychologically, as this one.

I thought Salem's game was amazing considering the lay off he has had away from the game.

great game and i hated every second of it

Read the question Jaded. They’re not to blame for any of that. They are to blame, under the auspices of the AFL, for making our great game growingly unwatchable. Umpiring of AFL football in its present state is an outright shambles.

Demonlanders spit dummy

JVR needs a spell. Ran under every footy repeatedly, reckless and stupid free kicks given away. Costly! Gawn no impact, small forwards unseen in what should have suited them more than the talls. Petracca obviously being managed forward with ankle in first half, tries to carry team home in the 3rd. Viney, 33% D/E and another brainfade sliding in taking legs late… making that mistake at that point in the game was dumb. Tom McDonald is just dumb at times. Isn’t a game he doesn’t try and take on a tackle, ignores first option, gives away HtB and moans about it while the teammates he burnt just have to stand fuming. Frustrating watching.