Leaderboard

My bad I could only see the ins and outs. I’ve just tended my resignation as a selector.

Tomlinson should come in. The Lever/May/Tomlinson defensive combination is undefeated since our win against GWS in round 17 2020 at the GABBA. The combination works effectively and I have no idea why the club deviates from it. Tomlinson is statistically one of the best one of one defenders in the AFL according to Champion Data, which enables Lever to have an intercept picnic.

@WERRIDEE this is it. The moment you've been training for all these years. The ultimate 22

Looks like it's Grundy out and Smith back to the forward line.

He is supporting a wonderful cause that the Melbourne Football Club instigated supporting women with breast cancer, The Pink Lady Match. There are far more important things in life than a game of footy.

I think he deserves another week. His ruck impact was good and he wasn't terrible forward - in pretty tough key forward conditions. If Smith doesn't work forward this weekend, what lever do we have to pull with the sub? Grundy doesn't have to have huge impact (Jacko didn't in most games in 2021) but we can't expect it all to click on one night with rough conditions against the most inform team.

I'm unenthusiastic about Spargo coming in when we have Kossie and Chandler forward already, and the likelihood of Smith heading there too. We want someone who can impact the play, Chandler has taken Spargo's place, he gets his hands on it more, kicks more goals and is quicker. He is just as disciplined and as good a gut runner as Spargo too. The idea that Chandler plays a significantly different role to Spargo is fugazi IMHO. I agree the cupboard is not exactly bursting with JJ alternatives - Laurie and Woewodin will be decent players but are not ready for pointy end of the season pressure, Harmes is erratic and down on confidence, Spargo doesn't impact, Dunstan is a turnover accumulator. I think it's a pity Howes got injured just when we might have taken a look at him a few weeks ago.

AFL football: The only code where rules ain’t rules

I'd like to see them give Bailey Luaurie a go in place or James Jordon

Cripps threw the ball at least 3 times and dropped it twice when tackled and Dow threw the ball with both hands up high and no free, nor comment from the broadcast. Max blocked in most obvious block I have seen, front on, with 30 seconds left, which stopped him getting back for a mark. Yet they pay slight arm touches. Again nothing from commentators. Probably 9 holding the ball frees to 2 in their favour.

Never feel sorry for them. We still owe them some soul crushing finals defeats and about 500 points worth of floggings. There’s a long list of clubs we need to be grinding into dust any chance we get (Pies, Bombers, Cats, Blues) but the Hawks are right up there.

I’m guessing one of Smith or Schache will play as a nullifier on Sicily. Schache played that role well on Allir Allir in ‘21, Smith very capable of playing that role as well. Take your pick of Tomlinson or Schache as the in, Smith will be at the opposite end of the ground to one of those two.

Sounds good. Can you organise that flag.

I reckon Schache suffers a bit from confirmation bias from supporters. I’ve seen him play very decent games at Casey, kick multiple goals in games, be an effective second ruck and show courage backing into packs. He just seems to lack intensity so is unlikely to be selected because the team demands that attribute. It’s a shame because he could be our forward line temporary solution if it can all come together for him. I would not be devastated for him to get a game.

Well he's got 20 odd disposals once in 96 games so don't hold your breath. Look Spargo is a capable AFL player, I'm not a Spargo basher, but Chandler has gone past him in every area: https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_player_compare?playerStatus1=A&tid1=12&playerStatus2=A&tid2=12&type=A&pid1=6680&pid2=4150&fid1=S&fid2=S

They're awfully cocky for a bottom 4 team, aren't they? I had to laugh last year when a Hawthorn-barracking relative told me "You Melbourne supporters have become arrogant since winning the Premiership". I've put up with 40 years of his arrogance!

It’s about damn time I get a PA. Need someone to handle the pleb level GIF work.

Agree. I worry we will struggle a bit to run out the game given how brutal last week's game was. So I think the first quarter will be critical. I hope they come out hard, put huge pressure on, smash them in tbe contest and create scores from turnover. And be aggressive. Don't give them a sniff and set up a match winning lead early. Then maintain it.

What we don’t know is whether JvR would have goaled from that distance or whether the Blues would have cleared the kick. Let’s just move on from that game and win our next five in a row.

I know Tommo has limitations, but he’s a confidence player. Get him in from now. Back him. Push Smith up forward. Enable Lever and May to carve up through intercepts. Spargo in for laser f50 entries. Get the flag.

Just saw that. Maybe they want to give him a full game at Casey for fitness ahead of finals?

A fair summation of where Josh sits DeeMee . To paraphase Paul Simon 'A man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest'. Try not to pull the blinds down myself. Of course we have favourites who seemingly do no wrong and those we have less esteem for who appear to do no right. Not the best game from Josh last round at Princess Park. But he is a clever player who can read the flight of the ball, position himself well and is normally a long, accurate kick. Like a number of his peers, the goal kicking gyroscope was awry last Sunday and he failed to kick a major. Might surprise a few if he got another go. Ditto Luke Dunstan.

Just seeing Josh Schache's name in the extended squad makes me nervous.

I place a lot of weight in a teams ability to arrest momentum of its opponent piling on goals. Seems to be pretty good alignment with the ladder as well... Five-plus goal streaks conceded in 2023 23 - West Coast 16 - Hawthorn, North Melbourne 13 - Gold Coast 11 - Western Bulldogs 9 - Essendon 8 - Fremantle 7 - Adelaide, Richmond, St Kilda 6 - Greater Western Sydney 5 - Carlton, Collingwood, Port Adelaide, Sydney 4 - Brisbane, Geelong, Melbourne

Love the look of O’Sullivan at a time when we really need to be mindful of succession-planning for May. I imagine it’ll involve Petty returning to the backline with Lever to guide a young tall. COS fits the bill for my liking.

From those looking for a key defender outside of Curtin. @dazzledavey36 may have some further insights.

We lose to bloody Carlton by four points and people want to clear half a premiership side. WTF.

The irony of them saying this is the worst top 4 in their lifetime when they won a flag against a Ross Lyon-coached Fremantle team lol

CHANDLER THE SUB?.? NO WAY KNOWN kicks crunch goals

The game at AFL level requires intensity, and it would be some kind of miracle for it to come together for him at his 3rd club in Rd 23 of his 8th season. I think Grundy stays in as the tall target. Otherwise from that extended bench I’d have Brayshaw, Chandler & Tomlinson (would’ve preferred Hibberd). Jordan as sub, maybe Spargo but I think we’re small enough as it is.

Rivers has one major advantage over Hunt - he can take contested intercept marks. In that he supports May and Lever in holding out the oppos. Jayden Hunt is the unlucky one who missed out on a flag due to a late season injury and could not get back in the team. His run and flair were always good to watch and we should wish him well even though he plays for the weagles.

They still have talls in Kozitsche, Denver-Barass and Brady who all played forward last week. Tommo should play.

Like I said, he had zero prior opportunity, and he was in the act of handballing. So yep, he threw it as a result of his arm being held, but it's an attempt. It's not a free kick in any way, shape or form.

The idea that we somehow manufacture finishing 4th if we're leading in a game in Round 24 is lalaland thinking. Anywhere, any time is and will clearly be our philosophy.

Totally agree. Very poor considering he was a (ressies) premiership player and spent 4 seasons at the club

I recall, back when Goldstein was far and away the best Ruckman in the League, Max made the statement that he wanted to be as good as Goldstein (or words to that effect). At the time, I thought yep, that's a nice thing to aspire to, not really, deep down, believing he would ever achieve it, and kinda thinking he was just biting off a bit more than he could chew. At the time, he was just an average Ruckman, and to effectively say you were gonna become the best was a stretch too far. Guess what! He did it. And, then, he just kept on getting better & better & better! From where he came from, with his slack training, poor habits and knee recos, what he has achieved is truly remarkable, and he deserves all the plaudits that he gets! Well done Maxie!!

you mean immediately before a worldwide pandemic upended lives, livelihoods, and killed millions? mcg precinct was a pipedream then, and the prospect of a caulfield home base is much betterer / more likely

A few days in…. And I’m still salty..

Salem unfortunately is injured half of every year. But he has been poor this year. His kicking even when not under pressure has been woeful by his standards. I hope he finds his kicking boots the next few weeks cos he is a weapon when fit and firing.

They don’t even know what season they will be coming in at this stage, yeah we lost Jackson, Wiz and Thompson over the years but back the culture and take the best available

Not sure about this Dub. We want him prime for the finals , so if declared fit, I reckon we’ll play him in the real stuff

nice work!

They aren’t tanking they are just bad. Aging best players who struggle to put games together and whilst they have half a dozen good youngsters years of poor drafting has left a list between the kids and the veterans, which isn’t up to the level. Simpson lost players in the hub and signing him to a big contract is the only reason he’s not been sacked. The corporate partners are now pushing for change and that may be the straw, which breaks the camels back. If Freo were performing at the same level as last season and young fickle fans were jumping onboard and the hip pocket was impacted Simpson would already be gone. The media was always kind to them with Nisbett threatening their careers if they wrote stories which were bad publicity. Well the tables have turned and some journalists see it as payback and others have jumped onboard.

No Brett Lovett? What! He’s the greatest half back flanker in the history of the world. I’m offended.

Yeah, my care factor is so low on this that I won’t say much but yes - this is for the effing players and staff. It’s got nothing to do with proximity to the G because that was always a dumb reason to locate a training base. It has nothing to do with getting fans there because that is the nuffiest reason (if I can use that as a pejorative adjective - and I think I can) ever conceived on this topic. Anyway, yay, one training base…

They deserve a flogging and we need to open the wallet, loosen the shackles, release the floodgates, and every other cliche. Kick 5 goals a quarter at least and beat them by 8 goals

I don't think we will play Gawn as an interceptor down back until finals. We did too much last year and it was worked out and planned for by opposition sides. Much like Kosi playing on ball, I reckon we will only see glimpses of it until September. Can't let all the rabbits out now.

both

I was a junior at Dromana and loved watching him take hangers in the u15s. I played basketball against him too. His older brother gave me my nickname for life when I was 6 months old. See ya Joffa.