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McAdam is very much a work in progress. As well as learning a new system, he missed rounds 2–18 through injury last year, and had a far-from-ideal pre-season. Some folks here suggesting he “gets in the bin” or posting vomit emojis ought to be ashamed. He’s putting in the work. That’s all you can ask at this particular juncture. It’s about building a squad, and not every new player is going to fulfil some Karate Kid fantasy.

Can someone ask the Saints to trial him at CHF for the rest of the season please?

I'm surprised no-one has highlighted TMac's precision kicking. It's been sensational this year. Low, fast and creative.

He’s a kid in his 2nd year, he’ll be fine. Tom Hawkins kicked 25 goals in 19 games in his first 2 years (1.32 gpg). Tom Lynch 27 goals in 30 (0.9 gpg). JVR’s just played his 30th game and is averaging 1.37. Hawkins didn’t get there til year 3, Lynch year 4 (i think he was injured year 3).

Every year this question gets asked and every year it's the same answer, won't be hot or humid so won't be slippery, wlil be dry unless it rains. Game is at 1.00 pm . forecast is no rain and 18 - 19 degrees everyone can stop worrying about the conditions.

For those knocking McAdam, whilst he had a quiet one, he still laid 6 tackles as a forward which would still please Goodwin and Chaplin. Had an almost type game today. It'll come to him, still trying to learn a new system and especially one where we aren't great with forward delivery. I reckon we'll see him break out come Kings birthday weekend against Collingwood.

Stand outs for me: Max's EIGHT frees. Yes, 8 !!! Marshall is a very good ruckman but clearly didn't know how to play Max right from the get go. Salem's game: FOURTEEN Marks. Yes, 14 !!!. At the ground it looked like once the ball was in play he placed himself near the centre square and was pivotal in ball movement (32 possessions, 24 kicks/8 HB, @ 75% eff). At times he went inside d50 to take the kick in. His role was similar to Gus's in parts of 2020/2021: in the middle of the ground and directed play. He looks very fit. Salem is the perfect person for that role. Smart, aggressive and accurate. Much less kicking long from kick ins, to Max in this game. No passengers yesterday. On the not so good: Chandler (off balance), Rivers (50m line) and Langdon (v tight angle) took difficult 'hero' shots for goal and burnt multiple free players front and square within 20 - 30 mtrs of goal. Except Langdon they had plenty of time to see the free players. While intent was admirable it wasn't good teamwork. Not a pretty win but great to get it. A beautiful day for watching a day game at the G.

Bags are packed and heading off to Alice tomorrow. Based on what I’ve learnt from Demonland, my life will be in constant danger from angry locals and I’ll be sweating up a treat as I try to out run them!

Tomlinson's best game since the Pies game last year! Even got coaches votes. IN: Adams OUT: Tomlinson

You think that now, but if it happens you’ll change your mind. I used to have a soft spot for Geelong due to family being catters, and I felt bad when they lost all those grand finals and wished them well.. now 4 flags later they can all get [redacted]! Everyone is insufferable when they’re winning, except us.

That was a very good 160% win on a nice day. We kicked 100pts which has only happened one other time against them this year and we held them to well below their average score. They've got zero injuries. I'm really not sure what people expect.

Enjoyed the awe in Dangerfield’s voice when talking about Gawn. Marshall is meant to be one of the elite rucks going around and Max treated him with disdain. It shouldn’t get lost that we are watching an all time great every week.

Well the good news tonight is that the pies Cox is out for at least a month. Hate the way he just drives his knee into Max and others. Grub.

McAdam is in our best 7 forwards on exposed talent and historical performance. He is coming from an interrupted pre-season and season. We need him as we need to evolve toward our medium forwards which are far more effective than our taller forwards and also more impactful in our new gameplan of quick transitional movement off the backline to short options across half forward.

This fella tho, unreal

No, we’re fourth on the ladder because we have a gun team astrologist.

There was a brief patch in the third quarter where our contest intensity and ball movement went into high gear and in 5 min we’d killed the game. That patch, is the level we’re seeking and working towards. i was encouraged by that, and if we can take that into next week, grow it some more… then we may build some genuine momentum for the second half of the season and into finals. pumped! Go Demons…

I'm with @DeeSpencer on this, I love the fact that he attacks it hard in the air. For a guy his size he isn't afraid to crash packs and then apply defensive pressure. It'll click for him and when it does he'll be a weapon.

I wasn't looking for replays of the frees so not sure why Max got so many. They were mainly in ruck contests so I assume they were holding which is difficult to see from the stands with so many players around the ball. And as you say some hiigh ones. Marshall nor team mates complained at all so the frees were there. I thought Clarrie played an OK game. Fierce as always. He improved as the game went on. He isn't a goal kicking mid so we need more value (meters gained) from his excellent ground level work. imv 'meters gained' (181) is a key stat for non-goal kicking mids). It was very low yesterday suggesting he isn't using his legs so disposals are very short distance albeit @ 91.7% eff. He had three i50's placing him 10th yesterday. So for a mid, his output ie after taking possession (distance (mtrs gained), goals, GA, i50's,) was on the low side especially as only 8 of the 24 were contested. So yeah, for mine it was an ok game. He will get back to his best soon enough and if we keep winning in the meantime all is good.

… meanwhile, at about the same time that Narrm was putting its feet on the accelerator to obliterate the long-suffering Euro-Yroke combination, I heard someone mention in passing that Kuwarna was leading Waalitj Marawar by a whopping 46 to 1 halfway through the second quarter of their game over in Adelaide. “What is football coming to?” I asked myself. In front of my eyes, the Demons were smashing it through the midfield, forcing turnovers and getting the footy to their forwards who were converting with ease while elsewhere on this wide and beautiful continent, their tormentors from last week were meekly turning up their toes. Was some spirit from the Dreamtime using this year’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round to play tricks with our collective minds? Whatever trickery there is in the air at this time of the year that can turn the conquerers of the Demons into 99 point losing pussycats in the next week, it seems that something was afoot when rumours began to spread that Narrm’s ruck giant was looking pale and wan as he underwent at a surprise fitness test at the MCG. However, the Demons’ skipper who was one of the team’s in last week’s loss, wasn’t going to be left out and he not only made it to the starting gate, but he also turned in one of the season’s great indivudual performances against Rowan Marshall who is no slouch himself. Max Gawn’s final match stats demonstrated the importance of his game - 27 disposals, ten clearances, eight hit outs to advantage, seven marks, ten score involvements, two score assists and a goal. The rest is commentary. … meanwhile, after conceding the first goal of the match, Narrm was dominant for the better part of the opening half without having that much to show for it due mainly to poor conversion when going for goal. Two majors for the Saints in the dying moments of the half had lifted them back to within two goals of sharing the lead at the main break. The Demons had been well in control in defence with Steven May and Tom McDonald holding steady and Adam Tomlinson doing a sterling job filling in for Jake Lever. The midfield was purring along nicely as well. Christian Salem was getting back in his pre injury groove and Narrm was seemingly in control but there remained a shadow of doubt and they really should have been much further in front. It was only after the main break that Narrm broke the banks of the dam wall. Goals came regularly. Christian Petracca was at his unstoppable best and Jacob van Rooyen showed his versatility and value, chopping in with the relief ruckwork and adding valuable goals. The return of Ed Langdon, fully rested after a week elsewhere on the planet was certainly noticed. A comprehensive blow out was on the cards when van Rooyen goaled to put the team ahead by 54 points at the twenty minute mark of the final term but they put up the shutters and allowed a few goals in junk time at the end. As it was, Euro-Yroke booted more than half of their goals in the time on period of the second and fourth quarters respectively. It was good to win but all was not sweetness and light as a handful of players struggled to get their hands on the football. Yet, premierships are not won in May and there is still time for adjustment in terms of positions, personnel and performance at peak fitness. … meanwhile Narrm is back in the top four and, for the moment, back in town although when it reverts back to its identity of Melbourne, it will be fulfilling its out-of-town duties in beautiful Alice Springs when it takes on the Dockers for a different taste of Dreamtime Magic in a place where this year, the forecast is for fine and clear conditions … no rain! I have a feeling that the spirits are much happier there now than they were last year. NARRM 4.7.31 5.9.39 11.10.76 14.16.100 EURO-YROKE 1.0.6 4.3.27 5.5.35 9.8.62 GOALS NARRM van Rooyen 3 Fritsch Petracca Viney 2 Chandler Gawn Hunter May Pickett EURO-YROKE M King 3 Higgins 2 Owens Steele Sinclair Wilson BEST NARRM Gawn Petracca Salem Viney Tomlinson May EURO-YROKE Steele Wanganeen-Milera Sinclair Wood Dow Higgins INJURIES NARRM Harry Petty (foot) EURO-YROKE Nil REPORTS NARRM Nil EURO-YROKE Nil SUBSTITUTIONS NARRM Taj Woewodin (replaced Harrison Petty in the fourth quarter) EURO-YROKE Cooper Sharman (replaced Lance Collard in the third quarter) UMPIRES Curtis Deboy Nicholas Brown Brendan Hosking John Howorth CROWD 37,403 at The MCG

And perhaps more importantly he walks the talk in demonstrating team values and culture. He truly leads in this space and everyone else follows. Loved the way he handled Langdon ‘week off’. Look after everyone and then everyone will look after you. Totally aware that quite a few here have different opinions on Goody. I hope he stays on board for a very, very long time.

Hunter - 20 possies at 70% accuracy far from poor Chandler - 18 possies, a goal and 6 score involvements that's exactly the type of game you want from these guys!!

Can't believe the negativity on this thread after a dominating win - actually, it's Demonland, maybe I can. The criticism of Petty identifies people who watch TV rather than going to the game. He created a lot of contests but also, there were a number of times where he was 20m in the clear when we were streaming forward and the ballcarrier chose other options. Kick it to him and he has a 3-4 goal game and doesn't get criticised. He is learning; he still doesn't fully trust his foot (I really hope that he hasn't had real harm to it today) and all Melbourne supporters should know that it takes over a year to really come back from a foot injury - look at Viney, Trengove, TMac, Vandenberg .... Petty just needs time.

Having watched the replay: AMW had some great contest wins and used the ball better, with great run. Casey did get open at the back a bit, so not sure who were the defenders in the wrong. Sesto had some top moments, but probably not enough of them. Does a couple of special things tho. Loved Kolt’s game, his quick hands as well as his willingness to hold the ball and dish to advantage looked really good. He looked a cut above. Jeffo’s intent at the contest has been the big change in his game. I still think he’s a long way from AFL footy but he’s fighting for front position and jumping at the footy.

Until Melksham is available i think he plays Needs to really get fitter imo

Fritsch has been critcised for selfishness in the past, but with the way our forwards are playing and how Fritsch is kicking lately, I hope he remains selfish. His snaps are really special. Pickett is in a similar boat.

If Salem can stay fit and in form for the rest of the year (and I know that's a big if given his body has been letting him down a lot since 2021), it will go a long way to making us contenders. As you said earlier, he is replacing the hole left by Gus in the middle, but with better kicking skills. It also reduces the load that Trac, Viney and Clarry need to carry.

In other breaking news; teams do well when they have key forwards kicking goals

Unlike others, I haven't written him off. Some guys develope at a different rate to other. I learnt a big lesson after stating on here when I watched Judd McVee at Casey that he would be the first to be delisted and will end up playing country footy back in WA the following year (2023). I honestly thought he wasn't much chop at all but how wrong have I been proven.. I look like a pelican after those comments. It's a lesson just to not write them off completely and to be patient with their development at VFL level. I still think he's still fair bit off AFL level but if he can continue to put in 3-4 goal performances like this on a consistent level then why not hey..? He's certainly on the right track in my opinion.

Locals can do it in eight.

I've chewed through so many hats this season re. TMac. I've playfully ribbed him for most of his career, mixed in with moments of celebration and genuinely harsher criticism. I would have never predicted his current guise as a reborn footballer though. Thought he was shot. More than a decade into his career and he's learned to play within his limitations, but also to pull the trigger at the right time. Hats off to Tomald: I will eat them all. But there is a dilemma brewing. Tomlinson also looked good, and had the third spot nailed down prior to his knee injury in our premiership year, replaced by Petty, who slotted in perfectly. What happens when Lever comes back?

His highlights from today. VFL Showreel, R9: Matthew Jefferson highlights https://www.afl.com.au/video/1139897

Crikey. We have a comfortable victory and this thread is as toxic as the matchday festival of negativity.

Get a hearse for the Naarm Smith curse!

The best thing about the St Kilda game was the connection between Max and the midfield. When we get this right, we play the game in our forward half and the only thing that stops us winning is goal kicking. I thought we pressed a touch higher up the ground yesterday. This worked well but they got out the back of our zone more often than we would have liked. McVee is incredibly dynamic and needs to be fed the ball more. Hunter is an asset on the left wing. He holds his position well and we get much better spread because he can move the ball more quickly around the left boundary. Great to see Viney back in top form. Kossie was excellent.

Melbourne v St Kilda (Round 11, 2024) https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_match_stats.html?ID=20241108 Key Team Stats Stats highlighted purple were won by Melbourne. Stat For Against Diff Disposal Efficiency 75.3 73.2 +2.0 Kicking Efficiency 70.2 60.0 +10.2 Metres Gained 6745 6009 +736 Inside 50s 67 41 +26 Shots At Goal 29 20 +9 Shots Per Inside 50 43.3 48.8 -5.5 Contested Possessions 129 123 +6 Ground Ball Gets 70 91 -21 Intercepts 80 66 +14 Intercept Marks 19 13 +6 Centre Clearances 14 9 +5 Stoppage Clearances 20 22 -2 Contested Marks 16 8 +8 Marks Inside 50 15 12 +3 Hitouts 38 20 +18 Hitouts To Advantage 10 6 +4 Tackles 44 41 +3 Tackles Inside 50 11 4 +7 Def One On One Loss % 7.7 36.4 -28.7 Contested Possessions For Against Diff Melbourne's Defensive 50 Hard Ball Get 5 4 +1 Loose Ball Get 7 6 +1 Other 10 6 +4 Total 22 16 +6 Melbourne's Forward 50 Hard Ball Get 1 2 -1 Loose Ball Get 8 22 -14 Other 6 5 +1 Total 15 29 -14 Post clearance Hard Ball Get 13 12 +1 Loose Ball Get 39 58 -19 Other 35 22 +13 Total 87 92 -5 Pre clearance Hard Ball Get 5 5 0 Loose Ball Get 13 16 -3 Other 24 10 +14 Total 42 31 +11 Official data on pre- and post-clearance contested possessions are not available. These have been estimated by Wheelo Ratings and should be indicative. Other includes contested marks, free kicks, contested knock ons, gathers from hitouts, and ruck hard ball gets. Expected scores xScore Score Rushed xWin % xMargin Margin Swing Melbourne 99.2 100 2 83% +15.8 +38 +22.2 St Kilda 83.4 62 3 17% Team Shots Score Accuracy xScore +/- xSc. / Shot Shot Rating Overall Melbourne 29 14.14.98 48.3% 97.2 +0.8 3.35 +0.03 St Kilda 20 9.5.59 45.0% 80.4 −21.4 4.02 −1.07 General Play Melbourne 14 8.6.54 57.1% 44.2 +9.8 3.16 +0.70 St Kilda 7 1.3.9 14.3% 21.9 −12.9 3.13 −1.84 Set Position Melbourne 15 6.8.44 40.0% 53.0 −9.0 3.53 −0.60 St Kilda 13 8.2.50 61.5% 58.5 −8.5 4.50 −0.65 xWin %: win probability based on expected scores. Swing: difference between expected margin and actual margin. xScore: total expected score from all shots taken. +/-: total score above or below expected score. xSc. / Shot: average expected score per shot. This represents the average shot difficulty. Shot Rating: average score above or below expected score per shot at goal. Notes: Expected scores are calculated by Wheelo Ratings. Each shot at goal is assigned an expected score based on the distance from goal, shot angle, and type of shot (e.g. set shot, general play following contested possession, general play following uncontested possession, ground kick, etc) as a proxy for pressure. The model does not take into account factors like the player, whether the ball was kicked with their preferred or non-preferred foot, and pressure on the player when taking the shot. Rushed behinds are excluded from actual and expected scores. Pressure Team pressure Quarter For Against 1 171 180 2 169 155 3 192 157 4 167 146 Match 174 160 Source: Herald Sun Most Pressure Points Note: pressure points are the weighed sum of pressure acts. Physical pressure acts are worth 3.75 points, closing acts are worth 2.25 points, chasing acts are 1.5 points and corralling are 1.2. ( https://www.championdata.com/glossary/afl/ ) Player Pressure Acts Pressure Points Season Average Clayton Oliver 31 62 45.2 Alex Neal-Bullen 26 61 53.8 Jack Viney 25 59 62.7 Tom Sparrow 22 47 48.9 Kade Chandler 21 46 49.0 Kysaiah Pickett 23 46 43.2 Shane McAdam 14 33 27.5 Adam Tomlinson 14 27 22.5 Max Gawn 9 25 25.5 Lachie Hunter 13 21 21.0 Harrison Petty 9 20 28.7 Christian Petracca 9 19 34.4 Tom McDonald 10 19 23.4 Ed Langdon 9 17 30.4 Jacob van Rooyen 9 17 16.4 Caleb Windsor 8 16 31.5 Jake Bowey 9 15 13.5 Steven May 9 14 9.8 Christian Salem 9 13 27.8 Trent Rivers 7 13 22.5 Judd McVee 8 13 15.8 Bayley Fritsch 7 9 14.5 Taj Woewodin 2 2 13.2 Source: Herald Sun Time in Forward Half Quarter For Against 1 68% 32% 2 44% 56% 3 49% 51% 4 57% 43% Match 54% 46% Source: Match total sourced from the Herald Sun; quarter values are my own calculations. Score Sources Summary Category Score Against Diff Kick-in 1.1.7 0.0.0 +7 Centre Bounce 3.0.18 0.0.0 +18 Stoppage (Other) 2.5.17 1.2.8 +9 Turnover 8.10.58 8.6.54 +4 Score Source For Against Match Season Match Season * Kick-in 7 3.4 0 2.0 Centre Bounce 18 13.1 0 7.3 Stoppage (Other) 17 24.0 8 17.7 Turnover 58 41.7 54 43.3 * Against season average represents average points conceded by Melbourne across the season, not average points scored by St Kilda. Chain start region Note: region is from the scoring team's perspective. Category Region For Against Match Season Match Season * Centre Bounce Centre 18 13.1 0 7.3 Kick-in D50 7 3.4 0 2.0 Stoppage (Other) D50 1 1.8 0 1.6 Stoppage (Other) Centre 0 2.5 1 2.4 Stoppage (Other) Wing 8 13.5 7 8.8 Stoppage (Other) F50 8 6.2 0 4.9 Turnover D50 13 7.6 25 8.2 Turnover Centre 14 7.1 12 6.1 Turnover Wing 29 19.4 15 23.3 Turnover F50 2 7.6 2 5.7 Region For Against Match Season Match Season * D50 21 12.8 25 11.8 Centre 32 22.7 13 15.7 Wing 37 32.8 22 32.1 F50 10 13.8 2 10.6 Region For Against Match Season Match Season * Defensive 50 21 12.8 25 11.8 Defensive midfield 27 19.5 25 15.9 Centre bounce 18 13.1 0 7.3 Attacking midfield 24 23.0 10 24.6 Forward 50 10 13.8 2 10.6 * Against season average represents average points conceded by Melbourne across the season, not average points scored by St Kilda. Points from defensive half For Against Match Season Match Season * 48 32.3 50 27.7 * Against season average represents average points conceded by Melbourne across the season, not average points scored by St Kilda. Centre Bounce Attendances CBAs CBA % 2024 % 2023 % Max Gawn 21 78% 84.2% 64.9% Clayton Oliver 20 74% 72.0% 81.4% Kysaiah Pickett 20 74% 32.9% 11.2% Christian Petracca 16 59% 59.5% 61.1% Jack Viney 13 48% 68.8% 72.1% Alex Neal-Bullen 11 41% 13.3% 2.1% Jacob van Rooyen 6 22% 13.7% 7.6% Tom Sparrow 1 4% 36.6% 44.9% Christian Salem 0 0% 24.5% 0.0% Harrison Petty 0 0% 3.5% 0.7% Trent Rivers 0 0% 2.9% 3.0% Lachie Hunter 0 0% 0.0% 0.2% Tom McDonald 0 0% 0.0% 5.7% Josh Schache 8.3% 0.0% Koltyn Tholstrup 8.3% Charlie Spargo 4.2% 0.0% Bailey Laurie 1.5% 0.0% Ruck Contests and Hitouts Ruck Contests Ruck Contests RC % 2024 % 2023 % Max Gawn 63 81% 82.0% 57.5% Jacob van Rooyen 14 18% 14.2% 13.1% Harrison Petty 1 1% 4.3% 2.0% Alex Neal-Bullen 0 0% 0.0% 0.0% Christian Petracca 0 0% 0.0% 0.4% Clayton Oliver 0 0% 0.0% 0.1% Steven May 0 0% 0.0% 0.0% Tom McDonald 0 0% 0.0% 9.3% Tom Sparrow 0 0% 0.0% 0.0% Josh Schache 13.3% 4.1% Ben Brown 0.2% 2.3% Hitouts Ruck Contests Hitouts To Adv. To Adv. % (2024) To Adv. % (2023) Max Gawn 63 34 8 28.0% 30.1% Jacob van Rooyen 14 4 2 31.4% 31.1% Harrison Petty 1 0 0 35.3% 25.0% Alex Neal-Bullen 0 0 0 0.0% Christian Petracca 0 0 0 100.0% Tom McDonald 0 0 0 20.0% Ben Brown 100.0% 0.0% Josh Schache 100.0% 0.0% Opposition hitouts Ruck Contests Hitouts To Adv. Rowan Marshall 64 16 6 Anthony Caminiti 13 4 0 Mitch Owens 1 0 0

Pennant for your own health please don’t read the game day thread, you’re too valuable a poster to lose.

You’ve mentioned the goalkicking as a negative. Whilst we had a couple of bad misses (Sparrow in the third the worst), this wasn’t IMO an issue of bad goalkicking, but rather us taking low percentage shots - too many from 40m+ out and/or wide on the boundary. We actually outscored our xScore.

I wish the league had a son/father rule. Imagine Harvey Keitel rocking up to training, walking over the Stafford and introducing himself . . .

Good win. The good : Max Gawn is GOAT, no question, gets his 7th AA jacket to eclipse Cox, continues to get more Brownlow votes and coaches votes than any other ruck in the modern era and hopefully, if we improve a lot is in the running for 2x Premiership captain. TMac exceptional game. Langdon in a different role works and rotating Windsor, Hunter, Sparrow and Woey on a Wing looked better. Viney and Trac rotating forward was also great and the midfield mix is diversifying, which will help in the long term. Our defense was also far better at stopping them getting out the back than last week although this is still a work in progress. The bad: Our goal kicking in the first half. This should’ve been over at quarter time or at least ten minutes into the second, instead we kicked 9 behinds in a half and left them in the game. A few players are down Caleb Windsor looked tired for the first time this year, to be expected and there’s no way we should drop him, but he’s been so amazing it’s a shame to find out he’s human. McAdam just couldn’t hold his marks doesn’t look fit. He was absolutely cooked in the last quarter, hopefully it’s an adjustment and find AFL tempo and confidence again, there’s no way I’m dropping him, I think he’s clearly in our best forwardline but he still looks a little underdone. Junk time goals to them lowering our percentage. Many would have Petty as a negative also but I think he’s playing a selfless defensive role to get our other forwards free and this week it worked. If we can kick to your Petts the few times he actually gets the chance to get off his man he’ll be fine. I hope he towels up Pearce next week. Go Dees, enjoyable win! I wish we’d brought it against WC but beat Freo next week and we’re on track.

No he isn’t good enough for AFL, he ain’t a gorilla, lacks pace, lateral movement and no real X factor. Very good WAFL forward but that’s the ceiling

Careful, you’re stating to sound like Chris Scott in his post match prelim presser in 2021

It was soooo good to see Clayton get his clearance work and timing right Forgot how big he is - he had blokes hanging off him and still got the ball!

My thoughts... Petty did not play well but his leads were ignored a lot. Overall the forward line still is figuring out how to work together. McAdam missed some chances but tackled well, gave good pressure and crashed packs to spill the ball. ANB is a certified stoppage midfielder now, not just a half forward. As others have stated, Langdon at HF with hunter and Windsor on the wings provides a unique and dangerous look. Viney was ferocious. TMAC has dukes. Tomlinson was also great.

Good win. Nothing to get overly excited about (unless you’re Steven May) but a game that was completely dominated by us and never really in doubt. Saints are rubbish but you only need to be off by about 5% to get a hiding from other teams this year. The gap between 2nd and 16th on any given day is as small as I can remember. Individual comments: Gawn not slowing down one iota, getting better if anything. Tomlinson great (but gives away a lot of needless frees), Tmac a revelation. Hunter is a million times better than Billings. Midfield looks much better with Kosi and ANB getting meaningful minutes. Also good to get to 100 without any real influence from Petty, McAdam and just a cameo from Fritsch. 7-4 is a good spot to be. It’s anyone’s flag this year.

Responding from afar (have only seen the stats) but six tackles from McAdam suggests he was making a defensive contribution.

It's McAdams 2nd game, it's going to take time. You need to go in the bin.

That's more like it !! We were a bit scrappy early but a burst of class in the 3rd quarter did the business . After that, apart from a couple of disappointing junk time goals, we smashed them. PS . You will never see a better ruckman than Max Gawn ! PPS. That new player, Thommo I think his name is, did ok too.