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Salo will be 29 next year. He’s not “trade bait”, because most clubs would be wary of his health issues. Regarding these issues, it’s baffling to me how many posters attribute his form to “injuries” and overlook his thyroid condition - something the poor guy has had to manage the hell out of to stay on the ground. Another reason he’s not “trade bait” is because he’s been a champion for our club and has worked harder than most on our list have ever had to. He may one day have to concede it’s all too difficult, but until then he deserves our respect and not be reduced to such insults.

You could build a side around him.

The AFL is either corrupt or insanely inept and I’ll prove it. Firstly there is the Maynard example. Now I’m assuming people know how human anatomy works. If not, being hit below the rib cage in the solar plexus is about the only way to take the wind out of someone and bring them to the ground, assuming both people are of about equivalent strength. If you watch the clip with Long, there is not a significant ‘load up’ or transfer of weight (which equals force). He swivels at the hip yes, but strikes Maynard in the PECTORAL MUSCLE and therfore above the solar plexus, which in no reality could cause you to hunch over (let alone grab the head). There is ZERO chance of Maynard being incapacitated by this hit and he is 10000% faking it: Note the distance between them and the fact that Long is REACHING to connect with his elbow way beyond a 90 degree extension. The force has been mostly expelled or absorbed by the fact, it hits Maynard in the god damn chest. Maynard is also looking directly at what is coming to him so he can brace for impact. The second example is Pendlebury. Now you can see in the below that Pendlebury hits Neale DIRECTLY in the solar plexus. Perfect hit. Go and watch the clip if you don’t believe me, but Pendlebury loads up (he jumps in the air, plants his feet, swivels his hips like a boxer does to land a gut punch) and hits Neale directly in the solar Plexus and is hitting UP INTO NEALE. Look at the angle of Pendlebury’s elbow, bent at 90 degrees, NOT REACHING, weight primed for weight transferred into the strike, Neale isn’t even looking at him and isn’t even expecting it. Both of these are a fine. If anyone thinks that these two examples are in anyway similar, you are out of your [censored] mind. The fact that the AFL deems both of these cases as similar is a [censored] joke. They are nowhere near each other by a degree of magnitude. Now if an [censored] like me can look at these two examples and find the gaping chasm in between them, I’m sure the AFL knows and can do the same. The AFL is either corrupt or so ineptly run that it’s a disgrace. Take your pick.

Elite when he can get a sustained run at it Demonland has a tendency to hate players whose main traits are skills + class

I can’t think of a key forward who’s played in the last 20 years who Jefferson reminds me less off than Fraser Gehrig! Perhaps Barry Hall. Jeffo needs to develop physically but it will never be a core part of his game. The player he’s most similar to is Josh Kennedy. Throw back kick-mark full forward who was low disposals but heavy goals.

Jesus. This selection was not about ready made depth. Kentfield was overlooked in the ND and rookie draft last year, and after exposed form in the first half of this year we have given him a shot at development. Imagine if we drafted a very late, key position prospect in the rookie draft last year. We would expect them to have 2-3 years development before they are AFL ready. He is 1.5 years plus about 70 draft picks behind Jefferson for example.

At least someone in the media called out Robbo for his comments.

Fritta played a defensive tagging role on Andrew’s and played his role well.

It is when you’re a Melbourne supporter and misery is your choice of poison.

The last six weeks is the key here. We have struggled for that exact block of time in and around the bye since 2021. My explanation as to why is well documented. To that I'd add nearly half the team are kids. Two of the starting 22 against lions are in their first season of AFL season, meaning the kolt and Windsor as draftees, have not even completed a full AFL preseason. And we lost salo and bowey ahead of the game, one a senior seasoned AFL player, the other young but has 50 plus games and 3 AFL preseasons under his belt. AND we were coming off a six day break, and had to travel. Is it any wonder we flagged a bit in rhe last quarter?

I thought we matched Brisbane from a workrate perspective across all 4 quarters and fitness wasn't the difference. Both sides looked pretty gassed in what was a relentless 4th quarter and while the held momentum we had our chances and didn't convert. Similarly they missed in what was a brutal finals like game. Re impact during the loading phase it won't so much affect the ability to run out games as overall the players are stronger aerobically but players lose some explosiveness due to the cumulative muscle fatigue caused by the increased training load. At the end of the loading phase the players would have around a week of tapering, or reduced training load, which is short enough to keep the aerobic fitness gains they have made while freshening up and regaining their explosiveness. This is the same approach taken by endurance athletes where they load up 2 - 3 months before an event and finish with a 7 - 10 day taper for the event. Looking at how we played vs Brisbane our pressure was relentless and we would stick tackles which in previous weeks we would look slow or lack the explosiveness to bring the player to ground. My take is that we are absolutely in the hunt this year but don't have much wriggle room to lose games like we did vs Brisbane. While it's only 1 week I'm optimistic that the Melbourne contested pressure brand of footy is returning.

Has been injury prone since then, but there are many instances where players are injury prone for many years and then get their bodies right. Think Shaun Burgoyne, everyone thought he was cooked and then he ended up playing 400 games 🤯. Definitely not saying Salem will play 400, but I think we have to continue working with him to get his body cherry ripe. Important player when up and going.

Surely MAYNARD GETS $5000 FINE hit in the chest. holds his head !!’

Somehow, the Melbourne Football Club managed it twice in the course of a week. Coach Simon Goodwin admitted it in his press conference after the loss against the Brisbane Lions in a game where his team held a four goal lead in the third term: "In reality we went a bit safe. Big occasion, a lot of young players playing. We probably just went into our shell a bit. "There's a bit to unpack in that last quarter … whether we go into our shells a bit late in the game." Well … actually … that’s exactly what happened on the previous Saturday night when his charges went far too early into a save the game mode after leading by 39 points in the shadows of three quarter time. Admittedly, the Demons’ line up is very young and missed the experience of premiership defenders in Christian Salem and Jake Bowey (not to mention the other Christian at the club) but, really, you have to learn from your mistakes in this caper and the way things unfolded, it all seemed like insanity (and no offence intended here to the mentally ill). The same tactic when the team’s energy was sagging and some extra run was needed, and the same, very, very late decision to bring on a fresh speedy substitute in Kynan Brown. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." The above words have been attributed to theoretical physicist and genius Albert Einstein but fact checkers say there is no evidence he ever said this. There’s no doubt however, that he developed the theory of relativity and my thought patterns didn’t have to travel at the speed of light when I saw the repeat of last week happening in slow motion as the final quarter unfolded. Not to mention that a more attacking disposition in those two games might easily have seen Melbourne sitting in fifth place and breathing right down the necks of a couple of top four sides. The Lions’ comeback was assisted by their midfield lifting its work rate in the second half as well as some generosity and largesse from the umpires. Certainly, it could be argued that the vital decisions that went their way were there to be paid but others of similar ilk were not and it hurt Melbourne this week, as it always does in such close games. Earlier, the Demons did well to control a strong start from the Lions in the opening quarter. In the second term, they overwhelmed their opponents with new-found ferocity around the ball through Jack Viney, Clayton Oliver and emerging midfielder Trent Rivers. Thanks to some great finishing work from the unstoppable Kozzie Pickett and the accuracy of Jacob van Rooyen, they added 8.2 for the quarter. Ironically, they managed only 2.8 for the rest of the game with a few of those shots coming tantalisingly close in the game’s final moments. The Lions were also inaccurate in front of goal all night but a lot of that can be attributed to the Demons’ pressure. Unfortunately, the team also had its offenders in front of goal with Harry Petty’s 0.4 and Bayley Fritsch’s 1.3 contributing to the mess. Petty, in particular, missed some sitters that might have resulted in icing the game by the early stages of the final quarter. And speaking of icing, one wonders at the strategy of having a player with a recent history of foot injuries, going up in ruck contests. You might think this is a bit insane, but I would not be surprised if Petty earns the title of mystery injury of the week next Thursday night and ends up among the missing for a little while. Along with the spirit of the second quarter, there were still a number of encouraging signs from the game. In particular, the younger brigade. Caleb Windsor continues his fine early work and remains well up there among the competition’s rising stars. Koltyn Tholstrup is moving up the ranks as he gains confidence and looks to be a real prospect who should not take very long to progress through to a midfield berth and there was first gamer, Andy Moniz-Wakefield. The young man with the hyphenated name has been forced to bide his time in his three seasons at the club after his selection as a Category B Rookie, via the club’s connection to its Next Generation Academy. The knock on him was his disposal and decision-making but he did himself proud on Friday night and fully justified his selection. They say that Melbourne’s season is hanging by a thread but there’s still time for Goodwin to unpack things and make the changes that will help the fans and the club restore their sanity. They should all be sufficiently rested by Sunday afternoon when they take on the Eagles in a rare contest with them at the MCG. That would be their time to make a start. MELBOURNE 1.5.11 9.7.61 11.11.77 11.15.81 BRISBANE LIONS 3.7.25 5.8.38 8.14.62 11.20.86 GOALS MELBOURNE Pickett 5 Van Rooyen 2 Chandler Fritsch Oliver Turner BRISBANE LIONS Cameron Daniher Rayner 2 Ah Chee Berry Hipwood Lohmann McLuggage BEST MELBOURNE Pickett Viney Oliver van Rooyen Petty Rivers BRISBANE LIONS McCluggage Neale Dunkley Hipwood Starcevich Zorko INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Nil LATE CHANGES MELBOURNE Jake Bowey (back) replaced by Kynan Brown BRISBANE LIONS Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Kynan Brown (replaced Harrison Petty in the fourth quarter) BRISBANE LIONS Jaspa Fletcher (replaced Logan Morris in the third quarter) UMPIRES Matt Stevic Andrew Stephens Nathan Williamson Cameron Dore CROWD 29,617 at the Gabba

Cats V Geelong should be interesting..

The staging part was when he grabbed his head afterwards

The MRO played 131 games and in a flag for the pies. He is not unbiased.

Seems pretty clear to me the 4 umpire system is not working and it should gi back to 3 or even 2. I watch a lot of SANFL and recruiting quality umpires to cover all the games is a challenge. Would hate to be one.

Absolutely nothing.

Struggle to remember what I had for brekky. Will always remember Michael Long's GF coward act on Troy Simmonds. Carry nothing other than ill will towards this club. Like the Scottish play, I choose not to say its name.

My apologies I can only bring myself to watch Maynard while heavily intoxicated or with both eyes half shut

Lol

All of us should. There is a season left for us to make something of.

After the Maynard incident Jonathan Brown immediately says ‘got to be better than that’ and then realises what he’s said and says ‘anyway, he’s earned himself a free kick’. The pandering to big clubs is ruining the game. I’m so bored by the AFL coverage. It’s making the game seem so fake and manufactured.

Jefferson reminds me of a young Kyah Farris-White

A different guernsey

When did introducing facts into an absurd discussion become a thing on 'Land?

It's not just umpiring sadly it's the entire administration of the game that is a mess. KPIs are way too heavily skewed to $$$ TV networks dictate way to much, 'fix'-ture is screwed, too many games, 5 day breaks, stupid byes... Changing rules in season, don't trial rules at lower levers Umpires not professional 4 umpires just means more amateurs making poor decisions. Make them pro and go back to two

Ask not "are we fit enough", but are we pretty enough?

We kicked 4 points in the last against the Lions. All were gettable goals. If one or two go through we win and we aren't discussing fitness.

Second round compo pick - about what he’s worth Would be lucky to get a second rounder for Salem given his injuries and age Worth far more to us than in a trade scenario

And if any further proof was needed.....Geelong were absolutely gifted 4 goals from the umpires in the 2nd and 3rd quarters in the game against Essendon. Worst was the call of deliberate crossing the goal line by an Essendon player when there were two, yes two Geelong players inside the goal square at the same time.

Youngsters 🤨🤨Adams developing slowly. Not sure he’s the future after May retires. 👍🏻Sestan. I still think he gets a debut later this year. He knows HOW to kick a goal 👍🏻Jeffo needs a preseason in the gym but should be ready to start 2025 in the MFC team Billings. No no no delist imv … VFL is his level Laurie. No no no delist imv (why did we extend his contract) VFL is his level Fullarton. Not great conditions but has agility 50:50 on him McAdam is a real weapon at VFL level but needs seriously a big fitness run to be AFL competent. Not sure he was worth getting at this time. 29 year old Injury plagued career

If you think there's nothing to play left in this season, or that we're no chance, have a look again at the ladder. We may be 12th, but we're one win behind 5th, and only 1.5 wins behind 3rd. We may have a percentage of 99.9%, but 6 of the next 8 sides above us have a percentage under 109% (i.e. within 10% of us). It's a season of pretty fine margins. Holding on last night and only losing to Fremantle by 60, not 90, would have us 5th and right in the thick of the top 4 race. Hell, holding on last night even with our sub-100% we'd be 7th and a draw behind 3rd.

A premiership is hardly an epic fail...

Best game in the world, worst officiated.

As it happens I know his Aunt... and we've chatted about Bailey..I've said exactly that...I don't think he thinks he quite yet belongs. He might never. But he needs a solid block with good mentoring.. He actually has a pretty good footy head on him, but i sense he second guesses himslef at times. He doesnt at magoo level. He does at Senior level. If he could bring his flair and coolness to the big game he would be an OK player imho.. we'll see...or not ...I guess.

This is one of two things. Either Maynard is staging for a free kick, OR the strike has sufficient medium/high impact that justifies Maynard going down in which case it is a suspension. The AFL can't sit on the fence between those options.

Just watched the zorko hit on Tholstrup again and in disbelief (well, not really) about the commentators take on him sucking the umpires in and that he should get up. Zorko came in late with a swinging arm to the guts. I need to work out how to sync the coverage with radio commentators.

Our finals series in 2021 was some of the best kicking and goal-kicking MFC has ever produced and Choco was all over it. I applauded his influence then and till do. Since then, our general filed kicking and goal kicking has taken an absolute nose dive in 2.5 seasons and become embarrassing. If he gets congratulated for his positive part in 2021, he also gets critique for his negative part of 22 - 24. And our kicking 22-24 has been an epic fail.

Clarkson has just roasted the umpires and effectively Weightman, for allowing milking of nothing incidents, resulting in soft goals.

But will the AFL fine the sniping dog for staging 🤔

We have so many embarrassing supporters that should go follow Essendon.

Ben Brown was sat in the grandstand near me...along with a stack of senior players and Goody.

AFL would’ve fined him for staging and taken the flag off us

For mine, an elimination final and a shot as underdogs to get the finals monkey off our back is worth playing for, and a finals win from here is a fantastic result all things considered.

That he managed that surge of pace to get across to offer an option late in the game was heroic. Having just followed the play all the way down the ground to be involve in the defensive 50 effort, I suspect he was already spent before he even started that sprint, and was probably ready to puke afterwards. His running isn't just to get his daily steps count up! Low-key role model for all the kids.

Professional game with amateur style umpires, afl keep stuffing around with the rules and their interpretation, 4 umpires is too many.

It’s a combination of being 8-7 and how we played tonight. If this is what we bring for the rest of the year, rather than the football of our previous 6 weeks, then our season is alive. The fixture is challenging but 6 games in Melbourne, 5 at the G, and some 8-point games where wins can help bring challengers for the top 8 down (Essendon, GWS, Port, GC).

Absolutely. 8-7 means we are still in the season. 8 games left and need to win 5 of them. It's not over.