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This is your typical Essendon supporter. Gone the early crow at qtr time when they were 1 point up. They think they're better than who & what they are. We may not be that good but christ we haven't allowed Dyson Heppell to play 250 games for us!

Not much to do on this horrid Melbourne winter day. So put this together for discussion. State of Play Top 4 looks all but set with only Brisbane looking a little vulnerable: Of the remaining 24 games for the Top 4 only one is for 8-pt Of the remaining 24 games for the Top 4 only 4 are vs 5th to 8th teams Carlton and Geelong play 3 of the bottom 4 teams Carlton do not play a Top 8 team Geelong play one Top 8 team Their fixtures and % make them difficult to oust. Better news for Demons is that of the teams outside Top 4 we have a relatively easy draw, well ‘on paper’ Conclusions: Everything needs to go our way to make Top 4 We will make the 8. Hopefully 5th or 6th to get that first Home final. Spots 4-8 will be a bun fight between those currently 4 to 13 14 wins should be enough for Top 8 Given the fixture, finalists should be known after rnd 20 I don't give GCS, Coll or Hawks much chance of making the 8. I don't like Ports/WBD chances of making the 8, given their fixture.

just love TMacs resurrection. Hope he gets a new contract.

I had no idea a contested knock-on is a stat. The Bont leads the league, Sparrow is 3rd...he stays in.

I was at the game and aside from freezing my nuts off I was pleased with some of the development from our younger players. I won't comment on all players as most completed their roles as required. Laurie has some tricks in his bag and just needs to figure out how to make the jump to AFL. His game was fantastic and he looked dangerous with ball in hand. Sesto is a natural footballer and he has the footy smarts to play AFL football. He looked good out there today and has that frittata 6th sense of knowing where the goals are at all times Pup Brown will push for selection again this year. He is developing nicely. Blake Howes murdered whoever he was playing on. He was reliable and was the best of our back 6. He was terrific. Some of our senior boys didn't have noteworthy performances. Hunter worries me, he looks like he's going through the motions. I'm not sure what's going on with him but he should be smashing vfl football. McAdam struggled with the conditions and couldn't influence the game. I'm not writing him off yet. Fullerton has some good patches, and then some poor patches throughout the game. Billings had a good game and was a key contributor. BBB was solid up forward and contested all day. I can't report much on Noah Yze sorry as I didn't really see much of him.

Picket, to be honest you are coming off as not having a great grasp on what might drive selection in modern footy. I think it is reasonable to assume goody selection is largely driven by picking a team he thinks gives us the best possible chance of winning that game (I say largely because a factor sometimes might be an eye to getting a player ready for finals - so, an eye to winning future games). If goody is picking petts at this point in the season, in a critical 8 point game, it is reasonable to assume he did so because he believed it would help us win. Petty is clearly playing a role, and doing what is asked of him. He is a work horse who gets to contests and provides a down the line marking option. In case you haven't noticed goody has ALWAYS had a player playing such a role in his teams. BBB and Tmac are two such examples. It is a critical part of his structure and method - not least because it gives maxy a chop out from being smashed in such aeriel pack contests all game. And have a listen to goody's answer to another inane question about our forward line. Asked about the forward line mix working in the last 2-3 weeks, implying something radical had changed, he, politely, pointed out that the only change to that mix has been melk and that petts, jvr and disco have played together for most of the season. Cohesion is critical in sport he pointed out. And that takes time he also pointed out. It takes continuity. That's exactly what they have been doing - continuity in selection and building cohesion. And we are seeing the fruits of that approach. Dropping petty does not contribute to continuity or cohesion. And brining in another kid like Jefferson does nothing to help us win, or for cohesion - or the kid's development for that matter. And seriously, do you really think Fullarton would have helped us win last night? Bloke is barely passing muster as a ruck at VFL level Despite the frankly ridiculous hand wringing on here about selection, we won the raw clearance count - which by the by is not a particularly useful stat these days as it's not a measure of impact. What is a measure of impact is scores from stoppages, which critically we won by 14 points. In fact it was arguably the deciding factor in our win given they scored 3 more points from turnover. That doesn't happen without petty. Goody deserves credit and praise not brickbats. Which is why, when responding to a question about who we might play in the ruck against freo goody visibly bristled, before noting the option he ran with this week clearly JUST WORKED, implying the obvious- why would we change something that literally just proved successful?

If I had 6 All Australian jackets and counting, and was one of the greatest ever players to pull on the red and blue I’d have a sizeable ego too, yet I don’t think that was ever the issue.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times you give Stringer a bath, he'll still stink. I also want to quietly slip in that not every gun half-back needs to be turned into a midfielder. I'd be perfectly happy for McVee to take up the Corey Enright status as 'the most underrated 6-time All-Australian in the competition', even as Rivers becomes the new midfield Burgoyne. I guess we'll know in about 250 more games.

I played on him for 15 min when he was 15-16 and I was 17-18. He was comically good. I was psyched when we drafted him. The good thing to come out of that 15 min from my perspective was that my then coach never experimented with me in the midfield ever again.

It’s true that Melbourne is faced with a monumental challenge but it’s not about turning around a negative 15½ goal outcome against Fremantle which is where it finished in Alice Springs early last month. It’s all about winning a game where both sides start with the score at 0.0.0 each, play under different conditions, on a different ground in a different city (albeit the home of the Dockers), with different players and with many of the same players of differing physical freshness and mental attitudes. There’s been an outcry and a lot of tears about the fact that the Demons have been forced to soldier on without two AFL top liners in Max Gawn and Christian Petracca but when you compare the makeup of the Melbourne team of round 12 with the team of round 18, there are some significant changes for the better even if you can never replace Max and Christian. These are the changes between the two games - Out Max Gawn, Lachie Hunter, Christian Petracca, Shane McAdam, Adam Tomlinson In Jake Lever, Jake Melksham, Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Koltyn Tholstrup, Jacob van Rooyen. That’s a mixed bag of players coming in which includes two experienced players in Lever and Melksham. One adds cohesion to the defence, the other adds steel to the attack which was not functioning properly on 2 June 2024 when Melbourne flopped badly to the purple people. The other three are JvR who is in massive form as a forward and relief ruckman, and two youngsters playing with great enthusiasm. They replace McAdam who was held scoreless, Hunter who was ineffective before he was subbed off at half time with a calf injury and Adam Tomlinson who worked hard but he doesn’t compare with Lever. There are a number of Melbourne players who have lifted several notches including wingers Ed Langdon and Caleb Windsor. Their current form is uplifting and their attacking mindset is setting a different tone to the team’s performance. The last time they met, it was said that the Dockers were completely switched on and primed to beat the Demons. They had an extra two days to prepare themselves for the game and this time they are coming off a shattering loss to Hawthorn. Certainly, Freo will have an advantage in the ruck if Max isn’t ruled fit to play but in every other respect, the goalposts have been removed 360 degrees over the past six or seven weeks. Even Optus Stadium is Melbourne’s home away from home.

As good as they were I thought Langdons game was outstanding- doesn’t get a lot of cudos

Most coaches votes too. Gun in the making.

It's amazing how little this guy gets recognised by the broader football community. I've rarely seen a second year player show as much poise and composure as he does. I'm predicting him and Rivers to be our two best players in a few years' time.

Interesting from Jeff White . https://x.com/JeffWhite34/status/1812640924767580598

It's very likely to deter gent.

You could almost feel bombers fans lamenting the fact they don't have Kozzi in their team. Amazing drafting by us. Pick 12 And then Rivers at 32!

This comment from bomberblitz will resonate with a few. Umpires gave us 3 goals when the game was truly over Disgraceful evening up I have ever seen- umpire no 22 take a bow

On the field Max is a wonderful player and an inspiring leader. Off the field he comes across as the kind of person everyone would love to have as a teammate. Even to suggest he has an inflated ego is absurd.

curse of ruckman, ya say? i say a blessing... gawn - the greatest ever jeff white - they literally changed the rules to stop his dominance jim stynes - the original indestructible warrior fullarton is a forward who can ruck a bit, and jvr / petty / turner are far more effective at it than he is

Unbelievable rookie pick by Taylor and just a joy to watch his career unfold. Agree I hope he can get into that on-ball rotation eventually, will add another dimension to that Midfield.

He really is a joy to watch. His balance is unreal, Mr Cool and already a fan fav. At the ground you wonder how he escapes two players after picking it up. IMG_3562.mov

My ladder predictor has us either missing the 8 on 13 wins because of percentage or finsihing 6th on 14 wins. To get the 14 wins would take a massive effort from a very young team. If we make it, we will have earnt it.

What I like about Judd is the speed he puts on the ball. He seems to be able to take/create an intercept and move it directly forward faster than everyone else in the team (Riv used to do this to before the midfield move) Reckon we have a great player here

Difficult playing with soapy balls.

What I'm loving about Pickett's overall progress is the perfectly normal maturation of a deeper awareness of the system and the situation. I think that is what sets players like Rioli and Bruest apart is the awareness that allows them to not only do the brilliant thing but also make sure it has brilliant effect. For all the hype about Buddy & Roughhead, having the creativity of both Bruest and Rioli in a team is pure luxury. It was also an underrated aspect of Eddie Betts' game - about 3/4 of his disposals, throughout his career, were score involvements! Pickett's growing game awareness and demonstrated commitment to personal growth are why any debate about the best small forward from his draft is now leaving Weightman in the dust.

St Kilda under Ross Lyon never won a flag. Geelong in their Danger/Cameron/Stewart era have just one. Carlton with Cripps, Walsh, Curnow, McKay, Weitering haven’t won one. Brisbane have been up for 5 years with no flag. Sydney with Buddy for a decade didn’t win one. West Coast with Cox, Cousins, Judd and Kerr only won one.

Sparrow - Twenty Pressure Acts The highest were ANB and Chandler with 22 (not exactly “limited involvement”), but Sparrow is consistently high in this stat. I think Goodwin has him playing a pretty unglamorous role this year, and I’m sure the coaches aren’t as down on him as a few posters have been lately. Oh and also worth mentioning, the other player in the top four for pressure acts was Harrison Petty, also with 20.

7,305 will bring up 20 years what a time to be alive

As a tall, who doesn’t mind the physical aspects and has a good kicking action, he has the attributes for a great future.

15 July 1967 - on this day in 1967, an 18-year-old, 189cm ruckman from Tasmania, Max Walker, made his debut for the Demons on the MCG against the Kangaroos wearing the number 46 guernsey. His 15 kicks, 18 hitouts, 7 marks and goal helped his team across the line by 3 points. He had risen dramatically from the Under 19s to seniors in just over half a season after being discovered the year before in a schoolboy’s grand final. He went on to wear the number 1 in the following season when he established himself in the Melbourne lineup. Walker played 85 games for the Dees by the end of 1972 when he was called up to play in the Australian Test Cricket team. The tangle-footed right arm medium pace bowler was played as a foil for the famed express duo of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. Although he was trained as an architect, Walker went on to become a popular television cricket commentator, public speaker and author. Walker passed away in 2016.

Petty was way more effective than you're giving him credit for. He provided a decent physical presence. Fullarton was absolutely monstered in virtually every ruck contest. Bryan brushed him off like a twig. Even the Bombers back up ruck completely outbodied him.Hate to think what might have happened against Draper & co. 20 disposals. Well done. Doesn't really help our cause. Forward craft is negligible. A ruckman he ain't.

Could go down as one of the best rookies in history the way Juddstar is developing. Reminds me a lot of Pendlebury, especially his calm head and composure under pressure. So happy he plays for the Dees, priority to get him signing an extension IMO.

Lloyd gave him votes too. The broader AFL world is starting to notice.

There basically Collingwood supporters with slightly better jobs and cars.

I'm hoping it's season over for the GCS by the time we play them in Round 23.

the 50m penalty is a blight on the game. It is a huge penalty for what is often a minor infraction and seems to be random in its application. Needs to be sorted.

Always love your excel work @Lucifers Hero I did the squiggle ladder predicter a few weeks ago and it had us finishing 12th, now it has us finishing 8th. It has us losing to Freo, gold coast and Collingwood but beating GWS, Dogs, Port, Collingwood have a very tough run, would love to demolish them in the last round and secure finals for us and keep them out of the 8.

Played well. Not disssimilar to how Brown went last year. Stuck to his role, did the team thing. His running impressed me and so did his tackling. I would have liked to have seen him kick the sealer instead of pass it off to Billings, but showed great aweness. Went too hard at times to give away some free kicks, but seemed a little better than the Casey listed players debuts I remember. I can see us rooking him, but not national draft. And probably think a Fritch or Jefferson level of development. Would need a couple of years.

Whatever any faults Goody may or may not have they are wiped clean when I seem him on the boundary line fist pumping the year when a youngster scores a goal for us. And for those who have doubted his prowess in not delivering more than one flag I can confidently say going out in straight sets twice was pretty much out of our control with our fwd line injuries. In fact even the Gus "event" had Milkshake not gone down in the last h and a last year, we would have won the premiership. That's a lot for just one player but Jake the snake has hit a new level of form in his footy twilight years as we have seen lately. The bombers game in the wet revealed yet again a strong link up at Chf. Melksham was instrumental in that connection and aside from his two goals ( strangely he uncharacteristically missed a set shot directly in front) played a hand in quite a few other goals. He is so strong in his core that he plays like a tall ff. And he is very fast with great acceleration and his hard to tackle. As mentioned he is a very reliable shot at goal and kicks them easily from the pockets we where tend to target. As a senior player he leads by example and brings footy wisdom like his sliding goal kick. And yes it's a big call to say we would have won the flag with the inclusion of just one player but both our finals were extremely close and clearly lost by our ability to utilise our inside fifty count and accurate shots on goal. It's late in the game so to speak but in an incredibly close season, Jake the snake has and will be the key to us squeezing into the top six or hopefully four depending on how we go this weekend without Max again. JM has in his senior footy years has beaten a serious injury that would have ended some younger players careers and seems to have greater passion and hunger than before. We have lost some games we shouldn't have and smashed in a couple of others but we are still in the mix. The reality is that some teams above us have won most or all of their close games and we two out of our three. As the bombers found out underestimate us at your own peril. We are a team without our Coleman medalist and All Australian and possibly one of the best rucks to ever play the game. In that despite some junk time goals and questionable umpiring we absolutely smashed a top four team in the rain. A team of experienced talent in players like Nibbler,Langers, May and Oliver buoyed by some emerging gun youngsters like Mcvee, Disco, Windsor and the Colt makes us a genuine wildcard for a shot of playing for a flag. Our forward line has been something we have lamented about for eons. Now with Jake back in it, a classy Fritta,a magical Kozzie and an in form Jvr it looks like it could amass 100 points easily. Throw in Disco and we don't really need Petty there.

He's super impressive thus far as a fwd. I say keep him there! Loved how he calmy slotted from 55 Sat eve. I like the energy and toughness he exudes and I reckon it gives the feel of the side something new. Its early to say but he brings to mind someone like a Brody Mihocek from the pies. Someone who seemed sort of average for a while but became so critical to their set up. Plus given the hit and miss nature of our kicking for goal to have him, Fritter and JVR all up there is a big plus.

For sure, partic goals from turnover I'm not so sure we did run out of gas. Well maybe a bit (though not the to the same degree as against tjhe liuns and roos) - which i think we just have to accept with such a young team. And i was amazed the so called experts didn't point out that we were off a six day break to their 8 - Melk sure did in a post match interview when asked about recovering from his first game back after 12 months. I reckon we lost momentum with those two quick goals and couldn't get it back. The umpiring handed the bombers that momentum. I was quietly pleased we didn't give up any more goals.

When you see him up close he is really solid through the core, he has good height and strength, could be another rough diamond in our youngish list.

Without even touching on his forward craft, pressure, speed, the amount of goals he's kicked etc... he's one of the best dual sided players I thing I've seen in red and blue.

The best small forward we’ve had since the The Wiz Both sensational players but Kozzy has arguably more tricks due to his time in the midfield He is building consistently in output and tempering some of his aggression One of our very best and a great career so far He is a ripper

If we could duplicate him so we can have one up forward and one in the midfield at all times, that would be great. He's too good at both roles. Just so damaging. His evasive skills, but also his vision when he plays up the field is up there with the best mids in the game.

Grundy - paid pick 27 Grundy - received future 2nd and pick 46 Hunter - future 3rd round (around pick 50) Schache - future 4th round pick Fullarton - pick 47 Billings - future 3rd round pick McAdam - future 2nd round pick The Grundy trade has basically broken even. Sure it has tipped slightly their way with their good year, but no major damage. All of the other trades except for McAdam have been for a bag of chips. And they are bags of chips we probably wouldn't have used at the draft anyway. Given the cost was so low, the trades were probably worth the gamble, with high upside if any of those players turned it around at Melbourne at virtually no cost. McAdam hasn't performed yet and we dropped down the ladder, so that trade looks like it might be a bust (although make a prelim and the cost decreases significantly). But McAdam has found some form at VFL level and it's possible that the injuries and lack of preseason are the major factor, meaning he has a role to play over the next 3 years. Jury is out. All in all I think this list of players is "low cost gambles from a team with little capital to spend". If one of Fullerton or Schache played 50 games we'd be laughing.

Pfffft. I just finished a 50-piece jigsaw puzzle in only three days. On the box it said "5 to 7 years".

Salem - contest work underrated Put his body on the line repeatedly tonight.

Some absolute junk comments. “100 games for just over 100 goals”? He’s kicked 150 goals in 99 games so ‘just over’ is doing some real heavy lifting there. Of the top 20 in his draft Koz is: #1 for games played #1 for goals, ahead of Cody Weightman on 119. #2 for goals per game behind Weightman, 1.75 vs 1.52. Georgiades is the only other to average >1 per game. #4 for tackles behind Rowell, Serong and Tom Green. #5 on tackles per game as Hayden Young sneaks ahead of him. #1 for goal assists overall and per game. #2 for marks i50 overall and #3 for mi50 per game. He’s elite, and he’s going to get better.