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John Travolta was hospitalised for suspected COVID-19, but doctors now confirm that it was only Saturday Night Fever, and they assure everyone that he is Staying Alive.

We need as much midfield depth as possible and he plays his best football in the midfield. Therefore, we should play him in the backline with Fritsch.

Probably why he looked so annoyed.

Personally I want him back i to the midfield. Felt like he really got us going when he was moved back into his natural position. I can see the need to put him down back to give us run, but if it means we can fit Lockhart in there for that same role then i am all for Harmesy to be playing around the midfield.

Essendon. I would barrack for the Taliban over that mob.

Maynard, Stretch and JKH didn't add depth because they weren't really up to AFL standard with is why they are no longer on any list. We have more depth now as Petracca is a genuine mid, Jordan and Sparrow are better now than last year and are as good or better than Maynard, Stretch and JKH. As for wings I've been impressed with Baker both at training and at NM. He's got some real attributes for a winger. The other is Bedford who I think could play there. He has the tank and he has speed, skills and is competitive. Most importantly he now has some belief.

My hatred for Essenscum and their supporters cannot be put into strong enough words.

Essendon by so much there isn’t a second place. god I hate them. I’m getting angry just thinking about it

Viney all clear...phew...not even a fine.

I hate them all equally. Although I hate Essendon and West Coast a little bit more equally than the others.

suck **** Huddo! Hudson tried his best to make a big deal about it when commentating the other night. I bet he was one of those kids who liked to dob on everyone else at school.

Agree. Barretr’s “yep” answers show him to be a very shallow interviewer. No interest whatsoever in the answer or nuanced dialogue. It shows he is a shocking listener and is simply keen to get to the next question. All about him, I suspect.

Essendon...they are a putrid club

This game is looking after the welfare of those that deliver you your weekly entertainment package...

Based on what exactly? 1 practice game against a team expected to struggle where he was mostly invisible but snagged a couple of lucky goals (mostly from frees too, weren't they?). I think he's handy, I'm glad we signed him up, but "pivotal"? Turn it up.

Just need Oscar to accidently fall on top of him again

I was thinking Lockhart to play on Petraculle or however you spell it.. will match for speed but also be able to run off and give drive as Petraculle doesn't have a defensive bone in him.

Looks a bit like our forward line setup!

The precipice stands right in front of the Hawks ATM. Burgoyne unsighted, McEvoy ( 1st game back from injury), no impact. Patten grossly unfit, was completely shot by quarter time. Scully run off his feet firstly by Langdon, then Tomlinson. Smith forced to play on Langdon and then did nothing during the game. Puopolo should be retired as he had as much impact as McEvoy. No forward line apart from Patten.......... Common factor....30ish years of age! Oh how wonderful this is.....Now for Geelong!

Jackson should not play this year unless we get injuries. He's a kid. A tall talented kid, but I mean c'mon it's like putting a baby giraffe into a battlefield. Yeah the giraffe might stomp someone but it's not the place he belongs.

They and their supporters are the biggest pack of stupid [censored] [censored] arrogant [censored] [censored] the world has ever seen. Now I’m getting angry! [censored]!

I rarely defend the AFL, but reading about the scary (and still largely unknown) post-career effects of repeated concussions on athletes, I've changed my tune on this issue. It's worth reading recent news interviews with our own Shaun Smith for an insight into the impacts it can have. The AFL have no choice but to take action to reduce the risks, and I think they're heading in the right direction with this one. The key is applying the rules consistently (no doubt this is where they will fail).

The Melksham one is the baffling one for me. Two blokes run head first into each other and one of them gets plucked out for a 2k fine... Bizarre.

Christian should apologise for scrubbing May last year based on his guidelines for what constitutes a reportable offence

I tend to dislike the WA and SA sides more than the others because there's nothing original about booing anything and everything for two and a half hours week after week. Carrying this anti Victorian angst around all the time is only going to shorten their lifespan at the end of the day. I'm torn a little by Greater Western Sydney for having cool original colours but a ridiculous name. Some others just irritate me because no matter how well we're travelling we always seem to lose against them (St K & North) whilst Collingwood requires no explanation at all.

Collingwood first, second and third for me. All the rest equal 4th.

As I see it, the idea has been to kick the ball to the hot spot around 15-35 metres out. We want this to occur: - Someone takes a pack mark resulting in a shot on goal. If this doesn't happen, then: - We aim to lock the ball inside 50 with our forward pressure, or look for quick repeat entries which will have us kicking to the hot spot again. It worked quite well in 2018, not so well last year. Obviously we can still hit up the leading player from time to time, or get a player one out (which ended up being Melksham in 2018) through a turnover, but that's been the basis of our 150 gameplan for a few years now. And no, that doesn't make you dumber. But your annoyance around Goodwin not sharing our game plan, word for word, with you just seems a little silly.

As often happens when a new coach takes over a dispirited team in mid-season, Teague had a good start to his career. He gave them freedom, their confidence lifted and after a win at home against an over-confident and cocky Brisbane, they had a run of games against other teams in the lower region of the ladder. They won a few games and Teague was appointed permanent coach. He’s going to have a tougher job now with the clubs having more time to scrutinise the players and the game plan.

Backline for now. His best footy (at least numbers wise) might be better in the midfield, but looking at it from a team perspective rather than a personal performance one, I think we will function better as a team with him in the backline. It's about roles and team effectiveness for mine, not individual performance. I'm a Lockhart fan, but let's not get too carried away with his place in the team just yet. Got caught a lot and his disposal wasn't great in the preseason games. I think he will eventually grab a spot in the team, but it possibly won't be this year (would be rapt if it was though).

Well, it’s got to be a bitter pill to swallow, and it would definitely be a blow to the ego to find out in front of everyone that he wasn’t their number one. It also shows just how much he wants it and hopefully that will drive him on to bigger and better things. I did like the way that Goodwin handled what must have been a very awkward situation...even Max looked a little uncomfortable.

Well done to our girls. Building a really good season towards a solid finals position. Would love to see this headline repeated again in a few weeks!

Sensational production all round by the club. They really nailed everything about it, most importantly the tone of the series. Wasn't too focused on rehashing the negative but didn't overdo the forward looking focus either. Might be too much during the busyness of the season, but would be great to see a mini-doco, about the length of one of these episodes, every month or so, perhaps focusing on a certain player. It'd be great for fan engagement and may even help reduce some of the personal vitriol that gets thrown at players during the year on social media. Anyways, congrats to all involved in putting it together.

A game style that is recognisable by a MFC supporter is generally losing. Ideally we play a game style that is unrecognisable...

This is spot on! The game today requires elite runners to hold structure and maintain competitiveness, ANB provides this. Even though he lacks some polish his strength in providing run and contests is essential - he had 5 (= top) tackles, and 22 (4th) pressure acts. Also snagged a goal and hit a target inside 50 on a fast break (from memory...?) So yes, 63% DE is less than we'd like, but he earns his spot for mine.

My OCD can't handle the messiness of Goody's desktop.

Love the Nev & Kozzie Show. I'd actually watch a weekly reality show with this modern day Odd Couple.

Agree 100%, mate. I thought Jackson gave us a small glimpse of how quickly he could improve on Friday night. I thought he was way off the pace in the third term, which is no surprise at all, but then he really got better in the last and showed his great athleticism and appetite for the contest with his second and third efforts around the ball. I'm firmly in the Weideman camp for Round 1 as he has the bigger body and more experience, but he better not get too comfortable, as LJ could very quickly work his way into the side if Weid's form is sub-par.

I don't see why Goodwin should spell out the style or the team rules for anyone outside the sanctum. Let the other mobs work it out for themselves. That's what they're supposed to do. Clarkson never talked about his 'web' before, during or after its operation that I know of.

Poor old Weed, much maligned methinks. In the last game he got 19 disposals and held his own in the ruck. He needs to clunk more marks but he’s a reasonable contributor and still is a baby in big man terms.

No brainer. Weids is miles in front of Jackson at this stage. Jackson played a half, and at that the 2nd half when opposition were tiring however every time got pushed off the ball. Needs plenty of time at Casey. In a year or two Jacko will be miles in front of Weids . He is just not ready at moment.

It's the type of maturing of many being in the system now for four years plus new talent that can at least nail opportunities that up until this season have been left squandering. Yes there is a chance of a flag as we put real pressure on the opposition more than other teams and our defence had held up remarkably all year. All done with about 23/25 girls and the rest out injured. Team first mantra very strong is also our base.

Really love the way the team is going ATM. Don't know what happened at St.Kilda the sooner we forget about that one the better. Love Goldrick's run and carry, Pearce is all class, Zanker is an excitement machine, Newman has pace to burn, O'Dea is a bull and Paxman is a star. Keep it up girls we may well see a premiership.

Can only be cured (or alleviated) by a Premiership.

If Viney wanted to hurt him. He would've. I'm sure he thought about it. Then changed his mind. Fair tackle ..... Play on.

We'll pull out the masterful away final win on the road in Perth (Finally). Wce will fight back and shock the Tigers and spend all their tickets doing so. The prelim of the century takes place with a goal for goal extravaganza between us and the Pies. Tmac leads out and marks a lace out petracca bullet fron the Gawn/Clarry centre bounce clearance...for a shot after the siren. He nails it. The country goes mad with collingwood mockery and demon bandwaggonery We boringly win the GF by 15 goals.

Ever since it was brought to my attention that you can say “Covid-19” to the tune of “Come on, Eileen,” I’ve been unable to read it any other way

The kick in from May to Gawn from the goal square, which immediately led to Langdon sprinting down the wing and then delivering it to Fristch, who converted skillfully on his left, was great to watch - but, on so many levels, it also represented the significant difference between this season and last. That so many industry observers and commentators (most notably The Roar) fail to recognise these differences surprises me. Injuries permitting, we should definitely be in the mix this year. And a critical factor in this will be the May and Lever partnership - both of whom I’m hoping will be in the AA conversation by the end of this season. I reckon they’ll both prove themselves to be fantastic recruits for this club.

Some perspective we’ve beaten Hawthorn, Adelaide and North in pre season none of whom look like they are going to be any good this year. Hawks in particular could be rubbish you can’t avoid the draft and top up with ready mades forever eventually you have to invest in the best kids....

Makes you appreciate the value of having Preuss as backup once he gets over his injury. He may be a bit slow (though hopefully a bit slimmer and fitter this year), but he does provide a pretty decent contest.