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"Do you know the difference between involvement and commitment? Think of ham and eggs. The chicken is involved but the pig is committed!" The Observer 1982 "There is just one thing I want to commend you on and thats the way most of you are going in very hard to get the ball.BUT, he added with an ominous tone in his voice , there are a few of you that are hanging back from intense contact and unless these players show more guts , I won't put you in against Hawthorn" Ron Barassi during intraclub match page 40 "The Coach" Ibid And so it was forseen that in any given game at any given time unless you go hard even in a match simulation you won't get picked. So today as I ventuered out to CASEY FIELDS, The intraclub hitout was just that... Intense, hard, no beg pardons and on display around 35 or so players all striving to get noticed to show something, anything that might propel them in with a shot of the game Vs Geelong on Sunday. Skills , Drills and Manuevers, More or less same drills as desribed in previous posts with warmups, drills specifically attuned to busrting out from defence running in pack formation , canny use of the ground and with skills by hand and foot certainly noticeable. Of more specificity, protecting the ball carrier, creating options, two way running were featured. I certainly was a little concerned when I saw that match simulation featuring Blue probables vs Pink possibles ensued given that this is cause for injury concern , but given Ron Barasi's quote as above if its good enough for Ron then its gotta be good enough for Goody and co. The Match Ups Interestingly a Pink Forward line of Ben Brown (who moved well) Weeds, Majak and Mitch Brown is going to cause the opposition of May, Tomlinson and Lever some Alice Cooper moments ( Welcome to my Nightmare) but the Blues led by Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney, Angus B and Nibbler provided first use to McDonald, Kossie (who again put on a clinic) and Fritta. Others of note were Langdon, Rossman was involved, Chunky, Tracc, and Rivers. Gee Sparrow is as hard as a Cats head and Jordon is certainly improving outa site! Bowey and Laurie also did some useful things. Other than that at conclusion of match simulation players practiced goal kicking into a fierce North Wind but many shots were executed well. In particular Majak Daw hardly missed from a variety of angles. Harmsy ran laps but had no tape or any strapping on his injured Wrist and showed no discomfort. I would almost suggest that the team may go in unchanged from last week. I just cannot see how the possibility of Melksham can squeeze in in place of??? Maybe Hibbo might get a gig but again this current team is gelling well. One other thing gee this team looks fit, I reckon Geelong will find it hard to run out the game given how fit we are at present. Kudos to Darren Burgess! Cheers PF

Possibly the stupidest idea since someone suggested that we shouldn’t have sung “grand old flag” after last Sunday’s win against GWS.

He is the Lachie Whitfield, Daniel Rich half-back type player. Worth their weight in gold even if not top money earners. A large part of why Salem 'looks better' this year is because we have better ball movement processes and positioning and a mid field who understand their roles better. He has always had exquisite skills and footy IQ and been very, very good and under rated on this board.

My MFCSS says this can only happen to the Demons.

From my perspective each has a "Bag of Tricks" Bowey is hard at it and QUICK and at some piont might oust Spargo, however Spargo is doing all he should so put that away for the time being. Laurie has polish and great football smarts and is sure to feature at some stage. Rosman to me will be "The Enigma" can take strong grabs, kicks freak goals and is elusive. I would think the club would be very happy with these three. Cant wait to see them in Praccy game Vs Willi on Sat

Wadda ... there is no way I could hope for an Essendon win i hate the [censored] !!

Nonsense. The game has survived without player lending so why start now. Injuries are a part of football. The biggest problem with the game is that everyone wants to make changes to it all the time.

So this is step 1 in Eddie's image rehabilitation campaign. He's just saying a bunch of popular (to the lay-person) but largely impractical things. It's a PR piece for Eddie and that is all. Sad but predicatable.

Jetta and Hibberd are not competing for the same spot. Hibberd is competing for a spot with Rivers and Hunt. Hibberd is not a primarily small shut down defender like Jetta, in fact, he is anything but. His strength is his run and carry off half back. Jetta has never, nor will ever be a zippy player. He wins contests on pure strength and courage. That has not changed. Jetta, if he is to be replaced, needs to be replaced with a small lock-down defender. If there is someone on our list that anyone here thinks will do a better job than Jetta currently, I am open to suggestions.

Maybe it is time to dramatically strengthen the second tier of Australian football, instead of imagining that only the official 'AFL' level matters and coming up with yet more hare-brained ideas to fit the mammoth plug in the guinea pig holes?

No it isn’t. Salem has been consistent for years now and the game changing to suit him and his skills is nothing like a player that plays a good season when they are OOC.

maybe that's why big maxie always allows for the wind even when there is none?

Picket your training posts (in this neck of the woods at least) have now achieved legendary status. Glad they're back! Best read of the week on DL by a country kilometer. Stirring stuff! Set the scene for a late Sunday showdown at the 'G'. May the PA be belting out Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare and the boyz come out with real intent.

If I played for Melbourne and was loaned to Collingwood, I would definitely kick the ball towards Melbourne’s goals and pass it to Melbourne players.

Allows Collingwood to still have a chance to make finals as they rebuild.

Watched the replay last night. when clarry gave away a stupid free kick near our goal square the the second quarter I was really disappointed. within a minute or so there was a cut away of goody having just spoken to clarry who had been immediately benched, with the sort of expression you have when you have just questioned someone about something and searching for an honest answer. I’m sure it was a conversation about team versus self. Clarry responded by tapping goody on the body - I expect along the lines of yep “I’m good coach”. 50 years of disappointment means I’m trying to keep a lid on it, but I’m very excited. im seeing a connected team - both with themselves and the coach im seeing a team that is maturing enough to change things on the field. im seeing a team, that once it gets a couple of key forwards back doesn’t really have a major identifiable weakness (unlike even the best Melbourne teams I’ve seen) im seeing a coaching group that seems to identified their own strengths and weaknesses - ie goody on the bench to engage the players, and yze in the box helping to identify the trends of the game and adjusting on the run. im big Kev right now and it feels very unnatural, and as a lifelong tragic it doesn’t sit comfortably I’m waiting for the disappointment to come. but I really think all the reasons to be positive are true!

I wouldn't want any of those players if it meant losing Oliver...particularly Kelly who is grossly overrated. He should have taken the cash on offer at North as he's not going to get another like that.

Totally disagree. Double newsflash. Of course you have to learn how to handle the wind, but you first have to perfect your techinque so that the ball goes where you are aiming. Then take into account the wind. If you practice in windy conditions and you miss you don't know if your technique was to blame or your failure to take correct account of the wind. I'd have thought this was bloody obvious.

Yes they will. Newsflash Aussie rules football is played outside in the elements, apart from 2-3 games a year for Melbourne. Do you think Tullamarine isn't windy. Whitten oval, Waverly etc If they can kick them in the wind, they should be a lot better when there is no wind.

I've said this before, but how can players practise goal kicking at a windy site like Casey? When they miss (or score) they won't know if it was their technique or the wind that was the cause.

Loved this report, pf. Full of historical analogies, relevance and mind-stirring expectations of players and the will to be part of a great footy win. Nice profiling, too. Much appreciated...

You'd think they'd be naturals at the sux-sux-sux starting formation.

After watching am not finding much i dislike about it. 20 teams playing each other once would be great. It would finally be an even competition with no major advantages to clubs like Collingwood(home games) & Geelong. There is a lot of luck involved currently as you happen to play twice on any given year. Some of these teams are so much more likely to play finals due to these advantages. Even a top 12 is not too bad if out of 20 teams. Could be as simple as 11th and 12th are effectively wildcards. It would stop a lot of teams from tanking as more would be in contention for these spots. Overall i hope the competition goes down a similar path to this hypothetical one that is outlined. It would create a more exciting and fair competition....Something we have never had even close to!

The most consistent and reliable player we've had in the last 20 years.

Not a great result really, if we are a serious threat and the jury is out, we want the top sides losing.

It's great that these kids can just work on developing their games without being thrown to the wolves if senior footy before they're ready. Such a change from where we've been for a long time

Jobe say “modern game” one more time, I double dare ya mother [censored].

Well done to young Josh Smith. Played in the U18 Champs a couple of years back for Vic Country. I have seen him play since u10's and actually coached him for a couple of years. I'm sure he'll give a good account of himself. Number 66 I believe!

Have been trying to get a wheelchair seat for a Tridents member who is severley disabled i.e already has ticket 2nd level on the wing in that area. Application to Ticketek...no response for 2 1/2 days....finally they send one ( just one, he needs a companion seat as well) located bottom deck of Ponsford in GA!! In first game of season they didn't even reply to the request! Fortunately called the club, who arranged a wheelchair seat in the Tridents area. Fantastic effort by the Membership team, who have to cover for Ticketeks failures....again.

Disagree. Agree with jaded. Hibberd is average at best one on one. And having him as lock down defender means that he can't play to his strengths - which is run and carry. Hunt and Rivers both ahead of him ATM IMHO

Maybe, but maybe not. Carlton plays Essendon and the Dogs in those two weeks and got Sunday 3.20pm games for both of them. At any rate, it matters less why we're there and more that we're actually there and have an opportunity to use it to get more exposure. By Round 8 we'll have been on FTA five times (Rounds 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8). Our five games between these and the bye are Carlton, Adelaide (away), Bulldogs (Marvel), Brisbane (Alice Springs) and Collingwood (Queen's Birthday). That's one guaranteed FTA game and if we keep our form up, we might be able to get another couple of FTA games with that bunch as well. If we were to end Queen's Birthday having been on FTA 7 or 8 times out of our first 13 games, that's not a bad result for us.

How do you develop a young player in the game plans, tactics and developing relationships with team-mates and the club, when they are playing elsewhere? The whole reason for taking the Casey Scorpions under our wing was to ensure that our players were trained in the "Melbourne way" by Melbourne affiliated coaches, and playing in positions that suited their future roles at senior level. How would we feel when a "loaned" player is sent back onto the ground with a "niggle" which gets exacerbated and becomes more serious? Silly idea.

Often in soccer, or the NRL last year, the loaned player cannot play against their home club.

so I have only one ruck on my list knowing that I can get a backup from another club? Why reward bad planning Loaning out players in the EPL is completely different as the top 6 aren't really competing with the teams who are the beneficiaries of the loan

"How Dons missed Pickett, McDonald draft heist Joe Daniher’s initial trade request bombed out. But how different would life be for the Dons had they done the deal with Sydney?" Article on HS about Dons potentially missing Kozzy and Logan McDonald due to their reluctance to trade Danniher to Sydney. Good to be on the other side of these articles for a change.

With all the talk being Oliver and Petracca with their contracts, one that's not being mentioned is Salem who is currently uncontracted as we speak. Does anyone know where he is at with this? He's imo just as important in being re-signed and his ball use and class sets us up so well across half back. Only 25 years old and has just ticked over the 100 game mark. Plenty of good footy ahead of him and I really think he can really put his name up their as one of the best half backs in the game.

The AFL have released their round 7 and 8 fixtures as per below link. Round 7 - North Melb V Melbourne - Sunday May 2 - 1:10 at Hobart Round 8 - Melbourne V Sydney - Saturday May 8 - 7:25pm at MCG https://www.afl.com.au/news/579157/r7-r8-fixture-reveal-blockbusters-gf-rematch-derbies-locked-in You have a good start to the season, you get rewarded with prime time fixtures. Round seven Friday, April 30 Richmond v Western Bulldogs at the MCG, 7.50pm AEST Saturday, May 1 Collingwood v Gold Coast at the MCG, 1.45pm AEST Adelaide v GWS Giants at Adelaide Oval, 1.40pm ACST St Kilda v Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium, 4.35pm AEST Sydney v Geelong at the SCG, 7.25pm AEST Brisbane v Port Adelaide at the Gabba, 7.25pm AEST Sunday, May 2 North Melbourne v Melbourne at Blundstone Arena, 1.10pm AEST Essendon v Carlton at the MCG, 3.20pm AEST West Coast v Fremantle at Optus Stadium, 2.40pm AWST Round eight Friday, May 7 Richmond v Geelong at the MCG, 7.50pm AEST Saturday, May 8 GWS Giants v Essendon at Giants Stadium, 1.45pm AEST Gold Coast v St Kilda at Metricon Stadium, 2.10pm AEST North Melbourne v Collingwood at Marvel Stadium, 4.35pm AEST Melbourne v Sydney at the MCG, 7.25pm AEST Port Adelaide v Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, 7.10pm ACST Sunday, May 9 Hawthorn v West Coast at the MCG, 1.10pm AEST Western Bulldogs v Carlton at Marvel Stadium, 3.20pm AEST Fremantle v Brisbane at Optus Stadium, 2.40pm AWST

The thing about Gawn's kicking is that the result is consistent. Therefore, he doesn't need to change his technique. All he has to do is aim further to the right each time.

Tassie Mania?

as they should be - playing fast, exciting, high-scoring football and are regularly one of the most-watched sides over the last two decades on free-to-air due to being in the most populous city and incredibly successful

I have to say I’m not a fan. The player should only play for their club and feeder club (VFL etc) and no one else. The mid season draft is there for topping up lists particularly if a player goes down early in the season leaving a list imbalance. I worry that that player would feel they are potentially expendable and they may actually enjoy playing for their adopted club more, resulting in greater numbers of player trade requests at season’s end. It sends the wrong message, no matter how it’s spun to them. Imagine our loaned player kicking the winning goal against us, injuring themselves badly or injuring one of their “teammates” on the opposing side. Players could also be cited for punching one of their own - none of these giving the game a good look. A player should be fighting for a senior game at their club, not seeking it elsewhere. If they are ultimately not good enough or frustrated, then the trade period is there for that reason. I would potentially look at a mid season mini trade period for fringe players, eligibility to be determined, to complement the mid season draft, but that would be it for me. Clubs try to build a good culture and sense of camaraderie among teammates. I see this as having the potential to erode that. With injury comes opportunity, both giving a fringe or untried player a game, or by playing a regular player in a different role which can add flexibility to the team, both for the now and for further down the track. This situation can make coaches with inspired moves that can unlock a great career for a player. Loaning out a player achieves nothing and is merely a bandaid for bad list management or bad luck.

Beware the 'Trojan Horse'! Hardwick has an ulterior motive. He has a young ruckman (Sam Ryan) who won't get senior games for a while with Nankervis and Soldo there so he wants to get senior games into Ryan. As Drew said lots of teams play without recognised ruckman. Bulldogs is a team who have made an art form of not having one. Lions don't have one available right now either. We did very well without Max and Spencer in 2017 - quite a winning spree. Doubt Dimmer would lend his young ruckman to a team in finals contention.

I’m happy to loan out MFC players to go to other clubs and steal their intellectual property on how they play against certain teams etc etc it works in soccer because they play for teams in other divisions or different countries. I’m not sure it works at AFL level unless the loan is from SANFL/WAFL/VFL

I don’t mind it at all, can easily be a win/win. In the example given, one team gets the benefit of a youngster getting experience and exposure that he would otherwise get, while the other team fills a short term gap. Would not be hard to say the player can’t play against his normal club and as for a team competing for a finals spot, then you just don’t do the loan, as it would make no sense.

What a crock. How do you barrack against your own player?

Geelong in my opinion have very clearly tried to cover the age of their list with a slower game plan, i can't see Langdon and Hunt allowing that to happen this week, we will make them chase us. when the Hawks were able to get some speed on the game, they got on top of the cats. I think it starts in the midfield, if Max gets on top as he should, and Clarry can handle the tag that's no doubt coming and contribute, it'll go a long way to us winning the game. Steven May vs Hawkins should be a great match up.

What a debacle the VFL still doing pre-season pratice matches when we are up to round 4. Amateur hour

Losing Salem would be on par with Petracca and Oliver.