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My son is 4 weeks old tomorrow. He's seen 4 from 4. This run is all him.

Jesus Christ the reaction to that article from all the male posters is the epitome of why we need a bigger push for equality.

This appointment has been made on merit. Anyone suggesting otherwise has obviously not bothered to do any research. Her accomplishments with respect to delivery of major projects are truly impressive and we are in the very fortunate position that she has been leveraging those connections to get our home base approved. I believe this appointment can only help that process. This is not a token appointment to tick a gender equality box. She is the best person for the job. End of story. Best of luck Kate.

Don't like gender equality? Women deserve the same opportunities as men, in fact they need to work even harder to gain the same respect. Typical misogynist response to positive news. I will be glad when this becomes the norm in society, and the person whether male or female is best credentialed for the job. Sexism is an ugly thing. See and hear way too much of it, especially in footy. Rant over! Good luck Kate!

Just watched the replay and one of the biggest highlights for me came right at the end. You can excuse a team late in a game for going through the motions when the scoreboard says game over, but not our mob yesterday. In the final 10 seconds of the game we laid 4 tackles and almost a 5th as Geelong tried to run the ball out of their defensive 50. Incredible work rate, talk about playing 120 minutes.

Feel like Viney deserves more credit for this game. Shout out to @DeeSpencer and @The Swimming Dee for also having him BOG. It wasn’t just the fact he had more contested possessions and tackles than any other player on the ground. It was the moments they happened. Those knife edge moments where the Cats could have swung momentum. More often than not it felt like Viney was the one having none of it. Impossible not to have admiration for the bloke. To be playing with the enormous heart he does when many other professional sportsmen would have sooked it up. He’s a gem. Thank god he plays for us.

Sorry if posted already

Yeah I reckon you might be on your own there. 21 touches, 9 marks including 2 contested on a wet day. He was critical is us connecting defence and attack. Worked hard all day. No way he is dropped

It looks to me helping deliver a flag is a top priority. From the article: 'While Kate Roffey wants to do all she can to lead the Demons to premierships and off-field stability, the new Melbourne president spoke passionately on Monday morning about pushing for equality on a number of issues'. 'Roffey ...said another priority was to secure a home base for the Demons...' There is no reason why she and her Board cannot have more than one goal.

Arrived at the MCG in a howling wind and under a threatening cloudy sky, to be greeted by the sound of Led Zepplin's "Kashmir" booming around the ground. When it was followed by Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer", I took it to be a good omen for us. Let's do this! As others have said, what a great team effort. Everyone played well. Pressure was intense, desire for the ball fierce. Viney fought tooth and nail for every possession, May was his usual reliable self until Hawkins took care of him, Lever commanded the backline in his absence, Hunt and Langdon thrilled with their runs down the wings, Max dominated all day and kicked that long bouncing goal to shut down some noisy Geelong fans near us when needed, Kozzie was lurking about in everything and assisted in some special goals, always putting pressure on the opposition. What an exciting player he is, you just know he is about to do something brilliant and you are yelling "Kozzie!" before he has even touched the ball. Things are going well when Fritta kicks true! Clarrie didn't waste his touches with aimless flick passes. He took his time to look for a team mate. Just wonderful. Petracca, superb as usual. Pity he didn't kick more goals. Spargo's tackling, Salem's marking, Jones, TMac, Angus, ANB, all good contributors. Apologies to whoever I've left out. Overall a classy effort. So good to see off those arrogant Geelong supporters. There is nothing like an emphatic win to thaw out the bones after sitting in the cold and wet at the MCG late on a Sunday afternoon.

People’s obsession with dropping Jetta is getting silly. Please name his opponent today and what they did. Please also name what Jetta did wrong. He is going nowhere on current form. Massive challenge for Petty and Tomlinson and Lever to cover May. A huge loss especially with Richmond coming up.

Loved the moment in the last when Lever was by himself in the D50 with a wave of Geelong players on the way in. Had started chasing the player about to get out the back, but at the last second went towards the ball carrier instead. Got there just in the nick of time, with the help of dud bounce by the carrier, and held the ball up before the cavalry arrived. Saved an absolutely certain goal and got a massive cheer from the crowd, and me at home.

Keep the lid on all season. Nothing is guaranteed in this caper. It’s a journey that will fluctuate from week to week. Injuries, travel and form will influence our results. Enjoy the wins but don’t gloat. Wait for the media and non Melbourne supporters dismantle us after a few losses. Including our own whinging supporters who you can hear say “I told you so. “ Must say, the wins have done wonders for my mental health, mood and enjoyment of weekends. like coming out of a dark tunnel. At long last hope is transforming into belief.

I said after round 2 we are starting to see some maturity from this team and yesterday confirmed it in my view. Solid all round game. Hunt finding his feet at half back, Kozzie doing Kozzie things, Gawn a towering strength, Petracca imposing himself like we knew he could, Oliver relentless in his pursuit of the ball, Langdon - totally indefatigable and very creative, Lever rock solid general down back and a shout out to Tomlinson who has performed very well this year and particularly yesterday when called upon to take Hawkins. There is something about this group that shows resolve and confidence in the way the are playing. When things weren't happening down back, Lever took control and really rallied the team. A lot to like.

Says a lot about the guy.

More so the Hospital was released from Steven May.

There is only one error in this, replace "*Essendon were unable to play finals due to supplement saga" with "*Essendon were ineligible for finals due to sanctions issued for their illegal doping program throughout 2011 and 2012.".

Luke Jackson is about to have a break out game. I hope it comes against the Tigers in prime time.

Deja vu

I noticed during the Team song that Glen was there, wearing his Scarf, i do hope there is no bad blood. We don’t need it. We need everyone together to get the elusive 13th

We don’t do this often but it’s time to congratulate Whispering Jack and The Oracle for their tipping prowess in their Match Previews on Demonland this year. The story so far:- Round 1 vs Fremantle UNFINISHED BUSINESS by Whispering Jack WJ’s Selection: Melbourne by 22 points Result: Melbourne by 22 points ✔️ Round 2 vs St Kilda STUCK IN THE MIDDLE by The Oracle The Oracle’s Selection: Melbourne by 17 points Result: Melbourne by 18 points Round 3 vs GWS Giants BREAK OUT by Whispering Jack WJ’s Selection: Melbourne by 41 points Result: Melbourne by 34 points Round 4 vs Geelong by UNDER MY SKIN by The Oracle The Oracle’s Selection: Melbourne by 25 points Result: Melbourne by 25 points✔️ That’s two perfect selections (both at our home games at the MCG), one out by a single point and one out by just 7 points (when Charlie Spargo and Max missed easy shots after the 30 minute mark in the final quarter at Manuka Oval). Well done to our tipsters and keep up the good work! ?

4-0 4-zero 4- nil 4-zip 4 – nada I do like the look of that. The 4 is so important as is the figure 16 for the points we have thus far. I also like the number 8 which is the points break we have over a number of the pre-season ‘contenders’. And there is 2 which is our position on the ladder. 4 rounds, 4 wins and 16 premiership points in the bank. I watched it live via streaming and a few times I found myself thinking back to my childhood. As a young lad I just loved to go to the Saturday matinee that was on at the local cinema with my mates during the summer holidays. There was always a really good B grade adventure movie on. A western, a pirate saga or a good war story. All good, but my favourite was always the Musketeers. Damn they were good. Always having fun, Always getting into problem places only to be helped out by one of their other three mates. The backyard games after a Musketeers movie would find us with our sword sticks in hand giving a battle cry of “ALL FOR ONE – ONE FOR ALL!!” followed by a charge into Mum’s flowerbed to decapitate the hydrangeas. God, I got into trouble for that. The Melbourne Musketeers out played the Geelong Flowerbeds in Round 4. We had a musketeer troop in each area of the ground. They supported each other, exerted the pressure needed, were well lead and looked good doing it. It was another 4 points, but I find these points the sweetest of the season so far. And so, to the Round 5 encounter with the Hawks at the G on Sunday afternoon. What to say about the Hawks? Well, they have not been great so far this season. In all truth, I have to admit that I have not followed them all that closely. Saw a little of their game yesterday and while they have a couple of handy performers, they also have a lot of ordinary performers. Clarkson did a great job as a rookie senior coach when he first went there but personally, I think he has run his course. I look at them and see a very ordinary list playing to expectations. The facts: We are coming off a win at the G against the Flowerbeds - Advantage us. We still do not look to be playing to our potential – Advantage them They had a loss over in WA and have the flights to contend with. - Advantage us Howe injured for them and Lewis rubbed out, May out for us. - No advantage either way (maybe a bit for them with our loss of May) Problem areas of the game for us (not sure that this is the right terminology given the wins we have had): After four matches this season we are seeing a very different team performing in the red and blue than was running around last year. My observations are that the players seem to be very clear on their primary roles, playing them confidently and executing well. They also look to be responding to the on-field situation with more awareness. Well done to the coaching staff if this is the case as they look to have made the message simple and straightforward. A bit like the way we are playing at the moment. Defence, I was a bit worried about in the first quarter when Lever dropped a couple of simple marks that he would normally snaffle. However, once May went off early in the second, Lever rose to the occasion and did not just cut out errors from his game but took the leadership role in that area of the ground and did a great job with his troop of Musketeers. Next week will test our structure down back with the introduction of a new tall defender into the system. Looks as if it will be Petty and I do not mind that. I know I am down on Jetta a bit but I think Clarkson is just the sort of opposition coach that will come up with a plan to exploit Jetta’s limitations. Loved the way that they adjusted to May’s absence. Hunt is in great form. Hawks have a few good players in the middle but they will have a problem or three covering all of Oliver, Petracca and Viney and getting their own drive from the center. O’meara and Mitchell are the main threats in the middle and they will need to work hard to dictate terms. If we get the ascendancy there and put them on the back foot so they are reactive rather than proactive then that is the game right there. These three along with the support players are doing the job very well. Langdon is a great pickup for us and, as someone on this board observed, he and Hunt seem to feed off each other and I love the sight of the two of them running the wing. Max and Luke sharing the ruck duties is working well. The fixtures could not have been better for us with the teams we have met so far having not a lot of ruck talent to go against us. This has allowed Max to move around the ground as required covering defence as required and also moving forward to give an extra dimension to the forward structure. It has also allowed Luke to get some good experience and time in the ruck. If the mids keep to the Musketeer’s philosophy and play well and support each other, then we should dominate this area. Now for the forwards……. We have to include discussion of them you know….. The good; we kicked a winning score last week. Fristch with 4 (there is that number again… Fristch to get 5 this week?) The bad; This is a tough one…… The bad (for Geelong and I hope for Hawks) our forward pressure across the forward 50. The ugly; Fristch’s hair Good to be in the situation where our two missing key forwards are back playing and we are in no rush to get them back in the team. What a luxury it is to be able to nurture them to full fitness via Casey. I will be interested to see who the poor man’s Jayden hunt is sent to cover. Frost on TMac, Fristch? I just see our troop of forward Musketeer’s having too much flexibility for the Hawks defence. We have pressure forwards to tackle and harass, we have a lot of flexibility to rotate players through there to get the matchup we want to try and exploit and we are getting more accurate. Last week I predicted a 3 goal win and later revised it upwards to 5 goals and we won by 4. This week I do not want to get ahead of myself so I am going conservative and predicting a win to the Dees by 5 goals. The bandwagon is parked in the driveway, the red and blue livery polished to perfection and the bathwater steamer bubbling away. There are plenty of vacant seats on board at the moment but I am sure with 5-0 against our name the seats will fill fast. “All for one and one for all!”

This is a ****house post. Congratulations.

Let’s put TMac in defence. While we’re there, let’s bring back OMac and Frosty and we can go back to the trifecta of miskicks, brainfarts and spoiling each other. It’s not going to happen.

Honestly, some of you blokes don’t get it. What questions do you think the first female pres of the oldest club is going to get? What answers to those questions should she give? Of course she gives a shut about equality - we all should. A bloke would never get that question. And how some on here react? “I hope she cares about winning!1!1!1” And if you are trying to gauge you’re own reaction - look who you have a like from - that should be some insight into inanity.

Great team win! What a start! If you’d have told me in January that we’d be 4-0 with no Brown, Weideman, Hibberd and Viney for a game I would’ve thought you were mad! Incredible stuff! Also I was hearing a bit of ‘Melbourne haven’t beaten anyone yet’ on the radio this morning and I’m ok with that, keep the lid on. But there’s an interesting stat everyone seems to be missing, everyone Melbourne has beaten has beaten everyone the bulldogs have beaten. Geelong beat Brisbane, Saints beat WC, GWS beat Collingwood, admittedly Freo haven’t played North yet, but I think we can all agree they WILL beat them. So the next time a radio host tells you how incredible the dogs are but Melbourne ‘haven’t beaten anyone yet’ maybe cheekily point this out? While keeping the lid on of course... GO DEES!!!

Andrew looks an exciting prospect - it's great to see talented Sudo kids moving through the ranks.

To quote Titus O'Reilly "Hawkins should get the benefit of the doubt. He’s only been cited for striking seven times in the last five seasons."

My assessment is just from looking up the MRP’s chart for assessing incidents. I am not angry or emotional about it, and I’ve got nothing against Hawkins. I accept it was an accident, but that’s not the question. I don’t believe there is room in our game for players having bones in their faces broken in regulation contests. If it was a head-on collision we were talking about, I might agree with you. But I can’t see how swinging an elbow backwards like that is any less than “careless” (per the MRP’s chart), and surely the impact is at least “high”, if not extreme, given the injury. Which part do you disagree with? My view wouldn’t change, irrespective of which players or clubs were involved.

someone i know on another club's board absolutely raves about kate roffey - reckons she'll be our peggy o'neal

Jake Lever’s performance reminded me of the late, great Sean Wight, with his anticipation and athletic attack.

Been watching the Dees for almost 50 years and that was easily one of the best games I've ever seen in regards to relentless defensive pressure. When we've lost to sides like St Kilda recently it's been because we failed to handle this type of defence and now here we are dishing it out.. This is a seismic change in the way the team goes about its job and the type of pressure that can win big games. Well done Dees.

A bag blew across the ground in the third quarter and it offered more than Dahlhaus did. ?

Wasn't sure where to put this but on On the Couch tonight they highlighted some stats: We are conceding scores from 30.6% of our opposition inside 50s, which is the best percentage ever recorded after four rounds We have six of the competition's top 21 pressure players (presumably this is measured by average pressure acts per game?) Our forward half pressure rating is the third highest rating by any club since 2013.

If I was the opposition coach Langdon would have been a real annoyance He kept driving the team forward all day (26 possessions) as well as standing out with the run & carry I'm most surprised that Langdon didn't get votes from both coaches. Not sure the umpires would have missed him though Langdon stood out all day

being a ruckman, skinny and requiring development he is unlikely to go top 20 judging on precedents. fortunately

Looks horrific ?

Does it really? You must live on a completely different planet Earth to me. Maybe the last 10-20 years it has improved for women but by no means does it exist. Why did you have the response you did then, try explaining?

I guess the PC point was asked and answered. This is allegedlyb as much about advancing the role of women , as it is about Melbourne Football Club. We all live in the 21st century. l am more than supportive of choosing the best person for the job. The article or agenda did not need saying that it is about women. I think Kate earned this gig on her merit. That is how it should have been described. Gender should have had nothing to do with it, however, for the Board, they too can now tick that Social Justice box. If we can find a home and win a flag, l would applaud anyone in the leadership of the club to get that done. For now, l simply say good luck to Kate Roffey on her appointment and good luck to MFC. This is about achieving success.

I’m looking forward to Frosty finally hitting some Demon jerseys next week!

What's political correctness got to do with anything?

I’m certainly concerned with the clear lack of athleticism. So even if Jetta doesn’t get exposed like the Cats game, which I think he did against Toby Greene whom admittedly is a hell of a player, you can just see Jetta is a further step off the pace. Jetta was never quick, but was agile, and that seems gone now. I think Jetta has done quite well to adjust and is playing more within his physical limitations this year. Last year he was still flying for marks or spoils like he did in his glory years, but he was almost never getting pulling them off and worse often spoiled a teammate. He’s stopped trying those this year. Finally, he has very reliable disposal but he is super conservative, usually goes sideways or backwards, has almost no penetration on his kicks and therefore doesn’t provide any meaningful drive or offence. In summary, I think Jetta is doing OK but there’s lots of writing on the wall and he’s just hanging in there. There’s no replacement banging down the door though, so until there is or Jetta gets exposed badly a few times he will stay in. I have similar concerns with Jones, he has really dropped off physically as you’d expect given his age. Even though his skills and decision making has been pretty solid this year, he just can’t apply the pressure that a Sparrow or Jordon or Spargo can. I recall one time against the Cats he looked like he was running in treacle as a Cats player streaked away from Jones on the wing. Jones probably would never have been able to go with him even in his younger days, but it was a very laboured “chase”. There are more options to replace Jones than there are Jetta so it will be interesting to see what happens once he hits 300 games. I think the obsession around replacing Jetta (and Jones to a lesser extent) is about not waiting until these pretty clear things have really hurt or even cost a game before pulling the trigger. Both those guys ideally should be depth and injury cover, not first choice 22 IMO.

Talking to two ex AFL/VFL legends tonight,it was universally accepted that BOTH Choco and Adem Yze have had a profound influence on proceedings at MFC. Also might I add... Simon Goodwin would have to have bought into the fact that these guys would and should be able to work autonomously!! Go Dees

Thank goodness the longer quarters are back. They showcase the fitness of our players.

It's really weird! After watching, listing to the radio and reading reviews I feel like I am watching someone else's team. Is this really the MFC? Or will I wake up soon?

An excellent performance and a hugely important win. What is noticeable about us this year is that when opposition sides get momentum, we stick with our structures and fall back on how we're drilled and trained. And it works. St Kilda, GWS and Geelong all fought back against us and in each game we relied on our structures and systems to overwhelm them. May going down is disastrous news, but the satisfying thing was the way Goodwin and the players reacted. Tomlinson stood up and played his role, Lever knew he had to play well and did (he dropped two easy marks in the first quarter but then didn't do a thing wrong and starred), we dropped Brayshaw back and he played his role, meaning we mad minimal changes to the side. We didn't throw TMac forward (and won't next week). We didn't mess around with backs/forwards. We had confidence that if we kept at it our way, we'd get it done, and we did. Already mentioned Lever but Gawn was unbelievable today. There's all this debate in the media about hit outs and their worth: well maybe the answer is Grundy is just out of form, because Gawn was turning plenty of hit outs into clearance wins for us whilst spanking Stanley around the ground. Petracca, Oliver and Viney all played well and when they're all on song, we're a good midfield. Spargo, ANB and Pickett are a joint pressure unit and each week it works. Thought Sparrow did his part when he came on, too. Hunt played even better this week, Salem is now producing consistent A-grade football, and TMac returned to Rounds 1-2 form. Based on what Goodwin and Lever said post-match I think Petty will get May's spot. Makes the most sense. Pressure will start to mount on Jackson, Jordon and Jones at some point (edit: and Melksham, too. Not sure he owned that spot today). That list pressure is a good thing, I think. The lid has to stay on a bit though: don't forget Geelong were missing Dangerfield, Cameron, Parfitt, Higgins and Rohan from their best 22. If May goes down and they have Cameron as well as Hawkins, that game plays out differently. But we're now two games and percentage clear of the majority of the competition. Last week our vanquished opponents didn't look so good but look at them this week. Maybe our form is starting to stand up. Maybe we are actually deserving of being in the top 2. Maybe we are a contender this year.

Ventured down to Casey along with a few others on here to observe a few players. Weather was pretty rainy when I got there for 1st quarter. Not too many spectators, I estimate around 400 max. Among them were Mark and Nicole Bradtke (Mark is huge), Choco Williams, Alan Richardson, Sean Smith. First observation I noticed was Ben Brown is BIG. Not overly solid, just very tall, towers above Majak and Weed. He had his left knee strapped. This bloke knows how and where to lead, he presents himself well and is a target. Nice mark and goal in first quarter, then a juggling one handed mark again, followed by an unlucky roving snap that hit the post. I asked Alan Richardson on the way in from quarter time huddle how the boys were looking for tomorrow, he said we're travelling well and will be a good test. I asked about Ben Brown and he said he'll be a great pick up for the club. Ben presented well again in the 2nd quarter, without adding to the scoreboard which was dominated by Williamstown. He then went in at half time with the team, came out to run a few laps, then ventured inside to pull up stumps. I managed to ask Ben how the knee was, he said it felt really good, and that he had fun out there. On this, once in the tracksuit, Ben went to the bench to sit with the team for the rest of the game, and was very vocal and supportive at the 3/4 time huddle with the forwards group. Love guys with input and support for your fellow teammates, reckon he will be a beauty. Other notes I observed:- Petty - Played down back, didn't notice anything amazing, did his job, yet didn't see any mistakes either. Played first half only. Joel Smith - Similar to Petty, did his job, looks comfortable down back. Fraser Rosman - Personally I think a project player, was quiet in my eyes. One instance in the second quarter was going in for a contest against opposition, think he should've gone harder, outcome was Williamstown player wanted the ball and got it. I like players with mongrel. Don't expect big things early, a lot to learn. Bowey - Was down back most of day, picking up a player. When using the ball by foot, majority of the time hit his target, looks like a footballer who knows what he is doing and what decision to make. I like him. Is small though, reminded me of Caleb Daniel hoping he can be as good. Laurie - Kicked a nice roving goal in the first quarter, as others said, second quarter unseen, then bits a bobs thereafter. Is a bit bigger than Bowey, and legs more solid. Daw - Built like a brick ****house, played mainly ruck, did pretty well, don't think he is a natural footballer, but presented well and took some nice marks around the ground. At times I thought he was plodding along and needed match fitness, but if you need a solid body I'd pick him as a good backup. Mitch Brown - Was up forward in tandem with BBB and Weed. Mainly playing CHF in first half. I like how he plays, leads well to the correct spots, took a few nice marks. He is more athletic than big, but think he is better than people give him credit for. Similar build to Petty. Weed - As other said, struggled. Was flying for marks, couldn't get onto anything, leads were not coming off. I'm hoping if he does get back in with BBB that he gets the 2nd best defender and the pressure will be a bit less for him. Comparing him and Ben Brown was like chalk and cheese. Has nice big legs now, just want him to have a bit more mongrel and aggression to take the big grabs. Bradtke - Not a natural footballer, yes obviously tall, worked in tandem with Daw in ruck. For me this is his last year, looks a bit lost out there. Number 11 from the opposition was too big and solid for Austin. Hibberd - Felt like I was watching an AFL game, got his possessions and with his lovely left foot used it pretty well. For me one of the best out there. Baker - Some players just know where to go to get the football, others don't. I feel Oscar is a solid VFL player, hoping he can prove us all wrong, but didn't do anything substantial in my eyes. VandenBerg - He is a solid unit and looks very comfortable out there, did some good things and quite vocal with the group. Overall think we got through unscathed, big positives for me were Ben Brown and Jake Bowey.