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Here is my hot take @Deedubs It's helpful to remember that our preseason started 6 weeks after most other clubs, fatigue management and our 'pre-season' is still occurring. It's occurring IN game, that we are 7-0 -> currently we're a bit more about absorbing pressure rather than having ours ramped up. Management and loading will change post mid season bye - in which case, barring injuries, we will have caught up so to speak with loading. Montagna would know this, King would know this, but it aint sexy for a narrative. It'd be great if they addressed it though... but then that feeds into the 'no excuses' mentality that perpetutated. It's not about bad habits... its about context. Further, the team had 5 athletes out from the premiership team against Hawthorn, this is also not spoken about in the media (see media this week in how 6 out will affect Fremantle). Pickett etc, as individuals bring a particular type of energy, in closing down space, it is their specific forte....again context is useful to make sense of numbers. David King might call it a 'mentality thing'... I'd call it deliberate, and systemic, and given the context of certain players being out last week in particular, and our defensive 6 in the first few rounds, again speaks volumes of our system and it's flexibility and how it allows certain features to be 'off' (at least from the outside looking in) yet the team can still perform at a high level and find ways to win, when these ratings are down. (how is the the other grand final team performing, with a delayed pre-season etc?),

It’s a great testament to our depth and culture, when there is no room in the 22 for the four strong contributors from last weekend who will miss out on Sunday. Oh, and what pathetic commentary from the AFL, for using the language “Dees Dump Four” in these circumstances.

It’s really hard to compare players across eras. Hell, it’s really hard to compare players in the same era. Who’s the better player between Oliver or Gawn? I haven’t seen Max get 30 contested possessions in a game, nor have I seen Clayton take endless contested marks at crucial times of games. They’re totally different players, but both contribute enormously to our momentum. What I do know is that we’ve never had three players of this quality playing together all at once though. The last time I saw a team that did was the 2001-2004 Brisbane Lions juggernaut. This is a special time for the club and us as fans. Chances are, we won’t see a group like this again in our lifetimes. Savour it while it lasts.

All good points EO. I really like montagna's analysis as a rule - he, daisy, Sanderson and Bartel are my favourite footy analysts. I read those stats on here but hadn't watched the segment, so did so last night. It was weird because he didn't provide any real analysis, context for the numbers or possible factors tha might help explain them. Could the fact that Salem hasn't played this season (bar half a game) be a factor in both numbers (for example Gus seems to be playing deeper than salo does). Or Brown missing three games, a player who now provides great pressure, being replaced by weed who is low pressure. Surely the fact we have yet to have our best back seven play together is a factor in both stats - both in terms of the impacts of elite pressure players like petty, Lever and Salo missing games AND the impact of those players missing on our all ground defensive system (which is is the key factor in disrupting oppo ball movement) . How does he reconcile the drop in those numbers with the fact that we remain one or two on scores conceded inside 50? Or the fact that we are number one in marks conceded inside 50, in spite of the fact Petty and Lever having both missed multiple games. He also didn't explain the numbers. For example is there much statistical difference between number one and mid table in pressure acts or defending ball movement? It was doubly weird because the premise of the segment (made clear by a graphic and pumped up by wheatley at the top of the show) was 'are Melbourne gettable'. Montagna found two isolated stats out of a sea of stats he has at his disposal to make a case we are 'gettable'. Those two stats were the best he could find to make that case? Agree on your comments on context and the fact Montagna provided precious little of it To your comments id add he didn't break down where the pressure had dropped (inside our 50?, defensive zone? mids?) or perhaps that some individual players had dropped off (eg are tmac's pressure acts down?) But more importantly he didn't compare the numbers to those at the comparative point last season. I assume the 2021 rankings he used were at the end of the home and season (or even post gf), but that includes the last third of our season when we really ramped things up. Given we were also 7 zip last season it would have been interesting to see the comparison to that point in time. The analysis would have been completely different if say the rankings were similar ('dees still building') after round 7 last year.

Just watched a replay of the Hawks game - Melksham is stiff to miss, whilst he didn’t star he definitely contributed. Likewise Dunstan. Bedford showed plenty and Smith was solid before injury. I feel for them all because none of them deserves to be dropped.

TMac did the greatest shepherd at the most important time in the clubs history, Letting through Tom Sparrows killer goal in the 3rd 1/4. by pushing aside, and not infringing, against Josh Dunkley (I think but may be No. 12) THAT made him an all time great.

Have thought for a few years now that Oliver in particular will end up the best player in the clubs history. He can't replicate the sheer genius skills of the great Robbie Flower, but he does things that no other midfielder has ever done in our colors, and he does it with a consistency that the league has rarely witnessed. ......and then there's the best ruckman the club has ever seen, and the explosive game changing bull in Petracca. It really will be a failure if we don't win 2 or 3 flags with this list. It's bloody magnificent.

I personally am loving the commentary this week, it’s just enough to annoy the boys into flogging the Saints. Our forward line pressure was down against Hawthorn mainly due to the absence of ANB and Kozzie. ANB is averaging 5.2 tackles and 23.8 pressure acts (Elite) a game in 2022, the highest on our list, Kozzie Pickett 3.2 tackles 20.7 pressure acts (also elite) a game. Bedford and Melksham had a combined 6 tackles and 32 pressure acts that’s not bad but it’s -2.4 and -13.6 on what we get usually. For us it’s huge drop in pressure up front, which allowed Hawthorn to more easily transition the ball. And that’s just two players! Jackson is also more mobile and commits more pressure acts than both Weideman and TMac (Jackson is good for tackles, elite for inside 50 tackles and above average for pressure acts, Tom Mac is closer but both he and Weid are down against Jackson). Front half pressure is a huge part of our game and it was down against the Hawks, and we still won, and were never behind in the second half and always had at least a two goal buffer, that’s an easy kill. As many have noted it appears we win the game and then shelve the attacking stuff in the last quarter, our last quarter scores are down on last year yet we have never been behind in a last quarter this year, that’s a significant stat. If the opposition never have you in fear of losing, preserving players, playing defensively and shutting the game down is fine, it doesn’t mean we can’t annihilate a team but coming off a shorter pre-season, missing key personnel and knowing every week teams are trying to get us, we’re not wasting energy on a percentage we won’t need if we keep winning. Also I really love the “Melbourne hasn’t beaten anyone” commentary, we’re the REIGNING PREMIERS! We’ve beaten almost everyone! In fact we currently have the unique stat of having beaten every team in the AFL the last time we played them, except Collingwood. It’s a long way off but should we keep this streak going to after QB we will be the only team in the modern AFL era to have a winning record against every team in the league!!! I hope the media and their desperate, disrespectful narrative attempts to make Melbourne seem vulnerable filter back to the club and spur them on to smash the saints, that’s all it’s good for. Regardless of what happens this weekend the worst we will be heading into round 11 is 9-1, every other team in the league would envy that, that’s the stat that matters. It sets us up to get ready for the real stuff in September, the rest is noise, long may it continue!

Robbie made the game look like a dance. He looked like he was just stepping through it.Thats the difference.

Melksham unlucky but gives me confidence we have a bit more depth 21 pressure acts, 5 marks, 3 tackles was a decent effort

I saw afl360 and they spoke about melbourne: We've gone from 3rd in pressure to 14th. This is something that I've been concerned about for some time. David king thinks that it's a mentality thing and that we turn it up when we need but I agreed with Montagna in that it's certainly not by design and we're getting in bad habits and that showed with the ease of the ball movement that the Hawks enjoyed against us. I want to see manic pressure this week and start turning things around.

The Freo COVID situation is just another example of them obsessively copying everything we do. First the game plan, and now a quarter of the side has COVID? If they rename themselves the Purple Narrm I’ll lose it.

Weed out is an interesting one. If we were playing a prelim on Sunday i'd pick Tmac becuase, head to head with Weed, he is a better footballer at this point in time. Impacts more contests, creates more goals, works harder, is stronger, blocks more and offers positional flexibility as he can go back (though do like Weed in the ruck) So I'm in camp Tmac. But i acknowledge he seems to have lost a yard of pace this season, and he wasn't fast to begin with. And i also acknowledge that there is not a huge difference stats wise between the two this season. So, i would have been tempted to stick with Weed for the next few weeks as he will develop more in the ones i reckon, and get Tmac to work on his pace somehow back in the twos (perhaps on the back of a BBB style mid season preseason). My logic is that might be the best way to ensure both are in the best possible form come finals. All that said happy or Tmac to be in the side. It certainly suggest the coaches don't think Tmac was selfish last week. I'm guessing they also didn't mind him kicking that goal after the sire in the GF!

Fantastic achievement. Congrats Tom McDonald. The 26th Demon to play 200 games 306 David Neitz (1993-08) 302 Nathan Jones (2006-21) 272 Robert Flower (1973-87) 271 Adem Yze (1995-08) 264 Jim Stynes (1987-98) 258 Steven Febey (1988-02) 254 Brad Green (2000-12) 252 Brian Dixon (1954-68) 251 James McDonald (1997-10) 236 Jeff White (1998-08) 235 Brett Lovett (1985-98) 233 Todd Viney (1987-99) 228 Russell Robertson (1997-09) 226 Stan Alves (1965-76) 226 Garry Lyon (1986-99) 224 Greg Wells (1969-80) 224 Cameron Bruce (2000-10) 219 Gary Hardeman (1967-77, 1981) 216 Jack Mueller (1934-50) 213 Percy Beames (1931-44) 210 Norm Smith (1935-48) 205 Don Williams (1953-59, 1964-68) 204 Ron D. Barassi (1953-64) 203 Steven Smith (1974-85) 202 Robert ‘Tassie’ Johnson (1959-69) 200 Tom McDonald (2011-22)

The Southport Sharks are a remarkable club given their location in what was essentially rugby league territory when the club was first formed in the early 60s. They have a great facility at their HQ and substantial local support. The VFL side is coached by Steve Daniel and his assistants are Matthew Primus and Matthew Lappin. They will give the Casey Demons a good run for their money.

Feel for Dunstan the most. Thought he's been good in both games, and playing against his old side. No surprise that Tmac was preferred to Weid. Despite what some may think, we are not picking the team based on age. Weid isn't getting gifted a game because he's younger than TMac.

Max Gawn barring injury will get his 6th AA in 7 years (only missing 2017 due to injury) Played only 166 games. Premiership captain (hopefully more than once) 2 x BnFs Coaches award 2018 2022 Averages: 21 disposals, 1.0 gaols, 27 hitouts, 6 marks Certainly a once in a lifetime player, especially considering his cultural and personal impact he has had on the group

You can’t really fairly compare Robbie to Tracc and Clayton, Robbie was more of a one man band with a license to thrill whereas Tracc and Clayton have to play within team rules. I cannot remember seeing a trifecta of players to match Gawn, Petracca & Oliver at MFC. Our current list is far superior to anything that we have seen since the Norm Smith era.

His manager would be thinking about time after Gawn (and May, Viney) etc. There will be big coin available once our older stars are out of the picture and if we don't pay it, someone else will. I'd be delighted if he signed for 2 more years. The window won't get any more open in 2025 than it is now.

If we offered him a long term contract right now it would be for peanuts as we wouldn't have significant amounts of cap space. Also, you can't offer a kid long term deals based on potential. Yes he has shown some great moments and we're all excited by what he might bring but you save that kind of cap space and contract term for your proven A Graders. Gawn, Trac, Salem and what will definitely be Clarry next year. 2-3 years protects both parties as if he's good enough then and taking the league by storm, he'll demand an even bigger contract which we'd find a way to get sorted. I'd rather gamble on the fact that once he's a gun we need to pay overs to retain him rather than paying someone overs now based on potential. Like it or lump it, there is every chance he could be a man child and may have peaked early in his career like a Darling or Hogan. Or even someone like Rory Lobb who, without meaning to offend, is just a solid B grader.. I'd rather us lose a player who has the potential to be great over one that is already great and proven (Clarry next year).

So Port defender deliberately kicks it to space and goes out.(no insufficient called), Port ruckman deliberately hits it out from a contest (not called), then the most contentious of them all gets called deliberate. The only thing umpires are consistent with is their inconsistency.

I reckon if we were playing a Grand Final tomorrow, the only player we'd want in the side not in this weekend is Salem. Very strong side this one.

I don't reckon that should be a factor in selection despite the romantic/feelgood nature of it. We must always pick our best team and this week's looks particularly strong.

Put a poster of Jesse Hogan on the door of his locker.

Jack Dyer nailed it when he famously refered to Robbie Flower as "The Rudolph Nureyev of football"

Fox Footy are a bit selective in their stats use - just giving the number is meaningless. Pressure numbers for the (atrocious) game in Cairns were probably through the roof because no-one could hold onto the footy, whereas our game against Port would have been incredibly low because we just waited for them to make mistakes chipping it around. Average is going to be skewed by that after only 7 games.

I don’t think we have seen anything like it at least since the Brisbane three peat midfield with Black, Scott brothers and Voss. Only time will tell whether our boys will etch their names into the history books. The May, Petty and Lever trio might also be something worth a mention given the points against records.

The West Coast situation is getting blown out of proportion. Their primary issue is injuries. 8 players are out with covid but some of them are on the injury list so the impact of covid on WC this week is similar to the demons last week

The article was going well until Chris Connelly and Cameron Schwab got a mention.. 🤮

@Sir Why You Little god damn it man. Never have I seen a hole dug so quickly and… eagerly.

Man I REALLY want Bedford to be a part of the team. He offers glimpses that he could become a gun player if he’s able to continually get games at AFL level. I feel like he’s one of those guys that needs to play at AFL level to gain confidence and grow into the player he could be. Don’t really have any other reason than a ‘feeling’ about him. I don’t know if this carries across, but there’s some cricketers that are good at state level without dominating, then when they get into international teams and play at that level for a while, they turn into absolute guns and do dominate. This is Bedford I reckon. Saying that though, if I look at our Premiership lineup… I don’t know who he replaces and is able to keep out long enough form him to string games together.

Herein lies the Weid problem Younger, fitter, stronger (??), but can't impact the game as much as Tmac Time is running out for Weideman

Interesting kicking two goals in a grand final after 54 years makes Tom an all time great for the MFC. The fact one of them was after the siren when we were well ahead is not recorded in the score line specs.

I'll politely disagree with you, mostly around the reasons as to why pressure is down... the 'sense making 'if you will. The language that was used might be-- 'Finding a gear when we need to' - which implies a laziness or lack of accountability from the players. I'll strongly disagree with the fact that we are choosing to turn it on and off like a tap... it's just not how sport works. It's such shallow analysis and doesn't look at the multitude of factors that drive performance.

Excellent take EO. To Mr King or whoever said we were 14th in pressure, we're also 4th in tackles inside 50 and 1st in forcing opposition turnovers. Wonder what they have to say about our mentality there.

LOL Eagles out partying before covid nightmare. Just made W.A News. Coach Simpson not happy

I'm beginning to realise why my band 'Salmonella Outbreak' never got many gigs!

I have a little sympathy for WCE as covid is not of their making but not a lot. Absences for iso reasons is looking like a smoke screen for other issues. Injury management. Overweight players Adequatcy of pre sesason work. They have rarely missed finals so do they have the grit to dig deep and play when each game is a drudge? Are some injuries and players being re-injured because their rehab effort hasn't been up to standard, rushed back too early or both? Inadequate game plan. We will never know but WCE could easily be bottom 4 even if they never had a single case of covid iso.

Flowers contested marking for a bloke as skinny as he, was phenomenal. And you could put him at half back, wing or half forward and he was just as dangerous. I tend to not rate the players of yesteryear compared to todays, but this guy would have been something else playing in todays team. Agree with Nasher in that we are unlikely to see a group like this again in our lifetimes. Savor it.

Bizarre that the clear match of the round is on at 1pm on Sunday

I think that's a little unfair. Weideman is a much better back-up ruck than TMac.

the amount of hanrahan's in this thread! we'll all be rooned!! especially if we: keep badloss lose fabflag lose player X keep player Y don't have a home base have a home base out at casey we're the reigning premiers the rest is all FUGAZI

Predicting the final line-up is pretty much guesswork. Players may still miss because they haven't fully recovered from Covid and new players, who haven't previously had Covid, may enter H&S protocols between now and Sunday. In addition, the club may not wish to bring into the side 5 players who have just had Covid in the same week, even if they test negative.

He played perhaps his best game last week and showed some signs Uncle, however, Fraser Rosman is my pick as the most improved player at Casey since his move to the backline. Runs like the wind, can take a mark and generally uses the ball well.

I wonder if this is also semi selective - by this I mean that in nearly every game we've had the match pretty much done by 3 quarter time and then seem to just coast in the last quarter. Other teams can't afford to do that, so I'd love to see the stats up until 3 quarter time and see if there's a massive drop off in the last. As much as they might think it's a mental thing, or not by design, maybe it is - we look like we've got so much better control over the game than other sides at the moment, and that doesn't mean we have to thrash or beat up on teams - just get the win and move into the next week very comfortable.

If not for the Essendon drug saga, Melksham would have already hit 200 games. He also would likely have played 100 games for the Demon's making him a life member. I would like to see him get to 200 as he is so close, but he has to earn it from here. If he doesn't then he can blame his original club.

I guess Goodwin is off to WA in 2025. He should probably start looking at property…

On a slightly different tack, today’s news represents an epic failure of the campaign by the Herald Sun and its informants a few months ago to disrupt Goody’s coaching career. We should all get together soon at the Sorrento Hotel and drink a toast to the health of Simon Goodwin and the Melbourne Football Club!

No he is a far better option than the Weid. The Weid can do one thing reasonably on his good days.

I can't really see him winning the rising star from some young gun midfielders, but i think if the MFC got to pick from that list we'd probably take Bowey.. He's the type of kid that just plays his role really well for 250-300 games and probably doesn't really get the accolades he deserves until towards the end of his career.