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At the 9.43 mark of the third quarter, after Hopper had injured his leg again, I noted Oliver giving a pat to the injured opposition player. I turn 74 today, and the older I get, the more gestures like that impress me. With regard to Oliver's performance, he's slowly but surely getting there. he has come from a long way back. All power to him.

I agree that Oliver is being ‘transformed’ but my take is a little different in that he will be a better player than he already is as he feels more loved, and valued as the person he is warts and all. One aspect of the transformation is he always shunned the limelight. But look at him now! Chosen to model our ANZAC jumper – a great honour and implicitly equating him with the ANZAC spirit: Courageous, mate ship, sacrifice. Oliver has those in spades. Recently he has conducted several postgame interviews even when not BOG and has embraced the role of representing the club with humility and courage. His confidence is growing with the media showing him respect and love. They are implicitly saying no one cares about his past foibles. His self belief as a person is noticeably growing. My sense it is a deliberate strategy by the AFL, the club and the media. If so, kudos to them all. I’m loving watching Oliver mature as a person and come what may in his football I have little doubt he will be in a better place generally. Like you, just seeing him happy brings me joy.

The fact that the AFL lets this type of stuff go, and commentators laugh off this type of behaviour, is not lost on me as I watch yet another woman be killed at the hands of a man. We do not do enough to eradicate this type of [censored] “boys will be boys” behavior in footy, and it’s very much reflected in our society too. Punching someone in the guts off the ball should never be allowed. It does nothing for our game and it’s the easiest non football action to judge and punish players for. The Pendelbury defense of “I was provoked” is up there with the “she was asking for it” defense. Putrid.

Open hand. Closed hand. Who cares - the AFL needs to get real and start suspending players for those pathetic acts. It is beyond unsporting. Is that really how the AFL want the game to be seen? And I completely concur - clarry is super fair and multiple times this year has displayed care and concern for opposition players.

Make sure you check the proper spelling, @Jumping Jack Clennett

people are underrating how well disciplined yze has the tigs playing, particularly given the sheer amount of players they have on the sidelines currently easy to forget they knocked off sydney when they were absolutely flying in the first half they closed down space brilliantly and meant we couldn't get any ball movement going, our disposal was atrocious and gifted them scoring opportunities in the second half we continued to play the way we want to play - not a clearance-based game, but instead a post-clearance possession game - and we pretty much dominated as we expected

If the AFL were serious about this then one of two things need to happen. One. (And prob the more likely) is someone presses charges or worksafe steps in and forces the AFL to act. Two. And what they should do, simply state. Any striking action is a 1 week suspension minimum, we then look at force (1 week for low, 2 for medium, 3 for forceful, 4 for severe) and where the strike occurred to the opponent (1 for body area, 2 for head) and wether in play or behind play (1 for in play, 2 for off the ball, 3 for behind play.) So the minimum for hitting someone is 4 weeks. Watch it disappear out of the game. Real quick.

The face that this thuggery is a fine only is an indictment on the AFL and the game

Agree with this @daisycutter. As far as I'm concerned, off the ball, out of play hits like this are assault. They can't be excused as two players being aggressive towards each other and one getting a bit harder than intended, or even the "trying to push off to get separation" argument. It's just hitting a bloke who isn't looking. As cheap as any act in the AFL and should be stamped out as unacceptable.

Neither have Geelong or Carlton. Geelong have beaten: St Kilda by 8 points in Geelong, Adelaide by 19 points, Hawthorn by 36 points, Bulldogs by 4 points, North down at Geelong by 75 points and Brisbane in Brisbane by 26 points. When we played Brisbane we were clearly cooked, that's the only win by Geelong you could potentially rate... Then over to Carlton, they've beaten: Brisbane by 1 point (after being down by 7 goals), Richmond by 5 points, North by 56 points, Fremantle by 10 points and GWS by 19 points. They also lost to Adelaide in Melbourne by 2 points. So the only potentially impressive win was against GWS last week and if you're being kind, Brisbane in Brisbane. So like both of those teams, the only win you could say was impressive by us was Port in Adelaide, but also backing that up off a 5 day break to beat Adelaide in Adelaide was solid too. Meanwhile, Collingwood played Port in Melbourne, and Port away from Adelaide are half the team they are at Adelaide Oval. Not comparing apples with apples... I love how some of our supporters think our results are somehow occurring in a vacuum.

Of course it is a dog act - but tolerated by the hypocritical afl and the incompetent MRO. Clarrie cops these most weeks. ANY strike should start at one week( if they are in any way serious about stamping out unnecessary and unsightly violence which clearly they re not) - yes, even for Collingwood and Carlton players in finals. But of course even if Christian did look at it (though wasn't instructed to do so by Ch 7) he would grade low impact, in play (because it was at the ground) and maybe even accidental.

If it was one of ours there is no doubt weeks would be given.

Clarry can be seen regularly having a chat to the player closest to him - Demon or not. I've always wondered what he's saying. Be pretty random I think. Recon it could be something like these: The wind has really sprung up - good for you guys Where did you guys get that number 21 from - he can play? Do you understand all the ads on the scoreboard? Did you hit the traffic snarl on Swan street coming in? You recon all the balls are the same pressure today?

First and foremost: Happy birthday Monbon! Hope you had a wonderful day. 💕 I fully agree with what you and others have said about Clarrie showing fantastic sportsmanship yesterday. But I’m wondering if people feel the same way about Clarrie letting Cripps know he had visible blood on his face, thereby prompting Cripps to wipe it away lest he be sent off on the blood rule. It happened towards the end of a match last year and I distinctly remember folks sticking the boots in saying it was dumb of Clarrie to do so because it would’ve been to our advantage had Cripps been sent off (in a tight match). FWIW, I don’t think Clarrie ought to have been bagged for this. Helping others is obviously an innate quality of his. Why would anyone want him to change? And good luck trying to get him to change.

They are crazy statistics. For all flack Goodwin has copped at times at least we stand up against the good teams (most of the time).

No mitigation for me - if he's not in a head space to take the field without assaulting people off the ball, he shouldn't be playing.

Let's see how that compares with the other sides who came into this round with winning records (and prior to the three games so far): Geelong has beaten St Kilda (2-4), Adelaide (1-5), Hawthorn (1-5), Bulldogs (3-3), North (0-6) and Brisbane (2-4) GWS has beaten Collingwood (3-3), North (0-6), West Coast (2-4), GC (3-3), St Kilda (2-4) and Brisbane (2-4). Lost to Carlton (5-1) Carlton has beaten Brisbane (2-4), Richmond (1-5), North (0-6), Fremantle (3-3) and GWS (5-1) but lost to Adelaide (1-5) Sydney has beaten us (4-2), Collingwood (3-3), Essendon (4-2), West Coast (2-4) and GC (3-3) but lost to Richmond (1-5) Port has beaten West Coast (2-4), Richmond (1-5), Essendon (4-2), Fremantle (3-3) but lost to us (4-2) and Collingwood (3-3) Essendon had beaten Hawthorn (1-5), St Kilda (2-4), Bulldogs (3-3) and Adelaide (1-5) but lost to Sydney (5-1) and Port (4-2) We had beaten the Bulldogs (3-3), Hawthorn (1-5), Port (4-2) and Adelaide (1-5) but lost to Sydney (5-1) and Brisbane (2-4). Of these 7 sides, three of them came into this round without a win over one of the others on this list (Geelong, GWS, Essendon). Port, us and Carlton all had one, whilst Sydney has two. So only Sydney, of these sides, had done better against the good sides than us. Travel-wise, we had played 3 interstate games. That's the same as Geelong, GWS, Sydney and Essendon, and one more road game than Port and Carlton. As for the losses, yes, people are upset that we lost to Brisbane who otherwise suck. But Carlton and Sydney have lost to sides with worse W-L records so we're not alone in dropping a game to a weaker side, either.

AFL hasn't crossed this bridge yet, but I can see this as suspendable offence in the future. Really puts the game in disrepute and isn't part of the amicable contest. If we are suspending players for bumps that don't injure players but have the potential to injure a player then striking players in this circumstance should be treated the same way. Oliver has been targeted this way several times this season similar to this and IMO a fine isn't a sufficient deterrent to stop this thuggery.

Fascinating. I reckon, despite the rumour that he was deemed uncoachable at the Dees, Mitchell has coached/threatened him to only dispose on highest percentage options. Noticed this timidity in our recent game. There’s the other side of Frosty tho, and that’s the not so great play reading and positioning. Not a natural footballer at all, but may have made the best of himself. Kudos due.

No way is Petty getting dropped. Troy Chaplin was interviewed pre game and said that they are aware he's down in form but will back him to the full to find that find at AFL level. He went on to further explain that he has all the attributes of a key forward that they're looking for in terms of his work rate, defensive pressure and ability to hunt the ground ball. Similar was said about Turner as well.

Thank you for your birthday wishes. I agree with you 150% about the Cripps incident. I'll bet my bottom dollar that Clarrie had a difficult time growing up, that he was picked on. I recall an ex North player whose Beechworth winery I represented, telling me that Clarrie was 'Trouble' when Melbourne recruited him. Now, let's just say, because of where I came from in July 1956 when we landed at Port Melbourne on the good ship Fairsea, I got picked on. These incidents beyond one's control stay with you for the rest of your life. At the time it's happening, you are forced to 'deal with the real' and make the best of it. I'm not relating this as a sob story, I am trying to make a point that as survivors of those 'facts of life', people like Clarrie choose to behave with true compassion for the rest of their lives, something I recognize, because I chose to take this option as well. In other words, it taught me about the true meaning of, I am you and you are me.

Goody tries nothing like: Turner fwd Petty fwd Rivers mid Salem mid Brayshaw back T Mac back again Trying 1/2/3 tall fwds Playing first year kids like Windsor and Kolt I reckon Goody gets a bad rep for being stubborn and not trying stuff but he is getting a lot better in this area the last 2 years imo. Also game plan mixed up somewhat this season

One hundred years ago today, the Melbourne Football Club began the long haul up from wooden spoon status by taking on St Kilda who had missed out on the finals in 1923 by a game and percentage. In 1924, the VFL competition consisted of nine teams of 18 players each on the field and no reserves with teams playing each other twice in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds (16 matches and 2 byes). The Roaring Twenties were well under way, but the world was still recovering from the devastation of the First World War (up to 17 million dead) and the plague of Spanish Flu which infected about a third of the world's population of about 1.5 million killing between 25 and 50 million people from February 1918 to April 1920. Adolf Hitler was sentenced to prison in 1924 for his involvement in a failed coup d’état by the Nazi Party, and J. Edgar Hoover was appointed head of the FBI in the USA. Stanley Baldwin became Prime Minister of Britain for the second time after winning a landslide victory. In Australia, with a population a touch under six million, the prime minister was Stanley Melbourne Bruce. Take note of that middle name; Bruce was born in Melbourne, went to Melbourne Grammar and held the country’s highest office from 1923 to 1929, meaning he was still there when Melbourne won the flag in 1926, its first premiership since Federation. Among those born in 1924 were actor Frank Wilson, actor Patsy Adam-Smith, artist David Boyd, academic and educator Leonie Kramer, tenor and Aboriginal activist Harold Blair, entertainer Bobby Limb, Olympic high jumper John Winter and artist Clifton Pugh. In sports other than Australian football:- • Collingwood premiership player Bill Twomey Senior won the 130-yard Stawell Gift in 12.1 seconds, off a handicap of 8½ yards, as one of the shortest-priced favourites in the event’s history. He also won the Ararat Gift, and three different events in one afternoon at Warracknabeal that year. Three of Twomey’s four sons Mick, Pat and Bill, and grandson, David Twomey – son of his fourth son, Peter – all played with the Magpies. • The Balmain Tigers defeated South Sydney 3-0 in the NSWRFL premiership final. • The Melbourne Cup was won by six-year-old stallion Backwood (ridden by Bunty Brown and trained by Richard 'Dick' Bradfield). The race was won in a time of 3:26.5 with a field of eighteen. Legendary football administrator Charles Brownlow, who also played for and captained Geelong in the VFA before the formation of the VFL, died on 23 January 1924. The Charles Brownlow Trophy (commonly known as the Brownlow Medal) awarded to "the best and fairest player" in the VFL (now the AFL) was instituted in his memory. Decided by the field umpire’s voting at the end of each home-and-away match, only a single vote was cast per game from 1924 to 1930. The VFL introduced new initiatives including the convention of home teams wearing black shorts and away teams wearing white shorts. The fixture was scheduled from 1924 to ensure that neither South Melbourne and St Kilda (who played home games at either end of Albert Park Lake) nor Melbourne and Richmond (who played at the MCG and Punt Road Oval) had home matches on the same day due to the heavy transport and labour burden associated with running the two close venues at the same time. This arrangement continued as long as the clubs played at their nearby locations. The 1924 VFL premiership was determined by an experimental finals system, which the VFL used for this season only. The format was similar to the round-robin used in the 1897 Finals System, but included the minor premier's right to challenge, which existed under the amended Argus System. All four games in the opening round were played on 26 April 1924. The reigning premiers, Essendon suffered an upset 16 point defeat at the hands of Collingwood while Fitzroy withstood a blistering comeback from Carlton to win by two points. Melbourne also lost to St Kilda by the same margin while South Melbourne had a 27 point victory over Richmond. The Fitzroy versus Carlton match was the first in VFL history in which both teams scored 100 points. Geelong had the bye. The Junction Oval located at the western end of Albert Park Lake was the scene of Melbourne’s season opener. The Fuchsias, as they were then known, had appointed Fitzroy champion and premiership player Gordon Rattray as its playing-coach. However, he was still residentially tied to Fitzroy and thus deemed ineligible to play for Melbourne. He therefore served the entire season as its non-playing coach. Round 1 St. Kilda vs Melbourne Saturday 26 April 1924 Venue: Junction Oval Attendance: 15,000 ST. KILDA 1.2.8 4.7.31 8.10.58 12.12.84 MELBOURNE 2.8.20 5.11.41 10.11.71 11.16.82 Goals: Dave Elliman 6 Percy Tulloh 2 Edgar Dunbar George Haines Derek Mollison Melbourne which had finished last in 1923 with three wins, started as favourite against the eventual wooden-spooner but fell short in a thrilling match. The Redlegs appeared more settled with only one newcomer, Jonny Egan, while the Saints had three recruits on their team. Ruckman Bob Corbett put in a strong performance but was let down by his teammates in the middle. Winger Alf Wilson was given a bath on the wing after a late start to training due to cricket commitments. Melbourne had the advantage of the wind in the first quarter but conceded the first goal and was wasteful with conversion, scoring two goals from 10 scoring shots of which one goal came from a free to forward David Elliman. Percy Tulloh, goaled from a free early in the second term and with three goals each in this period, Melbourne held a 10 point lead at half time. Elliman was on target in the third quarter with four of his team’s five goals for the term. St Kilda had rallied at one stage to take the lead but Melbourne responded to lead by 13 points at the last break. St Kilda opened the final quarter strongly with two early goals and the teams traded goals, with the Saints snatching the lead with the last kick of the day. Elliman who finished with six goals had earlier had the opportunity to seal the game but his shot missed. Melbourne's best were Derek Mollison, Percy Tulloh and Erica Donaldson. Field umpire Jack McMurray said it was one of the "most pleasant matches" he had ever officiated. He dished out 54 free kicks to St Kilda and 31 to Melbourne on the day. The father of St Kilda player W. Cubbins suffered a heart attack in the crowd during the exciting finish and later passed away. In the seconds Melbourne 13.19.97 defeated St Kilda 10.4.64 The game gave the club pause to reflect, especially as it had the bye in the following round. To be continued …

Laughter is the morale booster here. A number of those interviewed post game May, Gawn and Petracca referred to the first half as being well below par. The tension relieved, the team returned and lifted the standard of play. Goody’s message about valuing the ball and it’s use obviously resonated. Simon Goodwin’s post match media conference is worth a watch. He communicates with humor, warmth and Joie de Vivre.

A wack in the guts whether open hand or fist sure does hurt either way the AFL are a joke behind play, crude, uncalled for if serious should have got at least a week

@Demonland would you please edit this as I can't embed the Tweet on my phone? Found this interesting as we are 15th for winning clearance, but the Giants are even worse - 17th. One of the replies is instructive that identifies post clearance possession or intercept posession as more important. We are #1 defending against clearance.

Surprised M Pickett escaped suspension. They usually suspend the nobodies and blokes with questionable characters. On the other hand, the golden boys like Pendlebury, Hawkins, Danger, Selwood, Cotchin etc...

For some sick reason getting into it with the Collingwood ferals is making me look forward to it more! Hope we win so we can give them a nice send off wave

For all those projecting dire and disastrous consequence against Geelong because of horrible kicking/turnovers like Wednesday’s first half, i.e. 56% disposal efficiency (10 percentage points below all game average), would love to know what you think happens if we play like the second half, i.e. 76% disposal efficiency (10 points ABOVE all game average)?

I agree with all of the above. Contest and pressure is absolutely the foundation of our game. It is fir all clubs. And for the dees the other fundamental is defence. And I'd agree that come finals our game will revert back to a large degree to a forward half, territory game. That's finals footy. But hopefully key elements of the new, transition from back half method will remain in place. And hopefully playing a less contested, coal face game during the home and away series will mean we are not as banged up come finals as we were in 2023 and 2022. I mean think back to those seasons. At the end of 2022 our first pre finals training session looked like an episode of MASH with all the bandages and limping. At the end of last season our forward line was missing so many players that we had to bring in an injured tmac. It is obvious, and clarry said as much, that they want to make the home and way season less physically taxing. And there is hardly a more taxing method than that used by the dees since the start of the 2021 season. It makes perfect sense to implement a less taxing methodin the home and away season and kudos to goody for doing so - particularly given the associated risks, winning fewer games being the obvious one. But in order to change something so fundamental we are going to have to wear some funky stats, some out of character performances and some losses too. Rome wasn't built in a day.

I'd also point out the 52% inside 50 efficiency with 26 shots from 50 entries. We were recently getting telephone numbers for entries and doing very little with them. I'd like to see our average across the season but this shows we're doing something right.

Your original point was the lack of moves made by Goody, and you have continued to pull the narrative his moves are made out of desperation. Many have given you examples of moves made by the coaching staff, Binman has pointed out the changes to the game plan/style. I say he is trying to implement a winning game plan for another premiership. Clubs worked us out after 2021 as all clubs do when you win a premiership. His record speaks for itself. Scott took over a decade to change his game plan and he and the Cats reaped the rewards in 2022. One could say it was out of desperation as his stars were at the end of their careers and he had no other choice. They haven’t beaten anyone of note in 2024, and 2023 was a disaster. I’m not sure Scott is the template to use here. He doesn’t have a Trac, Oliver and Viney to utilise. One could argue he is desperate as he hasn’t the midfield cattle and shuffles them as he knows how average their midfield is. Why would any coach throw Clarry, Viney and Trac anywhere else but where they play now? Would you throw Trac down back? Can the players you pointed out play in those positions?Yes, But why would you coach in a way that weakens the team? Goody rotates his flanker and midfielders throughout the game. He rotates his KPP players as well. But when you have stars like May, Lever, Clarry, Gawn Trac and Viney, they get the majority of time in their best positions Point being, Goody makes his moves with the cattle he has at his disposal. I like the moves and see he is trying new things and new ways. Not out of desperation potato, patarto.

How predictable the whole “how did we lose to [insert name of team who were just thumped]? They’re absolutely sch!tt and yet they beat us!” thing is. Extremely predictable and extremely tiresome. What a redundant comment to make in general, but especially when it was the Giants and not North Melbourne or WCE who belted the Lions. I hate it almost as much as I hate this old chestnut (to be said in your sternest voice while wagging your finger): “I hope you’re watching this, Goodwin. You could learn a thing or two.” Mods, we really need an eye roll reaction. 🙄

I did no such thing. For petes sake, a third of the way through the season we are 5-2, 4th on the ladder with the 4th best percentage of any team, having played 3 of our 7 games interstate. 5-2. 4th on the ladder. 4th best percentage. With four of our best 22 to come back in (salo,Bowser, Hunter and melk). And it feels as if we are no good? Man oh man we see the game differently.

I read this as the best Quarter that we have played this season… Anyway, Petty is not replaced by Turner after one game from the XVIII.

Love your work Werridee! I keep imagining your house with different team lineups on with every window.

Young, Vlastuin and Grimes each took one contested mark last night. That’s it for Richmond tall defenders and they weren't all vs Petty. You're making stuff up.

Two weeks ago, when the curtain came down on Melbourne’s game against the Brisbane Lions, the team trudged off the MCG looking tired and despondent at the end of a tough run of games played in quick succession. In the days that followed, the fans wanted answers about their team’s lamentable performance that night and foremost among their concerns was whether the loss was a one off result of fatigue or was it due to other factor(s) of far greater consequence. As it turns out, the answer to the major question is still blowing in the wind after the traditional Anzac Day Eve clash between the Demons and the Tigers with the fans forced to wait a little longer for the big reveal. Not surprisingly, the match up between teams in different stages of development was never going to be a definitive guide to those perplexed by the team’s reversal of fortune after such a good week in Adelaide. There were however, some encouraging signs of work in progress towards resolving some of the puzzles presented lately to Simon Goodwin and his coaching panel. Admittedly, they only came later in the game. Circumstance made this event one that most of the 72,840 fans who turned up to the MCG would rather forget. Given the plight of the Richmond Football Club and its ever-expanding injury list and the fact that new Tiger coach Adem Yze was intimately familiar with the way the Demons play, it was inevitable that the game would turn into a slog which is precisely how the first half turned out. The crowd was treated to congested play, skill errors in abundance and a low scoring battle of the defences. A single point favoured the Tigers when the major break delivered us all to twenty minutes of respite. There was nothing more to say other than that Demon fans were entitled to feel a little despair. They had come to the football after a fortnight reflecting on a truly abysmal effort from its much vaunted midfield engine room and even worse from its forwards. Skipper Max Gawn had again been solid and key defenders Jake Lever and Steven May, their usual dependable selves as they marshalled the backline but overall, the team was faltering. Leaving aside the final term against the Lions who slammed on the brakes with the game well and truly won, scoring had seemingly stopped to a trickle. The line of attack was once again looking helpless and impotent. Whatever Goodwin said or did at half time, it worked to great effect. Or perhaps, it was simply his regular game style finally forcing the Tiger hand. The team was suddenly imbued with something - call it the Anzac Spirit if you like - but they lifted their intensity and produced an inspirational ten goal to two second half that witnessed the arrival in football terms of a new key forward. Daniel Turner will definitely be one of the few who will remember this match, along with Jason Taylor who recruited him with a late selection in the midseason draft almost three years ago. The man they call “Disco” announced himself with his three goals on a night when both his side and the opposition managed just three each in the first half. He could hardly be described as an overnight sensation. His progress since he was drafted mainly as a defender has been slow and painful, marred by injuries and a measure of disappointment along the way. And he was almost there when the club prepared him to go forward on the eve of last year’s finals but, alas, others were preferred. Then came another injury setback in the month before the start of this season. Fans will be hoping that he’s not going to be a one hit wonder. The Melbourne cause was aided by two goals each from Bayley Fritsch, Kysaiah Pickett and another newcomer to the club’s goal kicking ranks in the tactical sub, Bailey Laurie, who also will likely not forget the night. Suddenly, there was some versatility in the forward set up adding to the undoubted talent of Fritta and Kozzie. Now for a repeat of that for the full four quarters against the big guns! What we witnessed after half time was a bolder Melbourne emerging upon Max Gawn’s Frank 'Checker' Hughes medal-winning performance in wearing down Toby Nankervis and thereby, the rest of the brave Richmond line up who were by now constantly turning the ball over under pressure. Gawn finished with 23 disposals and 10 marks to go with his 26 hit outs and a goal when it really mattered to start the scoring with the match still an arm wrestle six minutes into the second half. Jake Lever’s game in defence built up to a crescendo and his 26 disposals, 11 marks and 15 intercept possessions were sublime. There’s also a lot to like about how Trent Rivers is maturing into a player of high quality. The Demons got out of the night with a percentage booster and now sit on a 5 - 2 record. They hold a much happier disposition than the one they had at half time. The midfield is still nowhere near its best but no injuries were reported either, which augurs well for their next two matches against two of the competition’s best performed clubs. Perhaps then, supporters will finally discover the answer to the big question troubling them since that problematic game against the Brisbane Lions. Bring it on! MELBOURNE 2.3.15 3.5.23 8.7.55 13.7.85 RICHMOND 1.3.9 3.6.24 4.8.32 5.12.42 GOALS MELBOURNE Turner 3 Fritsch Laurie Pickett 2 Gawn Petracca van Rooyen Windsor RICHMOND Rioli 2 Bolton Lefau Martin BEST MELBOURNE Lever Gawn Turner May Langdon Oliver RICHMOND Lefau Broad Dow Hopper Baker INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil RICHMOND Jacob Hopper (hamstring) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil RICHMOND Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Bailey Laurie (replaced Caleb Windsor in the final quarter) RICHMOND Kamdyn McIntosh (replaced Jacob Hopper in the third quarter) UMPIRES Fisher, Stevic, Broadbent, Adair CROWD 72,840 at the MCG

I'd be surprised if they brought him in. The club has invested months in his rehabilitation. The glimpses he gave off limited game time indicates it's an investment worth making. He'll come in when he's ready for the long term. Not as a sugar hit.

Nor I. Then there was the second half. 76 % disposal efficiency. Season average all teams is 65%. Truly a game of two halves 😉. Which one is us? I’m going with ‘you’re only as good as your last half”.

Clarrie appears to be in a much better place these days and for that I’m sure all of us couldn’t be happier. May that better place remain his for the rest of his life. But there are always trade-offs in life, and maybe one of those trade-offs (although minor in the bigger scheme of things) is that, given what @Monbon has described above, perhaps Clayton has lost some of the football motivation that he had in previous years - because he may now feel he no longer needs football to prove his worth as a person. The massive talent is still there when he wants to pull it out, but his form and on-field attitude since his hamstring injury last year have been very un-Clayton like. (This might be all BS, but I haven’t seen Clayton-the-best-player-of-our-generation-Oliver since that injury and this may well be an explanation). if Clarrie is happy and healthy I’m happy, even if it results in him having transformed from a “brilliant” player to an “average” player with occasional “brilliant” glimpses. But if he comes out next week and has an absolute blinder then I’d be even happier for him.

Hard to read and hard to win. We may be 5-4 with increased pressure on Goodwin and some maligned players (injured or not) - the pressure to become insular and protective of our backline will be strong and revert to our inert and boring 22-23 style. We have to put up the losses and be confident that we are on the right path. Even if it’s for the sake of 2025.

Everything they tried against us worked. Even the ball ran for them. Average players played the game of their careers. Even Hipwood impressed (briefly) before fading back into irrelevance in the second half. Even without considering our lead-in work load, it was just one of those games. Let it go.

I am a Petty fan. Before his injury he was doing well. However it took a few games before that to get going/confidence. Once he has that first good game he will improve his consistency and output. He has a beautiful kick for goal, good hands and brings some mongrel. Watch out kitty's. They are not dropping him, nor moving him to the backline. Goody shows that he has lots of patience with his big forwards, example Weeds and even JVR. We are building our season, and will peak at the right time.

I feel like a voyeur when Werridee gets his selection on.

Hipwood smashed and caught red hot but still plays for the free throwing his head around and rolling his eyes after at the ump as if he's unlucky. Have to say i really dislike Brissy. Zorko, Hipwood, Neale, Answerth, Wilmot bah

You dont often see this in Footy and it was impressive and noteworthy for the reasons aluded to. CLASSY CLARRY might just be the start of his Renaisance as a footballer, and compassionate human. Anyone else notice the affectionate cuddle and kiss from Abbey Holmes when he was interviewed? WONDERFUL, seems like there is Real Empathy. Great stuff Clarry!🤩

And I’d like to sleep with Margot Robbie but that’s not going to happen either

Petty’s stats: 7 clangers 3 free kicks against /0 for 0 contested marks The game previous: 2 kicks / 2 clangers we can’t carry this type of output against better teams