SaberFang

Just not seeing anything consistent from Riley or Salem. I'd drop one and make the other the sub, probably Salem. Michie for McKenzie. Blease for Salem/Riley. Garland needs to find his form and that's in the ones. He doesn't have the same game time this year as the other defenders yet. Would like JKH back in somehow but can't see it happening. Kent had a poor game last night but he's taken JKH's role and showed much stronger fitness last week. Doubt we'll see JKH in the team again until the last few games, Roos says he's too tired.

It might actually be better to rest some of our youngest, like Salem and JKH, than play them at Casey. The constant and miserable losses down there can't be good for team morale, either.

I like the Roos mantra of "earning spots" in the team, but crikey I think it'd be bloody hard to do it at Casey. This alignment isn't working, does not develop our youngsters, and does not help get the best out of our team's youth. Really feel for the guys down there trying to string together consistent games when the team as a whole is so awful and directionless. It's probably hard to shine as a midfielder at Casey with some of the absolute clangers you'd be getting every 5 minutes from Nicho. Perhaps confusingly for players, they're being told constantly you need to be a "team player" at the MFC now, and (as shown again tonight in Vince's post match interview) individually brilliant performances are looked at as almost counterproductive to team player mantra.

What he said. Might need a few light years worth of light between 6 and 5.

The complete lack of leadership shown by his delaying of talks is reason enough not to have him at the team. You're either 100% dedicated to the cause, or you're not. So take your stuff and get out, we'll take the compo and find players who want to play for us.

Bernie: Nothing but class Everyone else: Didn't turn up

Dermie called him out for staging on the Ego & Derm's Big Wenk in Footy, without actually using the 's' word. Nonetheless, made it perfectly obvious what he thought of Lindsay's endeavours with the laughable "push ups". Because yeah, that totally happens when you get grazed in the chin, you suddenly lose all feeling in your back.

If he's gone, he's gone. We'll be compensated handsomely, and getting 2x Dom Tyson-esque deals again this year will be icing on the cake. Especially if we're headed for a bottom 4 finish after a flat end to the year.

I know we won last week (against every conceivable shred of logic), but we've really collapsed since that loss to Port. What's changed? We just don't form any kind of cohesive balance between defence and attack. We defended too hard against Collingwood, we didn't defend at all tonight against Norf, and last week we were somewhere in between but still extremely poor for half the game. Have we got the right structure with this 22? Might be time to switch things up again, Salem certainly isn't ready to start games. Sub player only this year until he builds his tank.

The one and only positive I take away from this loss is that we've basically kicked Essendon in the guts two weeks running by keeping them out of the 8. Life is poetry, even in defeat.

Really nothing I want to take away from that game. Terrible effort, last week's first half extended to three quarters tonight.

Kent, like the whole team (apologies Bernie), have been awful today. That missed goal a few moments ago was equally braindead. He had multiple clean options but he kicked for goal beyond 50 and went out of bounds.

So instead of going fast and hard into our 50 when we have possession, we chip it around the edge and hold possession until North have totally flooded our goal square with players, THEN kick it in with hope we'll mark it. Forced stoppage, then Roos clear it out and run away. Seriously, WHAT IS THE POINT? We do this over and over.

Chip, chip, chip, chip, turnover. Chip, chip, chip, chip, turnover.

Gee, these late goals would be impressive and encouraging if our defence hadn't been awful the first three quarters!

I'm sick to death of watching games where the ball spends 75% of its time in the opposition's half. And Brad Scott, you're a tool. Your whole team takes after your ridiculous melodramatic acting in the coaches box.

The entire team is having a shocker. Where has Tyson gone in the last month??

Massive indictment on the quality of our players. You don't just forget disposal skills, and you can't train to improve them either. We need fresh players, asap.

In: Players who have clean disposal. Out: Tonight's team.

[censored] OFF. SERIOUSLY. Turning off.

Roos will be absolutely filthy after this, wouldn't want to be on the end of his upcoming spray.

Just cannot win these games when everyone in your team is having one of those "off" nights.

I wonder how far we'd be in front if North weren't getting the armchair ride from the umpires???

North filthy over ONE free kick. LOL! That's bloody rich given the insanity in the first half!

North: the team of stagers, divers and divas. Good to see Kent give that dumbass ump a serve for that idiotic ducking free kick paid against him. Of course, umps are so blind they fall for their Oscar worthy performances week in, week out. Fortunately you can't act your way into a premiership, which they'll never get close to. Oh how I'd love to win today just to get them out of the top 8, yet the result would be Essendon moving to 8th place. What a miserable conundrum.