SaberFang

Thanks for your service, Grimes.

Might be a Paul Roos record for omissions this week. He's usually fairly restrained with changes but clearly he was fed up after the embarrassment last week. Dawes though? Yuck, yuck, yuck.

I said anything less than 10 wins was a failed season and, lo and behold, with utterly embarrassing losses to the Saints twice, Essendon, even Port in the Alice, that has held true. Not good enough and the coaching group have a lot to answer.

Sadly the NT is the only blip on PJ's tenure. We need to get the [censored] out of that deal at the end of the next agreement. Sacrificing 2 MCG games for those conditions, and the inevitable following week losses... I'm sick of it! The only way the deal becomes remotely advantageous to us is if we ask the AFL to follow up our NT games with matches against teams we likely would've lost to anyway, like Hawthorn or Sydney. Instead we sacrificed a perfectly winnable game to the Saints.

Wow, bet no Melbourne supporter saw this result coming. /sarcasm Yeah, let's just make two changes to the exhausted Darwin squad! An underdone Brayshaw, an underdone Wagner, and leave in an injured McDonald and Vince. Christ this club is amateur sometimes. You just lost this way 2 months ago to this exact same club -- did ANYBODY research that game and formulate a new plan?! ANYONE???

Yes it's pretty remarkable. Same mistake after Alice Springs, same mistake after Darwin. Same mistake after every NT game in the entire coaching tenure of Roos. What the hell is so hard to understand about rotating our youth through the VFL? Does it really take a brain surgeon to realise that turning up with a tired team against the Saints at Etihad, which is exactly how we got thumped by them a few months ago, is a surefire way to lose a game? Just mindboggling. I can't wait to hear Roos' excuses (aka spin) this week about how he, once again, failed to beat St Kilda. Yet another team that joins the inglorious list of teams Roos never defeated in his entire time at the MFC.

So we're going to lose to this [censored] mob... AGAIN! HOW MANY TIMES DOES ROOS HAVE TO COACH AGAINST RICHO BEFORE HE LEARNS HOW TO BEAT HIM?!???!?? @#!#@#*

Only Melbourne's senior players could have messed up that final few minutes.

Could see that coming a mile off. Can't believe we don't even know how to eat the clock up properly.

A bit worried that Wagner is underdone, hope he's alright to play. Don't want any more lamented selection mistakes in the post-match, Roos! I want a win against this bloody mob!

That's what the last ten years of Dees supporting does to you!

It doesn't surprise me. Who really enjoys their job? Even when you get a job doing something you enjoy, eventually it morphs into something you hate.

Adelaide would just be another West Coast disaster in a Grand Final against the Hawks.

We'd be equal if we'd won both those very winnable games. Frankly, we'd probably be in the top 8, considering round 2 should have been a big percentage booster.

If we'd beaten North in Round 3, we'd only be 4 premiership points behind them. If we'd beaten Essendon, we'd have been equal on premiership points currently. If we'd won tomorrow's game, we'd have leapfrogged them into the 8. But who needs ifs!

Yep, unfortunately you only have to compare draws to see that the Saints have an enviable run home. That said, everyone raved about their finals prospects after they defeated Geelong, which they followed up with a loss to Gold Coast. Nothing's set in stone with young teams (very much including us).

Would've liked Wagner in but he must still be underdone. Hopefully he's got a thick skin because I'd hate to think what oppo players will say to get under his skin after the week his brother's had (thanks Herald Sun, you classless flogs).

Hahahahah oh my God, North you are [censored] [censored]! This is just glorious, I've been saying all year they are pretenders and now everyone gets to see it!

I was saying all week that this is the best chance Essendon have at another win. I rate the Saints far higher than Richmond when in-form, and the Bombers almost pipped them last week. It would be glorious to see the Tigers twist that knife just a little deeper into supporters' hearts by losing to the Druggies.

Jonesy is co-hosting Fox's coverage of tonight's game!

Hope you're happy AFL, you dumb [censored]! Your stupid expansion project, which has completely ruined all other clubs of young talent they desperately needed to rebuild lists (which now play out their AFL existence in the NEAFL) has granted Hawthorn the magical ability to stay at the top of the ladder for half a decade without challenge. Just imagine if the entire lists of GWS and Gold Coast had been divided amongst the clubs who so desperately needed it, instead of having compromised draft after compromised draft, still continuing this year with farcical amounts of first round picks to GWS, none of which they even need with the shape of their list. But thank Christ those 338 GWS members have satisfied those expansion urges!

4 wins under a goal this year to the Hawks. Really starting to wonder about that umpiring.

Can't even be bothered watching this game. 1 vs 2 yet I don't care, can't imagine why? Wouldn't be because everyone is sick of [censored] Hawthorn winning the premiership every bloody year?! Not to mention the endless plaudits Sydney receives for how "incredible" and "inspiring" it is that they can magically regenerate their list with youth despite constantly finishing at the top of the ladder. Yeah, it's so hard rebuilding your list when you get gifted the draft's best players despite finishing at the top every year! We all have to bow down to these list management geniuses at the Swans who just "find a way" to play finals every year. [censored] off.

?? I've got State of Origin on Nine here in Melbourne?

4 changes minimum please, coaches. Would really like to end this stupid St Kilda hoodoo once and for all! I would be shocked if reviewing the previous Saints capitulation, and understanding the reasons for it, is not mandatory for all coaches and players at the club this week.