KingDingAling

We are going to win this.

Melksham and ANB are two of the most underrated players in the league. Excluding Garlett.

I think clubs may be interested in Spencer in the same manner WC were interested in drafting Johnathon Giles. If you are a top side and your ruck stocks are volatile - then a Jake Spencer as a back up option makes sense. I would think Richmond, Essendon, Bulldogs, Geelong, GWS, Adelaide, and Sydney - could all do with back up options. Spencer will get picked up if we cut him loose. Not only are we living in an era of sub par ruck man, but also an era of injury prone players, an era of concussion, and an era of soft tissue injury. Not to mention the fact that a player only has to miss tackle, or aggressively handle an opposing ruckman and he is suspended. If opposition teams do not have 3-4 ruck man on their list then they are stupid.

Kelly and Lever and we have a dream team. Even landing one of them would be great. I can't see why either of them wouldn't want to play at MFC. We have one of the best young lists in the league. If Kelly chooses North over Melbourne then I'd question whether he was the full quid.

We have these lapses. You don't win finals having these type of lapses. Billy Stretch a liability as well.

The fact that we always give up a goal in the last minute of quarters probably suggests we cannot play out full quarters of football. A team that cannot play out 4 quarters of football is not causing any damage deep in the finals. Not against the good sides.

The thing with Oliver and the AA is that the midfield is red hot this year. Dustin Martin, Tom Mitchell, and Patrick Dangerfield. I would probably think Josh Kelly gets a wing. And Oliver misses out due to Martin, Mitchell and Danger. Oliver may get a bench position. I would give him a spot on the interchange. He has been a top 5 mid this year. Just not a top 3.

He looked three times the player we seen earlier in the year. Looked to of slimmed down a bit too. Moved well, blown up towards the end of the third (which is expected for a player who hasn't played much). Looks to have adjusted his game. He is moving better, and more importantly, he was making good decisions. I was a bit worried he was just a bad decision maker (as I had noticed earlier in the year), but perhaps that was put down to something else. He looked one of our better decision makers yesterday. Club has done a good job.

You can get umpire radios?

Gawn never does well against Longer. But some of those free kicks against Gawn today for pushing off with a straight arm. Gawn was pushing off, but not with a straight arm. It was bent on nearly all occasions - which is perfectly legal. The umpire just got them all wrong. Hopefully the club seeks a please explain from the AFL. This could have been the difference between finals or not finals if we'd got done. Very poor umpiring all day. Just brainless umps. No excuse for it. Incompetent. They should be fined.

Some of the worst umpiring I have seen this year. That was terrible. I know we won, but I hope Goodwin sends a please explain to the AFL. Gawn was constantly penalized in the ruck when he was doing nothing wrong.

I would be surprised if the umps let them.

Good on them dropping Salem. I hope he is made to work for his next shot. Play with some desperation or I don't want to see him again. Also, what is JKH - chopped liver? He didn't even deserve to be dropped, yet was, and went on to rack up 40 possessions (as he always does). I can only assume he kicked to the opposition all day on the weekend, or that he is missing a leg. WTF is everybody sleeping on this kid? Kennedy-Harris is no joke, and he would buy and sell Angus Brayshaw (who is a turn over merchant with no awareness, and completely unproven at AFL level). Dear MFC, we are vying for finals football, FU and your f'up selection mistakes.

In: Hannan, JKH Out: Pederson, Tyson or Salem. Tyson needs to learn some awareness, and how to use the ball effectively. How we keep rewarding some players with games when they are just ball collectors, and turn over merchants is beyond me. Salem needs to put in more effort as well. He is a talented player. Show some desperation FFS. You aren't playing under 12's. Bring in JKH. He must have p*ssed on someones breakfast - but they need to get over it. Throw out Jordan - 'I won't go for a hard ball' Lewis if you have to. But preferably Tyson. He can use some time learning how to hit up a target.

I remember when Eade was on 360. It was around the time we interviewed him. He got very defensive about the question and responded by saying something like he interviewed Melbourne before deciding against coaching here. Something along those lines. I remember thinking to myself at the time that Eade didn't handle rejection very well. Then I watched him over year or so, and I seen that he also didn't take criticism very well. I knew he wouldn't last at the Gold Coast because I don't think he is that well respected among the players. If I can see through much of his BS then I suspect AFL players can. Club didn't play for him, and out he goes. I don't pity him. He just wasn't up to it.

Good post. I don't understand the pessimism on here about our club at the moment. I think we clearly have the best youth - GWS included - in the competition at the moment. And unlike GWS, we actually have depth. If GWS lose Kelly then it brings them right back to the pack. He is clearly their best player. In addition, Deledio, Griffin, Johnson and Shaw aren't going to be around much longer. Never have I been more proud and buoyant about MFC.

I think you are underselling Oliver.

Not a failed season. I came into this year reasonable pessimistic about Simon Goodwin as a coach. Yet he has proven that he has what it takes. Granted there have been some coaching lapses throughout the year where he has been outcoached on game day. But he is an inexperienced and young coach. I think broadly he has gotten most things right. We have an innovative coach on our hands, and one that appears to be building strong relationships with the players. I don't really see this year as a failed season, but more as a platform to build off of. List wise we have seen Jayden Hunt continue his improvement, and have a consistent year. Gawn - when on the park - has been A grade and is the leagues top 3 ruck man when going. Oliver has been exceptional and continued his improvement. Viney has bounced back, and Nathan Jones continues his great form (as he has done through most of his career). Jetta has been great down back. We have added Hibberd - who looks a shoe in for AA. Melksham has rejuvenated himself as a Melbourne player. ANB has improved out of sight. The positives are there to see. The results have been mixed - we have been inconsistent. Our biggest weakness is that we are ineffective by foot, and that hurts us going forward. There is no point winning the clearances if we are just going to either turn it over, or not use it to our best capabilities. We need to be hitting our forwards cleaner. If we can do that Hogan should be on track for 70 plus next year. And that will go a long way to our prospects of top 4 in 2018. Next year it would be very disappointing if we didn't make finals. I think it is reasonable that we aim for a top 4 finish in 2018.

Two of those were very lucky. And the other was a great goal.

Three flukes.

I think Oliver will poll very well. I think he could even be a danger to Martin.

Or at least drink at home. I reckon there would be quite a few AFL players who drink at home during the week. Probably not massive amounts, but certainly amounts they'd cop heat for it they drank it out and about. It is about perception. Drinking mostly only becomes a problem for clubs when we hear about it.

I doubt we would have to worry about Petracca. He has been involved in a high level basketball system since a young age (at State and National level). So I think he is safe, he probably adhered to stricter standards most of his sporting life - than he is expected to adhere to in the AFL. Oliver is a worry though. But he is a country lad so probably won't play up in the spotlight of the city. Not sure I'd be worried about any of our other youth. They appear to be very level headed and sensible (ANB, Stretch, Brayshaw, Salem, Petracca, Hunt, Kennedy-Harris).

Lever is tremendous. What a talent. At 194cm's he has a great leap. I have zero concerns about his height. I never actually thought Lever would be up for grabs - but he hasn't re-signed. Maybe he is up for grabs. He did seem adamant mid year that he was just waiting for the CBA to be announced, and then signing sounded as if it was a mere formality. But, he still hasn't signed. So assuming he is on the market he would be a good get. The 194 cm's I don't think is a concern, if anything it is a positive, because Lever could play stints in the midfield. We haven't seen that yet from him at the Crows, but that is what he is capable of.

His skills are overrated. I have always thought Lewis is more of an accumulator. Not a very effective player though. But I tell you what, he was tough at Hawthorn, I give him that much, he was actually a tough guy, he went in hard, and he was a ballsy player. At Melbourne he is not very tough. He is more of a squib. Anytime that ball hits the deck he doesn't want it, he panics and he fumbles. I think he has mentally checked out.