TeamPlayedFine39

Thanks again for the great report Kevin Martin! Really interesting read, especially as we don’t get many training reports during the season. Hopefully you don’t have any plans November - February...

Star? Yes. Legend..? Great of the game..? Greatest ever small forward..? (all terms being dealt out like candy today) Not by a long, long way. I've heard a few times from commentators over the years, and Fox Footy ran with it again this morning, that he does the most damage with the least possessions of any player in the history of the game. It's just a laughable way of excusing the fact that he was able to get very few possessions in a game. 189 matches - ZERO 30 possession games and only got over (got over 25 only 4 times). Who would do more damage with 10 kicks... Lockett, Dunstall, Ablett snr., Hudson, Coleman... or Cyril Rioli???

Very good player but the ridiculous hyperbole online today is insane. It’s turning him into some sort of mythical, superhuman player that many wanted him to be, but he simply never was.

I think people might be overestimating the motivating powers of ‘pain’ and ‘hurt’. Look to Adelaide this season to see how a hurt club performs... then cast your mind back to Geelong, Hawthorn, Bulldogs and Tigers and recall that they they were motivated by positivity and unity in their successful years.

A lot of people complaining about talk on a talk-show...

Exactly. Whilst Oscar's game on the weekend wasn't great, he's had a fantastic season as our no 1 key defender. One match does not undo his great work through the course of the year. We saw him beaten by Cox v Collingwood, but Cox will do that to most defenders if there is no third man up or little midfield pressure being put on the person delivering the ball to advantage. The Footage Lyon shared on Fox illustrated there was little pressure being applied to the StKilda ball carrier when they got into space, KPD are going to struggle to cover this 100% of the time.

I don’t begrudge him that- we cast him off. If Howe, Frawley, Scully, etc. then that’s a different story...

Always liked Dunny. Very sad news.

Encouraging new people to come to the football and support Melbourne sound more like an investment to me. It is a far more realistic promotion than thinking you’ll convert people already aligned to a team that live in the Casey area. When I think of PJ and Bartlett, the words ‘warm and fuzzy’ and ‘hippy’ don’t immediately spring to mind... we need to grow or perish.

In previous years, yes. Lowly teams have fancied their chances against us for the last decade. Can't think of another example from this year though...

I'd suggest he has ambitions of having a run at a senior gig in the future and is looking to improve his resume. I really rate him, but I'd say the move is a promotion in his eyes.

A point that is missed by many is that StKilda, for three quarters, played by far their best football of the year. We often have a very one-eyed view of matches as we're a single club supporter website, we often see the outcomes of matches purely based on whether we played well or not. StKilda ran hard, tackled hard, spread and took advantage of their opportunities. They played with a harder edge and enthusiasm for the contest. They won it, we didn't lose it.

This thread is pretty unsavoury and there is nothing in the OP that couldn't have been included in the 'Post match discussion' or the 'Changes v Fremantle' thread. First game key position player played poorly... he had many friends in that department.

Agreed. i could tolerate it if it was before the bye, but it never is. I think the Alice game works well for all parties- the conditions are conducive to professional football, we make some much needed money and the views of the ground and surrounding area are spectacular for the tourism dollars.

Current temperature in Darwin: 31 degrees. Gonna be hard going next weekend and the week after. We may need to make some tactical selections for the conditions over the next two weeks. Seasoned bodies like Frost, Stretch, Bugg, Pedersen, Garlett, Vince, the etc may need to be rotated through at some stage.

Over the course of the whole year... I’d say this has been the best season we’ve seen from: Hogan Gawn McDonald Oliver OMac Salem Brayshaw

Strange week to make this demand... we’ve stunk it up since Viney’s return and he hardly set the field alight today.

IN: Frost, Garlett OUT: Petty, Hannan

Was Petty.

That Trengove goes alright. Where have Port been hiding him??

He left the box when Taylor took the mark- punching the air in celebration.

Back to the Ladder Predictor! (again)

Ablett in the team has sapped his mojo. Hasnt been the player he was all year.

Lower grades don’t necessarily equate to better performances for many players. Shane Warne used to stink it up for Victoria and StKilda a couple of times per year.

Hopefully not. An in form Gartlett makes us a much better team. With that said, we’d get next to nothing for him in a trade if he’s playing out the year in the VFL. Worth much more to us than he would be in a trade.