deespicable me

It was off the cuff and the sound bite was very laconical Bernie virtually saying that is the worst job in footy going round and complimenting Martin as a great player. Perhaps he should have said the bland company line that its an important game and whoever gets the job will have a tough time but I'm happy to do whatever to get the team up etc etc but that's not Bernie and that's what I like about him, he is an old style player. However we do have a tagger in the VFL who although possessing about a tenth of the skill of Martin and only about half the skill level of Bernie would give 110% of his 10% to be out there.

One of the best articles I've read about Melbourne in a long while. Max has a good understanding of MFC and is developing a strong loyalty to the club. Also wants success for the club. We are developing the building blocks to success with good leadership and a bunch of guys wanting to create their own slice of history for MFC. Well done Max

I thought he was in the rehab group. Is the rectus femoris group a sub-group to the rehab group. Does he have to get out of the rectus femoris group into the rehab group then from there back into the main group. Sounds a long way off to me. Big doubt for Sunday.

In bits and pieces of Footy I watched over the weekend Shaw from GWS and Heaney from Sydney threw a few (comparitively) heavy hits at one another. They should both get (comparitively) heavy fines if there is going to be consistency. I will watch for news. If they don't get fined the AFL and Christian and the MRP can go suck a big fat one. The thing that irks me is if Oliver transgresses in any way he's already got a record. He goes from a naughty boy to a very naughty boy

I was there for about the last half hour or so. Saw Joel Smith's one handed pluck. He has got some great tricks, hopefully he can have an injury free year. I haven't got a lot to say, just some casual observations; There is a lot of talent on the park. We have a serious amount of depth. Actually our depth flattered us in JLT 1 coz we constantly had an AFL quality team on the ground even with the 7 extras. Hopefully we have some luck with injuries in the areas we are maybe a little thin. My players of note were Melksham who plays the small forward role very well. I think he is in for his best ever season in the game. Fritsch stands out. No news there. Balic. He was in the midfield mix and was pretty impressive. May not debut round 1 but should be a super addition to the Casey team and look for him to make his mark at some stage this year. My tip is for Frost to get a go this week. He looked ready. In the match sim Hogan played high half forward and Tom deep full forward. The mix seemed to work well.

I loved Wonnameiri's (completely wrong spelling) goal in our big comeback against Fremantle at the "G". One of the best celebrations by a Melbourne player. I thought he was going to be a gun.

I think that's the softest tribunal decision ever. Two decisions in and it's already a joke. Geez

It's not good, it's not bad, it's what comes as a consequence that counts. If Goodwin flogs them and feels the need to re-assert his power over the group he may well lose them. He may need to swallow his pride . It may be a good lesson for him. They are all on a journey together, he may need to consult more. It may be a golden opportunity to create a "buy in" for the season. It may be the turning point for a good season. I hope Goodwin is smart with his next play.

Brownlow, Norm Smith, Premiership in AFL, VFL and AFLW . Richmond couldn't do it. Pathetic. And don't anyone start suggesting they didn't have a team in the AFLW as an excuse or I'll spew up!

If Lever is the missing piece to creating a solid defensive unit then it's a great win. If Lever is a ten year player we have done well to get him to our club. I'm not too worried about "overs" or "unders" even though I think we paid overs and got unders on our two main deals. I'm more concerned about how Lever affects the "balance" and "harmony" of the playing group. Have we created a situation where we can't hold all our talent? Is Watts the last to leave or will others feel uneasy in their workplace and want out? Will we now show more or less desire? Does the Watts trade relay the message to the playing group that we're serious about success? Or will they all just have their hands out for more money? I don't know. I think we are a better team going forward and maybe everyone will have got the message to at least turn up to pre-season in good shape! So yeah, a win.

Tims gone and got all High and Mighty now they've got the Safe Injecting Rooms out at Tullamarine.

In the end I will trust the coach and his side-kicks to make the call. As a young coach you only get a couple of years to influence and change the list before the performance of the team directs whether you stay (can coach) or go. As Goodwin heads into his second year at the helm he has decided Watts's character is not a good role model for the way he wants the team to perform. I didn't want Jack to go but I applaude Goodwin for having a go. It's his time, it's his arse on the line and I hope like hell he's done the right thing.

I think we should try and swap Watts for Stringer. I think they have a reasonably equal value and both haven't quite delivered at their first clubs.

Will be the one most nervous of Watts being taken from us. Demonland needs a whipping boy.

At the expense of culture, loyalty and a soul. It's not always about throwing things away when they don't quite work, sometimes you have to dig in and make the sum of what you have got work.

When Gawn came back from injury his contested marking appeared way down on early season and more-so last years form. Because of the injury it is hard to assess but maybe teams have worked out how to play him. He has a glaring weakness that he is not quick around the ground. Grundy destroyed him in the last game. I think he finished the season (on available form) as a mid tier (using the tier system) ruck. I'm also open to a trade at top value, but if he stays (and I'm also happy with this outcome) he will need to work extremely hard over summer to improve his aerobic fitness if he is to improve on 2017. Will he? I think so as he seems to understand he is only famous because he is a good footballer, but the high life is certainly a distraction for him as it probably was with Watts last off-season.

That glass is chipped, cracked and leaking.

The penny has finally dropped. I didn't get what you were all going on about. I might have meant Maynard, but I think you already know that. We did have a Magner on our list a few years ago I think, but really thats no excuse. I think I might just wander off into the off-season now.

I thought against Collingwood they killed us at stoppages and contested ball. I agree there is a case to suggest that is all about preparation and mind-set and nothing to do with us missing Viney but I still think we have very limited depth around the ball. Our depth players are Stretch, Kennedy, JKH, Bugg and Magner. That is with players like ANB, Harmes, Vince, Salem, Petracca and Lewis running through there, and most of those players aren't yet that good or are nearly past it. I think the club has got too many half-back flank, almost KPF defenders on the list. Tom McDonald Oscar McDonald Frost, Keilty, Smith and Garland as back up (3rd tall options) Then Hunt, Hibberd , Jetta and Salem as the smalls with Lewis, Vince, Brayshaw as back-up (or out there). I know Lever is good and it would be great to get him on the list but I think our list will be weak in mid to forward areas as a result.

He was our top possession getter in the first qtr and kicked a goal from a stoppage. Went missing with everyone else in the 2nd though. Still learning and will be better after another pre-season, only his second so far.

Watching todays game I was impressed with Stretch's game. He has developed his inside game well over the second half of the year at VFL level. He can still make it. JKH and Spencer were woeful unfortunately. I will be surprised if JKH gets another senior game. Magner has had a good year too and if he keeps developing as he should will get his chance next year. Bugg can still offer something but will probably only ever be about top 26, not top 22. Still you need a top 33 to have genuine depth. I was surprised by Richmonds depth. It's always hard to beat a VFL side that is still alive in the AFL as all the seconds players still hold hope to get a game in the seniors. They had Conca, Lloyd, Griffiths, Miles and a couple of others. That Morris is a dog. His only skill is smashing into blokes trying to injure them. Sheedy would recall him to his Grand Final side just to go head-hunting.

I don't think we're that good. Carrying on about missing out on finals and how we will improve naturally next year is in no way a given. Goodwin said we will be where we deserve to be at the end of round 23. There are 4 teams that finished below us that will expect to finish above us next year, namely Collingwood, Hawthorn, St Kilda and Footscray. Brisbane will look forward to playing us again as will North and even Carlton who either didn't lose by much or beat us. Our contested ball without Viney is poor and if Max doesn't improve or adapt we have a midfield ranked maybe even lower than where we finished this year. When Petracca can play long midfield minutes we will improve and Clarry and Viney have a lot of upside but our mid range players are either hit and miss or getting old. Lewis has been great the last 3 or so weeks, we can't expect that next year. We have a lot of work to do just to maintain the level we achieved this year. I think they went well overall with a dramaticly disappointing final game. I look forward to next year.

I reckon that albino bloke doing all that self-flagellation on the Da Vinci code might go alright off a back flank.

Although they won't admit it, they must have one eye on a finals campaign that may go for more than one week. Consequently they won't be using anyone else apart from the core group that have performed over the year. That means JKH, Trengove and Maynard are probably out of contention. The players that are in contention would obviously be Salem, Frost, Watts and Bugg. For mine I thought Frost was good in the twos, Bugg was industrious but wasteful and Watts was O.k in conditions that didn't suit. I agree that Wagner is making too many mistakes that end up in turn-overs so must be relegated and I also think Stretch is not best 22. Both these players should be kept ticking over and ready for any injuries but there is no point playing them this week. I think Goody saw something in Frosts game against the Swans and GWS that under pressure he can do extraordinary acts of madness and try to take on a bit much. He was good in the twos and I think he needs to come back in if he is going to be a part of the finals as we need to get used to how the 3 talls in the back-line works. I also think Watts needs to come back in if he is to play finals but now we are way tall. Maybe its Pedo and Watts isn't best 22. Crazy to even think that but balance is important and Goody likes a running team. Pedo's work in the last two weeks getting around the ground has been enormous. Reminds me of Brown for Collingwood in the 90 Grand Final. Had a massive bum but got super fit and was a great player for them. It would be a sad state of affairs if Watts missed our final team (if we make it). I think everyone wants him in the team so how it is orchestrated (if at all) will be interesting. Salem is a must and I'd like to see Bugg in but he may be put into the bracket of next cab with Stretch and Wagner. Overall I'd be happy if all of Watts, Frost, Salem and Bugg got a run this week but apart from Stretch and Wagner everyone else has done enough over the last two weeks to hold their spots. Tough week for selection.

I can't watch this umpiring. We reckon we were hard done by last week, this is as bad as it gets. The AFL have a real problem. It's unwatchable.