joeboy

I’ve learnt my lesson and promise to only provide positive 3 word analyses even when everyone is crap... including the players

Gawn - failed to dominate Viney - used ball poorly Oliver - rarely effective disposal Petracca - tried but limited Tomlinson - seemingly without passion Brayshaw - just a game Langdon - had little influence Salem - overrated and slow Harmes - loose and slow Hibberd - good first half Melksham - not team focused Hannan - tried but lacking Rivers - some costly turnovers May - steady and reliable Fritsch - couldn’t get involved McDonald - devoid of effort Lockhart - tried but clumsy Lever - no second efforts Hunt - had limited opportunities Pickett - occasionally looked dangerous Smith - lost in defence vandenBerg - far from ready

Can’t handle the wet and windy conditions... oh wait

On paper at least we have an elite back line and on all brigade, but our forward line is bereft of anyone trustworthy enough to perform well on a weekly basis. We CAN finish # 5-7 , but alarmingly if nobody stands up regularly to kick 3-4 goals a week, we are potentially a # 12-14 position side

One lasting memory is of Brayshaw’s brave and thrilling intercept mark at Geelong when he was playing half back a few years ago.. it was inspirational and defining. Put him back there where he’s accountable and let Harmes resume his on ball role

Gawn - our most vital Viney - was tagged out Jetta - far from convincing Smith - some crucial errors May - surprisingly poor disposal Salem - rarely instilled confidence Rivers - confident and exciting Harmes - not natural backman Tomlinson - will be important Langdon - some vital touches Melksham - was rarely noticed Fritsch - untypically poor disposal McDonald - just a shadow Jones - was rarely sighted Hunt - took his chances Jackson - raw but promising Neal-Bullen - little to enthuse Petracca - exciting and dependable Oliver - best on field Bennell - survived the game Lever - not overly convincing Brayshaw - rarely disposed effectively

Conspiracy theory: It would have been our home game , likely without a crowd. With the alternating home team plan, Collingwood gets the spoils next year

Jetta - looked painfully slow May - effective and talented O. Mac - was not embarrassing Lockhart - showed some promise Hibbert - disposals were costly Harmes - lost in defense Lever - an encouraging display Langdon - prolific but wasteful Petracca - classy but sporadic Thomlinson - had little influence Viney - former captain’s game Oliver - didn’t appear interested Gawn - was easily outmuscled Brayshaw - little to commend Neal-Bullen - couldn’t justify selection T.McDonald - played without passion Pickett - impressive debut game Melksham - was hardly sighted Brown - performance to forget Bedford - far from ready Spargo - embarrassingly inept performance Fritsch - never appeared likely

Oscar has kept Darling to 2 possessions

Despite the woeful first half, if we’re still in the game at 3/4 time, I think we’ll run over the top of them

I might be wrong but I’m pretty there’s no hotel stays on this trip.. it’s a fly in/ fly out on the same day process

Funny!!

I wrote too soon?‍♂️

Surely would be all over the news by now if true

VDB was my standout at training.. before I left after an hour. He still needs to work on building up his calf muscles but he looked clean, crisp and extremely fit and strong as he was fully involved with all training exercises. Kickett will be a crowd favourite with his sublime skills which were on regular show despite the difficulties brought by the strong wind. Lever and Brown look like porn stars with the hair growth on the upper lips TMac seems to be a few kgs lighter whilst his brother seems slightly more robust. Petracca definitely wins the body of the day award.. he looked ripped beyond comparison with anyone else at the club.

I was invited to partake in a pre season with Prahran in the early 70’s.. does that count as a Melbourne /Prahran connection?

Shakespeare; ’as flies to wanton boys are we to the Gods, they kill us for their sport’

There seem to be a lot of excellent decisions going on behind the scenes.

Add DeGoey to that list

At least we’re appearing to be players

Everyone suggests that Gawn is our only logical leader, however how will the new responsibility impinge on the performance of our ONLY quality player? Getting rid of Jones and Viney as leaders to be replaced by Max may cause more problems if this year’s leaders get their noses out of joint and Max can’t handle the extra burdens of leadership

No more nepotism, and possibly junior Viney is being shopped around ??‍♂️

I met him in a cafe yesterday and asked him about his and the club’s future. He distinctly said he had another year of contract ahead??‍♂️ I asked him if he had any explanation for our abysmal year and he put it down to the horrendous preseason . He said he’d heard nothing about any player unrest, though obviously he wouldn’t have admitted anything to me

We had an opportunity to pick up Darling in the draft but hesitated because of his ‘extracurricular activities’ at the time.

Baker - showed some signs Brayshaw - a downward spiral Chandler - not enough evidence Dunkley - needs significant development Fritsch - a classy forward Frost - consistent and passionate Garlett - didn’t seem interested Gawn - our singular champion Hannan - cruelled by injury Harmes - success as tagger Hibberd - seemingly rarely fit Hore - courageous and promising Hunt - rarely beat opponent Jetta - never got going Jones - time has elapsed Keilty - didn’t show out Kennedy-Harris - probably exhausted chances Kolodjashnij - ruined by injury Lever - will be better Lewis - professional until end Lockhart - a bit player May - will be important O.McDonald - rarely surprised supporters T.McDonald - our biggest disappointment Melksham - best rarely seen Neal-Bullen - rarely justified selection Oliver - prolific, rarely outstanding Petracca - exciting in bursts Petty - showed some promise Preuss - rarely justified selection Salem - disappointing second half T.Smith - tried but deficient Spargo - just a schoolboy Stretch - has exhausted chances Viney - never got going C.Wagner - only Casey standard J. Wagner - like his brother Weideman - poor before injuries