No10

I agree with Stuie. Bugg to add some fight. Oliver wins clearences. ANB to scrap. Games turn on individual efforts. Roos said we don't have a Danger, that sounded to me like a swipe at our leader. If Jones was held back that much by injury he shouldn't have played.

Choke, I appreciate your enthusiasm for the nbn, I agree it's not the worst idea but the reality is that your rationale isn't good. Medical and University usage is backbone, not home use. They're possibly the only genuine benefits from your list. If you're so passionate about furthering technology then perhaps you should care about the cuts to the CSIRO, they invented wifi, I'm sure you like wifi? They also do cancer stuff.

It's certainly an incredibly expensive elephant, unsure it will be entirely white. Artificial, in terms of political influence on football distribution, you'd be more relevant to look at anti-siphoning. The nbn is an expensive concept for the purpose of sport broadcasting. The more deregulation, the more the rights will be split into packages, that less people will access, it's an unfortunate problem.

Because Junior was actually a leader. Who are you comparing, Dunn? I personally would've kept Dunn in the team, however. The diamond defence is a bad joke that will be recalled on DL for years to come.

I was backing Garland to surge this week and remind why he has so much respect. He should be traded, could be a solid player in a different team, a Bernie like trade. Tyson isn't going out. Kent needs to rise to expectations, no point dropping him for being Mr average. Grimes must have earned his chance next week. Newton out for him.

Nice Woodyy, you lost Kent however. Given your appreciation for speed I would've thought he'd make the cut? Harmes too, though he's potentially injured.

Those calling for Garland should remember how much better the backline looked with Dunn. Garland needs to play more than one good VFL game. And Frost isn't going to be sent back, a pre-season mistake training him with the forwards. Oliver must come back in. ANB also, has earned his spot. Viv next, White close. Out: Salem, Frost. Viv should be in for Hunt, however that's unlikely.

Outlet pass? Garland (walking) is too far for a handball and too close for a kick. Given they've been playing together for years that's not very cohesive positioning after the ball has been switched twice already. The Ess opponent is the guy on the mark, Garland still hasn't even passed him yet. It's simple overlap run: Bugg releases to Garland, kicks to Max. Teams commonly move the ball out of the backline this way, it requires the basic intent to move the ball forward. Bugg should have gone to Gawn fast (perhaps the 'leader' should have instructed him to do so) but instead tries for the corridor, when that isn't an option he goes long down the line. Turnover, goal. I'd be fine if you blamed Roos for not giving Garland a clear role, but what the hell was he doing out there? The forward Frost experiment was a mistake, Garland should've been made to compete for his spot with Frost. Harmes was poor, Viney was off, Garlett fumbled everything... But Garland fails the most basic tests at the most important moments.

Turnovers are a big problem. A TMac turnover from taking the game on still has the players holding their heads up because they know they're playing the game right. The turnovers that hurt are these: TMac intercept mark from a good low Ess I50. TMac switches to Vince to MJones, switches back to Salem, Jetta, and TMac. -Now TMac has the ball and Garland is standing flat-footed in a useless position, no? Less than 2 minutes into Q3, why doesn't Garland run? -TMac hits Bugg, Viney is making an option on the inside but is covered. -Bugg actually moves to handball but sees Garland is JOGGING past. Is called to play on. -Bugg looks to go inboard but nothing on. Gawn down the line, perfect linkup if Garland had been running past. N Jones and Pederson further afield. -Bugg kicks down the line to Pederson and Gawn, ball spoils. Ess handball to the corridor, 2 rebounding kicks and goal. Do we blame Roos for not demanding more intensity? Garland is a leader, he was the only backline player not to make position and touch the ball in this play.

Nobody interested in my passage of play, but I totally agree with AFarr. Garland has been playing for TMacs whole career, why is Bugg the one that knows to cover him? Why doesn't Garland run? Seriously, he's in the leadership group and he's standing there not instructing, not making himself an option, not doing anything. Why doesn't Garland run?

Nobody interested in my passage of play, but I totally agree with AFarr. Garland has been playing for TMacs whole career, why is Bugg the one that knows to cover him? Why doesn't Garland run? Seriously, he's in the leadership group and he's standing there not instructing, not making himself an option, not doing anything. Why doesn't Garland run?

I have no idea if screenshots work on this forum.... but a lot of people are talking about Garland and I saw several of these moments from him: Dees up by 2 points in the last. 5 minutes gone so players should still have legs. TMac attacks from the front and fails, spoil allows the ball past. Garland is standing in front flat-footed. Bugg runs straight past Garland to make the tackle, preventing an open goal and is paid a free for Ess holding the ball. TMac instantly runs forward to create an option. Garland stands next to Bugg. Bugg switches to Dom who is the only player apart from TMac running. Dom has nowhere to kick so goes long to Gawn, beaten in a 2-1 and the ball comes back, Garland two steps behind. Personally, I see TMac attacking well. Bugg covers well. Dom creates well. If Garland had made an option, the rebound down the wing would've been fast and aggressive. Switching to Dom locked it in.

Having so few Dees in the top 50 (whatever list/ranking you look at) is surely the biggest weakness now. But as said, these are based on last year and assumptions. I'd hope next year Jones will be top 20, meaning this year he really is damaging, with the support he now has in the middle. Then have another 4-5 players in there: Vince, Viney, Hogan, Gawn, ? If Geel have the highest rank midfield- then I can't wait to see Dees vs Geel this year: Vince V Danger - Viney V Selwood - Gawn V Stanley - Jones smashing whoever else. Robbo is living a year in the past, his list is rubbish, but the lack of Dees is hardly surprising and needs to change

Surely there's no other side with this scale of potential improvement across so many players. Tyson, VB, Salem, Brayshaw, Kent, Gawn. Even Jones is going next level with his new neck and confidence as Capt. Viney is out of control. Watts might even do something, I'm a believer... still. Plus the mindset from the coaching group has shifted from nurturing to a winning culture, that will push us into the 8. Roosy's final year as coach, I hope his intensity goes right up. This is a finals year, that should be the expectation at every level.

Makes a lot of sense. I really dislike seeing players out of their natural position though. Especially agree that defense is such a unit, so not embedding Frost early surely doesn't help long term? Assuming that's where he should play. 2nd ruck seems the big question looking ahead.

Can see Gawn having a real impact while resting up forward. But does 2nd ruck need to be a straight swap of positions? As in, why can't Frost be backline and back-up ruck?

I'm sure DC heard exactly what he said. The worst case scenario from corporate lawyers is rarely the actual worst case scenario. "Surprised at the outcome" is the most overused phrase and that's what the advice is actually designed for; the official line. All the top end, including PJ, would've made their own private judgements and expectations.

Great work WJ. The Age article is also brilliant, she just wrote out the conversation without imposing all her own observations. I enjoyed the comment about Brayshaw could be captain of Melbourne in five years. There were rumors about trac falling out of favor after the psyc evaluation, he certainly seems to have shown great character during rehab. Be interested to know if her book talks about this anywhere. Great passages though, appreciate the posts

I did suggest resting Brayshaw before or directly after the bye. He was consistently in our top players and highest tacklers, it was likely he'd be injured or become burnt out. Then he did have an injury v WC and has been in the lower half since. I'm not saying I was right, but I don't think you can say it was a bad idea either. I wouldn't rest him now however.

I thought Roos' comments could have been a jab at Jones. He hasn't stepped up as expected. Jones had a poor game, but worse was his attitude seemed introverted and down. We've lacked leadership these past few weeks and if we lost that's where the blame would've gone. It's not as inspired, but Scott Selwood could help bring some leadership and class to the midfield. Or just go all out for Danger!

Club should totally do this - should hire AC/DC. Do the whole thing, HB intro and cover the MFC song, save the traditional version for after the win. Then have them perform it live at the 2017 GF with Hogan&Jones leading through the banner! Add some pyro. Certain win.

I'm with you O. It's also interesting to hear players and coaches talk more openly about Watts, he must be the biggest unknown of any player on our list. Everyone is tradable etc.. however Roos has a tendency to find players with untapped value rather than giving them away. I like him, especially last week, see how he goes today!

"Winning team who shot itself in the foot", I like that, agreed. However on this selection thread, I'm suggesting Roos has selected the sub poorly. Jordie, M Jones. If you had selection again, would you pick M Jones as sub? Tyson was Casey BOG. On some occasions, like a huge QB match, Roos should go harder for the win.

Stuie, management isn't only taking the safest option. If Tyson played as sub instead of M Jones do you think the result might be different? I'd say there's a significant chance. M Jones isn't an impact player, Tyson is. People here want Roos to stop making excuses, start going after wins. I agree with that, certainly to the extent of putting Tyson in that position. That game is over - I'm saying resting Brayshaw will be considered but is a totally different case to Tyson.

My management policy is pretty simple: First year player- perhaps don't rely on him to win games Hogans Heros. Fourth year player- is given plenty of time to recover, bring in as sub to help win important game. Irrelevant about further injury, that could happen anywhere. Match fitness? Team win first.