Hatchman

So if we were light on forwards due to injuries, but we have this rookie guy called Majak Daw running around in the magoos who apparently is quite tall and strong why wasn't he playing?????

He always was a good cash cow in a trading sense. Get him mentored by the best ruckman in the competition (NicNat AA again that is a joke) and trade him up when his currency increases No doubt there will be a trade with someone like a Ben Brown

I met his Dad at a port game at the G a couple of years ago. He was sitting behind me the whole game. Lovely bloke as was his family that were with him. Before leaving I said to his Dad, that I would never wish any harm on Jack, he's copped way more than he ever should have in terms of criticism and was badly managed earlier on and that I hope he does well. And I meant every word of it. I hope he gets on the park again

Harmes looks exhausted. Has turned it over a lot in the last couple of games and could be rested. Lots of calls for Jones to be dropped... I must have watched a different game thought he played pretty well. Can't work out who else to part ways for Max, although someone will have to.

May is playing a blinder. Best on ground for me at the moment

I hate Murdoch and wouldn't [censored] on him if he was on fire, but I am rationalising my current subscription to Kayo purely based on the fact that it is costing me less per month than it would if my boy and I went to the MCG to sit in the outer, get rained on and watch our team almost always lose before we commiserate with a couple of kebabs in Oakleigh on the way home!

In: Jones Out: Melksham

Yep ? Everytime they do this idiotic hot potato hand passing or throw it on the boot we lose it GC goals so far have been a bit flakey though

Says it all really, can't fault what Derm is saying. Everyone here is mentioning it about the poor kicking and it is patently obvious that is the problem - but it is not the only one. I am of the view that our backline is actually pretty good and the problem is not there. The problem is that we just don't have a forward line that works well enough. It's bad enough that we still have players just blasting kicks into the forward line, not putting them out the front of leading forwards and not putting him in a place of advantage so a player can run goal side. The other is that we have an immature forward line that does not work together well, nor set up structures that enable lead-up forwards to get a good run at the ball and likewise have small forwards get into position and space such that they can capitalise on the loose ball or provide the great defensive pressure when they don't. Richmond are so good at this. If you watch closely you can see how the other players clear runways for people like Riewoldt and Lynch to get a good run at the ball and their smaller players always work into space and position. My footy experience is limited just to local footy, but I've played and watched enough games to know I would love coming up against a team like Melbourne that simply just does not kick to advantage at all into the forward line and likewise, does not have a league elite-level full forward or group of forwards that know how to work forward structures to advantage. You can third man up every time and run the ball out because the forwards don't work together as one - they just run all over the place Our one saving grace is that we have Pickett. He is not a great forward line strategist yet, but he is fast and runs to position well. Opposition players are not game to take him on so they take a bit longer to get the ball out when he is around to enable our midfield to get back into position but they will waltz way from pretty much everyone else. If Jones does not come into the forward line this week and ideally Smith moves forward for Jetta then it tells me Goodwin has put the cue in the rack for this season. Much like the club did one week before the bye last year when they knew we were not good enough to challenge in finals and we decided to play younger players to give them experience to set them up for this year. In other words he is going to persist with getting as much games as possible into what a future team would look like, not one for now. Given the unique circumstances of this year there is some depressing logic to this because whoever the premiers are they will be premiers in a compromised season and there is no way the experiences of this season will translate all that well into 2021. I actually think the club may well be taking this approach despite what is getting said in the media, so get used to us playing like this for the rest of the year, at least we don't have to sit out in the cold at the MCG shivering watching it!

Probably both really. I think in the last quarter when the scores levelled the reality set in. Maturity is a good call too, there was some idiotic disposals and players trying to palm the ball like NBA players way too much as well.

Carlton did the same thing in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters that teams did all last year to beat us. Put a ring on the outside of the contested ball and never over-match our players on the contest on the inside. This works in two ways. If we win it (which we mostly do) the players run into a wall of opposition players and in a panic just throw it on the boot (Brayshaw is the worst offender), which is at best a 50:50 cough up. If we lose it then the opposition knows if they get it out they'll have players to get it to and they can run off with it The solution is what Viney said at half-time. Take half a second when you win it on the inside and compose yourself and look for a target. We only started doing that about halfway through the last quarter. In the first quarter Carlton didn't do that and just tried to match us at our game with predictable consequences as they are not that good and we blew them away. Basically we were out-coached in the 2nd and 3rd. Again. All it takes is more composure when we win the contested ball, if the players can do that we'll be set

Yep I can't imagine why they would have gone out in that weather given the size of the wind gusts and the swell.

What suburb do you live in? I want to avoid driving there knowing she could be behind the wheel!!!!

Must have been, which is why this is my front runner for the laziest piece of AFL journalism of the trade season. Go home Bucky you're drunk A: Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver B+: Jack Viney, Tom McDonald B: Nil B-: Nathan Jones, Christian Salem, Angus Brayshaw, Michael Hibberd, Kade Kolodjashnij, Jake Melksham, Bayley Fritsch, Steven May C+: Christian Petracca, Jake Lever, Sam Frost, Aaron Vandenberg, Jayden Hunt, Alex Neale-Bullen, Marty Hore, Josh Wagner, Neville Jetta C: James Harmes, Billy Stretch, Mitch Hannan, Oscar McDonald, Joel Smith, Corey Wagner C-: Jay Kennedy-Harris, Braydon Preuss

He gives 110%, which is great. and his core skill of being able to bolt out of the backline to clear it along with being a pretty good 1-on-1 defender adds to it. But those massive gallops often result in turnovers and once that happens and he's past the centre circle, the ball sails back and we're out-manned. Lever and May are much smarter players. They intercept, set up plays and generally hit targets. Much like Salem. Frost is better because of them, not in spite of them When ex-players like Roo-boy say Frost is better that just demonstrates that they don't watch enough of our games. Unfortunately that is nothing new, most commentators don't. With regards to our team I would wager all a lot do is look at a few stats their ghost-writers and support people give them and draw what they think is a well-informed opinion. It's no surprise that they will say Frost is the best player, to me that just highlights this process. Putting it out there, we are the best team to have ever finished 17th. We stopped going for finals before the bye, that seemed obvious to me, the rest of the year has been Goodwin putting on some diplomacy after a loss on camera all the while we're setting up for a full-on assault next year. The cleanouts in the coaching department and new appointments are all part of this. Keep the faith, next year will be good

The same Gary Lyon that pushed the appointment of Mark Neeld and goaded his old mates like Connolly and Schwab to tank behind closed doors that led to the horror of the last 10 years? You were a great player Gary and you gave great service to our club, but you have no effin idea about how to coach or build a club/culture in the year 2019. Our injury list has been woeful, our pre-season was heavily compromised and we do not have enough forward line players with games of experience under their belt. The most is TMac and has spent 80% of his career as a full-back. It's just not our year hasn't been since before the bye

Another column inches filler article.Poorly written and researched. Next.

Haven't watched it in about 15 years, maybe more.

Buy a lot of cheese, a couple of bottles of Red and have an impromptu team meeting/celebration in my area of the building on Monday

I agree. If you've ever seen the horrible road back from recovery from an incident like this, and how badly it can affect someone both physically AND mentally then you would give this more than a second thought. Personally I'd charge the gutless bastard with assault.

Hilarious For years we have lamented a chronic lack of mongrel and aggression in our team and now that we have it, many of us complain because people like Lewis give away 50's! That's the downside, the upside is Lewis is an incredibly good decision maker, has saved our butts time and time again and makes every other player think twice when he is on the field because of his unpredictable nature.

Voting for the MFC to merge would be akin to selling off my wife to a career in the porn industry. If you voted it for it you are disgrace. Both then and now. Some things should always be sacred

I just posted on this thread so some lazy journo can quote me I love you Cale!!! xoxoxox

In the Midst of Fukushima: Ahoy There, Nuke-Loving Greens, Welcome to the Real World!