waynewussell

Barassi in 1953, his second year... “At least one Melbourne supporter was not impressed with Ron’s efforts. After struggling on the Hawks’ Len Crane he was shifted to the forward flank for the last quarter. Over there, in quiet moments, a footballer having a bad day learns just how fickle supporters can be. This one in particular told him he was not half the footballer his father was, that he shouldn’t be wearing his Guernsey, and added that old favourite: he was only getting a game because he lived with the coach.”

What a disgraceful slur on two of the most loyal and passionate contributors this club has seen in the past 50 years!

This writing off Viney, as though he is a liability holding the team back, is ludicrous! He puts his body on the line in every game... part of the reason he has been struggling in recent times. Jack shows what it means to give one's all for the team, and has done so since his first game. He has played through pain, battered and bruised at times, to try and lift his teammates and this club! What short memories his detractors have! If bravery and competitive instinct are part of the good Captain's DNA, then Jack has them covered, and then some. Remember, Ronald Dale was struggling to find his place, early days under Norm Smith. It was said at the time that he simply banged the ball on his boot in careless fashion and was a danger to his teammates with his manic attack on the ball... does that sound familiar?

Perhaps it is time for Jonesy to give up the title, allowing Max to become co-captain with Jack.

When a bloke says a player, who has already been named All Australian, is not up to AFL standard, well.... you know that blokes opinion is something to bypass

Thanks for this snapshot of a dominant display T-U

Went a bit early Cell...

Quite a few "Champions" of the game became a little suspect in on-ground behaviour late in their careers.... Think Plugger, Ablett snr and Lethal. I don't remember booing for them lasting beyond the specific game where they transgressed! There's the obvious division between Goodes the player and Goodes the eloquent spokesperson for his people. By the way, Plugger, Ablett and Lethal were never called upon to become spokesmen for their people... Goodes, throughout this period portrayed in the documentary, was by far the most considered, level-headed and eloquent voice on the issue that he chose to highlight. He made it painfully clear that he was a victim of racist behaviour from other Australians well before the booing hysteria developed. He stood head and shoulders above journalists, commentators and politicians in voicing, with great sensitivity and compassion, the issue of racism in our society. We can learn a lot from listening to and respecting that voice!

Haven't yet noticed any commentator, footy program or member of the MFC football dept. explain the holding the ball decision made against Max. Why is that? If it was a free kick according to the rules wouldn't an ambitious member of the (football) media want to impress the public with his/her astute reading of the rules? Its been relatively quiet on that front, while other contentious decisions from the weekend have been discussed on every program. If it was a shocker by the umpire in question, wouldn't the AFL come out and admit that a mistake was made... or vica versa? All quiet on that front as well... I have an opinion on this silent response by media and officials, but I would like to hear what others think.

While we are on the topic of reduced interchange... Kevin Bartlett has been the most vocal critic of the current inflated interchange rules for some time now... Oh, yes, ..... he got the flick... more AFL interference or just another conspiracy crackpot?

Aah, the VFL... where budding AFL umpires learn not to pay a free kick to MFC players!!!

6 McDonald 5 Oliver 4 Frost 3 Pruess 2 Petracca 1 Fritsch

Jordan is the next 'find' from our Ressie team

I haven't read everything here as Ins and Outs discussion is erratic... but I can't ignore talk of dropping Oliver or Viney without some response. Viney was incredibly good just one match ago and was one of our better players last week. Open your eyes!!!! As for talk of dropping our most prolific talent... ffft!

Exactly!

Fortunately my bins are out and it will all be gone in the morning

Rubbish continues!

Rubbish thread

B: N Jetta R Johnson G Hardeman HB: B Lovett D Neitz S Febey SC: Alves B Wilson R Flower HF: G Lyon D Schwarz A Davey F: J Farmer A Jakovich G Healey R: J Stynes T Viney N Jones Int: J McDonald M Gawn C Oliver A Yze Emerg: P Moore, A Obst, B Green, R Robertson

Rusty Nails posted this in another thread... Seems like kicking efficiency is very much in the eye of the beholder. I gather that a kick is deemed efficient if it is marked or taken cleanly by another member of the team... doesn't seem to take account of the pressure one is under when taking the kick or the skill of the receiver when approaching the ball that was delivered. If the kick goes directly to an opponent who is under no pressure from one of our blokes... now I would regard that as inefficiency of the highest degree... At least this chart conflicts with some of the strong opinions expressed at Demonland. MFC Ave Kicking Efficiency Rankings to Rnd 9, 2019

If its match fitness we are worried about... yeah may need a full game at VFL level. If its injury or recurrence we are worried about... just as much chance at VFL level of that!

Not up to what? You may delight in making sweeping statements about a player who doesn’t meet your lofty standards (without noting his obvious contribution in his most recent outing). I prefer to acknowledge those that were giving us something when it was difficult to find a winner across the board. We just have a different focus. You seem to have a very high opinion of your ability to identify a weakness, run a line through a player and cast a 25 year old to the scrapheap. I don’t have the same high opinion of your analysis. I quoted possessions as an indicator of his ability to find the pill. I also recognize that his finding of the pill was on the high side for the role he was playing… no more, no less.

I'm delighted to bring you up to date on Wagner. His 22 possessions was 9th best on the day... that's 9th best taking all 44 players into account. We acknowledge that he lacks polish, but there is a lot to like, a lot that is coachable. He gives a contest and does not shrink back into his shell under pressure. He keeps at it, gives his all, every time. Yes, we have better players in his position. When they are all fit he is likely to find his way back to VFL ranks, however, we are fortunate to have players who will play their role and contribute when called upon.

In the words of Bob Dylan, "I don't believe you...", I won't continue with what Bob said next but Hibberd has not been generally terrible this year. He did struggle early but was definitely on the up at the time of injury I don't blame the club for Jetta's absence May is not fat and lazy Lever is no more overrated on these boards than by the All Australian selectors Hannon was not dropped several times last year KK is not all but done

I've read everything this thread has to offer and have been looking for the take aways that are constructive... few and far between! I find slash and burn sentiments unhelpful easy to discard. It is clear that we are severely under-manned. However we have still been creating a competitive amount of scoring opportunities, until yesterday. Yes, one or two selection decisions were perplexing. It was only a week ago that our team produced a fantastic effort against the odds in Perth. Don't be blind to the efforts of individuals when the scoreboard is showing a dismal result. Jack Viney threw everything at forcing the ball in our direction in the second half. This may not have been represented in the statistics, but should have been apparent to any observer at the ground. Josh Wagner was one of our best throughout the first half but is always branded as not up to AFL standard here. Blind prejudice in my opinion. He lacks a little polish but is as brave as they come. He is a handy back-up when the 'stars' are out of the team. Credit where credit is due peeps! On reflection, we could/should have selected Lewis to replace Salem. We could/should have selected Preuss instead of (name your player). We could have taken a risk on Hannon... But really, not much more than this available. I think we should be taking a closer look at how things transpired in the final quarter. I put it down to play on at all costs... which meant we were getting the ball into our forward zone before the Giants could set up their defensive structures. Talking about zones... what about Ray calling a head high free from 70 metres away... The replay exposed that decision as extremely speculative. Now, when RAY was adjudicating in his own zone, he blatantly refuses to pay Ollie a free for being smacked in the gob whilst standing 5 metres away. Incorrect disposal doesn't exist for GWS, at least to umpire 14, who then pays a mark to a GWS player which clearly skidded off the MCG turf into his arms.