Mazer Rackham

I am reminded of the days when we were dire and weren't concerned by the fixtures of the top 4. Then when we were pushing for the 8 -- maybe with a bit of luck we'll scrape in!! -- fixtures & their ease or otherwise became a concern. Now we're the best team in the land and put in the same effort whether we're playing 3rd or 13th. The fixtures of the top 4 don't concern us. Full circle!

I believe he's taken. Our own WCW has first dibs.

That's why they call it a fixture and not a draw

Adam Simpson on Sunday morning:

They should have learned from the Bailey experience. Pretty much how that unfolded. It's one thing to want to "get games into the kids as a group". It's another to have them learning some recognisable kind of footy while they're doing it. Without older wiser heads, you end up with a bunch of kids young men who got games into them as a group, who have no idea how to win.

We now know just how badly North are travelling. Jon Brown pronounced that they "don't stand for anything". Footy-speak for "they're really really terrible and from here on in we're going to bag them out at every possible opportunity".

Will it hurt us? Beating up on native Australian fauna does have a degree of hurt to it. Let's find out how much.

It's an insurance bet. Let taking an umbrella so it doesn't rain.

They just want a bit of excitement. "Best team wins again" is dull compared to "so-called best team is vulnerable" or "pretenders toppled from top of ladder."

All teams must be prepared to make sacrifice for the greater good. There are struggling clubs in need of 3 consecutive Friday night games, for example.

First Carlton won this year's flag. Then Hawthorn won it by showing the football world how to beat us. Maybe Essendon now have one too? By the time we get to win one (in September), it will be cheapened and diminished by all these other premierships.

GET [censored]-ED TOMMY!

I'm looking forward to a game where a team shows intensive defensive pressure, slick ball movement, and two-way running. Any on this weekend?

Their intercept marking has been off for weeks because they on't seem to know what they're supposed to be doing in this new Collingwood game plan. They've robbed Peter to pay Paul.

"Have you got your keys?" "Ohhhh, mum." "Have you had enough to eat? You're out there for a long time you know." "Ohhh, mum." "I'll bring you some oranges at half time, and a dry jumper." "Ohhh, mum." "Have you got everything? Socks? Boots? Take some extra money just in case. Do you need a towel?" ************ "Christ, what a nightmare." dit doot doot dit dit dit *bring* *bring* "Hello, is that Simon Goodwin? Mate, we need to talk."

Neeld may have been the right man in the wrong place. But we'll never know. I think he was best suited to a well-oiled machine that needed maintenance. Building a team from inexperienced and shell shocked boys was not his thing.

I think you need to add on GST here

We're trying to be responsible and recycle/repurpose our pre-loved but no longer wanted flotsam. It's that or put it out on the nature strip.

Maybe they need a big dose of "south" as a counterbalance. In trouble, or in somewhere else that starts with T ? This "Hobart" seems to be a happy hunting ground for them.

Now what did Arnold Schwarzenegger say in that movie where he played the robot, when the janitor came knocking on his motel room door? I imagine Channel 7's response would be along the same lines.

Put a poster of Jesse Hogan on the door of his locker.

I think clubs that are strong for an extended period can fall into the trap of thinking that will all happen naturally. We're club X, of course we win flags, it just happens. We've seen Richmond have an extended spell on the outer. Carlton. Essendon. And of course the mighty Demons! Success doesn't just happen. It takes planning, good recruiting, etc. An all-club effort. The bad times have to go on for long enough where the club realises that it won't "just happen". Richmond under Gale got to that point. Carlton may have got there. Essendon haven't. The Demons, of course, had years of bitter experience in knowing it doesn't "just happen". But I bet in the 70s there were lots of supporters for whom the good times were comparatively recent, and just expected things to turn the corner any moment now. Still pinching. GO DEMONS!!!

It's one thing to play all-out attacking football and it's another to be a consistent winning side. Essendon under Knights were the template for attacking teams that leak like a sieve. Melbourne in 2018 were devastating when it clicked, and helpless when it didn't. (Ref: preliminary final) Carlton under Teague got the "like a sieve" part nailed, but not the heavy scoring part. Now we see Essendon, Collingwood, Hawthorn all trying it. Essendon don't have the heart for it, Collingwood don't have the talent or the fitness, and Hawthorn not the experience. (Mitchell seems a canny operator.) It works beautifully in short bursts and then dissolves like a sugar cube in the rain. Only faster. Since the dawn of time, the best teams have had (1) a solid defence, and (2) scoring firepower when needed. We're right in the sweet spot and it will be a disappointment if we can't winkle another flag out of the current list.

No! Quiet! Dodoro is fantastic. Give him a 20 year contract extension.

I think this is overlooked. Maybe not by Melbourne supporters. But our recruiting, for several seasons, has been based on "what role do we need filled to get to a flag" rather than "who's the best available player in the draft". Langdon, Lever, May, all the way to Dunstan. OMac/Frost/Watts won't win us a flag. We need pressure. We need run. Get May. Get Lever. Get Langdon. Get Pickett. Get Brown. It's so simple it's profound.