grazman

Tacked onto the original Oliver fine this is a bit misleading, I went looking to see what he'd been fined for, but only Lewis has been fined. It should have it's own thread.

Was it his hip or lower back? I know he had another back complaint in the pre-season and he certainly seems restricted. This is a real concern for a side that doesn't have a lot of leg speed anyway. I can't see a lot of changes being made, but I would bring in both Frost and Kent. Hunt, if he doesn't pull up or Wagner who would be slightly unlucky, (though I'm not a fan of his kicking anyway) and Bugg (he is simply a terrible shot on goal). Lewis won't be dropped, nor will Salem. Going forward I think the club will need to make a decision on how long it persists with Vince and Lewis in the same team.

I had to leave the room five minutes into the last quarter because i thought my head would explode. It's rare for any team even the best ones not to have ebbs and flows in the game. You just can't keep your foot on the throat of an opponent for 120 minutes which is why playing tempo footy is so important to stifle their run on. We are obviously having trouble with that. In the second quarter against Geelong and in the third against Brisbane our lack of spread from the contest was seriously concerning, but not surprising. We lack genuine foot speed, that's why you see Garlett and Hogan pushing up the ground. We're getting nothing off half-back atm. Hunt had his back being worked on again last night and I can't remember him run and carry at all last night. Having Lewis and Vince both in the team together doesn't help as clearly this makes us slower still. Like others I think it's time we bring in Frost - he's the most likely match up for Brown who roams up the ground and his pace is required. I also think its time to bring back Kent. I dropped off him after some soft efforts last year, but I think his speed is required.

Nathan being on the show the week after the cancelled boot camp was raised in the season opener was no coincidence. The club is being proactive and I believe there are a lot of people that want to see us succeed and quite a few involved in that show, but there's definitely blood in the water with this story. He was able to swat the questions to the boundary relatively easily (not that his surfing buddy wouldn't have let him know what was coming). There's an issue here, but it's manageable and it shouldn't define our season. My fear like all Melbourne supporters is that somehow the club will once again find a way of stuffing this up. The concern for me on the weekend was a lack of cohesion in defence and our lack of forward pressure. ANB, Melksham, Garlett and Hannan had 5 tackles between them. Fritsch had 5 by himself. Nev looked uncharacteristically lethargic. Tyson and Brayshaw's non-selection (assuming that Gus was true to his word and was fine to play on the weekend) may have had a role to play (not saying it was deliberate, but players subconsciously can be put off by perceived injustices). I wouldn't say it was a lack of intensity, but quite a few just didn't seem switched on. This looks like being another test of Goodwin's leadership. It would be rare for any leader not to be challenged from within, and they are the most dangerous of challenges, because while outside threats can unify, internal dissent is all about disunity. He needs to be measured,consistent and fair. Peter Jackson should be reminding him that list management decisions are made at the end of the year not at the start.

Might also explain why our marking numbers are down, hard to mark the ball when you aren't kicking it

Trouble is they don't have the skills to execute it properly yet.

I was disappointed in the games of Garlett, Melksham and to a lesser extent ANB as well as Pedo after half time. With no VFL this week it's hard to know who they will bring in if indeed they make any changes at all.

Trouble in the kennel. 'Concerns over his application to training' is open to interpretation, but I believe he and Libba jnr are on the outer.

Toss the magnets around cause it's hard to tell outside of the centre bounce, whose playing where, but I think that's the side.

Dangerfield would be a massive blow for them, more than Viney for us. I see Menegola is no certainty for Rd 1 either. Stanley out will mean Smith will have his hands full with Gawn.

I laughed when I read this on the AFL website though: Watts gives another genuine tall target who can beat his opponent one-on-one. ummm I liked Jack when he was at Melbourne, but I think this is perhaps over-gilding the lilly

Neither crowd is pleasing considering entry to the AFLW match was free.

GwS vs Collingwood is too hard on my vocal cords because I just end up booing everyone including the umpires!

Took the foot off the gas or ran out of petrol? It's a young list and a long season. It's hard in the backend of the season when you are relying on a core group who only have one or two preseasons under their belt. I think this year with a strong core of players with 3 or 4 preseasons under their belt now it will be different.

Normally I'm a glass half empty kind of fella, except when it comes to footy and especially our prospects in the preseason. I have tended towards a more sanguine approach of our upcoming fortunes often dismissing the pessimistic forecasts of independent observers as being ill informed or waiting to be discredited (like any 'normal' football supporter does). I've been burnt over the last decade as invariably they were right and I was wrong. What makes the situation a little different now is the large amount of chatter about our improved prospects. One example that I came across recently was when I listened to one of my favourite AFL podcasts (Junktime) which was recorded just before the draft. https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/junktime-afl-podcast-with-adam-123464/episodes/pre-draft-2017-with-former-afl-23371913 Craig Coombes (ex AFL recruiter for Port who also worked at Hawthorn as a scout/spy as well) spoke glowing of our prospects. He's on the podcast from about the 29 minute mark for those of you not into this type of comedy. He was being asked about the lists as they stand. He has a formula that he uses based on 1-4 year players on the list with a differential applied to those that have played 15+ games and those that are in the best 22. He gives them a score out of 10. In a nutshell he had Melbourne ranked first for development (10/10) and can see us doing a Bulldogs or Richmond this season. He had us with twenty 1-4 year players with ten 15+ games of these he has assessed that 8 are in our best 22. (I’m guessing here he’s talking about Oliver, Hogan, Brayshaw, Petracca, Hunt, Salem Lever, and you can raffle the rest) Yes, confirmation bias here is a dangerous thing, but it’s interesting that a lot of non- Melbourne people are being very bullish about us (which I genuinely can't recall having happened for well over a decade) the same types that when we were crap- told us in no uncertain terms we were crap- so there maybe something in this. I think we have some players who will stamp themselves as being genuinely elite in the next 12-18 months and I'm still a blue sky junkie when it comes to guys like Joel Smith and Sam Weideman. Anyway I always think it’s interesting when a complete outsider with AFL experience is so bullish about us. As the man in the hat would say.. 'do yourself a favour'.

Property Crimes in Policing parlance is the crime linked to drug activities such as break and enters, stolen property etc. Any dodgy land dealings would normally be handled by the Fraud Squad.

It didn't happen in Australia, ergo Australian Police can only assist the investigating jurisdiction, that being Indonesia. If charges are to be laid they must be done by the Indonesian Police who would then seek to extradite the alleged offender. I'd suggest there's next to no chance of that happening.

I remember 1991 well as I was in Melbourne studying. Cuthbertson was on fire for a brief period kicked 7 against North in rd 4 (which I was there to see) and followed it up with 7 against the Pies the following week. Leigh Matthews mentioned he was the difference between the two sides. Rd 6 he kicked 5 against the Bears, but unfortunately for Darren and the club his star dimmed. Only ended up playing 32 games in 3 seasons. He'd had a pretty hard road to get to the club and unfortunately I think some off field issues got the better of him.

Gold Coast v Nth in Cairns - how many will tune in for that blockbuster

How could anyone realistically know whether we paid 'overs' for Lever and accepted 'unders' for Jack. It's base on supporter expectations and not reality. Lever got to Melbourne, Jack got to the club he chose and the club got the deals done with a minimum of fuss. As Prodee said it's about reputation, if you want to be a destination club, it helps if you can get deals done. Compare that to the potential [censored] fight the Bulldogs have if they can't move Stringer on.

It's not what you paid, it's what you will pay. I actually think Rockliff is the biggest risk for Port. Fagan didn't fight to keep Rocky, just like we didn't fight to keep Col. Rockliff has knifed every coach he's ever played under and has a dubious off field attitude. He will need a strong leadership group and culture to keep him in line. How strong is Port's 'never tear us apart culture'? They were pretty tepid against really competitive sides last year and there are serious question marks about Boak's leadership. Some of their other senior players previous off field endeavours (Dixon) might well resurface if Rockliff is allowed to run his own race. Those spruiking the 'success' of Port's recruiting this year need to consider whether their predictions about what all three bring to Port's performance next year is a realistic appraisal based on their outputs at their previous clubs as opposed to heroic assumptions about them actually improving on what they've demonstrated as relatively senior players (unlikely in my view that Motlop becomes a more consistent player because he's settled with family, unlikely that Jack fulfils his potential released from the crippling burden of Melbourne supporters expectations now he's only worth pick 31 rather than Pick 1 and unlikely that Rockliff becomes a real leader rather than just a cultural turd).

I doubt he'd agree to that, Geelong/Port he's a reasonable chance of playing in finals. Brisbane and Gold Coast not so much.

I refute the entire premise of the thread as being based on pure speculation. We paid overs... meaning we could have got the same players/picks for less... which if you aren't part of the FD and aren't negotiating with rival clubs you know how?... or maybe we should be one of those clubs that just doesn't do any deals at all.

I keep waiting for confirmation of what's happening with Leaver, but with the Free Agency period not closing until Sunday, maybe we have to wait to next week when it's confirmed Brisvegas actually have pick 19 to trade.

Whether accidentally or deliberately I think you've hit at least one of the principal nails on the head here Junior. Will Jack Watts ever be great? I think if you look at the truly great players they help shape and drive the culture of the clubs that they are in. There are some notable exceptions, but most of them do. For me, Jack won't be 'great' and I'm not afraid to trade him on that basis.