Forest Demon

Unlikely as it sounds, Jobe Watson said it right towards the end. Something along the lines of “every Melbourne player could confidently say they contributed to that win”. A great team performance, especially without the ball.

Our pressure and setup behind the ball was first class. We will miss May but there were signs today that we can cope. Lever, take a bow, what a game;

Geez, the girls not doing themselves justice today sadly. They look second best in every facet. There are shades of the West Coast prelim about this one.

I just don’t think footy is big enough for it. In soccer, it is either loaning a young player to a lower division (or completely different country), or loaning a player you don’t want any more with an agreement to sell them at the end of the loan. Basically, it’s rare for a player you want and you are developing to be playing against you in the same league for one of your direct rivals.

Jackson is crucial. Not so much forward, but him going into the ruck frees Max up to do whatever he needs to do e.g. last week he went back, this week he went forward. Jackson is already a competent ruckman, particularly after the ruck contest when the ball hits the deck.

We weren’t great, but again, I was just happy with our ability to change tactics and gears after the 1st quarter and control the game from there on in. No doubt we need to improve, but that’s fine, just happy to be 3 zip at this stage.

Max said he is keen to get back to the hotel and watch the Tour of Flanders...good man.

I deliberately held off posting at quarter time after a lot of bad habits crept back in. Glad to see an adjustment in that quarter but need to keep at it now. Lots of room for improvement.

I’m confident, which scares me

Some of those academy kids have been in the Swans system since they started high school. Makes sense that they can hit the ground running.

That was brutal

Even before Round 1 there reports that Ben Brown was moving well at training. They are obviously giving him plenty of time, which is fine, I’ll leave it to the experts.

They’ve done their market research, I’ll give them that. Unfortunately I don’t fit the stereotype of the Melbourne supporter, so I’ll stick to my 40% off New Balance vouchers thanks.

There were rumours at the end of last season. I’m just glad we’ve got a season to figure out the succession plan.

Adelaide +29, is that legit? That’s a huge number for only 2 rounds.

Enjoying the clear change in game style in the first 2 games. A lot more measured kicking in attack rather than the usual long bombs, and some fantastic setup behind the ball with the Great Wall being setup with May, Lever, Tomlinson and Gawn. It gives us different ways to win games rather than having to rely on huge clearance and inside 50 differentials in our favour. Hopefully it continues.

Wish Fritsch was able to get that ball to Oliver, who was free in the goal square, late in the game, as Oliver deserved a goal to cap off what was a serious game. I’m marking this down to check if he gets the 3 votes on Brownlow night, as he was clearly the best player on the park imo.

I’ve given up hope he will ever get back to the heights of 2018, but that’s fine, he still has a role to play. Hopefully he can build into some serious fitness and make that wing spot his own. He’s not my idea of a perfect wingman, but he’s the best option we’ve got.

Bit of a dead [censored] move by Rohan, but he only got him in the chest didn’t he? Looks like Neale put a fair bit of salt and pepper on it. Oh well, stiff [censored] Geelong.

I thought it was a great mix of honouring Spud and getting the message across. Gary spoke very well and the cuts to Spud’s family nearly had me in tears. As for the message, I don’t see why it has to be one or the other. Im no expert, but I would have thought sharing with your friends and family, even if it’s just to get things off your chest, is only going to help. It might be the catalyst to seek further help if needed, and you can do it with support of those around you rather than having to go through it alone.

I don’t have stats to back it up, but I always thought his goal kicking was as accurate as anyone in his first couple of season. But since he has returned forward after the ill fated trial at half back, his goal kicking has been all over the place.

I can’t overstate how much I love Oliver as a footballer. Absolute bull and keeps us ticking over in the middle. 6 - Oliver 5 - Salem 4 - Pickett 3 - Tomlinson 2 - Petracca 1 - Gawn

Can’t argue with most of that, although Jordon did well imo. I think he adds important balance to our midfield, and had 20 in the end.

Really good win, especially when we looked in big strife in the second. In the end, we really should have won by 30+. Our setup behind the ball is first class. I just hope we don’t rely too heavily on winning the ball back in defence, we need to stay ahead of the game and what the good sides will throw at us. But bloody hell, Tomlinson, Gawn, May and Lever just set up another wall.

Very good start to the season. Foolish to think he is a winger, but if he plays like this consistently in defence, that’s a bloody good consolation prize.