mfcrox

I've never got that love back for Trac after what happened end of last year. On one hand you had a bloke who had personal issues, was pushed out by the club as a result of those (two years in a row), and still has an obvious love for the joint and is happy to make that known and wants to make up for what he did. Yes, it was his own doing that caused those problems, but he has never really wavered in giving 100% to the club since it all went down. I respect that. On the other hand, you have a bloke who felt aggrieved by the club (and fair enough), but then made it all about himself to get out of the place. It really destabilised the club at the end of last season. Whilst he has since come back to the club, there are times he sulks, and he just seems very 'me me me'. The irony is that in trying to build brand Trac5, he actually damaged it with regards to MFC supporters. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to keep both... but if I had to decide between one or the other I am keeping Clarry for the reasons I've stated above. Maybe things are seen differently inside the walls of the club, but that's how I see it from the outside.

I reckon the last month or so he started to show a bit of the Clarry of old. I'm definitely keeping him if he wants to stay. Coming from an strength and conditioning background (TAC Cup and AFL) myself, his turbulent off-field issues and then injuries last year can't be ignored as to reasons why he has battled to reach is peak form in recent seasons... but he really seems to be past all that (hopefully). Let's not forget how good this bloke was at his peak and what he achieved in just 6-7 years in the competition. Best midfielder we've had since Flower and daylight to second. He has only just turned 28, it is not like he is 32 and unlikely to reach that peak again. Keep keep keep!

I'd love for him to stay... but it wouldn't be the first time a young player has said they're staying, only to up and leave. Cough $cully Cough

Having read about the lengths they're going to in order to avoid concussion payouts (including to Angus), I hope the club severs ties with them. It's a poor look in my opinion having their brand all over our merchandise when they can't even pony up a payout for one of past champions. I don't care what they pay us. Hopefully Guerra and co. can find a new main sponsor.

Would anyone be against Petracca to Hawthorn, get their draft capital, and then use that to get Jackson back?

Ironic that May should be back to face him next week. Let's hope at some stage there is a "loose ball", May and Newcombe "approaching it from opposite directions", and May puts the little [censored] on his [censored]. Geez I hate Hawthorn... their supporters were hiding in a cave between 2020 and mid-2024, but as soon as finals look a chance, they waddle out like an animal from hibernation and start chirping again. Then the moment you criticise their club or a player within it, they sook up because they've got zero resilience. Absolutely intolerable club.

If the AFL is fair dinkum then Newcombe gets three weeks for that collision with Howe. Steven May copped a three week suspension for not anticipating potential risk of injury, being second to the contest, and failing to change direction/decelerate to limit the risk of injury... essentially being reckless, resulting in his opponent being concussed. It is exactly the same, except May was shoulder contact, Newcombe was head contact. The precedent has been set, time to see if the AFL will stick to it. I doubt they will.

Tom Sparrow & 1990s Val Kilmer (RIP)

'Their man' didn't hit the lead until the last round. If he was suspended he wouldn't have got the votes to win, so it wasn't a Corey McKernan/Chris Grant situation. I'm just glad Neale didn't win again. The bloke doesn't even get tagged because of his ineffectiveness, yet he polls his [censored] off. It is laughable.

Shows how long I've been on here (despite lack of posts) but I still remember your Josh Kennedy mail.

Interesting listening to Ben Brown on SEN this morning. When asked about how the group treated the bye round, his response: "Yeah, we took it as a bit of an opportunity to have some de-load time, and a little bit of time off legs. In amongst that though, the training we did do was of a really high intensity. We did some match-play on the Thursday, and it was good to have that bit of a run around because it sorted us pretty well in last years finals series which was pretty well documented" Good to have some de-load time and a little bit of time off legs. Hmmmm.

Dangerfield saying that they have "pretty much set themselves up for this game all year" is exactly what I wanted to hear (and have said to Melbourne supporting mates). They had something to prove after we flogged them in the Preliminary Final last year... and they brought it on Thursday. That was their peak... they've shown us what they can bring to the table and it still wasn't enough to really blow us away. Let's see how they go when WE bring our peak game in a fixture that actually matters. They (or anyone else) aren't matching what we served up to Brisbane when we had something to prove after 3 losses in a row.

We obviously don't have the data that the clubs have, but the AFL app is pretty good for looking at patterns with the stats and trackers on there. Things we have been renowned for the last year or so: - team defence - run and spread - pressure - strong second halves We are waaaay down on those the last month or so, e.g. our average team km/hr when opposition has the ball (team defence) is generally 8.5-9.0km/hr when firing. The last month... down into the low-mid 7km/hr. Our run and spread is down, our pressure acts are down, our second halves are down. All of the above pointers are not dependent on the opposition... they're dependent on us and our effort. You don't just simply forget how to play hard-running, team defence, with rabid pressure in the space of a month or two... but it can be bloody difficult if the body isn't willing. I genuinely believe we're in our heavy training phase as has been discussed in the other thread, and as a result our boys are running around in lead boots at the moment. The gameplan suffers as a result too. Same happened to us last year, but we were firing when it was needed.

I was sure he was a North Melbourne supporter

Robbie Flower would dominate on a wing in today's game. He is literally built for today's style of footy. Imagine him and Langers on each wing, then Gus slotting inside the guts. Mouth watering.