Wiseblood

Can't the umps tell when a bloke has been bumped as he kicks it? Everyone in the stadium saw it except him.

Why can't more people see this, bing? Whoever gets dropped is compared to Melksham, even though they don't even come remotely close to playing the same roles. Harmes has been playing forward, Stretch on a wing. Neither play back which is where Melksham is.

I agree, but on the basis that we can move it quickly enough. If the Bombers slow us down and get back in numbers then they'll force us to bomb it long and it will make things difficult for us. We need at least one tall down there who can compete in the air for us, otherwise Hurley, Brown etc will just take uncontested marks all day long. The pressure and our ability to move the ball quickly will see us either kick a winning score or we will spend the afternoon frustrated by our long bombs that go nowhere.

For all of the players we're missing, we still have a strong midfield that is number one in putting pressure on the opposition. Their midfield has a few star players but little depth outside of that, so I'm hoping our rotations and hardness around the contest will allow us to still get plenty of ball forward of centre. Our forward line embodies the word 'makeshift' at the moment, and it will be up to the midfield to make sure we get it down there quickly. Just bombing it in their will allow their tall backline to pick it off most times, and we really need to use it well going forward and hit up some targets, or at least bring the ball to ground to give the mosquito fleet a chance to pounce. The Bombers have made more errors in their defensive half than any other side this year, so if we can pressure them into turnovers then we can give ourselves a huge chance of winning. Not exactly confident, but I still think we are more than capable of winning the game.

Sincere condolences to the Hogan family. It's a tough time, and maybe the toughest he will ever face, and I know the club will be right behind and give him all the time and space he needs. He may want to play next week, or he may want a few weeks off. I hope he feels he can take whatever he needs.

Yeah? And how did he go when it mattered? He wouldn't give us anything better than Pedersen would in the ruck. He was average in there at best and poor everywhere else. The fact we are even trying to be 'practical' about a bloke who hasn't been on our list in a few years is taking things too far. Should we have tried to coax Jeff White out of retirement to run around at Casey in case of an emergency? It might have been high risk, but a risk I was happy with. I'd rather a Hannan on our list than the lumbering form of Will Minson.

Rampe is great but I don't think he fills a need for us either. Another key back would be handy, so I could understand an interest in Allir Allir.

He doesn't, and that's probably the reason why we won't chase him. Considering most on Demonland want us to recruit another 5 mature ruckmen over the off season in case we have 6 of them go down in successive rounds, I'd assume that's where our priorities will lie.

I remember this discussion coming up in the past and many were dead against it. How times change. For the record he does little for me and isn't exactly the type of player we need right now, but his form has improved this year so if he keeps that up he may be worth a cursory look.

It's complete hindsight. Should we have held on to Jamar as well? And no, I wouldn't have held on to Fitzy. He wasn't up to standard.

You know things have gotten bad when we have supporters pining for the days of having Jack Fitzpatrick on the list.

It's unbelievable, isn't it? The next video will be of him taking a leak and momentarily missing the bowl. Sanctions will no doubt follow.

@stevethemanjordan is actually the Doggies greatest ever coach and future Melbourne FC hall of famer, Peter Rohde.

Most blokes look like they are under the influence of something every time we dance. Jesse is obviously no different. Storm in a tea cup.

I reckon Clarrie would be waving at him as well.

Pure hypothetical, but does Tyson have enough currency to help us land the those types of players? I still think he is young enough to garner something decent in return at the very least, but I'm not sure the FD would pull the trigger on such a trade. Spot on about Hibberd too, Steve.

Imagine if both were running around now and we had Minson lumbering around in the twos doing nothing. This thread would have the same heading yet it would be lamenting the decision to get a third ruckman instead of another young midfielder, tall back etc. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

It's a shame, really. I felt that two years ago he was ready to take the next step and really become an elite midfielder at the club. He showed it at times last year, and he certainly knows how to find the footy, but his disposal this year has been terrible and he's not the greatest decision maker around. Plus this year he hasn't been hitting the scoreboard as much as we would like him to, although you could say that about a few of our mids this year. I don't think he's untouchable at all, and with the emergence of guys like ANB and Salem through the midfield it certainly puts the pressure on him, which it should. I still think he can get himself back to his best football but his spot within the side is no longer a guarantee.

None of the players you mentioned, outside of White, play in the same position that Melksham does. Trengove and Maynard play through the middle, while Johnstone is a small forward. O Mac plays tall. He's playing him because, at the minute, there is no one better to have down there and it's clear they want to release guys like Salem to play predominantly through the midfield.

You don't really think a professional AFL coach in the modern game would be playing favourites, do you? And Mitch White is on the rookie list, so he is not exactly a ready made replacement.

Can't agree with this post enough, titan. Very good reflection of how far we've come as a club, but also a reflection that there is still some work that needs to be done. Big 5-6 weeks coming up for this football club. I hope we swim instead of sink!

Bucks will be gone before Pendles needs to make a decision. A new coach will come in and Pendles will hang around. The only reason I can see that not happening is if they are desperate to land another first rounder but, again, I don't think it will be Pendles they move on.

This post drips with irony. You complain that we are constantly chopping and changing which is bad for the side, and then you suggest 4 changes, two of which aren't down to injuries. Not only that, but one of those changes is ANB who has been one of our better players this year. Madness. I do like the fact that JKH, who was far worse than ANB, survives to support your 'continuity' argument, which shows how hard you shot yourself in the foot with that line of thinking. If a player comes in and can't step up then they face the axe. We are well past the idea of giving away games, and if we want to play finals then players must come in to the side knowing they need to step up or lose their place to the others guys waiting in the wings. We now have solid depth that means we can afford to do it. We can't persist with players anymore.

So, at the time, you were here talking about how we should rookie Drew Petrie? Seriously?

When the trade/draft period came around, would you seriously have considered having Petrie on the list at the time? Forget right now, think back to then. I can guarantee you that 99% of Melbourne supporters would have scoffed at the thought as the bloke looked finished. Again, hindsight is a wonderful thing.