titan_uranus

Yeah I agree, I really wish we could beat Geelong, maybe even go one better and beat them in Geelo... Wait.

If we win all of Gold Coast, St Kilda, Carlton, Port and Fremantle, and finish with 11 wins, that to me will be a great result. We won't, though, so I'd like to see us win one of the four much harder games - Adelaide, Hawthorn, West Coast, Geelong. I think our best chance is the Adelaide game, particularly if North roughs the up like they did (or tried to) with Hawthorn. If we win 3 or 4 of the 5 "easier" ones and we win 1 of the 4 "harder" ones, I'll be happy with that, though my biggest concern for the rest of the year is how we play, weekly, and with what consistency.

When you factor in the fact that we've had home games including GWS, Brisbane, St Kilda at Etihad and Port in Alice Springs, that is a higher achievement. The ANZAC and QBD games help, obviously. Let's hope next year we can add a Friday night home game, or maybe (heaven forbid) a home game against Essendon or Carlton!

Grimes is the only one of those three I'm interested in seeing this week but I'm also not that interested in dropping/resting Hunt, Trengove, Oliver or Kennedy, so I think I'd rather see no change. I'd be surprised, though, if we really didn't change anyone off a 6 day break into a wet game interstate against a top 4 side.

If we beat Sydney this weekend, I'll consider it.

I agree. If there's been one main thing about our crowds at the G this year, it's that (whether home or away), the first three levels of the MCC are near-full with vocal Melbourne supporters. Why are we talking about clash jumpers again...? Anyway, two things. First, we were away to Collingwood in Round 4 and wore our traditional jumper, so you're wrong about that. Second, Collingwood does have an alternative strip - it's a predominantly white jumper with black stripes, rather than the other way around.

Tippett, out for 6 weeks. Sam Reid pulled his hammy in the reserves, too, and Mills and Rohan also finished their game sore.

Knocked these two out. This week we get the chance to win in Sydney for the first time since 2006, which sounds like a long time, but in fact is only a 2-game losing streak given we've only been away to Sydney twice since then (2007 and 2012, when we lost by 100 but Howe took mark of the year).

The forward experiment didn't work, we all knew he was a defender or nothing, so let's just move on. FWIW, I felt he tried to take players on too much today, with some attempts at selling candy or sidestepping opponents resulting in turnovers or him getting tackled. But he certainly looks far more comfortable down back and with his speed and athleticism he can provide us with rebound too.

He still gets caught by the speed of the game a little bit. He also should have passed that shot from the boundary (Vince was on). Nothing to worry about though. He is getting better each week.

Just out of interest, who (other than picket fence) had actually written him off?

I like the idea of no changes but it's a six-day break, interstate, against a top-2 side. Surely by now we've learnt our lessons with these shorter turnarounds, the more so given we're going interstate. I suspect one of Wagner and/or Stretch might be rested this week though I don't think anyone really should be dropped.

Everything needs to be kept in perspective - Collingwood are rubbish. Nonetheless, we did a lot right, we had very few passengers if any, and we won by 8 goals despite turning it over a stack. We also fought off a couple of small Collingwood fightbacks (as well as righting the ship after quarter time). Our team defence has improved since the Port game. We're applying a lot more pressure through the middle. Kent, Kennedy and Petracca were all great in that area today. Kent's workrate was right where it needs to be - now it's about consistency. Gawn is a superstar. Jones, Vince and Tyson are doing some wonderful work at stoppages. OMac's clearly improving as is Frost I think. I also thought Dawes played a great game. Much more mobile, cleaner hands, and a lot of good support work up the ground. And a shout out to Trengove who did not look out of place at all today. We'll need to limit the turn overs next week if we are any chance against Sydney (far too many no-pressure missed kicks) but we did what we needed to do, and more, today.

6 - Gawn 5 - Vince 4 - Kent 3 - Tyson 2 - Kennedy 1 - N Jones

Forgotten the Qualifying Final last year where he got towelled by Kennedy? Where he gave up running halfway into a chase? He's good, obviously, but you're making him sound like some unflappable superstar which is is far from.

Oh dear Lord. Round 15. Thursday night. West Coast vs Essendon. In Perth.

The fact Essendon got Friday night games this year is ridiculous. I'm sure we'll see them on Friday night next year nonetheless. Carlton will return too. But we'll have to "earn it", of course. As for floating fixtures, it's just not going to happen. The logistics of moving games from Saturdays to Fridays is so much easier said than done. Some stadiums try to have more than just AFL on any given weekend and it would become impossible to book things in for stadiums. Then there are unexpected 6 day breaks, or 5 day breaks for some clubs if their fixture is getting moved.

Kennedy replaces Garlett. I'd have dropped Harmes first, but so be it. I'm sure Viney will play if fit but if not I think Roos' comments might mean we see Grimes get a game. I think one of Harmes and Kent is going to be dropped to make room there. I hope Harmes.

I actually think fans hate this timeslot the most. It's so early in the day, it interrupts the morning and by the time the game's over you feel like the afternoon's gone too. I think I dislike 1.10pm starts more than 4.40pm starts.

I hate how St Kilda continues to avoid criticism in the media. I maintain that if it was Melbourne getting belted like that, the media would be all over us. I don't know why it frustrates me so much, but it does.

How many people are criticising OMac for not getting enough of the ball? His disposal count says nothing about his positioning, bodywork, strength, aggression, how he links up in transition, second efforts, etc. etc. etc. Useful to point out his disposal count but to suggest that, based on that alone, he is doing so well that it is "staring them in the face" is pretty silly IMO.

Do we have a spot available? I'd like to see White at some point soon, maybe if Wagner or Hunt need a rest.

Garland's injured. Frost might be the perfect match up for Cox, actually. Two athletes, neither of whom are particularly talented at football.

What do people think about West Coast? There's the whole home and away thing, but look at who they've played at home - Brisbane, Fremantle, Richmond, Collingwood, St Kilda, Gold Coast. That's 6 of the bottom 7. It's no wonder they're winning by so much at home.

If this is an attempt to say Harmes was as good yesterday as Rioli or Breust, this might be one of the worst posts on here.