titan_uranus

Jarryd Blair will get it, and deservedly so.

Bruce was 100% in our best 6. His defensive work on Hodge was great (Hodge only had about 18 possessions), his run off half back and through the middle was crucial and he was running right up until the final siren. Yes, some of his kicks were pretty poor but overall he was definitely one of our best. Bennell was one of our worst IMO. Just doesn't do enough, and I don't know if he's a forward or a defender now.

If that's the only reason for it then it's not worth it. There are plenty of ridiculous ways we could make the game easier for umpires. How about we get better umpires? Like?

This is correct. What I think is fair to say is that there were some terrible decisions, some of which occurred at crucial times in the game, some of which really didn't help us. But we need to focus on what we can control, and that starts with working on stoppages and wet weather footy.

Oh, the other thing that didn't help was Bailey's relectance to man up Hawthorn's loose man in defence in the fourth quarter. Why we played a loose man with 5 minutes to go when we were down by 2 goals I don't understand.

Can't see Jamar being rested: we have no other ruckman fit to take his spot. Wouldn't mind seeing McNamara get a run but there's no real spot for him in the team. So long as we leave Watts in there it won't bother me.

Rosebury paid the deliberate rushed behind, McInerney paid the deliberate out of bounds. I can't decide which was worse.

Don't agree with that. Sewell played a blinder, Stratton was good down back, but on the whole I don't think they played that well at all. Better than us, yes, but not great.

The crowd was 48,211. We have a winner!

Hawthorn supporters come a clear second to Collingwood supporters for the worst to have to sit near at the football. I had an infuriatingly arrogant couple behind me who took potshots at the vocal Melbourne supporters around us and got upset at most of the umpiring through the day. And also thought the deliberate OOB was actually deliberate. On a side note, I reckon today was the most feral I've heard the Melbourne MCC supporters. Lots of yelling and general displeasure.

1 - Losing Davey in the second quarter. Double-whammy of losing his run and foot skills and the restriction it placed on our rotations. There wasn't a lot left in the tanks of the guys at the end. 2 - Under-sized midfield. Scully, Trengove and McKenzie are scrawny kids compared to Mitchell, Sewell and Burgoyne. Without Moloney in the guts we lost a lot of strength and it was far too easy for them to clear the ball from stoppages, despite Jamar's good work in the ruck 3 - Poor kicking. Too many kicks missed the target or floated up in the air. A few also went sideways/backwards for a switch when there was no switch on and it sapped our momentum and drive (and in one case, gave Ellis a goal). There were still positives: Jurrah and Wonaeamirri in the first half, Sylvia, Bruce on Hodge, Frawley on Franklin, Rivers on Roughead, the backline in general really. But in the end we were never going to win with so few inside 50s, and that stemmed from the midfield smashing and the lack of drive we had. Oh, and the umpiring was as bad as could be. Surprising, actually, I rated Rosebury and McInerny before today. But the deliberate out of bounds and the deliberate rushed behind decisions were atrocious, and there was little consistency with throws, pushes in the back and holding the man.

6 - Sylvia 5 - Bruce 4 - MacDonald 3 - Rivers 2 - Frawley 1 - Bail

Really? You're ambivalent? First person I've met who doesn't care one way or the other.

Apparently a quarter of fans who've answered the survey at afl.com.au like the goal-post rule change. Either the AFL is lying, or there are a lot of stupid people out there... http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/100319/default.aspx

Meh. Would have been nice. The effect on his career is nought. Tapscott and Blease for Round 1 next year then.

This means nothing. Said 'experts' include Patrick Smith and Greg Denham.

I hope so too. Like you, the white doesn't bother me so long as the design is good, and I'm not a fan of the current design. Too much like the Bulldog's white jumper. The insignia would be nice. Better than the demon IMO.

Given it's a Sunday match, we'll have 3 players as 'ins' on the extended bench, even though we're likely to have no change. I'll go with Miller, Morton and Tapscott.

The Laws of the Game committee are considering a raft of new changes, which can be seen here: http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/100109/default.aspx For mine, a cap wouldn't work on interchanges, but a substitute system might be OK (3 players + 1 sub). I can't say I'd like the length of the game to be reduced, nor would I like to see a goal awarded if it hits the post. But I do like the advantage rule being determined by the player, not the umpire, as well as boundary umpires being able to pay free kicks at stoppages. I also like a new free kick for those who drag the ball under their opponent. You can have your say here: http://www.afl.com.au/aflrulesyoursay/tabid/16504/default.aspx. I wonder how much weight will be given to the fans' voices.

Top 3: 1) The play that HT mentioned in the OP. A beautiful transfer of the ball from FB to FF, highlighting how we'll be destroying teams over the next 5 years 2) Bail's spin and 50 metre pass to Watts 3) Watts' 50 metre pass across the ground to find an unmarked Bruce

I wanted him 'banished' after the Bulldogs game because he didn't go hard enough when it was his turn. There was a marking contest late in the game where the ball was kicked to him, he stood still and waited for the ball instead of presenting towards it, and allowed a Dogs player to chop it off. He then stopped, sulked, and didn't chase hard enough. It was efforts like that that I couldn't stand from Dunn, and coupled with the fact that he wasn't having a significant input in games I didn't think he was worthy of his spot. Go and find a quote from someone who actually said he should be dropped that week based on his kicking. I doubt you'll find one.

I voted 50,000-60,000 but the weather will have a significant bearing. This is a designated home game for our members, so I think the crowd could be really big weather permitting. MCC will be packed.

Yeh that makes sense. I guess if you're not at the head of the queue the chance of getting the Balcony is limited. Personally I'd go level 4 before level 1, for a Melbourne game anyway, as I struggle to get a full sense of the game from ground level. If it wasn't a Melbourne game though, level 1's atmosphere is quite enjoyable.

One of, if not the, best ball I've seen since the Gatting ball was from Swann to Farhat in the recent Test. You can see it in the video in this article: http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/the-english-ball-of-the-century-20100810-11wcb.html?autostart=1 The two can't really be compared as the bowling styles and circumstances were quite different but Swann's is still a beauty.

They're not a top 4 team. I said they'd play like one, which they haven't done a lot of in the last 5 weeks.