titan_uranus

Nope. Next test is next week vs West Coast. This team needs to play consistent pressure football to avoid flaming out to a bottom 4 finish. We don’t get to skip a week. If we lose to West Coast, the commentary on here during the 0-5 run will look tame by comparison to what we see next week.

Are you familiar with correlation vs causation?

One benefit of AJ over JVR is the ruckwork. A lot of what ifs for AJ if he had kicked better than 3.5 yesterdsy. As @dazzledavey36 has said, West Coast have a tall forward line so we may have no choice, but I reckon Rivers has found serious form the last two weeks in the backline so I’m not sure we now want to mess with that too much.

That’s the spirit!

I agree with most of this, having already posted to this effect. I was more taking issue with the significance you’ve attributed to our load management and 5 day break given Richmond had the same (even shorter) break with a younger squad. The last para is utter rubbish. The fourth quarter was frustrating but not even close to the tripe we served up in rounds 2-5. I reckon this was more about Langdon doing what he thought was the right thing (centring it), rather than ignoring the lead because it waa Fritsch. Langdon does it a lot. But yeah, the 0 tackles and 4 pressure acts can’t be good for Fritsch.

Isn't this overplaying things a bit given the respective breaks, and noting that they are playing a bunch of kids and we're playing a comparatively older/more seasoned team?

6 - Gawn 5 - Bowey 4 - Petracca 3 - Rivers 2 - Chandler 1 - Langdon

I'm far from a Spargo fan but he's been pretty good the last two games. Sharp offers very little other than pace and an aerobic tank, but the latter is redundant if he's only playing a quarter as sub. His skills are too poor to do much else. I like Culley and if we continue to struggle in the middle when we start playing better sides, I'd like to see him get a crack.

JVr for Fullarton would appear likely. Turner's been in and out of the team, but his best game for the year was in the backline last week. If he comes back, it's into the backline, surely. Not sure we need him plus May and TMac though. Might depend on May's ankle. If anyone else gets a game, it should be at Sharp's expense.

The last 10 minutes was disappointing, to say the least. But before firing off, we only lost 3% (we were at 77% before their last 4 goals, then slid to 74%). I get that our percentage is rubbish right now but when you start 0-5, the wins are far, far more important than the percentage. We also kicked 1.4 to their 4.1. Pickett's goal probably shouldn't have been overturned, Fritsch missed one he should have kicked then burnt Spargo late, and we made a couple of mistakes late that led to goals against. It was about the maximum damage we could feasibly have conceded from how the quarter played out. We also need to be smart about our next three weeks - trip to Perth, then Hawthorn, then a trip to Brisbane. So having Gawn off the last 15 minutes makes sense too. We'd all prefer wins tonight and next week over a thumping tonight and a loss next week. In the meantime, out-tackling them each quarter (28-9 in the third!) whilst also having more of the ball each quarter is a very promising sign. We lifted the forward half pressure in the third and got just reward for it. We probably learnt what we needed to learn about Fullarton, and I remain thoroughly unconvinced in Harry Sharp.

Randomly-timed piece from Peter Ryan, who generally likes sticking the boot into us. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/petracca-helped-melbourne-realise-a-need-for-change-can-they-keep-it-going-20250422-p5ltfv.html "Petracca married Bella Beischer in front of friends and teammates in December and changed management groups. His approach in 2025 is uncomplicated, with playing and training at the centre of his existence. “Any time you have trauma from an injury perspective that Christian has had, it can take time. He’s had a pre-season. He’s had five games or six games to get himself going. His game’s in good shape, and it’s only going to get better. We’re actually really enjoying what he’s doing,” Goodwin said on Tuesday. They aren’t just empty words from the club. Two sources, who preferred to remain anonymous so they could speak freely about the issue, verified that Petracca’s commitment is genuine. They think the focus on Petracca has been unfair, and he copped unnecessary heat at a time when his only objective has been to help Melbourne become an environment where everyone can flourish. His professionalism and ambition have never been questioned, although he has never been one to spend more time than needed at a football club. His on-the-go personality makes him as hard to pin down as a mosquito inside a tent. The athlete, who is well known for his love of cooking, is still entertaining his 528,000 Instagram followers with his recipes. But this season, according to a club source, Petracca has made a noticeable effort to stay engaged as the club delved into the emotional as much as the technical to bring about change."

You could easily argue that his scoring means it was a stellar tagging game.

Club says Melksham has been “managed”, doesn’t refer to the cut on his knee. Billings, Howes and AJ the emergencies. No Campbell.

In: May, McVee, Fritsch Out: Turner, Melksham, Howes

The Brisbane loss was a thumping until Brisbane put the cue in the rack late. But your point remains. My view is pretty clear - if the Round 6 version of us shows up, or even the Round 1 version, we’ll be ok. But if the Rounds 2-5 version shows up, we’ll be beaten, and IMO pretty well.

Yeah but only 5 clearances (season average of 9) and only 345 metres gained (season average of 435). Plus of the 27 touches only 9 were kicks (down from 13 average). I reckon Serong will only have a handful of games this year with less impact than this.

I was going by Goodwin in the presser, who said “We won’t know until tomorrow…he’s still got a few things to get through today and tomorrow but we’re hopeful”.

Yeah I reckon they’ve been pretty liberal with what Goody said today. Don’t think he can be confirmed in until tomorrow.

Sparrow was also at 89%, despite averaging 79% for the season.

You recall correctly. Melbourne brings home game back to MCG "However, it was important the timing coincided with the opportunity to return the game to our traditional home, the MCG, rather than other alternatives" We've been given a Marvel home game because Carlton and Essendon want to host more games at the MCG. The gap has to be made up by the MCG home ground clubs - Collingwood, Hawthorn and Richmond all already have a home game (or two) at Marvel, so the burden falls to us. If our attendances drop off, this will become permanent, if not increasing to two games a season.

Has this been reported anywhere by the club/media? I hadn't heard this. Or do you have inside knowledge? Not sure where May is a confirmed in? Goodwin in his presser said he's on track but has to tick a few boxes tomorrow still.

If Jeffo or AJ is the sub, that’s two changes, so you’d be dropping someone else in addition to Turner.

No idea what his fine was for. Windsor was also reported for his late bump on Serong. I like his intent and aggression but like Pickett, he needs to learn how to rein it in.

Ah yes, the old "they've gone past us" Saints at it again. (Which made no sense to say, given they finished above us on the ladder last year, but is just a timely reminder that it's very easy to get sucked into early-season form - and that's also a reminder to people on here who have already started talking about us winning the next two or whatever).

No idea. He shouldn't have been playing last night - it's a complete disgrace that he was.