titan_uranus

This whole “he was sold a pup” thing is ridiculous IMO. He’s not stupid. He knew what he was signing up for. He wasn’t forced to come here. Sure, we laid out a plan, but he’s more then smart enough to have thought “this might not work”. The risk of it not working was a risk he knew about and signed up for.

Video’s back up. Has Petty as “test”, Oliver at 3-4 and Fritsch at 5-6. Would screenshot but on my phone. https://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/1384107/rd-19-injury-report?videoId=1384107&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1689679535001

And top 4 against each other: Port - 2-1 Melbourne - 2-2 Brisbane - 2-2 Collingwood - 1-2 Assuming Collingwood beats Port this weekend, we'll all be 2-2 against each other, with only one more game to come (Collingwood v Brisbane).

Current top 8 record vs each other: Port - 8-1 Collingwood - 5-2 Geelong - 4-2 Brisbane - 4-3 Melbourne - 4-4 St Kilda - 2-4 Bulldogs - 1-6 Essendon - 1-7 Port the clear leader here, Collingwood next, with Geelong, us and Brisbane all sort of even but Geelong having two fewer games and Brisbane one fewer game than us so far. Interestingly though, 3 of our 4 wins have been our last 3 wins, in our last 5 games. Similarly 3 of Geelong's 4 wins have been in their last 6 games. Whereas 2 of Brisbane's 4 wins were in the first month and 4 of Collingwood's 5 wins were in the first 6 games. Bear in mind these figures will change on the expectation that Carlton or GWS will likely replace St Kilda/Essendon/the Dogs.

We all want Fremantle to beat Geelong in Geelong, for example.

I hate this idea, more than most of the AFL's other yuck ideas. Hate it so much. We don't need 10 out of the 18 sides making finals (because let's be honest, this wildcard round isn't a chance to play finals, it is an extension of finals). We don't need a side finishing 10th (that's in the bottom half of the league) getting a shot at knocking out the side who finished 7th. I hear some say "but it incentivises finishing 6th". We already have that - 6th gets a home final. We also already have massive incentive to try to get up to 4th. Right now we have a league where the evenness of the middle of the ladder makes for an exciting last 6-8 weeks of the H&A season, but that is largely because of the scarcity of finals spots. It's exciting because we know that only three of St Kilda, the Dogs, Essendon, GWS, Carlton, Adelaide and Richmond are going to make finals. Allowing 9th and 10th to join in renders these last six weeks less exciting - they're all going to make it anyway.

IMO we're already winners. Even if Fremantle win a stack of games from here, they won't make finals, so their first pick is going to be a top 10 pick. So we got 13 last year, a top 10 this year, and Fremantle's second rounder this year too (at worst, something like 30), for Jackson and last year's 44 and 67. I'm happy with that, all things considered. It's a bonus if Fremantle struggle and stay closer to the bottom 4.

Agree with all this. You're not the only one to have mentioned it but it's unfair/wrong to suggest we were only good for the first 10 and the last 10 minutes. We were clearly the better side the entire first and last quarters, and that on its own is an achievement given everyone (rightly) has Brisbane as a flag contender. Also agree re: Petty. He didn't look right from the start.

In all likelihood, we finish 4th - Brisbane's unlikely to drop any more than 1 more game than us and could hold their percentage over us, and whilst Port might collapse, I doubt it, and they have to drop 3 more games than us for us to catch them.

If you just want to see us make top 4, you are barracking for Brisbane this weekend. If we beat Adelaide and Brisbane beats Geelong, then we'll be 4th on 12-6, and the side in 5th will be either St Kilda (they play North), the winner of Essendon v Bulldogs, or GWS (they play GC) - those three sides should get to 10-8 and 5th will go to whoever has the highest percentage. Incredibly, that's currently St Kilda, IMO not even a top 10 side in the league but riding off the early-season wins that on current form they'd get nowhere near. But the point will be that those sides, and Geelong, will need to out-do us by 3 wins across the final 5 weeks. That means if we go just 2-3 (from Richmond, North, Carlton, Hawthorn, Sydney), someone has to go 5-0 to pass us. If we go 3-2, we can't then be passed by anyone. In short, a win this week plus a Brisbane win over Geelong gets us very close to confirmed top 4. If you think we can pass Brisbane, then you want a Geelong win. If we win, we'd then level with Brisbane at 12-6 and be 5% or less off their percentage. Given they have Collingwood in their run home, there's still a chance we pass them.

St Kilda and the Dogs are slowly sliding into nothingness and opening the door for Carlton, GWS and potentially Richmond to try to steal their spots. Adelaide has had a golden chance the past two weeks to solidify their top 8 (or even top 6) spot but have now put themselves in a terrible position.

I’ll have to watch the replay but I think the umpire paid the free (which was blatant IMO). Weird thing to say given we don’t have any other top 8 sides left on our run home.

Presumably someone else will play a more exciting game and get the nomination but [censored] me this guy is incredible.

Agree with the sentiment here. The way they dominated the middle two quarters shows us that we have areas to work on. But that can wait. It must wait. Moments like this just need to be relished. Soak in the win for a few days, ignore tactics and changes and weaknesses. We all want ultimate glory but we have to celebrate the H&A wins. It’s what makes being a sports fan worth it.

I’m not going to comment on the umpires themselves but 100% agree re Trac. He was being held at every stoppage, blatantly. Credit to JJ for helping him out with blocks and to Trac himself for working through it.

Too early to think about this rationally but I do support the Tomlinson for Petty move. Even if he’s fit to play, he shouldn’t be right now. Thought to be given to Spargo and Brown but that can come later.

6 - Petracca 5 - Gawn 4 - Melksham 3 - Viney 2 - Rivers 1 - McVee

I’m with @praha. One of the best wins I’ve seen live. Up there with the 2018 finals. The confidence we must take from that. We were thoroughly outplayed for large chunks of the middle two quarters against a top 3 side but to continue ti believe and to fight so hard to wrestle the game back is huge. Melksham getting deserved credit bur please can we all just reflect on how unbelievably good Petracca is. 26 touches, 4 goals, 7 clearances, all whilst Brisbane mercilessly held and scragged him all night. If he can be this good more forward than mid in a side without Clarry…just imagine when Clarry returns… IMO it was no coincidence that their second quarter run started when Trac and Viney were stuck on the bench for ages. Along with Gawn, they were just outstanding tonight. Rivers to the midfield. Please. More of it. We need more mids. Brisbane got on top through the middle in part because we just can’t go with that many mids given the current make up of our side. The stunning win will distract from a few major issues - our inability to stop their transition from back half to scores was concerning, as was our reversion to long bombs to the heads of stationary forwards. But when we move the ball even 20% quicker we look so much better. Hopefully this is the kickstart of belief, confidence and form we need to run through into September.

Don’t you think this will be a target game for them, too?

GWS says hi. But I agree. In Round 2 they scored 5-odd goals from stoppage, many early, and that was the game. When we have beaten them in 2021-22 we dominated the middle and prevented their dangerous forwards from being involved through lack of supply. No Dunkley helps offset no Oliver but they replace Dunkley with Lyons whereas ostensibly Woewodin has Oliver’s spot. So we are on the back foot a bit there. If we bring midfield heat, I’m confident, but only slightly. This is going to be really tough IMO.

Dogs’ next 3 are Essendon, GWS, Richmond. Are they in danger of missing the 8?

Edit: wrong thread Interesting result for Fremantle. Competition might start to worry about Sydney?

What word? And why suss? It’s a complex hamstring. What is suss about that?

Confirmed dropped: “We have been transparent that we are continuing to look for ways to be more effective in front of the ball,” GM of AFL Football Performance Alan Richardson says. “We really like the impact that Brodie is having in the ruck, but think he would benefit from more time as a forward. “To provide him with this opportunity, he will spend some time in the VFL and focus on refining his forward craft. “To Brodie’s credit, he is completely aligned and on board with this plan. This is a testament to Brodie’s character and the type of person he is.”

I don’t agree, for reasons I’ve previously written. But you can of course tell me to get stuffed. I said I wanted more - I got it. I’m more than happy to acknowledge that. It’s undeniably exciting to think about what we might see on-field if our fitness levels peak in the way the club hopes they will.