Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Posting this as a question, based on a proposition. I know this might seem like a somewhat strange and over ambitious given the 2019 that we have just endured, but to me, just stumbling over the line and making finals in 2020 would not represent enough of an improvement or step forward for me to get excited about. In my lifetime, I watched many talent laden MFC teams show loads of promise and even make a grand final or two, but barely any that I have watched have played consistently well enough finish the season in a preimship winning position of being in the upper echelon of the ladder with all it's perks of getting a double change and potential rest weeks at the pointy end. In the 80s, this would have ment a top 3 finish and now a days it's top 4. I follow the MFC aspiring to one day watch them win a premiership. Making finals is simply not enough for me. I've watched the MFC play lots of finals over the last 30 years, notch up some good wins in them. I have seen the MFC play the kind of dominant kind of foot where myself and fellow supporters have rued watching GF's that we though we could have won, but been unable to contend after being bundled out of finals series at critical times. The reality is that for a number of reasons, unless teams finish in the top 4, they don't really have a fighting chance of making, let alone winning a GF. Is finishing top 4 in 2020 a realistic objective? - I think it is. Richmond in 2017 went from 13th to 3rd. In 2018, although we only just stumbled into the finals series, from recollection, we were only a couple of wins off finishing top 4, with very winnable games against Geelong (twice), St Kilda and Port Adelaide that come to mind. I'm really hoping that 2019 was somewhat of an arbitration and this year we have an 'easy' draw to help us - something which probably helped the Tigers in 2017. Our lack of compressiveness in 2019 was hard to watch and down right depressing at times, but in spite of that I wasn't that upset about it, because unless we won the premiership, then it was just another wasted season in the amoung the many that I have a supporter. I know that the team would be silly to publicly overtly state finishing top 4 as being the aim for the home and away season, but I really do hope that's what it is internally when guys like Roos have previously spoke about playing the kind of footy that will make us competitive in finals and push deep into September. Over the coming years as we enter that all important age/experience 'window' within our list, I really hope to see us adopt a new level of maturity, professionalism and ruthlessness that playing finals becomes an expectation and finishing top 4 and playing in premierships is the aim, not just making finals and I don't see why that shouldn't start in 2020.

Kent kick the goal that sealed us our finals birth in 2018, which was worth a good 20 or 30 goals in my book. I'll be greatful for that for a long time. Was disappointed to see him go, because I always thought he had a red hot crack when he was in the side, was unfortunately was too seldom for all concerned. Totally understandable from all parties that he left us for the Saints and also that we let him go.

It use to be that T Mac was a shoe-in to win the time trial, and he was well renound for his endurance as one of the few that could run with Nick Riewodlt in his prime. But in recent years T Mac had come back into the field at the MFC a bit. I suspect last year injury played a big part, but is it the case that ANB and others have lifted the bar or is T Mac staring to drop away a bit, or perhaps a bit of both? Interested in people's thoughts.

Understand. Hope you are wrong, but I fear you are probably right.

I don't think KK really needs development as much as he does to get over his concussion problems. Unless you are talking about him learning to better position his body and be smarter about which balls to go for like Gus Brayshaw reportedly did post his concussion problems.

I actually think both the Wagner brothers are not that far off being pretty decent, solid footballers in their respective positions. Good athleticism, reasonable skills and bucket loads of courage (thinking mostly of Josh in this respect). The things I guess that are a bit questionable about Josh in particular are his decision making and skill execution under pressure. I think players like the Wagners could probably be categorized as nearly, but not quite playing at the required standard to be regular firsts players. It's probably is these kind of players and guys like Lockhart, Spargo etc that we need to take a step up and play a role for the team when required, such that their presence in the team is seamless and helps us get those 3 or 4 more wins during the season to take us from finishing just inside the top 8 to inside the top 4. Not to say that their development can be mismanaged, but players like Jackson, Pickett and Co are probably going to be good players regardless and their talents will push them up to playing seniors where they will have plenty of opportunities to develop an understanding of what is required to play at the top level.

Post script - I think it was rather remiss of the Hun to not mention Jetta in the reasons our backline will improve. Provided he doesn't drop away as he ages, Nev would have to be right up there with the best small defenders in the comp and we missed him immensely last season. It could also be noted that we will miss some of the atletisim from Frost, but that could be more than compensated by a fit Steve May and the sounder ball movement that should result through having him and players like Jetta down back.

The better way to have phrased point No.1 is that at our 2018 best the MFC has show it's self capable of playing football that is well and truly capable of beating just about any side in the competition and that a return to that level of list fitness, system and confidence should have us right up there again. We are inherently a much better team than our 17th finish would suggest. If we are to improve significantly, then I think point No.2 has to be improved game plan and system. It will be a big test for Simon Goodwin and the coaches. If we don't improve in this area, then everything else falls down. I'm backing Goodwin to produce the goods. In 2018, he took us from a team that defended well, but struggled to attack to the highest scoring team in the comp. Perhaps there was an over correction towards attacking at the expense of defense and last year we frankly didn't have the troops and it all fell apart, but if Goodwin can coach that change in game style in one direction, I believe he can wind it back the other way as well. Everything about whom Goody was as a player and his various clean-outs of players who wouldn't commit to me says he has the fortitude and abilities to set expectations and get the team to two way run much better in 2020 - Langdon and Tomlinson should help in this regards as well. I initially thought Tomlinson could be a lot further down the list of reasons, but this realisation of how important he would be structurally, now makes me think where he is nominated relatively is about right. Point No.3 or 4 for me would be the age profile and continued natural development of list our with key mids like Oliver, Brayshaw, Trac, Harmes, ANB (perhaps Viney if he can maintain fitness) and other guys guys like Freitch, Salem and to some extent Weid/Petty. Sure some other clubs could also claim this, but I think with a fit list we are ahead of similar lists like St Kilda, Brisbane & Freo and I expect the age profiles of some clubs up the top like Geelong, WC and Collingwood will have them heading in the opposite direction. No.9, I would just have as generic 'wild card' factor. Into this I think you could lump a hoast of players like Jackson, Pickett, Rivers, AVB, Joel Smith, Bennell, Sparrow, Baker, Dunkley and perhaps KK. There is no certainly that any one of those players in particular will pop up and star, but I think there is a fairly high chance that at least one of them will. Again I think we have more in this category than other clubs due to a combination of frount loading the draft just gone and our annus horribilis 2019. I'd probably also add a No.10 point - Depth. Provided we can keep a fairly fit list up to Rd.1, having players like O Mac, Petty, Pruess, Brown, Hore, Spargo, Hannan, Lockhart, the Wagners and possibly Jordan, Chandler and Bedford as fringe/depth players is a lot better than I suspect a lot of other clubs have. Sure we looked fairly exposed when we needed to use alot of them all at once last year, but using them more so in isolation to plug holes and maintain selection pressure, I think they are all more than capable of doing a job and some could also develop and get better.

I think the best 22 of MFC wasted talent would just about win premierships against the best 22 of other clubs.

In the 90s, we had Jackovich, Charles and to a certain extent Lyon and Schwartz of whom we didn't get the best of due to injury. Martin Pike was a fairly handy player that we discarded for cultural reasons. He probably wasn't the most talented player to ever pull on the red and blue, but Clint Bartram was a good heart and soul player cut down by injury. Troy Brodbridge is another in the sadest of circumstances. Lyndon Dunn is one that whilst playing plenty of games I don't think we used to the fullest of his capabilities. I also think Austin Wonemerri at his most brilliant was another player we never got the best out of for a sustained period. It's all a bit depressing really.

Perfectly timed for our bye Rd. ...at least it's not September. Which coach was it again that had an unofficial rule agains babby making in Jan??

Would be like getting another new recruit for 2020 if he can make it back. Love the attitude expressed by AVB about how being unable to train, play, etc made him realise how much he valued being part of the greater group. It's this kind of team first thinking that will bring us the success we crave. Hopefully it's contagious.

Some Demonic match calling from beyond the grave would be quite appropriate I think.

I know it's hard to go past the two finals wins, but for the moment of pure elation, I still find it difficult to pip watching that 50m bomb from Dean Kent go through the middle against WC Rd22 2018. I'd like to think that we don't have so many of these types of wins going forward, because we have played the sort of solid H&A seasons that put us securely into the top 8 well before Rd22 in a steady controlled build that puts us into the best position to go all the way in September, but I'm not sure that's really the MFC...I live in hope.

Max Clarry Harmes/Viney Melksham

I know as the saying goes that you make your own, but surely we are due a bit of luck for something to turn out all right for once.

It was a big preseason makeover like this that transformed Max Gawn from just a player with potential into a genuine superstar of the comp. Given he is arguably starting off a better launching pad, let's hope it brings similar results for May.

Just what the doctor ordered to put us back on track. I have hear some question why we would use pick 11 / 12 or what ever it was on a small forward like Picket, but reading the above is music to my ears and along with his talent with the ball, to me provides more than enough justification that we have made a good selection at this point.

...I wasn't too bad at teeth extraction though! Should have been a dentist, not a garbo.

Seriously isn't fair that some people seem to get all the sporting genes. I would have been happy to be half decent at one sport, let alone 3!

...and actually much like @Pates, at times in the past few weeks my mind has wandered towards re-watching those finals games of last year. I think recalling 2018 gives me hope of rebounding to finals like competitiveness in 2020.

All those and I think I also even have the Geelong win at the Catery from a few years back when they had a Max Gawn superstar feature week. The break through win against the Hawks (back in 2016? was it) is still in there somewhere as well. I actually have troubles deciding which old ones to delete, though I don't think too many from 2019 have been retained, perhaps with the exception of the game against the GC, but probably only the last 40 seconds of that is worth actually watching!

Probably belongs in that other thread and I hope I don't jynx the young guy, but it's about time #17 got a good custodian. That bloke Sam what's his name was starting to establish some good tenure in the number, but then he [censored] off to the wees and poos. Number 17 hasn't really reestablished it's self as a well respected playing number since old Brett Lovett back in my day.

What a ripper of a thread. I wouldn't quite go along with the Buddy Franklin call made somewhere else, but all the above is pretty spot on assessment from @Yencks. Good find @Whispering_Jack

I note that Langdon and Tomlinson have both been given number 0 on the club website. I seem to recall a teammate I played local footy with requesting the jumper No. 00 just for the humor of it once!