Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Agree with your first statement, but not the second. I don't think the team has 'chosen' small forwards the way you have phrased it - Jeffy and Hunt playing two for most of last year is evidence of that. ANB can and will make his way back into the side if he can produce the required form. I'm more and more convinced all the time that a forward we have really missed is Hannan.

For us to be back with the pack vying for finals, I recon we need to win 4 out of 5 or so of our games coming up, which isn't impossible, but is a tough ask when you look at some of the teams we are playing and the form we have been in for most of the season. If we can get our form confidence and a few more key players back soon, I think anything is possible. One thing is for sure though - if we do make finals this year, it will be off the back of having beaten the better teams in the competition as well as beating up on the easy beats and also rans. Wins by bottom of the ladder teams like Sydney, North, Carlton, GC etc against the teams currently sitting in spots 4 - 12 is both quite feasible and would definitely help out cause should we be able to keep winning. Was great to see Sydney beat Essendrug last night for this reason. I think I will be supporting these underdog teams quietly on the side for the rest year.

Congratulations to Nathan Jones on the accomplishment of becoming the equal second games record holder at the MFC today against the GC. Somewhat fitting that he shares jumper No.2 with the late Robert Flower, as although they are somewhat different styles, they will go down as great captains and players for the MFC that loyally stuck with the club through some hard times for the team. I actually wounder if playing this match with Jonesy was something which factored in Jack Viney declaring himself fit? Anyway go forth and get the job done for the skipper today lads. Great captain Great clubman Great player Well done Jonesy GO THE MIGHTY DEMONS

I'm also less concerned given my recollection that the reason he missed against Hawthorn was the hit he took to his shoulder against Richmond, not his reoccurring foot issues. I'm hoping that Viney is sufficiently fit, plays and plays well. Whether we are a realistic chance to play finals or not, we need to start stringing some confidence and form together to build beleif back up within the side and a fit Jack Viney helps that. We are a much better side than we have been playing like for most of this season.

Looks and sounds pretty much like your average Hawthorn supporter to me. "How many premierships have they won??" I want to punch this guy in the head and he didn't even spill beer on me. A saying that is appropriate to this situation - Don't poke the bear.

Why is there this debate about this Hawthorn supporters mental capacity. Like that was ever in question. Pretty much all Hawks suporters are NQR in the head to the extent they are arrogant obnoxious turds.

In response to @Leoncelli_36 original post, watching the replay again, I think Melksham was actually trying to hit T Mac at the top of the square, but the either kick didn't quite have enough on it or T Mac misjudged the flight, because he ended up way too far back to create a contest with McAvoy, but I'd say that T Mac was his intended target.

Agree with the above. What's particularly surprising is that Melksham is such a good kick and usually pretty smart with the ball inside 50. That pass to Hunt earlier in the game was sublime. Perhaps it was the heat of the moment and/or maybe he was trying to create a stoppage inside 50 for us at the top of the square, rather than potentially give them a clean possession straight back if he kicked a point?

Could get two more polar opposites. $cully the prima Donna No.1 draft pick with no buy into the club who lies to a great legend of our club, takes the money and runs. Harmes the player who doesn't get picked up in the draft, has to fight for his spot and bleeds for the club. His relationship with Jones one of the most loyal players in the modern world of the loyaltyless AFL is also fitting. Love Harmesy and Jonesy, whom I also thought had some good moments today. GO THE MIGHTY DEMONS

6. Harmes 5. Max 4. Salem 3. Oliver 2. Hibberd 1. Patracca (asides from that shank shot for goal, I thought Trac did pleanty of hard contested work and set up a number of goals with some really good vision and well executed passes).

Great play Frosty

These umpires are cheats

Should have been holding the ball against Hawthorn at the other end. These umpires have been a discrace.

Finally a bit of luck our way

Only a fumble or a mis-kick either way in this game at the moment.

Jeffy bashing on here today is over the top. He has done a few bad things but he is certainly not alone there. At least he is having a crack. Trac trying his guts out and having an impact, but how the hell did he kick that so badly. Fairly happy with Stretch's game today. Harmes really working hard and had a good last half of that quarter. How good is Max Gawn... we would be five goals further behind if it wasn't for his marking behind play alone. COME ON DEMONS.

What an absolute rubbish free kick

BOOOOOOOOOOOO ...just getting warmed up for that $cully turd.

I'm wondering if his old man has a scouting contract with Hawthorn, pehaps the AFL can go investigate that. In the mean time may the $cully BOOOOOO's be loud and numerous tomorrow.

I'm punting hope against recient form here, but I really would love to beat this bunch of a-holes. If we only beat one other team all year, this is the team I want it to be. Words really can't quite describe how much I hate Hawthorn.

Would have rathered the club could have kept Kent, but I don't know we had a huge choice there. Bugg didn't have the desire in the end and threw away a golden opportunity to keep playing AFL footy. I certainly wasn't a Tyson hater, but I'm pretty happy with the return so far and future potential of big Pruess - has wepon written all over him.

I think you are off the mark here. What do you call the punting of Jack Watts to Port? Goody has also shown he is more than willing to send star players like Brawshaw back down to the reserves fix their deficiencies and to earn their place in the side when it's the right thing to do. The impression I get of Goodwin is that he is hard but fair, a good comunicator and that players respect him because they know where they stand with him because he clearly comunicates his expectations of them and acts consistent with those values. There were reasons Roos picked him as a sucessor.

The current form slump is part of the reason it was important to contact Goodwin before the start of the season. Can you imagine the further instability which would be floating about were he presently not contracted beyond the end of the season? Whilst our start to the season is regrettable and constitutes unexceptable team performance, it is hardly unprecedented in AFL terms. It would be more unprecedented if our climb from the bottom of the ladder continued uninterrupted. Peter Jackson expicitly made this point in his final Demonland podcast last year that history tells us there will be setbacks, sighting the examples of mid 2000s Geelong and Richmond that I recall. It's is a sign of a stronger club in times of hardship to keep the faith and persevere. No doubt there are lessons for our players and coaches to be learnt from this period, but that's quite different to the questions of their fundemental character and ability that might be thrown about.

We had much of the same last year and it worked ok. It's a team form and structure thing at the moment are my thoughts. I actually think 6-6-6 has really hurt us. We previouly setup with those 1 or 2 players running off the back of the square at center bounces, which was really effective for us, particularly for guys like ANB. That doesn't explain things post the centre bounce, but I think there is also an element that once a team is getting on top of us, we are becoming reactive to their structures around the ball and always on the back foot. From what I understand, Richmond had way more tackles than us last game, which I don't think was as much to do about their intensity Vs ours, but more to do with us always delivering the ball to players in positions where they were easily tackled as opposed to them moving it in more open space. My view is that it's more about player positioning and ball movement than simply a lack of outside pace which seems to be the flavor of the month around here this whole season. My guess is that 6-6-6 is here to stay so we need to find a new structure/game style that works for us without it. It can take a long time for players to learn and have confidence in a new game plan. If we spend the rest of the season finding and embedding a new game style that stands up against the best teams, then I'll be satisfied that the season hasn't been a total waste. It's not nessasrily a bad thing for guys like Oliver to be bought back down to earth either. Hopefully if anything good comes out of this season, Oliver learns more about what it is to be the hunted every week to flourish in that environment and/or to defend better. A more mature, 'next level' Clarry is a tantalizing prospect.

31 possessions at an 80% turnover rate is not a good performance though. Just for the record, I'm not trying to be overly critical of Oliver, but they were my just my observations. I usually love what Oliver brings and I guess his recient down performances show that he is actually human after all. Also shows how much individual performance is influenced by team performance and how fine a line it is between good and bad form. When we were up and flying, those dinky handballs release a player who bursts into space, we are away and all praising Oliver for winning the initial contested ball and feeding it out through the eye of the needle - please bring back those days sooner rather than later.