Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Didn't see the team put the que in the rack at all really. Up until the last 10mins or so, we were still in a position where winning was possible. Those two goals last in the third really hurt us (allong with all our misses). Haven't watched the team loose, but be almost happy with the teams performance in a long time - tonight was one. Don't get me wrong I hate loosing, but was satisfied that we put in close to the best showing that we could in the circumstances.

Weideman is the biggest underperformer in the team by far at present. 1 kick, 4 handballs, 1 mark and 1 tackle is nowhere near acceptable. Pedesen must be back in the team ahead of Weideman now. Weideman keeping his place in the side after two average to poor games first up, then an absolute shocker is bad for team culture - reeks of the gifting games to high draft picks that the club did so well to get away from. I can't even see how it's doing him any good developmentally or confidence wise to continue to play him in his present form.

Whist I'm not the Osky hater that some are, I'll acknowledge that his form has been a bit ordinay in the first two rounds. Hopefully he can turn it around, but otherwise, Frost is a player that should be ready to take his spot in a week or two and perhaps that even spurs him on a bit. Oscar just doesn't look as hungry, desperate or capable as others at this point. Was a goal that bounced through against Carlton in the square that I thought he could have got to but either completely miss read it or didn't put the effort into or both.

Bernie comes in as obvious Leiws replacement, I'm also thinking Bugg for Nibbler (thought he went missing against the Blues) and I'd also want to bring in Kent for someone, just for that pace and hardness he brings to the team, perhaps for Hannan (though it would be stiff, because I thought he did ok on Sunday). Could also see Melksem going out of the side. Not so sure who I'd bring in for Hogan, as there aren't stand out options based on my knowledge of the form of the likely replacements, but would probably lean towards Spencer, based on some decient preseason form and his game 2 years ago at the cattery. I with those who don't think Hogan's loss will hurt us too much. He wasn't particularly effect against Carlton and playing Spencer frees up both Gawn and Watts to spend more time forward and both are capable there. Also think it's important to give Spencer a decent run to both manage Gawn a bit and give Spencer a bit of form and confidence in case Gawn goes down for a bit. I also think Jack Viney has been a bit down by his standards and a return to full output would do alot for our chances of winning. Alternately I think Viney could be the one used as a hard tag on Dangerfield. The team should be pumped for this one, what a great test along the way to show if we are contenders or pretenders. We played like crap for much of the game against a Carlton that were primed and still won. I'm looking forward to a competitive effort and think the team can win. Hopefully that thrashing last year stung a bit and has them in a mind for vengeance.

Has been said that players of the Neeld era we're mentally scarred and the same could be said of us MFC followers as a supporter group. Personally I'm starting to regain the confidence in the team that winning most weeks and comfortably beating/smashing teams below us are the base expectations we should have of our team.

More like all weekend. Traditional Saturday arvo is the best time slot. Would love the league to play a predomance of games in the slot for just one round of the year (perhaps the heritage round) - I know it will never happen again, but I'm a bit nostalgic and it was great entertainment/atmosphere having all those score updates going on around you listening in on the radio.

My TV avoided having empty beer cans thrown at it last week by the team beating the saints.

We will see who plays the bruse free footy today. ...actually it could be both sides if Carlscum bring a repeat of their JLT form and we have the luxury of playing a free flowing game of keepings off. Expecting they will have additional hardness around the contest with Crisps - we should seriously just tag him out of the game (if that's possible) and then they will have nothing.

With midefield that features Jone, Viney, Oliver, Vince, Leiwis and big Max, yep it's appropriate. Jones and Max in particular could be mistaken for maurading Vicking warriors. I see that Billy Stretch has also been to the barber to get a very short, angry looking hair cut. Good to see that the boys are taking the hashtag to heart and playing like raising hell too. As for Bernie - did I detect a bit of a moe that he is growing? It's too blonde and looks like a ripper porno moe if I've ever seen one. Actually don't mind him getting rubbed out, all the team needs to play on the edge like he does. We will see who plays 'bruse free footy' later today won't we.

Should have given the benefit of the doubt to the guy actually playing the ball, rather than the one playing for the BS free kick.

Tonight they had a good segment with Jordan Leiwis and one of many topics was the jumper presentation in which they highlighted and showed all the new Melbourne players being presented their jumpers by their dads, which lead to the discussion that the dad's presenting was a nice touch, because it's normally a champion ex-player from the club. Showed the footage of Shaun presenting the jumper to Joel and made no mention that he was in fact both dad and champion ex-player, because they were so interested in taking all things Jordan Lewis. Just little things, but they are the sort of things which actually make it interesting, rather than the bland regurgitation of the obvious.

The depth of journalism and analysis they put out sometimes is atrocious. Have been going on all week 'poor Nick Reiwalt' (can't spell his name and don't care to look it up). The bloke looks like getting away with 2 perhaps upto 4 weeks if the Saints are really conservative. The good old team at Fox have completely missed what should have been obvious to blind Freddy that it was also actually Reiwalt' who (accidentally) crunched young Joel Smith, popped his shoulder and puts him out for practically the season - no mention.

Never really knew him as wrecker back in the day, more so simply as Wheels, but Wrecker is pretty appropriate. Definitely up there in my favorite players of the era, but highly underated and forgoten by most outside the MFC supporter base. Toughness was in good supply at the MFC in those days, Nathan 'Doggy' Brown and Shaun Smith and even Hoppy were all hard as nails, but I don't think any were quite in the same calibre of speed, toughness and steadfastness in defence as Matty Wheelan.

Beating St Kilda at that [censored] hole: About Fing Time

On a bit of a tangent, King implied that there was something a bit underhanded going on with Mitchell (and by inference Lewis - he's ours now, so defend him we must!!) getting traded to WC for pick 88 when compared with Deledio going to GWS for a first rounder and whatever else.

Jonesy's probably said it before, (but I don't think anyone should mind me repeating it), that what has kept him at the club and what keeps driving him to be better, after all the hard times, is to be there when the club turns things around and has that success. Committed, motivated, loyal - what more could you ask from your captain, gota love this bloke. ...And though he has troden a different path, I think Jack Viney is cut from the same cloth.

I think the basis of finishing the AFLW comp about now, was more about allowing the top players to return to their local comps and thus furthering the development and depth of the talent pool at the local/second tier level. I personally think that is the right call and really in the best long term interests of the women's game.

That North game was something else. The phrase "he had the ball on a string" comes to mind. I have no doubt that his hack out of mid air to kick a goal over his head will remain on highlight reals for years to come. In reality, Jacko was just one of the many gun forwards of that era that the MFC couldn't keep on the park long enough together. Jackovich, Lyon, Bennett, Swartz, Neitz, Smith, Pike, Charles, Farmer, what a ride.

If I recall correctly, Jack Grimes had a bit to do with that win as well.

Plugger always had a physique like a bush full-forward and didn't seem to do him any harm. Before we start talking about how the game has changed... I have no doubt that Plugger would be a walk up start in any AFL side. A good footy brain and goal kicking strait as a die goes a long way. Not saying that McCartin bloke is nessasrily any Tony Locket by the way.

Yep agree with all of the above, partially the last line. So in a sense, I actually think this was a better result for a practice game than winning by whatever margin. ...And yet we only lost by 20 odd points, so to sum up again, played like crap and we're still in the game against a good side. Inversely, West Coast probably wouldn't have thought they would have played their best game either. What does also stand out though, is that it was close to a carbon copy to the home and away game we played them there last year. We were in the game, had most of the possession and played the game in our forward half, yet butchered our entry into forward 50. Clearly something needs to change if we play them at Subi during the home and away.

We shouln't be wearing the Bali singlet tops any of the time. Our traditional jumper never clashed with West Coasts original royal blue jumper. I don't see why we couldn't wear either the red backed one as we did against the dogs or our retro 80s royal blue one. Either would have looked better that the crap we wore on Thursday - Sydney jumper from the back, bad Bail singlet from the front. Back to writing to the AFL in protest.

Watching our team in those disgusting clash jumpers hurt my eyes.

It will really hurt them when Shaun Burgoyne goes down hilll

The biggest problem I see with the rule is that it penalises defenders disproportionately to forwards and has the potential to gift too many goals via free kicks, which when it occurs really destroys the spirit of the game as it has the potential for games to be too heavily influenced by bad umpiring.