Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Probably too late to cast votes for Thursday's game and not really a game that casting votes for anyone much was palatable, but I would have had Steven May right up there, along with Max and probably Lockhart in there somewhere. The other I'd probably consider putting in the votes somewhere is Melksham, I think he has been starting to exert good influence in games over the past two weeks. After somewhat shaky starts, where some questioned their worth I think both Lockhart and Steve May have been showing their quality and value to the team over the past couple of weeks in particular.

SWYL, sorry, but read the tread - it's all about Qld MFC members just wanting at ticket to see our side live more than once or twice a year that we normally do - obviously we are not in Melbourne. I really do feel for you and all my freinds and family back in the motherland in Melbourne, having to suspend key social/economic aspects of your lives again can't be much fun. But your endless OTT comments about COVID-19 are starting to wear very thin. I'm not offended, I just think your position lacks logic and common sense. I'm not a science/COVID denier by a long shot, quite the contrary. But to infer that people in Brisbane should all stay at home and not attend the footy, because Melbourne is having an outbreak and one person I SA tested positive is similar to saying the whole world should have shut down and gone into lockdown when parts of Africa had an Ebola outbreak a few years back - it's all about testing and risk management. I was actually sick a few weeks ago, had a test and it was a virus - the Rhino virus, not the Rona. Lots of people with symptoms up here are being tested and testing negative, so I'm not super concerned at the moment. Maybe in a few weeks that will all change, but until then, it is what it is. To me getting 500 people in a crowd creates a far better atmosphere than none and if that 500 can be 1500 to accommodate all the MFC Qld members that would like to get a ticket isn't really that much to ask in the scheme of things. Anyways take care buddy and GO THE MIGHTY DEMONS!!

Apparently 7000 people were allowed to attend the rugby at Suncorp on Friday just gone.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/453826/queensland-crowds-are-go-2000-in-for-gabba-metricon Article states that of the 2000 seats made available, 1850 were provided to Lions members and sponsors etc. 50 were provided to Eagles members and 100 to the general public. So why the bloody hell should the MFC have to go 50/50 in only 500 available seats for our home game against Port - it's rank.

Yes, you are in the minority. I really don't get the 'zero' crowds at AFL games thing at all. Yes, there may be 3000 people there, so theoretically I might have a higher chance than staying at home with my other 4 family members. However I was probably only exposed to 4 - 6 individuals over the whole time I was there. The crowd was sparce, I washed my hands well. Probably the biggest possible exposure I could have had was if one of the food and beverage people were spreading it, but food vendors are still allowed to operate everywhere else. I bet you would come into contact with a heap more different people on your supermarket trip than me watching the footy on Sunday night. I'd be far more concerned about going out in Fortitude Valley where they allow big crowds of inebriated people mingling willy nilly with little regard for social distance, hygiene etc. I get why it probably wouldn't be such a good idea to have a capacity crowd, but 3000 people in a stadium that holds closer to 30,000 isn't the drama you are making it out to be. And there are stuff all known cases in Qld. If there were Melbourne like problems I could see where you are comming from. I respect that we need to take sensible measures because of COVID 19, but there is sensible and there is illogical.

I've see Annastacia getting on the news quite a lot lately spruiking how the AFL grand final could be held in Queensland. Well if she bloody well wants it, then time to start looking after the actual supporters of the game and not just be in it for the TV exposure for Qld and the brags. ...oh, and BTW, there is an election comming up in Queensland Annastacia, in case you didn't realise!

This also begs a few other questions to me: 1. How many SEQ based MFC members are there and; 2. Why only 1 free allocated ticket per member? As part of my Interstate membership, I previous recall getting two or three free members tickets to MFC home games in Melbourne. Since there are no games in Melbourne and not likely to be, why can't the AFL extend this to those able to attend or otherwise Melbourne home games in Qld? This is rank arrogance by the AFL asides from TV rights, footy club memberships are one of the things that keeps footy clubs and the AFL afloat. It would be far more ecconomical for me to purchase one or two individual game tickets than spend my $100+ dollars per year for interstate membership. The AFL is shiiting on the people that keep it great. Furthermore, real crowds make for so much better atmosphere for TV broadcasts than fake sound technicians canned applause. Come on AFL, Gabba and QLD gov - get with the program.

I actually have a feeling this is a Gabba thing. Work colleague of mine is a WA Eagles member working in Brisbane for a year. Couldn't get tickets to an Eagles game at the Gabba (the Eagles balloted for their Qld members, but wouldn't let interstate members in on that either), but he no problems getting tickets to Carrara/Metricon. Like you I attended Metricon on Sunday and there were way over 500 people there. I like the Gabba, but Metricon was actually far easier to get in and out of for me driving - can the MFC please request that the rest of our 'home' games be played at Carrara so that more MFC members can attend? P.S. I'd also like to be going on Thursday night, but my wife is working, so daddy duties beckon, but I'd be ropeable if I was able to attend and couldn't go.

We should somehow get someone on the Captains Run pod cast with Max Gawn. Maxy is the peoples captain and I'd feel confident he would go into bat for us.

An absolute joke alright. Went to our 'home' game on Sunday night and was told they were expecting to get a bit over 3000 people. I don't know the final numbers, but I suspect the 3000 was about right. Of those 3000, it felt like probably 2800 of them were Lions supporters - so much for it being our home game. If the AFL are saying they are only prepared to release a total of 500 tickets to other games featuring all interstate teams: a) That's totally rank and yet another example of the AFL doing over the top favours for interstate expansion teams; b) 490 of the 500 tickets should be released to the home team first to at least give them some chance of something vaguely representing a home game. Port have plenty of home games in Adelaide. The MFC is getting totally bent over here.

Glad you bought all this up Wayne, because I was at the game and absolutely spitting chips at the time and still am to a certain extent. Yes the Fritsch one was probably there, but the Bailey one against Patracca was more so. I don't buy the blind sided by the player BS - it was pretty bloody obvious. Brisbane Bailey would have been in no doubt that the free kick was paid against him, because he had just been absolutely nailed holding the ball. He took such an eternity to get back the ball, that there should have been no excuses. For the Fritsch one to be paid after the Brisbane Bailey one wasn't was absolutely rank - what you look for is consistency. It also stung in the context of the game after we had already been effectively penalised for the Lever goal line incident. Smart unbiased umpires would have let both the Lever and Fritsch incidents go in the context of the game. The combination of these two incidents really killed the game for us at a time when we were flying and should have been allowed to have a decient crack at winning it. I really think the umpires were feeling the pressure of the 'home' crowd against the Melbourne comeback. I do think it is best that Goodwin not complain, as it would just make us look like sore loosers Clarkson style. In some ways we didn't deserve to win the game, but pleanty of teams have pinched ones against us when we out played them for big periods, so I would personally have been very happy to have pinched one back. Looking forward to what we can do against Port and personally glad it's a Thursday night game so that I don't have to wait all the way until the weekend for the team to have an oppertunity to rack up a win which should put this incident further out of mind.

There is a huge difference to how you might perceive thie Jetra incident watching it in real time or slow motion. Watch it in slow motion and/or freeze frame it at the critical moment and it looks like McStay lines up Jetta and elects to bump. Watch it in real time and I think it's apparent that there is just players going everywhere and McStay just braces himself for an instant at the wrong time in the wrong way, almost as a reflex action and collects Jetta's head with his braced body and for arm. I think it's possible that McStay could have avoided Jetta, but I don't think he realized he was going to collect him head high either, so why would he try. I think the treatment by the tribunal/match review is fairly consistent though. Steve May got rubbed out for a week for us in his first year, when all he did was stop and brace himself and the bloke ran into him and got him head high.

Ok, perhaps brain faid wasn't the best /most complete characterisation. Add poor skill execution to the incident. I don't actually recall a player being that nearby. I also feel the decision to kick off the ground was as much the problem as the execution. The Nev of old probably wouldn't have messed it up so badly. Anyways, my main point is that we had as much our selves to blame as the people in yellow.

I've hardly read this thread, because I was driving back and have been busy at work today, but I do feel that one of the things Brisbane did which significantly helped their cause was to mitigate the impact of Max's marking and presence around the ground. I guess I'd been lulled by the pretty much free rein that he had been allowed against Hawthorn and the absence of Martin. Was expecting something of another free for all against the Lions. However I thought they did well to reduce his influence in the air and around the ground. Being there at the ground, it was clear that they were putting a lot of work into him off the ball. Not overly dirty stuff, but constantly bumping into him and shepherding him from running into position a mile off the play. I watched Charlie Cameron do this to him numerous times, blocking Max from getting into a good marking position outside 50 for kick-ins. Max seemed to try to make it obvious to the umps what was going on, without giving away free kicks to them in their forward 50. Didn't notice too much of our blokes flying the flag to an extent for big Max. a) I think that we need to be better as a team and recognize when this is going on and a put on better physical pressure the other way to let their blokes know we won't tolerate it and b) Any chance of the umpires ever cutting this kind of crap out?

So many mixed feelings about last night's game. We didn't play that well for a big chunk of the game, but were still very competitive in the final wash up on the score board. I hate 'honorable' losses, but to get so close gives me some comfort that our team and form are currently around the mark. Even though we really didn't deserve to win in some ways, I was absolutely spewing inside at the time, because being there at the ground, it would have been sensational to stick it up the numerous moronic Lions supporters I was surrounded by at the time. So rank that a suposed home game for us was really more of a home game for them. I think I also feel denied by some of the diabolical umpiring decisions in the last ten minutes. Both the BS score review and the 50m penalty paid against Fritsch. Although we were on the right end of a few 50m that resulted in goals (Gawn & Jones), they were both pretty clearly there, where as the argumentative "you didn't get the ball back quickly enough" type 50m are so rarely paid and combined, they both had the effect of snuffing out any chance of scoring that final goal in the dying minutes. Conversely feeling of being cheated by the men in yellow is also somewhat ballanced by the numerous regulation shots from Weid and Bennel that should have been put away and the brain faid from Nev that handed them a goal via Charlie Cameron. Also disapointed, because it feels like a bit of a turning point in our season. It puts a pretty big bridge between us and keeping up with the top 8. Conversely I also think that we are good enough on our way to beat Port on Thursday night, win the next 3 games after that and be back in the hunt, but it's a pretty big ask.

As that Mexican food add says - why not have both?

Would love to see the AFL follow through on this, just to see Jeff wriggle, squirm and squeal like a pig.

I recall from the time that there were plenty of rumors that the big interstate teams like West Coast and the Crows were rorting the system as well. I wounder how many star players wives etc got paid jobs with sponsors hundreds of dollars above market rates?

No it wouldn't. If there is hard evidence, it puts the integrity of the AFL in serious question if they sit on their hands and do nothing. All that sucess that Hawthorn had through that era at the expense of everyone else and they are still reaping the benefits of the inflated membership base it allowed them to build. Taking away premierships retrospectively would be hollow. A fitting punishment would be for them to loose a bunch of first round draft picks and exclude them from free agency for the next 3 or 4 years to thwart the rebuild they need to have and make them mediocre for the next decade like other teams have had to endure.

Rivers seems to play with a pretty mature head on him, so I think it could work.

Amazing how much Max is getting scragged off the ball. Nothing too dirty, just shepherded off it by annoying little blokes like Charlie Cameron when the ball is a mile away. So bloody obviously and the umpires have done nothing. The minute Max were to do anything, you can count on it being a free against us.

Interesting take. After Zorko and Neale, their on ball brigade falls away pretty quickly to a bunch of no names I have no idea about, but clearly they have played some reasonable footy together over the past month or so, as such we need to pay them some respect. I think Langdon would absolutely carve up Robinson for pace, so I doubt Fagan would be silly enough to play that as a match up. Oscar v Hipwood and Jetta/Lockhart v Charlie Cameron are some other pretty import matchups between the teams I think. The others I think the Lions will put some serious work into stopping would be Hannan and Fritsch. Those guys have been pretty important cogs in the return to form of our forward line.

Clarkson's public whinges are becoming fairly frequent of late. The AFL seemed to listen to him on the holding the ball thing and maybe now they will make some kind of adjustment to the rules because of this incident as well - or maybe not. He is really damaging his own legacy with this kind of behavior at the moment. Shaun Burgoyne up for another crude/sling tackle too I think (thought he was pretty useless against us anyways). The wheels are falling off indeed and it's enjoyable to watch.

I really do doubt this - I'm more inclined to think that Jack was clearly regarded as on of the top 2 players in that draft and thus that's why we took him. If I do remember anything, there was a debate about him going 1 or 2 and some thinking that he should perhaps go pick 1 due to his leadership qualities setting him up better to handle the pressure associated with pick 1. ...then there was also the episode where we nearly traded him to Richmond when he still had some trade currency. You can't win them all I guess and it was a bit of a sad saga all round. ...but the I guess St Kilda did pick up Paddy and leave Trac for us, so it evens out over the long run sometimes. Also everyone in that draft let Gawn slip through to the 50s some where.

It's a nice sentiment but: 1. Maybe a Casey gig was actually offered but rejected by Jack; 2. I think the competitive nature of him would have always wanted to play at the highest level if he thought there was a remote chance of it; 3. Going to Port may also have suited him going back home to SA to be closer to family.