Engorged Onion

He'll either be a poor man's Sam Mitchell, or a wealthy man's Richie Vandenburg. I think he is comfortably worth persisting with.

great useless stat! twitter that one pal...

So many plot lines! So what's your version of the truth?

And that's pretty much the dichotomy on the forum right there Empathic, nuanced considered opinions vs harden the [censored] up no matter the context.

nice credentials

how do you know these things @whatwhatsaywhat about how he trains?

I was being a little flippant re: the kids line mate

I've got some pretty firm views on drinking Energy Drinks 'What about the kids who read this' 'The Sports Meds at the club think this is ok?' 'Maybe I am ill informed, and the clubs Sports Meds have it right?' Anyway... WTF Perhaps someone on this forum can educate me.

Ricky Jackson would be the Caleb Daniels of the competition.

Did the commentators talk about Schwarz's basketball background every possession like they do Pendlebury?

With a tweet like that, I presume Brad is no longer in the ‘system’ and is unencumbered by contracts.

Nice work Glenn

Did Simpson run over your cat?

I'm sure they've got balls @Kelpien, they just don't have a media platform. The fact that you don't here about it in the media, does not mean it's not occurring.

Wow, just woke up to the news. It's hard to see the season going forward from here for Essendon in a way that is not compromised. BUT that's what the AFL does best, operate in compromised conditions. From what I have read, EFC seem to have followed protocol, so it's hard to come from a punitive perspective towards them. For Melbourne, well, I started a thread before the Carlton game about what the season looks like from the FD department perspective. This locks it in now to being preparation for individuals and team systems 'in game' to get a clear run for 2021...I'd dare say all other teams have that focus now too. What a palaver. Ps... this has prolonged Harley's career! Woot!

The beauty of supporting this club eh! Still its better than a decade of seeing if we won't get flogged by 60 points.

I really want Weid to work, but I think this season is his last opportunity to do so in the Red and Blue. I liken him a bit to Jack Watts, in the sense that there is a smoothness when he has the ball in his hand, but he isn't a beast of a competitor, and that in itself is ok, but maybe not suitable for what we need as a club. For mine he would work great in a tandem tall forward setup, without being the no.1. Whilst Tmac is struggling, there is urgency for Weid to impose himself physically more - and currently he isnt built for that, a couple of years time and he may well be. From the outside, he doesn't appear to relish the physicality of a one on one or a pack situation, and I think for what the FD want, and what he needs, it may be best to seek alternate employment...sadly.

That rings a bell @markc, was that relevant to our barnstorming run in 2018?

Well, to be the pedant that I am, he still hasn't polled a vote in 2 years - unless of course Brownlow voting isn't actually secret.

I personally think this stat is meaningless in isolation... after doing it manually I cannot be bothered to check any other clubs. However what it does note, is that both through periods of quarters and through entire games 30/60 minutes at a time - either the FD or players do not know or cannot at will stem the tide. I don't know if its statistically significant more than the majority of other non top4/premiership winning clubs, ie: is Melbourne different from the rest of the comp?

My take - from a leadership perspective, when errors occur. If the players are taught to play percentages, ie: play safe... they will never ever ever be comfortable taking risks under pressure during a game. The negative threads post Carlton have all slammed the inability for this team since 2018 to capitalise on our advantage. Well, if you're teaching your players to play safe, it doesn't translate to a capacity to do that. Funnily enough, from a spectators perspective, when players take risks and it comes off, it doesnt look like a risk and looks great. Funnily enough, from a spectators perspective, when players take risks and it doesnt come off, it looks awful. Petraccas first goal was a risky ($$hit) kick to the hotspot, where due to his amazing core strength was able to hold the mark. That was a risk, it paid off and it looks great. Carlton's first goal was through Steven May not holding a mark (taking a risk), and it looked [censored] (and ergo, people question leadership credentials). You can train and train and train for this, but the only real time to train for it (to refine skills, feel more comfortable executing) is on game day. This is why I rate Goodwin... but this is also why Goodwin may fail.

@binman, I agree with the 'notion' of playing percentages, particularly in that part of the ground. It sounds (and correct me if I am wrong) like you are arguing that no matter the circumstances, never back your own ability to do something that isn't part of your fundamental drilled role. Always in every given situation, no matter the context - always do those things. If I have interpreted that correctly, what I don't agree with, is that it doesn't allow the fact that people make errors, without the intention of making errors. It's going to happen, players [censored] up all the time, because they are human. We want players to play with risk and flair, to make useful decisions under pressure, but dont legitiamately allow space to make errors and castigate them if they do, because of our own 'expectations' in retrospect after the play has happened. "Hero Ball" is an emotive response, I know you've backed Goodwin on here - and I do just... (my patience is waining), but if part of the philosophy is to back players to make decisions within their skill set (ability to take mark in traffic, with sure hands)(whilst acknowledging errors will occur), then these things will occur. What worries me immensely, was not that May's failed mark 'was' the one that got them going, it was the rest of the teams ongoing inability to stem the momentum.. nb: It's an unknown answer to Smith's two leaps. Correlation does not equal causation. But easy to do so in retrospect. Smith's greatest attributes are his athleticism and hands... probably made the decision to commit to the act, and like a hundered times a game, [censored] up a mark. Smith is raw... there will be learnings @binman, there will be learnings ...

It's a fascinating one isn't it... if he takes the mark, it looks like someone who is at the peak of his game and is lauded for it. Was it a percentage play? Nope, but I'd rather him risk that, then play safe. Players make decisional errors all the time, Gawn [censored] up taps, midfielders decide not to chase/apply heavy pressure, its merely amplified as a defender (I know you know that)... Having never played a game at high level... can someone walk me through when there is a pack of 3 forwards and 3 defenders, why you wouldnt be prepared to not jump at the ball, in case it's YOUR guy who takes a mark? How is it communicated in the moment as the ball comes in? How do you decide to go or stay? What if you fail to punch exactly where you want it? What if you drop a mark? (in a pretty difficult situation)... I guess I'm trying to illustrate, that its incredibly difficult because you don't necessarily know what your opponents are going to do, nor your team mates opponents, (thus nor your team mate).

I hear what you are saying @Rodney (Balls) Grinter, although it's hardly radical as this has been spoken about for nigh on 15 years. It's purpose is for both aesthetic reasons (as you speak about) but also reducing high impact collision injuries. For me, it beggars belief why it hasn't been signed off.

Good question Under Goodwin's Tenure 2016 - 5 2017 - 4 2018-5 2019-7 2020-2* so far *23 over 4 and a bit seasons. So that is essentially every 5th game we will have a scoreless quarter The previous 4 seasons 2012 yielded the other 34, essentially every 2.5 games.