tiers

Have to concede. well done to Diamond Jim. Some might say he ia more successful than his earlier namesake.

It was first posted under 2020 Lightning Premiership on 6 April. Don't know date of podcast.

Some months ago, a clever poster posted this suggestion: Send 18 teams with coaches and staff to Tassie, wait 2 weeks then start training for a lightning premiership season based on a truncated series of matches. Every team plays every other team once (there is of course no home ground advantage) over a short period, say two games a week with minimum 3 days rest with a new game every night for the season to clean up with the TV viewing (just like T20 cricket). If the season runs into spring and summer, so what as it never gets too hot in Tassie and there is no international cricket season to protect. Modify the scheme for multiple hubs and there is still the structure that has been used. So when Whispering says: The Melbourne Football Club should hand out an award to the person who came up with the concept of the 20 day football frenzy the football world experienced from Round 9 to the completion of Round 12 on Monday. I accept the award on behalf of the clever poster.

Having a free kick reversed is penalty enough. An 80-100m territory (now that territory is spoken about as a real thing) loss is far too much.

Was this game not more exciting and attractive as 2020 footy? No scrums, quick umpiring decisions, fast tough and uncompromising. Real footy that had not yet been sanitised by the rules committee and over-coached by so called modern coaches. And we won. And how good was Stinger's mullet.

I am a bit older so my memory is probably more reliable. A good old wingman would patrol his side of the ground. They didn't run forward as much as they ran back to either help out or provide a target out.

The late Dean Bailey used to say that a group needed to play about 70 games TOGETHER to bond with trust, understanding and cohesion. We are getting there with the core group of Tracca, Clarrie, Gus, Salem, Maxie, Harmes and others. Add to the mix Kozzie, Jacko, Rivers, Langdon togerther with the experience and stability of Lever and May and we have the makings. I had always predicted 2020 as the year when it all came together but in the midst of this madness it is hard to be confident. Watching the game from high up behind the goals is the best way to gain an appreciation of movement, tactics and plans. It is still my favourite view but these days I am MCC and don't get behind the goals but still sit top deck. Coaches needn't sit up top so long as they have watchers who do and can relay relevant information (I think NFL do this). Go dees. It has been easier to watch the past 2 weeks. Long may it continue.

He runs and runs and runs. He is the Energiser man who plays like a wingman of old - up and down his flank with a regular support role in defence and not hunting for goals. Good pick up.

Trade out Clarrie or Gus so we can watch them become stars of the game at another club under a better coach? Nuts! I would rather trade the coach and find one who can maximise their potential. Enough. The boys deserve better from the club. And more support and belief from us.

When we had Jesse we kicked the ball to land on his head in a 1 v 3 contest. That he scored so many goals is a credit to him, not the coach, club or team. Without Jesse a the main target, we seem to kick to anyone in the forward line who is at best one on one or more likely 1 v 2 and in an unfavourable position. No wonder the ball comes out quicker than it goes in. This has been an issue since the days when we lost matches with a 50% advantage in inside 50s. It has gone on for too long. The whole world can see it except for the coaches and the players. It's now 11.55 pm on the change clock. Get changing.

Kozzie has that something special that means he is always trying to move the ball towards the goals, not necessarily to gain his own possession. It is an education to watch him play. He runs, chases and always after the ball. I hope that he can develop into another Davey with his fierce attack on the ball and the player with an occasional burst of Farmer.

I can recall doing a similar analysis at the beginning of 2019 that determined that we had few weaknesses in personnel compared to other teams and other eras. In the end 2019 was a flop for the same reasons as many seasons are a flop - too many injuries and too meek coaching initiatives. Correct these two issues and we do have serious potential to go far. Let's wait and see and be patient, again.

Team - played their role Finally the selection carousel is coming around to perhaps the best balanced group to play a high level attacking game plan. Let it settle and develop for a few weeks.

This strategy above to complete the season can be adapted to Queensland. If 2 weeks are allowed for quarantine and then another 11 rounds to complete the season, it will be mid to late October. By then Queensland will be too hot and humid for finals so, unless they can come back to Melbourne, the only answer is to condense the season into 7 weeks with games every 4 - 5 days. That way there are still 2 weeks left (by my reckoning) for a finals season finishing on the last Saturday in September. Three rounds of finals in 2.5 weeks. Using the player management system outlined above, this can all work and whoever comes out on top will have earned it. If crowds are going to be mostly absent then a grand final on Wednesday 30 September will generate the biggest TV audience in history. It is critical that it finish before October because only thew filth have won GFs in October and we can't allow that to happen again.

With OMac and May to play on the talls and Lever to play as a intercepting sweeper and Jetta, Hibbert and Salem to play on the smaller guys, there seems to be no room for Smith. However I see the game a a unit where 7- 8 players each play a role in the backline and in the middle and rotate on the ground depending on the need at the time to find and exploit a mismatch. Smith for all his displayed weakness can be a hard match up in a game so long as he is given some licence to play his way and be supported by the team around him. This was the role that Frost could have played, in the backline and on a wing, but this option was never really appreciated and developed because there was so much concern about his perceived weaknesses. If we are going to become a top side we need to find a ppoint of difference that we can exploit. Otherwise you end up with toiges and swannees.

Whatever it takes to get him to 300. More than any other player he deserves it. Put him in cotton wool and prepare him for next year. Even if on a rookie's wage. We must do everything to help him get there in a home game on the G in a 'normal' season. And if the AFL have to get involved with a special concession then we should lobby them. I was there the night neita got to 300. Jones's fday/night will be even bigger (no disrespect to neita) because after this year and the problems of the past few years this would be a magnificent opportunity for us all to rejoice.

Now that the votes have been tabulated there should be recognition of some outstanding efforts by those who did not get votes but whose contribution made a huge difference. Hannan's two passes to Weed and Melksham when he was entitled to have a shot himself showed match awareness and vision to take the best options and execute perfectly. Long time since we have seen this in our team. His chase and tackle to win a free kick which he converted was magnificent. Three touches, three goals - a major contribution. Kozzie's pass to Harley at the end was priceless. Again, it took match awareness and vision with perfect execution. Earlier in the quarter Kozzie retrieved a loose ball in the backline and in a flash hand passed it to a running team mate. So what you might ask. Well it was the shepherd that followed that set him apart - simply superb and completely freed up his team mate. Maturity in a young recruit.

Re the camera angles. When I go the game I typically sit on the one spot high up in the grandstand and watch the whole game from that single spot. Even on a big footy ground I can get a feel for what is happening. Unless the image is severely shrunk it is impossible to reproduce this view on even a wide screen tv. What would help would be more interesting views from behind the goals more often during the game instead of the boring repeated replays of marks and goals. Show us how and why it happened just like they do on the weekday tv shows where they review the games. I know Kingy is often ridiculed but his analysis is generally perceptive and analytical. Dermie tries to give the bigger picture in words when it cannot be shown. Bruce is less understandable than lfhbxn scbvclkjwnzmnqav.

Ha ha.

If it is not at the MCG then it will not be a Grand Final but only a final match. Although should we win, any ground will do.

18 Clarries would be better. But until that day, he should play where he is of greatest value to the team. If that is the midfield in any given game, so be it. But if it is the forward line, then so be it. He is that versatile and that good he can bring value wherever he plays (oops, perhaps not in defence).

No. No. and No. We have Maxie and a combination of TMac, Weed and Jacko who can play in the ruck. I think Tomlinson can also pinch hit. Unless the main ruckman has special qualities (like Maxie) and we are not playing against the top rucks in the league, I reckon we can manage to mitigate any perceived disadvantage by playing these four as a group if Maxie is having a rest. If Goodwon was not so hidebound he would take advantage of this and rest Maxie in the forward line to create a mismatch.

Not so sour. The implication is that Goodwon is either too stubborn or too hidebound to accept another opinion. And Jennings should know. Jennings calls him creative at one point but his creativity has not been shown on match day. His strategy of using Gawn in the backline as a deterrent to other teams to kick to the goal scoring areas as Jennings describes is sensible if not predictable. But it only works if the backup around him is aware of his role and Lever is allowed to play his intercept role. His other suggestion to play Gawn in the forward line if we are a few goals down is also sensible. Create a mismatch somewhere forcing the opposition to reconstruct their team and game. However these strategies are too Gawn centric and mismatches should be explored using other players. Playing Clarrie in the forward line does have merit so long as he is replaced in the midfeild by a tagger type who can run eg Harmes who filled this role in 2018 with flair and excitement. Let the opposition worry for a change. Clarrie is the best tackler in the team and if he doesn't win the ball no one else does. Playing as a ball "holder" also has merit because he creates his own mismatch for most defenders - a strong mark , ferocious tackler, speed and strength and a player who has to be taken by defender 1 or 2 thereby freeing up opportunities for others. One of the weaknesses during Northey's reign was that we tried very hard to match our game to the opposition's game so that we were always chasing. I believe that we should focus only on our game plan and, if it is good enough, let them be forced to chase us. We do have the talent. If only the coaching and game plan could match our talent we should go far.

Not impossible but on current exposed form not probable. Happy to wear egg on face.

It is a truism of footy that teams can often emerge from extended periods of poor performance and go on to great success. Think of dees in 1987, leos in 2001, catties in 2007, doggies in 2016, toiges in 2017. This however relies on starting with a good squad and the right impetus for the "click". Typically teams emerge after tinkering with their personnel and game plan. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that the coaches are doing either in any controlled and planned manner. Too much seems to be reactive (team changes) or just not happening (game plan). I also believe that we have a strong list and that the weaknesses identified can be overcome with the right game plan. There are times in games when we show that we are capable of much better but they are too few. The fact that we are challenging in games means that we can be competitive but for not long enough. 16 min quarters and a shortened season gives reduced scope for us to emerge in 2020. Sad.