BigFez

Christian Salem - The Perfect Game. Watched the game with a bunch of Tigers supporters who didn't know anything about him. They sure do now. As good of a game as I've seen anyone play in a Melbourne jumper.

They certainly have short memories, but going into their forum to argue with them is akin to bashing your head against a brick wall. They look at us with disdain, and rightly so, and 3 flags in four years is going to beat any argument a Melbourne supporter is ever going to come up with. While I admire their success, because I remember them being the laughing stock for years, I've about had enough of them and am eagerly awaiting the end of their dynasty. The only question is how long can they keep talking about these flags? i think the 2013-15 Hawks only gave up mentioning theirs last year.

Gee I hope May plays. No disrespect to Petty, I think he'll be a fine key defender, but I reckon May's inclusion takes this game from 30/70 to closer to 50/50 . Richmond's tall forwards are a handful, bringing in one of the comp's best big defenders is huge IMO. I believe we have the talent to challenge the top teams like the Tiges, just hoping we can hold our nerve in the big moments. Richmond are such a good team, they will keep cool heads knowing they have been there and done that.0 Hopefully the knew-found maturity and belief in our system can get us over the line. PS don't you love how the media jump on us when we're winning then all of a sudden this translates to "Demons supporters have blown the lid off"? Very annoying, when the vast majority of Dees supporters will keep the lid on until the final siren of the GF if we were to make it.

Definitely agree this is a danger game. A real test of the maturity we have heard the players mention. This is a textbook game for the old MFC to drop, see Fremantle and Sydney last year. Hopefully the new MFC can take care of the lesser teams without fuss.

Nice way to soften the blow if we get rolled.

Completely staggering the confidence of a decent proportion of Hawks supporters on their board. They are sitting second last, and are playing against a team who is flying, but are still confident of a win. Their prolonged recent periods of success must've given them all a case of HFCSS, which is the exact opposite of MFCSS.

Based on their respective careers so far and early form in the practice match last week you'd have to say BB was ahead of Sam at this stage. Whether or not he is included for the Richmond game would depend on the form of the senior side's forward line this week and his own performance in the ressies. Goodwin did say he's still a few weeks away in his presser after the game on Sunday so unlikely, but I wouldn't completely rule it out.

James Jordon is in the top ten in the AFL for tackles. I think a massive part of the reason why we have improved so much is what we have been doing while the opposition have the ball. Chasing, pressuring, tackling, keeping a great defensive shape. He's been a big part of that and I'd hate to see him dropped. Much prefer Sparrow over Melksham too, he's a bit of a hard nut and i reckon he'll hurt a lot of players throughout his career. Petty for May probably the only change. Shattered about May, we are a FAR better side with him in it.

Are Geelong now considered bad enough for people to continue saying "but the Demons haven't beaten anybody yet"?

How bad is it in Melbourne today? Is it going to be a full wet weather slog?

If Salem keeps up his form he would be in the conversation. Very difficult to be considered among the best couple of back flankers in the comp though, there are some guns in that position. But man has he been good so far this year.

Looking at the forecast hopefully our boys aren't scared of a bit of wet and cold.

Don't underestimate how deep the scars are! I have never been confident before a game and I don't think I ever will be.

Pretty sure it was yesterday afternoon. Max said in the video of support they sent to the AFLW side that they'd be watching in the airport. That match was yesterday arvo.

Not sure to make of GWS. Looked good against the Swans in the pre-season, then have been pretty ordinary once the real season started. Still have some serious star power so I don't think it'll be a walk in the park.

Sometimes, as the third forward, you need to be the wide 'get out' leading option for the kicker if the main forwards aren't used up the middle. Good defenders and good defensive set ups will often have the corridor blocked. This would contribute to Fritch's leading patterns, and set shots from the flank. You can't just offer a lead up the guts from the goal square unopposed all afternoon, especially if you aren't the main man. Does he need to improve his set shot kicking? Yes! But personally I think he plays that third forward role as well as anyone going around, and I wouldn't trade him for all the tea in China.

Me just hanging around waiting for the Sunday evening game.

McGee been good. Miller for them has been a real thorn in the side.

Great to see the big forward crunch the player coming in to help out and leads to a goal.

She was just doing the rare but not illegal non-running bounce.

Hot footy early!

And didn't they win a ridiculous number of games against us in a row? Something like 18? One of the last "hoodoos" we had to break was beating them. North can suffer in their jocks as far as I'm concerned.

There was a dramatic shift in the vibe of the room pre-game to post game that's for sure. Going from "how are we going to fit Crouch and Hannebery into this awesome side" to "how are we going to replace the 10 players that need to be dropped after that performance"

No change. Peak MFCSS this week. 2-0, playing some good footy, going in as the bookies favourites against an under-performing team, getting a bit of media attention. Sound familiar? Hoping it is a more mature, hungry group this season.

I have watched Pickett's goal about 20 times and I still can't work out how he just appears out of the pack. Unreal.