Mel Bourne

Feels like we got a good look at our finals campaign today. And I love what I saw.

Wow. You lose a Milkshake, you gain a Fritter. But I want that milkshake back.

Melk looking pretty casual on the bench. No crutches. Relaxed demeanour. Either it’s not as bad as we fear or he’s being the ultimate pro. I fear the latter.

Look, I realise the English language is in a constant state of flux but I’d be letting down my fellow Gen X-ers if I didn’t put up a futile objection every now and then.

I totally agree, except for the bit where you used “cringe” as an adjective (and yes, I know, I know, but they’re wrong too). First year at the club. People need to chill.

Thyroid issues can really kick one’s butt. I suspect that’s been the major cause of Salo’s problems this year.

Port are really going to want to steady their ship today. Only two wins out of the last six matches (and neither of those wins against top eight sides). They are not going to want to enter finals at 2-5.

Go Dees Go Power

There’s still time for Mason Cox to hurt himself.

Tippa should be allowed to have his own personal sub.

I am not going to question the powers of the Demon Army! Maybe (definitely) I’m biased, but there’s a particular energy behind the goals these days that we haven’t seen the likes of for a long time, and I’m certain it plays heavily into exactly what you’re talking about. Keep doing what you’re doing!

WCW, I get where you’re coming from. You’re a lot more involved with the club than I am, and it’s important that you maintain the directive. As for me, I choose to believe my comments in a quiet corner of the internet don’t actually have any bearing on our finals campaign whatsoever, and I would regard any opinion to the contrary as being more than a tad irrational. I genuinely believe we’re a contender, but as for the “fear factor”, I also believe Fagan, McRae, Hinkley and Voss would well and truly be ratcheting-up the same methods of psychology at their respective clubs. Some seasons this factor has more weight to it than others. If one team has shown a particular dominance over all the others during a season, the fear runs high among their opposition. The point I’m trying to make is that with regards to this particular season, I’m genuinely not feeling the fear-factor emanating from any club. It’s more a “respect” factor. Again, I really do believe we can do it this year, but I’m not under any illusions that another club couldn’t either. I hope this doesn’t read as negative. It’s actually a positive, as I think the tight nature of this year’s season (and the mutual respect it breeds) has made for a really enjoyable one.

Melbourne hadn’t won a flag for quite a while before ‘21. Do you think they were “worried” about the other teams going into those finals We’re talking about elite athletes in professional organisations here, not “The Karate Kid”. All the contenders know that on the right day, it’s theirs to win.

Ha! I think the only thing the players are genuinely afraid of is the score review system.

He’s really the one player I’d like to see rested this week. As we’ve seen in the past, Maysie’s body doesn’t seem to hold up as well as others come the pointy end of the season. He’s lost a noticeable amount of mobility in recent weeks. Though many will argue that playing through his soreness is optimal. I just worry about that hammy of his.

I’m not sure I really buy this. Whoever we play first in the finals is not going to be afraid of us because we beat the Swans. I don’t think any of the top teams would have any of this so-called “fear” going in any direction. Everyone is gettable this year. There are no true monoliths, and it’s made for a great season.

Form - true, continuity is important, but all teams are about to have their continuity halted after next weekend (which is why some coaches have come out against it). Fitness - the risk of fresh injuries after being rested - is their much evidence of this? Coming off an injury, and being brought back too soon, sure. But getting injured after being rested for a week (while still maintaining peak physical fitness)? I’d need to see the stats on that. Again, the Cats employed resting their older players throughout the season last year. And key players, at that (Selwood, Hawkins, Dangerfield and Isaac Smith, who was rested in Rnd 22 and went on to win the Norm Smith). It was all about making sure they had the best team available in the final game of the year, and didn’t see the above issues as much of a threat to that aim Gawn and May would be it. No need to go crazy.

What’s the argument for not resting players? Is it the risk of a potential “rustiness” when a rested player returns? If so, isn’t this negated somewhat by all finals teams forced into a supposed rust-onset via the pre-finals bye? Sure, in that regard it’s two weeks vs one week. But we’re talking about elite athletes here. I have trouble accepting that such a break would create any significant drop in form. They’d still be training and keeping their skills sharpened. But it’s more than merely resting a player. It’s insurance that we have them playing finals. As for any suggestion that the AFL would come down on a club for employing such a tactic - did they “come down” on the Cats last year?

Careful. A lot of people here think that resting players is a cardinal sin or something. It’s almost like they know something Chris Scott wasn’t aware of last year.

Make no mistake, I do not want to see him go. But what did you make of his move to the centre bounce against the Tigers? The lead-up to it was interesting. It essentially was the first time the football media had put him in check, and the club’s response wasn’t exactly along the lines of “he plays a role that you don’t understand”. They responded in a way that seemed to indicate they saw a concern too.

I’m not saying he needs to be electric every week, just involved at a consistent level. Five disposals is not good. I’m not using goals as a metric. If I was, he’s behind Greene, Cameron, Elliot, Papley, Higgins and Rankine in that regard (and not sure why Cyril Rioli’s numbers are the benchmark - small forward-wise, Greene has kicked 56 and Cameron has kicked 53 this year). His inconsistency is not an illusion. There was a reason why he was moved to the centre bounces against the Tigers a couple of weeks ago - to get him more directly involved. I’m not sure why it hasn’t been adopted more since, as it seemed to be having the desired intention. I say all this as somebody who loves to watch him play when it’s on his own terms, and really want him to be the champion he keeps hinting at becoming.

He came back two weeks ago. The thing he has to do is STAY back.

Fair enough. It’s interesting how many thought it was him at an absolute ebb, but he can still find votes. Pretty great player, I guess.

Yeah, I reckon you pounced on that one a bit hard, my friend.

I don’t know if this has happened to anybody else, but I accidentally let Kayo continue playing after the match. After a while, a program came on called “The Bounce”. It seemed to centre around AFL and was a bit hard to follow, but eventually it occurred to me that Fox have given a few older people with acquired brain injuries the opportunity to host their own show about AFL. Kudos to Rupert and all at Fox for embracing inclusion!