Mel Bourne

Look, this game could blow out either way, or more likely, come down to the wire. But I’m proud of the way we’ve played so far.

These guys are paid way too much money to kick set shots like this. But I’m feeling like we’ve got the physical edge, in what will be a really exhausting game. Why do I have so much darkness in my heart for Mason Cox?

Pickett needs some “message” time at Casey. He’s been as useful as Anne Frank’s drum kit this year.

Gee, we’re on a hair-trigger today aren’t we. 😬

Any signs of injury?

Glad for the disruption but Ginnivan hasn’t been all that much this year.

Bizarre behaviour. Five members of my close family (parents, siblings) are Pies supporters. People I love, obviously. But today they are my sworn enemy. If any of them asked me for a ticket I’d hand them a toilet roll.

We know that’s not how Max rolls, though.

Just took a deep breath, visited the Collingwood FC Reddit and scanned for more info about this, then exhaled. Not much info except for speculation it’s flu. Could be ripping through the team right now. The worst thing I read while I was visiting that dark place were the amount of people saying Oliver and De Goey missing the game is “like for like”. Current AFL Fantasy rankings have Oliver at #2 Jordan De Goey at…….#69 I’d call them deluded, but that might be one of those words they’d need help with.

Add Pickett to this list.

The potential outs for Collingwood are frustrating. Only because a win means… ”Demons get the wood over depleted Pies” (despite us having four of our ‘21 GF players out through injury) Or in the case of a loss.. ”Classy Pies have the tools to dig deep”

I don’t think people are expecting him to be everywhere. Just hoping for somewhere, rather than frequently nowhere. I do have a feeling he’s gonna lift on Monday though.

Damn it!

Hopefully he isn’t as enamoured with his hometown as others.

Wasn’t able to watch the game tonight. Was about to watch the replay, but according to many here it seems my face might melt like the dudes at the end of Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

Whatever it is, I can’t believe it’s what some others are suggesting, which is essentially “the coach is being mean to him”.

Fritsch is a vital ingredient that’s gone missing. Our leading goal kicker for four seasons running (including the current one). His usual contribution to the scoreboard would have won us three of the games we’ve lost this year. He must be playing sore, but we desperately need him to come good.

Found myself screaming “YOU’RE NOT THAT GUY” at Harmes on too many occasions last Saturday

Fed-up, irrational me: Drop Kysaiah Pickett. Dude needs a wake-up call. His five-minute cameos shouldn’t be enough to guarantee selection week in, week out. Logical, rational me: maybe don’t listen to that other guy.

Of late, specifically the last two matches, I think Fritsch’s slump has been making the crucial difference. Had he have made his usual contributions to the scoreboard we would have won both matches It’s pretty straightforward. He’s been our leading goal kicker every year since 2020, and he’s still our best in 23. We rely so heavily on him to make the difference, and he is not delivering at the moment. It has to be an injury. But whatever the injury is, it’s affecting his confidence to the core, to the point his set-shots are uncharacteristically off Desperate for the guy to re-find his form. Some say “no Oliver, no team”, but really it’s “no Bailey, no win”.

You probably need to embellish a little here. Genuinely can’t find the logic in saying the form team of the competition is less of a threat than Carlton.

Not sure if anybody here has watched “Veep”, but Mason Cox gives off strong Jonah Ryan vibes. if you’re going to be up up yourself, maybe try not to also be an un-co dork wearing safety googles.

Wholeheartedly agree. I went on my own and was alternating between yelling my guts out and being quietly incensed at the silence of supporters who were sitting in groups around me. I do often wonder if our players have genuine issues with their supporters, and the lack of support they offer compared to other teams.

Are you sure you were at the Demons game? Most of the play was on the member’s wing.

Could not believe this. I can accept that mistakes are made by the umpires, but that decision made me think that the AFL need to start penalising umpires for particularly egregious calls like that one. Agreed, easily one of the contenders for worst umpiring decision of the season so far.