Mel Bourne

Sure, and I accept that training-related injuries are an unfortunate by-product of what is a very necessary practice. I just don’t think games where players are going full-tilt for the purpose of “warming up” are necessary. Just play the freakin’ game, already.

Is it our failure to find talent or inability to nurture it?

Sure, but isn’t there an argument that if all teams started out “rusty” then it’s just an aspect of the regular season? I guess my point is that the nature of the game these days is so much more physical and high-risk, that any kind of match that takes place with your team’s best players on the ground should be for premiership points. Plus, the nature of pre-season training/intra-club matches these days is so intensive that I don’t think you’re going to see any teams start out rusty in any overt way. I realise it’s an unpopular opinion, but if I see any of our players injured in this series I’ll only dig my heels in on it more. And I’ll also swear. Swear a lot.

Even more reason not to bother.

Agreed. And while we’re at it, I’d be up for scrapping any games that aren’t AFL, full stop. This Marsh stuff? An opportunity for players to get injured in return for what? A trophy that nobody cares about. If the point of a pre-season comp is for players to warm up a bit before the real thing, let them all warm up in the first few rounds together. The game is too intense and too injury-prone now. Any sacrifices made on the ground should be for the real thing.

If halfway through the season we are looking back on an utter disaster, Goodwin is gone. Contracts aren’t what they used to be (though it will be expensive).

On the one hand that is absolutely true, on the other, a lot of supporters are on a hair-trigger thanks to last year and are very unreceptive to any platitudes from the club. Especially from the marketing department. Anyway, sorry to bring up an old comment. It is just a silly title, but it is also telling of how on-edge and simultaneously worn out some of the supporters are that they view it simply as a poorly thought-through jinx.

Can you hold down a job as a sales rep, smoke cigs, celebrate both wins and losses with a couple of beers and still be considered an elite athlete? (absolutely)

I’m a little suss on the seemingly cut-throat and ominous nature of going 0-3. For a start, a team did it and made finals not that long ago, and it wasn’t like that team was even the best in the competition at the time. Going 0-3 is technically no different to losing three games in a row at any given point of the season, and plenty of teams have done that and made finals. The most plausible explanations for the history of “0-3” are a combination of mentality, luck of the draw (literally) and for most of it’s history, a much more uneven league. Essentially I’m asking for DL not to turn into Jonestown should it happen.

Nah, I was just making a silly joke.

I mean, to be fair, nobody usually asks for anybody’s opinion on anything around here.

This 8-win threshold that people are proposing for Simon Goodwin is extremely generous.

Don’t think we’ll win the first two, but we should beat Freo. WCE over there will take something ridiculously special, and GWS are in rude health right now. Whoever manages their injuries is doing a great job.

So not being particularly fussed over? Still wearing the boots? Ok, can’t be too bad.

Quite the expert, aren’t you.

This ??

Maybe not a tank per se, but if he plays 23 games in his first year I’ll be very surprised. He’s gonna get hit by some big blokes this year, and that’s gonna be tough on his developing frame. Resting will be required.

And that may very well be true, but are we expecting Kysaiah to play a full season in his first year? I’ve got my doubts that he’s got the tank for that just yet. And when he needs resting, we’d surely still like to have a SF option. But this could all be moot, as the word is Jay is being groomed as a defender (depth for Nev). Having him as depth in different areas of the ground could be an option though. I just feel like he shouldn’t linger in the background (I feel he’s a better option than Spargo, anyway).

This is a concept that I am very guilty of harping on about. There’s a good little clip here of his highlights playing the small forward role... https://www.reddit.com/r/melbournefc/comments/defpnf/crystal_ballin_with_his_first_preseason_at_the/ There are some very classy, instinctive passages of play here (with the kind of results you want), and to think he was only settling in without a helluva lot of game-conditioning behind him, it’s gotta be an option worth exploring.

Not sure if it’s an infection (fluid build-up can often not involve an infection), but the club seem to be playing it down, regardless. Mind you, they kinda have to.

Steven May is requiring further surgery. Fluid build-up. Another week off the track. https://www.afl.com.au/news/371681

I enjoyed it. I’m pretty excited to see how this fitness regime is going to affect our matches. The impression we’re getting more and more is that these players have never had to push quite this hard in a pre-season. The players are indeed looking in ripping nick, and will hopefully have tanks like never before. It will be interesting to see how we compare to other teams this year in the same respect. Are we pushing harder than the rest of the comp, just the same or finally catching up? Slightly frustrated with the drip-fed-morsel approach, so I might just wait till the whole thing’s out.

Mind you, there’s no questioning the “hell” bit. “To Hell...And Back?”

I think a question mark at the end of the title would fix everything.

Jack Handey joke. Genius. Also... “I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming in terror like his passengers”