Flower Magic

I hate to say "I told you so" but I told you so, and predicted he'd kick 7 this week. Franklin v Tomlinson? I'm already having nightmares about that match up.

He will be after the Swans successfully appeal his suspension!

Our much vaunted depth was today proven to be as shallow as my kids' wading pool. Dunstan, Melksham, Weideman - out of their depth with the water only up to their ankles. Brown, Hunt and Rivers - just barely avoiding drowning ATM. GHU if May, Petty and TMac are all missing next week. Buddy will kick at least 7.

Let's get Bowey to 24-0. I want us to break Geelong's record, not equal it!

6 Viney 5 Pickett 4 Petracca 3 Jordan 2 McDonald 1 Brayshaw

I'll remember your esteemed words when the Dees win the 2022 flag and Clarry wins the 2022 Brownlow. BTW, you don't need to shout.

One thing that strikes me about Melbourne's dominant start to 2022 is how many of our guys are playing as well as they have ever played. Confidence is a wonderful thing, but huge kudos must also go to the coaches. Here's my take on who is career best form. A score of 10 denotes CBF (career best form). Bowey 10, Brayshaw 10, Brown 5, Fritsch 8, Gawn 9, Harmes 10, Hunt 7, Jackson 10, Jordan 10, Langdon 10, Lever 7, May 10, Neal-Bullen 7, Oliver 10, Petracca 9, Petty 10, Pickett 8, Rivers 6, Salem N/A, Smith 6, Spargo 10, Sparrow 10, Viney 9, Weideman 6 It's no wonder that no one can get near us at the moment. Long may it continue.

But Dane Swan won a Brownlow, somewhat diluting your argument! Clarrie will win it this year though, get on him, I already have.

So wrong in so many respects! Please look at the facts. Of the last 25 medallists (back to Shane Woewodin in 2000), 13 (more than half) came from teams that finished premiers, runners-up or in the top three on the ladder. Hard to see how these teams all had "very few or no other great players" or were "one-man teams" as you argue. There are four medallists and premiership winners in the same year in this period - Akermanis, Black, Bartel and Ablett - geez, those Brisbane and Geelong teams were pretty ordinary teams, full of passengers who wouldn't take votes off the eventual medallists! Then there's Mitchell, Swan, Goodes, Cousins, Buckley and, oh look, Woewodin who were medallists in runner-up teams. All one-man teams apparently. And none of them can have been "strong, unselfish" teams. Facts will always trump fanciful speculation.

When Clarrie wins his second Brownlow in 2023, you will have an arguable case, but not until then. Luckily when he wins his third in 2024, there will be no argument possible.

You must be very young. He has a little ground yet to make up on Chris Judd, to name but one.

6 Oliver 5 Gawn 4 Bowey 3 Brayshaw 2 Langdon 1 Sparrow

6 May 5 Gawn 4 Spargo 3 Petracca 2 Oliver 1 Viney

Joeboy - taking night off

6 Gawn 5 May 4 Langdon 3 Harmes 2 Jordan 1 Viney

Appropriately named poster, given that this post is absolute rubbish. Must have been out working on the truck during last week's game.

6 Oliver 5 Brayshaw 4 Langdon 3 Gawn 2 Harmes 1 Weideman

I reckon if you cut Gus, he would bleed red and blue. He will be a Demon for life even if he is earning less than he would elsewhere. There is not a snow flake's chance in hell of him playing anywhere else. And he is exactly the type of selfless and popular player whom others would cop a pay cut to keep.

Jordan - useful link man Joeboy - doesn't like Brayshaw

6 Petracca 5 Bowey 4 Jackson 3 Oliver 2 Neal-Bullen 1 May Trac lies on the ball for five minutes after a poke in the eye - no free kick against him! Another three Brownlow votes for sure when the umpires show him that much love.

Gus was great tonight, not sure which game joeboy was watching.

6 Petracca 5 Langdon 4 Viney 3 Brown 2 Brayshaw 1. Oliver

If I want to roll in negative sludge, this forum never fails to disappoint. If we are good enough (and we are), we will beat any team anywhere. And who really cares whether other teams get more night games or less interstate trips or less 5 and/or 6 day breaks when, on the last Saturday in September 2022, Max and Goody will once again raise the cup for us. Personally I'm stoked that we have ten of our first 14 games at the MCG. So by round 15, I will have a pretty good idea whether to stay in Melbourne or leave town to look after my dozen or so ski chalets.

Wow, I sure copped some heat for my concern for our players' wellbeing after Jake's fainting spell. Those replying (or face planting or even vomiting) seem to miss the point of my original post entirely. My question was simply why do such an onerous session in hot weather (and direct sun) and risk the players' health when it could have been done on a cooler day? Particularly given that this was the first scheduled training session for 2021/22. The best distance runners do not do their hardest workout on the first day back after a break, they build up to it, increasing the intensity as they get fitter. Okay, so football fitness is different to running fitness? Not so much any more. Any running program should be gradual. Throwing people into hard sessions on day 1 risks various injuries such as calf and achilles strains and even stress reactions or fractures. And doing them on warm or hot days risks heat exhaustion which may cause, surprise surprise, fainting. But I never suggested that players should not do hard running on hot days. Of course they should, given that AFL venues now include Darwin, Alice Springs, Cairns etc. But not on day 1 in hot weather after a two month break unless all players have followed and adhered to strict running programs during their break, which I doubt is the case and certainly ain't for the new boys.