Smokey

Nailed it. There is definitely a shift in the common perception of what a man should be these days, and although I’m sure there are some downsides to it (like anything in life), I think overall it’s a positive thing that young blokes are more open to talk about their issues and seek help when required rather than bottling it up and letting it consume them in the long run. At Sam’s age I was mostly worried about having enough money to go to the pub on weekends, can’t imagine what it’s like carrying the pressure of #1 key forward prospect of the oldest footy club in the world starved for success for so long. As I said earlier, retiring a 250+ game club champion is there for the taking for Sam. And I reckon he will. I have enormous faith in this young blokes character.

We live in unprecedented times. Between the 24/7 commentary, the myriad of “Experts” on tv all vying for the most interesting comment and the negative culture of social media it’s any wonder these young men have issues. There is no indication he is a sensitive soul. He simply made a few honest comments about the pressure he’s been under. Couldnt be happier he resigned. He’ll retire a club champion if he wants to, he has all the right tools as a key forward.

I reckon he'd benefit far more from the forward 50 entries of a classy and skilled midfielder who can lace him out a few times a game

Spot on.

Brave statement based on his 2019 form

Not sure the hall of fame induction is based off playing ability alone, although you're not wrong re: Hardie.

I get that same funny feeling literally every week for no real reason. My feeling brain is ultimately the architect of my frustrated weekends post-Melbourne game as a result.

Thanks for the info mate. I wonder if they give kicking technique instructions while watching tapes etc. then the coaches just let them go out and do what they were told to do. And perhaps the coaches didn't need to guide them because they were all following their instructions perfectly. We probably won't miss a set shot for the rest of the year based off that. Happy days.

Can't argue with much of that, except I will say that even though Petracca hasn't hit consistent output yet, this is still his best season to date (which I guess is pretty uninspiring in itself at this stage of his career). But from my view his improvement over the last few years appears to be linear if you look at it holistically. His trouble is he is still prone to going missing for entire games, which is incredibly frustrating given his abilities and potential. And of course his set shot kicking. On the positive side, he is asserting himself more in the contest, using his strong body to his advantage and has set up many scoring opportunities this year. Tmac on the other hand I agree getting a bit exposed this year. Whilst he has shown patches of dominance over the last few years up forward, even when Hogan was injured and he was #1 target, he has proven himself to not be such a natural forward this year. Whether that's because he is carrying an injury remains to be seen, I certainly hope that's the case or else we are in desperate need of an established key forward over the trade period.

Tend to agree, although Tmac more than held his own when Hogan was injured for extended periods. I think last year he was under-rated, and is now getting the defensive attention he deserves.

Don't get precious on me now, your opinions are not immune to scrutiny.

Agree, although Salem wouldn't be far off notwithstanding missing a few games

TMac is averaging almost 5 possessions less a game and hasn't had half the impact Tracca has at various times. Couldn't disagree with this more.

Not sure why people are so impatient to see him on the park. He's not exactly a polished player. If he's the answer to our forward line woes then we have far more serious issues. I'd rather get games into, you know, our actual true forwards like Weed, Tmac and to a lesser exent Tim Smith (who I think has been contributing well when he's out there). Pruess is a backup ruckman, not a KPF.

One of the guys that came in and helped shape the beginnings of a winning culture. Not saying we are there yet on that front, but guys like Lewy are the ones we will look back on and credit with the foundations of what is hopefully a few successful years again. I really hope he sticks around the club in some capacity. His leadership and experience doesn't need to go out the door just because he stops playing.

As someone who lost mates during deployments, no, i don't have to get used to it. Neither does Saty. Jog on sad little man, you have no idea what you're on about.

Anyone who makes war-like metaphors for a game of footy should be sentenced to 4 years of national service with 1RAR. Maybe then they'd understand the difference.

Footy commentary sinks to new lows almost weekly. For commentators to dig the boot into a young man like this and on the other hand pretend to be concerned with players mental health is baffling. Go **** yourself BT you absolute moron.

When did we become a big club? I must have missed the memo

In the context of your sentence, that's exactly how it reads. You can argue semantics all you like, your metaphor is poor at best if this was not your intention. I will call out the likening of a game of football to the horrors of war every time I see it because it is a ridiculous modern day sentiment among football commentary I am sick of hearing. Give it a rest.

Not sure any AFL coaches are leaders of men into battle, given none of them hold positions of leadership in the military.

I loved weeds game, he is going to be a huge part of our club for years to come. Disregard the depressing masses here who can't see the forest for the trees. It's misguided to focus on that last kick so much - it was a team effort to let the crows back in and get us to that point. As I said earlier, weeds has had an enormous burden bestowed upon him with Jesse leaving and that kind of pressure for a 21 year old with bugger all games under his belt is incredible. A kind of pressure that few here could even relate to. Yes, its a disappointing effort that last kick, but these are the sort of experiences that make a young key forward in the long run. He will be better for the experience and since the season has been over for weeks already, why don't we stop focusing on results that don't matter and start focusing on the improvements and positives in what has become a year for further development.

I thought we were excellent last night, shame about that last quarter though. The season is over, so getting upset over results doesn’t take precedence over acknowledging how much better we played for mine. We looked like the team of 2018 last night, and although a win would have been fitting, the vast improvement in our structures and connection were brilliant to witness. With our key ins coming back in, there’s no reason we won’t have a very strong second half of the season based on last nights performance. Hope the club gets behind weed, I thought he played well and it’s really obvious the pressure is getting to him. Stay strong young man, you have a very bright future at the MFC.

Anyone know what happened to Hore

This is top shelf stuff haha