Swooper1987

His kicking needs improvement. That's a fact and was obvious from very early in his career and in this game. He wins the ball really well, and more often than not makes good decisions. He is a good shot for goal which is super but his field kicking is sometimes not what it should be. And like a lot of lefties he is one sided to his and the team's detriment at times (cue inside out handball back over his head!) However, he played a very good game which Healy acknowledged, despite the obvious shortcomings. He can be one of the best players in the league if he works on his deficiencies now and doesn't just accept that what he's giving now is his ceiling. He's a second year player with loads of improvement in him.

Very fair votes. Langdon was better than Pickett imv but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It breaks Gawn's streak of 10 consecutive games polling coaches votes. Very happy for Chandler and Langford and Harris Andrews is an absolute champion of the game and without him Brisbane lose that game by 5 goals.

It was one of the most even team performances since the Northey era. Pickett and Gawn were great contributors but not standouts as they usually are. Today it was an even spread right across the ground, with everybody contributing when it was their turn. That is by far the best way to watch your team play - when there is no reliance on any one individual but everyone rises to the occasion. It's what made the Northey teams so successful over such a long period - 20 goers who gave it their all. Today was absolutely the same vibe. Massive shoutout to Koltyn Tholstrup who did a number of really silly things last week, and this week turned it around completely. He was reliable and safe, and made some great decisions. Blake Howes is also turning into a really reliable player. And the move of Langdon to defence was a masterstroke. He was very influential today. Chandler after a slowish start was super, Langford had one of those days where things came off for him. I'd love him to work on his right side - I think it'll save him a lot of trouble down the track. Latrelle had some good moments too and got himself involved at important times. And Fritsch played one of his better games since 2021. Now to back it up.

Quick comeback for a bloke with a history of soft tissue injuries. If he's ready to go our medical team have achieved something extraordinary.

It makes sense to play Taylor when you consider none of Bowey, Jiath, Salem or Rivers are available. Go well young fella.

I posted elsewhere that this is the 10th consecutive game in which Max has polled coaches votes (under three different coaches). That is some effort. I'm not surprised he got a vote. He was by far and away the best Melbourne player on the ground, and according to Wheelo, the highest rated player from both sides.

Coaches votes are in. No surpises Archie Roberts 10 Darcy Parish 7 Isaac Kako 5 Zach Merrett 4 Peter Wright 3 Max Gawn 1 Max equal second with Nick Daicos behind Butters who has taken the lead now. It is also the 10th successive game in which Max has polled votes, the last five games of 2025 and the first 5 of 2026. That's some record.

This is partly true, but what the Bombers game plan did yesterday was make Gawn redundant behind the ball. No contested marks and only 1 for the game told the true Gawn story. He was terrific at winning his own ball and was in fact the highest rated player on the ground, but his influence was curtailed by the Bombers' ability to go around him. That is great coaching, and not dissimilar to what Geelong have done when playing against us in recent times. At all costs, avoid Gawn. I'm surprised more coaches haven't adopted this strategy.

This game moves on fast. Our balance was awful today - too immobile at both ends and we running in quick sand all day. The coaches need to work out why the lack of run but the balance issue isn't a hard one to fix. The bounce out of defence was badly missed today. But it's one game in a very long season, where no game is easy. I'm neither surprised nor overly concerned by the result because we didn't play well and I know we can play better. Full credit to Essendon who showed great signs last week and carried it over to today. Having your best personnel available is often overlooked and underrated when assessing a team.

Our best 6 weren't hard to find. Did they play to the standards they have set for themselves? - not at all. But full credit to Essendon. Brad Scott certainly has no problem coaching against the Demons. Today was his 14th win from 16 attempts. Gawn -6, our best yet again. Nullified by the Bombers game plan as much as his opponent but a big game nonetheless - 11 clearances, 19 contested and a goal. Pickett - 5 . A good game but his disposal efficiency of 42% hurts when 21 of his 28 possies are uncontested. Steele - 4. Solid today and workmanlike is really his go. There's not a lot between his best and worst. Which means most of his games are going to look the same. Lever - 3. 8 intercepts, 10 marks. Reasonable effort. Turner - 2. Weight of numbers told in the end but he busted a gut. Langford - 1. Only for his second half. He was absolutely non-existent until half time.

King and Hardwick in total agreement on the coaches votes: Gawn 10 Steele 8 Pickett 6 Sparrow 4 Melksham 2 Thought the young fellow Gulbin from GC might have snuck in, but goes to show how comprehensive the win was.

Prior to the last couple of seasons at St Kilda he was one of the competitions top tier mids. Equal third in the 2020 Brownlow (tied with Petracca), twice an All Australian, a couple of club B and F's and club captaincy. King has reminded him how to enjoy the game. Form is temporary, class is permanent. He's classy on and off the field.

Hardwick was adamant in his presser that Gawn was easily best on. I'm not going to argue with him. Gawn 6 Steele 5 Koz 4 Melksham 3 Sharp 2 Sparrow 1 It was a pretty complete team performance. Every player had their moment.

Gawn - another huge game. 11 marks, 4 contested, 7 clearances, 15 contested and 83% efficiency Tholstrup - disciplined and stuck to the role with heart and desire. Steele - a lot of it and some decent tackling but sloppy ball use (52% efficiency) hurt at times. Langdon - was very good. Did his job. Salem - just a game really but was in our best few. Lever - stuck to his task. One of those games where if something could go wrong it did. Without Gawn we'd have lost by 80 plus. In saying that, I'd still like to see us run with two rucks. Give the Moose a run.

Agree with this. Gawn is by far the best ruckman since Madden. Leadership, fitness, durability, impact, and a fair measure of skill. Simon Madden was definitely a better forward than Max and he was a wonderful, surgical ruck. It was a different era and Madden always played in the same side as other ruckman (Moss, Crow, Justin his brother, Merrett, Salmon, Somerville). Max has done it by himself. He's also a premiership captain.

In an era of broadcasting giants, he stood the tallest. It was a great time for sports commentary, but he was the Richie Benaud of the AFL (VFL, WAFL).

I thought our blokes looked pretty good. Rivers the best of the lot after a sluggish start with his disposal. He worked his way into the game beautifully. Pickett was always lurking and looked dangerous but missed a couple of pretty straightforward opportunities which would have made an ok game a good one. It was Max's first extended run since last season after recovering from his finger break and spending most of the last 4-6 in rehab. He still looks fit and his ruck work in the second turned the game in the Vics favour. 68% game time was more than enough for him. No ruck dominated the night, and that was not a surprise given how many of them were on the ground. All in all, no injuries for us and a promising start from three crucial players. The game overall - I loved it. It was a step up from Home and Away, as it should be, and I liked what I saw of the new rules. Big tick from me.

They are a great media unit. Have ben super impressed with them since late last year. A definite change for the better.

He attended Melba College (a Government School) in the East. His brother is in Year 11 there. He didn't do Year 12 and decided to work.

We obviously remember it differently.

It's great. Everyone complained back when 4 became 5 in a 12 team comp. Everyone complained when the 6 was introduced in 1991. The first final 8 system occurred in 1994 in a 15 team comp - yes that's right - only 7 teams didn't make finals. Fremantle and Port took the comp to 16 teams by 1997 with the removal of Fitzroy and it's stayed that way since, with some system modifications in 2000. For 25 years it's remained unchanged even though the competition now has 18 team (soon to be 19). It will help alleviate the unfairness of the fixture and it takes out the most boring weekend of the footy season.

If Rivers develops greater consistency in his game, which he will have the opportunity to do with more midfield minutes, then he is by far and away the best long term option. I'd make him a co VC with Viney and Lever next year.

He was (is) a superstar of the comp. True, he is a burst player, but that doesn't mean he's not putting in for the full game. He's a matchwinner in much the same way as Tim Watson was at Essendon. He is a Hall of Famer and we were very fortunate to have him for the bulk of his career.

Yes, but it had to end. And now it has ended, time to move on and embrace the next pantheon of champions to wear the red and blue. There is so much to look forward to in 2026.

He'll become an all time great, and probably within the next two years. I think he'll also step up into a leadership role and become even more influential. By the end of his career he'll rank amongst the very best ever to have played for the club and maybe even the best of all time. Great thread!