Fanatique Demon

If Salem really has glandular fever, he won't play.

I agree Mickey. (But I think the saying goes, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating".)

So we'd make the 8 if the game was 5 per side?

It was actually 30 seconds. It just felt like 3 minutes.

Brown before Weid, please. And I can't understand the knock on Oscar or the praise for Hore.

Ah, thank you!

Thanks, but I'm none the wiser. I'm French and living in France so it might be something I missed somewhere.

I don't understand the Kent Kingsley reference. Anyone?

The only certainty I know is that it's "shoo-in" not shoe in.

Gawn

Yes, watching them was a form of torture. I did it for a couple of reasons. First, I was ill and stuck in bed for a few days so I had the time. Second, I wanted to see the games without the emotion that comes when watching them live. I found that we were a long way off it. Yes, injuries to key players and the interrupted pre-season were key factors in our failure. But be Yong that... we were beaten over the back too often, just like we were in the early games of 2018. (How they hadn't fixed that over the last pre-season is a mystery to me.) Frost was not the great backman many consider. That Hore is miles away from being an AFL player. That Oliver was great at getting the ball but terrible disposing of it with short handballs to teammates who were under pressure. That Brayshaw seemed disinterested. That Jones often looked past it. That we quickly ran out of steam. That the midfield didn't run. That most of our new boys, Sparrow, Lockhart, Dunkley need to improve enormously to have an impact. That Weideman (when he played) just doesn't get the ball enough. That Gawn and Petracca were great after a slow start to the season. I could go on, but you might have stopped reading by now. If we were, say, 20% off the pace last year, and other teams improve 5% on 2019, we'll need to improve by at least 25% to succeed in 2020. Here's hoping.

I recently watched all of last year's Melbourne games again. That was painful. I came away thinking that it's going to take a lot more than we're doing or have done to turn it around. Are we the only ones who recruited a couple of players from other clubs? Or took quality young players from the draft? Other clubs have done the same or better. Sure, we should be fitter this year and hopefully have fewer injuries, but other clubs won't have stood still. I really want to believe we'll perform, but we will just have to wait and see. As for the video, why reinforce failure? Because unless we do return from hell, that's all it will be doing.

Oliver Harmes Petracca Gawn

Jetta Harmes Viney Gawn

Geoff Leak was an Essendon player. The Geelong Flyer was Bob Davis, i think.

Oops, should that be Hore?

Can't see Hoare in best 22. Recently watched 2019 game replays and saw him give away too many free kicks and goals. He would need to improve dramatically. Right now, I'm thinking that if we need one of Oscar and Hoare, I'm going with Oscar.

The aim was to hear others' opinions on whether we really have a decent list. If we can't find players on our list who'd get a game in the top teams, what hope do we have? As for already answering my own question, no, I don't think just Max and Clarrie would make the other teams. Now, I'm trying to put this politely... Maybe it's not so much a case of answering my own question as someone else not understanding its intent.

In 2019 we had one All Australian. In fact, Max Gawn was the only Demon in the squad of 40. Max (22) and Clayton Oliver (23) were our only two players in the AFL Fantasy top 50. Champion Data says we have one elite player (easy to guess), six above average and 12 average players. So just thinking about the quality of our list, who do we have that would be in the best 22 of 2019's Preliminary Finalists? That is, which Melbourne plays would actually get a game at Richmond, GWS, Geelong or Colllingwood, assuming injury-free lists? Maybe you want to submit a team showing where Melbourne players would fit into those Prelim Finals teams.

Thanks B-B-P. Good to see someone thinking about other clubs. We can improve all we like, but the other clubs aren't standing still. There's probably a similar forum for every club where people like us are talking about how much the team will have learned from last season and how they have recruited better players. They're hoping for fewer injuries, natural progress from their youngster and a tightening of the game plan. And they're probably predicting a top 4 finish. Comparing our players to those in other teams is one way of thinking about the quality of our list and our chances next season. Yes, it ignores game plan, injuries, teamwork and Goody's famous "connection", but it might invite some interesting discussion. So I am going to start a new topic about which of our players would be in the best 22 of 2019's preliminary finalists. Please contribute.

Thanks, Dee.

B: NEV, MAY, PIG who is PIG?

Thanks for the post. I think you've nailed the core. So 14 core players and 22 team spots means that 30 players are competing for the last 8. (If I'm right in thinking there are 44 on the list.) Healthy compétition has to be good for us.

I was at the last one. Hope I'm at the next.

We all love Nev. Wouldn't it be great to see back pocket Nev kick the winning goal in time on in a Grand Final against Collingwood?