Laughing Goat

Ha Ha.....Probably not Dr G, but lets face it, he's not the lone ranger with turnovers. Be interesting to see who are the safest players we have? Prob a site for this I'm guessing......

Max is the obvious choice......lets get back to tradition, one captain! T Mac for me should be vice captain & has shown maturity both on & off the field & is well liked. Lever needs to earn his stripes & needs to focus more on playing consistent regular footy.

It's essential because attack starts from defence & Frosty is the only one that has shows any resemblance of speed in transition,,,,, Hibberd, Salem, Lever & KK for that matter are no Stawell Gift winners. The Dees are lacking speed & that has never been more notable than this year & now it sounds like they are going to let Frosty go? Just astounding.....

Typical Melbourne.....one of the only blokes who is a 100m player & whilst his efficiency isn't ideal I love how he takes the game on attacks from the back half. Exactly the type of player we need to keep.....we are not going to get extra outside run from Tomlinson.

Gees Louise.....I didn't think it was that hard to understand.... All I am saying is that if ANB was given the opportunity & a good block of footy playing as a mid fielder, then maybe he might be a more valuable contributor, that's all.....Put him in the same position as Oliver or Viney & then make comparisons...... this is only my opinion.

Yes we have all been laughing a lot this year but if he had the opportunities that Oliver was afforded you may see a different player.......that's all I'm saying.

Unfortunately I don't get down to Melb much but I have been able to view the Casey games of the past & ANB, in my opinion, is one of the most natural on-ballers I've seen. We assess him on his ability as a small forward & he will never get the opportunity to play on the ball whilst he's at Melb.

yeah understand Demon 3......fingers crossed he has a good 2020 wherever he plays. cheers

Agree he was super......

Well maybe check your dialogue in your first paragraph because I don't see it as anything but insulting to ANB.....''I'm sorry but ANB is not a natural at anything, and I am not really being mean, he is just ordinary at nearly every facet of the game except running and pressure.' Say want you want to me as its all healthy discussion, but I do question your knowledge, especially on this player. I guess we all form opinions on players from the outside & again, that makes for healthy discussion & some disagreements...... but when you put your opinion out there you have to expect some readers questioning your thoughts. I'm no different & don't expect people to agree with me either......

I'm sorry too but just a very narrow minded comment & you obviously don't know your players very well. The problem with a lot of these players that are between numbers 15 & 25 on the list, is that when they go back to Casey & more often than not, they play key roles in the midfield & on the ball. Then when elevated into the seniors they play a completely different role & in ANB's case, small forward & are expected to perform immediately. Also, my opinion & your opinion mean squat, because ANB played every game last year & has just signed a new 2 year deal, but hey, maybe your smarter than all the coaches, list managers, line coaches & the football department. II'm sure if you ask the playing group what they think of ANB & what he brings both on & off the field, it may actually surprise you. That's one of the MFC's problems......they don't have the balls to play some durable players in different roles & want to persist with there golden haired favorites. Unfortunately Goodwin better bring a different plan next year or we all know the outcome......

Great analysis TK & appreciate your honest comments.....with a few of my own opinions if I may? Hope you don't mind.... Hunt, Brayshaw, Jones, Frosty Hibberd, Viney & Hore are all 'hack' kickers! Turn the ball over time & time again.......Kills us week in week out. Whats the point in having momentum, if you kick to the opposition? I'd much rather have Salem & Stretch at 72% & 78% efficiency (season average) going to our boys than kicking to the opposition. ANB is an on-baller & not a forward. Needs to play here as he's a natural ball-getter like Oliver.

yeah I agree.....we need more players like Jones, Lewis, Viney, Brayshaw, Hibberd & Hunt.

Yeah can't work that out but obviously not an important stat for Goodwin either as we have the biggest turnovers in the AFL......

Maybe watch the WCE v ESS game again from last night LN? You will clearly see how disposal efficiency won that game.....Check out Lewis Jetta's game/stats: 85% efficiency, 19 disposals, 400 m gained, 4 score involvements & in the best 5 on the ground. IMO it is the most important stat in our game. Simon Goodwin thinks so as well & I remember him saying after the Collingwood game that 'our disposal efficiency & accountability is killing us'.......(he might be delusional though) I'm with you LN.....Wines, no thanks! These are the sorts of players we have too many of.

McCartney, Jennings now Rawlings leaving......Goodwin under the pump big time which is to be expected. The word around the club is that Rawlings was a great communicator, transparent, driven & a bloody good tactician & coach.....well respected by all players too. Good luck Jade.

Very disappointing & obviously not happy with the way things have panned out this year. Jumping a sinking ship maybe.....

Well I disagree again, but appreciate the discussion. Its your thoughts that some players are NQR & my thoughts that the senior players are more responsible for our demise this year....but at the end of the day its the coaches opinions only that matter. for example: The coach loves Spargo, Hannan, Lever , & that's been evident this year & he would play them prematurely & at every chance he could. Brayshaw & Hunt (& others) warranted being dropped this year, but the coaches favored them, so they stayed in. (Classic example was the trade of Watts who IMO is the best kick in the AFL) I agree with your thoughts on Oliver....love him. Also my thoughts are that Goodwin & co only wanted 22 bulls playing in the seniors highlighting contested footy & pressure etc..... unfortunately that has been our undoing this year, especially with the new 6,6,6, rules. Goodwin was like a deer in the headlights & it appeared like he didn't know what to do in the back half of the season. No plan B. If Goodwin's priority was efficiency & accountability, defensive strategies etc, (like Roos) then the team would have a very different make up, that's what I'm saying. He's stacked the team with too many bulls & hasn't utilised his outside running players with a suitable game plan. Like you I hope something changes, because it needs too.

Ok PF.... Will do, but who would you like me to do the comparisons with? Viney, Brayshaw, Oliver, Jones, Melksham, Lewis, Hunt? I don't think you want me to do that because you already know what the result will be......

Spargo 80% efficiency, 4 tackles, (77% game time) v North Stretch 95% efficiency 21 disposals (70% game time) 3 tackles, v North ANB signed for 2 years so hes a lock anyway...... C Wagner 70% efficiency, 5 tackles 16 disposals (78% game time) v Syd JKH 73% efficiency, 2 tackles, 15 disposals (72% game time) v North 'Just as bad'......what do you mean? When Goodwin says quote 'Our efficiency & turnovers are killing us', I just don't get it. No point in spending all of our salary cap money on more recruits that continue to turn the ball over. Game plan & direction is the issue......But I'd be interested to know who's efficiency is on average better than some of the above?

I think we all agree that NJ has been a warrior for the MFC especially during some dark times over many years, however, the thought of giving him another year or two just because 'we owe him' is just rediculous. To me anyway it shows a clear indication that the clubs culture is not about to change dramatically in the very short term. That's a real concern..... Its only me but when I think of captains & good respected leaders, I think of Selwood, Hodge, Hurn, Cotchin, Pendlebury, Davis & Fyfe. If you think Jones is in this category, then that's fine, but maybe I know nothing about footy. Also the selection of the captaincy is & always has been finalised at the conclusion of preseason & I don't see any changes to that process, however, in saying that, like many I see Max as the obvious sole captain. We have far greater issues to address than who is going to be the 'face of the club over summer' & it wont make any difference to the players during that training block & I would imagine that the majority of the players regard Max as a leader anyway. Time to get real.

oh dear.....

I'm not sure which games you've been watching but surely you don't think our mid field group has performed well this season? Again I respect everyone's opinion, bit I see that we have ample outside runners & some with outstanding efficiency, however, Goodwin in his wisdom, chooses a game plan & game style NOT to utilise these players & their strengths. The problem sits with the coaches & you would think they would have the resources, knowledge & intelligence to understand this! Unless they change their game style quickly, it wont matter how good the outside run is, they will be in the same boat next year.

disagree.....but if you think Karl Amon is the answer to the demons outside run, accountability & efficiency issues, then the Dees have major problems coming in 2020. The problem is not with the list, the problem is with the game plan & game style. Sure, some of those players are fringe players, no denying that, however, some of those fringe players were out performing some of our more elite 'named' senior players who had 'checked out' 3 weeks ago.

I see a few people have said that one of the positives from our season was that our midfield spent a lot of time together. I actually see this as one of our main problems that contributed to our poor performance this year. I felt at different stages during the year that some our midfielders (not including Max) needed to be 'pulled up', 'played in different roles', reprimanded etc especially at the back end of the season, when our accountability was zero. Goodwin kept on persisting with the same players, same game plan & kept on getting the same result until really the last game where he made some changes. I would have thought that blooding a few younger players & exposing them in the seniors would have been a much better plan with 2020 in mind, but only my opinion. The only positives for me was the reality that Max will be elevated as our sole leader/captain after a stunning season & good to see the emergence of Frost & Hore. Too many selfish players that are not accountable & continually turn the ball over. Big preseason.