Lord Nev

Delete please mods.

I never said "fudging kicks all over the place". With that perspective let's have some accuracy hey? As I said in my post, I recognize it's not black and white. He did some bad, he did some good.

Disposal efficiency is not a good state mate. Has no context around it and there's certain circumstances where you can turn it over but it be counted as an 'effective disposal'. At least with clangers it's straight up. Not sure I'd be praising a bloke too much for putting in a second effort to clean up his own mistakes. Bit of a nil all draw I would think. I didn't say he was poor, I said some of his kicks were poor. I also made it clear I wouldn't be dropping him. Doesn't have to be all as black and white as you're trying to make it. He cost us the first goal, he absolutely fudged some kicks, didn't get a ton of it, BUT he stayed outside the contest, used space, the score involvements is a great sign and if he just cleans up the kicks and manages to concentrate for 100% of his game time then we are a MUCH better midfield with him there.

From a super quick look it seems most teams are traveling A LOT.

Round 9 – Melbourne v Port @ Gabba Details: Thursday, 30 July – time TBC Round 10 – Melbourne v Adelaide @ Adelaide Oval Details: Wednesday, 5 August – time TBC Round 11 – Melbourne v North Melbourne @ Blundstone Arena Details: Sunday, 9 August – time TBC Round 12 – Melbourne v Collingwood @ Gabba Details: Saturday, 15 August – time TBC Fixture update: Dees set for four games in three weeks

I'm a big May fan so I may lean more towards the good when things are a bit 50/50. Definitely loving Oscar since he's come back in and glad Goody has swallowed his pride a bit and gone a bit more 'traditional' with the setup. Our backline is really becoming the strength it should based on the talent there.

Sorry mate, not here. Thought May defended really well as well as had some really productive disposals. OMac didn't seem to be called on as much and his disposals tend to be more 'safe', which is totally fine of course, just comparing it to how May uses his kicking to attack and set up play. Reckon "spoiling team mates or mindlessly bombing out of the defence" is a bit harsh for mine. May's getting better every week, especially now that Oscar is so solid meaning he can focus a bit more on his own game.

Assuming you mean this year yeah? Because he's played 2, and averages 11 touches, 4 tackles, 3 score involvements and a goal. This year Gus is averaging 15 touches, 3 tackles, 3 score involvements and 0 goals. I don't think Sparrow will be coming in for Gus just yet, but find it strange a few in this thread are writing him off a bit.

Yeah good call. I know we get overloaded with stats, but would be an interesting one if they took note of kicks on preferred and non-preferred.

Agree to disagree on this one mate, have watched this kid closely for a while and once he matures a bit and some opportunity opens up he will be another inside beast with a burst for us. Everyone sees different things in players though.

Had 8 kicks and 4 clangers, so no exaggeration mate. I don't think he's in danger of being dropped, but he absolutely needs to lift. I get what you're saying about the overreaction from some though, I'm a big Sparrow fan and think he has a ton of potential, but I wouldn't be bringing him in for Gus at this stage.

Was more watching his delivery, especially by foot. Was horrible yesterday. Half his kicks were clangers. I'm not worried if he doesn't get a lot of it, but he needs to use it well when he does, especially if he's not getting a lot of it.

Fair enough mate. From what I've seen no one is going too overboard (I may have missed those posts though tbf), they just know he's well below what he should be and has been for a long time.

It's more than "1 or 2 down games" though mate. He's barely fired a shot since 2018. Also, a former pick 3 in the draft who finishes 3rd in the Brownlow should have higher expectations placed on them than to merely be a second tier midfielder. Reckon you're letting him off the hook in a big way there. Even if you're happy to accept him as that, a quality second tier midfielder should be providing better quality ball use than what Brayshaw is currently. 4 clangers out of 8 kicks.

3-0 with Bennell in the team...

I'm a big rap for Sparrow, but can't see this happening at the moment. IN: Rivers OUT: Lockhart But quite possibly no change. vB and Brayshaw both need to improve their disposal though, will hurt us more against good teams.

Absolutely rapt for Weid. Has copped the abuse, copped the bad luck with injuries, copped the non-selection and now taken his chances the last couple of weeks. Good on him.

Not nearly as confident as any of you tbh. Last week was our 'line in the sand' game, this week's it's the Hawks one. Would be very typical Melbourne for us to still be enjoying the bath water from last week so much that we don't get up for this one. That, plus having Clarko in the opposite box after a week of him copping it; certainly does not put me at ease. Today tells us a lot about whether 'To Hell & Back' was filled with platitudes by paycheck collectors or genuine footballers and coaches who not only know what it takes to win, but will do what it takes to win.

Pneumococcal can cause pneumonia. Sure, it's different in a way, but they're linked. The rate of pneumococcal is 6–7 times higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I agree the communication part of it is very poor, but I struggle to see how it's 'discrimination' given the science and the existing related laws already in place in QLD. Edit - I reckon you may find in the end there's more to this story anyway. There's already conflicting reports about it with the QLD Government saying the vaccination was never a requirement put forward by them.

Sure, but I've read one article that says players are "understood to be shocked" and another that says they've "been left perplexed", so it seems like the judgment of the reaction is being editorialized. It is just the Indigenous players being asked to get it. As stated, Indigenous Aussies have some of the highest rates of infection in the world for pneumonia and QLD already has a mandatory vaccine program for just that specific thing already. I can understand it's poor by the AFL if they haven't made note of it in the plans put forward, but I don't know, to me getting a vaccination isn't exactly a big deal and not worth the outrage the media is trying to create.

This whole situation seems either some good old fashioned misreporting, a gross overreaction by the AFLPA or some over the top reporting by an ever-increasing rabid media industry (I know which I'm leaning towards). Indigenous Australians have some of the highest rates in the world of pneumonia. Clearly that has meant given the current health climate they may need extra protection. That is what the vaccine will provide. Hardly think that protecting their health based on scientific evidence is "discriminatory", in fact it seems quite the opposite. The reporting here is bordering on plain silly, imagine trying to represent professional athletes, who undergo countless medical procedures and other health treatments, as "shocked" that they would need a vaccine.

I'm sure Frost will be looking to fire up a bit for this game, but with all due respect to him; I can't see him featuring much in our game planning let alone our team selection.

Got big hopes for Jacko, but this seems a big call based on the 1 mark he's taken at AFL level.

We've gone from last in the league for points conceded from defensive half turnovers last year to 4th this year. May is a big part of that. Can't see this happening unless it's a late in-game change as a desperation tactic.

binman taking out the trash adds another level to it for me.