Lord Nev

If he has improved throughout his career then you would say it's more likely that will continue than just flat out stop though right? No one can predict the future of course, but based on available information that's what the natural progression would be. I didn't say you had blamed ANB for our dysfunctional forward line, apologies if I made it sound that way, was more just a general comment in regards to our forward half problems this year. IMO Kent, Hogan and (an in-form) ANB were very important cogs, in different ways, in making our forward line function better. We are missing what they all individually brought in a big way this year. I don't put the blame solely on players as far as the skills/structures go. I think we have a strategy and structure that works when everyone is in form and fit and our best players are all available, but anything less and it falls apart. There is a massive disconnect between the coaches and the players IMO. Going by Goody's public comments he wants them to do one thing yet they are doing the complete opposite, lead by our co-captain in Viney. That connection and message needs to start to align or else I have serious concerns about us going forward. I'm not saying ANB is a star, or even a very good player, but I think when he is fit and in form he brings valuable things to our forward line that we are currently missing and his role impacts how the machine all works. I just get frustrated sometimes with some posters views that every player is either an absolute gun or they should be delisted, it's just not how the complexity of a 40+ list of players with a salary cap works. (Not saying that's your outlook btw).

In 2018 he averaged: 16.9 disposals 3.1 marks 1.1 goals 4.7 tackles 1.2 tackles inside 50 5.9 score involvements "He's not going to improve" is a staggering statement about a player who has already improved considerably during his career. What exactly do you base that on? Up until this year he has steadily improved year on year. "One dimensional player"? Gee we could do with some goals, tackles inside 50 and some score involvements about now couldn't we? I agree his foot skills are average at best, but our co-captain this year leads the entire league in turnovers going inside 50, Oliver and Brayshaw are not far behind, so maybe there's more to it than just potting one player you happen to dislike? People keep wondering why our forward line is so dysfunctional this year while at the same time thinking it's no big deal we traded Kent and Hogan and ANB has struggled with injury and thereby consistency. It's not a mystery.

A football club from a sport that runs for 6 months of the year, during the coldest part, that has 40k members, has sworn off pokies and has just sold off a similar business should never be investing in a 'social club'. Why not try venturing down to The Sporting Globe sometime on game day and see if you think the 'crowds' justify MFC investing in such an endeavour.

Good news. One of our hardest workers and best runners, both things that aren't our strong suit as a club. No list has 40 superstars and to keep a player who is handy depth, works hard, contributes to culture and has shown plenty of upside is a smart (even though not very sexy) move. If you look at his 2018 stats it paints a picture of someone who can help us improve our forward 50 deficiencies once he regains some form and continuity.

Errrrr....

Just think that claiming McDonald and Weideman are the "two players with the most pressure on them in the league" does somewhat contradict you saying that you understand they are not solely responsible for our performance this year.

Don't take it as gospel that Fritsch will play forward. Goody tends to not worry too much about actual positions on the team sheet.

Yeah he hasn't been in great form up until recently that's for sure. I do think we miss his ability to help spread our forward line as well as his delivery inside 50 which was quite good though. But the solution to our horrible fall this year is definitely more than just 1 key forward IMO.

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Just for comparison sake (per game this year so far): Weideman (21 years old) - 1 goal, 1.8 tackles, 0.4 goal assists, 1.5 marks inside 50, 1.5 contested marks, 11.1 disposals at 73% efficiency. Hogan (24 years old) - 1.2 goals, 1 tackle, 0.4 goal assists, 1.8 marks inside 50, 1 contested mark, 15 disposals at 63.5 efficiency. Not saying Weideman is as good as Hogan of course, but I think Weideman is being harshly judged on his season thus far in the context of his age, injuries and our weaknesses as a team with forward structure/coaching, delivery forward and consistency of personnel. To paint our issues as merely the fault of Weideman and McDonald is very shallow analysis.

Fair enough mate. I'll be at the front of the queue with you in terms of calling out our culture as soft, I just disagree the banner thing is emblematic of that. Cheers!

Thought that was a great initiative actually. Social media has become a pretty dark place gradually and the irony of the reaction to this activation was not lost on me. It's obviously not just players it effects, but once you get a bit older you realize most of the players are just kids, and when you have them having to shut down their social media accounts (not a small thing for young people) due to the harassment they are copping from their own supporters, then it's time people had a think about how they act on it.

Yeah have heard the same thing, and recall and awkward moment watching one of our games this year where Goodwin had to cover up McCartney's headset so he could get a word in to the coaches box (they were both down at boundary level at the time). Just seems strange that they would then move McCartney away from the players and into a role more directly involved with the coaches. In the end, could be not a big deal and I'm reading into things too much, but I just feel we wouldn't make such major moves mid-season without there being significant issues that needed immediate addressing.

Mahoney did say that the players were consulted as part of the review process that saw the coaching changes made. This is the same group of players that got the infamous training camp cancelled by the AFLPA, so I wouldn't be surprised if McCartney had been moved due to the playing group thinking he was too hard on them. Clearly if McCartney is saying things like reported here to fans over the fence at training then we're in a bad place at the moment. I can't really decide what my outlook on it all is. We're in a time with AFL players where there is a generational shift in approach and the 'old school' ways aren't always the best way to reach them anymore. However, for a club where players have called the shots for so long and is renowned for being 'mentally soft' and a bit of a 'boys club' I do wonder if we're allowing too much push back on that harder style.

Interesting reading Cam Mooney's thoughts on McCartney in the HS this morning. An interpretation I took away from it was that our players might be a bit soft and that's what has caused the rumoured friction that has lead to McCartney being moved around so much and finally put in a role that's away from the players. Mooney quote from the article: “I think some of these kids today need a big bag of cement and to harden up."

Oscar McDonald not named at any level this week. Not an emergency, not in the Casey squad and not on the injury list. Seems strange. Hope he's traveling alright.

Not sure why you're so mad mate? I'm not stating things as fact just putting forward a discussion point about the injuries.

That's the point I'm making mate. See my post above for more clarity about that.

Fair enough, I don't know much about the intricacies of a collar bone plate repair. From what I've heard though, it's a 4-8 week recovery for civilians, so he did come back quite quick for someone playing a high impact sport. On Lever, I'm not saying it's the cause, but the incident in which his knee was injured was when he was just not up to the speed of the game. Watching the replay it was even commented on at the time that he was not ready for the speed of AFL. My point is just that the contest he was injured in may not have happened if he had had more match time leading up to his return. And in the end, I'm not trying to make it sound like that's how it is, just saying you could potentially argue those things.

You could argue the following though: - Hibberd's plate coming detached could be because it hadn't healed properly. - Lever's impact injury could have been caused by his lack of acclimatization to the speed and impact of match day. Just saying...

Yep. Word was we only offered Kent one year and with a new family he wanted the better security of the Saints' 3 year deal. Bit of a sliding doors moment for us given we offered another injury prone player in a similar role but with less skill and speed the 3 year deal. Obviously hindsight now, but I would have taken Kent's speed, goal kicking and inside 50 delivery over vandenBerg's tackling every day of the week.

Jeff Garlett | Shoulder – TBC “Jeffy injured that shoulder in a tackling drill. It was the shoulder he dislocated up in Shepparton against Richmond in the JLT game. He just had an incident at training where he dislocated it again and it’s probably worse than the first time. He’s going to see a surgeon on Monday – not necessarily to have surgery but just to get some advice. We’ve got to wait until we get some thoughts from the surgeon before we know a timeframe.” Michael Hibberd| Collarbone – 1-2 weeks “What had happened was the plate had started to come off the collarbone, so he had to go in after the Queen’s Birthday game and have that plate reattached. He’s seen the surgeon already who has basically given him the green light, and he’s training really well so he’s a definite chance to play against Brisbane next week.” Source

Aaron vandenBerg | Foot – TBC “He’s still running but only twice a week, so his progression is quite slow. There’s no real time frame, we’ll just be cautious with him.” Geez, signing vandenBerg for 3 years doesn't seem such a great call.