BDA

There’s a great selection to choose from I know but that Sydney loss has to rank right up there with the worst of them. Sydney, a bottom 4 side playing only for pride, were merely competent playing the conditions while we could have taken a big step towards finals but completely blew it. Collingwood in 2017 tops the list for mine given what was at stake. No. 2 is the Hawthorn loss in Rd4 2018 which was a real shocker and harbinger of things to come as it turned out. Port rd1 2019 was very deflating because my hopes were so high coming into the season so its no. 3. I reckon that Sydney loss is no.4 because it probably ends our finals hopes. I don’t have a stand out no.5. Perhaps the 2019 loss v Geelong for pure comical value where we had more I50’s and still managed to lose by 80 points.

I think we’ll beat Freo because we tend to play well after a poor performance. GWS is a lottery. They’ve been very ordinary at times this year and should have been beaten by Carlton. Beat Essendon to secure finals? We’ve been there before in 2017 and we all know how that turned out. I can’t see us winning all 3 because you just cannot trust this group to deliver consistent performances. We might win 2 and get lucky with percentage or other teams doing us a favour. But even if we do scrape into the 8 we’ll just be making up the numbers. An elimination final against WC at Optus fills me with dread. I’m still traumatised by the last time we played a final there!

You could be onto something but they did improve in the second half and finished the stronger of the 2 teams. Is one half of footy enough time to acclimatise?

He had a poor game same as about 15 others. The club has a long list of problems at the moment but I don’t think Omac is near the top.

Agree with those but as well I’d keep Salem because he’s a decent kick, Weideman because key forwards are hard to come by and I think he has shown enough improvement this year to show he’s worth persisting with. And Viney because he has leadership qualities.

I think OMac is unfairly maligned. He’s purely a depth player and not the reason why we win or lose. Yes he’s limited and prone to brain fades but he’s serviceable in the 3rd tall defender role. I don’t think he should have played yesterday but that’s a selection mistake by Goodwin. I want to know where our A-graders were last night. Petracca can be forgiven because he’s been very good this year but the rest have no excuse.

True. I forgot about Freos draft haul this year.

He has recruited well considering the profile he’s been asked to recruit for (contested ball winner). I agree that the balance is wrong overall which is a strategy failing. I have confidence in Taylor delivering talent if we give him the right specs. Jackson, Pickett and Rivers are as good a trio as any club selected in the draft (bar gold coast but Rowell and Anderson were always going 1 and 2).

Our recruitment has been very good recently imo and drafting Pickett is no exception. He has an x-factor that is rare. It's down to development now. If he's coached properly and can learn good habits then we have a serious player.

Poor habits and poor concentration. Every club has off days kicking but the contenders turn up switched on from the first bounce, lay tackles, compete hard. You can tell with this team early in the game what you’re going to get. The missed tackles and lazy efforts from last night set the tone. No one on the field calls it out. No one (including Max) seems to be able to rouse the team, shift momentum. Subconsciously we accept this standard. We need leaders in the coaches box and on the field that maintain standards and demand others meet them or else. The best example I can think from another sport is Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane. Keane captained Man United in the EPL for years. All his ex-team mates say he was relentless. He demanded excellence, every minute, every training session, every game. If you fell short he let you know. New recruits got the treatment early if they didn’t track back or mis-placed a pass. He mirrored the personality of his manager Alex Ferguson who was an uncompromising, hard as flint, Scottish SOB. Alastair Clarkson has these qualities. Ross Lyons too but he seems to wear the players out with a rigid game plan. There may be others but they are not obvious to me. Player wise, Melbourne obviously don’t have the right characters at the moment. Perhaps Viney with the right coach. Max leads by example but he’s not a mongrel. Steven May possibly, but he’s too prone to lapses and his professionalism is questionable. Some of the younger players may have the right stuff but they need leaders and mentors at the club to show the way. Until we have the right coach and enough players with the right character we won’t improve. With the right leadership execution, effort, kicking will all follow.

Curtains. We had our chances.

We're not switched on. This is looking ominous.

Important game for Harmes career wise. Half back role doesn’t suit him and Goodwin doesn’t like deploying a tagger. If he plays the defensive forward tomorrow I hope he makes a go of it. Otherwise I don’t see where he fits on our list Lockhart must be injured. He was the obvious choice for Papley. That said if we stop the ball at source Papley won’t be a factor. The Joel Smith experiment has failed so have no idea why Goodwin is persisting. If he plays down back that’s at least 2 goals you can chalk down for Sydney.

The Queensland govt probably made it a condition when initially agreeing to the hub so I think the pretence of a decision is for optics and ratings purposes. Optus and Adelaide oval are fantastic venues and deserve to host at some stage so I think post covid the ALF should consider rotating. Personally, I would love to head inter-state for the final and make a weekend of it.

Jonesy has been a warrior, a fantastic servant to the club and has 3 Bluey Truscott trophies to show for it. Playing bit parts, in a diminished capacity will only tarnish his legacy. Best to quit while you’re ahead imo.