BW511

And the H&A version of Melbourne is a different calibre to the finals version, good luck

Was at the Gabba last night and Zorko would have been in at least 10 ‘scuffles’. If he invested as much time in finding the football as he did sniping, he’d be a decent player. He’s scum

No doubt about that. I just think we are too defensively focused and not strong enough in the air, particularly rolling the same setup for a third straight year. If any of Spargo, ANB or Kozzie were good in the air (and taller) it would be create quite a different dynamic.

Clarko's ego must be something pretty spectacular He'll get a monster pay day regardless of what he does and I guess his reputation will always hinge on the flags, however I can't see how either team will see him covered him in glory

The roles of our entire forward group and in particular, Kozzie, Spargo, Melksham & ANB should all be under the microscope for 2023. It is working for our game plan at the moment but I don't know that it can for 3 years in a row. I think another goal kicking HFF/FP should be high priority, I'm not sure Trac is the answer (Similar to any of Jamie Elliot, Toby Greene, Isaac Heeney, Tom Papley, Zac Bailey). If Breust is open to it, he could fill that role. He has more goals than our guys bar Fitta, with far fewer opportunities.

I'd also suggest it shows why the media treat the supporters the way they do. People either don't care or can't understand the complexities of modern football

One of the best kicks I’ve seen, would be an enormous asset in that department

100% Whilst there are parallels with 2021, winning a second one is infinitely harder to do. Opposition has another year of watching and learning, the game evolves and new suitors emerge. Absolutely everything went right in 2021 at the business end and we had a blessed run with injury. This year we are not quite going as well but there’s plenty of signs of life and we know we have the game plan and cattle to do it again. One thing to remember is that we have now been there and done it, so we know what it feels like and know what it requires. There’s a reason everyone wanted to recruit Hawthorn players after their success as finals experience is worth a lot to a club

I have a feeling over the last few weeks that Viney is trying to do a bit too much, slipping back into old habits. This was an absolute howler and I also felt like he tried to take on Cripps a couple of times and the big body just swallowed him whole. I think big mids will be what we see teams employ often as it negates the strength our guys have (strength in contest). Geelong did it very will with Blicavs and we were much less dominant with Cripps around the ball

On the night I felt like Cripps, Docherty & Setterfield gave our mids a real touch up. Cripps is covering the ground very well.

I have no knowledge of the inner sanctum but haven't really heard much about Chocco this year. Does anyone know if he is still having an impact or has the novelty worn off?

I'm of the belief the crowd gave Collingwood and Carlton a little leg up in the last quarter of each game. It's not like they get any fitter or stronger but psychologically it definitely helps them push a little longer, faster, harder etc. Even a 'huge' Melbourne crowd is still fairly reserved compared to any of the big Victorian clubs. Obviously that is shifting away from the metrics supplied so bringing things back to that, I think we are still a very good team and very hard to play against, we are just not quite getting things to gel 100%. Given how even things are this year and with the metrics all showing we are still going well, there's every chance we can find another gear over the next 4-5 weeks and repeat last years blitz.

I'd contemplate Gunston in closer to goal as a third tall and then get Fritta up on the HFF roaming around. I know defensive pressure is very important to our game plan but we don't have enough consistent avenues to goal or strong marking players at Half Forward. ANB, Kozzie & Spargo would very rarely team up for 4-5 goals between them and none of them are a concern for contested marking - I will add I haven't actually looked at the stats. From an opposition coaching point of view, if you have 3 blokes solely there to chase and 'corral' opponents, it means you can have 3 players assigned that don't need to think too hard about their defense. How many times have we been cut to pieces through attack out of the Half Back line.

Reckon Jayden Hunt is the only reason we won that game and it was due to a bit of dare - be nice if collectively we could employ that mindset across more than the last quarter

That was daylight robbery

Geez I’d love to see a Dees player storm out and take a grab like McKay

Seems like a spoilt brat, no thanks

Regardless of who is better (Naughton by a long way), two of them is better than one.

Is his ground work enough to warrant $800k+ a year for the next 5 years? His rucking & forward craft are not (yet)

Our current second ruckman could net 2, so buying a better ruckman for half that price seems pretty reasonable. Having said that, there is no reason this deal would warrant a first rounder if Collingwood are actually dumping his salary

Fair call. In simpler terms, Grundy is a little more useful than just a ruckman and we would hope that for Jackson. Jackson gets manhandled in the ruck, Grundy doesn't. It's a net positive for me.

I think when we drafted Jackson, Grundy would have been the prototype for what we hoped. Grundy was doing it to an AA level over multiple years and Jackson has had one good burst in a GF. If I was an opposition coach, Grundy as a 2nd ruck would be terrifying.

Agree. Jacko may become a star but for now, Grundy would contribute much more - on the proviso his body is right to go in 2023. I’d much rather 3 years solid service from him than 2 more years of patchy cameos from Jackson before he leaves anyway (would also be happy to see Jacko flourish at my expense)

I had a look through the other contenders and where their goals were coming from. Interestingly, Geelong & Brisbane were running with 2+ Big forwards and we have Fritta (45) Kozzie (32) & Brown (25) while Collingwood have Mihocek, Elliot, Ginnivan and Henry all over 20. Carlton have 100 goals between Curnow & McKay but I left them off as they are not contenders (this year) We do not have dependable goal kickers and I think that’s our true issue. Ideally for me, Fritta is our 3rd forward, rather than our only reliable forward (45)

I’m sure we do but I think it’s probably based more on the people delivering the ball.