BW511

The last quarter free kick where he ran straight into Lynch's head at half forward is absolutely basic stuff. We need to get Sparrow or Jordan in, I don't care if they are miles off. It's not like we are competitive for a whole game, so let's give them a chance.

I think most of the media didn't want to go too hard last year in case the injuries and interrupted preseason turned out to be the real issue. Now that we are continuing to show that is not the case, it will and should be open slather.

He may end up being let down by his body. He has a truly unbelievable ability to find the footy, just think physically he can’t do the extra 5% to become elite or maybe he’s not being challenged to it as he’s a big fish in a small pond

Even 2018 we weren’t a good side all year long, we just got on a flukey run. Never in my 35 years have we had seasons of continual strong games, let alone multiple years like Geelong, Sydney, West Coast, Hawthorn, Brisbane, Collingwood, Essendon all have. There’s a level of entitlement within the MFC and it’s never going to be erased. We don’t have the fight required to be great

I’ve had a feeling since early last year that he plays in a slightly different manner to protect his shoulders. Still think that’s true. He’s not soft and I am not implying it, but he also wouldn’t run through a brick wall to get the footy like the real top line inside mids do. He wins an enormous amount of ball, it’s just gotta be more beneficial for the team for him to do so. We still lack a genuine A-grader that brings effort, skill and game winning ability. We lack the strong coach and the strong on field leaders to drive standards. There is not one bloke on our list I would trust to show up and perform every single week. Its a very frustrating and underwhelming task supporting this club

I'm certainly in the barely interested camp, have been for a good number of years. I will begrudgingly watch Melbourne games each week, but probably only watch the first 5-10 minutes of the Thursday or Friday night game and that's it for the weekend. Increased professionalism and fitness levels has taken the game to a new level, but it has destroyed the product. My fondest football memories are around big name forwards having a day out against their direct opponent. No zoning, no 3rd man up, just 2 blokes going head to head for the day.

Grundy is such a weapon because he is always in the play and can actually be useful. Aside from the tapwork and the odd mark, Gawn is not really someone you want with ball in hand in general play, nor is he going to hurt or at least, intimidate the opposition

No way that they pick a half fit Harley to protect the other 3, that is absurd. You'd go gently, gently with him well before AVB and Hannan. If fully fit, there is that much daylight between Harley and those guys, even Kozzie with all his excitement and near misses

No issues with all this, but T-Mac isn't exactly commanding the best defender either. No one is scared of him and he's as one-dimensional as you can get up forward. I do agree that if we are to instill some 'learnings' into the midfield group (Oliver/Gus), a stopping role on the opposition's hardest running mids would be a great start. Clayton is getting lots of touches and clearances each week, but he looks like he's on autopilot. He needs to get hungry again and I think running with your Danger/Dusty/Bont/Cripps types could be just what he needs. Don't go head to head, just blanket them. Learn how hard and smart they work and their teammates work for them.

You'd think so, but how long have you got to wait?

Goodwin: Harley, you are playing instinctive and natural football mate. Love the enthusiasm, but we won't have it

The only bloke we have who could consistently deliver to the advantage of leading forwards is stuck in the goal square wrestling

I am very much in the camp that our delivery is poor, but if we had 2-3 proper forward prospects, there would be blokes getting bulldozed left, right and centre and more mark of the year contestants than ever before. Imagine Lockett, Dunstall or Carey with this much opportunity, even the aerial types like Modra or Ablett snr would be licking their lips. Opposition zoning off works because we dump the ball in long all day, but if you were a big, pack mark kind of player, you get plenty of chances to swallow a few

There is probably a fair bit in this comment, I would hazard a guess his management is being very open and active right about now. Although, we won't ever have a dominant forward because we don't give them a chance

I don't think you can possibly drop Fritsch when you are expecting him to play one out on a bloke that can just push him out the way. He needs space to run and jump at the ball, our game plan is to take up space by pressing really hard forward. He is being coached into the abyss

Being a Hawthorn supporter is a step too far. Don't know many good ones

I would have loved to have chosen Collingwood, Essendon or Richmond as a kid. Could have kept me interested in AFL and also given me some joy in that time

I hope they persist with him, he is young and will make errors, but his enthusiasm is high and he loves to take the game on. When he is involved in the play, things seem to happen He hasn't been infected with the 'play it safe' curse everyone else has

There was an example I remember with Oliver also, a couple of Geelong guys went past him to get to a loose ball, Oliver ended up laying a tackle on one of them but the other one mopped up and away they went. We need to make the play, not sit back and wait for it to unfold.

How many times do we see an opposition player run past one of our guys trotting along, whether it be to create an opportunity or to get to a contest. It is infuriating and must be torture to watch as a coaching group. Every single contest matters, that should be the number one rule

I know he is one of Goody's favourites, but Melksham plays one cameo role every few weeks and delivers nothing inbetween. He is a perfect example of how inconsistent the effort is from this group. The more i think about it, I think Goodwin is overthinking gameplans and structure and the players just can't or won't do what he says. When we go on a run for a 5 minute period, I guarantee it has nothing to do with gameplan - One risky kick comes off or one handball clears congestion and they have space and freedom to operate and the game opens up. The exact opposite to how we set up and seem to want to play

Jaden hunt brings plenty of value, his goal

I would have us 8th-12th. If things were to go our way, we could sneak into the 8, but it would be heavily reliant on other results. The consistency is just not there. We have a lot of very one dimensional players and have kept players involved for too long, when they are not up to it or past it. There isn't a single player on our list who would strike fear into opposition coaches/players with their ability to single-handedly win us a game. Clarry could have 40 and no one else would come for the ride, Petracca could have 25 & 5 but he'd be going it alone, Max could win every single hitout for the day and the opposition would destroy us in clearances by roving to him. Occasionally those scenarios could go in our favour, but not often enough to be a legitimate threat

I took that as sarcasm, I think he hated it.

I am a huge Oliver fan, he is a seriously goof footballer. His work around the contest is phenomenal and his handball is razor sharp. Where I think he falls behind is perceived effort, Tom Mitchell for instance is another accumulator, but he is frantic in his approach. Clayton get's things done with very little fuss, he's not bowling people over to win the ball, he just gets it and moves on. I doubt he will ever be regarded in the same manner as the absolute elite, because most observers are not clued in enough to watch what he does and he certainly doesn't showboat around to make people take notice. Martin, Fyfe and Dangerfield are all very similar in their desire to take everyone on alone and when it comes off, people notice - it also fails often.