BW511

Interesting that everyone says Tomlinson would need to improve his defensive efforts to play forward, I'd argue that by competing and drawing his man to a contest, he is contributing more to our scoring opportunities than any chase or tackle. It's also somewhat ironic that they suggest Tomlinson play the Tom McDonald role of 2018 while the man himself is stuck playing deep.

The poor buggers that got left behind would be spitting chips

Agree, Trac has been doing it well. Not convinced the others can do it and it would not hurt to have more elite kicks, even if it's just to add a different dynamic around our midfield group

They should have been there from the first day Jackson walked in the door, regardless of Weideman's from or place in the team. We paid a lot for him and you'd think it would be smart to give him the very best resources to develop his game. Would not harm Weideman either, so it's a win-win. Also, what is stopping Weid from getting in touch with these guys himself? He needs to get his skates on in the next 6-12 months or he'll be lost to the game

We need a linebreaking elite mid. Have needed it since as long as I can remember. Guarantee our forwards would be much better with Whitfield or Kelly hitting them up as first option

Perhaps he already is, hence the reluctance to wheel him out

He's behind Oliver and Petracca in the pecking order and is not creative at all or skilled by foot. Would have limited currency and would have to walk, otherwise a LOT of Melbourne supporters will be up in arms. He's also got a new baby less than 2 weeks old, footy is not anyone's priority during that period

I know it's pessimistic, but there's very little to suggest anything different will happen. There's a very long and deeply ingrained history of zero success

There was an article just last week about Roughead transforming the Saints forward line. Fresh out of playing and under Clarko, everyone's messiah. He would not have been expensive and would have been perfect for Weid, Jackson, Brown, Fritsch etc. As a club, we are reactionary

It’s not like there’s a whole lot of AFL coaches waiting in the wings? So yes, my parameters are broad, but probably only gives half a dozen actual options. The best coach won’t immediately change this list, the way the club is run or suddenly give us industry leading facilities. What can we offer that would possibly convince Clarko or someone else of that caliber?

Clarkson is a very good coach, perhaps the greatest ever, but our club is nowhere near strong enough and united enough to follow his lead. He is an uncompromising leader and we seem to have a lot of people happy to just feather their own nests and say they are part of an AFL club. Not sure it’s a good match. Getting Clarko would cost a hell of a lot more than just his wage, because we’d need to give him the best people to help him get the job done. I think we need someone in between Clarko and Goody for experience, with a strong and experienced group of assistants. We don’t have much on field leadership at all, certainly none that’s tasted success and it costs us dearly. Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood in recent times have at least one superstar, usually more, but they also have half a dozen senior players that are almost guaranteed to win their position for the day and drive the standards/expectations for everyone else to follow.

It is so demoralising to know that we can't get the ball through 4-5 sets of hands to set up a proper opportunity. We can't string more than 2-3 possessions together to create these chances.

I think this sentiment has probably been repeated many times in your 65 years @Gee N. You've shown more ticker than the entire organisation for hanging in that long. Across the league, I would be surprised if we weren't in the bottom couple of teams for admin, facilities, staff, players and overall budget. This is not an elite organisation and our results reflect that. Until that shifts, we will keep riding this merry go round of mediocrity

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