Accepting Mediocrity

Not to mention making an absolute mockery of the UK's so-called 'Herd Immunity' approach.

I think I've hit peak MFCSS. Most MFC supporters are worried that the players/ AFL will decide to try to go ahead with the season, then cancel it a few rounds in when we are undefeated and flying. I'm more worried that they suspend the season immediately, and then try to fit in some sort of 10 week 'mini season' in the back half of the year with shortened games. We win the flag, but it feels hollow and will always have an * next to it in the record books.

Does insinuating a Hitler-style 'Final Solution' as a means of global population control count as a stupid social media comment? (Not that global over-population isn't an issue worth discussing, but that's pretty dark dude).

Pretty much spot on I reckon. His other traits are great - he's a fierce tackler for a tall bloke, is good below his knees, hurts people, and he's a great kick. You can see he works his [censored] off - he does a lot right, but doesn't have a lot to show for it stats-wise. If it clicks, we'll have an absolute weapon on our hands. No doubt contested marking is a hard thing to drastically improve, but it's worth remembering that Gawn couldn't take a grab to save himself for the first 6 years of his career. Hawkins pretty much the same. I hold hope.

How many rucks/ tall forwards can you name that have dominated in their first season? The rare ones that look good from day 1 are man-children (Hogan, Darling). Barring injury, Jackson will play senior footy this year, but he's at least 2 years away from being an above-average AFL player (assuming he makes it). Weideman was one of the biggest disappointments of 2019 (and that's saying something). But he's well ahead of Jackson at this stage and deserves first crack.

To all those that downplay the number of people infected: this figure from WHO pretty much sums it up. Extrapolate this forwards a few weeks and see what you end up with. Yes - getting the virus will not be a big deal for most people. Yes - much of the panic is needless, ill-informed and counterproductive. But an outbreak like this is unprecedented in modern human history - that's why health professionals are sh*tting themselves. Interesting times ahead.

By any objective measure, this more closely aligns with success than any other. If Richmond and St. Kilda maintain their current injury status (zero), they will finish top 4. We’re much better placed than last year, but need to reduce our ‘unavailable’ list further. She is, however, a long season. Disagree with this - I think the element of luck in premierships is overplayed at times. Obviously, injuries don't help - no team could withstand having their entire backline and half their forwardline miss a majority of the season as we did last year. But West Coast won a flag without Naitanui and Gaff (suspended) - that's the equivalent of us losing Gawn and Oliver. They beat Collingwood, who also copped a harsh run. Last year, Richmond lost key players for much of the year as well - although they had most of their best 22 back for finals, they were still missing arguably their most influential player in Rance. I suspect we are - although there are a few on our list with the potential. History shows that there have been very, very few grand final teams without genuinely elite talent (i.e., players that supporters from other clubs would regard as among the best in the AFL for their position). Max is currently our only elite player by this measure - as good as Oliver is, he's clearly a rung or two below Fyfe, Dusty, Bontempelli et al at this point. Here's hoping that Petracca can be that player for us.

Hopefully it's Fritsch. He'll kick 15 goals round 1 - no WC defender will go near him.

In reality, I suspect a very small percentage of the population falls into this category. I think the mindset of the vast majority is more along the lines of "I'd better buy dunny paper before the doomsdayers empty the shelves" - it's self-perpetuating. Everyone on here shakes their heads at the doomsday preppers, but I bet many of us have recently purchased something we didn't immediately need, out of concern that it might not be available next supermarket trip.

I rarely defend the AFL, but reading about the scary (and still largely unknown) post-career effects of repeated concussions on athletes, I've changed my tune on this issue. It's worth reading recent news interviews with our own Shaun Smith for an insight into the impacts it can have. The AFL have no choice but to take action to reduce the risks, and I think they're heading in the right direction with this one. The key is applying the rules consistently (no doubt this is where they will fail).

Essendon. I would barrack for the Taliban over that mob.

I'd argue that Harmes is our most complete midfielder. Very good defensively, strong overhead, good pace, decent skills. Reminds me of Elliot Yeo (obviously Harmes isn't quite at that level at this stage). A real testament to our recruiting team - I couldn't for the life of me see how he'd become a best 22 player in his first couple of years. On paper, his skill set should translate well to the half backline, but I thought the same with Fritsch theoretically. I'd leave him in the midfield.

Does this make us Dees fans Satanists?

True. But novel viruses are notoriously unpredictable - major pandemics that have killed millions of people have occurred several times throughout human history. It would be the height of naivety to assume that it couldn't happen again. Coronavirus may or may not be the next one - but at this point, the best available medical advice seems to be that it very much has the potential. It may very well eventuate to nothing - but I think that dismissing the virus as a non-event is just as foolish as mindless panic (not suggesting that you are Jaded, but many people are very quick to downplay it). PS congrats on the wedding.

"Jeff Kennett makes a valid point" - Literally no-one, ever.

What do I win - a role of collingwood-printed toilet paper? Actually, Hawthorn would probs be a better fit.

There's no biological reason why Chinese people should be more susceptible to the virus, given that health care in China is generally quite good. I'd hazard an extremely uneducated guess that the reported mortality rate may be lower outside of China because many of those people would have been infected while travelling - you'd expect this demographic to be skewed towards the young and fit. WHO's ~3.4% figure may well be pretty close to the mark. Obviously not everyone will be infected, but there's at least some chance that a substantial proportion of the world's population will be. The Spanish Flu showed that it's entirely possible (reputedly about 1/3 of the population infected) - all in the days before widespread overseas travel (although primitive quarantine measures as well). I agree that 70 million would be a very pessimistic outlook, but I don't think tens of millions is entirely out of the question. I doubt that things get that bad personally, but like most of us, I really have no idea. Given the age demographic of those at risk, think what it could do to our membership base!

Not sure where you got those numbers, but they're wrong (currently approx 90,000 people out of ~7.8 billion). But the problem is that the number of cases won't increase linearly, it will increase exponentially (because each person with the virus will likely pass it on to multiple others). 90,000 cases could turn into hundreds of millions extremely quickly, and the mortality rate is about 3.5% - do the math. No one knows quite how bad it will get, but people have good reason to be concerned (although panic buying dunny paper is just plain weird).

Jesus some on here have short memories. Viney brings the type of hardness that we were begging for during our decade in the wilderness. Is he a complete midfielder? Of course not, but very, very few players are. Is a fit Jack Viney a key member of our best 22? Absolutely, and to suggest that he won't be in the near future is utter crazy talk. He's not a great kick, but neither is Dangerfield and he goes alright. Viney's lateral movement is actually pretty good IMO. Check out the second passage of play from the 2018 semi. Also note who made the desperate futile chase to pressure Gunston's kick in the next passage. Successful finals teams are built around players like Viney.

Absolutely. After his form inevitably slipped in his last couple of years, I think a lot of Dees supporters forget just how good Vince was for us. Probably our best player from 2014-2016, and one of very few players during that period that made watching MFC games a bearable experience!

On a non-MFC note, great to see Majak back playing footy!

I agree with this as well - the entire point of having a mobile ruckman is that you essentially gain an extra midfielder after the tap. Playing him as a midfielder negates that advantage and detracts from his strengths (obviously just a practice match though so fair enough - all good experience for the kid). I think so too - but I think he looks a fair way off best 22 at the moment, barring injury to at least one of Gawn, Weideman or Brown (probably an unpopular opinion). All else being equal, I'd like to see him develop at Casey for the first half of the year at least.

No point sugar-coating it, aside from the expansion teams and Essendon's VFL side, Melbourne under Neeld from 2012-2014 were the most comically inept team the AFL has seen in the last 20 years. And it's not even close. Christ we were bad.

Stats don't tell the whole story, but I seriously don't know how anyone could refer to 2018 as the aberration. There are absolutely no excuses this year - we have good reason to be optimistic.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/377069/no-golf-no-dog-forgotten-dee-hopes-sacrifices-pay-off-in-r1 Interesting article on the AFL website - really highlights how much his body has struggled with AFL. Had to give up his dog because he couldn't walk it apparently. Also states that he was on a modified preseason program, training twice a week (as opposed to the main group doing 4), with the aim of completing one full training session per week during the season and playing "most" games. The fact that he can make such an impact of such a low fitness base truly is a testament to the sheer willpower of the bloke. I get what you're saying - he has his limitations, but I just can't leave him out of our best 22, simply for the fact that we're a better team when he's playing. Absolutely love the way Vanders goes about it. The sort of bloke that could be the difference in a grand final.