Accepting Mediocrity

Geez some on this forum is quick to bag young players. A month ago he was Cyril mk 2. Do we ever learn? Judge the selection in 5 years time, and even then things can change. The list of reasons we are losing could fill several volumes. An inconsistent first year player isn't on it.

Used to think do as well but maybe we are all biased. I think all AFL supporters overrate their own players, but every knowledgeable opposition supporter I speak to has the same opinion - MFC's problems have nothing to do with talent. We've got 4 players who, at various stages deep into the season, have been genuinely in the conversation for All Australian selection - Petracca, Gawn, May and Oliver. There's a decent chance all 4 will make the squad of 40 - our top level talent is better than plenty of teams that will play finals this year. That should be a silver lining, but to me it's deeply concerning.

Come on mate, you're giving the AFL far too much credit. As if they'd have the organizational competence to pull off such an elaborate conspiracy.

I think that's the best defensive game I've ever seen by a dee. May is a beast!

I rate Jackson, and he's certainly shown some nice signs, but realistically I think he's probably at least 3 years away from providing more than the odd cameo up forward. In any case, one of his biggest strengths is his versatility - I don't think it'd be a problem playing Jackson, Daniher, Weideman and Gawn in the same team (on the rare occasions all of them were fit). West Coast manage to play all of NicNat, Darling, Kennedy and Allen. It's probably a moot point anyway - we're better set for key position players than most teams, and others will no doubt pay a higher price.

Initial reaction: Jesus, we've hit the panic button. Calming down a bit: not so bad. Managing sore players might be a factor. Fritsch stiff - he wasn't great last week, but he still took 10 marks - Brown won't give us that. Lockhart also stiff, but I think Rivers is an upgrade. Harmes and TMac well and truly deserve to be dropped, and Sparrow and Preuss were never going to be playing.

The same reason the tigers spent big on Lynch when they already had Riewoldt - 2 gun tall forwards are better than 1. If Daniher was available, he'd be replacing TMac, not Weideman. Injuries are a concern, but it's not as though he's coming back from his third ACL - plenty of players have successfully returned after missing long stints with OP. He'd be expensive, he'd be a risk and we'd need to deal with Essendon at the trade table. All are very good reasons to walk away, but I still think it'd be worth asking the question.

Daniher almost single-handedly won the game against the (admittedly mediocre) hawks yesterday. It will be interesting to watch this space over the rest of the season. He clearly hasn't lost any athleticism. I don't think we're in the race, and granted there are still significant questions over whether he can stay on the park. But if we couldn't win a flag with a spine of Daniher, Weid, Gawn, Petracca, May and Lever, we might as well pack up and go home.

They drew with GC so percentage is irrelevant (unless they're competing with Collingwood/ Richmond for a spot). But they are a mile off being a finals side regardless. Is it bad that I enjoy essendon losses almost as much as melbourne wins?

Are you providing Youtube highlights of Dermie and Matthews to argue that Muir's life of violence, mental illness and abuse was purely self-inflicted and in no way linked to underlying racial disadvantage and discrimination? Everyone's responsible for their own actions, sure. No one's said otherwise. But facts are that if Muir was born white, he would have copped far less abuse, been more likely to succeed in the AFL and less likely to spiral out of control off-field (statistically speaking). That's troubling.

Seriously, that's what you took away from the article?

Eh? Not his best game by any stretch, but I thought he was our best mid today by a considerable margin. Lowered his eyes and hit up leading forwards on more than one occasion. He's having a good year.

Any player that works their backside off and makes it into the best 22 off the rookie list deserves an enormous amount of respect. Harmes at his best is more than just a tagger - he's good overhead and kicks goals the other way. He's this year's Fritsch - on paper, he has all the traits that should be suited to half back, but it clearly isn't working. The experiment should now be over. I'm not convinced that giving him more midfield time is the solution. Who do you take out, and where do you stick them? It's deckchairs on the Titanic stuff. I'd play him as a defensive half forward for a month and see how he goes. That's where our biggest weakness is IMO - Melksham, Hannan, Spargo and Fritsch all have their days but get exposed defensively far too often against good sides. In many ways, Harmes is a similar player to Wallace, who absolutely killed us today.

I'm a Salem fan. Admittedly, he hasn't (and probably won't) reach the elite status that we hoped, but he remains one of our better players and we don't really have anyone else on the list capable of playing his role. For mine, he's indispensable (until we get more players with his skill set at least). I've seen far too many butchers at MFC to advocate for trading one of the best kicks in the team.

On limited exposure, Preuss surely must be among the best second rucks in the league. And he's not even our second ruck. That said, we'd be kidding ourselves to hope for a 1st/ early 2nd round pick. History shows that players outside their teams best 22 simply don't carry that sort of value (even talls). Unless he plays (and plays well) every game for the rest of the year, we'd get a pick in the 30-50 range. He's worth more to us as Gawn/Jackson insurance IMO.

Think that's a bit revisionist I reckon. Max was clearly hampered and didn't have his usual influence against the crows, but he was far from a liability. He had more hitouts, possessions and marks than O'Brien (all while being illegally targeted off the ball), so it's a bit of a stretch to suggest he was "convincingly beaten". We're a better team with Max.

Williams is damn close to elite I reckon. He'd be our best flanker by an absolute mile. Moore and De Goey would probably cost more (in picks and salary) and come with higher risk (Moore injury prone, De Goey could be looking at prison time). I think he ticks that box. He's played good footy in the midfield for GWS, but gets pushed out by Kelly, Coniglio, Whitfield, Hopper, Tarranto etc. If Richmond could afford Lynch after winning a premiership, surely we can find space in the cap for Williams.

Williams is an absolute weapon. He's just about the best half back in the comp IMO. Tough, fast, skilled, versatile, and only 25 years old. On paper, he is exactly what we need. We'd be crazy not to be talking to him.

Don't think it tells us much. Zaine Cordy, Chris Dawes and Sam Reid all have premiership medals, but no one tries to argue that full forwards are obsolete. A gun ruckman is still just 1 of 22 players. Teams can and do win flags without one - but they help. We're extremely fortunate to have Maxy.

Behind Oliver and Petracca (going early on Trac), Viney probably rates as our third best mid of the last 20 years (and possibly longer). He's severely underrated by many on here. He's currently sitting 12th in the AFL coaches votes and on track for yet another top 5 finish in the Bluey. That said, we clearly need to find a way to boost Brayshaw's midfield minutes. Viney sharks the odd goal and has great defensive attributes, but I suspect he lacks the creativity, vision and skills overhead that good forwards have. Happy to see him spend a bit more time in the forwardline to accommodate Brayshaw, but I think Viney will always play his best footy in the middle.

Finding myself in agreement with Eddie is the single biggest curveball of 2020.

Rubbish opposition, but take a bow Clayton Oliver. Wonder if Lloyd still thinks we should trade him?

Surprised at the lack of love for Viney on here. He's central to the way we want to play, and is probably tracking for another top 5 finish in the Bluey (despite a couple of poor games). He's also probably our least versatile mid so I'd be reluctant to take him out. I agree that our midfield is too one-dimensional, but I also think that people tend to overreact after a bad loss. Sure, our mids were horrific against Port, but the same mix of players looked like world beaters 2 weeks ago against the hawks. I think our midfield probably sits somewhere in the middle of the 2 performances, and it needs tweaking rather than wholesale changes. Like others, I'd like to Harmes used as a defensive mid and Oliver to spend more time forward. I'd also like to see Salem get more midfield time. On paper, he's exactly what we are currently lacking. I don't think we're getting full value out of him at half back.

The consequences of covid gaining a foothold in the NT are a lot higher than other places though. In most communities, houses are typically shared by upwards of 20 people, and a substantial proportion have significant underlying health problems and limited access to health care. You couldn't design a better environment for a pandemic. Can't say I blame the NT for being conservative with borders!

Surprised at how many have jumped off the bandwagon TBH. He's given away a stupid 50 metre penalty and despite a near-flawless kicking technique, he's had a bad few weeks converting set shots (which even the best forwards go through at some point). Other than that, he's barely put a foot wrong since he was drafted. Gives our forwardline a real point of difference and will only get better.