Ollie fan

I’m excited! Basketball skills are very useful in getting through traffic; his size is great, all we need to know is whether he has the heart - but you never know that until they get on the park….

He looks to me to have this in common with his father: the talent level is not brilliant but he works hard to make the absolute most of what he has. That worked pretty well for Shane.

Unfortunately, struggled badly in the senior finals.

It sounds to me like Choco might be the man for him.

Completely agree. His first gig as a coach was with our midfield and he did a great job.

Mark Stinear for the job?? Or is that robbing Peter to pay Paul?

I Was speaking to a very experienced Collingwood supporter – who has access to their inner sanctum – who said that Brodie Grundy is an absolutely top bloke and plays as a ruck rover – in other words, exactly like Luke Jackson only better. I am very excited about him coming. I see them sharing the tap work in the middle, but Grundy playing forward while Max drops back to intercept defend. The discussion about our players should never overlook this - not only do we have “good” players, we have extraordinary players in our top three, Clarry Tracc and Max. I also see Petty going forward after his unbelievable cameo against Brisbane, with TMac going back if necessary. The weak link I think is BBB, who helped us get a premiership but has too much downside. If JVR is ready and good, then we are fine, with key position players of May, Lever, Petty, TMac and JVR as well as the marking ability of Max and BG, not to mention Fritta. I can’t wait.

In judging him, we should never forget the well-known fact that after an ACL, it takes a full year of playing to get back to your previous form. We have seen pretty much that with Salem, although it was a PCL.

I don’t understand keeping Melksham.

That highlights reel makes me remember why I always liked him. I love run and dare, but the courage he showed in that reel was also incredibly impressive.

Yes, and look at how it broke the clubs spirit when we got rid of James McDonald. I don’t believe you can let players like this go and then ask players to bleed for the club.

I’m afraid your memory is playing tricks with you. We lost to the Eagles in 1990. I still believe it was because the draw, which delayed our match for a week, left us very flat. Even in the warmup, it was plain that we weren’t switched on. I believe that we should have won the premiership that year.

Surely the Horne-Francis business teaches usone very plain fact: draft picks are unreliable. Getting, for example, pick number three does not give you a player is good as Jackson; it gives you the hope of getting a player is good as Jackson. I believe he should be traded for a proven player of high-quality and possibly draft picks as well.

I’m with RJ. Every time Gary Lyon has taken a active role at the MFC, he has mucked it up. I have no doubt his heart is in the right place but his brain certainly isn’t.

That’s right. There is no point in resting players in the first part of the season – which was when we won 10 in a row – and after that, the only games we had that you could pretty much lock in were WCE and North Melbourne. We should have rested a couple of players then, but how many players can you rest in one match?

Lesson: “manage” players during the season.

The real problem on our list is BBB signed to 2024 when he really should be retiring now.

1. Clarry will be niggled, poked, pushed, held, gouged and punched every week with no protection from the umpires. 2. The score review system will be crap again. 3. We will be motivated by this year and will win.

I think some of us have radically different views about Goodwin (whom the players love) and season 2022 (2nd on the ladder - disappointing end but not really a TERRIBLE season).

Two things: The May discussion - sounds like BS to me. Even if Steven May did that off his own bat, there is no way he would have been given a stern talking to about it since it was such a successful move. So somewhere the reportage must be wrong. The JJC comments about the last quarter – I have watched the replay too, and I agree with him. We were crucified by the umpires, but I accept that that is part of the game. What I also see is that despite everyone saying how fatigued we were, in fact, once we got close, we were running all over them. Which tells me that it is mental fatigue, not physical fatigue.

Exactly what I was thinking

I think the players were mentally fatigued, not physically. Look at the last 5 minutes of the SF - we were all over Brisbane because the sniff of a victory refreshed the players mentally. They were certainly physically fit enough!! But it Points to the need to manage players during the year, to keep their mental freshness.

Yze to Essendon would be a disaster for him. That club is a coach-killer. But I don’t know why there is such love for him/distrust of Goody on this thread. There can’t be any doubt that Yze had major input into the same game plan that everyone is criticising.

No player, whatever their draft number, is definitely going to be good. There is so much uncertainty about temperament, stability, vulnerability to injury… We remember the good ones and forget the duds, but there are plenty of duds.

I believe we are entitled to be disappointed. We have the best list of players and we have had since the 1950s. Our performance in the finals last year was that of a side that was fast superior to every other team in the league. I believe we are entitled to be disappointed. We have the best list of players that we have had since the 1950s. Our performance in the finals last year was that of a side that was far superior to every other team in the league. But it is done now. I agree with the posters that say we were tired – I believe, mentally tired from playing the same group every week. For instance, Clayton Oliver looked too tired to shake his tag after 24 weeks of being harassed each game with no protection from the umpires. And we have a crying need for another KPF – I believe we have to let BBB go; he has helped to bring us a premiership so his job is done. Now, his ground play is simply an embarrassment. So we need to regroup, tweak the playing list, either get a great trade for Jackson or train him up to play a specific role (perhaps CHF, CHB or ruck-rover) and be much more prepared to turn players over during the season for freshness and motivation. I actually seriously believe that if we treat the next three months correctly, we will be unbeatable next year.