Jjrogan

Can rightly have a go at the coach all we want, but even if it was a 3 on 2 entry into our forward fifty and it was not in mays, brayshaw, melksham or salem's hands i dont trust the player to make the right decision or be able to execute. Our players simply aren't that good. Part of being good is being consistent and after a point it cant be coached to improve. This is our brand.

Fair enough mate. Like you i just want to win now and in the long run. And if this changes his attitude of him and others on and off the field, ill concede it was a good decision.

Like i said. The only way i can understand this is if its a repeated thing. The culture of a workplace falls apart if someone is late to work one day? Really? Is that your position? I never said he shouldn't be punished. I said if its not a team wide thing then the entire playing group should not be punished. Sorry it boggled your mind. Hope you're never late for anything.

Dropping someone late to training is one of the dumbest things ive heard. Culture doesnt come thru discipline like this. You think he meant to turn up late? You really think he's has a habit of this, is a bad egg and needs to send a message to a lazy playing group? Is that whats happening here? If so, perhaps ok i can understand the logic. If you're late to work what happens. Usually sfa, but worst they will hit you where it hurts. Your wallet. Fine him 5k. Thats the correct way to deal with this. Its the players fault and he alone should bear the cost. Now the whole team and club is put in jeopardy. You're telling me if Gawn doesnt turn up to training on time the monday before he's playing in a PF, hes dropped. Im almost hoping this happens to show the false hypocritical bravado of this decision. Obviously the club thinks discipline like this will help with our midfields being able to hit a f****ing target when they are under no pressure because thats the sort of discipline id love to see.

i respectfully disagree. Part of being good is being consistent. Too many of our players are not consistent whether thats year to year, week to week, or even disposal to disposal. Yes those players you mention can reach fabulous heights but by and large its not in a consistent and dependable manner (id say clarry, gawn may exceptions). Coaching obviously is meant to address some of this but at some point yea, you just have to admit maybe this is just the player they will always be. Ie not consistently good.

Thats because he's by far the best decision maker entering 50 and kick (on both feet) to the advantage of the forward its not funny. Also not funny is his total lack of defensive pressure. Needs to stay in the team but get a proverbial rocket for that effort today.

For the past month we've been excellent at containing opp rebound 50s and forcing teams to go down the line where we've had the advantage. Credit where credit is due, Doggies did a great job in the 3rd of getting to the fat side and capitalizing. There wasnt too much between the teams other than that. If after the port loss you said we thumped the cellar dwellars and split the pies and dogs, we all would have taken it. We're not top 4 material. You could say we carry too many passengers but in all honesty the players you bring in will probably just be another set of passengers. Making the finals with a full healthy list is still well alive with a win next week.

Once the clearances evened up that quarter, we comfortably had their measure. Dogs have an elite midfield so have to break even in this second half. In the arcs, Melbourne is clearly superior.

Because like Gawn he's a good ruckman and ruckman occupy 3 of the top 6 in both for and against categories? (5th in frees against.)

The only valid umpiring gripe that exists is west coke having the run of the home crowds and certain umpires for now almost 20 years. Every other whinge re bias is just statistically not there over a reasonable time frame.

This deserves a wider audience. Thoroughly enjoyable read. Well done.

A lot of teams need a ruckman. They're not only getting slaughtered in the ruck but around the ground. The 2020 Svelte and Lithe Preuss showed more than enough there. Eg. GWS. Jacobs and Mumford are total rubbish. They average less than 8 touches and less than 2 marks a game. Its like they are playing with 17 on the ground. A 25 yr old Preuss would be a huge upgrade for them. Im not sure we get much value from a late 2nd or third in a compromised draft so id be in favour of packaging and swapping him for a young fast junior who we may have liked from previous drafts but cant get a run for whatever reason. Gws have all sorts of problems with their cap if they sign Cameron and Williams. Jackson Hately, Caldwell etc With Jackson as Gawn's back up, much rather have a backup/developing dashing midfielder than a back up ruckman from 2021 onwards.

Complaining about someone complaining about the club on the clubs complaint board. Peak Complaining has been reached.

On that performance he is too good a ruckman to be in the magoos. That was a genuine afl calibre ruck effort. He's clearly worked on his mobility. Would definitely attract interest from opposition sides.

Er, being born in 1997 stunted his development. Hawkins, Josh Kennedy, J Reiwoldt, Tom lynch They all debuted 18 or so and all took 4-5 seasons to become 2+ goal a game key forwards. Some played a lot, some didnt. What really matters is the output from here on out and since returning its bang on where its meant to be.

Trac would be up there with Dustin Martin as one of the most fearsome players in the game if he could just hit those errant handballs and dinky kicks. It always seems just always 1-3 metres from being a ultra clean disposal. He is great to watch regardless.

Call me crazy. But he's had the best half of his fledging career with potentially a rising star nomination.... He's 18, fit and bursting to play.... Sure he will def struggle in the cente but the number of taps seem rather inconsequential anyway. ...The opposition ruckman is an old man.... Lets roll the dice.....? Nah. Im crazy. Ps. In the cheeky post match interview, max was already getting worried about his position.

Its nice to see the support for AB in this thread. In my eyes he has the attributes of a Jimmy Bartel and that's the player id love him to become. High draft pick, great balance in the contest, foot skills on both sides and a really good mark for his height. Bartel excelled at the inside-outside midfield role for geelong and thats the role AB brings when used correctly. He is solid from contests but can be so damaging when he has space. His pass down the centre to Jones from half back was brilliant and remind anyone else of 2018? Gawn is having a great year. Viney is having a great year. Oliver is having a great year. Petracca is having a great year. We haven't beaten a top team and lie 4-5. AB led our inside 50s in 2018 as we 'connected' at an elite rate . Hard to do from the bench playing 70 percent of game time.

If you're waiting for Bennel to start laying tackles you might want to adjust your expectations. Even at his best he laid an average of one tackle a half. Which is what he did tonight. He def needs to get more touches. Could have thrown him into the cente or a wing in that last quarter. He needs to build his fitness, pace and ball hunting instinct. We dont need another hard nut tackler/body on line. That's not his strengths.

Since 2007, Melbourne has lost the most amount of games by a long way. Only 84 wins from 272. Compare to the 'leaders' of this metric hawks and cats.. 182 and 202 respectively. The saints are actually the outliers here having won 129 from 272 and yet have 25 nominations against. Sure, there is a problem with culture. But we also lack the culture of winning. Win more games, get more votes, nominations and accolades. (And less against naturally) Ps. You'd rather not want to know the giants have won just 3 less games in 4 less seasons. Egad.

No it absolutely doesnt. But the team that played the last 3 weeks did. Thats the point. Its a weird season and clearly form can bounce wildly. Every team has put in a stinker or two.

The good news its either 5-5 in two weeks time and in the hunt for a sneaky finals spot after a couple of wins against bottom two. (We have played and lost against 5 of the top 6 teams) Or we lose one (or both!) and some wholesale coaching/personnel changes will start being made. The bad news is we dont have the money or draft position for a quick turnaround. Deck chairs. Titanic.

Since moving forward, BF has taken 39 marks inside forward 50 in 14 weeks. This would rank top 10 if not top 5 in the competition. Playing with the team with the worst delivery in the competition. He's in only his third year and will only get stronger and stronger physically over coming seasons. His leading to pockets (not helping his conversion) needs to be addressed but as he gets bigger he'll back himself to take marks in more congested zones. A must sign.

Fritsch has to know he is leading to his wrong pocket. That's not Hannan's fault. That's just very poor leading from a forward with a game on the line. He has a habit of it and more than coaching someone how to kick, you can teach people where to run.

Clayton Oliver in space with time is quite comical to watch really.