Jjrogan

It's Peter Vardy all over again. He was fun to watch. Yeah, go on.

I believe virtually everything I read, and I think that is what makes me more of a selective human than someone who doesn't believe anything. David St. Hubbins

Yup, it gets tiresome. Accordingly, I consider this year's Brownlow winner to be Toby Greene. Dude got within 11 votes carrying an entire team on his back from a HFF.

Various posters are saying the midfield are fine to the extent they are blanking JG on his suggestion that we try different personnel. Please don't label me an extremist, it's a ridiculous assertion given my post clearly was the exact opposite of that. It literally spells out there must be doubt re personnel as much as there is doubt re personnel in the forward line. If we kept changing the midfield but not the forwards I would be equally perplexed as to the logic.

Part I don't get is even if you believe it's just the forwards and our midfield is fine. Surely there has to be some doubt? None whatsoever? Really? We've tried different forward set ups, kinda worked, kinda didnt?? Why didn't we even try some different midfield set ups by putting in for a quarter some better users. Put Clarry forward for a quarter to see if his generational ground ball game helped create chances. Hmm maybe? Is our system sooo fragile that it would have fallen apart. You're trying to make an AA ruckman a forward, but you cant have Salem, Bowey or McVee take a centre bounce and get on the end of a Trac forward handball. Lol. Carry on, same input, same result in the likely result here

This is right. For yet another season we have the usual clanger kings in the middle. 3 of the top 13 clanger players are Demons. It just amazing the free pass they get in all this. Yes, I get the notion that contested midfielders create clangers but this is the point. It's our entire midfield. We are simply not balanced with enough good kickers, vision and decision makers. The problem isn't the forwards (ok we kicked awful for goal and with some luck our finals 5 games look very different). We could have Wayne Carey on a lead 10 metres in front of his opponent and I have no confidence any of our midfield would hit him on the full. Until this changes it will be more of the same. We were crazy efficient during the end of 2021 but for all of the usual culprits this was a statistical anomaly. Definition of insanity having the same blokes in there and expecting different results imo.

Yessss!!! Growing up, I'd love to watch the wrestling and in Royal Rumbles every wrestler would come in at spaced intervals. Just when you thought it was quiet a new entrant emerged. :)

It might. In isolation BBB is a better fwd option than Grundy if fit. Frankly, any two of BBB, Grundy and TMac is going to be like having two Titanics inside forward 50. BBB at least can draw a free and can kick from 45 accurately but in not sure he can last a full game. I'd still pick Grundy cause we need the extra midfielder right now. We are thin and if we beaten around the ball it will get seriously ugly.

This thread jumped the shark many pages ago. Sit back and enjoy it. It's up there with match day threads!

The flowers didn't make it to a vase! I'm confident that they will not be calling Brayshaw to defend Maynard's careless actions that could cost him the rest of the season, his career and long term health. Joining the dots, I'd say everyone involved at mfc is seething on this. He knocked him unconscious for 2 minutes. I hate that it needs to be a motivating factor, but if the players are not breathing fire right from the opening bounce on Friday night, I'm not sure they ever could.

It's not the worst idea but too late in the season now. Also Curnow is a gun and you can't risk him getting off the leash even for a quarter. It really is quite frustrating that we have 4 forwards unavailable for this game from our list.

Couldn't agree more. The most important thing this week is the mental resilience of the players and belief we can still climb the mountain. Our midfield is thin against a fully fit contested team (eeek). Our tall forwards are well below AFL average. But we've shown great resilience now for almost 3 years so it's in the culture. I'd love for guys like Chandler, Pickett, Langdon, TMac, Hunter to play match winning games and take the pressure of our elite who honestly stand up every week.

We confident that even if our midfield saw these leading targets (which I agree doesn't happen enough) they would be able to hit them consistently? ANB yes, Spargo yes and.... yup the list stops there. Every single one of them are below average kicks. Hopefully they all have above average days for the next 3 weeks.

Big yes. If we aren't going to change our game style or get more efficient users in the midfield, it stands to reason we need more players that can create something from nothing up forward. Big kpf take several years to develop. This kid could help us snag a few wins in 2024 and keep us right in the mix.

My worry is that our midfield dominance, particularly in second halves, is unsustainable. We can't be relying on sheer number of i50s game after game. One of these weeks we are going to be well beaten around the ball, and with our forward efficiency it might get ugly. If Trac has to play forward more, our midfield depth is very vulnerable this week against Walsh, Cerra etc. I'd def play Grundy this week, we need to be as fresh and big bodied around the ball as possible. Thanks to the maker that McKay and Martin are out this week for them.

If he jumps up like that at pies training to smother, there is no fricken chance he collects the player like that. Players don't take out teammates at training cause they respect their duty of care with respect to their teammates . They go harder in games as the duty of care is lowered. He went too far in his attempt to be at game day intensity. Spare me the he had no other option. It was a split second act but a conscious one.

Thanks for all this. Validates the eye test. By and large, the game was played close to expectations. Both teams got the style they play but the difference in the end was our last kick either into 50 or for goal, which is always the deciding factor for mfc games. The goal kicking is an 'easier' fix as it's a bit of mean reversion. The entry is the more significant 'problem'. It all starts from how we generate scores which are from turnovers and specifically from the wing. We rarely go back through the corridor so the entries are boundary line and easier to defend. Of course, the coaches know all this and they'll say the plan is working and it's giving us the best shot to contend. Struggling to see how any of this changes.

Sydney for sure. We would start favourites v Sydney and probably outsiders v Carlton. Carlton have the midfield and forward cattle to match us and beat us, Sydney don't. They snuck into finals and it would be a godsend if they pinched it tonight . We smashed them at the g earlier this year.

I'd love to know what KMs Trac did last night and how much different it was compared to previous weeks when he was more forward. He has been absolutely flying in the last halves of games for 2 months now as he's been so fresh. I'm extremely worried about next week. That game took a lot out of him. One of these weeks we are going to get slaughtered around the ball and have a 8 goal loss. Viney has been massive all year but how much more can he lift. Can JJ lift to finals intensity for 4 quarters? Clarrie can get his usual 30 touches, his scoreboard impact is below average. Through bad timing, injuries and awful kicking, we are sitting ducks right now. The one thing we have going is culture and incredible mental resilience. On paper we are in trouble.

you might want to check Goodwin's presser. He seemed pretty chuffed winning three quarters of territory. Nothing will change in terms of game style.

Contact was unavoidable. That much is clear. He could have used his arms outstretched to brace. If I pushed you over from behind. In that split second you fall to the floor your mind can make up whether you're going to tuck in your arms and lead with your shoulder into the deck. Or outstretch your arms. I get it's a contact sport and split second but for sure he can handle that differently

If that was a pies training and he launched himself in the air to smother, would you expect he would have no other option than what he did? Obviously he is going at match intensity but choosing to bump is not a match intensity issue. His other option was to brace with his hands for sure. It was a final. He was fired up. He chose to bump.

I agree with the first half of your post. You are right in saying that Maynard couldn't avoid contact, but isn't that true in countless cases so surely that can't be test right. The fact is he chose to turn and bump. Now yes you could say that was to protect himself, but again, you can say that about every ground ball collision also ( Hunters this year.) His other option was to show duty of care and try and tackle, brace with his arms out etc yes that is split second, but again that is what every case deals with. He had other options. He has a duty of care to not shirt front an opposing player. He should get 3 weeks. And I'm not biased jvr should get 2 also, that was amateur stuff.

My favourite is when he actually has time and doesn't even bother to look down the field when he kicks it. I'd love to be a forward to that.

We have the worst kicking efficiency in the competition into 50. Dead last. That's the only thing we are even bottom 8 in. Put whomever you want up there, it's the players kicking it in there, their vision and how they are instructed to kick it in there that has to change. Was hoping Hunter would make a difference but he quite often he doesn't kick to the right spots either. It makes the forward's life very difficult. Until we move on from Trac, Oliver and Viney, my opinion is it won't change. McVee should have been given some midfield time this year. It doesn't kill to try such things. 10 minutes on the ball won't see our entire game plan fall apart. Too late in the season now. We can still kick well for the next month and win it. That's what separates us winning and losing. Our contest and defense are there every week, our kicking skills are not.