Jjrogan

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.

I've never quite understood the constant negativity towards him. Statistically he's more than serviceable. Sure, tough to measure defenders with numbers but since 2017 he averages over 6 one-percenters a game.. which puts him roughly in the top 25 players in the league. He averages very low clangers (just north of 2), 300th in league. Intercepts are slightly above league average. Perhaps not the greatest one on one defenders but only the elite are. Now that he's beefed up this will only get better. (Any danger he can hand over his weight program to Weid?)

Its not just the number of inside 50 differential that is horrific. Its the quality of our entries we have. We have midfielders and half forwards free with time and space AND we have weight of numbers and still cant convert. Lol. Trac, kossi, fritter. You can blame the coaches all you want but at some point you have to admit they are just not any good. And consistency is a trait of being good.

He's fine. Seems a little timid or undecided what to do when he has it. Team rules and such. Compare it with the arrogance and cheek from Rankine at the other end. Have to back yourself and your talents in the AFL. If you have space use your speed.

This is exactly right. When something doesnt work, you change it up. The definition of insanity and all. Also, spend the next 24 months kicking as many balls at luke jackson as possible and develop him exclusively into a marking mobile forward. His edge is his athleticism. Its wasted tapping it to one of our midfielders presently.

This is absolutely spot on. Furthermore, after the departure of Hogan, the FD put their eggs in the wrong basket, banking on Weiderman being a KPF and giving up pick 6 (ben king...) to acquire May. May is top player, but its turned out to be an abject misreading of the list requirements. After rolling the dice on SW to then not give him games 18 months down the line is utterly baffling. He is only 23, give him a string of games out of the goal square. If he gets beaten, so be it. But he will drag a tall away from Fritsch and Tmac.

Petracca is playing some game. He has clearly taken his game to the next level. He's the only midfielder id trust to make a good decision and execute it into fifty. Viney dead last. Got to trade him or Brayshaw out for a decent forward whilst they still have value.