JimmyGadson

Well. I'm 1 from 1. And it's clear that we are not in the the kind of form that many were banging on about. Carlton had how many outs? How many mids? And we still couldn't find a way. Hawthorn game is no guaranteed win and if anyone thinks we should be favourites against Sydney in the last round, (regardless of what the odds say), you have no idea. If cementing second place on the ladder is not enough of a dangling carrot for this group going up against a half strength Carlton then I'm not sure we're the team people think we are!

Great ins. Both will bring excitement and cheers for our supporters and both will lift our group heading into this game. Our arousal levels will be well and truly off the scale @Binmans PA But in all seriousness, I think this is a great time to bring Grundy in. I think he'll want so badly to perform, as will Max and the rest of the group. And if he plays well and Max continues his form on the weekend, I can see this turning into a massive positive snowball for us going into finals. Oliver's inclusion will clearly boost us. Especially Trac and Salem, his best mates. I think we'll really want to perform and stick it to Carlton. I hope and trust that Goody has some tactics on how we'll deploy Oliver. Obviously he won't be playing full midfield minutes after his lay-off, but I hope we see him playing some serious time forward. I think that could really excite us as well. Exciting last few rounds, really hope we can hold onto second spot.

Massive facepalm. They've pointed out exactly what I pointed out. And you're doing the old "omg people think Oliver is trash" nonsense. We are better balanced when we don't have Trac and Oliver playing full midfield minutes together always. Period. For a few reasons. The evidence is there for all to see. Clearance is up, contested footy is up, first possession. I remember you were trying to argue we were down on clearance without him. Do you see that we're far less predictable with him and Gawn always being the tandem tap and go duo? Which has clearly had a positive impact for us. Viney is playing his best footy. Brayshaw looks like a new player. Oliver's absence has been nothing but a blessing in my eyes. It just shows he doesn't need to always be the man. And hopefully Goody will play him forward more often so not to mess what is working so well for us right now. Oliver is a gun at extracting a contested footy. But he gives the ball up way too easily as well which dilutes his amazing ability to win contested ball. And unfortunately for him, we have a midfield full to the brim of contested specialists. He is an offensive, proactive mid who is almost always the go to player for Gawn around the ground which makes it predictable for oppo. It's really not that hard to understand why we might be playing better footy as midfield unit whilst his been out. And when he plays this Friday, I really hope that Goody has him and Trac swapping a bit deep forward so that Gus, Viney, Sparrow and Jordan can continue to build through the middle.

Davey's sugar daddy in my formative years, don't forget. We used to argue. Now we don't. Demonland has taught me much.

2005 OG Demonlander who has been banned once thanks to Saty. Don't feel sorry for me. I love the club. And I love coming to Demonland to provide an opposing view.

Changed my mind again. Trade up, take two top 10 picks to the draft and one inside 15 as there'll be a couple of sliders. I think we need a spread of talent across the field and a new generation of talent coming through together rather than all chips in on one. I think it'd give us a boost like Sydney have experience with their influx of high end talent over an off-season a few years ago. It'd also allow us the flexibility to trade for a ready made player/forward/back which needs to come under serious consideration given May's age, Petty's injury, Brown and McDonald's form/age/injury history. I can see Reid being unbelievable for us. But it's clear our problems lie in an array of areas that he won't fix alone. And selling the farm for him seems a big risk, especially long-term.

I thought he could develop into a great player. But wrote that off pretty early. Definitely didn't go into bat for him forever and a day. Mistake after mistake. Demotion after demotion. And then post delisting. Sometimes I imagine you to be Binman's PA. If I called him on the phone, you'd pickup. It's very cute!

It's Demonland. A land of sweet candy, flowers and where you don't have a bad thing to say about anything MFC.

Grundy will be in. Watch this space. @FearTheBeard how are ticket sales tracking? This could be 70k surely.

Noice. I think you should tread water a bit more Binners. Remember our old battles regarding your mate Oscar McDonald, who you would defend to the death. Even after he was delisted?! You were like the black knight in the Python's holy grail. You do realise we were smacked from pillar to post for the first quarter and a half against a side who had lost something like 17 in a row? I think our 'form' is grossly exaggerated on this forum. No surprise though. I think the next three games are more difficult than many predicted a week or two weeks ago. And now some of you are changing your tune which is funny. Sydney are in better form than us, Carlton too. And Hawthorn are not North. So let's see how it pans out old mate. I'm hopeful.

Nicely done Normy, but no way does Moir go before Caddy! Caddy had some really impressive games both at champs level and showed glimpses at VFL. Moir was possibly the most disappointing of all players spoken about pre champs.

I'll go against the grain and say lets bring Grundy in to see if we can work it. Last chance. There were games earlier in the year where it worked and I think easing Max's load or more importantly, limiting exposure to constant crash and bash is somewhat important this time of year. Grundy to start forward, we've always got the sub if it isn't working. I'm just of the opinion that bringing a hungry Grundy in as well as Oliver against the blues, who will show up to the G will give us a big mental boost and bring some excitement to our players and supporters. (Who will hopefully show up).. As McRae astutely noted in his presser, the game is as much above the shoulders as it is anything else. These are the types of moves that can get a team rolling, bring some excitement and create some hype coming into the last few rounds. I really think Grundy is made for these types of games. And we'd all want him to succeed. I hope it happens.

Good to be winning but we are so patchy and pick and choose which quarters to switch on. Which isn't a great sign. Especially coming up against a red hot Carlton who are missing a host of players but are on fire. We seem to be limping over the line with bursts of good play but too much bad play throughout games. I still think we'll lose 2 of the next 3. And can't understand why people think the Sydney game will be easy. Or that even the Hawthorn game is a gimme. The old rose-coloured glasses are on a few too many!

He is just a passenger who doesn't cut it at the moment. I don't recall many if any of his possessions were damaging. But I do know he made mistake after mistake, as has been the case for years now. I'll be astonished if he stays in the side.

Ahh Billy Billy Billy.. Tut-tut.

They lost Rankine who dominated us during the game and another young bloke who did his knee. And they still came back in the last quarter whilst we were 4+ goals ahead. Of course you need luck to win games. Collingwood have had luck too. But it takes more than 'luck' to have that kind of record in close games. 3-1 is likely for us now, I agree. But after the last two home and away season, I also know that we have a strange habit of losing games we shouldn't. So I'm not sure why posters think I'm being negative when we all know Melbourne can do Melbourne things.

They reflect Home Ground advantage and ladder position almost always over form. Look at the odds for games this week. Even if Sydney's season was over, do you think they wouldn't be 'up' for arguably the games greatest player's last game (if he was playing)? And Carlton missing a host of players.. Do you not remember last year's game against them at the G? The one where they were missing a host of first choice players and we got away with one thanks to Kosi? Of course it's a wowsy. It's all a wowsy. And I'll be astonished if we don't lose one from here. Demonlanders are delusional and it's a wowsy until the cows come home.

Well. Given their record with these tactics over the past two years and the fact that they were within a kick of a grand final last year, it's clear they're not a flop. Isn't it? Lol. And as far as odds go. Let's take this weekend as an example. Geelong Vs Port. Adelaide Vs Gold Coast. Bulldogs Vs Richmond. All of those games' odds are out of whack and I'd suggest that their formlines suggest those odds should be more even. You are the nuff. Lord of them.

Forget the odds. Odds reflect ladder position, home-ground advantage and not formline. I've given my evidence and I think it's reasonable to suggest we'll drop one game, maybe two. But as I said, post this weekend's results including another injury to a Carlton mid and also Buddy, it changes the outlook for us. Cerra has been in unreal form and he now joins Walsh, Kennedy, McKay and Silvagni who will all be missing against us. Are you seriously suggesting Buddy playing his final send off game at the SCG would be favourable compared to him not playing? Demonland. Wowsy.

Appreciate the time put in to this post. I get that you rate us but everything you've written is just what any optimistic supporter would write about their own side. I'll play the opposing side. AF posts similarly. Things like noting that Collingwood's home and away record and ability to win games even when behind is something to be concerned about rather than celebrated? And the fact that they choose to play a more aggressive, offensively minded game plan is a negative rather than a positive. And you say they have achieved nothing. But they made a Grand Final in 2018, lost by a kick had a couple of down years and missed out on a Grand Final birth last year away against an unbelievable Sydney by under a kick. Why do you ignore things like this? It works against you because it proves that their game does stack up in finals. They were a kick away from a grand final? You know, I wonder if it were Melbourne with that kind of win/loss in close games, would you be saying that it's a negative? Or would it be something like, "we have an incredible will to win and this will give us an edge in any game no matter how far behind we are"... I think the latter. And as far as the last three seasons have gone from round 17 onwards. I'd say that our record suggests to me that it's likely we will lose one and even two games. In 2021 we went 5-1-1 from round 17-23. 5 wins with one 9 point win over West Coast and a kick after the siren goal against Geelong which completely changed the fate of our finals series by gifting us a qualifyer against Brisbane instead of Port at the Adelaide oval. We drew to Hawthorn over that period and lost to the dogs. In 2022 we went 4-3 in the last seven rounds. There are 24 rounds this season so let's go from round 18. We're 3-0 so far with a one point win against Brisbane and a 4 point win over an decimated Adelaide at our home ground. I think it'd be wise to acknowledge some luck falling our way in those games if you're going to allow luck for Collingwood's close games. We have games against Carlton and Sydney still to come who can both play finals. So, with all this in mind, it's clear as to why I think it'd be likely that we lose two from here. I don't think we're playing our most consistent football. I think we're still patchy and having quarters or patches of brilliance as well as periods of really poor football. I think we've been lucky against Brisbane and Adelaide in those wins. So is it any wonder why one would think two losses from here onwards would be likely? I mean with Cerra now added to Carlton's enormous injury list and Buddy no longer playing his fairwell game against us, it might mean it's likely we lose 1 rather than 2. All in all, I just think you have a lot more faith in us right now than I do. I think the opportunity is there for us and I think we're capable of winning all our remaining games from here. But I think our history and formline suggest we won't. And I'm not sure how that can be debated?

Great win. Not without some umpiring going our way in the last but every side gets that from time to time. Happy for it to be us. I think we're in prime position to be resting some important players this week and I think it's a must. Really hope Goody thinks the same. Gawn and Viney namely. Just give them a week. For god's sake please give them a week. Grundy, dunstan/Oliver or sparrow and Hibberd to come in potentially. We can completely set ourselves for a huge end to the year and some serious momentum heading into finals.

I admire the way fly coaches. And I've envied and marvelled at the way they've played for the majority of this year and think Goodwin could take some lessons from the way they play. Doesn't mean I don't despise the club and wish them to lose. I've always hoped that their unbelievable form would shake toward the pointy end and even though it's one game, I'm hopeful they'll stumble a bit from here which will give some confidence to sides like us heading into finals. Same can be said about Brisbane and Port after tonight. I just reallllly hope the players are realising this and play ruthless football tomorrow against Richmond. I mean come out breathing fire and play desperate and ferocious football all day. Tomorrow could be the catalyst for us to hit form and make a charge for top 2. The pessimist and scarred supporter says that we'll fluff tomorrow. But I'm praying the players take ownership and realise what a golden opportunity this is for us. It starts tomorrow. The leaders need to know the importance and play with that intention all day. Show it to us Melbourne.

Carlton are on a winning streak with the largest injury list in the comp atm and plenty of those injuries are to their most important players. Their form couldn't be any more impressive.

I know you're the eternal Demon optimist. But surely you've seen enough of us this year and even the last couple of games to suggest two losses from here is likely. If we lose 1 and win the rest that would be an amazing result. I'm expecting we lose two though. How can you not? We're hardly playing scintillating footy. Carlton are in unbelievable form give their injury list and the Tiges are competitive always. Swans away is also a difficult task and they can still play finals. We'd have to hit some ripping form to lose only 1 from here. Our four quarter form right now points to finishing fourth.

Agree with @old55, people forget Max's influence behind this decision. Which is both annoying and strange. Max was never going to excel as a forward. Unless we can pick up a ready to go backup ruckman and a young developing one in the off season, Brodie won't be going anywhere. I think what we've done be giving Brodie some exposure to leading patters and forward craft at VFL is the right thing. And hopefully it pays off come finals.