Bozo

Phil Davis.

He is right. The sooner we are able to admit this the sooner we can start to make progress toward shifting our fortunes. Mistakes have been made and we must take a thorough, honest look at ourselves before it can change.

It's because the arrangement that has been made with Grundy's next club includes a no damage clause. If he had been injured last night the deal was off. Maybe a swap of players has been touted...I don't actually know but this seems reasonable to me.

In front with a minute to go Lever has possession. Now Jake is a senior player with a lot of experience so what was running through his mind when he decided to kick the ball to a contest? I never played footy myself and I don’t understand what it is like at the end of a match with fatigue setting in etc yet this scenario is something they specifically train for is it not? Adding insult to injury another senior player in Viney takes possession and then proceeds to kick the ball directly to an opponent. It’s easy to be critical from the outside but is it unreasonable to expect better from our leadership? I maintain my criticism of Simon and will add the following: He IS a good coach from some perspectives but not a great one. We deserve a great coach and it is time for the powers that be to act in some form of a reshuffle and attracting fresh blood with new ideas to the coaching ranks. We line up to pay our memberships out of affiliation and loyalty every year and then are treated with utter contempt. This has been going on for many seasons. The AFL model is built around building membership and garnering sponsorship which is fine if you are able to walk the walk on the field or you are demonstrating genuine improvement across all areas. I remain cynical of our hierarchy (the board at large and certain ingratiated elements of the coaching group)trundling out the top 4 statistic as some weird waiver for responsibility for poor performance. There always seems to be excuses made …If this happened or If so and so had or had not done this or that. ALL teams have their trials and tribulations I am uneasy about our management seemingly going round in circles like they are different or special and deserve unique consideration for repeated failures. I will not be pledging my hard earned again until I am convinced that concerted effort has been made to shift the focus back onto making the side a truly elite outfit in every respect and I implore you to do the same. Send a message that this [censored] is no longer ok. ‘Learnings’ would be fine if there actually were any. Fortunately we have a strong hand in the draft but I will go further and reiterate that sacrifices must be made. There has been little obvious planning for the certain decrease in output from Gawn, May etc without there being another long period of languishing mid table. It doesn’t need to be this way. Oliver is a great player but superfluous to our needs and is the obvious collateral required to re stock and re energise our playing list. We might get 2 to 3 excellent players for him filling our needs in crucial positions. We must become ruthless.

I stand corrected, Angus knocked himself out and this had no influence on the outcome of the match or his future mental health.

Include Jordon23 , Grungy and big Thomo. Think about playing Steve May forward and Tmac down back.

The hard truth is that we must consider putting Oliver up for trade. We need a mini rebuild and as his absence this year has proved, in one real sense, he is surplus or more to the point an abundance of a certain type of power player. He is obviously valuable and we need to fill numerous holes in our list. What is his value? It’s clear that the team lacks balance and Clarry regularly picking up 30+ mostly meaningless possessions isn’t helping our cause. We need a fair dinkum A grade forward. We need replacements for Gawn and May, Brown and Tom Mac. ANB isn’t getting any younger and expect a drop off in a couple of years. Now is the time to make difficult decisions whilst our assets have real currency.

If the AFL are serious about concussions then there must be a penalty. The case could be made that Mr Maynard’s attempt at smothering was unrealistic. The duty of care as a responsibility of each player to not take actions that put other players at considerable risk of injury. It’s one thing to jump vertically to smother a ball and another to take a running jump when the likelihood of successfully executing that intention is low and the probability of causing a collision is high.

An ageing Max Gawn with Grundy playing understudy is a good problem to have. Rostering on in alternating weeks next year could afford both players longevity they might otherwise not get. Having a experienced, quality ruck matters.

His value is that if Max Gawn goes down we have an adequate replacement.

Forget Reid, trade for Mckercher.

One of the actual reasons for the club’s recent competitiveness.

The narrowest of victories against a team who has trouble winning at the venue.

Little point focusing on our elite defence if we are incapable of kicking a winning score. We have been defence centric for way too long now. It does not recognise the potency of our midfield. All very well to say defences win premierships but this is an outdated idea. The reason I keep banging in on about May forward is multifaceted. Sure he is not actually a forward however, more often than not he dominates his opponents. With that knowledge a workable system becomes a realistic choice for those who might operate around him. In action he becomes a reliable foil for the likes of Pickett and friends. It is certainly worth a try as nothing else seems to gel presently. The clear choice for chf is petty as they already work with one another. Tomlinson must be afforded the opportunity to demonstrate if his newfound poise can provide confidence in the back. Why wouldn’t you bring in some young blood to reinvigorate the side.? Turner, Howes et al seem to be making the grade at the lower level…give them a crack! Reward for effort is a central tenet of robust culture. The players know when that is ignored in favour of what appears to be a bizarre nepotism. Something is clearly off here and it’s dragging the whole team down. Goodwin seems to be more interested in saving his own backside by engineering the illusion that just because they occupy a section of the ladder that the body of supporters will be content. The truth is that we have deficiencies on our list maybe even glaring holes, but it’s much better to face them head on and get creative. Changing nothing will lead to same result as last year. And nobody wants that. Be bold Simon.

The answer stares at us mockingly…Steph May at full forward. Time to develop his replacement in defence right now in the heat of the contest…Turner? Obviously the board and the coach need to be removed. None of this will happen but it really should if we are serious about not wasting the talent on hand. We are soft when it matters and our so called leadership lacks the courage to try new ideas. We must harness the all or nothing style, ruthless and efficient that was so apparent in 21. The team actually looks more balanced without Oliver so don’t expect things to improve with his return. Spargo is a competitive player badly out of form and lacking the room to move. One of spargo, kozie or chandler not all three. Angus Breysure ffs what is your role in the team? Petty should stay half forward. Max you are the captain…so [censored] play like that!! Or [censored] off.

Scraped in against a team who had been up for a long time and were clearly off the boil/ missing key personnel. Of real concern was the inaccuracy of our kicking. Having said that, it was pleasing to watch a revitalised Salem, the skilful McVee and perhaps most of all the surprisingly composed Tomlinson playing like an A grade defender. Time will tell.

The current group have stagnated. There has been little of the persistent evolution that characterises successful teams. Apart from Rivers I can’t think of any other player that has made meaningful progress. This is an indictment on those who pretend to manage the group. It’s a team game so if you are unable or willing to unite the components the lack of achievement is a forgone conclusion. What should happen is collecting the whole machinery together and asking each member to be completely frank honest and open as to what tf is breaking down even if it’s controversial. Those who say that there is nothing to see should be given marching orders. It’s pretty clear that some players who contributed to the recent success are now past it and should be moved on. Gawn is one of them. Stop pretending that he is 5 years younger and less prone to significant injury/ reduction of usable output. Some one who can thoroughly articulate the current set of circumstances without holding back or kidding themselves needs to ask chat gpt4 for suggestions. Laugh all you like it’s worth a try and trust me will be employed by other teams in some incarnation. Don’t accept the do nothing option. There is much that could be set up for next year. I suspect success is unavailable for this group as they stand this season.

Constantly getting caught with the ball in his hands.

Nah it's a legitimate facet of the game that deserves our full attention right now. The recruiting staff really earn their wages at MFC. Go get em team! More to come.

Much like the result of this years tiresome back slapping and self congratulation over last years success as if that somehow indicates or gaurantees subsequent Premierships? I have news for you...We failed BADLY this season despite attempts by many at creating a narrative that suggests all is rosey. Second on the ladder at the conclusion of the home and away season for sure but then straight set finals losses is hardly something to be proud of. We didn't even look close for the second half of the year. If you don't have what it takes when it matters everything else is just [censored]. The details matter whether they regard the constitution, the list depth, appropriate fitness, or faith in an game plan that lacks subtlety and is egregiously flawed tactically. Why did they persist so? Where was the creativity and gall required to address the obvious flaw in the plan? I remain unconvinced that we deserve to win again or indeed that we will anytime soon.

Our forward stocks include Petty and May - remember those guys who always seem to mark the ball in the most challenging situations against all- comers? What we actually need are a couple of offensive key backs..

Goodwin's position is now untenable. The responsibility for that loss and others throughout the season rests firmly at his feet. You cannot blame the players or injuries or bad luck; it's appalling, arrogant coaching. An inability to react and adapt to what's right in front of your face. No contingency just stubborn whipping the dead horse for some egotistical high. I am prepared to put forward my share to pay Simon out. If the rest of the dissapointed members feel so inclined, it would be easy to raise the cash and it would mean not having to put up with that crap for the remainder of SG's contract. Of highest importance is the mandatory elevation and securing of Adem Yze to Senior coach ASAP. We must not hesitate as he is likely to go elsewhere should we dawdle. This is a crucial moment in the clubs history. A cleanout of all support coaches so that Yze might coose his own dream team. At the very least take a poll of all the members who have paid to endure that garbage as to their preference of coach going forward.