Great Northern Summer

Why do so many want us to play West Cioast at the MCG? Yes, it’s bizarre we haven’t played them there for so long. But while West Coast are weak, why waste a home game against them? Happy to play them away. If we played them twice, for sure, that would be a bonus. We did get lucky this year with North and Hawthorn (two of the bottom three sides) twice. Come next year, we wouldn’t have played Essendon away for three years. Yep, I do get we played them away seemingly every year before that. The home games are great for gate receipts, the away games at the MCG (there appeared to be a number of these) are great as an additional ‘home’ game when they’re not a home game. We actually had a dream draw in 2023, unlike 2022. Anything mirroring it would be great. Finishing top 6, probably not likely again. We theoretically shoot ourselves in the foot with Alice Springs because it’s our call to play there. Then again, if we didn’t play that game and had 11 home games in Melbourne, the AFL would probably fixture us to play an additional away game interstate anyway - for instance, against a Victorian team, such as Hawthorn in Tassie. Maybe the club knows this and had been told this, hence keeping the Alice Springs game brings in cash and might not mean an overall additional interstate trip.

As I've posted numerous times over the last month or so, how many games did Gawn and Grundy play together where it was dry? Fact is both should never have played in the same team in wet conditions, so I leave those games out when I properly consider whether the combo worked? On my count (not including the first Lions game given Gawn only lasted 10 minutes), it was 10 games - 4-5 of those games were in the wet. So we gave it 5-6 games - in the dry - to see if this combo worked. How many times do things click after 5-6 games? It's mind boggling the more you think about it.

Completely disagree. If we kick the goals we should have kicked, we win that game. We dominated most of the final 3 quarters. They kicked goals against the run of play. Perfect example - the third quarter when we dominated the first 10 mins, couldn't convert, they get the ball to the other end for the first time (I think) that quarter and they kick a goal. A team with 32 less inside 50s is never a deserved winner - they're winners by default.

Spot on - mostly. I wouldn't say it's surprising they won - they are one team that finds a way to win games, regardless of the situation of the game and the opposition. They beat us despite 32 inside 50s less - that never happens. Why? They kept their structure and discipline, despite the fact they were being outplayed. That enabled them to hang on - and our terrible goal kicking. Likewise against GWS and the Lions. GWS really should have beaten them. They just kept their structure and it got them through. Same today. Because their structure is so discipline and good, teams are not willing to take the game on and take risks against them. The Lions are generally a free-flowing team. They move the ball rapidly. Today, they couldn't get any of this going because they were too risk adverse. Teams get too risk adverse playing Collingwood, and it plays into Collingwood's hands. The one positive about Collingwood winning this year - yes, there really isn't a position, but there is one thing - Collingwood will officially be the hunted like any previous premier and coaches will implement full game plans to beat their system. It will involve taking the game on.

Yep, exactly. I suspect an element of selfishness and 'me me me' has crept into our game over the last few years. In 2021, we did all the 1%ers. We did the little things we needed to do as a team. We were team-orientated. The examples that illustrate this were all for us to see in our two finals losses, and which totally cost us both games - particularly the Carlton game in the end. I am only speculating here, but I suspect Gawn turned around and told Goodwin he was sick of this combo situation (even though he signed up to it and agreed to it), Grundy was on the outer straight away because he wasn't part of the inner sanction power-base playing group (which Gawn rules), he expressed his displeasure, and his cards were basically marked not to play again because of his so-called attitude to the situation. Even after the 'stolen' Carlton game, Goodwin (who's the most robotic coach i've ever heard talk) basically admitted it was a mistake playing Grundy. In a round-about way, he knocked Grundy a few times - I've never heard him knock any of our other players ever (except for words about Jack Watts when he was traded saying, essentially, Watts was not prepared to push to the standards he expected). Total laughing stock situation. I get that Gawn has been arguably our best ever ruckman and will go down as one of our best players in modern history. At the same time, he is captain of the club, and his leadership in the Carlton loss was severely lacking, not only through the two easy misses and ridiculous touching of Oliver's kick at goal, but by the facade in the last 90 seconds of that game. If you want to run the place and dominate the situation, stand up and lead us to the promised land.

Almost heaven, West Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River Life is old there, older than the trees Younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain mama Take me home, country roads All my memories gather 'round her Miner's lady, stranger to blue water Dark and dusty, painted on the sky Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain mama Take me home, country roads I hear her voice in the mornin' hour, she calls me The radio reminds me of my home far away Drivin' down the road, I get a feelin' That I should've been home yesterday, yesterday Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain mama Take me home, country roads Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain mama Take me home, country roads Take me home, (down) country roads Take me home, (down) country roads

I saw him about an hour ago. He definitely still looks pretty fit!

Neale seemed non-phased about winning. You can tell his sole focus and attention is on Saturday. Kudos to the man. Now go and smash the Pies on Saturday please.

Did Neale play well round 24?

Gulden will beat Daicos and get to 29. BOG against us

Ok, plan B. Anyone beat Daicos please!

Lachie Hunter was more influential that day. Apparently…

Vote numbers for the leaders are way higher now than 20 years ago. It’s totally turned into a midfielder’s award. Shame. Not an even playing field.

Milkshake?

As long as Neale wins the Norm Smith this Saturday, that's all that matters. Will mean the Lions have won the flag.

If he wins the Brownlow, will that mean no other player in the league had a good season then? :-)

Lachie Neale against GWS this year did a Shane Woewodin against WCE in 2000. 7 kicks, 13 handballs - 3 votes Meanwhile, Josh Kelly had 41 possessions. Looking like a two-horse race now.

He does. He's a gun. He just doesn't play for our team.

I'd rather see Daicos win the Brownlow and Collingwood lose on Saturday than any other combo involving Collingwood winning on Saturday.

He'll win the Brownlow. Most predictors that had him winning it / close to winning it, didn't have him with this number of votes at this stage of the count.

I'm not Chris Heffernan :-)

Yes he did. At the end of 2005, we offered him a one-year deal. Essendon offered him two, which he took for the security. If Melbourne offered him two, he would have stayed. That's fact.

He was actually alright. An 'in and under' player we lacked in that era. Had niggling injuries with us. We should have kept him.

I'm sure he'd rather be earning the coin as a Partner at EY!

And? Wouldn’t have been the first player to ‘retire’ to do an about-turn and play for another side. Mal Michael did it. There’s been others. He retired probably because he knew WCE would struggle, he achieved big things already, and didn’t see any reason to go around again with them. If an offer came out of the blue from a premiership contender, you never know what might have happened (presuming it didn’t happen).