Bring-Back-Powell

Me too. T Mac always plays a solid game down back, even the round 1 game last year where he was summonsed into defence after Salem went down. And we all saw what Petty was capable of in a cameo appearance in the Brisbane final. Petty will be one of the best contested markers in league footy so I'd like to see him play some minutes in the forward line this year. Thought our defence was stale, tired, injured, uncharacteristic (May and Lever arguing with each other) and out of sorts come finals last year. As you stated above, some flexibility might be in order next year.

If it comes down to those two, then it's a no brainer to go with Burgoyne. I'm assuming Burgoyne is at the very least a competent VFL standard player who will provide depth for Casey while keeping Kozzie in a good space.

Love the idea of plonking Gawn in our defensive 50 for much of the game to make the opposition think twice about their inside 50 entries. If T Mac, BBB and JVR are all available then I don't see the need for Gawn to spend much time as a forward this year.

Do elaborate, please. As I posted, I’m more than happy to hear reasons as to why Griffiths should not cop some criticism for our fade-outs.

Burgess was a massive loss and everyone here acknowledged it as being a potential major setback for the 2022 season. Blowing 6 games whereby the club had at least a 4 goal lead in all of them is not a stat that could possibly reflect well on Griffith's commencement at the club. Happy for someone to dispute this.

We have an SSP pick available for Burgoyne or Kye Turner who are training with us. Assuming he's a sufficient SANFL/VFL standard player with potential upside, I'd happily pick Burgoyne up for some Casey depth if it helps Kozzie feel more comfortable and happy at the MFC.

Absolutely spot on. To beat Freo and Brisbane away in such comprehensive fashion gives us hope that we can rebound back to our 2021 form in which we were almost unbeatable against the best sides.

Or is he referring to the game in 2020 (at Metricon V Lions) where they had that stupid video goal review instead of allowing Lever to quickly take the kick in from full back with less than a minute left, and we had open players down the ground??

Unless we win the next two flags and Grundy is a key reason behind those flags, I'm sure Goodwin and Co first choice was to have kept Jackson (rather than trade in Grundy) due to the long term proposition of taking over Gawn. I thought Jackson was largely poor last year, but it was only his third year, and I still expect him to be a consistent top 30-50 player in the AFL in the peak of his career.

Can't get around the paywall but the Herald Sun alluded to the fact that it would be utter stupidity if Gawn plays primarily as a forward this year with Grundy in the side. One of the key advantages of this ruck duo is the ability to rest Gawn (who's no spring chicken) throughout the season and have him absolutely cherry ripe for September. I hate using injuries as an excuse as it discredits the opposition but after re-watching the Brisbane final, the big man could hardly jog and was so far below his best that night (and got no help from the other bloke who's no longer with us). We have a WA into SA game in rounds 4-5. We have a Monday into Saturday game in rounds 6 and 7, and some ostensibly easier late season games against Adeaide, North and Hawthorn where Gawn could be rested and Grundy can shoulder more of the ruck load. I want to this ruck duo working to perfection in September.

Salem or Petracca?

Quite a negative/sobering post but I agree with the JVR point.

He may not be our best player, but he's arguably out most irreplaceable player. I can't think of a small forward that would be on the market that kicks 45 goals a season with the tricks and defensive pressure that Kozzie provides. At least with Jackson departing we got a readily replaceable player with a chip on his shoulder and hopefully a point to prove. It will be a set back for 2024 if he does end up departing.

The 2000 qualifying win over Carlton is my favourite win of all time. The three constant “classic” MFC 1990’s game that Fox Footy show summer after summer are the 1996 Friday night game where Carey took us to the cleaners in a 17 goal loss. The 1996 merger game which was admittedly a classic game and a highly respectable loss by the Dees. The other being the 1997 game against the Dogs where the umps assisted them to a 3 point win over us. Frustrating they they can’t find an iconic MFC win from the 90’s.

1) Beat Collingwood at the G for the first time since 2017 2) Beat Sydney at the G for the second time in 13 years. 3) Beat Geelong in Geelong for the fourth time in 25 years. We've become a fantastic footy club under Goodwin but the above fixtures he's had clear issues with, aside from round 23 2021.

For what’s it’s worth - The Dogs knocked us out of the finals in 2020 with a final round win over Freo in Cairns by 5 goals. Hunter was so far clear best on ground that it wasn’t funny with 35 touches (in a shortened game), 1 goal and the 3 Brownlow votes. This suggests that he can step up in the big games that count. Looking forward to seeing what he can a) bring to the table and b) how it affects our recent wing options in JJ, Brayshaw and Spargo (who has no business being a winger).

And I would say Melbourne supporters will show Luke Jackson the level of fondness that Dogs supporters show towards Jake Stringer. I.e - not a great deal.

I’m genuinely staggered that Jackson’s in Bali at the moment. Thought he’d be spending every minute of every day with Mum and Dad to make up for lost time…

Just had another look at the fixture this arvo and some brief observations: 1) First time we’ve played Adelaide the MCG in front of a crowd since 2016 2) First time we’ve played Carlton on a Friday night since 2011 3) First time we’ve played Essendon in the Saturday twilight slot. 4) First time we’ve played Hawthorn as the away team in the Saturday twilight spot. 5) First time we’ve played North on a Saturday night at the MCG. 6) First time we’ve played Richmond in the second half of a season as the away team since 2011 7) First time we’ve played Sydney in the 3:20 Sunday timeslot since 2018. 8) First time we’ve played West coast on a Sunday in Perth since 2020. 9) First time we’ve played Western Bulldogs at the MCG in front of a crowd on a Saturday night since 2014. 10) First time we’ve played North and Carlton twice in the one year since 2017.

Article about how Freo are still determining how the Darcy/Jackson ruck combo will look for 2023. https://www.afl.com.au/news/872016/darcy-growing-in-ruck-battle-freo-plan-still-in-the-works

Barrett's key points as follows: 1. We were a dog ordinary footy side after starting 10-0. (How can one argue with this as we went 6-8 after round 10) 2. The May/Melksham affair proved to be a terrible distraction 3. We wouldn't change anything up as the season progressed. Come finals time we actually couldn't as injuries and fatigue set in. Premiers need to add another point of difference if they want to stay ahead of the pack. It was a very basic analysis but one you can't really disagree with. His co-host Nat Edwards thought that the Dees would go undefeated after round 10. If that was the case, the state of the competition would be pretty dire as we weren't playing particularly well in the first 10 rounds and didn't beat a top 6 contender in that period.

If Gold Coast are re-appearing in the bottom 4, then surely that's it for Dew.

Aside from lacking a great ruckman (and Geelong showed you don't need one), and potentially one key defender short, they have the list to win the flag. Melbourne and Bulldogs have shown that you don't need to contest a bunch of finals series to finally win one. Just one suffices before the club can go and win one. 2022 should've been Carlton's brief finals apprenticeship, with 2023 the year they win it. IMO, that's been pushed back a year due to their late season implosion.

The preview loses 100% credibility by only stating one change to the 8. Has never happened since the final 8 was introduced in 1994 and there is no good reason to suggest it will start happening next year. Hoping it's Freo. Another contender could be Bulldogs and don't write off Sydney as a smokey to miss the 8 given no club recovers after a grand final that was over in the second quarter. It could even be us if Goodwin has a poor season and/or have a bad run with injury. I also predict three of this year's top 6 to miss next year's top 6.