Bring-Back-Powell

Is Cumming any good for them? Out for 6 weeks. Kelly is clearly a big out.

I think we all know which particular game he's referring to. “Every supporter, every person who knows football pretty well knows that in the last year and a half there have been decisions made that have cost Melbourne games, cost Melbourne ladder positions and there’s a time coming where if these decisions keep coming, Simon Goodwin won’t be in his position.”

And what's worse is Adelaide reportedly tried to fleece more out of us than just a second rounder, so I'll give Lamb a slight bit of credit for not giving up anything more for McAdam.

We also have a bizarre 16-3-1 record on Saturday nights since the start of 2021. It's by far our favourite time slot. GWS also seem to be winning games on the back of kicking 6 behinds a game which is unsustainable. Both of these factors are predicated on us bringing the minimum standard of AFL pressure. Last week's pressure against Fremantle wouldn't stack up against Nar Nar Goon's thirds.

McAdam for a future second round draft pick, probably in the late 20's, is now looking like an atrocious trade by Lamb. Credit to some posters on DL who at the time who thought we paid too much. There's a whiff of rebuild about our club at the moment, and not having a second rounder heading into the trade and draft period is disappointing. Not fussed about the Billings trade as we gave up nothing for him and he played some good games in March. Fullarton was a big fail considering he was supposed to be out back up ruck when we needed him the most, but yeah whatever.

How so?

Not surprised. There's been far too many of these games this year where the game's been effectively over at quarter time because we haven't applied anywhere near the pressure required. The amount of times Freo waltzed out of a contested situation, as well as the coast to coast goals we gave up.... Our pressure has been much improved since the bye, but there was a major regression yesterday.

Whilst not as confident as you, you're not wrong about GWS's efficiency and accuracy. The last 4 weeks they've kicked 61.25 or 71% accuracy which is so far above AFL average it's not funny. It's also unsustainable if they think they can win a prelim or grand final by relying on accuracy and less scoring shots. They could well be accurate again this week, but the tide will eventually turn for them. Re: Billings, he deserves to stay in the side this week. The problem is he's failed to play 2 good games in a row all year and can't be expected to help much on Saturday night.

Whether you like or dislike Simon, it’s clear to everyone that he has a clear tactical issue against Fremantle. Specifically our ability to defend turnover and transition, as evidenced by Freo’s numerous walk in goals from the goal square. And furthermore it’s undeniable that he’s struggled to get his team up for game day, far more than most of his previous years. How many times has the warning signs been up in neon lights at quarter time. Brisbane, Carlton, West Coast Fremantle x2, Collingwood.

At half time of the Alice game I thought Freo couldn’t play any better and we couldn’t play any worse. They got better, we got worse. Definitely the same vibes about this game aside from Freo’s inaccuracy. Will be interesting to see if we can make some inroads in the second half or just let the game get out of control per round 12. We’re definitely playing with one hand tied behind our back with the ruck and clearance issue.

We always deal with the Dogs in the first game. It’s the return game we have troubles with.

Port only beating Richmond by 41 is actually a minor win for us. Given Richmond sent a VFL side over to Adelaide, Port really should’ve won by 60+

After all the talk of a wet weather game, the forecast is 0-3mm. Doesn’t exactly scream a wet weather slog of a game. And I’m not sure we’d benefit from back to back wet games heading into GWS off the back of a 6 day break from Perth.

Well that result certainly gives us more options. Great start to the weekend.

I can't recall a game in recent memory where we are playing a side that literally has all of its best 23 available. How fortunate are Fremantle going. Edit - Johnson's out injured...

Clearly Adelaide winning would be ideal but without Tex and Rankine I can't see it happening. To Essendon's credit they've bounced back all year from a poor performance. GWS/Gold Coast and Hawthorn/Pies are hard ones to pick, in terms of what suits us better? Hopefully Sydney beat Brisbane, Geelong beat Dogs and Richmond get within 50 of Port.

The main concept of the wild card it to reward the top 6 and make 7th and 8th an "also ran" in reality. I don't think that's a terribly bad thing. Furthermore, the weekend off between round 24 and week 1 finals is a joke IMO and needs to go. What league in the world closes down just before finals?

Yeah I've always liked the NFL playoff systems. The best 1 or 2 teams in each conference get the week 1 bye, but after that they have to win to stay alive.

It would place a premium on finishing top 6. I don't think that's a bad thing. For those against the wild card, unfortunately the AFL are keeping an eye on the USA leagues. The NBA have introduced their wild card/play in in while the MLB and NFL have continually expanded their playoffs. As if we're not going to follow what's going on over there if there's a buck to be made.

The only reason the club would be prepared to trade him is the rise of Trent Rivers into the midfield which simply means that Trac replaces Clarry in the midfield. But for Kane to suggest that we trade Clarry AND our first round draft pick is a bit of an insult. That’s right, we trade our first round pick, not receiving a first round pick.

The Port V Richmond game could be an issue. Richmond are bringing over a VFL side which reeks of a percentage booster for Port. A 70 point win to Port takes their percentage from 104 to 108, while ours is at 105.

BRING - IT- ON. It’s the most obvious thing that’s going to come into the league in the next few years. In fact, the day after the grand final the wild card weekend should be announced for 2025.

Freo have clearly been better than us in 3 of the last 4 meetings.

Fair points, but you'd suspect the air in the tyres will be deflated if we drop the next 2.

The head says that we should keep the NT game due to the money on offer. The heart says play the home game at Marvel as 15,000 - 18,000 MFC fans can attend and create a genuine home ground advantage as opposed to the neutralised crowd at Alice. In fact I'd venture to say we get out numbered most game in Alice.