Chook

I feel pre-emptively f@#$%ked off all over again. Hoping against hope he gets off as I think he should.

Five years of development since then have surely improved his game. I never thought he's be a 50 goal a year forward in 2016 either. He's just a good football player, whether that be back or forward. We need him back more than we need him forward right now, and it's not a decision we have to stick with forever; we should at least see it through until proven otherwise because to put it simply I trust Tom McDonald in a Melbourne jumper way more than I trust Harrison Petty in a Melbourne jumper at this stage.

I just can't bring myself to be truly happy in the same week as Viney is injured and Tomlinson's soul got stepped on and thrown in the garbage by the cruel uncaring footy gods.

Wonder how much he had to cut out for brevity. Even Supermercado's blog posts are war and peace. I still have the Great Deepression on my shelf ready to read after that marvellous Premiership I hear all the other teams' supporters talking about. I couldn't bear revisiting it until we've definitively put it all behind us however.

Nic Naitanui except he gets possessions around the ground? I’d like to see that.

Tom McDonald would outbody Harrison Petty surely.

I'll be content to give the young lad a pardon.

A faceful of Gatorade is probably not the best treatment for an open forehead gash.

Quite honestly, I think Tom McDonald is actually an upgrade on Tomlinson in a purely lockdown role, and McDonald has the ability to kill the opponents on the rebound far more than Tomlinson can. OUT: Tomlinson IN: Wiedeman or Sparrow, depending on whether we think we need more midfield depth or front-end firepower.

I'd feel a lot better if Tomlinson and Viney weren't injured...

Ben Brown's thoughts on his debut (watch for a little cameo from Christian Petracca at the end there):

Goldy gets in Gawns head somehow I reckon. Every time Gawn talks about good ruckmen he always throws Goldstein's name in there as just about the best he's played. Whether it's true or not, Gawn obviously believes it, and doesn't dominate like he usually does as a result.

We're top of the ladder undefeated, won (finally) at a graveyard location against a team that has had our measure for years. Why do I feel so flat? Lots of uncertainty about our backline all of a sudden, and Brown didn't fit all that well into our forward line if I'm honest.

6. Jackson 5. Pickett 4. Fritsch 3. Salem 2. Langdon 1. Rivers

Get the razorblades out everyone.

Dunstall didn't complain when Hawthorn brought in their 3rd tall. I like Dunstall but he has absolutely no respect for Melbourne whatsoever, and sticks the boots in at every opportunity. There are plenty out there in the media who would be very happy for Melbourne to sit at the bottom of the ladder forever. Well I've got news for them.

I really hope we're just being conservative with Viney and it's not a 4 week injury as has been reported. On the positive side, it will be great to see how Baker fits into the side. Who knows, maybe he will show something that forces us to keep him in the side longer term.

Brayshaw should go nowhere now that he's finally found a good spot on the wing. Perhaps we can try it when the game is done and shift McDonald to the wing to see what that looks like, but our best side has Brayshaw on the wing.

As a regular G&G listener this is correct, and explicitly brought up on the podcast. This was a club-mandated week-long break, but they'll be back, celebrating their top of the ladder status I'm sure.

Don't you feel it Jaded? This is it. There's something in the air, and for the first time in 50 years it's something GOOD!!! Just go with it, because if you don't then it might not happen.

I'd buy the 25 disc set (only on Blu-Ray though).

Rested. There's no need for him to mosey on down to Tasmania to beat the Roos by a lot.

Was worried you had had a falling out or something. I'm glad nothing more sinister than gainful employment is the culprit.

You're thinking of the old Melbourne. We don't talk about that Melbourne anymore.

Me and my entire generation of fellow Melbourne supporters are probably more scarred by that month of football than any other in our lifetimes. I know I was for a long time. This year might wipe it away.