Chook

They're trying to raise awareness for some charity…except the fact that nobody knows why the umps are wearing blue shows they've not done a very good job of it.

Umpires love to give every lanky forward in the game cheap arm-grab frees…except for Tom McDonald.

Only early. They're giving Essendon something to think about after an insipid first five minutes.

I just finished watching Goodwin at his press conference. He consistently said we didn't talk about what was at stake, and yet the players came out nervous and didn't hit a tackle for 11 minutes to start the game. Most human beings can't just block things out; we need to talk about things. I wonder if the Goodwin-led unwillingness to talk about finals meant that the players couldn't get that out of their systems midweek and came in with baggage that stopped them playing hard aggressive footy. It wasn't until the game was almost gone that we seemed to put that stuff to bed and just play.

Love that GWS player that nailed Danger.

Only if you believe that will affect how hard Adelaide go this week, or if you think we'll somehow win our way to the Semi-Final and you want us to play the Cats at the G after they lose to GWS in the Qualifying final…or something (I spend too much time on that damn ladder predicter). Bottom line is…I don't think it really matters. The team that matters played today, and [censored] up big time (sorry Nasher).

Do you think Adelaide really wants to go into finals on a 2-match losing streak? Do you think the players Adelaide brought in to replace Walker and Talia don't want to prove themselves and snag a place in the Crows' finals side?

Honestly I reckon it's the best possible result now. A final for us this year (if it happens) will be a massive wake-up call. This is how good you need to be, and how intense your mindset has to be. I'd love to play Richmond, but a match against Sydney is the best possible learning experience for the team as it stands now.

You didn’t watch their game against us earlier in the year?

Let's analyse the performances of our leadership group today: Nathan Jones: C. Tried hard but was ultimately ineffectual. Terrible disposal Jack Viney: UG. Not there, and boy did we miss him. Max Gawn: F. God-awful rucking, terrible effort around the ground, atrocious body language, and missed a crucial goal while his opposite number destroyed him offensively. Jordan Lewis: D. Good early, but totally found out by the pace of the game. Tom McDonald: F. Terrible body language, abysmal disposal, but also hard-done by the umpires. Bernie Vince: F. Was possibly playing for Collingwood, I'm not sure. Our young kids actually pulled this game out of the fire these blokes started.

Gee-willikers you must be disappointed. This is the closest I've ever seen you come to cursing!

Absolutely no pressure in either of those games. I actually think a match against Sydney over there will be good for us. No expectations at all. We get to experience first hand where we have go get to, and then we can go away after an overall good year and work to match them. You're welcome not to watch.

West Coast couldn't even beat us over there, and as every Melbourne supporter will tell you we're crap.

And Essendon and West Coast do? We beat them both. We've played better than them at our peak this year. We're the 3rd youngest side in the league, and we're still in a damn good spot to make the finals.

Bitterly disappointing. The equation is now this. Essendon lose, or West Coast lose/win by less than 4 goals and we're in. Crazy to say that this team is still a pretty good chance to make the finals after today's display…but that's footy.

2 goals in 7 minutes. It's doable. Let's just get the next though...

McDonald you spud...

8 points in it. I'll take a draw, by the way...

Milkshake is clutch.

Hannan goals. Just gotta tighten this margin as much as we can.

Welp. It's over to you Crows.

Bernie Vince isn't being particularly helpful to our cause, I'll tell you that.

This is the most important 30 minutes the Melbourne Football Club has had in the last 10 years and 300 days.

I just caught a glimpse of the whiteboard for the huddle. Right at the top it says "Plenty of time!" Let's go boys!

How often has that happened? Heart and soul player. One of our only true leaders over the age of 24.