Chook

Lachie Neal powers out of the clearance and hits Hipwood on the chest, whereas Viney looks surprised he got the ball and just hoofs it around his body for a turnover. Absolutely zero composure for a team that has done it all. Something has gone horribly wrong in the minds of some of our best players since 2021.

Roo has been our shining light this year. He's going to be a ripper, and I hope we keep him and don't cruel him in the ruck.

Just to add to that, something died in me that night vs Collingwood.

I'm just about done with footy. I used to watch every game, now can barely manage to raise an interest in MFC games. The product is just so bad, and now we're not winning + playing like headless chooks I can't do it anymore.

Thanks for ruining that lovely running goal ump.

Why is May playing behind Hipwood 80m from the ball? He has no chance to impact that contest on a normal sized player let alone someone with Hipwood's height. Dreadful defending, but of course letting them waltz out of the middle doesn't help.

Onfield leadership and fitness have killed this part of our game. No Brayshaw, and Bowey and Salem constantly injured has really hurt. We're also playing Langdon up the ground so he can't get back in time to provide an additional number.

Roo is providing a solid target up the ground. I wish we'd keep him inside 50 more though. Use Tommy Mac in the ruck if we have to.

Brisbane defenders constantly in front of our forwards, and Brisbane forwards constantly in front of our defenders. Solid plan...

Great tackle koz!

Brissy love playing us sooo much you can feel it through the TV screen.

Cam Rayner is exactly the type of powerful young mid/forward we desperately need. He'll tear us apart again it looks like, because we've got no one to match him.

Good first minute or so. Energy seems up for now. Skills as poor as ever. Let's see how long it lasts.

By that logic it's a 100% chance. He can't both retire and not retire. Only one outcome will take place ergo 100%.

At the moment Clarry is happy to engage with the young nobody players because that's all he has. Poor fellow desperately needs a preseason.

We are so uninstinctive right now. It's a look I've not seen for a long time. A long time. At the end of the year our board will need to ask some serious questions. Goody has changed the gameplan, and that definitely is a reason for playing without instinct, but if it's more than that I don't want to be stuck with the next Luke Beverage.

Since we've come down a few pegs as a team, the few shining lights have shined all the brighter. Petracca before his injury for sure, but for me Max Gawn is far and away our best player at the moment.

He's just not physically ready. He wasn't then and he isn't now. He's a kid. Absolutely love his culture and work ethic. He'll make it.

I notice now we're not winning Max is starting to feel those head hight hits a bit more. Makes sense. Winning is a good painkiller.

I really like Roo as a 2nd ruck. It's no conincidence we got flogged when he was out of the side.

OK Petty back Tommy forward. Tom's a good baackman but Petty's a terrible forward.

Gerard Whately has always really gotten under my skin. People praise his intelligence, but in reality he's a conniver - he has no actual understanding or training in the topics he comments on, and yet has opinions that he tries to convince others are the only logical ones.

Getting rid of Grundy smacks of an overcorrection possibly due to egos at the club not willing to give things enough time to find a good balance. Max Gawn was always the better forward of the two. When Grundy came to the club I thought the plan would be to move Max forward/ruck and have Grundy be our main ruck. I still think that could have worked, except Max couldn't or wouldn't do it. I love Max, but this was a huge fail from him imo. Goody also, for not putting his foot down and making it work. Just banish Grundy to the VFL for no reason and play a backup ruck he's not even willing to put on the ground. Awful.

I think our fitness is just absolutely stuffed, leading to terrible disposal due to fatigue from already poor disposal players. Petty, Oliver, and now Petracca have been cruelled by injury and will need a full preseason to return to something like their best. On top of that, our gameplan relies on good disposal which we don't have, and our defence has finally begun to wilt under the intense pressure of an unfit midfield and noncompetitive forward line. Finals would be a good result, but we're simply making up the numbers if we get there.

Gerard's sentiments are valid, but his failure to apply any responsibility on the individual is so typical of the modern journalist. Petracca shares some significant responsibility here, and his motivations would be interesting to know. It would reveal a lot about him and AFL culture. Why did he choose to play on? Did he want to prove himself? Did he want to win the game off his own boot? Did he fear looking like he was soft? Was he simply trusting the medicos to pull him out of the game if they felt he was unfit to play?