Chook

I get my wish. For what it's worth. Both grand finalists coming into r1 off a loss.

I'd love to face the dogs coming off a preseason loss just like us. Probably means nothing but I'd like it anyway. Lions are my tip for our GF opponent this year.

Having 85% of your backline out is not something "depth" can fix. Depth is 1-3 players max. After that you're asking too much, as more than half your core group isn't there to stabilize the others.

Bowey could do it no problem if he weren't surrounded by the likes of Smith and Hunt who I wouldn't trust to watch my bike while I nip into the shops for a pie for fear they'd forget what they're doing and wander off home.

Where my backline at?

For years I've dreamed about being one of those clubs (you know the ones) who could afford to take the preseason games lightly because they had bigger things in mind. Soak it in! We lost and it means nothing! Wahoo!!!

8 50 metre penalties, 3? 6-6-6 rule violations, Brayshaw in the backline, 5/6 first-choice backliners out? Yeah, not taking much from this one.

Damn. We'll have to wait a whole year to redeem ourselves and win a preseason game.

lol this would be the ultimate troll if we pinch this

8 50 meter penalties probably the difference. That and 80% of the team playing at 20% of max effort for most of the game.

One of our best tonight, and one of the few whose effort has been somewhere near acceptable levels.

lol Hunt is fast, but he thinks he can't be caught, ever. How many times does he need to be proved wrong before he learns?

Carlton player expressed disgust at the decision for the push in the back against Viney. No 50. Not sure why.

Frisch just kicks goals for fun. 5 now.

Petracca and Cerra clearly laughing it up about the new interpretations by the umpires.

Trac got disappointed and the umpire didn't like that, especially when Trac looked at the umpire.

I don't care about the result. I'm just glad we know how strictly this "umpire criticism" rule is going to be interpreted. It looks to me like it's a "don't show visible disappointment at anything" rule, which is…a bit too far.

Nice to have 1 first stringer in to lead the way.

Tomlinson looks at least 2 steps slower than he should be. I wouldn't be playing him in round 1 unless the only alternative is…shudders…Smith.

It seems the umps will pay holding the ball for a tackle over the line as well, which they've never done previously.

High tackle apparently.

Bowie's clinical disposal has deserted him early this year I think. But the Blues are taking this game so seriously, so no wonder they're winning. They're a bunch of professional footballers - they should win a match they're taking seriously against a team out there because it's in their contracts and not much more.

I feel like the umps are umpiring Melbourne per 2022 rules but not the Blues. Saad should have been holding the ball if Petracca was.

The biggest things we need to take out of this game is that the umpires will not tolerate "who do I give the ball to" BS. We were the masters of that last year, and I'm not sad to see it go.

The Blues are loving themselves right now.