TRACATTACK

t The best "on the road trip" results I can ever remember. Incredibly difficult challenge with the 5 day break and our boys did us , and themselves proud. They were totally shagged in the last quarter v Crows but ran it out. Incredibly clever tactics in the 3rd quarter to put the hammer down and put us in a winning position while they still had the legs. The "Burgess fitness effect" was very noticeable at the Crows last year, not so much this year so far. Very grateful that Selwyn was able to learn from him while he was still at Melbourne. This is one tough football team. Getting vibes of '21 in how galvanised they have become amid all the very loud external noise.

Right on. AFL players are in the sport/entertainment business with a limited career timeline to make some serious money and set themselves up for life after footy. Petty is no different to anyone else in this regard. I too believe he will go to the Crows at the end of the year unless the MFC decide to offer hime a similar mega contract. I think we should have traded him at the end of 2023 when there was the possibility of a good deal to be made. Love him as a player and really hope he stays but it is not looking good.

Oh Captain My Captain ! We witnessed true greatness from Captain Max in the second half yesterday. We are blessed to have him & Jack as our leaders. Some of Max’s work below his knees was unbelievable.

So inspirational. What a lovely young man Kozzie is , so lucky to have him at our beloved club. Trac spoke from the heart and provided an important point of cultural connection and close friendship between he and Kozzie. I am just so proud of these young men and the MFC.

Rivers is a seriously big unit now, powerfully muscled and very quick. Can see him doing some midfield minutes this year. Has grown from a boy to a man since he joined us. Loved the intense close in drills, everyone hard at it and very clean with their hands. Trac is awesome to watch in close weaving though heavy traffic with power and agility. He is almost impossible to tackle when he is on the move. Kozzie is also a delight to watch moving through congestion at speed with ease. May looks supremely fit and marked everything that came his way. Likewise Rick Lever looks to be in great shape. As other observers said it is great to see TMac fit and firing again, will make such a big difference to our forward structure. Am salivating at the the thought of our two wingers Lingers and Hunter tearing it up at the G. Saw a couple of low and accurate 30m bullet passes from Hunter into the forward line, something we lacked last year. Lingers stamina and relentless running is awesome to watch. Together with Carrie or Viney will form a powerful centre line. A special mention about JVR. I watched him very closely and was very impressed with how hard he works when the ball hits the ground with intense second and third efforts. He is going to be real asset for us when he finally gets the nod for his first game. He is very hard at it and has excellent evasive skills. Looks like he is being very well coached by Greg Stafford in developing his forward craft.

Yes he did try his heart out, particularly in Casey's GF win where i thought he was in our three best players. There were times last year when he must have thought "what more do I have to do to get a game ?". Particularly frustrating when players like Melksham were getting games based on very average form in the 2's. It is important that young emerging players like Chandler see some light at the end of the tunnel and be rewarded for good form at Casey otherwise it sends the wrong message and can have a negative effect on the overall morale of the playing group. It would be great to see players like Chandler, Howes, Disco and Van Rooyen make the transition to senior footy this coming season.

Totally agree, Gus brings so much to the table as a versatile "heart and soul player"of the MFC. He is arguably in AA form as a HBF, a position he says he is really enjoying playing. He is also when asked, an excellent in-and-under centre square mid. SWYL is right , players like Gus don't grow on trees, we should all be thrilled that he has decided to stay. We have now locked in the core of our very best players in Clarrie, Tracc, Max, and Jack which should in theory keep us well and truly in the premiership window for the next 4-5 years.

I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting Noel a few times at MFC functions. His charming and friendly manner belied one of the toughest men ever to play for our club. Not only was he a great CHB, he was brutal in his attack on the footy and alongside his teammate , the incomparable Don Williams, formed part of the best defence the MFC has ever seen. Noel was The Enforcer. I am so happy Noel lived to see us win our 13th flag and hold the Cup. RIP Noel

Superb game from Jack and imo the best game I have seen him play. One thing that stood out for me was his speed and his ability to keep his feet in tight situations. Must be in AA conversations, he has been great all season so far.

Great interview. ANB is intelligent, committed and driven to succeed and it is also clear he loves the game and our club. He has taken his game to a whole different level in the past couple of years and has become the incredibly effective two-way runner and link man who has become so important to our forward structure. We really missed him against the Hawks. A very impressive young man.

I lived through that era as a young kid and saw them win four flags. As supporters we expected them to win every week, and mostly they did. They were a mighty team with stars on every line coached by the doyen of coaches then, the incomparable Norm Smith. They had a tough, attacking back line that was hard to score against, much like ours today except that defensive strategies were not nearly as technical and sophisticated as the ones we use now. The handball game hadn’t really evolved then, it was more a mark and kick game but with a lot of play on football. In my opinion it was a more brutal and physical game then with more than a little biffo being handed out. The rules today have been changed to take a lot of that physicality out of the game and protect players. Personally I loved the physicality and gladiatorial nature of the game and that was epitomised by the great Ronald Dale who never took a backward step, and woe betide anyone, including his teammates, who got in the way of him and the ball. Ron was a superstar who iced Grannies for us and was BOG in three of them. He was the inspiration and template for Trac’s wonderful performance in our GF win last year. In all my many years of watching the Dees I have never seen such an outstanding and dominant midfield as Maxie, Trac, Clarrie and Jack. In my humble opinion Clarrie is the best midfielder I have ever seen play for the MFC , with Trac a close second. I am one of those Demon diehards that literally waited all of those 57 years to see them win their 13th flag. It was worth enduring all of those mostly bleak years to see our beloved Dees become the wonderful team they are today. Enjoy the ride ‘Landers, it is truly inspiring for us all to see our club arise from the ashes.

Very interesting. I would love to see video from those end to end vantage points & have our defensive strategies explained to me. Very hard to see it happening in real time from a side on view. All I can say is we are lucky to have some very smart people at our club masterminding it all. You still have to have the skilled, gut running players to execute the plan, and we do. Our fitness levels are now through the roof. It took us about 5 years to get there, most of it under Burgo’s master plan.

It was a privilege to be at the game tonight. Rarely do you ever see 10 goals kicked by a team in the AFL. The third quarter was sublime with everyone playing their part. This is a truly great football team . So many highlights , Sparrow’s gut running and goal assist, Mays incredible game at full back, Kozzie’s kamikaze run and goal, Maxine’s superb captain’s game when we needed him, Spargo’s unbelieveably tough and intelligent game, Petty playing his tough and relentless role down back, Mr Ed’s “energiser bunny” game on the wing, Harmes and ANB providing toughness and gut running, Trac and Clarrie lifting in the second half and putting GWS to the sword. The whole team contributed. I am still gobsmacked at what I saw in the third quarter. Unforgettable. Thanks lads.

That's gold !

When the heat was white hot in the GF 1st qtr Salo was out of the stratosphere. IMO he is now an elite A grader and should be rated much higher in the Top 50. As someone once said of him “ he’s as hard as a cats’ head”. One of my very favourite players.