old55

He's a star. Fantastic work on the clips these past 2 matches @david_neitz_is_my_dad btw thanks

Jordan Lewis lifted for his 300th and was very good last week except for one lucky moment. I expect him to really give it all tonight.

Harmes to Mitchell. Jones to Smith. Jetta to Breust. We need to curb Gunston. Shiels who was fantastic last time may again need to play attacking midfield role with O'Meara out. I'm confident our mids can go head to head with him and say Burgoyne.

We were good against North in atrocious conditions

He was off the boil against the Cats no doubt. But he got involved in heaps of plays. I know he has the ability to convert those opportunities. I feel he's on the verge of explosion.

He's due.

That's a reasonable analysis of his game. He was off. But he created heaps of opportunities in a difficult role and he does have the natural ability to execute. I think like Goodwin said about the team after the Geelong loss - we're so close to putting it all together. If Petracca executes on his opportunities and he kicks 6 and is the match winner. It is possible for him like no-one else. Have patience I think he might explode soon.

Wow post about changes put in changes thread

I really don't think that @Jaded thinking about planning ahead and maybe saving some money is going to affect the team's preparation. Sounds like she's going if we make it and good for her. She's probably not in the 22 though. FFS.

Lever

ANB was very good. Really set the tone early by causing Geelong to fumble the ball and strong legal tackles. Yes he had a trademark missed goal but he wasn't Robinson Crusoe and his other two misses were harder shots. He's a smart player. Stewart was going for exactly the same pass as 2 mins before and Alex read the play beautifully and chopped it off. That goal was fine icing. He's a vital cog - I've come to appreciate that.

Thread gives almost as much as the Is Goodwin the guy one

I watched the 7 replay on record. Ling was very positive about MFC and very critical of Geelong

Stratton hammy!

We have to kick straight to win. Last 3 losses to Geelong have totalled 50.23 to 40.49 (45%). League average accuracy is 52% and ours is 54%. Geelong are good at forcing inaccuracy - they are 45% against - right on our average against them. We kick 13.16 again - we lose.

I'm sick of Richmond but I hate Hawthorn. We'll most likely have to beat both to win the flag.

Baby boomers invented class? You are unhinged.

And have 3 v 3 in their fwd 50? No thanks!

Geelong will set up 7-6-5 and will have an extra defender when we go 6-6-6. That's what happened vs GWS.

Agree thought he was impressive.

I've got you well covered at this stage.

I'm a cold-blooded fish but this makes it boil!

Machaya is a real talent, he was great in the wet in shocking conditions vs North earlier this year.

I can make an argument that the skills or lack of skills of the bottom 6 is possibly less important in the modern game. It more important that they can follow team rules and execute their defined role. In a tight GF finish, luck - Milne's bounce; and skill - Scarlett's toe poke can make the difference. I plead guilty of saying earlier this year that ANB's skill errors could cost us a GF but really that's not right, he plays his role very well and will be hit and miss with his finishing. List management and the salary cap means every team will have an ANB in it. Ultimately it's a combination of every team member adhering to a successful team system and whether enough the top echelon can deliver excellence on the day that matters. I agree it's not just about the top 6. I'm confident we'll be good against Geelong this week and it's reasonably clear their top 6 players are superior to ours. We lost at Geelong this year because Ablett and Hawkins got a hold of us in the last quarter. Dangerfield, Ablett, Selwood, Hawkins, Duncan and Stewart are probably better than the best 6 we will field - that's partly because some of our best players are still young and have not reached their peak and partly because Hogan and Lever are out. I do think Geelong's quality drops off faster than ours. But I think it's our contested game style and attacking power that will make us competitive and Max and Clarry will need to fire.