old55

We only played 3 good quarters in the 2021 GF

You're asking the media to do something in relation to umpiring that they can't even do in relation to game play. Media analysis of AFL is pathetic all around.

Being a left hander and footer probably help differentiate him a bit.

So he's not worthy of a rising star in his best game so far, but in two years he'll be almost impossible to play against?

You have the power to choose that - don't hold back, treat yourself, you deserve it!.

Predictions of Collingwood invincibility evaporating in the WA sun

Feeling a bit MFC 2013?

That's a ridiculously unreal expectation, thankfully

And HF as well

I reckon that shows we were lucky to win vs Richmond. We should have won against Freo last week but we got out of jail against the Tigers.

Where can I see Centre Bounce Attendances? @WheeloRatings?

Really looking forward to next week. We played the brand we think wins finals last night and we're priming ourselves for September, unlike last year when we were broken and couldn't score. This match will be a good entree but not the main course. Don't forget that Collingwood failed in last year's finals too. Their method is not a proven finals product.

Agree we absolutely killed them everywhere except conversion. Yes McKay got the better of Tommo but that enabled May to murder Curnow and Lever to intercept. Joel Smith enabled JVR and Max to get clear up forward. All around it was a dominant performance. 27 shots from 59 i50s vs 16 from 39. That's a kill.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-01/afl-what-makes-a-good-kick-in-2023/102420562

Steven May could wheel him out in his wheelchair.

What did you have on your toast?

You left out Leo Tolstoy as an influence.

Ben Brown is an emergency. I do get it though, last year Goodwin was a clown for persisting with the flag heroes, this year he's a clown for not doing it.

HFC deserve a full whack. They screwed up all the way through.

And what did you say in 2021? "They finally started doing what I've been saying all along", "Happy to be wrong" or something about rugby?

I was looking at our younger brigade. We have a nice balance with all roles covered but I think we do lack star power there and that needs to be the focus of our drafting, trading and FA. We don't need more "good" young players, we need some stars. https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/tp-melbourne-demons There's an age gap between Schache at 25y9m and Petty at 23y6m, we happen to have 22 listed players including Petty and younger: B: McVee Adams D.Turner HB: Bowey Petty D.Smith R: Verrall Sparrow Rivers C: Woewodin Jordon Howes HF: Spargo VanRooyen Chandler F: Sestan Jefferson Pickett I: K.Turner Faris-White Laurie Monis-Wakefield

I think Melbourne supporters are so used to having ordinary lists that when we finally get a good list with a smattering of genuine stars we're overwhelmed by its quality. We do have a very good list but it's not clearly the best list and expectations should be set accordingly. I think our age profile and quality suggests we should be able to win one or more flags with this list but it takes some luck and it's quite possible we won't win any more.

Thanks for at least making an attempt to describe an alternative path the AFL could have taken, rather than just saying they should have taken some nebulous "action". The problem with your suggestion is that the AFL couldn't compel all parties to participate. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-does-deal-with-families-to-end-hawthorn-investigation-20230530-p5dclq.html "The Hawks review was sparked by an interview in The Age in April last year with Hawks champion Cyril Rioli and his wife, Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli, in which they said they were poorly treated during Cyril’s playing career, and in which Shannyn said she was “belittled and humiliated”. The couple did not feature in the ABC report but later joined the players and partners known by pseudonyms Ian, Liam and Jacqui in making submissions to the AFL inquiry. The complainants, known by the pseudonyms Zac and Kylie, opted out of the AFL process, their legal representative questioning its independence." And AFAIK - Clarkson, Fagan and Burt would not appear before the AFL investigation or mediate until they received documentation from HFC, which ultimately amounted to 37,000 documents. The complainants did not agree to the release of this documentation because they believed it contained private and confidential information. I'm persuaded by conversations elsewhere on the topic that the best course of action for the AFL would have been to acknowledge the seriousness of the allegations and recommend to the complainants that they take the matter to the Australian Human Rights Commission - the most appropriate body to address the matter. I recognise that this would have been out of character for the AFL who always try to control the narrative and would have opened them up to erroneous criticisms that they "shirked responsibility" and more strident calls that they "threw Clarkson, Fagan and Burt under the bus". But it was the right thing to do.

Still growing?

You critiqued the AFL performance and I asked you what they could have done differently and you replied with some vague undefined "action". OK I accept that you don't know what they could have done differently