Dee-monic

When Harms takes a shot from right in front the odds are: 90% behind 5% out on the full 5% goal

The workload Viney has carried all season, but especially in Oliver's absence, has been phenomenal. He's a non-stop running and tackling machine. Maybe he deserves a rest against North, but being the character he is he probably wouldn't want to miss a single game.

There's been talk about resting players in the next few weeks. On the other hand, all this weekend's upsets have opened an unexpected pathway to second place on the ladder if we win all our remaining games. That's a big incentive considering that finishing third would probably mean travel to Brisbane or Adelaide. The Tigers won't be an easy kill, given that the upsets have also kept alive their finals hopes.

Beat Richmond tomorrow and thanks to all this weekend's upsets second place is up for grabs if we are good enough. That's a big incentive that would rule out possible travel to Brisbane or Adelaide.

Carlton's unexpected but impressive demolition of the Pies has kept them in the top-four equation, especially if we lose to them. I don't think we should be counting any chickens yet by resting several players in what is a medium-difficulty run home. And with Grundy seemingly on the outer for the time being, someone else will have to drop out anyway when (if?) OIiver comes back before finals.

May will turn 32 in January next year. Probably has two years left, maybe three. Key defenders of his quality don't come along very often.

If the Crows are as good as some posters are suggesting, I wonder why they have lost 10 of their 18 matches this season. Their overall record suggests they are an average mid-table outfit at best.

A few points: Up front: BBB must surely be at the end of the road now. Joel Smith did more in his first 10 minutes than Brown did all afternoon. Kozzie electric in the first half, but eventually faded out. But the signs were good. Van Rooyen showing promise but not quite there yet. Midfield: Towering game from Viney was all that prevented us from collapse at times. Lack of pace a problem for Sparrow and Jordon. Oliver hugely missed when the pressure built up. Defence: Have May and Lever ever got themselves into such a muddle? Must be May's poorest game for a long time. Both kept making poor decisions all day. Tomlinson would be super unlucky to be dropped next week.

6 Viney - solid output in all four quarters. 5 Gawn - showed again he still has the tank to play almost a full game. 4 Pickett - the magic was back before he faded in the second half. 3 Salem - always cool under pressure. 2 Rivers - rapidly becoming a key player. 1 Brayshaw - worked tirelessly in defence. Petracca surprisingly missing from the list, with his radar going haywire.

Hardly a smile as the Melbourne players came off. They know how terrible they were in the last quarter.

Great to see Kozzie bouncing back in style, and some of our ball movement has been slick, but we are still making too many basic errors. Chandler definitely an improvement on Spargo. Thank goodness for Viney's work in the contest.

Lucky to be in front at halftime. BBB's AFL career must be very close to the end on that showing.

Excellent analysis but a little unfair to ANB, who may lack finesse but was often in the thick of the action. And maybe a bit generous to Jordon, who strikes me as a trier who hasn't quite got what it take\s.

6 Gawn - back to his best in his true role. 5 Petracca - four goals and a mountain of work. 4 Melksham - showed the value of experience with a great mark and cool finish at the end. 3 Viney - usual tigerish effort all day. 2 McVee - efficient and well organised. 1 Woewoedin - sentimental vote for a memorable first AFL goal. Five minutes from the end the order might have been different!

I don't think Whateley was far wrong. Defeat tonight would have been a big psychological blow and could have left us in a potential logjam of teams battling to make finals.

The age of miracles is upon us! Like all Goody's critics I am absolutely delighted to eat humble pie. I never thought they could do it. Melksham literally our matchwinner with that great mark and ice-cool finish. Petracca, Gawn and Viney led the way, and Joel Smith was a big improvement on Petty, who looked out of sorts almost from the start. Puzzling how nearly-fit Oliver gets ruled out but clearly unfit Petty gets a start. But all credit to Goodwin and the players. Goody cops it whenever we lose so he deserves to share the praise for that amazing turnaround too.

Oliver not quite fit ---- ruled out. Petty clearly not fit ---- allowed to play, and re-injured. Some questions there for the selectors.

You can't have it both ways. If the coach gets it in the neck when the team plays badly, he has to get some credit when they perform a near miracle.

The age of miracles is upon us! Like all Goody's critics, I am delighted to eat humble pie. I never thought they could do it.

If Oliver is not fit to play, Petty certainly didn't look ready. Thommo will probably get a game next week, play a blinder and then get dropped. Oh well, 10th place should get us a high draft pick.

Take out the opening burst and we are getting a football lesson from a far superior team. Some of our skill errors have been horrendous and Goodwin seems helpless to change anything. Jordon all but invisible, hopeful long bombs into the forward line yet again, Van Rooyen anonymous, Petty struggling against Daniher. I could go on and on. Unless Goody can come up with a counter to this onslaught our percentage is going to take a battering.

Numerous posters have commented that what upset them about Kozzie's performance against the Saints was not his lack of impact on the game but the fact that at times he didn't appear to be giving 100 per cent effort. Some of his attempted tackles certainly looked half-hearted and he did a lot of aimless running. He is still relatively inexperienced and I wonder sometimes if he is uncertain of the precise role Goodwin wants him to play. We all know he is a potential matchwinner but lately his game has been below par. If people are worried about possible off-field problems that does not necessarily imply anything unsavoury. Young players can suffer from homesickness, worries about sick relatives or a host of other common issues that can put them off their game. At his best Kozzie is an excitement machine and we all hope he proves that in the coming weeks.

Great result for us, and Jackson had minimal impact for the Dockers. Carlton looked pretty slick though and we still have to face them in what could be a key game for both teams. With Tasmania looming, the next draft could be crucial, so getting three picks inside the top 30 of a so-called super-draft would see us coming out on the credit side of the Jackson deal if our recruiters get it right (as they mostly have done in recent years).

There wasn't any need to tag him tonight. He was the invisible man. It seems that he is uncertain of his precise role in the team. Maybe a week or two at Casey would help him regain his magic touch.

We've just beaten a top-four contender and some posters are moaning. Get a grip, fellow fans, and accept that AFL football is a tough gig in which instant decisions need to be made under pressure and players, being human, sometimes get it wrong. We won the game, and in the end that's all that counts. Just like every other club, we have strengths and weaknesses which we need to work on. Any win is something to celebrate and enjoy.