JTR

"Not everyone has to agree with your opinion" is something I see you say a lot around here Saty... And yet here you are are again trying to get everyone to conform to your views on how everything is going. If you don't like like what you are reading, then may I suggest you follow your own advise and take your sanctimonious dribble elsewhere?

Was it really though? I get the whole "still putting his body on the line when the game was already over" thing, but who kept their feet and came away with the ball after the collision? Salem. Gray was down on the ground winded.

On Harmes - I think he's been ruined by not playing him to his strengths and instead trying to turn him into something he isn't. Pre 2018 he was just another plodder who I'm sure many wouldnt have minded trading/delisting. 2018 he reinvents himself as a lockdown mid who still got plenty of his own ball. Second half of the season in particular he took many impressive scalps. 2019 was 2019.... 2020 off season we then try and turn him into a rebounding defender. He's then given about a game and a half before we abandon that plan and throw him back in the middle, minus the lock down role which was the part he was actually good at.

Putting that incident aside, I think ANY defensive unit would have struggled tonight, given the speed and ease at which the ball was coming in. A wet paper bag would probably have been more effective at slowing them down.

Only positive I can come up with is that I got some good stats from Boak & Wines in my Ultimate Footy side....

Again, any criticism of Oliver is unwarranted. Infact it is borderline blasphemy and I'm sure Dr D will be along soon to remind everyone. The most important measure here is that he has had (almost) the most possessions, the most contested posessions and the most tackles. The shanks which lead to goals and the hot potato handballs to players in a worse position is completely normal and nothing we should be concerned with from our leading player.

Nope, we are not allowed to criticise Oliver. His kicking has been excellent and his hot potato handballs to the disadvantage of his team mates don't matter, cause it's still a stat and that's all that matters.

Says the guy who clearly didn't even read the entire post he was responding to and always has a perfectly balanced view on all our players... What exactly do you disagree with?

Oliver butchers the ball by foot when under no pressure at all, sometimes in crucial moments. He does it every game, but the most glaring example (which incidentally is where all this talk started) was a few games back vs Richmond. I assume you actually watched that game rather than just look at his stats afterwards to determine his impact? If so, surely you recall the moment late in the 4th when we were still in it, he gets a free in the middle, shanks the kick intended for Petracca straight to Rioil who swoops, gets it to Lynch who scores? And with that killing any chance we had for a win? Plenty of eyebrows raised after that game.... https://www.afl.com.au/video/462040/oliver-embarrassed-tigers-are-home?videoId=462040&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1593935743001 https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/melbourne-demons-clayton-oliver-under-the-microscope-over-kicking-flaws-c-1146697 https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/07/08/is-the-fundamental-flaw-in-olivers-game-a-liability-for-melbourne/ His kicking is my personal gripe and it's probably the gripe of most here that have any problem with Oliver. (Some may also argue that a lot of his handballs don't actually hurt the opposition which is why he is rarely tagged). On balance though, is any of that worthy of him being omitted from the team? No, probably not as the good he does far outweighs the bad. That still doesn't change the fact that he butchers the ball by foot when under no pressure at all, and at times it has been very costly. Thats not good enough for someone that is always in our best 22. Keep going with your little crusade though.

Kind of keen to see Spargo play now for some reason.

Spot the difference.... ?

Is this going to be you shtick every week now?

Umpire #21 has almost gone past Nicholls on my list of most disliked. More shockers from him tonight on the back of his debacle in St Kilda v Adelaide game on Monday

Definitely a game we lost rather than they won. Missed chances by Weid, Harmes & Bennell crucial. As for the yellow maggots... ?

If it was Selwood they'd all be saying it was courageous and talking about how many weeks the other guy should get

"The Ds particularly the players criticised responded with a solid win against the Suns. Changes were made to the structure by bringing in McDonald (the younger) and Weideman, pace was introduced with Jetta and Bennell; and VandenBerg got through a second game" This is not the first time I've seen an opposition supporter say this. Are the confusing Nev with Lewis?

Lions have been playing two rucks all season. Mostly Martin/McInerney but in the couple of rounds a few weeks back when Martin was out injured they brought in Archie Smith to pair up with McInerney.

Has anyone managed to find the incident where the injury occurred? I watched some of the replay tonight but couldn't find anything obvious early in the 2nd.

Imagine if it was us vs them in the last round with the winner making finals. I'd love nothing more than to smash them off the park and send them packing, but how bad would everyones MFCSS be in the lead up! ?

Carlton not travelling at all. Head to Perth after this weekend then sit over there whole time, with a bye to boot. Downside for them I suppose is playing WC/Freo over there in front of a crowd

So Brisbane on Sunday followed by Port on Thursday.

Especially critical for us, considering the fixture is going to be condensed and we are not going to get a bye like everyone else.

So what are the rules here? Only Oliver? Are there allowed to be calls for other players to be dropped? If so, and if those calls are also wrong, will those people be expected to exit demonland? Cause... As to what expect from our players, Oliver is one that most would rate as one of our best and rightfully so. I wouldn't expect then to find myself cringing any time he so much as thinks about kicking it. His kicking is a problem. Certainly not drop from the team worthy, but it's something he must work on. We can't afford to have multiple players in the middle butchering it by foot, especially when under no pressure at all and he is one of a few

3:05 mark, in lead up to Bennell goal General play, not centre clearance, but still.... ?