The Taciturn Demon

I'm as big a Salem defender as there is, but I can't deny this. It's completely true.

Too soon.

Oh wow. Didn't realise. This is now really ridiculous.

We voted for THAT?

I don't mind this at all. I think she's a good footballer who is living in the shadow of Pearce and to a lesser extent Zanker and Gall. I reckon she'll make it as a first ruck. Your broader point is well made. Yes, there's a long time until the start of the season. No, a new coach doesn't just step in with a couple of months to go and get the machine working exactly how they want.

All of this is unhealthy... ...except in the case of Carlton, in which case it's sensible, mature and, at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, good for humanity. My advice is to continue.

Is this a Steven King "be yourself" thing or have they always done this?

Looking incredible for 47. (Kate Hore would also be incredibly surprised to find out that this is Grgic.)

I wouldn't have guessed this was the case, but the centre bounce attendance group suddenly became quite bunched yesterday, whereas in the last two games lots of players had a run through: Could a better watcher of the game tell me what Kolt's role was? I thought his disposal was really crisp; I liked his game. But I'm thinking he didn't have a major tagging role - is that right? The CBA stats certainly suggest he didn't follow anyone into the middle.

Good call. I'd add van Royen to that. Not quite as brilliant as those four, but a lovely kick to position. More importantly, him wrestling in the goalsquare just isn't working and I suspect never will.

Koz Chandler Max Fritsch Sparrow Lever Loved Culley's game. Windsor really good in the second half. I feel you need to watch at ground level to really appreciate Steele. Tholstrup and Howes also good.

Thanks @Big Col. Yes, I was hoping I might be able to do it throught the app. At the moment, I seem only to be able to log into Ticketmaster and when I do there is a single adult GA ticket available, presumably for me if I decided not to enter via the MCC. I'll talk to a membership person at the ground and see how I go.

Thanks for your help, @Ghostwriter.

Sorry to hijack this thread with membership stuff. I got an MCC/MFC Premium membership and for the first time in a while, my daughter wants to go to the footy. As part of this membership I believe you get three free MCC guest passes as well as a full child's membership. I'm wondering what the best and easiest way for us to get into the ground is today. I think I've made a mistake in not contacting the club to set up my daughter's membership (I assumed it was automatic, but now realise I can't find details of her membership anywhere). I imagine I can go and talk to Membership at the ground before the day, but will that get me anything that will allow my daughter entry into the ground today? I was thinking just spending one of the MCC free guest passes might be the way to go but because today is a Category 2 game, does that make it difficult or impossible? This was all a bit easier when she was under 6. Now it's more complicated than I realised. Any help would be much appreciated.

Jim Zumbo gets neatly tucked under the carpet when right wingers talk about cancel culture. Not just cancelled but forced to declare he loved Big Brother.

This makes sense to me. The whole thing about being a poor tackler seems highly plausible. The problem with it is that what happens when others let opponents walk past them throughout the season? The idea that Rivers is held to higher standards is the answer. Interesting to see how King responds to very experienced players who fail to stick tackles but aren't thought of as leaders in the same vein as Rivers. Two recidivists spring to mind, but neither are considered potential midfielders.

"Jake Stringer has already out-sparked him." This is very cruel. The rest is pretty much the conclusion I'd come to after his '25 season.

I think elsewhere at least one person has mentioned that we are of very little interest to sponsors - or at least don't attract anywhere near the same level of interest as most clubs. It seems like we may be clinging on to Zurich out of desperation. I know they have a fiduciary duty, but this sounds grotesque. It's dystopian. Brayshaw and others are being treated like suspected criminals. He's one of the most loved players of the last 20 years and our major sponsor is making his life nightmarish. I hope we don't just [censored] them off but [censored] them off and make it very clear why.

Actually laughed out loud.

Must have caught it from St Kilda.

Fair point. And people have been saying this for a very very long time. I remember Cerra being part of a midfield combination that many thought was unbeatable. Even less effusive praisers are certain that Perth will be a fortress for them and it never really is (at least not compared to West Coast before they were a basketcase). Sometimes clubs have to go through some not-quite-yet pain before it clicks - Brisbane springs to mind. But Fremantle haven't finished higher than sixth in the Brayshaw/Serong/Young era. They haven't finished in the top four (after finals) since Pervy Ross. Interesting to see if everything comes together this year or they remain the underachievers they've been since... forever.

I don't think this is being said enough. By all means criticise the defenders in instances when the Fremantle ball movement was slow and the contest work after the inside 50 wasn't good enough, but there were very long stretches of the game where Fremantle absolutely walked through the zone between 100 and 50 metres from their goal often uninhabited by Melbourne players. When this happens you either need 2021-22 Steven May doing miracle work, or you just have to accept even an adequate kick inside is leading to a shot at goal. I'd look way more closely at two-way running and the positioning of midfielders and high half forwards after a turnover than I would at defenders (although a composed mid-sized back with dash and bravery in the air would be really handy at the moment).

I think this is very likely right. He's decent overhead and has lots of experience as a defender - he's had good games as an attacking rebounder and as an interceptor, or both. We don't have too many mature players who can do this. It may also be the case that the FD just don't see him as a midfielder.

Ah right. I thought when he was drafted there might have been "ready to go" talk. Obviously not.

I think this is fair. But I'd just point out that Rivers was only at the centre throw up for ten percent of the game last night. Sparrow was under 40 percent. I mentioned in an earlier post one of the most disappointing aspects of the game was the lack of overlapping run. We know we're capable of it - we saw it in the praccy matches and against St Kilda. We had Langdon, Jiath, Windsor, two Picketts, Chandler and Sharp, all of whom have decent burst speed. Riv maybe isn't quite as on-top-of-the-ground as them, but he's powerful. I'd love to have seen him being part of more handball chains. I was surprised to see he was our top player for score involvements.