The Taciturn Demon

That's incredibly kind.

Did everyone know that was a shocker before the draft? Because that was a shocker.

I just found out who the President of Carlton is. Say no more.

Who is the player you think Taylor would be keen to skip three places to take at two?

Can someone explain how they can possibly fit Houston into their salary cap? Cripps and Weitering are surely on very very good money. McKay, Walsh and Curnow just behind them, I assume. And they went on a multi-year recruitment extravaganza, presumably putting forward tempting financial offers to get Cerra, McGovern, Williams, Hewett and Saad. I know their depth is highly questionable, but is everyone else on $300,000 a year?

Underrated problem, I reckon. I think Melbourne has fallen into this trap way too often in the past couple of years - but well before that also. I don't think it's any coincidence that the Flag came when Casey was flush with players who could honestly consider themselves very unlucky not to be getting a game.

I think I'd resigned myself to a fairly big drop before the season, and after those four bad losses, was convinced it was happening, possibly for multiple years. But I'm now really optimistic about this group. McNamara has gone to a completely different level - gun. Gall is playing really mature footy, which I just didn't expect from her, certainly not at the age of 20. I've always liked Chaplin, but she's better than ever. Denby Taylor is a keeper. Fitzsimon has always had a lot of talent - really solid skills - and now is finding more of the footy. Hanks is 24! I thought Heath might have reached a ceiling - I don't think she has. I thought Bannan might have been a one (very exciting) trick pony - but I've liked her pressure and contest this year. I think we're still crying out for another pure midfielder (Beasley may be the one), another composed defender with good hands and a crafty small forward (I reckon the best of Pisano is a way off yet). But the holes are nowhere near as large or various as I thought.

I'm guilty of that. But even as a figurative statement it's quite shocking. In the space of five or six weeks, we've gone from Goodwin saying he's never seen a player more determined to return to his very best at the club to people reporting Oliver has no interest in being at Melbourne.

Hear bloody hear.

Genuinely extraordinary.

Yearning for an easier fixture is one of the silliest things in all of football fandom. Just compete hard against everyone. "It's an even competition" is generally just a euphemism for "We're not good enough often enough".

You could ask AI to write a vicious parody of Sliding Doors and it would come up with something more insightful and coherent than the column itself.

I thought these kind of wins might have been behind this team, with its many injuries, major list changes over the off-season and several bad losses at the start of the season. Nope. Still tough and willing to change.

The media want us all to believe that trades are the main things that allow you to improve. They want trades linked directly to hope. But what lets you improve is really careful list management, player development, footy strategy, injury management, luck and all sorts of other things. Yes, trades are a part of list management, but so is drafting, maintaining a good balance in areas like position, age and experience, developing depth and so on.

Do you think our under 24s are above average? I'm not challenging you; genuinely interested to know if you think we're ahead of most teams in this age category.

I hope you're wrong as well, but think this is extremely likely, mainly because I don't think we're ready to bounce back and win finals in 2025. But I'm not convinced that we'll regret not doing it this year. Oliver is surely at his lowest 'value' in a decade. I have extremely high hopes for an exceptional Pickett season in 2025. Petracca may struggle to get on the park, but who was going to fit him into their cap and offer something enticing this year? All are in contract next year.

Killing it.

Phil Read and Gary Moorcroft levels of "What the eff are we doing?"

Me too. That's damning.

Mostly handballs that went nowhere or just handed the problem (of being under intense pressure) to another Swan.

Had the misfortune of watching at the ground, and there is a LOT going wrong. Yep, the injury list is really bad, but that was a total collapse. The ultra-risky, ultra-attacking game plan is completely wrong for this list - and I say that as a fan of Stinear. And the lack of numbers around the ball and then wherever the ball went was... almost junior football-esque. I think the sadest part is even at our worst, this team has very rarely capitulated. It did today.

I don't hate him personally at all. I do hate what his recruitment and continued selection said about our list management and "cultural" standards.

That's an awful injury list. The midfield was looking thin even before the Beasley injury. I guess a small (obvious) silver lining is getting to try players we may not have had Beasley, Mackin, Purcell and Paxman been available.

Mean Jean Okerland turning away to hide his laughter.

Another very simple definition could be "hard to play against". We're not that at the moment. At all.