Dee-tonator

Perfect summary. Full marks.

I was disappointed Max went off, but he was heroic again tonight and needs every rest he can get. With the game won, imagine how Goodwin would have been crucified if he had stayed on and copped an injury. The fact is that some of his teammates need to look hard at themselves for downing tools in the final minutes.

Extra tough choices this week, but here goes..... 6 The mighty Max - who else? 5 Bowey - the Little Master. 4 Petracca - the bulldozer is back. 3 Oliver - looking lean and hungry again. 2 Chandler - but worth more on another day. 1 Sparrow - much improved performance. Points could easily have gone to a host of others (until Max went off and they all fell apart).

As soon as Max went off we fell apart.

Great chance of a much-needed percentage boost thrown away by complacency in final minutes.

Unrelenting pressure throughout the third quarter. Big ticks to Oliver, Petracca, Langdon, Chandler, Sparrow and Viney.

Can't argue with the team selection , which has produced the best possible lineup from available players. I just hope Fritsch can regain his kicking confidence with an early goal or two. Although I am not a Howes fan, I can't help feeling he is a bit unlucky that McVee is ready to return this week. He put in a better showing against Fremantle than I had expected.

6 Pickett - terrorized the defenders. 5 Gawn - the giant reigns again. 4 Bowey - clinical skills. 3 Viney - snuffed Serong out. 2 McDonald - vintage defending. 1 Petty - kicked key goals. And bonus marks all round (including Goody!)

Kozzie! Kozzie! Kozzie!

Although West Coast lost to the Bombers, they have improved their percentage to the point where a thumping defeat could leave us as the ladder tailenders. Goodwin would then have "succeeded" in taking us from table-toppers to cellar-dwellers. I hope to be proved wrong, but I fear the Dockers forwards will have a field day against a backline minus May, Lever and McVee.

No May , no Lever and still no McVee. A hammer blow for Dees fans and a get-out-of-jail card for Goodwin. If our midfield doesn't step up big-time the scoreboard could get very ugly.

Haven't we got enough problems?

Changes demanded. Changes made. Changes condemned. Demonland is even more confusing than Goodwin's selections.

We could always try using Pickett in the role Charlie Cameron fills so effectively for the Lions. Oh, I forgot. We don't have a single elite tall forward and anyway our coach obviously prefers us to just bomb long kicks aimlessly into the eager hands of defenders. Sigh.

Kozzie. And that's about it at the moment.

Brad Green's heart is in the right place. but the stage has been reached where meaningless waffle cuts no ice. When circumstances change, good coaches and teams adapt. Sadly, Goodwin has put his head in the sand and refused to make necessary changes, in selection and tactics. Viney provides a classic case of this syndrome. Week after week he persists in belting every kick as hard as he can in the general direction of his forward line, frequently resulting in a turnover. Yet he is deemed undroppable and therefore has no reason to change. Green has to wake up to the fact that the fans are rapidly losing the confidence they once had in Goodwin. And that has to lead to tough decisions, not more attempts to hide the crisis.

I am very sad to say this, but why would Kozzie or any other talented player want to be at Melbourne right now?

The answer is yes, a highly likely 0-6 start after next week suggests his time is up. But some of the personal abuse aimed at Goodwin is totally out of order. Perhaps the game has passed him by and he has failed to adapt, but our only Premiership coach in living memory does not deserve to be the target of insults.

6 Langdon - classy all-round display. 5 Petracca - excellent third quarter. 4 Bowey - nippy and creative. 3 Gawn - fought all the way. 2 Pickett - pacy and elusive. 1 Oliver - put in the hard hards.

Skill errors almost unbelievable for an AFL team. But the good news is that we have only three problems to fix: A dysfunctional defence. A lacklustre midfield. A non-existent forward line.

Plenty of effort going in, but all the usual skill errors too. Fritsch seems half-asleep.

Is it time for Viney to feel some selection heat? His continual long kicks onto the chests of opposition defenders largely neutralise his ball-winning abilities.

The outs are fairly easy to pick ---- Sharp, Petty, JVR and Spargo spring instantly to mind. The ins are the problem. The only obvious major improvements would be Lever (if fit) for Petty, and Windsor (if fit). As for the rest, we have several good VFL performers (eg Laurie) who have never impressed when given a crack at AFL level. Turner's struggles last night provided a prime example. Given our apology for a forward line, maybe Fullarton is worth a try up there. I am getting the awful feeling that apart from one year of magic Goodwin is actually out of his depth as an AFL coach.

Since coming into the team, Van Rooyen has made almost zero progress. Yes, he is an accurate goalkicker but his spectacular attempts to mark from behind a pack hardly ever succeed. Also, he seldom gets into space, as Cameron and Dangerfield did all night, to provide an inside-50 target, and is hardly a brilliant back-up for Max in the ruck. Goodwin is copping plenty of flak at the moment, perhaps deservedly, but looking at our forward options in general I think the players we have are just not good enough. Geelong's defence won't have many easier outings than they did tonight. With Fritsch's radar on the blink, Turner finding the leap from VFL to AFL a bridge too far. and Kozzie buzzing around without any impact on the scoreboard, I do have some sympathy with Goody. Maybe a complete rebuild is the only way to turn our rapidly sinking ship around.

6 May - with TMac was the difference between a defeat and a humiliation. 5 McDonald - definitely one of his better outings. 4 Gawn - still a true warrior even if the years may be starting to take a toll. 3 Chandler - for his sheer effort and gut-running all night. 2 Petracca - influential but still not the dominator of old. 1 Fritsch - some classy moments but sadly the radar is still astray.