Dee-tonator

If lowly North can match the Lions, surely we can too. With Petty and Melksham back, Turner can move forward and provide some desperately needed ammunition up front. Jefferson's non-performance has silenced his many advocates for the moment, and Fritsch seems to have lost the plot completely. Both he and Van Rooyen have only one attribute --- accurate goal-kicking, and in general play might as well not be there. Fritsch is lazy, doesn't chase or tackle, and has lost all confidence, while the slow-moving Van Rooyen seems to think his only task is to take spectacular pack marks, at which his success rate is poor. We'll miss Viney but otherwise I think Goodwin can field a better-balanced side this week. The remaining unexpected and unwelcome issue which has now become clear is, of course, lack of fitness. Occasional fourth-quarter fadeouts can happen, but with us it occurs almost every week. Maybe it's time to put Selwyn Griffith's performance under the microscope.

All codes of football are about only one objective ---- scoring more goals or points than the opposition. If you can't do that, no matter how brilliant some aspects of your performance may be, you do not have the better team. As the saying goes, winners are grinners, losers can please themselves.

The better team is always the one that wins the game. If you waste nearly all your opportunities, your are a poor team. Our glaring forward weaknesses mean that we are seldom the better team these days.

Could any AFL team win a game with a lineup that included Fritsch, Jefferson and Van Rooyen up front? With even a half-decent forward line we could have put the result to bed by three-quarter time. Meanwhile Turner was wasted in the backline. Baffling.

6 Langford - classy all-round performance. 5 Gawn - won the ruck honours. 4 Petracca - provided forward momentum. 3 Pickett - a few exciting bursts. 2 McDonald - reliable as ever. 1 Langdon - did the hard yards, as always

Fritsch + Van Rooyen = goal drought.

Wanted --- a complete forward line.

I'm glad Melksham got off, of course, and agree that he deserved to, but I still don't like the deliberate push-in-the-back tactics we see so much. To me, it seems a cowardly way of taking an opponent out of the game instead of competing fairly for the ball. Maybe a 50 penalty for blatant instances of the offence would get it out of the game pretty quickly.

For a team that was thrashed by North Melbourne on the way to a 2-5 record, every game is a danger game.

No superstar. Just a great team man, solid, reliable and effective. If he keeps going as he started the season, another one-year deal would surely be on the table.

The right business and political contacts are far more important for a CEO than AFL experience as such. Instead of prejudging Paul Guerra, I would suggest waiting to see what he brings to the club.

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.