Dee-tonator

Outclassed all night.

6 McDonald 3 Gawn 0 Everyone else

Two minutes to go and Billings finds the perfect way to sum up the season, running unchallenged into an open goal ---- and missing.

It's hardly the fault of the umpires when our two defensive pillars are missing, Collingwood players are left in acres of space, Fritsch couldn't tackle a one-legged opponent, Tholstrup and Woewodin look out of their depth, we have no cohesion in midfield, and Nibbler chose just the wrong game to have a shocker.

Defence shambolic so far. This could get ugly.

Giving a team finishing 10th, usually after losing more than half its games, even a theoretical chance to call itself the season's premiers is simply absurd.

Petracca must be aware that ongoing speculation and rumours about his commitment are damaging to the club and to his teammates. If he has been unable to get a satisfactory response to any concerns he has, it is now time to come out and let everyone know why he is unhappy. If the rumours are untrue, there is even more reason for him to say so publicly. As a person and as a player he has earned enormous respect and affection from Demons fans, and of course no one can suffer injuries as severe as his without significant trauma. (I do, however, remain mystified as to how an "accidental" knee in the back can connect with the force required to smash four ribs, rupture his spleen and puncture a lung). If there are serious problems at the club, as constantly claimed by the media, they need to be aired and sorted out. Surely Roffey, Pert and Goodwin ought to make this their joint top priority. Allowing this situation to drag on indefinitely is not an option. In the worst-case scenario that Petracca seeks a trade, it is difficult to see any realistic player exchanges that match his value. At a minimum, I would expect him to warrant two first-round draft picks, with one of these in the top five.

In business, which is what AFL football has become, a contract involves guaranteed rewards and obligations both ways. Players expect full payment for the term of the contract even if they lose form or get injured. In return, the club has the right to insist that a player gives of his best until the contract term ends. There is no doubt Nibbler has kept his end of the bargain by giving 100 percent effort and proving himself an outstanding clubman as well. But his request has put Melbourne in a very difficult bargaining position. If Port or (more likely) the Crows play hardball and offer minimal trade value (eg a third round pick), do we simply cave in and accept the loss of an important contracted player? Or do we also play hardball and tell ANB, despite his great service to the club, that he has to fulfil his contract unless and until we get an adequate return for his departure? Surely a second-round pick is the minimum return acceptable for Melbourne. If that can't be achieved, I don't see anything wrong in the club requiring Nibbler to meet his contract obligations. We will just have to hope a deal satisfactory to both sides will be arranged. Even in that case Melbourne will be the losers, because ANB is the kind of player and person that no club likes to lose.

Point 1: if Tom Morris said the sun was shining I would reach for an umbrella. Point 2: posters (or anyone else) speculating about unsubstantiated rumours are harming the club, not helping it. Vague talk about "the direction of the club" is meaningless without facts to back it up. Point 3: questions can legitimately be raised about the competence of the medical staff who gave the gravely injured Petracca clearance to return to the field. One shudders to think of the consequences if he had suffered another big hit. Point 4: Petracca has at all times shown himself, on and off the field, to be an absolute credit to our club. Point 5: Ditto for Jack Viney. Point 6: With a good break and a full pre-season behind him, and his off-field troubles sorted out, there is no reason to believe that Oliver can't regain form. Yes, mistakes were made this year, but we also had bad luck with injuries to key players. I still see the glass as half full, not half empty.

I don't blame Tholstrup at all. All our players made plenty of mistakes but he happened to be the unlucky one who missed a potentially match-winning chance. It would just be unfortunate if a series of fluke results means that one late missed shot costs us a finals spot (which is still unlikely, anyway).

Given all the other results in this round, how important could Tholstrup's missed goal chance turn out to be?

There is still a mathematical chance of sneaking into eighth spot. Yes, I know it's a slim chance. But I do not believe any of our players would "check out" while that lingering hope is there. And even if we lose to Port, I believe the players have enough pride in the guernsey to give of their best. Sometimes, let's face it, even our best is not good enough. With May, Windsor and Petracca missing and even the over-worked and much-battered Supermax struggling, that's when the team most needs the backing of every true fan. Go the Dees!

If the Port-Swans game had been a horse race, the stewards would have launched an inquiry.

6 Langdon - busted his gut all night. 5 Gawn - solid all-round performance. 4 Rivers - our only classy midfielder. 3 Fritsch - accurate goalkicking but still lazy. 2 McDonald - mix of good and bad. 1 McVee - seldom rattled under constant pressure.

Woewodin, Kolstrup and Moniz-Wakefield out of their depth tonight (as were several experienced teammates). Zero selection pressure from Casey. So much for our much-heralded dynasty. Surely time to have a look at Jefferson. Any other changes meaningless.

May – under constant pressure Lever – all at sea Bowey – struggled all night McVee – composed but besieged McDonald – still worth spot Howes – not AFL standard Woewodin – not AFL standard Viney – years taking toll Langdon – tried heart out Moniz-Wakefield – not AFL standard Rivers – showed fighting spirit Neale-Bullen – energetic but limited Sparrow – solid but slow Kolstrup – judge next season Chandler – better option needed Pickett – too little effort Van Rooyen – had few opportunities Petty – wasted in forwards Fritsch – accurate but lazy Melksham – last hurrah time Gawn – couldn’t stem tide Oliver – off the boil Turner (sub) – couldn’t help much

Lots of posts blaming the umpires for this fiasco. Who are you kidding, guys? We have been sub-standard. End of story.

So far that looks like a practice match in which an AFL team is thrashing VFL opponents.

A fact that opponents have unfortunately recognized as a weakness that can be exploited despite his other positive qualities.

Captain's challenge, similar to the system used in rugby league, would be an excellent innovation. With a maximum of two unsuccessful challenges per game, it could help avoid a lot of anger and bitterrness. I don't envy any umpire, who sees fast-moving action from one angle only, with his view sometimes impeded by players. Fans of all clubs naturally tend to remember mistakes that hurt their own side, while forgetting the errors that hit the opposition.

6 Lever - made amends for last week's shocker. 5 McVee - calm and efficient. 4 Oliver - showed pleasing energy. 3 Viney - strong in the contest. 2 Rivers - adds much-needed speed in midfield. 1 Langdon - our running machine.

Without him we would have been slaughtered again. Not surprisingly, he ran out of gas towards the end, but the question I would ask is why the club did not secure a back-up ruckman before letting Grundy go. Goodwin has made it clear that he would not even consider Fullarton for the role.

May - below his best. Lever - rock solid showing. Bowey - lacked physical presence. McDonald - slowing up rapidly. McVee - usual calm display. Langdon - ran heart out. Windsor - offered little threat. Moniz-Wakefield - showing good signs. Oliver - energy was encouraging. Rivers - held his own. Neal-Bullen - tireless but ineffective. Billings - back to VFL. Pickett - glimpses of class. Van Rooyen - never got going. Gawn - showed some spirit. Viney - good contest work. Woewodin - needs to improve. Petty - unsure of role. Fritsch - couldn't find space. Melksham - quiet all night. Chandler - classy late goal. Bailey Laurie - jury still out.

In the end it could have gone either way. We lost against a top-four team because of some crucial errors, not because any of the umpires cheated. That's tough to take but hardly a reason for some of the venom being aimed at the players.

Good fightback at the end, but you just can't concede four soft goals in five minutes and hope to win a tightly contested match. And Max, not surprisingly, looked cooked in the final quarter. A big opportunity missed, unfortunately.