middleagedemon

They have unique advantages that clubs like us do not have. The obvious one being the 'lifestyle' card they can play to attract trades and free agents which has worked a treat for them, Bailey Smith being another who will likely join to get out of the Melbourne footy bubble. They've also had Wells as their list manager for an eternity although he's now head of recruitment I believe. He's been without doubt the most successful and best list/recruitment manager over the past 20 years, consistently nailing picks both in the ND and RD. They have eyes all over leagues across the Bellarine Peninsula which is basically their own recruiting 'zone' or 'academy'. I mean, they plucked Tom Stewart from the clouds. They have an genuine home-ground advantage compared to us whenever they play their which is a huge reason they continue to win so many h/a games. Compare their home-ground advantage to us, it's chalk and cheese. Those four points alone have given them a huge advantage, tie that in with the types of leaders they had during their premiership years, Selwood alone, the culture they have built and maintained, Chris Scott as a coach and it's no wonder they've been able to 'overcome' the normal 'rebuild' that most clubs go through post flag years.

We're to be believing a big footy poster about this? Surely not.

And Oscar McDonald! Don't forget him!

Goodwin has one more chance next year to turn it around imv. We built a list to play a brand of footy that won us a flag. And much of that core had certain attributes suited to the type of game we wanted to play. We were all happy about the flag and celebrated it, Goody will forever be thanked and appreciated for that. However, the AFL is a forward moving beast and we can't continue to live in the past and especially not in the space of 'our list is good enough if we don't get injuries'. That won't cut it so I think supporters need to drop that line of thinking. It's clear that whilst that brand of footy keeps you competitive in a finals environment, it's not sustainable throughout an entire home and away campaign and certainly not against sides who play a more Offensively-minded, risk taking brand of footy when finals-like nerves and pressure are not there. I think our recalibration has been slow and our list management to date has been poor and if calls for an end of year review are true, I think it'll be welcome. This year has been a shocker on many fronts but I remain bullish about where we can be next year like many. As longgggg as the club make some difficult calls over the off-season. Without having a dig at the die-hards on here who would refuse to entertain a trade of any sort involving one of our premiership players, I think it might be needed if we're going to see serious improvement and evolution to this side. As others have pointed out, the AFL is a competition that is embedded in the entertainment industry and if we want to continue to 'grow' our club and inch closer to a 'big' club like many hoped post Grand Final, we're going to need to seriously look at how we want to play as a side. 16,000 and 17,000 supporters to home games in consecutive weeks is reflective of the type of football we play. It is boring as bat-[censored] and whilst some supporters might be happy with our game against Port, I see it as nothing more than a desperate damage control effort from Goody and co. Nobody wants to watch that [censored] and I can almost guarantee that our high-end kids and stars don't want to play in games like that. Petracca has said as much publicly. Unfortunately, this is where we see ourselves after investing so heavily in players with attributes that suited a game-plan that Goody believed would stand the test of time. And from this, the demonlanders who delve into stats come up with all sorts of statistics that will justify their views about why we're performing the way we are. I've said it all before but it's down to list imbalance completely and wholly. With a game-plan now in transition and some key personnel out, all is being revealed and the cracks that have been there for so long are now gaping holes. Posters can hold me to this, but I sense we will lose next week by 50+ given what I've outlined above. Gold Coast are a highly skilled side and I think we got ourselves up for some faux 'pride back in the jumper' type of stuff against Port. I think our levels of enthusiasm and interest are dropping off big time. Hard calls need to be made in the off-season, it can't come quickly enough and we need a serious look at how we want to grow this club going forward. I think we're on the edge of needing to move a Fritsch, Viney, Oliver (perhaps not based off of this year's form) on for some fresh air, youth, enthusiasm, new life. I think supporters need to take a long-term view of this club. Footy should be fun. For players and supporters alike. You want to come and watch exciting football. The MFC are anything but that and we haven't seen it since the 21 finals series which should tell us all something. I still think we have a capable core with some serious weapons but we absolutely need a serious change up over the off-season with an injection of skill, composure and a new found love of actually playing the game. Goodwin has got to get the memo that spitting out the same words at pressers and to the players is just soul destroying and just sucks all the life out of the supporters and players. We need to reshuffle our coaches/ bring a couple of fresh voices and ideas in. We need another injection of high end talent from the draft that will help inspire our older stars just as Windsor and Tholstrup have done at times this year. We need to address our game-plan and list imbalances and explore the options of off-loading an experienced player for a player that will help correct some of our execution downfalls. A courageous but necessary inquiry if you ask me. All is not lost. But this joint needs a whack around the ears. Otherwise we are at risk of more than just missing out again next year. We'll be at risk of stars wanting to leave, supporters dropping off even more which will have huge implications for any growth model we've set. Still without a home base whilst every other club seems to be upgrading the million doller facilities they've had for years. We will be left behind, make no mistake. If supporters think this is hyperbole, you're living on planet X. The competition is constantly evolving and we better get with the picture next year or watch this space.

Best not read it then? 🤷

'Attack' is a bit strong my old mate, but point taken. The constant goal post shifting and finding any excuse possible outside of pointing the finger at our list and coaching becomes tiresome though, it's got to be acknowledged. It's head in the sand kind of stuff! I made a long post in a thread last week regarding where I think we need to put our energy and attention as a club, I can't remember the thread. Could be the trade targets one? I take your point, will tone down and target posters less.

When you see Clayton Oliver named at number 3 for pressure acts, you know you should no longer be following champion data.. Stats files need to chill.

Either way, it's embarrassing. Some of his around the corner scrap kicks are just unbelievable. That one that resulted in the Butters goal. Unforgivable. That's nothing to do with conditioning. That is completely between the eyes, just no care taken. And as for some of his tackling efforts, compare them to an exhausted Jack Viney or even ANB.. It's honestly alarming. Clarry is just out there taking the [censored] right now and it's sad to see.

Using a champion data statistic to try and convince posters that he's an elite kick is actually the silly mistake and my response was about that but thanks for involving yourself. The conversation can actually go anywhere we like and you've got no idea whether or not we're head-hunting him nor what we'd be prepared to give up. The talk is that he wants to come home to vic. Not that the MFC have gone hard after him, maybe you need to read up on that? I'll continue to post my thoughts on his overrated kicking skills though that I think we'd be making one of the biggest list management blunders in the last decade if we gave up what is being reported.

Tonight should prove again that the talk about 'conditioning' and 'fitness' is just so overblown. How can we be unfit last week but this week we magically look fit? It's nonsensical. Within an AFL environment, fitness levels do not vary to the degree that binman continues to bang on about. Our game-plan, inconsistent level of execution of skills and inconsistent effort brought weekly are the main factors. Fitness and conditioning are a minor factor at this level. There's no disputing that, unless a quarter of your list are missing and the majority of your list are kids that haven't yet had enough pre-season. Which is not us.

Bad analogy. He is not the kick that we need in our team. He is not a daicos or gulden kick. That statistic completely misrepresents the kind of kick he is and supporters need to understand that before throwing that stat around.

How did that 'champion data top 5 best users in the comp' go tonight @Bring-Back-Powell? A long, penetrating and accurate kick is what he is. And if that makes him a top 5 best user in the comp, that should tell you more about champion data in isolation than anything else. Use your eyes. They will tell you the full story.

Cmon matey, we're friends right?!

Experiencing the full spectrum of the emotional scale means one can TRULY appreciate the good times. Living in lala land means one is avoidant and what ever will you have living in Lala land to compare to? Moony and I sleep sweetly knowing that after our weekly nightmares, a lala dream is on the horizon. Don't we Moon?

Collingwood would be kicking themselves at giving up PICK 6 for Lachy Schultz. They have no first rounder this year and already have questionable young talent outside of the Daicos brothers at both ends of the ground. They should be our measuring stick. They got greedy, paid overs because they thought they could go back-to-back and sacrificed their future for the now. We cannot do the same. Houston's form is off the back of playing with the same defensive unit for years and so there's no guarantee he just waltzes into our program year one and plays to the same level. Schultz case in point. These players are role players who are excelling thanks to the system they're in. They're not top end/brilliant individuals who dominate from word go. It's not their position or role. Go to the draft, nail a top 7 midfielder and develop them. I'll pay those odds anyday over giving up the farm for Houston to help win us a flag next year.