GS_1905

All I took out of this is Melbourne councils are being held hostage by dog walkers. I think losing the equivalent of one oval and some space for admin offices is not too much to ask for especially in the Elsternwick Park area. There is an abundance of space there that is more than enough to cater for MFC. I know it is a pipe dream but still frustrates me nevertheless.

Yes they were up for the entire game, but we dominated all facets of the game except conversion. Their scoring from back half was the only way they could have any sort of impact - we knew this coming and in the end if you told me we would limit Collingwood to 60 points in that game - i and the whole of MFC would have taken it without question. 69-37 i50 + 1 Uncontested +14 Contested +4 clearances +6 Frees +6 Contested marks (+1 Marks i50) -32 Rebound 50s. We knew this coming into the game in the end the one that matters was scoring / conversion accuracy: 9.6 - 7.11 (2.5 vs 4.1 in the 3rd)... was where the game was ultimately lost. So respectfully disagree. This was the game that got away.

That one act will become MFC lore for the generations to come. I knew it the moment they won the GF. It was even more obvious when Maynard got away with it. Then the final nail in the coffin was Gus's forced retirement. I feared the MFC would be unable to recover from that trauma, but unfortunately the impact it has on the group is for all to see. I won't say it alone is responsible, but when you factor in Clarry MH and Trac's hit - i think we underestimate the psychological significance of all of that on the team. There would be no other club in the AFL that could recover either. Take out the club's spiritual leader (Pendles at Pies; Neale at Lions; Danger at Geelong) then take 2 of their best players and subject them to some type of mental / physical trauma that reduces them to 70-80% of their capability (Daicos / Sidebottom at Pies; Stewart / Cameron at Cats; McCluggage / Dunkley at Lions) and see how they go. Put aside the coach / gameplan / forward 50 delivery for a moment and just process that fact alone and i'd say it is just as significant at explaining our downfall as some of the on field / game orientated aspects.

I highly doubt he is on that much coin. It maybe up to 1.7M with certain match day triggers and accolades but he is likely at the baseline of his contract , which I’d guess is still very significant 1.3-1.4M territory. I’ll posit this about Oliver form. It’s his confidence that has taken an absolute bartering. Why is this the case though. It still fascinates me. What has happened with him that has caused his footy to drop away so significantly. There is a typical form slump, daylight then there’s Oliver current form and it’s been like this for nearly 3 seasons. I know what is documented publically and I can absolutely relate to MH struggles. Is it that simple though? Can we put his form down to MH?

I’m hundred percent with this. Goody has the rest of the season to work out what he is to do with those 3 including picking who stays and who is out on the trading block.

Yeah its definitely a leg-up on the comp those northern academies. They 100% should be scrapped. It is grossly unfair. The argument that the northern clubs are trying to grow the game doesn't equate to "we get first dibs on all talent that comes through". Half those boys are playing in the VIC Coates league anyway.

Where did i say he was a chance? My point was that we have to be ready to pounce on players that leave the door slightly ajar on a possible movement. I too thought it was a go-home factor , until i saw/read that it was possibly due to Saints prospect for success. I know we are bottom 6, but we have so much more upside than St Kilda atm.

Not necessarily. Whispers that he was not happy at St Kilda. Not a go home factor but wants to go to a more successful club. I can't remember where i saw it. I reckon he'd be excited to play alongside AMW, Kozzy, Maysie, Mentha

Whispers keep surfacing from Saints on Milera. I would prioritise him over any other player atm. He is one of the best ball users and HBer in the comp. Id pay overs for him as well - without breaking a sweat. I bloody hope we have been into his manager. Getting Kozzy, Maysie and the other indigenous crew in his ear as well. This would transform our list immediately and give us some real ball use weaponry into forward 50. Would free up Bowey too. We'd have to clear cap space to make it happen as he'd demand ridiculous, Kozzy type money.

Eagles will get a compensation pick 2 for Oscar Allan compensation. Do you go JVR and Rivers for Pick 2 and a F2. We can do a lot with that pick.

What’s the wrap on the up and coming coaches. I was a bit worried when WCE were really struggling to find a coach and ended up going for Mini purely as there were no other candidates that stuck out.

Goody is approaching the 10 year milestone 1) Buckley is the same type of coach as Goodwin he is more a player relationships coach and lacks any real additive tactical nous 2) He has been out of the game for almost 4 years, which is a generation in football years 3) The 2023 CFC premiership list is largely the same list he was working with. McCrae almost immediately turned it around in 2022 after just a couple of months with the team. If that doesnt have a warning label on it, then i dont know what will. I wouldn't touch him in particular with a 10 ft pole. I dont have anything personal against, i dont mind his commentary when he doesnt have his Pies goggles on. But keep him out of MFC.

Id take a slightly different approach. We need to trade players to get draft capital and then use that draft capital to essentially pay for the gaps we have. Rebuilding from the draft is too costly and runs the risk of becoming the perennial mid table team. We need to identify talent from lists that are in need of getting back into the draft. Suns, Port, Sydney, GWS, Blues have talent and gettable based on various factors. You can forget targeting FA's as they wont come to us because we are not in the window. There are enough contracted players in those clubs that we should absolutely get around. 1-2 right now would be the difference between where we are and playing finals. 3 good choice trades would give us a crack at top 4 and 4 trades would put us back in contention. Now that doesn't happen in 1 year. Aim for some bold movies this off-season and follow up again in 2026 and we are back in it for 2027. I'd be floating JVR and Rivers to WCE who are in dire need of replenishing their midfield (Tim Kelly and Yeo likely to retire this year) to support Reid and O.Allen who is likely to leave end of year. That is potentially a 2025 1st round and F1st pick in there. Id float Oliver to the Eagles and Bombers and see if they'd be willing to take his cap for a 2nd rounder. Geelong can GAGF - 2 firsts if they want Clarry. Go hard at several players: Ben King (for [censored] and giggles and to get Pies to give up more); Butters (2 Firsts), Bergman (1st and 2nd). Id also look at Fletcher or Wilmont from Lions (throw some money at them to see if they bite), see if Milera from the Saints would love to work with Kozzy. Brown from GWS is 1st/2nd rounder. There are lots of options. We just have to super super aggressive. For me the immediate priority is to get 2 established ball users- A half backer and an outside midfielder and displace one of Oliver, Viney or Trac from the midfield by trade THIS YEAR. Rinse and repeat next year for whatever role we need to top up - probably a KPD or KPF based on how Petty, Turner, Jeffo or settle into their respective positions.

He already does aim right. Watch him next time, he was actually walking towards the right behind post. If he was spraying it all over the place, sure there maybe something in it. But he is missing everything left. Everything. This is 100% correctable and he needs to just fix the run up and release. It may not change overnight, but commitment to the process was at least improve it from 2.12 to something a little more respectable.

Nope - i mentioned a while back that its like a golfer trying to fix a slice by aiming more left. It actually will make it worse. The further right Max aims, the more subconsciously his body will compensate and kick across the ball hooking it left. The cure is straight lines. Aim straight, walk straight, release straight.

McVee got off unscathed as well.. I suppose it could have been worse. Butters has lots of form in this space and am absolutely astonished he got off without a fine. Maybe the AFL feel sorry for him?

I disagree with you here SOMS. He is calling it out. I have noticed it as well and was wondering whether the media were going to catch on. It was only a matter of time. It is understandable i don't think anybody is disputing that. But it adds to the overall narrative about Trac being unable to get the best out of himself. Whether time will heal this wound - hard to tell - but 12 months on, it doesn't bode well. He is newly married, probably thinking about having a family so his perspective is (likely) fundamentally altered. I think we need to look at having him playing a role where he is out of harms way. If he could kick straight, i'd just move him to half back and play a role similar to Rozee. But he is a butcher unfortunately.

What’s the go with Brendon McCarteny ? Is he still around - he did wonders for the group in the early days.

Round the corner from my joint and across the road from the hawks… we be forging a new football heartland … pioneers some might say.

I was shocked why not one of the commentators on FOX didn’t mention it as a contender .

Wth did Buckley ever achieve? Game has gone past him. Honestly don’t know who you’d go after though. Someone who values system and the modern game with skills is a must though.

I can't see how senior players will react going into this mode. LIke most of the first 5 games, we would be inept and bringing any sort of sustained pressure in the second half of the season. I fully expect only winning 2-3 games of the last 9 at best. Goody has to get tough with his mates and start dropping a-graders if they are unwilling to bring it.

In the end it was their best players versus ours and they won convincingly. Think about who was a standout yesterday and convincingly beat their direct opponent? Id say Bowey, Kozzy for a half and Gawn here and there with an asterisk. Port were primed for the game and we were running with a bunch of kids and NQR's. One thing again stood out was Bowey's ball use. He is very good with his run and carry. We can build on that for starters.

Even if he did lead, we dont have the skills to kick it to his advantage. I will continue to maintain that our forward line (including Petty) is dysfunctional as a symptom of our midfield ball use and skill level.

Not a chance with his wages. Although he is probably a minor upgrade on Parish and Shiels. if Shiels retires and Parish is still no good come end of season, we maybe in with a chance to get our pick back only if we cough up upwards of 30% of his salary. But it would be a very hard sell IMO.