dee-tox

So misses by Pickett, Harley Weed X 2, Harmes and Langdon is this game in a nutshell.

Brisbane pressure is another level compared to last week. Midfield is getting slaughterted. Then again if Langdon, Weideman and others could kick we'd be level. Lever has been great.

Pretty foolish to judge 19 year old kids so early. Too much water to pass under the bridge. Both might not make it, or have 12-year careers. Comparisons can be odious!

Yeah, it was Voss after we flogged the Lions at the MCG...

On field, Neitz was a great captain. Led the way with his physicality and actions. And a bloody good footballer as well. As was Junior McDonald for that matter. After that it went pear shaped.

Sicily played very well. Other than Petracca outmarking him on one occasion he was excellent. 24 touches, 10 intercepts, 557 metres gained, eight marks, 92 percent disposal efficiency.

I thought Harmes with his stupid free kicks against, Vanders and Lockhart were our worst but weren't horrible. Gus will get better and we need Lockhart, Vanders and Harmes. So no change!

Some really pleasing signs. The game plan clicked and it looked awesome. The midfield dominated on the back of Gawn, who played his best game in a long time. Contested marking and made every possession count. Langdon provides the run and spread while Harley looks like he is getting better every week. Omac and the Weed have given us structure. Who would have thought! Couple of things to work on. Let's not put the ball on Fritta's head! Vanders' kicking is not well weighted and Pickett (played very well) needs to make his tackles stick.

This spot on.

Midfield has dominated. Everything flows from there. Weed, Kozzy, LJ, great. Gawn immense. Harley adds class. Nev great job on Wingate.

Game plan has clicked!

Always nervous against these blokes. We need 13 goals. Who's gonna kick them?

Absolute bollocks Saty. Nev was horrible. He had one kick for the game and five possessions. Two of which were contested. His opponent had six shots at goal for three goals (game high) and another couple of goal assists. Sure a couple of Rankine's goals were freakish but the one he read off Gawn's tap Nev was slow to react and chase. Saty we know you have an unhealthy obsession with Nev. Maybe he smiled to you at trainin?. But he's done. To let a first gamer have eight score involvements as a lockdown defender and only have one kick for a game yourself means you are in massive trouble come selection time.

Not sure what Nev brings these days. Very ordinary game. Maybe suited to Puopolo if he is selected.

Got seven coaches votes against Geelong and was Melb's best. Last two weeks have been poor though.

McLachlan wasn't commentating tonight!

6. Viney 5. Langdon 4. Gawn 3. Oliver 2. Petracca 1. OMac

Everytime Gawn gets the ball he turns it over. Pickett is out of his depth. Bennell has looked classy. Viney best of midfielders.

As much as his comments are great for fans like us, I agree they do come across as a little unsavory. And as much as an interview like this is good for his profile he may have burnt his bridges at AFL level as a result. I also find his comments about StKilda strange given that when he was at Melbourne we could never beat Saints and their simplistic gamestyle.

We'll punch the living suitcases out of Gold Coast this week and win by four goals. We couldn't do that against Geelong or Richmond because they were much more experienced as well as you need skill and brute force to beat teams like that. Night game, slippery ball , coach under pressure, we'll be fine. The question is can we continue that type of footy in the ensuing weeks? The changes are spot on. AvB wasn't bad last week. Third game in a row and he will make an impact. The Weed coming back only needs to compete in the air and pluck a few. Much better structure. Fritta, Hannan, Kozzie and Melksham need to hit contest at speed. Backline is slower but it won't matter this week. Midfield will dominate for first time this year. Carn the f'ckn Dees!

One thing VdB is not is slow. For his size is one of the quickest blokes going around.

As usual, the good is interspersed with the bad. Playing Fritsch in a proper position helped. Playing Melksham in Fritsch's position didn't. Time to bring in the Weed and have a 195cm target. Leadership is a massive worry. Gawn for three quarters until Nankervis went off was very ineffective. He seems to play with the weight of 56 years and a convoluted gameplay on his shoulders! The backline held up ok with May and Hibberd generally very good. Smith makes too many mistakes/gives fees away, especially when low scoring games are the norm this year. The kids Rivers and Pickett are really struggling but you have to learn somewhere I guess? The midfield mix is wrong with too many inside mids/bangers in there. Time for a rejig with Bennell, Salem and maybe Brayshaw given different roles? Tomlinson looks a poor footballer. Squibs contests and is one-paced. Overall, effort was there just poor execution. How much of that is the game plan. Probably quite a bit.

Out: Picket, Hunt, Melksham, Smith.

Russel Robertson and Levi Casboult...

Pickett, all buzz no sting.