Whispering_Jack

Clubs in the dark over changes to NGA as bumper crop looms Change is overdue as far as the MFC is concerned. We recruited only one player and, in one fell swoop, the AFL took our NT academy zone away from us and never replaced it. Oh well ...

The Age has weighed into this discussion - How each club will fare in final rounds - and who could make the eight As far as I’m concerned, I will follow a one week at a time principle. Hope we can beat the Bulldogs on Saturday.

Angus Brayshaw speaking on SEN about Max Gawn's status: It's hard to pin the big fella down. He's a bit non-committal. It's a hard injury for him to get through. If he plays this week will it help or hinder him in the long run? I've tried to get it out of him but he hasn't given me anything yet.

Ever since he came to the club there’s been something about Aaron vandenBerg that’s intrigued me and I wonder if you could ask - “What’s it been like going through life with a capital letter in the middle of your surname instead of at the start?”

This is what lies ahead - 1 PORT ADELAIDE Played 12, 36 pts, 127.5% TO COME: Hawthorn Sydney Bye North Melbourne Essendon Collingwood 2 BRISBANE LIONS Played 12, 36 pts, 118.3% TO COME St Kilda Bye Collingwood Gold Coast Sydney Carlton 3 GEELONG Played 12, 32 pts, 138.5% TO COME Adelaide Western Bulldogs Bye Essendon Richmond Sydney 4 WEST COAST Played 11, 32 pts, 121.1% TO COME GWS Giants Richmond Essendon Western Bulldogs St Kilda North Melbourne 5 ST KILDA Played 12, 32 pts, 115.8% TO COME Brisbane Lions Melbourne Bye Hawthorn West Coast GWS Giants 6 RICHMOND Played 12, 30 pts, 119.0% TO COME Essendon West Coast Fremantle Bye Geelong Adelaide 7 COLLINGWOOD Played 12, 26 pts, 104.9% TO COME North Melbourne Carlton Brisbane Lions Bye Gold Coast Port Adelaide 8 MELBOURNE Played 11, 24 points, 118.2% TO COME Western Bulldogs St Kilda Sydney Fremantle GWS Giants Essendon 9 GWS GIANTS Played 11, 24 pts, 98.2% TO COME West Coast Carlton Adelaide Fremantle Melbourne St Kilda 10 W. BULLDOGS Played 12, 24 points, 97.9% TO COME Melbourne Geelong Bye Hawthorn West Coast Fremantle 11 ESSENDON Played 11, 22 points, 86.1% TO COME Richmond Hawthorn Geelong West Coast Port Adelaide Melbourne 12 CARLTON Played 11, 20 points, 95.5% TO COME Gold Coast Collingwood GWS Giants Sydney Adelaide Brisbane Lions 13 GOLD COAST Played 12, 18 points, 98.0% TO COME Carlton Brisbane Lions North Melbourne Bye Collingwood Hawthorn 14 FREMANTLE Played 11, 16 points, 88.3% TO COME Sydney GWS Giants Richmond Melbourne North Melbourne Western Bulldogs 15 SYDNEY Played 11, 16 points, 84.8% TO COME Fremantle Port Adelaide Melbourne Carlton Brisbane Lions Geelong 16 HAWTHORN Played 11, 16 points, 82.5% TO COME Port Adelaide Essendon Adelaide St Kilda Western Bulldogs Gold Coast 17 NORTH MELBOURNE Played 12, 12 points, 83.1% TO COME Collingwood Gold Coast Bye Port Adelaide Fremantle West Coast 18 ADELAIDE Played 12, 0 points, 54.7% TO COME Geelong Bye Hawthorn GWS Giants Carlton Richmond I think it’s safe to say that it’s highly unlikely that Melbourne will figure in the top 4

I was wondering what happened to this thread but then again, it is about a bloke who isn’t getting a regular game at AFL level but rather, running around in leftover 12 v 12 hub games played on reclaimed mangrove swamps infested by alligators.

As unlikely as it may be that we can make top four, it’s important that the issue remains part of the conversation for as long as possible. The team is more likely to perform as an elite combination if it has belief in itself. We saw that with the Bulldogs in the lead up to and then through the 2016 finals and earlier, with other teams. The notable comparison where Melbourne was concerned was back in 1987 when it rose from a win/loss ratio of 6/10 winning the last six in a row to finish 12/10 and then went on to win 2 finals before falling just short to Hawthorn in the Preliminary Final. What was really remarkable was the improvement week by week as the team gained momentum with every win.

Since the competition resumed from the first Covid-19 lockdown in June there has been one constant at the club: the four players who’s status on the club injury list has remained pretty much static. They are:- Marty Hore (toe and quad) – indefinite Harry Petty (groin) – indefinite Kade Kolodjashnij (head) – indefinite Aaron Nietschke (knee) – season Young Nietschke has been that way for almost his entire journey at the club since he was drafted in late 2018, having suffered two ACL’s. We’re not expecting to see him back until next season. Kolodjashnij‘s concussion/head injuries have been well documented. He’s highly thought of at the club but his long term health is paramount and my guess is that he is a likely retirement at the end of 2020. But what of the other two? We’ve heard little about their rehabilitation and with six matches to go in this season of a compacted fixture, it would seem that time is running out. Does anyone know where Hore and Petty stand in terms of their expected return to full training and playing games of football?

Please yourselves. He was a good servant of the club and pulled on the jumper 165 times in difficult days when it wasn’t easy to front up week in, week out playing for a team that was getting flogged. Since crossing over to the Pies, he’s had a lot of bad luck with injury and it would be an absolute tragedy if he didn’t get to 200 games (he has 2 to go). He struggled yesterday - he had a few mates - but with Mihocek and Reid going down, he might be lucky. I’ll be watching the game and cheering him on (but not his team).

Next week looms as a make or break for us - a win makes it a lot harder for the Bulldogs to get back in the race. It’s easy to say we’re going to take things one week at a time but this is a big one for us.

The Western Bulldogs are currently crushing winless Adelaide at Metricon Stadium, the scene of their clash with Melbourne this coming Saturday. The Doggies won the day late last year at Marvel Stadium in a close match up with the team listed below. THE TEAMS WESTERN BULLDOGS B Jason Johannisen Jackson Trengove Hayden Crozier HB Taylor Duryea Zaine Cordy Easton Wood C Lachie Hunter Bailey Smith Patrick Lipinski HF Matthew Suckling Josh Schache Sam Lloyd F Aaron Naughton Marcus Bontempelli Tory Dickson FOLL Tim English Josh Dunkley Jack Macrae I/C Toby McLean Ed Richards Roarke Smith Bailey Williams EMG Bailey Dale Dale Morris Rhylee West Lachie Young NO CHANGE MELBOURNE B Jake Lever Steven May Neville Jetta HB Michael Hibberd Sam Frost Christian Salem C Jayden Hunt Jordan Lewis Nathan Jones HF James Harmes Christian Petracca Bayley Fritsch F Mitch Hannan Braydon Preuss Angus Brayshaw FOLL Max Gawn Jack Viney Clayton Oliver I/C Kyle Dunkley Jay Lockhart Alex Neal-Bullen Harrison Petty EMG: Jay Kennedy Harris Oscar McDonald Corey Wagner Josh Wagner IN Max Gawn Neville Jetta Jake Lever Oscar McDonald Corey Wagner Josh Wagner OUT Marty Hore (collarbone) Tom McDonald (knee) Sam Weideman (calf)

I think it should be no change given that we’re coming off a seven day break this time. This would allow for an extra week’s break for Max just to play it safe. Trent Rivers was a bit stiff to miss out this week - if he went ok in the scratch match at Maroochydore then they could squeeze him in.

From Melbourne’s point of view, I’m hoping that we can continue on our winning way and not have to worry about challenges from either of the teams in the Freo v Carlton game. However, since we have already played Carlton and have no control over what they do for the rest of the season, my preference was for them to win. Better to play against teams that have nothing to play for when we come up against the Dockers late in the season.

Apologies to QD but the consensus is that Swan Street is more appropriate to Richmond (interchangeable with Punt Road). But Lulie Street is Collingwood!

Well, they did it. Now for the post match

Yes, they would be photos of the final scoreboard in each of the last 4 games that VDB has played in - all Melbourne wins - by an average of 42 points.

Wrong. They have a historical connection - that’s their birthplace and their original home. The MCG is ours and we should never let them forget it (even when we play them on foreign soil).

Great sides usually find ways to win the close ones ... Round 17, 1964 Hawthorn vs Melbourne Saturday 15 August Venue: Glenferrie Oval Attendance: 20,000 B Crompton Massey Leahy HB Anderson Williams Davis C Dixon H Mann Adams HF Vagg P McLean Kenneally F Jacobs Bourke Emselle Foll Wise Barassi Rov Townsend 19/20 Bartlett Watson Aside from the finals, this game was Melbourne’s most important win for the season. The four point victory over Hawthorn effectively ended the Hawks’ season while it consolidated a semi final appearance for the Demons who became the only opposition team to win at the muddy Glenferrie Oval which had been waterlogged earlier in the week after constant heavy rains. The game was close up till just after the half time break when the Hawks broke away to take a 16 point lead at three-quarter time but the Demons were a disciplined outfit that would never give in against adversity even as a number of players went down with injury. Veteran wingman Brian Dixon who had been quiet early changed wings at the break and changed the tide with 11 final quarter kicks. The game was in the balance until late in the final term when Hassa Mann goalled with a miracle kick from an acute angle on the boundary line to put the Demons in front. Hawthorn 3.2.20 6.3.39 9.8.62 10.9.69 Melbourne 2.3.15 6.8.44 6.11.47 10.13.73 Goals Jacobs 3 H Mann 2 Bartlett Bourke Dixon Townsend Vagg Best Crompton Dixon Adams Davis Williams H Mann Reserves Melbourne 10.8.68 defeated Hawthorn 9.11.65 Goals Andrew Carlson Wood 2 Lord Lynch Slade Vearing Best Foster Robbie Leitch Under 19s Melbourne 12.14.86 defeated Hawthorn 7.12.58 Goals Schultz 4 Stone Wight 2 Feldman McNab Reinholdt Russell Best Russell Jones Millard

Not for the first time in recent seasons have the Demons gone into a game against the Magpies with their hopes for the season on the line. It happened late in 2017 and Melbourne was left lamenting. If the club want to prove it stands for something then it must win games like today with fierce attack on the ball and pressure at the contest from the start.

Agreed. It should be What they’re saying at Lulie Street (which abuts the traditional home at Victoria Park).

An interesting early umpiring decision. Played me with ball tacked, 360 degrees and penalised holding the ball. Happened a few times last week - play on.

Burgo said on the MFC site that there’s a scratch match against Collingwood (both clubs are in the Maroochydore hub) for the reserves players which would provide some insIght into who will play in the main game. If there are any track watchers up on the Sunshine Coast, this is your opportunity to be the first with the news.

Cometh the hour ...

Order to end of Round 11 - Adelaide 1 12 20 27 42 49 62 Brisbane Lions 18 19 39 66 Carlton 6 25 43 Collingwood 13 32 40 69 Essendon 10 44 65 70 71 Fremantle 5 28 Geelong 11 16 17 35 Gold Coast Suns 7 26 36 72 GWS Giants 30 48 67 Hawthorn 4 22 41 47 59 63 Melbourne 23 46 60 61 North Melbourne 3 9 29 58 64 Port Adelaide 24 31 37 51 55 Richmond 14 33 50 68 St Kilda 15 57 73 Sydney 2 21 54 56 West Coast Eagles 34 52 53 Western Bulldogs 8 38 45

The run home after Round 11:- 1 PORT ADELAIDE Played 11, 36 pts, 142.7% TO COME Geelong Hawthorn Collingwood Essendon North Melbourne Sydney 2 BRISBANE LIONS Played 11, 32 pts, 119.6% TO COME North Melbourne St Kilda Carlton Collingwood Gold Coast Sydney 3 GEELONG Played 11, 28 pts, 130.7% TO COME Port Adelaide Adelaide Essendon Richmond Sydney Western Bulldogs 4 WEST COAST Played 10, 28 pts, 117.3% TO COME Hawthorn GWS Giants Essendon North Melbourne Richmond St Kilda Western Bulldogs 5 ST KILDA Played 11, 28 pts, 111.6% TO COME Essendon Brisbane GWS Giants Hawthorn Melbourne West Coast 6 RICHMOND Played 11, 26 pts, 116.6% TO COME Gold Coast Essendon Adelaide Fremantle Geelong West Coast 7 COLLINGWOOD Played 11, 26 pts, 116.0% TO COME Melbourne North Melbourne Brisbane Carlton Gold Coast Port Adelaide 8 GWS GIANTS Played 10, 24 pts, 104.7% TO COME Sydney West Coast Adelaide Carlton Fremantle Melbourne St Kilda 9 ESSENDON Played 10, 22 points, 90.0% TO COME St Kilda Richmond Geelong Hawthorn Melbourne Port Adelaide West Coast 10 MELBOURNE Played 10, 20 points, 109.9% TO COME Collingwood Western Bulldogs Essendon Fremantle GWS Giants St Kilda Sydney 11 W. BULLDOGS Played 11, 20 points, 89.9% TO COME Adelaide Melbourne Fremantle Geelong Hawthorn West Coast 12 GOLD COAST Played 11, 18 points, 100.9% TO COME Richmond Carlton Brisbane Collingwood Hawthorn North Melbourne 13 CARLTON Played 10, 16 points, 94.7% TO COME Fremantle Gold Coast Adelaide Brisbane Lions Collingwood GWS Giants Sydney 14 FREMANTLE Played 10, 16 points, 88.2% TO COME Carlton Sydney GWS Giants Melbourne North Melbourne Richmond Western Bulldogs 15 HAWTHORN Played 10, 16 points, 85.2% TO COME West Coast Port Adelaide Adelaide Essendon Gold Coast St Kilda Western Bulldogs 16 NORTH MELB Played 11, 12 points, 82.1% TO COME Brisbane Collingwood Fremantle Gold Coast Port Adelaide West Coast 17 SYDNEY Played 10, 12 points, 78.2% TO COME GWS Giants Fremantle Brisbane Lions Carlton Geelong Melbourne Port Adelaide 18 ADELAIDE Played 11, 0 points, 55.5% TO COME Western Bulldogs Geelong Carlton GWS Giants Hawthorn Richmond