Deeoldfart

There was a suggestion on Casey radio last night that OMac did not return to the field after half time for similar reasons. Probably BS, but it has also been suggested Hibberd had some back stiffness at training on Thursday. Maybe precautionary?

Wing / HF I think

Yep, but very quiet.

Bugg now has 5!

Casey 30 points up at 3/4 time after 3 straight for Nth Ballarat to finish the quarter.. Commentators saying Kent has had no influence.

Tom Bugg starring tonight. Speculation on Casey radio is that he was dropped from the senior team because of his over use of handball (16 of 22 disposals) against Freo..

Off the ball hit on Gus apparently.

Expletive! expletive! if that's true!

Some (minor?) speculation in today's HUN that Hibberd may not play: "will make his debut for the Demons if he can overcome a stiff back, which troubled him yesterday at training ........" and "The former Essendon defender, .................... completed the slippery session despite obvious discomfort." I expect someone saw him having a back massage, and invented the rest. Any sign of "obvious discomfort" , Saty?

I said it in the Oliver thread, I said it in the Hogan thread and I'll repeat it in this thread. I hate our players being in the media for the wrong reasons, no matter how trivial the 'issue'. Player responsibilities extend both sides of the boundary line.

This is what Plappy had to say about JKH's game against W'town on the weekend. "Jay Kennedy-Harris: Jay had 18 disposals, seven marks, four tackles and four inside 50s. It was his second week back after an injury layoff – where he sustained a broken arm in the pre-season. His running and ability to do it at a high level was a real highlight. Jay was very busy and he’ll be pushing for a recall to the AFL side.

Good story and a high praise for the AFL Coach's Assn. and our Club's medical staff. Also a timely reminder to everyone to have annual skin checks. As it was in Craig's case, it could be a matter of life and death.

6. Watts 5. Garlett 4. Hunt 3. Oliver 2. Petracca 1. Spencer

Agree 100%. Nev has worked extremely hard and with enormous discipline and commitment to become one of the best small defenders in the game. Lewis has more natural talent, but my gut feel is that Nev beats him hands down on work ethic, discipline.and commitment.

I agree uncle, but after last week I'd prefer to wait until I see two fingers go up.

Exactly AW. It was the right decision at that time, but poorly executed.

Last week was a false dawn for Freo ....... an aberration. This week Goody will put Plan B into full operation (we saw some cameos in the JLT series), we'll recover our goal kicking mojo (losing it last week was another aberration), and we'll have a comfortable 7 goal win. Simply speaking, we have too much talent, we'll be too strong around the contest, too disciplined, too resilient, and we have a much better game plan. Further, we won't go in with big heads like the Bullies did against Freo last Sunday. Well this is what I've been telling myself all week, so I'll stick with it until at least 10 5 minutes into the first quarter.

There seems to be a bit more to the Hogan story than what we have been told so far; See this statement from Jonesy on the MFC website: "While Gawn's injury woes should see him back mid-season, problems affecting forward Jesse Hogan may take longer to solve. The star forward was photographed smoking at a Perth music festival on the weekend while on leave from the club during a two-week suspension. While he refused to go into specifics, Jones conceded the club was helping his young teammate with personal issues. "It's been reported that Jesse has a bit going on personally, which (as a club) we're not willing to go into, (but) I think we he's ready he'll probably talk about that," Jones said. "We don't condone (his smoking), but we'll support him through the stuff he's going through at the moment." Is there a possibility that we won't be seeing him against Richmond and beyond(?) or is this just MFCSS kicking in?

I like it! It helps my ageing eyes, I suspect it will be even more significant post match on Saturday, and moreso again on Sunday morning.

From what we've seen through the JLT series and 15 minutes in his debut game, Joel has come a long way in a very short time. He seems to have many strong attributes to build on, and based on very limited exposure, he already looks pretty comfortable at the top level. I even reckon I detected a sense (tempered) excitement in Goody's voice and body language when he spoke about Joel post round 1 ........... but maybe I'm getting a bit ahead of myself there!

Just a '4 letter word' from me ................... and now it's time move forward with Jake..

I just hate seeing the Melbourne Football Club in the media for the wrong reasons!. That's all I want to say on the matter.

Just being stupid. Not the first time eh?

If he cops a clip from the Club for being stupid, he'll probably sulk for the next month. Wake up Jesse!

Lots of comments about the high 'cost' of the two late goals to Geelong in the third. I couldn't agree more. Not only did they cost us a handy lead, but they handed the momentum back to Geelong, and we never really regained the ascendency. This is where the leadership and positioning of Jordan Lewis would have been invaluable. I've noticed repeatedly during the first two rounds (and the JLT), that he was always on hand to marshall the troops and play a role down back himself in circumstances like these. Crying over spilt milk I know, but ..................