CHF

So? It was obviously a very quick exhaustive process.

I have a couple of friends that are close to the admin at the club and in the past I have heard some of the names that are being looked at and chatted to. This year it has been very quiet and there has not been much information to pass on. Everything I have heard is really in the public domain. Preuss and Hannan moving out are deals that MFC believe will be relatively easy to sort out and, as I understand it, will be simple deals standing alone. I have heard that we are into Brown big time but that the situation at Norf has muddied the waters. 60/40 that we get him is what I have been told. Phillips ahead of Isaac Smith is our preference, But a hard hand to pay to ensure we do not miss out on both. Big Macs on the table and not a lot of interest. Oliver is not going anywhere and nor is Brayshaw is what I have been told. As I said, really only what is out there in public. Nothing to back this up but I think there might be a surprise for the MFC with a relatively well known player wanting to come in the door. As I said, I have heard no whispers on this but over the last couple of years we have had some long term nurturing of opposition players pay off for uou and I would be surprised if we have not done a similar thing looking at this year. I hope so.

Out of interest, who would be your preference out of Cameron, Brown and Wright?

I think that this is very good news for the team. Viney is a tough player that needs to refine his skills and work on his delivery and not getting caught with the ball. I consider him to be limited by these two elements of his game. However, he is an essential part of the team make-up and brings an edge of aggression that we need. Viney, Petracca, Oliver and Brayshaw will be the core of our midfield for the next few seasons. I do not see them trading Brayshaw.

Very pleased with these signings particularly, with the signing of Petty. I liked what I saw of him in the few games he played. Has a bit about him that seemed to get into the oppositions heads. Will be interested to watch his progress and to see where he ends up playing. Sparrow has a good set of players along side him in the midfield to learn from.

I think that to improve in comparison to the other teams it will always be a combination of upgrading the list and also internal improvement. Last year we brought in Langdon and Tomlinson at the trade table and Pickett, Jackson and Rivers via the draft and all 5, even the first year players, I believe improved the team. Individual player improvement from 2019 showed with Petracca and May having top years, Lever, Hibberd and Weideman improving on last years performance and Gawn maintaining his usual high standards. Some went backwards due to age and/or injuries. Players like Jones and Jetta I do not believe will be any better next year and both dropped off in form and performance this season. T Mac followed on from last season with a very poor season and I do not see much improvement next year. I was encouraged by the performance of Baker in the last few games as I was with Hunt. These are the players I see as having the capacity to improve. Oliver - with Petracca stepping up his quality this season I think that it may free up Oliver to be a bit more creative out of the stoppages, It is going to be difficult for opposition teams to shut down both. Viney - At the moment he just gets caught too often with the ball. not sure you can train 'vision' into a player but if that is not possible he needs move the ball on quickly and that means support. Brayshaw - To me his lack of top speed is mitigated by the way he finds position and seems to have time and space to use the ball. He needs to be fit and confident. Harmes - get him back to a run with role and set him free. Weideman - Honestly, I have him in the 'not sure' basket. He could be better than he was this season but I am not sure if he is going to improve through a maturing body, a better structured and supporting forward set up or getting a good dose of confidence. Maybe all three. Fristch - he looks to have all the tools but I am not sure that the tools are sharp enough. Another pre-season, a lot of kicking practice and someone to tel him about tackling. Young players like Jackson, Rivers, Sparrow and Pickett will be better after another per-season and some coaching. Another area of improvement is in the overall team performance. I believe that we were fitter this year and with another year of well structured training I think we can have even better fitness levels next year. With that should come some improved decision making deeper into games. The last area I can see internal improvement is in the coaching and tactical areas. We need to get our structures right at stoppages and center bounces and we need a good, simple effective forward structure with some built in game day restructures (plan B, C, D.....etc) as required. Not all of the players listed above will improve and some will go backwards.

What I have a problem understanding is that if the opposition can work out how to rove to max, why can't we work it out? To me, this really is a major weakness.

We have three players in the AA squad; Gawn, Petracca and Oliver who would be the min three of the four at center bounces and at stoppages and yet we are ranked 15th for clearances. Ranked 12th at center bounces and 16th at stoppages. How can this be so when we have max in the center and we are ranked 3rd for hit outs? Whoever is in charge of Midfield coaching is either not doing his job, the players are not doing what they are coached to do or we are just too damn predictable. Each game this season I was so annoyed that we we not doing better with clearances. How do we fix it?

Agree with that! Where are our goals going to come from?

Hibberd in Jetta out.... Official Only change

Not the UK.... in Europe so it is an hour better for me. Still Not a good time to knock the top off a bottle. Look around for a wine from Domaine Rouge Bleu. A red called Lunatique from the vineyard. Without a doubt it should be the MFC club drink for the name only at least. i still have a few bottles of the 2011 to drink during the Freo/Bulldogs game if we are still alive.

I have to admit that I am having a bit of trouble getting enthusiastic about this match. Besides the fact that it starts at 6.10am my time we should just not be in the position we are. having to rely on other results after being in the position we were in is all a bit debilitating. In most games to date I have had a stab at the changes I wold like to see but when the team comes out i can just not fathom some of the decisions. There seems to be a number of games that we have lost at selection I just shake my head. I think last week we should not have had Jetta there and I do not want to see him in this week evenif he is fit. bring in Hibberd if he is fit. if not, Lockhart. Tomlinson to cover in defence. Midfield went ok and I would give that group another run. In the forward 50 ( I hesitate to call it "The forwards" or "the Attack") we need to find some effective tall targets - we have none at the moment. Brown went ok but Wiedeman was blanketed. I would look to bring in Jackson but retain both Brown and Wiedeman. Coaches play mix and match in the forwards with those three to see if we can get some effective matchup. I would be tempted to 'rest' Melksham. My prediction? GWS to beat Saints by not very much and we win by not enough. Bulldogs kick a point after the siren to win it and leave us tearing our bleeding hearts out.

Fritsch just look like he is not getting any enjoyments out of his footy.

Been away from home a long time now with just a few visits back home every now and then. Have grown to appreciate the old world wines with some favorite reds in Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley as well as the reds from Tuscany. Some very good drops around Europe. Love the whites from Sancerre.

Hmmmm... sitting here in my abode in Europe with a raging hangover from last night. I thought it might be amusing to drink large quantities of grape juice from my latest vineyard find. a small place in the Rhône valley to the north of Avignon called Domaine Rouge Bleu. They produce a Grenache called Lunatique. Seriously, how could I not consume vast amounts?

There is justification to drop a hell of a lot of that team after that performance. Put all the names in a hat and draw out 6 to drop. Start with a clean sheet of paper and a list of available players and start all over. Defence: May, Lever, Rivers and Hibberd (if fit) are the only 4 I would pencil in as certainties. Ruck: Max Mid Field: Pettracca, Oliver, Brayshaw, Viney, Langdon, Tomilinson and Harmes (Had his best game of the year) Forwards: Can think of no one I would have as certainties. FB: Lever - May - Jetta HBF: Rivers - Hibberd - Salem ? Langdon - Petracca - Tomlinson HFF: Brayshaw - Brown - Harmes F: Pickett - Weideman - Bedford Fol: Gawn - Oliver - Viney IC: ANB - Baker - Lockhart - Preuss 5 fresh sets of legs in that team, Jetta, Bedford, Baker, Lockhart and Preuss. Out - Melksham, Jones, OMac, Wagner and some other noddy. Preuss can back up Max and both can spend time forward when required. I still do not understand how we can have one of the best 2 ruckmen in the comp and lose the clearances week after week. After that game it all smacks of re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.

What a dog's breakfast that was. We were all over the place and played with no structure, confidence or intelligence. Incredibly poor effort. I am sure that there will be the usual mutterings about taking 'learnings' from the game and the disappointment that we did not play our 'Brand' of footy but that is all just so much babble and BS. There needs to be clarity of thought and message from the coaching panel and there was no evidence of that at all this evening.

Wooohooo!!! September football with the Demons

Insightful.

Fair enough. I have a different opinion on Omac's worth. So much of what I see in the criticism of him on this site just looks like a knee jerk reaction that is not based on evidence. he generally positions himself well and has excellent disposal efficiency. Yep, I understand he will get beaten at times either on a one on one or a lead but so will lever and May at times.

Possibly Rivers gets first crack at Papley and Smith to try and fill Hibberd's position with run out of the back half.

So do I. The other reason that they might have retained him is because of the short tun around to the next game. they may be looking to ensure we keep the key defenders as fresh as possible by rotating them and resting them as much as possible during the game.

Why? He was part of a defensive unit that put on the best display for the season. May may not have been able to perform the way he did if OMac was not there.

No problem from me with any of the outs. Giving Smith another run might work but it is not the way I would have gone. Would have brought in Lockhart instead. Harmes I will be watching closely a I think he has been playing well blow his best form and with a lack of confidence. I hope he turns it around in this game. Good to see Omac and Wagner retain their spots.

ANB, Harmes, Fritsch and Smith in. AvB, Hibberd, Pickett And Hannan out