Vipercrunch

6 minutes ago, 1964_2 said:

Disagree with this view BM. If Scott didn't want to raise it, he could have easily shut it down (re response to Selwood comments), rather than add layers of depth to it as he did. 

 

 

Agree with this.  I didnt see 360, but in the press conference he was volunteering way more information that the reporters seemed to be chasing.  He was very expansive and seemed to very much want to have it on the record and in the public domain.

Maybe someone who wanted to close down the discussion had spoken to him in between the press conference and 360?

2 hours ago, Bystander said:

Isn't that a little pessimistic? I would have thought Southport was the big test. Relatively settled team, for VFL, heading north. Gold Coast will be a couple short as emergencies to go to Adelaide, I expect.

Weather predicted is sunny and 22 degrees...biggest problem should be sunstroke.

Shame no Majak.

Apart from no Majak, it looks an extremely strong team and should be good viewing tomorrow. 

It always frustrates me when umpires don't call back bad centre bounces, and last night, the first bounce was terrible!!  Dogga had no chance to contest it and they called play on.  

Another frustrating thing with the umpiring last night was how long they were giving players before calling play on after marks and free kicks.  It seemed an eternity.  It slowed the game down so much and seemed to go against everything the AFL wants from the game (quick game with the ball always in motion)

I got quite worried when he grabbed the top of his hamstring.  Very relieved it was a corky.

He was superb though for all the reasons mentioned above.  I loved his couple of fend offs also 💪 🤛.  

1 hour ago, Engorged Onion said:

Think about it in this way... loading right now, doesn't mean there is not further loading. ie:Planned Progression...

@BW511 can explain it more thoroughly than I could.

Following on from that, the bye week is the perfect timing for the planned recovery period as the players have to have 4 days away from the club (it’s in the CBA). If we had a longer break between games over the bye instead of 9 days we could have considered beginning the next 4 week block, but the break was too short and I think the club wanted to make a statement last night.

I have no doubt we have another 3-4 weeks of loading to come and expect just like this time last year, there will be some performances over that period that appear poor and fans and media will question effort etc etc but will really be severe fatigue. It’s about maximising performance in September. 

4 minutes ago, Hannibal Inc. said:

Good teams with aspirations to be great, or even a dynasty team, don't lose 4 games in a row.  Especially at their home ground.

They need to find a way to get it done tonight.  Much will be revealed.

Richmond 2017 did.  

6 hours ago, layzie said:

 

The only VIC clubs I’d be ok to see win it are the Cats (unpopular I know) and maybe St Kilda and even then the idea that other Vic footy fans would get to be there for it is still too soon.  
 

Please no.  I live in Geelong.  

Win

Loss

Win

Draw

Loss

That was our post bye form line last season, so my expectations are somewhat tempered.  I'd love to know what this 9 day break has looked like in regards to loading.  Part of me suspects the combination of the shorter break and the keeness to get a win against the team who most consider our biggest threat will have the team looking totally different to what we have seen the last 5 games.  I think there will be some flatness and sub par performances to come in July, but I have a sneaky suspicion we'll have a strong win tonight.

7 hours ago, Engorged Onion said:

Looking forward to some 'absolute' statements' in reference to a loss in this thread. 👌

They are hilarious aren't they 😂🤣😂

It's a throwback to rounds 1-6 last year when (due to injuries) we went with just TMac as our tall forward, Fritta as the mid-size forward then a bunch of smaller players. 

We won all 6 games and averaged over 90 points a game, so it certainly can work. 

On 6/17/2022 at 9:42 PM, layzie said:

Yeah almost impossible not to like Brisbane. My great uncle was a Roy boy, no qualms with them winning it if we don't  

I used to think the same but they sooked it up and started playing quite dirty when the game was over against us in last years final.  Zorko is particular has quickly become one of my least liked players in the league with his constant whinging to the umpires and other acts of poor sportsmanship.

Clearly we're suffering from LOPH (Late Onset Premiership Hangover), and at precisely that moment in the Fremantle game, the entirety of the MFC organisation suddently succumbed to this darstadly malaise.

I love how he very carefully considers his response so he doesn't give too much away while still being as informative as possible.  

True or not, it's nothing more than some mildly piece of trivia which in the end is utterly meaningless.

4 minutes ago, ElDiablo14 said:

He's just like a big kid playing at his local footy club, you can see how he enjoys every single time he is out there hurting people and grabbing the pill.

Has there ever been any back to back champion player of the year?

Gary Ablett won 3 years running 2007-09.  That's it.

Goody won in 2006 😀

15 minutes ago, ElDiablo14 said:

Would be great to discuss how many B&F Clarry will win when he is done playing footy... 😲 I am continuously gobsmacked and in awe when I see him play. 

Top 5 MFC players all time?

He's special.  Leading the AFLCA MVP again too, despite Gawn and Trac also getting plenty of votes.

3 minutes ago, D4Life said:

I read it as if you don’t get your loading right, no point making the finals, as you won’t win it!

Yeah, that's how I interpreted what he said as well.  It's just his opinion though of course.

14 minutes ago, binman said:

Not quite sure that is what Scott was saying ie missing top 4 is not the be all and end of all.

Be that as it may, im firmly of the view that finishing top 4 is absolutely critical.

"If we finish ninth because we try to prime ourselves to be at our best later in the year, then we'll live with that." (Scott in the press conference after their WCE game)

If he'll live with missing finals completely, you'd think he'll be ok with finishing outside the 4.

I shudder at the thought of another trade period trying to get a fair deal over the line with Peter frickin Bell....

2 minutes ago, CYB said:

I didn't see the presser so not sure if he actually said that. I think we definitely showed what getting it right looks like by steamrolling teams in the finals. So don't disagree with the sentiment.

But top 4 gives you the double chance and a potential weeks reset for any niggles to get right. That is a huge advantage. 

There's a link to the presser here with some time blocks to specifically listen to (assuming that like most, you have zero interest in listening to Chris Scott for any longer than you have to)

Top 4 is of course preferred, but I think going forward teams will now lean towards risking a top 4 finish in order to make sure they nail their in season loading.

51 minutes ago, CYB said:

History will tell you that finishing outside of the top 4 is an incredible disadvantage. Only Dog in 2016 have bucked that trend in the last 20+ years. 

If we finish outside of the top 4, you can pretty much kiss the 22 premiership good-bye. Its hard to back-up 4 weeks of back-to-back intense finals games. 

Time will tell, but I think we'll see it more and more often in the coming years.  Chris Scott believes loading is the only way to win flags and is willing to risk finals by doing it. He clearly thinks missing top 4 is not the be all and end of all.  

4 minutes ago, John Demonic said:

If we prepare well and aren't hit too hard by injuries, we should finish top 2. But I take your point, I reckon after last year, we can win from anywhere in the top 8. But the variable will be how much of a rest the GF/Prelim opponents will have. And are we back to the round 24 bye, or do we have another pre-gf bye? 

God I hope not.  That was horrible last year.

12 minutes ago, buck_nekkid said:

If all this loading theory is true, then we had season 1 (first 10 matches), loading phase (11-13 plus bye).  Now we are at the season 2 (last H/A games) before the final action.  

It all begins again this week.  We really need to get back to kicking winning scores and winning games THIS WEEK, and create the dominance that sets us up for the finals.   We have been poor going forward the last 6 weeks, this has to change.

If we are serious about going back to back, then no team should scare us anywhere.

There's plenty of evidence (MFC last season, Chris Scott's comment from the weekend to name two) to suggest there is another 4-5 week block of loading to come.  Don't expect the form and execution turnaorund to happen until at least rounds 18 or 19.

9 minutes ago, 1964_2 said:

If we are following this graph, you would think the first 4 week block has been done.

planned recovery during the bye. Come out and smash the lions.

Then another 4 week loading block up until R18/19. 

 

-      If we beat lions & crows and lose to Cats & Port we will be 12-5 heading into our R19 clash with the dogs (obviously could be a different combination, but 2W, 2L is probably a fair assumption during this period)

-     Then worst case we win 3 of our last 5 to finish up 15-7, best case we finish strong like last year winning our last 5 to be 17-5. 

-       In summary, I am of the opinion that 5W, 4L will be our worst case, and 7W, 2L will be our best case scenarios from here

-       Sure injuries are the key risk to the above, but it needs to be remembered, during our 10-0 patch, all the talk was how amazing our depth is.   I believe this to still be the case. 

 

 

I've tipped us to go 5W-4L, finishing with 15-7.  If that means we finish outside the top 4 then so be it.  As long as we aren't overly affected by injuries (and other uncontrollables), we can still win the flag from outside the top 4 if we gain all the benefits from this period that we are hoping for.

Looking at our next 5 games, theres every reason to suggest our toughest opponents could very well be Port and Western Bulldogs who can't risk loading.  Geelong have made it public they are loading and should expect poor performances over the next period and Brisbane looks like they are too.

I have no doubt if we prepare well now and aren't hit too hard by injuries, we can win from outside the top 4.