Freddy Fuschia

I think that in the tradition of our great game, we should take things one thread at a time.

Worried about our ruck stocks in the situation where we have Maxy and then daylight to our next legitimate ruckman with some serious doubts as to whether either Mitch King or Lachie Filipovic are going to make it. I hope Goodwin’s comments about Max being good to go for Sunday are on the mark because otherwise we are going to have to rely on makeshift ruckmen like TMac and Pedo.

This should be a big game for Kent and Hunt with their chances of breaking into the team before the finals depending on big performances.

I think JKH's name was associated with Carlton at some time in the past. He might be the subject of interest to them again at the end of the year.

Oh, a minor strain, OK. NOt 4 to 6 ... more likely 6 - 8 then. <sarcasm meter>

As with Viney and Hibberd, expect 4 to 6.

You know what they say. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. I don't care what the line says ... I want us to be in front at the end of the game and hopefully, a few of our competitors fall down this weekend as well.

Stewart Dew has also flagged a number of changes but with the suspension of May, their injury list (including their other skipper in Lynch) and the fact that their NEAFL side is 8th in a 10 team comp, where do they get their players from to replace players dropped, suspended etc?

Assuming the above is correct and in view of the fact that no new injuries were reported from the weekend, this is what we can expect from the next injury list:- Melbourne injury list: round 20 Jayden Hunt (ankle) – available Mitch King (concussion) – available Harry Petty (rested) – available Mitch Hannan (knee) – available James Harmes (hand) – available Dion Johnstone (quadriceps ) – available Michael Hibberd (quadriceps) – 2 weeks Jack Viney (toe) – 2-3 weeks Jake Lever (knee) – season Corey Maynard (hip) – season Billy Stretch (toe) – season Meaning only five players on the injury list with two significant players due to return soon.

6. Clayton Oliver 5. Tom McDonald 4. James Harmes 3. Christian Petracca 2. Jordan Lewis 1. Angus Brayshaw

We lost two in form players in Nathan Jones and Jack Watts for several weeks from injuries incurred during that game and lost more in the ensuing weeks. This was also during that period when we had 4 successive 6-day breaks and we eventually just ran out of steam. This time around, there are no excuses.

Phillie now looking pretty good for the play offs ... something you wouldn’t have thought possible at the start of the season.

The recent test series in SA v India was highlighted by low scoring innings. Our lead should be enough.

Does Jake Lever qualify as a “big fish”?

How very true. We could already have had a grand final spot virtually parceled up with a win over Freo had we kicked just that little bit straighter. Yesterday’s results worked a bit for us. If the Pies can beat the Dogs today then our destiny will be in our own hands as we could definitely then make it by winning both remaining games.

How do you measure a person's strength? There are a number of ways you can do that in a gym - e.g. the bench press. On a football field you can tell it by the way players can burst through packs, shrug off tackles and lay hard tackles on opponents. I don't think it's all that difficult to make an assessment as to whether a player is strong by observing how he plays. It's probably more difficult to determine the relative strengths of two players. Physical strength is an attribute of both Maynard and Tyson and of course, we've had more opportunities to see the latter in the pressure of an AFL game. Mental strength is another thing altogether and that's where Jack Viney comes into it because he's shown that he's up there with the best in both departments despite his size.

Then there's Jack Viney.

There's an interesting guide to the draft in The Age that looks at where each club's list is at and what their needs are in the draft: 2017 Club by Club Guide MELBOURNE Draft picks: 29, 31, 36, 47 DEPTH CHART KEY DEFENDERS: Jake Lever, Oscar McDonald, Sam Frost SMALL/MEDIUM DEFENDERS: Michael Hibberd, Neville Jetta, Jayden Hunt, Christian Salem, Joel Smith, Josh Wagner, Pat McKenna MIDFIELDERS: Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson, Jordan Lewis, Bernie Vince, Angus Brayshaw, Alex Neal-Bullen, Aaron Vandenberg, Harley Balic, Billy Stretch, Tom Bugg, Corey Maynard KEY FORWARDS: Jesse Hogan, Tom McDonald, Sam Weideman, Cam Pedersen, Tim Smith, Declan Keilty SMALL/MEDIUM FORWARDS: Christian Petracca, Jeff Garlett, Mitch Hannan, Jake Melksham, Dean Kent, James Harmes, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Dion Johnstone RUCKS: Max Gawn, Mitch King, Lachlan Filipovic Melbourne have brought in most of their trade targets in recent seasons and still kept a reasonable draft hand, even though many of their fans had concerns about giving up former No. 1 pick Jack Watts for selection 31. The Dees have done the hard yards at the draft in recent seasons and have nailed enough picks in the last few years to ensure they have a very impressive young core, with few clear weaknesses. To nitpick, most of their best midfielders are primarily inside bulls, so while they have some good movers off half-back they could probably do with some more run through the midfield. Looking at who might be available when the Demons have a glut of picks from 29 to 36, Jack Petruccelle's pace could well be an option, while Ryley Stoddart and Zac Bailey are expected to fall in the second or third round. The Demons have also been linked to Oskar Baker, formerly of the Brisbane Lions' academy, another known for dash. The delisting of Jake Spencer leaves them a little short in the ruck, even though Tom McDonald and Cam Pedersen did decent jobs during the year with Max Gawn injured. It wouldn't be a surprise if Melbourne plucked a mature-age rookie ruck to provide further cover.

What time is Monday's training?

Good to see that we're not going down the path of trying to recycle mediocre footballers. We have four vacancies - give the youngsters a go.

Pity - His grandfather was a legend of the club.

We have a CHF. His name is Jesse Hogan.

Watching Hawthorn's pathetic effort on Thursday night and Fremantle the weekend before makes me despair about the valuable 8 premiership points that we pizzed away earlier this year against those two.

I see they've brought in former Essendon listed ruckman Gach Nyuon to give King and Keilty a hand in the ruck. Casey has struggled so far in the ruck department. Does anyone know how tall Nyuon is?

Hallelujah brother.