Lord Travis

Well Nicholls proved yet again he is a horrible umpire. Standing right in front of them during that incident and didn’t even reverse the free kick for a punch to the throat. He’s a despicable cheater. How the [censored] is he still employed?! It has to be some sort of conspiracy!

Completely disagree with this. This loss is solely on the players. We laid 34 tackles for the entire match. 34. That is the lowest tackle count by any team in 2018. West Coast laid 59 despite having the ball for the majority of the match too. 34 tackles is an indictment on the players. It shows a complete lack of effort, work rate and intensity. You don’t have to be skilled to tackle, all you have to do is try. They did not try. Anyway the season is over and we made big steps forward this year. Our core of young talented kids now have finals experience under their belt and I expect a period of sustained success for the years to come. We should be contenders for a flag over the next few years and it’s exciting to finally get close again!

Vanders has been good this second half. Thank god someone has the balls to take on the opposition instead of firing off a panicked handball.

He’s not alone, but Joel Smith has had a shocker today. Not sure it was a great move bringing him in for a prelim so early in his career. He still hasn’t shown he’s even afl standard, let alone ready to play finals.

Worst half by a team in a final since 1927. That’s how bad we’ve been. The midfield today has been Neeld era bad. 18 tackles in a half in a final. Less than half be opposition who have had the ball the whole time. Pathetic effort. So disappointing to completely sh*t the bed after all the good work to this point.

This is a horrendous performance. It’s pretty much undone all the good work of this finals campaign. How disappointing.

I'm ecstatic with that win. Made a $100 bet with a mate at work about two months back that Richmond wouldn't win the flag. The team that finishes top of the ladder is rarely the premier. Only happened 2-3 times this millennium so far. It's a mindset thing. The team coming for them have nothing to lose and throw everything they have at them and take risks. The team on top have everything to lose, everyone against them, and don't take risks. Happens nearly every year. The Pies were brilliant in the first half. It just goes to show if you work hard, keep up the pressure and intensity around the ball, it doesn't matter who you're playing, you are a chance. Credit to them for making the grand final despite massive injury list. It's a fantastic achievement and they've learnt a lot of respect for their efforts. If we win tomorrow it's a Melbourne vs Collingwood grand final. Nobody would've picked that, and it would be an epic. Let's hope it happens! Fire up Dees!!!

Spot on. Rance is a decent footballer when he's allowed to roam around loose without a man, but as soon as he has to go one on one he is poor. A legitimate liability, and every time this year that coaches have gone through his man he's been exposed big time. Got smashed by Josh Jenkins, Kennedy, Melksham, Cox and then De Grey tonight. He was directly responsible for 6 goals tonight. He was atrocious, and yet the commentators barely mentioned his horrible performance. Tigers would've been better of with Tom Gillies at full back tonight! Rance is one of the most overrated players of the modern era. It's laughable to hear him discussed as an all time great defender alongside Scarlett, Jakovich etc. He's not a pinch of sh*t on them. Seeing him get thrown around like a sack of sh*t tonight was the highlight of the year for me outside of Melbourne's performances.

So Collingwood vs Melbourne grand final next week!

I think it’s something you get when you’ve been near a Collingwood supporter...

He was at it again the other night doing his best to turn the game in the Hawks favor. I got a warning from security when I unloaded a barrage of expletives after one of the incorrect free kicks he paid against us. The guys either a deadest cheat or blind and incapable of performing his job. I still haven’t found out where he lives... ?

Stratton and O'Meara out helps us a lot. Stratton is their backline general and a decent defender, his absence will help us a lot. I'm glad to see no change. Back in the players and structure that are winning!

Did anyone here actually read the article? The title was a bit of a trick. He's surpassed his brother in games played without kicking a goal now. Tom's settled up forward. Oscar's settled down back. He's developed well over the past 12 months and will be important for our club going forward. Hopefully a new contract is signed soon.

I'm praying for anyone but Nicholls. The game will be worse off with him umpiring, not to mention how much he favours the Hawks. He is a horrible umpire and it still mystifies me how he is employed in a role he is unable to perform adequately.

Hunt had back issues over pre-season, meaning he struggled to build fitness and confidence in his body. He had back issues in his first few season on the list, so it's an ongoing thing unfortunately. Once fit enough to play, he struggled with confidence and then multiple other injuries. When fit and in form, he's in the top 10 players IMO. He's got a really high ceiling, as his running is used as hard to defend as it is to attack. He's got unmatched speed, a great leap, and plays with flair. He's one of the few players I feel could be really effective on a wing for us long term. Last season he was bordering on AA half back flank form, nearly as damaging as Hibberd. He's still young, and with less than 50 games to his name I wouldn't trade him unless he was part of landing us a bonafide superstar.

LOL

No change to a winning formula! Lets belt these stuck up pr*cks!

He stood up big time the past few weeks and especially last night. That was a break out game. He’s always showed he could become a threat in the air and was already one of the most aggressive tacklers on the list. Last night he put it all together. Always knew he’d make it, and now it’s onwards and upwards! Weiiiidddddd!!!

Just went to Maccas to get some cheap grub to line my stomach. My order number was... 186. Not sure if that’s a good or bad omen ?

Not surprised. He’s the dirtiest player of the modern era, yet he never gets called on it. Dirty overrated piece of sh*t.

Correct, that was a key reason for it's creation. It was also intended to aid lower clubs to lure players without costing picks etc. All reasons aside, Free Agency has been the worst thing to happen to the game in my lifetime, and changes need to be made to stop players being able to go to top clubs. The reigning premiers (who are favourites to go back to back) have just had a club captain and All Australian standard key forward nominate them. They get stronger. The competition, and therefore the game, is worse off. It needs to change.

I like this rule too. Free Agency was introduced as an equalisation method so that lower placed clubs could attain players without the ned to trade. In reality, the lower placed clubs have just become feeders for the top clubs. Who would want to go to a team like Carlton and play in a team getting belted by 100 points every week when you can just go the Richmond/Hawthorn and get a premiership with minimal struggle. The best way to fix it is to put a rule in place where top 4 or top 8 teams are not allowed to sign free agents, but can lose them. This would stop the endless cycle of top teams being propped up, and mean if players want to leave their club then they'll have to move to a club where they earn the big bucks they're (usually) demanding.

Hit him harder until he’s incapable of whining due to be unconscious or gasping for air. Hit them hard Dees. Make those tackles hurt.

Nice interview with Spargo today. He says he was tired and it's been a long season, but Misson and co have been trying freshen up the first year players with some scheduled rests. Good player management, as Spargo and Fritsch have become handy players for us already. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2018-09-03/media-conference-charlie-spargo Viney in for Kent this week. If Tyson doesn't get up, then Hannan in too you would think.

This. We've struggled all year with teams that play a loose defender to intercept forward movements by foot. When we're playing well we lower our eyes and hit shorter leading targets. Hitting these targets means we maintain possession and force their players to come man us up, thus spreading them out further and creating more space for us to utilise. It also creates pressure on the opposition defenders. When we're really on, we also use lots of overlap running to build the pressure even further. Games like last weekend, we were hitting targets and running forward in waves with confidence. When we're panicked, we bomb long. Good teams don't do this. They pass backwards or sideways to maintain possession and open up gaps in opposition defence. Teams have identified we struggle with this and play a loose defender against us. No use winning the ball at stoppages if you're just handing it back to the opposition. The Hawks game should be reviewed as a perfect example of opposition coaching on how we can be beaten. Control our forward movement without bombing long to an out number we we will win comfortably.