Choko

Pea hearts. Playing for our season, they play 10 minutes of football.

Agree re Harmes. Being played in the wrong position. Hibbo had a shocker. Jetta fit? By the way, we will beat the Saints.

I think the game is gladiatorial and the reversal of the Vandenberg kick was just ridiculous.

Gosh... If we are 5-5 in 2 weeks with a game in hand, this forum will look a lot different!

I am a Goodwin fan. But... Although Carlton had 3 talls in their forward line, there was no reason to play Joel Smith back. He's just not a backman. He flies when he should stay down, tries to mark when he should punch. It wasn't good. And then we played Jetta on McKay. Inexplicable. Clarry did a great job, but with a midfield with very little impact, surely we could ask Harmes or Viney to 'tag' Cripps and then use our midfielders in a more attacking way. Rivers was amazing. Jackson showed great signs. But geez we had a lot of players not contribute, and most failed to contribute over 4 quarters. We won't get away with that too often.

Am I the only one who fears that this team, whilst probably not that far off the 22 that will play, is incredibly underwhelming? I think our only way forward is with blokes like Sparrow, Joel Smith, KK and some of the other kids being part of the team? vanDenberg clearly best 22 as well.

Not at $800K/year though

I think this is a more than optimistic view of our list TBH. I can make an argument for improvement - Langdon, pre-seasons, healthy list, but I can also make an argument that we will have a similar (8th - 12th) year next year.

Sorry Jaded - I hope you know I wasn't calling you incompetent of course... on second read, it might have read that way!! I was saying there is another option with this trade, and that is that the MFC is incompetent! I don't necessarily share your confidence about our off-field performance since Jackson retired. Jury is out for mine.

Or you're incompetent. Fingers crossed.

All I can say is, we better not be planning a big name trade, we better have it sorted ALREADY. If we don't use picks 3 and/or 8, or pick 8 in some combo to secure a needed gun, that has to be the stupidest trade of all time. One first rounder for a first, second and third rounder. FFS.

I haven't been through all the posts, so apologies if this has been covered, but my 3 take aways from last night were: - I thought Goodwin spoke well, and with credibility. He is passionate and committed, and has an elite mindset. I have confidence that the lessons of 2019 have been learned. Whether they can be taught, imparted and enacted, that remains to be seen of course. People want fire and brimstone, but that isn't how the 2020 player is built. - Jordan Lewis said, or at least clearly implied, that the group didn't work hard enough in the 2019 pre-season. It is the first admission I have heard that we essentially drank our own bathwater after a "successful" 2018. That is a worry, but something that can be rectified and is in our control (unlike some of the injuries). - When you look at the closeness of the players at Richmond, including those that didn't get picked to play in the GF, there is a clear difference between that and our players. I don't profess to have been up close with Richmond's team, but I did hear the way Hardwick spoke about it. The body language and behaviour of our players towards each other from senior blokes like Jones, Tom McDonald, do not give the appearance of the bond that is needed to get where we want to.

Well I have to say I haven't posted in quite some time, but I am totally and utterly sick of the same players, and the team generally, making the same mistakes week in week out. I don't want to name names for the players making the same errors week on week, but I have serious concerns about the coaching team's ability to influence and improve players' flaws. Too many players who choose the wrong options or can't execute basic skills. As for the team, we continue to be moths to a flame. We draw too many to the contest (at ground level and in the air) and don't defend on the outside. Every week. We half lead, not to advantage, then kick it to even less advantage. We fail to tackle well enough to stop the ball going out to the opposition's advantage. We cannot keep the ball in our forward line. Same every week

Hey all, A few of us are making the pilgrimage to the Top End this weekend! Firstly, the Dees will win. You heard it first. 21 points. Secondly, I have a spare grandstand seat, so if you need one, or know anyone that does, let me know. Thirdly, it’s a big weekend in sport, with the mighty Spurs trying to knock Liverpool off in the Champions League. I have arranged for the SkyCity Sportsbar to have the game on (kickoff 4.30am Darwin time, Sunday morning), even though the bar itself will be shut. So my bro and I are planning a big post-win celebration, followed by the game at the casino. All welcome to join!

I have 2 spare tickets for the Prelim in Aisle 333, row 23. They are next to each other. I am happy to sell at cost price ($190). The only conditions are that it needs to be Dees fans, and you need to make some noise and support the boys! Shouting me a beer would be good too ??  If you want them, first come first served - DM me. 

I have 2 spare tickets for the Prelim in Aisle 333, row 23. They are next to each other. I am happy to sell at cost price ($190). The only conditions are that it needs to be Dees fans, and you need to make some noise and support the boys! Shouting me a beer would be good too ?? If you want them, first come first served - DM me.

I will be there, with 3 members of the family. Does anyone know, is Melbourne doing a training session on the ground? If so, when?

I’ll be there with some of my family... very exciting! Does anyone know if the dees have a training session on the Friday at the ground?

I think we are desperate to become competitive, and we can only do that with midfielders. It does seem overs though....

Yeh, Eddie will be amazing when we kick the ball inside 50 for the 2nd time at the 30 minute mark of a quarter....

I actually remember your question. I have a hazy memory that you didn't get an answer, but I do remember the howling and Mr Ridley having trouble hearing.

Well, I haven't read Ridley's book, but if what Vanlo says is correct and Ridley claims in his book that only non-members were locked out, then Ridley is simply lying. Like No Merger, I saw when the line got cut off, and I remember people waving their memberships and shouting out anti-merger slogans. It was a disgraceful act towards members, in whose name the board was acting. And Jarka, your statement that the room was shut because it was full due to legal concerns is a half-statement. It should be no less a legal issue that the place that was chosen by necessity shut out members, and that no other provision was made for members to vote, once they had been shut out. If the club knew that the tennis centre was the correct size, it beggars belief that they would end up at Dallas Brooks Hall. Had Hawthorn not "saved us", to me Ridley would be the greatest villain in the history of what would be the now-defunct Melbourne Football Club. That may be unfair, but hey, it's my opinion.

Entirely agree. The arrogance and pig-headedness of the position taken by the pro-merger crew was disgraceful. I appreciate that Ridley acted in good faith, but he was not listening. The way they stacked proxy votes demonstrates that they were relentlessly pursuing their agenda, rather than having the members vote. I was there at Dallas Brooks, and I saw how many people were locked out of voting. There is no doubt that this was known to those in control, and they let that happen. Now that we have a training and growth venue, as well as financial stability, I wonder how these people can look at themselves. To those who say that it was a takeover, I say there is no such thing. We were going to merge the theme song, the jumper, the colours, the identity and the history. Hawthorn saved itself and us.

It is interesting, because Neeld has made no secret IMO of his opinion of Bailey. It's clear he thinks Bailey provided an armchair for our senior players, was not demanding enough on them physically and basically was not in the modern game. Neeld admits himself that talk is cheap, but he has done a bit of tough talking himself!!! What will be interesting is to see whether he will back it up if blokes like Davey, Watts, etc don't work hard enough. Here's hoping he does.

I don't get it. Is tonight the last night? What time is it on from/till?