Nasher

The old "we didn't want him anyway". Whatever, Tim. Feel the burn. We love Hibberd and your being a bad sport about it makes it all the more sweet.

Far out. Without a word of a lie, I wrote that Dory joke on here the other day then decided it was probably too obscure for people to get, so I didn't post it. Hope nobody laughs at it now!

It sounds to me like you're volunteering to go back and look at all his other disposals, brfe. I look forward to the comprehensive report

Richmond winning means more competition for a spot in the eight, but it softens up the top four big time. A lot of the teams in the eight play each other; pretty much every spot up to third is up for grabs. All we need to do is keep winning, stuff what anyone else does. As I said previously, this was definitely a good week to have won!

No. Pedersen gave sweet FA for three weeks straight. Watts underdelivered because of poor marking efforts and so forth, but he was in the play. Pedersen has no role to play when we've got a full list of talls to choose from. This is exactly the same conversation I had last week. Just cross out the name Watts and write Hogan. I'm very confident the outcome will be the same here.

I rate this suggestion on the same level as I rated Clint's suggestion last week that Pedersen should play ahead of Hogan.

Well he's definitely upset my list management plans - at the start of season I had him as easy fodder for list turnover. Can't even see him being prised out of the senior team at this stage, let alone off the list. He's been excellent.

All the goals is up already. Interested in the Tyson haters view on the lace out kick to Hogan that lead to the Garlett goal in Q3. ANB has become an important link in the chain. A number of our goals were caused directly from his efforts and ball use, including two pinpoint passes - one to Petracca on his own and then to Garlett on the lead. He is a development success story in my opinion. Until recently I thought the half forward flank was where second string midfielders went to die, but ANB, Harmes and Melksham have really started to deliver in those roles.

Doesn't tackle much, but when he does, they hurt. That tackle 15 metres out after the unluckiest bounce ever was an absolute ripper. I'm still in disbelief at such a good player landing on our lap. He hasn't had a poor game since joining.

Tyson was the engine room in the first half and one of the chief architects of our dominance. He tired in the second half, by his own admission, so his influence waned, that's why he's low in the votes, but I reckon it's low hanging fruit to pick out a few errors and decide he sucked. Players who get heaps of the ball are bound to make errors with it at times.

Gawn and Hogan came straight in to the seniors after missing half the season. Like I said with Hogan, Jones is either ready or he ain't. There are some players you don't stuff around with playing in the twos. If Jones is ready, they'll have to make the hard call on someone. And that someone will be JKH or Trengove unless someone is sore.

By the way, I absolutely love love love the indigenous jumper. Haven't owned a footy jumper since I was a kid, but very tempted to make an exception for this.

Good week to have won, that's for sure. If Richmond beat GWS we'll remain parked in 7th, where we started the round, with Sydney pulling ahead on percentage. If we'd lost we'd be 8th and a game behind our main opponents, and a thrashing would have put us out of the 8. One game separates 4th and 11th. It really is a nuts season.

Very excited to hear Gus getting amongst it. I thought it would take him a few weeks at least to get his confidence back. What a fantastic bit of news to round out a good day. Thanks heaps for the updates.

It's a bit of a dice roll when he disposes of the ball - you know something is going to happen, you're just not sure if it's going to be amazing or something awful. I think it's a function of his MO of doing everything at maximum speed; he needs to add composure to his repertoire. It's not a complaint, though, just an observation. I commented early on last year that it wasn't just that he's fast, but he's also much tougher than he looks like he should be. I haven't changed my view. Just love him.

Is Brayshaw playing in a helmet? (I know, asking the cutting questions)

6. Hibberd 5. Jetta 4. Oliver 3. Tyson 2. Viney 1. Gawn

What was with that giant oaf from the Gold Coast giving him a clip around the ear and then yelling in his face? Jetta is probably the least deserving player of that kind of treatment in our whole team. It's almost like he wanted the MFC faithful to boo him.

It's how poor form manifests itself for Jack. His intensity goes down and his attack drops. When Hogan is out of form, he drops marks, shanks kicks and sulks. Jack Viney when out of form tries to break a tackle every time he gets the ball. An out of form Nathan Jones gets all his kicks from running around behind other players and hoofing it forward. Lesser players just don't get near the ball when out of form. All players react and respond differently. Watts looked out of touch today, but I don't consider it any more contemptible than any other player who has been out of the game and takes a while to get in the groove. I think your criticism is excessive and unwarranted.

I feel like there is heaps at stake here. I suspect I'm primed to be euphoric or crushed, with not much in between. This is the strongest side we've fielded since round 1 arguably, against a top 4 side, at home. A win keeps us in touch with the top 4, a loss could see us tumble out of the 8. I won't say "no excuses" because we are playing against a good side - getting outclassed again is a possibility. But our best is good enough to beat this mob. I'll be bitterly disappointed if we don't bring something close to it.

Good stuff. He's lost his way a bit recently but it's easy to forget that he's still only 20. It's not unusual for players so young to have fluctuating form. His form early in the year was good, hopefully he can recapture that.

Fantastic - was really hoping this would happen. I said after his injury that I'd have worked straight away towards signing him on again. They already gave him a vote of confidence by drafting him in the first place and he hasn't had the chance to add anything to it. The early(ish) signing reinforces that belief, and means he can focus on recovery, to give it a red hot crack next year, without needing to worry about his future. Well done MFC and good luck Bull!

Flip through my contacts for a Port supporter to bag, realise I don't know a single one of them and just be content with knowing we should play finals.

How much exposure do the kids kicking around in the dev league really get to the AFL system, other than having one or two of the worst players on the list(s) turn up for their games on Saturday? As it is the players in the senior sides don't train with the AFL players; I imagine the dev league players are even further removed.

+1 credibility for @Deestroy All. Learning opportunity for those two inexperienced boys. No surprise that the guy most likely to do as told replaces them. Really excited with those changes: every single one improves the side, with the unexpected surprise of Garlett not withdrawing. Bring it on!