Nasher

Shiet, just saw the Saints Tiges scores. Get it done tomorrow please, Melbourne.

4th is possible, but very unlikely. Obviously we'd need to win, need West Coast to beat Port and St Kilda to beat Richmond. And we have to claw back some percentage against Richmond, but not much. 6th and a game clear of 7th would be a good result. A result where all the higher ranking teams winning would get that done. A loss would hurt and keeps us right in the pack. A disaster would be a loss with WC and St K wins - that knocks us down to 9th.

The existing midfielders already in the side, currently playing on flanks, are better than any of the midfielders playing at Casey.

So he has an easy role, which has suited him, in a well structured side. Got it. The Liam Jones I knew was a complete flop - was having a hard time reconciling this best (anything) in the comp talk.

I haven't seen Carlton play much lately. Has he actually been the best defender in the comp, or just the hyperbolic type "best in the comp" that people brand crud players with when they suddenly and unexpectedly become competent after a lot of years of duddery?

Yep - but this time it's only temporary. Normally he'd have Tyson, Viney and Jones sharing the heavy lifting. Really time for Lewis to up his game here I think.

Thought so. Didn't get the long term deal right but as if he was going to leave.

Wagner was poo last week, but has demonstrated AFL capability before. Happy to persevere - I think he and Smith are probably competing for a place on the HBF, with Hunt replacing White on the other. With Viney and Tyson out, we're short competent mids - Harmes, ANB and Kent (in that order) are going to have to spend time in there. Lewis and Vince really have to step up. Oliver needs to be able to spend 80%+ time on the ground as our contested ball battery is significantly weakened. If he has a poor game we lose I think. Our firepower forward looks heaps more potent with Hogan and Garlett back. TMac is in form and should stay there, playing deep in my opinion. He has marking power and has developed a reliable set shot - I'm hoping he's good for another 2-3 goals but at the very least, should force defenders away from Hogan. Pedersen to play the more mobile tall role Watts would normally play - he played one quarter of good football in this role against WC but has been down either side of that. Need more from him. Just excited to see Jesse back.

Stretch, Kent, Wagner, Smith for me.

Even as I was writing this, I was thinking "now that I've said this, it's sure to be wrong" and I was right. You'd think Smith will play based on that bench.

Wait, so Hogan isn't playing in the VFL?

Don't reckon it'll be this week based on the Plapp report - sounds like he still has cobwebs to be blown out. You would think he'll get another run sooner or later though.

You suck.

Hibberd says they've moved on quickly from the loss: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2017-07-06/looking-ahead-michael-hibberd I thought this an interesting contrast to Pedersen's comments in this article regarding the Neeld era: http://www.aflplayers.com.au/article/players-voice-cam-pedersen/, particularly this: The morale is great. Gone are the days when the feeling fluctuates depending on whether we win or lose, which is a great sign of where the club is going. If we lost it was almost like a funeral and the meetings would go for three times longer and we’d dissect everything. Now, the weeks look the same whether we win or lose. Hibberd said they didn't spend much time on the review. Lewis said on AFL360 a while ago that it's totally counterproductive for athletes to dwell on losses too much because of the negative effect it has on your psychology going in to the next game. Goodwin, Jones and other club leaders are often repeating the words, "the way we want to play". The message coming out of the club is consistent: we know this match didn't represent the way we want to play, there's no point going over it repeatedly, let's focus on how we prepare for to ensure we play how we want to play against Carlton. There's the chance that circumstance will conspire against us and we can't get it done - nonetheless I am still optimistic about this match. If we don't, I'm confident those driving this club today will still have done everything they could to get the right outcome.

OMac appears to have found his feet at this level. If Hogan plays, there's a big chance Pedersen will be dropped.

There's no need to be a dick about it. I already said in the post you quoted that I agree with your clarified view. If I ever used the word "gun shy", it would have been how I'd described 2006-2012 era Lynden Dunn for example, or Cam Pedersen's first season with us. That's how I initially interpreted your comments, and you added nothing else to lead me to any alternative interpretation. That's not what you meant - fine. Got it.

I'm aware that subtlety is not your thing, but "gun shy" reads with negative connotations. It sounds like our view is pretty much the same.

That's a harsh way of putting it, but it does sound like it's mostly mental barriers in the way. Perfectly understandable ones, in my opinion.

The early games missed might cost Hibberd - no doubt he'll be in the top couple though. He set a standard from his first minute on the ground and hasn't gone below it. By seasons end, all our best players will have missed a sizeable chunk of the season. I agree that there's a chance it'll be Clarry or TMac by virtue of being good consistently and playing most games - assuming neither of them fall over between now and then. Definitely one of the more intriguing years. There's a lot of possibilities and the voting always tends to toss up a surprise or two.

Can't understand the logic of playing Hogan in the VFL. He's either ready or he ain't. You'd take the same approach with him as we did with Gawn, surely.

Boom-tish.

Lol - what's Stevo been sniffing. Hogan not in the LG, has yet to demonstrate any ability as a leader (still only a pup) and might not even play himself.

Strange that people are nominating Jetta since he's not in the leadership group. You can love him all you want (and I do), but it ain't gonna happen. It will come from the 4 players listed in the poll. TMac for mine, but would be happy with any of them.

The only thing it "tells" is that the spots in the VFL sides are listed pretty much at random. He won't play there.

Agreed. Spots up for grabs in the side for sure. These boys should be very hungry - especially Kent, BenKen and JKH. I think they owe the team more than the rest. I'd add Maynard to the list too.