Fat Tony

Hogwash! We do rest players, just not often. You said the same thing before the NM game off a short break when I said we might rest Viney or Lever and then Viney pulled out the day before the game. We lost badly in 2020 off short breaks against Port, Sydney and Freo. I think we need to pick a 22 which is cherry ripe rather than one that looks good on paper. Obviously I expect Petracca to play, but he did look sore at the end of the Adelaide game and we won't win the flag this Thursday but we could lose it. Pig is 32 and has had two calf strains this year already.

Brown is either out of form or cooked. We need Brown to fully commit his body in the air or go with Weideman because Brown is a liability at the moment.

We should definitely complain and ask for better ranked umpires next time we play in Adelaide. The last two games against the Crows have been unacceptable.

It’s not irrelevant. While all our players had the same break, it will be case by case and some will pull up badly. Hibberd, for example, might be rested for Hunt or Rivers. Petracca also looked pretty sore at the end last night.

I am tipping we will go with an extra tall against the Cats on the skinny ground. I think Bedford will go out for Gawn. Jackson will come back if fit for one of the Browns or Weideman. Any other changes will be due to the short break.

Chandler will be a regular AFL player.

This jumper clash is extraordinary.

I want to see a murder of Crows!

AFL app and website I think.

They redeveloped and expanded Giants Stadium/Showgrounds in 2012.

19 teams is a terrible idea. I hope it gets voted down if that’s the proposal. The only way it can work from a competition perspective is if North or St Kilda shift.

Goldstein should be a target. He is averaging 112 Supercoach points in the last 8 games while playing alongside Xerri in 5 games. At worst, he would be a great back up for Max for 2023.

Gus is having his best year at HBF. Our woes in recent weeks have been due to our lack of forwards and losing key defenders in game.

With Max out and May returning we should consider tinkering with the game plan to throw more numbers at the stoppages. I would like to see us go with a smaller forward line and Hunt included up there. He gives us a bit more pace and x factor and he is a good set shot. Our forward entries should be either precise short kicks or more 'dirty' long balls, as we want to prevent intercept marks. Shifting Brayshaw to the wing makes no sense to me, as Jordon has been playing excellent football and Brayshaw is dominating at half back. Weideman for Gawn Hunt for Mitch Brown May for Turner I would give Sparrow and ANB another chance to return to form. They both play a tough role and I don't see good replacements in the VFL.

I would consider switching Hunt forward in place of Spargo. We lose composure but gain a bit more x-factor. Hunt kicked 31 goals in 27 games over 2019 & 2020. Spargo has 23 goals in 38 games over 2021 & 2022.

19 teams seems an odd number to me.

Turner would play or we would recall Rivers or Hibberd and go smaller.

There is a picture of Rosman in the MFC Gallery of training pics. He is kicking and so I am guessing his hamstring looks to be minor.

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1144624/club-statement-steven-may-and-jake-melksham May suspended 1 match for an altercation with Melksham and drinking alcohol.

If they don't bring in Weideman, I would still drop Ben Brown and go with a smaller forward line. He hasn't marked well for a month and needs to go back to the VFL to get form back. We would then need to target Gawn and Jackson inside 50 more often on slow plays but it would increase our pressure and mean we could go a bit faster. Having one fewer talls would mean we would need to be a bit more deliberate with our ball movement inside 50 as well.

I don't think it is a loading issue. I think the last two weeks we have got nothing from our key forwards. This is partly due to Ben Brown being a liability at the moment and partly due to poor delivery and partly due to our opposition defending well on turnover. Our defence will be better with May back but I also think Joel Smith is in our best defence because he offers more flexibility to swap and cover than Hunt and he is quicker than Hibberd.

Ben Brown has had just 20 possessions, 8 marks and 2 goals in the last 4 games. Weideman is catching the ball much better at the moment and will give us more aggression in the air. May for Tomlinson is obvious. I am not in favour of shifting Brayshaw out of defence, who was excellent again last night. Jordon was also good on the wing. Hibberd for Hunt is possible, but Pig has only had one full VFL game and is coming off soft tissue injuries. Bedford or Chandler for Spargo is possible but Charlie has a few credits in the bank and the difference between these three is minimal.

How did McDonald go from being selected to out for the season? What’s the source on his injury?

I have not seen a lot to suggest Laurie will make it as an AFL player. I have watched about 18 quarters of his matches in the VFL FWIW. He is small and slow and does not find enough of the footy yet. In 9 VFL games this year Laurie averages 15.5 possessions (8.6 kicks & 6.9 handballs), 1.4 goals, 3.4 tackles and 64 dream team points. While he has decent skills, he is not at Salem or Bowey level. The club obviously likes his attitude and sees more than I do at this stage. I hope they are right and he improves in the second half of the year. Laurie VFL Stats R1 Vs Sandringham 2 goals 10 kicks 10 handballs 20 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 86 dream team points R2 Vs Essendon 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 6 tackles 44 dream team points R3 Vs Williamstown 2 goals 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 3 tackles 37 dream team points R4 Vs Coburg 2 behinds 12 kicks 9 handballs 21 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 79 dream team points R5 Vs Richmond 1 goal 1 behinds 7 kicks 7 handballs 14 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 59 dream team points R6 Vs Box Hill 1 goal 2 behinds 15 kicks 9 handballs 24 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 89 dream team points R7 Vs Southport DNP R8 Vs North Melbourne 4 goals 1 behind 10 kicks 6 handballs 16 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 85 dream team points R10 Vs Frankston 1 goal 3 kicks 6 handballs 9 disposals 3 tackles 36 dream team points

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