jnrmac

Is Jefferson even playing?

Oliver a liability in newcomb Hawks waltzing through the middle with ease

#freekickhawthorn has started early

Oliver has been much better at the fwd handball. Much less banging on the boot.

Their marks i50 are mostly defensive chains where they overlap hb and kick to a 1 on 1 or a fwd that has run fwd ie 'out the back' Haven't checked the stats but not sure they are up there on contested marks

Te Pies have absolute faith in their team mates. When the ball is in dispute the trust they will win it and as soon as they do they spread. They are always kicking to space and they know thats where it will be kicked Very well drilled. All on the same page. You can see we are trying to get to that point. And what a gem Jamie Elliott is. To think we nearly had him. I like the fact there are very few histrionics from him. He kicks a goal and the celebrations are generally muted. No hubris. Great big time pressure player. Kudos.

Just watched the Hawks Geelong game. The Hawks run and gun at every opportunity and cut back into the corridor but their defence is highly suspect. In particular they lose a lot of defensive 50 stoppages so it wont surprise me to see our fwd 50 tackle count go off the charts. Aerially they are OK so hopefully there is no bombing the ball in . Also our ability to stop the overlap handball will be critical. They're weren't great at centre clearance so Viney clamping Newcombe will be vital.

Frost to come on for Barass Even if we got dragged down to their level we should still be able to do enough to win.My worry is their biggest strength is our current area of inexperience. We're the second least experienced midfield group in the competition. Gawn is in ripping hot form. There is a world in which the likes of Hust & Ward get overwhelmed and we struggle to steady the ship if Worpel or Newcombe are off their game.Hawks and Dees are very similar in the ruck and clearance stats this season. Both among the top few for centre clearances, both among the bottom few for stoppage clearances. But we tend to setup with a spare behind the play at stoppages with the intent to win a lost clearance back and rebound from it. Where Gawn has killed us in the past is intercept marks when we exit long from D50. Hawks had been bottom 4 for contested marks across 2023-24. In 2025 we are now top 4. On Oliver returning: Good. deadset battling & runs like he's towing a caravan Oliver in is close to an advantage for us. Doesn't apply any defensive pressure, lacks a secondary position and has been struggling big time with both accumulation and impact. ...and now that I've written that he's going to have 30 and kick 2 lol On the Hawks repeatedly kicking it to Gawn Maybe we should imagine Gawn is standing 10 metres behind the middle of the goals whenever we kick for goals. Might help our accuracy. You could have sworn Gawn was wearing a Hawks jumper. If Meek can manage Max’s influence, we will win comfortably. Melbourne stink but Max is a superstar

The Dorks have only beaten GWS in the top 8. Not sure there playing as well as people think. A lot of our game has been to stop teams using overlap handball to breach defences. We are a work in progress but I suspect this will suit playing the Hawks.

Sounds like they've been dragged kicking and screaming

Not from the AFL there isn't

I don't understand the Bruhn scenario. If charges have been laid why is there no discussion of it? I get you can't disclose the complainant in such cases and if no charges are laid then speculation is not appropriate... It's an open secret as it stands.

Academic qualifications are no guarantee of anything. I'd argue the reverse these days. Before Journalism was a degree course you studied on the job, overseen by a curmudgeonly old Editor with a withering tongue. They were definitely better days

And Willie Rioli?? as usual I implore people to reverse the roles and see whether there would be outrage Imagine if bailey Dale threatened Rioli in such a manner

This is becoming more prevalent. There was a free paid to Viney last week for a perfectly legitimate spoil from Taranto. Was such a bad call. And my 2 personal bug bears. Downfield frees. These have always been for a player getting hit AFTER disposing of the ball not during the action. Taking out the legs. This is the Adam Goodes rule who used to slide front on to a player in a dangerous motion. Now players (ANB did this regularly) will see a player on the ground and theatrically dive over them to get a free kick. BS Often, those that haven't played the game struggle to get the nuance of these (generalisation I know)

Have you seen the footage? Gobsmacked as to how you could come to that conclusion

Changes since the last time we played the Hawks in 2024 Out ANB, Billings, JVR, Petty, Howes, Hore, Lever, BBB Likely ins Langford, Lindsay, Tholstrup, Turner, Bowey, Melksham, Spargo, Sharp

TRIGGER WARNING #FREEKICKHAWTHORN The media darling Hawks have won the free kick count in every single game this year. +56 after round 8! World record pace H 23 Swans 21 H 23 Ess 17 H 29 Carl 24 H 17 Giants 16 H 21 Port 12 H 24 Geel 15 H 24 WCE 11 H 23 Rich 10 Watch Melbourne get absolutely pantsed by the Maggots this weekend. The club should get on the front foot and highlight the massive discrepancy in frees to Hawthorn - make sure the eyes of the football world are watching. Not sure Hawthorn's record is as good as people say. Like us they have played Richmond and West Coast in the past 2 weeks. Only beaten 1 top 8 team (giants) Viney to Newcombe seems a lock.

They got themselves up for the 100th anniversary of the club. 100 greats of the club in attendance with presentations beforehand etc This week will just be a regular game against a team they haven't beaten since 2018 And should stack up against an aggressive Hawthorn

He is such a skunk

7 years and 21 days since they have beaten us. Let's do the right thing and smash the Hawks.

And Ginbey that caused the concussion to both players??

Good to see Goodwin finally comment in the media about an onfield incident MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin says forward Jake Melksham was contesting the ball and executing a football act when he nudged West Coast star Jeremy McGovern into a contest that ended with two players suffering concussion. McGovern and Demons forward Harrison Petty were both sidelined after half-time and placed in concussion protocols as a result of the incident in the second quarter, which will likely draw Match Review scrutiny. And he rightly shines the light on Gibney that caused Petty's concussion.

What stands out to me is that we actually have fwds at home not chasing up the the wing and leaving oppo defenders alone.

The fact he didn't use his hands to outbody the Guv and marked the ball should be case closed but this is the afl