DV8

... well, thank goodness we have a young 'Tom' petty coming through then. do we have to remove him from the mast-head, already.

He is not quick enough, nor tall enough to do that. The ball will be punched away by taller defenders with longer reach. Tracc plays better IF we play better. now he is a sheep. Stop making excuses for one another, and get tougher... Mentally weak players will let us all down... and NO, this is not about depression, as I suffer from it, but have survived all this time with it. Its about faith in self, and a bit of GO about the place, and the Players. It's simple contact sport... go out, throw about your strength at the Fffing ball, and get the thing to your mates. And 'Ffs', stop sulking and feeling for yourself... Get out of your own head, and get onto the Field and just go for IT. .

I'd like to see him apply this attitude inside the midfield... see ball-get ball. get angry he's appears so passive. Put him in the pivot and tell he to throw his weight atround throwing players to the ground in his quest to win the footy. Get him angry first in his footy.. play with AGGRession Use that Bulk,,, or lose it !!!

I think we went in with 3 tall defenders because the coaches have no faith in our ability for OMc or Frost to handle Hawkins, and others they might throw at us. I suspect they played May a bit too early, for this reason. Hoping it would pay off and he would get thru OK. He was just coming back from the groin injury. They might have thought we are up against IT, with the Cats, as it was... visa injuries and fitness to our senior players.... and that after the Cats game, then things get a tad easier, for a few weeks. This might have led to them playing May, instead of giving him and extra week. same could be said of KK. Either way we went in underdone, with a host of players... and many ran themselves into some match fitness, at the least. Some looked much better, than they were the preceding match.

No, we have failed the draft far too often... we have made a an art form of mistakes at drafting and development. Its not been the picks... its the selections and the types, and then the development of... combined with club culture and leadership at that time. We tend to go off. And became a fat and lazy club too often, and when we are in that space, we fail at nearly everything we touch. It's a comfort zone we slip into, after a period of relative success. And usually associated with boards elected from in-house people. We currently do not suffer from this situation, because we've been blessed with talented leaders off-field, at the behest of the AFL. .

its never as good, and never as bad. Beez. We have players that can play run and carry, but many have struggled to play the hard contested brand ... so they suffer from confidence. Some will come on, 'blossom' no doubt, now with 666. The open spaces will give them the thing they crave. Room to move within, and function better. Some will grow into themselves with the changes. And some we have jettisoned, would have done well in the open spaces.

Now, I think I see ? Why May started off playing the Lever role as intercept role, and why we went in with all 3 tall defenders. I think we 'May' have gambled, and lost. Could it be, that we brought him back in a weak or so early, because of Hawkins ? ... and then go in one running player, short on.? Mayb a case of whowoz available ?

Truth is, we should never stop looking forward to the draft and trade. It should coincide with our attention on the H&A season. Whether we are at the pointy end, or the fat end of the ladder.

shhh, Micky.m will start to gloat.

We did the same at the start of last season. Blood young players early to see where they are at, and then start to settle the teams 22. And the year before that, 2017 iirc, we played Weide for a few early season games... and many said he wasn't up to it, but her got a real taste of it, then went back to go to work on his needs. The other thing this year is, the 666 rule has opened space around the ground, so our former structures no longer work as they did. So its natural that supporters are looking to see what balance we can find, that works with the new AFL plays. That will mean we change our shape as a team. With more emphasis on run/carry, than we had last year.

Both 'roy'. To play on-ball with endurance, he He has to be more defined... we ought'a be able to see more sinew on him. He has too much cover, and too much bulk. Also to play forward he should be able to run his minding opponent around the forwardline, to try to burn them up. Opponents would love to play on Tracca. And he is not strong enough, even with his bulk, to fend them off like a bull, and kick goals. It doesn't work for him, and he will be playing on opponents taller, and as fast and agile as he is. I think he doesn't have enough energy to stay IN the game for long enough periods. And this is why he comes and blows, with little Cameos. If we as a team are to improve to the level above ours of last year... we need every player to lift and to get more in shape, than they ever have been.

Its not about wanting him to be a saviour. At least not from my part. It's about wanting Petracca to provide what he is capable of providing, with his talents and physique in a better condition. ... As he has been, showing last year in inconsistency, and because its been brought to peoples attention, they are all now on the bandwagon of trying to get him to lift in their own ways. He's been spoilt by all and sundry, and allowed to go along as he has, with Cameo's, for a couple of seasons... the 'rose-coloured-glasses' adoration he's enjoyed, stopped any real close attention on him, and he's waltzed along accordingly. IMO, a lot to do with the rest of the team struggling thru 2016/17... made him look better, on natural talent alone, without real workrate. Now since last year, the team has much more anticipation/expectation on them, and so people are looking much deeper into what we're are built on... Now the microscope is on all of us, from within and outside. Players have to lift individually, collectively, and team wise, to improve on the ladder position. Improve with consistency, and growth of their footy. this means that some have to wrork harder, those who aren't working to their capacity. Which is most of your young ones. Petracca at his age and games played, has the ability to be working much harder. IF he applies himself to that task. IF he has the dedication, deesire, and deetermination, to do just that. # edit : Most of the other players commitment is healthier... they are fitter and closer to their body weight, fitness levels, that should be expected of them with their time within the clubs programs.

Because of our better players returning to form, and Our coaches are not that set in concrete. They are more open minded than that, so they will tweak our gamestyle to suit what is happening around us, so far this season. This combination of things, plus we will slowly introduce some injured talents back into our lineup. We are a top 9 team, purely on talent now... and good form will take us into the top 7_ from there, it will depend on our Mix of things, going right.

# why is it that many players develop interstate, when they can't in Vic... and especially at Melbourne fc. Think about it... the answer is as plain as the nose on your faces. Trouble is... its out of focus, and WE never ever see it, unless we peer into "mirror mirror" on the wall. And buy the way... who is 'the fairest' of them all, Melbourne ? we should know ?

He needs pressure on him... he hasn't had enough, and that is why he's been so content with his cameo outputs. He has slinked past any scrutiny... up until the preseason just gone. This is what destroys our top level young talent. All the softness and adoration applied to them, for nothing more than signing on. Let them be in the background !!! and if they put in short steps, let them know about it. But stop building them up, into a figment of THEIR own imaginations... before they have Earnt any footy respect. We spoil our top talents. This is why Mfc, have failed to develop most of our top line draftees.

Because this is a Petracca thread. Trying to get him to reboot, go back to zero, and rebuild. Some are already wanting to take the shortcut with him already. Shortcuts do not workout this way.

We've been easybeats for the past 2 weeks. It will change quickly. We already started to find some form in individuals at Geelong. Others will follow this trend, and then team belief will start to rise.

Send him to the US on a major fitness camp, asap. For 3 or so weeks. fitness and conditioning. If Only.

He's too slow and too heavy... he's not going to develop his tank coming in at 96 + Kgs. He simply does not cover enough game kilometers, to improve fitness. He's heavier than Joel Smith. Joel Smith is 2 inches taller than Tracca, and is 8 Kgs lighter. Joel smith - 6'-3" tall & weighs 88 Kgs Tracca - 6'-1' tall & weighs 96 Kgs Vandenberg - 6'-2" tall & weighs in at 90 Kgs https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/tp-melbourne-demons?year=2019&sby=8 .

Our mids got sucked in too close to our ball winner, on the weekend... flippin' the ball from one to another like a hot potato. Cats couldn't get it off us, but all they had to do was wait outside us, for us to spill it to them... which is what happened in 1st Qtr. Then, they had the space to run the ball for their next disposal forward. We had all our insiders in tight. Allowing them plenty of space outside the contest.

And we'll have to trade layers into our list. The draft will take too long. We'll need a running winger. The boy from Freo perhaps ? Langdon?

This, Is what he should be doing... but he's not fit enough to cover enough kilometers. He should be. We need him to be a ruck-rover. He is about the size of what Timmy Watson was Apart from Tracca's weight. That Watson role... is what Tracca is capable of. He's not a half forward. He's not good enough overhead to dominate at half-forward. And too slow at ground level, & on the turn. He needs fitness and running ability or he's a liability.

It's lazy not working diligently enough off season and preseason, to be fit for purpose. If he has nothing left, he is unfit and too heavy. And so, is lazy and not committed enough to be in the right condition. And right headspace. It's all the same cycle. He should be running midfield as R/R. Not a permanent Half-forward. He is not quick or agile enough to be a great Half-Forward. Which brings us straight back to his weight again.

Absolutely nothing to do with caring,,, being nice, or any of those things. Its all about his perception, of where he's at within footy... and where he wants to be. .................. If he's genuinely slow and has no tank, then why is he being picked, and why is he on our list, at all ? Lets just give up on him then. No, he has to change the things in him, that are failing him... and that starts upstairs for him, with his footy makeup. & his work-rate is not OK.

he's been comfortable with his level, for a couple of seasons now. He has received accolades and a nickname, which he didn't have to fight his way to Earn... to receive. He's had it easy at Melbourne... even been gifted games at times when he didn't deserve them. He's become attitudinal'y, Lazy and soft under our guidance. We, Mfc... tend to spoil most of our early picked talents, with unearned adoration. .