praha

Sacking forwards imo glosses over the issue. We win enough of the ball but simply aren't damaging enough with it in transition nor in delivering inside 50. If Goodwin really wanted to make a statement he'd have dumped Viney and Sparrow. Playing forward is literally the toughest gig on the field. Fritsch kicked like 50 goals with some of the worst delivery in the league each of the last two years. I still don't think we're addressing the primary problem here. We're going to see a slight spark from players looking to prove themselves but unless there is a fundamental shift (or improvement) in the gameplan, cycling through forwards won't make a difference. This might end up like the GWS game where with 6 debutants we put up a fight against a contender but gee the Tigers and Yzevare going to be licking their lips. This has made be super wary of Goodwin. And it suggests our forwards are the problem. If we don't improve our scoring then this could be another foot in the grave.

With McVee returning I would assume that sees Rivers return to the midfield and Salem being able to push up the ground more. Still missing Lever obviously and an underdone May... structurally we are struggling as well.

I like the way he has spoken this week in press conferences but I'm not confident. Not once in his time at Melbourne have we corrected major poor form mid-season. We've either been consistently poor, consistently mid, or consistently good. This is undoubtedly his biggest challenge as a coach. He doesn't have the benefit of inexperience on his side as he did in 2017 and 2019. I'd be very surprised if he changes that trend.

Nicholson would be a great choice for CEO tbf.

They just grilled our membership dropoff on Footy Classified apparently? Did anyone see it?

They're also 12 years old.

Some might find this weird but much like my comment about how tragedy always finds Melbourne because it doesn't have a home, the Bulldogs have that underdog "woe is me" mentally drilled into the walls at Whitten Oval. They just aren't meant to be perennial contenders. I'm probably too idealistic but I genuinely think it plays a role. He got them to two Grand Finals, AND a flag from 7th against a very good Sydney team. He also got close to a second flag from outside the top 4 (close as in, made it to within a quarter and a half...).

There is a reason why Adelaide and Hawthorn won't truly contend- they can be scored heavily against too easily. It won't hold up in finals. But even if we go back to those fundamentals as you say, we are still horrid moving the ball forward. It wasn't just inaccuracy that killed us in 2023. We went forward against the Pies about 60 times and kept kicking it down Sidebottom's throat. The same issue persists. We can defend like superstars. It won't make a difference.

Jungle drums....

People might think I'm crazy but this all stems from lacking a true home of belonging. Do players feel at home in Casey? At AAMI Park? Your work is your home away from home. It's been an issue since Barrassi was playing. And we'll always end up in this cycle until we have a true home. It's a daunting task for any prospective CEO. And even tougher for a coach when he is trying to get his players "into the club". Pies players "hang out" at Olympic Park. Our players hang out on the golf course.

The most damning thing for Goodwin at the moment is that the review conducted at the end of last season clearly articulated that the broad expectation was that the List was good enough to not just play finals but to contend. This tightens the screws significantly on Goodwin. Once the CEO is brought in I suspect that review will be scrutinised and in effect, Goodwin and co. Unless we somehow work our way back to at least close to finals, I can't see how Goodwin coaches next year.

That's game

Damn that would have been a great Oliver goal.

We've had patches like this in every game. Not confident it lasts.

This is actually heartbreaking. I used to get so mad watching this team during the Bailey, Neeld and Roos years. I've calmed down a lot. I am not even angry at this. Just heartbroken. This is the most boring, insipid football I have wayched in a while.

Coach killing so far.

You just know that Disco Turner would slot in so well at Sydney.

Tom Sparrow literally says "we've been training really great". https://www.afl.com.au/news/1297087 Essendon by 140.

Proooooobably wouldn't be comparing us to Brisbane. They played in every finals series since 2019, have won 9 finals including a flag and three Prelims. Goodwin's record ain't bad but it doesn't compare to Fagan who has clearly overtaken Goodwin. Geelong has played in 12 of 14 finals series under Scott with 10 wins their lowest win total in that period. That includes 14 finals wins, 9 Prelims, 2 Grand Finals and two Flags. That's a level of consistency from both coaches and clubs that doesn't include random 5-win seasons and a handful of 10-goal beltings throughout a season. The elephant in the room here is that maybe this is not about Goodwin, but is all just a symptom of a homeless club that constantly finds itself in corporate no-mans land. I've thought about that a lot lately. Because this also happened under Daniher, under Balme, under Bailey to a degree... the wheels just fall off so quickly, constantly. We really can't be affording for this [censored] to happen every few years. It just absolutely destroys any momentum we have. We are like 10k down on members vs last year. That's disastrous for a club that won a flag 4 years ago. You can't understate that. I really don't think there's a positive spin on this.

Our starting forward 6 has 8 goals combined for the year.

I can't say I'm surprised. I think a belting this week might lead to major changes. Essendon is super quick with the ball so we are less heavy i guess.

We won the Adelaide double last year.

You're certainly not wrong but his record is abnormal and kind of weird. Misses finals by a record small percentage margin. Team has an opportunity to lock away its first finals appearance in more than a decade. It just needs to deal with a struggling Collingwood. Melbourne is outright favourites. We don't lay a tackle in the first 12 minutes of the game and are playing catchup the whole time. 2018 was mostly great with some awesome wins and two great finals wins. We also put in the worst Preliminary Final performance this century and one of the worst of all time. Classic Melbourne. We become the first team in history to mismanage off-season players surgeries so bad that we somehow go from 4th to second last. Boggles the mind how 2019 even happened. Show me another club that bundled itself out of contention so quickly and aggressively. We limp through most of 2020 but still have a chance to play finals. Instead we choke against Sydney and Freo who were both struggling. 2021 was great was obvious reasons. 2022 we start 10-0 before being bundled out in straight sets and ending the season with 6 wins and 8 losses. In 2023 we linger around the top 4 all season and choke twice in huge finals. We've now lost four straight finals at home, ALL of which we started the game as favourites in. 2024 we miss finals completely after limping through the second half of the year. Multiple 10+ goal beatings, losses to West Coast, gave up a 50 point lead to North, 100 point loss to Freo. 2025 looking destined to be bottom four despite having a squad made up 15 premiership players and four top 10 picks from the past two years. He has the history of bouncing back, I'll give him that. But this is just a weird coaching record.

Eagles have dropped Kelly. I wonder if Melbourne has the balls to do something similar.

I can't believe they gave him a segment to begin with. Melbourne ain't many things but getting Melbourne figures into prime time media seats is one thing we have always done well. We've always been good at talking the talk.