praha

This game will be our North in 2017 equivalent. We lost to them twice but the second time, we needed to win to really establish ourselves in the 8 and with GWS to follow. We then scraped home wins against St Kilda, Port and Brisbane despite dominating all three, and had to turn it up against the Pies. But I always look back to that round 19 loss as the catalyst for our missing the finals. As soon as the final siren rang I just knew that this was the game we would look back to. We always look back to the Pies game but it's games like Round 19 2017 and yesterday that really kill us. In 2016 we lose to Essendon and Carlton. Win those and we play finals. Last year it was North x2. This year the battle for the 8 is even tighter and we can't even beat St Kilda on the MCG, where they never play. We are now 2-6 of our last 8 at the MCG. That is not finals caliber. Not by a long margin. Let's be frank. Warning signs were there against Geelong, Brisbane and Hawthorn.

We won't make it. Bulldogs will tear us a new one as quick teams do on the MCG. We're not getting close to Sydney or West Coast, Adelaide with Tex and Sloane back in will toy with us, GSW will rip us apart on the transition. IMO GC, Geelong and Freo are our last wins for the year.

Jones should have been traded 3 years ago when he had some value. What difference from a leadership perspective did keeping him on have? We say he stayed loyal, let's get real, it was either stay at Melbourne or take on offers from other cellar dwellars. He ain't the cause of the problem but we've kept on players that go through the motion and have contributed little to changing the culture. We keep hearing the culture has changed but then we have round 23 2017 and parts of this year. Viney was irrelevant for three quarters and propped up when the Saints dropped off and the pressure eased up. The same issues are present and have been clearly evident since 2016. Once the pressure is applied we struggle most of the time. This is why finals last year was so important. Beating WC in Perth is pointless if you can't lay a tackle in a game that determines a finals berth. Winning 6 in a row means nothing if you lose games that cement your position and can earn you real respect. We mock guys like Brereton and Dunstall and King and Lloyd and Carey, we say they don't know what they're talking about. But they highlight key deficiencies with this team and club time and time again. They have the runs on the board. What do we have? 6 wins against [censored] teams? And then a loss a month later against one of those very teams? I love Jones. I do. But cut the dead weight ffs. It's not a rebuild if you keep the losers.

Viney is a one-way runner and too slow when teams open us up on the MCG. Goodwin's gameplan contradicts itself. It relies in quick sweeping attacks, that kills us on the transition, formed around a contested gameplan that dictates staunch defensive awareness and tactics.

5.00

transition transition transition transition transition transition. tisk tisk tisk.

Goodwin looks lost for ideas.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OMG

Season is on the line. Win this and we have some breathing room. Lose and we're probably one loss away from missing finals.

At his worst he looks like he smokes cones before a match.

We are stagnating at a pivotal point in the season for the third consecutive season.

I'll give you 20/1 odds for a Melbourne win.

Switching off. Awful.

Watch St Kilda's run and spread coming out of defense. This is a team out of finals contention and rarely plays the MCG. This is a football lesson.

We're pretty bad but this umpiring is worse.

Saints have 19 inside 50s for 12 scores.

Good thing we're bombing it in aimlessly then. Let's see how long it takes Goodwin to adjust.

Lyon is taking every opportunity to slam us. Rightfully so. Every Saints play has come from either lazy, poor or selfish execution.

That is utterly [censored] pathetic.

The ease with which teams transition is continually pathetic, and will cost us a finals spot. All teams need to do is work out our forward line and they know it's an easy score.

1 inside 50, 1 goal. I'm sorry but we look very average.

lol we're a shambles.

Saints at 87% efficiency rate going forward. We're at 36%.

Early contender for Kent Kingsley Award For Spuds That Play Well Against Melbourne.

Geelong losing gives us *some* breathing room, but we absolutely have to win. Bring the same attacking urgency as we did last week and we should [censored] it in.