praha

Carlton are the worst clearance side in the comp. They have good players in there, yes, but they're also one of the worst contested ball winning sides. This is why they're 16th. We saw against Sydney that losing Viney alongside no Jones is huge but the deficiency was larger than those losses alone. We simply didn't get enough from most of the team in this area and almost everyone was down 2-6 CP on their season average. This makes a huge difference. If everyone plays their role and matches their season output thus far I don't see how Carlton gets close. The hyperbole in this thread about our injuries is just insane. We beat the Eagles in Perth without a KPF and with 3 guys running around on 1 leg. We smashed Adelaide without a ruckman or KPF. Midfielders are a dime a dozen. We've won games this season in far more dire circumstances structurally. People need to get a grip.

Can you add a little more context? I have no idea what you're talking about.

Few things to note: 1. We have a game in NT that got 5000 people yet still have a higher average than Carlton, who get more blockbusters. 2. Hawthorn has won 4 flags in 10 years and has 70,000 members but has fewer people going to games across the board. 3. North Melbourne is a major indictment on the league. Even during Melbourne's worst years were never dropped so low as to attract a measly 22k average to home games. Danger signs for them as a club. IMO if we have half the success of a Hawthorn or Geelong, we'll be the biggest club in the land.

It's a little sad. I like to think we're a very good team with a deep list, last week's game came at a bad time and we'd probably have lost to any team. I'm actually fairly confident in who we bring in, we lose a lot of grunt but we have reliable talent everywhere. I'm confident we've transitioned from "developing" to "finals" side. Pretty confident. I don't understate Carlton's improvement and I think they've been good the past month. But they've also been belted a few times this year, so... Carlton supporters are strangely confident on BigFooty. They're speaking like a finals side. I hope we really drill into them and let them know the difference. Carlton has pushed us around for a decade. Not as bad as North or Hawthorn or St Kilda, but two wins since 1998, it's getting tiring, especially after dominating them in the 2000s (excluding 2006 when they beat us twice and only won 3 games for the year ...).

It's very difficult to ignore the influence of social media and online communities in this sudden rise in diagnosed clinical depression, not just among pro athletes but also in the general population. It's also most likely to affect men but it's still a taboo topic that we don't talk about much. Depression has always been male-dominated statistically, and ironically, part of the reason we don't talk about it much is part of the reason why it exists: because there's just this hidden rule that men don't talk about their feelings. "Why would we talk about male depression? Grow some balls!" This leaves the person feeling worthless and "broken". That said I feel part of the reason there is this sudden rise is because the league is still transitioning into the professional era, and the rise of social media has caught it off-guard. Information spreads lightning fast and you can't get away with anything these days. We went from 20-year-old kids earning $50k a year to 20-year-olds potentially earning $1 million a year within a 10-year period. In that period we went from the "stone age" of the internet to what is now the modern era where literally EVERYTHING is mentioned in some capacity online. Clubs I feel have struggled to address this. Thinking back to 2010 I remember thinking how clubs should encourage players to have social media managers to ensure all posts, responses and moderation is done externally. Guys like LeBron James post themselves but he has an entire team dedicated to moderating his social media profiles and filtering out responses from people he doesn't know directly. I understand that sometimes depression is unavoidable and the harsh reality is that sometimes a person really is "broken" regardless of the situations around them. It is hard to break but being in a position that Boyd is in, it would have magnified it. I assume that now clubs will be far more aggressive in there psyche evaluations before they draft a player. Something like this should be picked up a lot sooner so that it can be addressed earlier. Given scrutiny and media coverage surrounding Boyd, I'm very surprised the club didn't actively stop him from accessing social media. It's a very tough situation and the OP is right. We don't know what Watts is going through though, he could very well be depressed but we might never know. It's different from person to person. But yeah he appears to have dealt with the criticism extremely well. But not everyone has that capacity.

Bulldogs won't play finals this year. Top 8 place is ours to lose now.

Shh, just feed into their negativity. It's easier that way. One week we're flag contenders, we get some injuries and now we can't even beat 16th. This forum sometimes... Our defense was very good on the night. It's not all about the scoreboard. We got pummelled around the ground and our defenders are really the only ones that held firm.

Rubbish. We have talent across the board and if you couldn't see the endeavour last week you're blind. We got smashed but we'll be better for the rest. We still have more potential in each area of the ground than they do. And all this talk about Carlton's midfield...the worst clearance team in the comp. Lewis and Vince are more than adequate replacements. Not many teams can lose their entire midfield and throw former AA and B&F winners in as replacements. We'll wipe the floor with them.

Imo we'll smash Carlton. Our defense holds up well and was impressive considering the circumstances vs Sydney. We have more talent across the board. Very confident regardless of outs. They can smash the midfield but we best them elsewhere. Also Gawn will be better for the week's rest and 2 games. He'll go on a tear.

Imo he won't play. He's done.

We'd be undefeated. That said this raises questions about depth. Kent, Kennedy, Trengove, all fighting for their careers and need to step up. End of story.

We're still better than Carlton.

What's your logic here? Back in the 70s and 80s players could be seen downing a can of coke and having a dart after a match. In the 90s it wasn't much different and in fact the football community celebrated "having a beer with mates". It was part and parcel of the culture. These days with all we know about conditioning and fitness it is downright irresponsible to be having a drinking session less than a week before a match. And GWS is first on the ladder. Seriously, the logic you're trying to apply here is bizarre.

Who needs to step up: Jordan Lewis Who I think will step up: Petracca We brought in Lewis for a reason and with our injuries he goes from a mentor to someone in charge on game day.

Except none of those came on the back of multiple 6 day breaks with injuries and all said players on call. They shouldn't have been drinking. Hodge has won multiple flags and has runs on the board. Kennedy and Kent are working to keep their careers afloat. Spencer has played 40 games in 7 years.

Happened right in front of me. Don't think it's serious because he seemed to be able to run through it for 30 seconds before the siren went. Happened in the contest and seemed like he banged it. I don't think it's serious but a bruised knee can be a 1-2 week thing. That he went home and planned to go to recovery without having it been reported suggests it's not structural. I'm fairly certain he banged it against someone else or something similar. Roos' knee was a twist and strain. If you read the game day thread I'm fairly certain I mention seeing it when it happened.

They'll all be back with 3-4 weeks to go?

Our midfield engine has effectively been wiped out. Oliver stands as our own starting 22 mid. Vince and Lewis will have to go into the middle which isn't the end of the world but leaves us loose down back and potentially playing a super defensive game style like against the Swans. Tyson and Viney unlikely to play imo. Hunt looks raw. Watts unlikely and Hogan is probably 40% chance of playing. That leaves Trengove as a guaranteed in imo. Kent and Kennedy probably also in. What a mess we're in. Thankfully they're only short term and over the next month we should get a steady stream of players back. Even with those out we still have a better team than we did at any point 2012-2014. If we get back Hogan, Watts and Garlett, we might be okay. But the silver lining is that along with Gawn's injury we've tested our depth. Friday was a bad gauge due to Quick turn around. Carlton game stands as the true test of our depth.

We won't because we'll be look back on our 2018-2020 threepeat.

Melbourne's media department should be fired for letting Channel 7 interview Bugg.

Good learning game. Not the end of the world. Viney, Bugg out, Tyson potentially. Lots of tight players so expect to see maybe some other injuries. We're reaching the depths of our list now. Trengove, Kennedy, JKH may all potentially be playing next week. We're 8-6 and may stay around 5th-6th.

Tyson hurt his knee in the dying seconds. Be prepared for more bad news.

Tyson hurt his knee.

We've been okay. Score minimization mostly. Endeavour is there we just don't have the options. Closing in on finals. No more experiments. Bring in experience. White is not AFL standard.

Our endeavour has been very good but we've really left 2nd gear. Still think we're in it but without Viney it's simply impossible. Lots of passengers tonight unfortunately.