praha

Called it. This is Carlton's to lose now.

We won't win.

They are running harder. Their transition is very good. We are being kept in it by the imps.

Granted but this game is up for grabs. No doubt about it. They will have the belief now and it's all you need. Melbourne has been in Carlton's position many times the past few years and we've rolled over the top. Vs Carlton in 2014 comes to mind. If we play the second half as we did the first, Carlton will win.

This won't improve for the game. It's going to be a slog. If we win we need to start respecting the Blues more. This has Round 2 vs Essendon written all over it.

We look lost. Blues playing with a lot of confidence. They have the wood over us and know it.

Joking?

Reminds me of the Gold Coast game last year. Had all the possession but disposal kept them in it. We are handing them the ball across half back.

This can't be real. He doesn't mention that St Kilda beat us 14 times in a row.

Well there's nothing wrong about what he said lol

It could have had to do with Bailey standing by the board and supporting them whenever they got involved in on-field matters, such was the nature of his professionalism and personality. It may have been a last resort for a playing group that, despite loving Bailey, really had no where to turn.

Very weird and sad point in our club's history. Jimmy and Co. were part of the solution and the problem. They oversaw the club's rebirth, and then subsequent near-death. We had never been closer to death as a club as we were between 2011 and 2013. Some utterly terrible decisions were made. Many a scapegoat. Erratic changes made in the hope of fixing damaging issues. Went from one extreme to another. Just a consistent stream of terrible decisions. 186 was a protest, make no mistake. That Jimmy allowed that to continue and for Schwab to remain to oversee the hiring of another coach is a major indictement on his time as club President imo. Harsh reality.

After last year's loss to Carlton and our performance against Essendon, not to mention how we played against Carlton in 2015, I'm not going into this match with 100% confidence we'll win.

Oscar isn't going anywhere. He and Tommy were very solid from the 2nd onwards. Even after a few brain farts and fumbles the kid still continues on with confidence and urgency. Many of you seem to have forgotten his end to 2016 when he was out most consistent defender. Defenders are easy targets because their mistakes stand out more. He will learn and the club will benefit from it. Drop him..for who? Who do we bring in that makes us better? Will be a long term player for us, just like his bro.

When you say, "Via your laptop", are you watching via Foxtel Go, or WatchAFL, or AFL Live streaming, or what? I watched it live last night via my international streaming pass.

Done.

No, I mean that we have to expect that there will be some bumps along the road. I think Essendon-like losses from last year are behind us, but I still think it's important to expect some hard losses that are tough to stomach. It's "managing expectations", as Roos used to say.

This week's win was more important than last year's Round 1 against GWS. GWS was coming in onto a ground they rarely play at. We were coming off an undefeated pre-season and were relatively fit and injury free. This year we played a team we haven't beaten in 10 years on a ground we've won on once in the same period of time. We had one less on the bench for more than half the game, and came back from almost 5 goals down to utterly dominate a team that arguably players Etihad better than anyone. We certainly shouldn't get ahead of ourselves because we *do* have some tough losses ahead, but we should most definitely go into Carlton extremely confident. That doesn't mean we're taking the Blues for granted. We should just go in confident that we're better than them, and therefore should beat them.

Updated.

Talk about the politics of fear...

Melksham I think was the only player that really struggled after quarter time. OMac and TMac held up the defense extremely well and were rarely beaten from the 2nd onwards. Salem, Vince and Lewis were the generals across half back that dictated play. Jetta was simply a superb defender all game and didn't make a mistake. Very impressed by ANB in the second half. I thought one of the best on the ground in the 3rd quarter.

First quarter was a mess. 2nd and 3rd were amazing. 4th was a blend between composed, erratic, and tired. Overall, great win.

The first quarter was that bad.

I wish that I was Jesse's girl.

Weeds works hard and is in the air at what seems like every contest. O and T and the backline broadly have been superb post first quarter. Melksham has been garbage, however.