praha

Capitano!

Not really his fault. They had three players lined up in the middle. Had zero options, and about a second to make a decision. Seeing Hunt,Wagner,Omac get caught though after having the ball for 5 seconds. Their defensive awareness sometimes is very poor but they've all been solid today so far.

Still playing the zone that quarter. Maybe it's just working?

I wonder if the NT factor will come up in the second half.

The nerve of Hawks supporters to boo that call.

Their smalls all hang back. Every single contest.

We're overusing it no more than Hawthorn. Our backline is just shocking and their forward line too good. We have no plan B for attacking the zone and they're masters at getting out the back.

They are toying with us.

Bruest takes on the player, drops the ball, nothing. Kicks a goal 2 seconds later.

One food store open in AFL Members, none on level 4. Idiotic.

I really hope one of Dawes or Frost is taken out.

I would think we'd be able to get on top in contested football. Our defense needs to tighten up and our mids need to cover the spread well today. Zero room for error today.

Not sure they even have a thousand supporters in Melbourne that go to their games let alone a trillion! Not sure what to expect today. I think we're a chance...but also can't see it happening.

Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like you thought we should. Just that I hope we don't. Not sure that whatever value he has that we'd get something in return that would fill a need. I agree we've made the right decisions the last few years and I think the right decision would be to keep ANB.

Gee I hope we don't. ANB seems to be like someone that would smoke us and blow the comp away at another club. We should definitely hold onto him. Still extremely young and inexperienced but certainly has what it takes imo.

Yes.

If we play like we did vs Adelaide in 2014 and vs Geelong in 2015, we might get within 5 goals.

Debatable. 1990 and 1991 were good seasons, but 92 and 93 were massively disappointing, and who could forget losing to Essendon on ANZAC Day after leading by 7 goals at three quarter time, and giving the Swans their only win in 1993. 1994 was great, but 95 was terrible as we handed Brisbane their first ever finals appearance. 96 had merger talks and about ten 100-point beltings, and 97 we finished last. 98 was great but 99 was arguably as bad as 97. We haven't had a consistently "good" decade since the 50s.

Only Jones, Watts, Trengove, Dunn and Garland remain from that game. Probably 2 too many. 5 too many depending on who you talk to. Dunn and Garland are in their last AFL contracts you'd think.

Yes, it is an accountable system, but all are. The difference with a zone is you literally cannot afford even one player not playing their role. A football zone/diamond/whatever is no different than a basketball zone: the structure has to move like a flock of birds relative to the position of the ball. I have played basketball at a high level and you could have the smartest, hardest offensive player on the planet who couldn't process the zone. You need 100% awareness of the opposition but more importantly your teammates, because you need to be moving with each other. At the moment it seems like a breakdown of player communication rather than a breakdown of the system itself. Zones are smothering and highly effective when they work, forcing long-range shots and chipping around the 50-meter arc. But the holes we leave open are akin to the Center in basketball moving too far up the key and leaving the baseline open. Anyone that has played a basketball zone knows how important communication is. Just chatter chatter chatter. No one in the backline atm seems to take control.

Get ready for a big game from Petracca. I can smell it. I think he exists for games like this.

Jesus. Hawthorn has only ten more wins in the historic record. A decade ago we were even. I think we've beaten them something like 7 or 8 times out of the past 50 or so. Goes to show how terrible they were before the 80s, and how terrible we've been since the 80s. Does anyone remember a game on the 00s, I think it was 2002 or maybe 2004, when a young,inexperienced Hawks side absolutely bullied and made a mockery of our leaders and finals experience? I remember being at the game and knowing that Hawthorn were going places. We beat them the next two times but they had that aggression and attack from well before they started their run. I don't know how we win on the weekend. Maybe being on the MCG gives us a chance. But I doubt it. To be honest, I think we're more a chance after losing to Port than we had have been had we beaten them. We need everyone to be 100% on, and for the Hawks' best to be down. It takes only one of their stars to be "on" and the team just follows. If they win, it would be spectacular. But the Port game was a wake up call in that more experienced, big bodied teams with even a tinge of structure easily opens us up. I don't think we'll get smashed. I'd say a 4-5 goal Hawks win is probable. EDIT: Sorry for typos. On my phone.

I'm still waiting for us to bring back Powell.

You can't help but notice the similarities between Melbourne 2016 and Melbourne 2010. When we won in 2010, out young brigade was on fire and we were on the right track. When we lost, it was due to a lack of bigger bodies and experience. It's exactly the same in 2016. When we won in 2010, it was exciting, high-scoring, confident football. When we lost, it was frustrating, as Melbourne was easily bullied and pushed aside. It's exactly the same in 2016. I actually think we've had the best start to a year for more than a decade. 1. We started the season off strong with three pre-season wins and a great win against GWS. 2. Four of our five wins have been beltings. 3. Of our five loses, only three have been disappointing: Essendon, Saints and Power. Bulldogs game I thought we played well but just couldn't match it with them. BUT...it could all fall off the rails VERY quickly. We have 5 wins after 10 rounds. We need another 8 to assure finals. We probably won't make it, but a strong second-half of the year we be more an indication of where this club is at than this week's game against Hawthorn will be. Our biggest problem is still in the 150-200 game bracket, as was the problem in 2010. It's almost like we've made the same mistakes. Club stalwarts like Jones, Dunn, Garland have been part of a losing team for a decade. Bernie is winding down. Pederson and Dawes are serviceable but that's it. Look at Carlton. They have Gibbs, Murphy, experienced campaigners with finals experience. Saints have stacks of it. This is why we will struggle and continue to struggle against both of them for the next few times we meet. Bookmark it. GWS have added premiership-winning match-winners and finals campaigners. They will fight for top 4 this year. We match up well with some teams, but against others we are still in a game of losing margin minimisation. It's not a "false dawn" in that the players we have drafted are no good or won't come on, but we still need to take a BIG step and turn a huge corner. We couldn't do it in 2010, and haven't done it yet. This club is still very much in a fight to be relevant. Anyone that thinks we've turned the corner is considering themselves. If you have realistic expectation you won't be as disappointed. Don't fall for it. We need 4-5 weeks of consistent, winning football but this club turns a corner. No more "anomaly" wins like last year up at Geelong.

Dees by 10 goals.