praha

I'll be very, VERY surprised if we win this. Collingwood just look primed to absolutely go nuts. Just like Freo. Brace yourselves fam.

Been the case three weeks in a row. Exactly same vibe as last three weeks. We don't win from here unless we pull a rabbit out of the hat. Pies are very well coached. No way they have better cattle than us but if teams defend us in the air it's all over.

58% to 35% efficiency inside 50. We simply do not win from here if the second half continues as it's been. Every time they go forward they look like scoring. That's really concerning.

It's identical. Start strong then teams we play against are suddenly are aerial perfectionists

given we've dominated this quaryer it's worrying we've both kicked 2 goals.

walk through and some stand behind the goals. I rather stand with Melbourne supporters than sit with ferals at Collingwood and Richmond games.

not used to seeing so many delinquents and unemployable adults in one place.

Yep this club has been a beacon of disappointment in recent times.............

Good game but Freo is annoying. EVERYTHING just falls their way. I can just see a Freo vs Carlton Grand Final.

Collingwood also lost to WC. I'm not confident and agree we shouldn't be based on form, but similarly suggesting Collingwood "should" win is still a stretch. They've played some good football and notched some good wins. They also lost to the Bulldogs by 9 goals and beat up a Freo side that at the time was going through an arguably worse patch on field than we are going through right now. I respect what Collingwood has done so far but we're still the best team in the land. We should have beaten Freo and we should have beaten Sydney. Carlton should've beaten Collingwood. We should beat Collingwood. Form is important obviously but if either team *should* win, it should be the objectively better team. And that's Melbourne. Let's show our team a bit of respect here.

Interestingly we lead the league in tackles inside 50, have conceded the fewest amount of points (even with a full game more on a quarter of the league who had the bye last round) and along with Collingwood are one of the best intercept teams in the league. We are one of the worst tackling and worst pressure act teams (pressure act being chasing a team from behind). It could well be the way we play in that we rarely need to chase. Teams out tackle us given we are near the top in contested possessions and disposals. We win and have more of the ball overall. We also go forward more than any other team. It could explain why our games haven't looked "good" all year. They have almost always seemed like grinds and they really have been. Suggesting Collingwood "should" win though is a stretch. Why?

I truly hope we absolutely rip them to shreds. The club has been questioned this week. If we can't get up for this after the fortnight we've had then I feel back to back just ain't within the realm of possibility.

Relax. I have no idea about loading.

I can't remember a time when we've both been in turmoil as a club -- front page news for all the wrong reasons -- whilst *still* being seen as a great team, AND favourites for a forthcoming match. Normally the turmoil follows a streak of big losses and an extended period of poor performance... this time it's a tall poppy pile on from media elites unsurprisingly with ties to the Pies, Bombers and Tigers. Top of the ladder AND infighting? How juicy! Won a flag and lower crowds than the big clubs? Front page scoop! There haven't been many opportunities for us as a club to both be under public pressure whilst also being in a prime position to win a game of football. I really hope the club is primed to give a collective, snotty, pompous middle finger to absolutely everyone that has jumped on the pile on this fortnight, and give Collingwood a good old football lesson. Really [censored] give it to them. And then maybe after the game I'll treat two Pies supporters to a weekend at Buller. Will be the most extravagant vacation they would have taken in their lifetimes. Seriously, there isn't a better opposition to absolutely bury at a time when we're being question. [censored] fire up and show the league why we're still number one.

loading may well be a reflection of performance ie. Brisbane and Freo have 3 losses and probably can't afford to risk losing 3 more by the bye as a result of loading. We got to round 7, saw we were likely to be 9-0 and so upped training knowing that 2-3 losses by the bye puts us in a good position.

The big news here isn't even that he was drinking and that they had a scuffle. It was that they immediately self reported and the club was pretty swift in deciding action. It shows strong leadership and self-awareness. A blip on the radar. Dees by 8 goals.

My Carlton mate is messaging me about Petracca apparently having a go at Melbourne supporters for not turning up. Anyone seen it?

Even despite our forward woes we still outscore the filth over 12 rounds. They also defend poorly. Statistically and on paper there's no way we lose this. Should be another regulation win just like against Richmond and Essendon. On current form and coaching though Collingwood could win its 4th in a row. Would be a huge scalp for them. But if we lose to this Collingwood team after how we've played the last two weeks I'd hazard a guess to say we might be in trouble.

most of them yes but Papley played it to perfection. Was sitting on that pocket and he fell to ground straight away. He played for the free kick and the umpire technically right to award it but not in the spirit of the game. Not sure how experienced that umpire was but that simply doesn't get paid in finals.

I always think of the 2008 comeback against Freo. The game against Brisbane that same year as well. 16k and very loud. If Sydney had been premiers and on top and the roles were reversed, I suspect we may have been louder. As it stands supporters are getting up and about because they're beating the colossus. Freo and Sydney both paying close to $5. Rank outsiders by a fair margin and no one tipping them. If the Pies get going on Monday you can bet they'll be louder than they were yesterday vs Hawthorn. Everyone is eyeing us and wants to take us down. We still don't get respect, neither as a club nor a supporter base. We may well lose on Monday but true respect earned will be how we back it up in the second half of the year. As it stands our reputation as a club is on shaky ground Harsh reality.

The noise isn't the issue for me. It's the numbers. They're just not big enough. Melbourne supporters clap and watch. Like Whaetley once said, watching Melbourne is like viewing art at the museum. We're very much like Chelsea or the Chicago Bulls. During the season it's boring home games. Once the pressure rises and it's a big game or the playoffs though we're as loud as anyone.

Keep reading about "loading". What does this mean? Are they increasing training loads? What would be the purpose of this?

The problem isn't the cheersquad. They're no different to any other clubs. The problem is that a large chunk of our support base sit in the MCC and Olympic stands. Other clubs fill the Olympic and spill out into the Southern Stand. So for Melbourne games you basically have a free for all of GA and reserved club members of other clubs. We just don't have the numbers sitting around and with the cheer squad to really make much of a difference. They were heavily outnumbers by Swans supporters last night. Which raises the question about ticketing. I felt sorry for the cheer squad last night because Sydney basically had a second cheer squad sitting right behind them. So is it the AFL or MFC allowing ticket sales of away teams in areas otherwise dedicated to home team members? It didn't feel like a home game yesterday and I think it has a lot to do with ticketing. Force them into the Ponsford stand. Unless they're AFL or MCC members, they can sit with their own cheer squad.

The Melbourne FC Twitter account used to livetweet the press conference but haven't this year. Can someone summarise key points?

Definitely.