bananas

Was wondering the same thing, so just went back and did the maths. Gawn's on 63 for the year, so definitely knocking on the door of the top 10.

I know it's just AFL fluff, but getting 3 players into the team of the week hasn't happened in a while. Gawn, Watts and Viney all make the cut. Hopefully the team as a whole is starting to attract a bit more notice. Round Four Team of the Week

If you look at the build-up to Kennedy's goal from the weekend, Robbie Gray only ran himself into trouble because Sam Frost had come haring out of our forward fifty to put pressure on him from an unexpected angle. Until Pedo shows that he can be part of the team defence in the same way, to talk about him being "streets ahead" is premature. IMO. If I was choosing the round 1 team right now, Pedo would be at CHF. But I suspect Roos values the defensive contributions of the more mobile Frost and Dawes more highly than we do, and we should take that into account.

Suspect it's more about tying them both to the club long-term. Especially with Cowan, if the Perth clubs are starting women's teams she'd be an ideal person for them to headhunt as their senior coach, but (given she's surely the premier female coach in the country) we want to keep her out of their hands. Given there'll likely be a free-for-all with players and coaches when the new women's comp gets up and running, it makes sense to lock down the most important people ahead of time. Well done to both ladies, and best of luck to both of them.

I wouldn't be too shocked if we went for two mids, Parish and Oliver/Mathieson/etc. We all know Roos doesn't much like drafting talls, and the club could easily believe that some combination of Dawes/Pederson/Frost/TMac/King can do a serviceable enough job for another year or two, until our magnificent midfield has hot young tall forwards begging to be traded to us, at which point we can take our pick. ;-)

He showed some pretty special skills in our win over in Adelaide last year, and I will continue holding out hope that he makes good on the promise of that game. I also think he's a smarter and better-skilled footballer than many in this thread are giving him credit for. If he can work his way up to getting 20 possessions a game, I suspect he'd be very damaging.

Was just about to post something similar. There's also the potential that some players might believe it's for the best before the game, then find it all too much once they're actually out there. I can't really imagine any version of their quarter time huddle that doesn't add more trauma to what they're going through, rather than helping them through it.

What a terrible tragedy. Absolutely unimaginable. I think they should postpone the rest of the round and play the remaining eight games after round 24, pushing the finals back a week. As others have noted, there are many people all through the industry who are going to be in shock and grieving, not just the Crows. Almost every team would have somebody who'd find it hard (or impossible) to go out and play. That solution would be harsh on teams (like us) who have already travelled interstate, and it would give Sydney a leg up by giving them a bye just before the finals (and Port too, if they manage to make it in), but those are things we should just suck up and live with. Strict ideas of 'Fairness' come second at a time like this.

Obviously I want us to win the last eleven games straight, charge into the finals and roll Hawthorn in the GF by 100 points as we win the first of five consecutive flags … … but if we split the last ten rounds 50/50 (which I think most would agree is at least possible), that'd give us 9 wins for the season and be our best result since the Daniher years. Hard to be upset with that.

I really liked the structural set-up we had back in round one: Hogan and Frost as two falls, Watts as the 'tweener', and Garlett, Kent and JKH as smalls who buzzed around the big boys feet and pushed up to the flanks and wings as necessary. When Dawes came in for round two, I was worried we were going too tall, and I think that GWS game bore me out. Last weekend's side was essentially the round one structure again, just with a few like-for-like(ish) replacements: Pedo = Frost, Bail & Jones = Kent & JKH … and lo and behold, we functioned well and got a nice big score on the board. So for my money, we *MUST* keep that structure. And therefore Dawes has to play at Casey, find form, and wait for a chance to take his place off Hogan (when he needs a rest) or Pedo (if his form drops away). After what happened with the selection, structure, and results in rounds one and two, I'd be pretty annoyed if we made the same mistake again in rounds eight and nine.

I suspect we'd need to pay a lot more than that ...

For folks with lots of time to kill and a desire to actually see what happened on Sunday for themselves, the game's been put up on the MFC website: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2015-04-27/vfl-rd-2-q1-casey-v-footscray http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2015-04-27/vfl-rd-2-q2-casey-v-footscray http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2015-04-27/vfl-rd-2-q3-casey-v-footscray http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2015-04-27/vfl-rd-2-q4-casey-v-footscray

Is there such a thing as uber-competence? He just does everything so calmly, precisely, and well. Love him.

Anybody else feel like Nathan Jones looks at Brayshaw and sees a mini-me version of himself? Based on TDI's training reports and a few little moments in last night's telecast, it definitely seems like a bond is developing between those two.

Can't remember the last time that I was at a game and I thought our chances of winning improved after it started raining. Tough wet weather football has never been the MFC's forte, for as long as I've been watching. God I love what Roos is instilling in this team.

That spoil when Riewoldt was leading back into space and the ball was coming in over their heads was ridiculously, unbelievably good. On a night with many highlights, that's one I'll remember.

A few that haven't been mentioned yet: Jack Watts set shot from the boundary. I was right behind it, and from the moment it left his boot it never looked anything but perfect. JKH turning in board and hitting Tyson perfectly in stride, and Tyson finishing it off like a star. vandenBerg's massive smother that eventually led to Nathan Jones' goal. Garlett running away from a centre bounce for a long goal … nice way to answer a GC score, that was!

Viney was obviously very good, but I feel like Garland isn't getting enough kudos for his efforts on Ablett. I was at the game and the two of them split the job pretty much 50/50 as far as I could see, and Col made for a very effective (if not quite as violent) shadow in his own right.

6. Tom McDonald 5. Jack Viney 4. Nathan Jones 3. Colin Garland 2. Jack Watts 1. Daniel Cross Apologies: too many to list. (Edited after watching the replay: I'd been selling Viney short.)

One of the things I really like about this team is that 5/6 of the players named in the forward line have good foot skills and smart footy brains. If any of Watts, Garlett, Hogan, Kent or (okay, I'm being generous here) Toumpas get the ball between 50 and 70 metres out, they're going to be a pretty good chance to actually hit a target inside fifty. (And you could add JKH to that list as well, who'll be down there for the majority of the game, and who has a real knack for finding a teammate in space.) Very pleased we've gone for a smaller, more mobile, and *smarter* forward line. Hopefully it works!

Disappointing drop in intensity that quarter. It's been a long time since an MFC team has really stuck the boot in when on top.

Given the weight of possession, and the almost witches-hats-esque team the dogs have on the park, seven goals in a half isn't that great, really. But the longer this goes, the more practice we're getting moving the ball inside fifty with purpose and with good foot skills. Still some pretty wonky entries, but there were a few that quarter that were lovely to watch. JKH still looks a bit rusty, but is working his way into it. Great effort on the deck to get the ball to Frost for that goal. Salem and Toumpas (and the defence as a whole) will be getting a lot of confidence from this.

Jeff Garlett is going to make hay buzzing around Hogan's feet this year. In the back of his mind, he's probably hoping Jesse doesn't start taking those grabs. Salem off half back will be getting the opposition's best defensive forward by about round five. Great run and spread, and some very good ball use in the back half (including from TMac, Grimes and M Jones), final kick inside fifty the only thing letting us down. Couple of times we over-committed forward searching for goals, and fast doggies players carved us up going the other way. Need to stay more disciplined.

Ignition, just go to the club website. Link to live stream is right on the front page. I'm just watching on my laptop.

I suspect a few people will be surprised when Dom Tyson wins this year's Brownlow ... (shut up, let me dream!)