Adam The God

So to me the ruck position has little to do with Max playing spare man in defence in the hole. You could argue the ability to get involved in the spread from a stoppage is ruck work, but not really. Hits to advantage and hit outs are very imprecise or too predictable. You might get a a goal or two out of it a match, but that's it. I'd much rather have three Oliver's and a McEvoy who competes at stoppages. I think I just view the position in a similar way to Luke Beveridge. It's functional and if your team becomes too reliant on one position it's unsustainable, and too easy to counter.

Ed doesn't tend to play centre bounces but if he's included, Gus should certainly be in there. Sparrow occasionally takes forward stoppages and Harmes will when he's fit again too.

I'll say it again. The ruck position is trash...

Fascinating sponsorship. So they trade corporate bonds. I wonder if they are secondary market participants for government bonds. Fed gov bonds are the safest storer of wealth you can get. Corporate welfare on steroids.

It's very Sam Mitchell. He's always reminded me of Mitchell in the way that he plays and for years, Mitchell was overlooked until he started winning premierships. I hope the same thing will happen with Clarry at Melbourne.

Yep, my thinking also mate.

I noticed Oliver was the one often starting 5m wider with his opponent. It's brilliant, because his acceleration through the contest is elite. Not only does it give him greater separation at the stoppage (5m off the ball there'll be less tugging of jumpers), it allows him to enter it or stay on the outside and receive.

Jordon played off half back for CGS/Oakleigh, so not surprised he's being used in a similar outside role. But it shows the potential evolution of an outside player in the modern game with his tackle numbers. It's not just about cheap possessions. It's about defending and then peeling off when your ball winners win it at stoppage.

This is an absolute ripper of a post, but without sounding like a sycophant, I expect it now from you, Bob. If this analysis is right, we've completely reversed our 2018 formula, which was to have an extra at the stoppage (the sliders) and sometimes even two extras off the back stoppages ala 2017. Given the elite contested talent we have in there, it's a genius move, particularly as it gives us 1 v 1s forward of the contest.

Good post mate. I think the biggest change has finally been in the uncontested possession area. It's long hamstrung us when we've come up against good outside teams, but I suspect a combination of mental maturity, fitness and experience is starting to shift the dial on this part of our game. Given we have multiple guys that can rack up possessions in a contested situation, complimenting this with a greater uncontested focus I think makes us much harder to beat. And as you say, less of this bees to the honeypot stuff means we can defend territory and stoppage better. I hope Yze really continues to work hard on this area of our game. As for Gus, I think there'll be injuries this year that open the door for him as a pure mid, but in the meantime, I'm comfortable with where he is at and what he can offer on the outside. He's also had a year of playing wing, albeit a bit of a struggle last year. Good players learn though and I like the positions he takes up off the back of stoppages. They provide both cover and offence. My premiership favourite is the Bulldogs. Their midfield is simply awesome. It bats deeper than ours but I think we have a stronger potential list across the rest of the ground with at least two A grade midfielders too. The Eagles and Port might be thereabouts again, but the Bulldogs and Richmond are the teams to beat IMO. On our day I think we could beat any of them. It'll be interesting to see whether we can get everything to click this year, if we do, I think we'll wipe a few sides off the park.

Oliver is a rare 'at any price' player IMO. I don't think he's missed a game since his second season. He has shoulder recos every season, but it doesn't impact on his ball winning ability at all. He's a natural. We'll agree to disagree mate.

I'd say name your price, but if you go too high, just know you may compromise list management decisions in the future and the club's ability to improve. If he'd sign a long term deal, I'd comfortably give him 10 x $1 mill a year. He's incredibly durable and IMV will have a long future (playing well past 30) in the game.

5 years ago. He's 30 now. Someone of his age should be in his prime, but he's clearly not the player he was. He's faded.

You're not being told how to think. No one's forcing you to deal with your emotions if you refuse to. You can take or leave the message. Your precious rights are not being impinged. And this is classic corporate liberalism/centrism. None of these organisations particularly care about any of the social issues they support, but they can talk about them at functions and be seen to be a reputable community 'brand', meanwhile often the toxicity that these organisations are said to be fighting remains completely unchecked. In the AFLs case it's also a way of promoting the event. It is what it is. Engage with it or don't.

ANB taking better options IMO. There was a distinct moment in the game last night where he wove through the traffic off half back, looked wide, it wasn't on, carried the ball and then made the straighter kick and we scored. It was a very notable moment, because it's the sort of moment he's historically struggled with as you imply. Jackson is doing what Weideman was doing in his first season - he's basically leading himself under the ball, making it far too easy for his opponent. Weideman has fixed it, so in time, with the right coaching, Jackson will too. If Brown or Weideman were free next week it'd be an interesting conversation at the selection table. I feel Jackson's struggled both weeks, but perhaps touch will come with continuity for him, and anyway, Brown or Weideman are weeks off. Jackson provides that little bit of brilliance as second ruck that will probably see him keep his place no matter what this season. While we wait for Brown and Weideman, Jackson must bring the ball to ground. For a guy his height, with his leap, he didn't do it enough last night. Things to work on.

Sure, the ruckmen would help, but it's not like we smashed them in the clearances. As for Hannebery and Crouch, you can't be serious mate? Harmes is equal to, if not better, than both, and Brown and Weideman would have been our starting forwards this year had it not been for injury. I think their injuries are being massively overplayed by a media machine that is providing itself cover for pumping up their tyres, only to see their predictions quite a way off. St Kilda could very easily be 0-2 and there's certainly no top 4 contender.

Glad to see Charlie get some wraps. I've long stuck up for him on here and at games - my sister isn't a fan. His thing - that will come (is coming) with maturity - is staying in games long enough and ideally getting it more. Most of his possessions are in scoring chains. He's a very rare player in that regard. Doesn't get it lot, but when he does it usually results in a score, due to that decision making you mention, and also probably the role he plays. His pressure has gone to another level now though, which means he's staying in games longer. Well done, Charlie. Keep it up.

Bang on this. He set up constantly in dangerous positions off the back of stoppages, always there to release. Completely agree with this. Top post. I think he compliments Langdon nicely on the wing too, because Langdon can cover the ground so much better, but Gus has a knack of putting himself in dangerous positions at stoppages, whereas Langdon tends to get it on the rebound. I questioned whether Yze's influence on the midfield was a good thing last week given we struggled for midfield connection, but this week it has to be said, the mix in there is looking really solid. Some much better signs structurally this week too.

Petracca ran through the square. As for Max's game I thought he struggled for the most part. His game last week was ordinary and if he's not marking around the ground, his tap work is too predictable to cause the opposition too many headaches. Last night he was playing his loose man in defence role and if you watch the tape, he falls over multiple times or fails to kill the contest and St Kilda get scores. He needs to lift. That is a great stat. Our efficiency felt better, so it's good to have it backed up. What I found interesting was that the majority of our players were practicing shots from 30m directly in front before the game as if we were looking to hit that area, but Fritsch and others constantly lead to the pockets.

Clayton Oliver easily best afield. Getting closer and closer to A+ grade. I thought it should have been a 10+ goal victory, but happy enough to start 2 zip. The connection between the mids was far better this week. Was this down to the inclusion of Viney or coincidence? Sitting up high on level 3, an unusual position for me, it was obvious that we set up beautifully behind the ball against the Saints and without silly unforced they'd have struggled to kick goals all night. Marvel really suits our zone as we can blanket space a lot more easily, but on the flip side our uncontested work the first two weeks has been outstanding. A real weak area of our game historically. Our delivery inside 50 and connection from back to front has really improved since last year. Another historical weakness of ours. Our forwards need to get the job done though. Fritsch has become a liability. He gets it so often, but couldn't hit the side of a barn half the time. Surely that's mental. Banking the win against GWS is an absolute must next week. Confidence must be high heading into the Geelong game.

Sure, tackles aren't the only indicator of defence, but you said Oliver just chases stats.

See, this is nonsense mate. Oliver was 6th highest tackler in the league last year. I swear people don't actually watch Oliver play the game...

I had some nufty try to tell me on Facebook that Oliver was nowhere near best on ground. I'd have Oliver and Lever ahead of May personally, but clearly the three best players on the ground. The nufty has similar company on here who constantly pick Oliver's game apart. It's like they've never seen a Melbourne team play prior to Oliver's debut. I've been banging on for years on Demonland that he's the best I've seen in my 33 years. That remains. As for Oliver being replaceable... what world are you living in?

This. Our most important player. He runs our midfield. Midfields win games and premierships.

Harmes just needs to get his touch back. First time getting back in the midfield for a while. He stays. I'd be looking at Viney for Jones and Hibberd for Hunt, and that ought to do it for the week.