Adam The God

I'd be happy with 52,000ish this season. If we can go deep and go on with the job next year we should be able to push for 55,000-60,000 in 2022.

Great news if true.

That's not what I said at all. I said I don't watch him in every contest and expect him to win it. For an outside player, he's reasonable on the inside, and he has improved his 1v1, but I've also watched him for 8 years and I wouldn't say he's infallible in 1v1 situations.

He'll be good, but I don't want him in against this Richmond team.

Interesting. So the address will either be watched by all with incredible momentum behind us having beaten Richmond. Or the address will be a pep up after an agonising loss.

I much prefer the overly positive and 'dreamer' like position than the weeks after a loss. Can we keep this up for a little while longer? :P Winning is fun.

They were a joke even half way through 2017. That loss on the siren to Freo, the media went them, and rightly so, for their soft underbelly. That same team has now won 3 flags. It can turn quickly. The great Geelong side were similarly flakey and unreliable in early 2007 and we know what happened after that. Given where we've been for almost 60 years, I would be very surprised if the vast majority of Melbourne people weren't humble if we went on a similar run. To be humble, I think, is one of the more important traits in life and in sport. It sounds like Richmond supporters have little of this, and for a club that failed to make the finals for almost 20 years and then when they eventually did get there, choked at the first asking, is pretty rich I reckon.

Spot on. Too many don't watch the game closely enough. Tomlinson is very very solid. Petty was shaky until midway through the third. It's a no brainer that he comes out for May. I rate Petty, but Tomlinson locks down and enables May and Lever to play intercept. Sure, converting our opportunities will be paramount, but when we played Richmond through 2017 and 2018, we'd completely dominate the territory battle for large chunks of the quarters and then get a bit defensively leaky at stages, as we'd press too high with little cover and had no ability to change gears or get it on the outside and create scores from a crowded forwardline. We're a very different defensive proposition this year. Providing May plays, I think we can really limit Richmond scores from inside 50s. This combined with our likely midfield dominance puts us in a very good place. I think it's all about our goal kicking at that end of the ground, rather than our forward entries. Get the job done like we haven't in the first 5 weeks and I think we can strangle them. Goal kick like we have in the first 5 weeks and I think it'll be tough to win. You can't bring out that much tackling pressure and not replace it. Pressure in the forward half and midfield is what's making our game work.

One of my mates is a Casey coach. He has huge wraps on our AFL boys, which is saying something as he's a massive Collingwood man. He says the facilities at Casey compare to what he's seen of the EPL clubs and their training facilities. Huge wraps. He also thinks we'll beat Richmond. Says we're playing exactly how we're training at the moment.

Interesting post, Mister Leg. I didn't see the Casey game as I was on the way into the Melbourne game, but Toby has always seemed a little slow for a small forward to me. I hope you're right and he has improved. His attributes looked fringe at best to me, so let's see.

Having met Salem before, he seems like a really genuine guy. I'd suggest that since the club has nursed him through some tough thyroid issues and he has friends at the club, he'll very likely be a one club player. His 1v1 game has improved, but I don't have the same confidence in him to win those that others do just yet, but hope I'll soon be on board.

... start to believe.

That's the side I'd go with too, @MadAsHell. I reckon we set Weideman and Brown for this game some weeks ago. Both are back much earlier than we thought and I suspect to temper expectations around this. In that team, Viney has to play 70% forward, 30% midfield.

Wouldn't be surprised if he wears a facial shield. Or at least strapping.

Sure, I just think he should probably play the role he's currently playing. With Brown and Weideman in the team, maybe he plays higher up the ground.

Those that are saying he's not a forward (including the poster who is most definitely not a doctor), watch the Hawthorn game again. If he's not a KPF, he does a pretty bloody good job of lead up marking across half forward and the wing, and almost always brings the ball to ground in the forwardline. That is what we want from an emerging KPF. In the meantime, his agility around the ground will eventually enable us to play Brown and Weideman as the key talls. It's clear the club has set McDonald for a similar role to Jackson once Brown and Weideman are fit. It could even be as early as this week. This is what a modern footy side looks like. Agile 195-200cm talls running defenders off their feet and outmarking them in the air or bringing it to ground for smalls to go to work.

That said, watching the 4th quarter now and ANB is having a cracking quarter.

Deep into the third quarter now and ANB has really struggled. I heard that on 360 and ANB might drive standards off the field, but his skill errors and poor tackling in the Hawthorn game should put him in the gun, particularly with the likes of Bedford banging the door down. I think ANB has done enough this year to earn another week, but we'll be in big trouble if he serves that up next week. Can't have any weak links against a side that has three flags in four years.

Brown was very ordinary for most of the match. Won't be unlucky to be dropped. We need more.

The only error McDonald made all day was an easy kick out of defence to Gus. He missed him and kicked it on the full. For whatever reasons he's a dreadful kick in the back half. Playing Tom back would be a nightmare waiting to happen. Richmond would take him to the cleaners. I'd bring in Fritsch and look at dropping Brown or ANB. I felt ANB was one of our weakest. I'm watching the replay right now and he's was terrible in the first quarter.

That's fine. Goodwin is no longer under pressure. There's no conflict in his current story. Buckley on the other hand... the press always goes the negative narrative.

Totally. That incredible stat from last week that said he'd only lost one 1v1 since Round 10 last year is amazing. Salem improved as the game wore on, but missed so many easy targets early on in the game. Perhaps I was a little harsh on Salem though...

I thought Rivers' first quarter was dreadful. Really improved after that though. IMO, Max nailing the goal from outside 50.

Where are all those muppets that kept saying we'd made a mistake in that trade? Some people just have no idea. A bit like a few of those Hawks muppets sitting around us today. And yes, Lever was brilliant down back. Tomlinson is playing such an important role there to allow Lever the second or third best tall/enables him to play his intercept game.

Nope. We were comfortably outnumbered. Gus is proving a pretty good wing partner the last few weeks too.