Adam The God

I would have thought your last point undercuts what you said in your OP. They pushed hard to keep VDB and let Kent go.

Kent's kicking is iffy at best. Terrible call. Kent was allowed to go elsewhere because he was far too inconsistent. Im no VDB fan but at least he shows consistent work rate, hence the contract offer.

Our midfield's biggest problem is that it doesn't defend. We basically have 3 attackers and one defensive mid at every stoppage. That's great if we win it, although the opposition expects this and closes us down. But if we lose it, we basically surrender a score going the other way with only one tackler defending. I reckon we a need a new midfield coach and a new game plan at stoppages, or at least a more adaptable stoppage game.

It was 191cm. Ridiculous comments from our Freak.

I wouldn't trade him, but his defensive game is weak and a big problem.

Today was a perfect example of what has seen us rooted to the foot of the ladder, but similarly, the problem holds the answer to how we can bounce back quickly next year. The key reason we lost today was our impotence at ground level in our forwardline, both from a ground-ball-gets capacity and from a tackling pressure standard. It means that we end up doing most of our defending in our back half. This is unsustainable. We need to be looking at what Geelong did over the last off season. They injected 3 or 4 players into their forwardline that apply manic pressure, provide x factor and generally create a contest that enables them to lock the ball inside their 50. Due to our midfield dominance, we will bounce back quickly if we address this severe and obvious flaw in our game and our best 22. I'd look at trying to lure 1 or 2 zippy forwards from the likes of Richmond, and then add some more class through the midfield with our first pick in the upcoming draft. It seems crazy to say it given how poor we've been this year, but with a fit list to choose from, I think we can bounce back, but it's up to Goody and whoever our new high performance manager ends up being. The high performance program needs to be top notch, we need to be relatively injury-free and Goodwin needs to develop a more rounded and adaptable game style. In regards to the game today, I thought Petty's marking (just as it was last week) was impressive and I like his relaxed kicking action. He's another Lever. I'm excited by what we could see from him in the future, but also over the next 6 weeks. Petracca continued to provide a good contest in the forward half and should have had at least 2 goals today. His ball drop ensured he didn't have an easy third goal around the body. I've never seen such a skilled player fail to kick the ball around his body like Petracca does and I can only assume it's a ball drop thing. I can't remember him ever kicking a snap around his body that has goaled. He's missed plenty doing this though. Most AFL players find this the easier option, so it is a little baffling. Still, he continues to show consistency, which is all I would ask of him this season. I thought as a team, we tried to lower our eyes a lot more going inside 50 (this is a trend at Marvel - we tend to do this more), but I think we played the wrong game style for Marvel and the Bulldogs. Due to our slow play, we allowed the Bulldogs to consistently get numbers behind the ball and make us kick to a contest. However, when we moved the ball quickly and played on, we looked a million dollars. I liked that Goodwin finally threw Fritsch forward (he should have had three goals in just over a quarter) and May, but I think Goody has a bit to learn about game style. Knowing when to play slower and knowing when to go. For the most part, you need to go quickly against the Bulldogs and for the most part, it pays off on a small ground like Marvel. The other thing about our game from back to front is that we are one of the only teams who never look to set up for the switch. We don't have a dominant contested markers (Max is good floating down back, but rarely gets it done on the wings or in the forward half), yet we end up being highly predictable, kicking it down the line and often surrendering possession as a result. With May, Lever and even Hibberd in the team now, we should be using their penetrating kicking to switch more often. I think it was @titan_uranus who was saying in another thread today that if we bring a new brand of defensive pressure to our forwardline, we will climb back up the ladder relatively quickly. I agree and I hope Goodwin is thinking similarly.

At least he's a genuine crumber and pressure forward with x factor. We could do with a bit more of that.

Goddard has always been a muppet. If Melbourne traded Clarry, that'd be it for me.

I agree with this. Gawn 90% ruck and 10% forward, Preuss vice versa.

Agreed, if he can fix his kicking for goal, he'll be a very good player. I'll back him from here.

I'd be playing both of them and resting one forward or back. I like Preuss, but once the ruck contest is over he really stops playing, unlike Max or Grundy, who get involved in the next play. This is where Preuss needs to improve and much of this is about his tank and then developing game sense.

Glad to come away with the victory given we were down to one on the bench for the last quarter. Thought we'd be in trouble, seeing Tom hobble off at 3/4 time. I wondered not only who would kick our goals, but whether we'd completely run out of legs. Special point on Fritsch. I don't understand how we think we can use him in a quarter back role. He may have got a lot of uncontested possessions yesterday, but Carlton let him have it, knowing he'd turn it over. Carlton's first three goals came directly from Fritsch errors. Play him on a wing or play him forward, otherwise his decision making is a liability.

Where am I bashing Weideman? Don't get me wrong. A lot of our forward entries have been abysmal, but so much of our good work has seen our KPFs lead under the ball or flat-hand it. When Weideman attacks the contest he looks a million dollars. The mark on the wing yesterday and his first quarter against Geelong in the Elimination Final show his potential once he has the confidence to fly at the ball. In time, I believe he will. This is what Curnow has on him right now. He throws himself at contests and ironically this can lead to more injuries, but makes him at this stage far more dynamic. I've been critical of Clarry's forward entries in particular this year because he is just about our best kick, but bombs far too often. Game style and coaching will and should change this.

I'm going to write something controversial here. I actually think our delivery to our forwards for most of the year has been fine, but McDonald and Weideman et al have been unable to take strong marks. Today was a really good example of this trend. 5 or 6 times in the first half, McDonald and Weideman got to the right spot, the ball was kicked to them well enough and they failed to take the mark. This often leads to our mids bombing the ball more erratically as the game progresses, because our guys don't take marks when they're kicked to the advantage of our KPFs, so we think may as well try the chaos ball. When I got home, I watched a bit of the GWS/Brisbane game and the marking on a lead or in the contest in that game was poles apart our game. Frost took a couple of really nice marks and Weideman took one on the wing, but apart from that, very little. I'd back Weideman for a few more seasons yet, but would I prefer Curnow? Abso-bloody-utely.

Been critical of Nathan for a long time. I'm on record as saying he shouldn't have played on in 2019, but today, besides a single errand handball, he was very good. I hope we give him a decent send off in Round 22 against Sydney, because he certainly shouldn't play on next year. Make Gawn the captain and if he's up to it, give Jones a mentoring role in the FD.

Fyfe is ordinary in defensive transition and I was hoping Harmes would give him more to think about, but at least he got one goal on him. Fyfe is see ball, get ball and a brilliant marker. I wouldn't have him in the top 10 players in the league, but some people love him. In terms of switching, I was thinking more between the backs. Often a Melbourne back would intercept mark or receive a mark at half back. We'd have May, Hore or Salem set up for the initial switch, which would then release to a quick running player in space like you note Baker or a half forward. Problem was, we didn't have the confidence to hit it. Frost's kicks are too loopy and only May can really kick low and flat to enact the switch. The kicking from Lever, Salem and even Fritsch will be handy in this respect if we set up for the switch. We're far too predictable otherwise.

Love that he's not taking any wins for granted. Showed great leadership today.

We really ground that one out well. We were utterly hopeless at times in the first half and a bit, but finally got our act together lead by Oliver and Gawn. Lockhart is a gem too. The cleanest first year player in a Melbourne jumper since Oliver started. Makes the right decisions and FCS, kicks to the advantage of his other forwards. Steven May's game, in particular, his last ten minutes, was instrumental. He's going to be a beauty for us. Can't wait to get Lever back in there next to him. Our midfield's defensive transition still needs so much work. We get cut up far too easily. If there's one player that was emblematic of today's game it was Tom McDonald. Untidy, a game littered with often terrible decision making and skill execution, but finally managed to get things working in the last quarter and a bit. Some will point to the fact that he was one of our leading disposal getters all day, which is true, but he was laughable in the first half. It was great to see him turn it around in the last though. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Finally, it was interesting to note how many uncontested possessions we had today. I wonder if it's a hint at a new direction? I'd like to see us switch it a whole lot more. May's penetrating kicking will be helpful in this respect.

I'd get Brad Hill with a second rounder, but there's no need for the attitude at the end of your post. Just post your topic and engage properly. I like you as a poster when you stay on topic and don't bait or get baited by others too easily.

Why would they signpost this?

I disagree. Viney reminds me of where Cotchin was a few years ago. Could barely kick over 40 metres and struggled to impact on games. I think injury has clearly curtailed Jack's game and I think with a free run at it and some good coaching, he will offer what we need. But he needs to evolve his game from a player who tries to take on everyone. He's not big enough, so he needs to play the percentages where possible and focus on bringing other players into the game with his ferocious attack on the player and ball. I think Max should be his co-captain though.

Disagree with this to a point. IMO he was good but not great. His problem today was he looked to overuse the handball at times (a trend for him in 2019). But IMO there were certainly times where his handballs set players off on their way into space. However, the best exponent of the attacking handball today was Harmes. He should be really proud of his progress as a player.

We should take best available in the draft. If that's a midfielder, great. Improve the system and as Collingwood have shown, ordinary players can become role players and wins eventually come. We'll also have a softer draw next year. If we get a new system working, we could jump straight back up.

I thought their first quarter was excellent. Their pressure was A grade and they completely controlled the territory battle. After quarter time, our midfield stepped up, but our ineptness going forward and our inability to defend lost us the game.

Gawn and Harmes were brilliant. Unfortunately, our midfield (with the exception of the two aforementioned players) doesn't know how to defend in transition. Until we fix this, we won't be a top 8 threat, let alone top 4 threat. Petracca is trying his guts out but IMO the coaches have completely ruined his confidence. He looks to pass off at every opportunity inside 50 and has done, since last year's ridiculous review of a single selfish effort. Goodwin is not going to make it as a senior coach unless he bites the bullet at the end of the season and changes the game style. Simple as that. We also need fresh ideas and fresh coaches to implement them next year. We need Salem, Fritsch and KK all playing forward of centre / on the wings. Our ball use going inside is still ridiculous and is rarely to the advantage of the forwards. We need genuine crumbers in our forward half with speed. Jeff is done. He's too soft and inconsistent. He is the only genuine crumber we currently have. I hope we're scouring the country for a couple of speedsters with an ability to crumb. We need another genuine KPF to support Weideman. Tom McDonald is a good second or third fiddle, nothing more. The way things are going, both McDonald's will be off our list at the expiry of their current contracts, but I thought Weid showed some good signs today. I think we'll struggle to win 5 games this year. It's all well and good to say our kicking was off, so it wasn't lost in the coaches box, but we have such little system to our play that it's time the blow torch was put fairly and squarely on Goodwin and co IMO.