Adam The God

Nice comparison that. Sidebottom is exactly that sort of player Gus can become. I think Sidebottom is a more reliable shorter kick, but Gus is just as effective as Sidebottom over 40m+. Sidebottom also started his career off half back and took a little while before he played big centre square midfield minutes.

I reckon this is spot on, but I reckon he's a great offensive spreader (one of our best), but a very poor defensive spreader, which is where he gets caught. He's probably not helped by the fact he's not fleet of foot.

It's funny, because I think he's actually keeping Tomlinson out of the team at the moment. Tomlinson is more aerobically helpful, but Gus gives us another solid midfield contributor to relieve the starting 3. I agree with so much of what you say here mate, but I hope Gus can play the rest of his career at Melbourne. But maybe I'm being too sentimental?

Absolutely. Good post. If Petracca, Oliver and Viney keep trending upwards and Gawn maintains his form, adding Gus into the mix will not only give our midfield an extra weapon, it'll make us less predictable and more flexible. Add Langdon's running power and even Tomlinson's in reserve, along with a more experienced Oscar McDonald supported by May and Lever, with kickers in Salem, May and Jetta behind the ball and Bennell and Kozzie across half forward and there really is a chance this year to have a more infallible version of our 2018. Still very early, but I hope Gus can find some form, because although he's struggled outside of 2018, that year shows what a talent he is.

I agree absolutely with the game style needing natural footballers, but I actually think Richmond's game style has become far less frenetic over the last 3 years. It was in 2017, but IMO they play a very predictable (in a good way) gut running style that sees lots of kicks to contests, but there are always crumbers at the foot of those packs, and waves of runners in support. I think this is what we replicated so well yesterday and was less evident against Gold Coast. Richmond also set their defensive zone back behind their wave like we did yesterday, so I think we are intent on replicating a mix of contested Richmond, Collingwood and uncontested Hawthorn/Geelong, but I would argue our midfield is stronger than all of those midfields, certainly playing at their peaks. As long as we don't get cruelled by injuries and don't tinker too much at the selection table, our team should get some continuity together now and with this, will come confidence and consistency, which IMV will have us top 2 or 3 in the competition. It's about focus and work rate from here on out.

I think Jack's decision making yesterday was probably the best it's been this year, but I thought he faded in the secobd half, but that was okay because Petracca and Oliver were dominating.

He definitely started on the wing yesterday. I don't remember him starting many if any centre bounces.

Reckon it's a mixture of confidence and being played out of position, but he simply has to add more versatility to his game. Oliver and Petracca are too good not to be starting mids now and if Viney finds his mojo, Gus is going to have reduced minutes in there.

It's essentially Richmond's game plan with a bit of 2018 Melbourne thrown in. We're finally seeing the plan A and B. The ability to play tempo when necessary. But the zone we played today was a high press, but then it had about a 20m gap again between the next reinforcement. We set up beautifully today. It's definitely built for finals, but unlike Richmond, if Gawn, Oliver, Petracca and Viney get going, it's too much for an opposition to counter and I think if they can find a level of consistency, in many ways we've got a greater ceiling than Richmond. What we have lacked that the great Hawthorn sides had and Richmond over the past 3 seasons, is that cleverness and creativeness around the stoppages and the forward half to create scoring chances and keep the ball moving forward. That ability to keep the pressure high on the opposition and capitalise when there's a chance to score. This is why I love the inclusion of Kozzie and Bennell, and even Jackson. They're clever, crafty, clean players that have great awareness and if they can stay fit, this will really give us another string to our bow.

I stand by those comments mate. He's an ordinary kick, I'm surprised that's up for debate, but each to their own. And I said he shouldn't play forward, but rest on the bench or across half back. Fortunately they didn't crowd our forwardline by playing him forward and instead crowded Hawthorn's by playing him as sweeper. That's absolutely his go.

Yep, I reckon having two presenting tall targets and Gawn roaming around as well enables us to go a lot slower. I was impressed by how we went quickly when it was on, but played tempo to contests and got the required runners to those contests where required. It really was the most full performance we've put together, potentially ever under Goodwin.

It's the sort of kick he's been trying his entire career and it has rarely come off. But everything's coming together for Trac now, which is great.

I'm pretty sure the only ground as big as the MCG is Optus Stadium.

Think playing on the smaller grounds is really going to suit our game style this year.

Still want us to go and get Ross Lyon?

That was very good to watch. The opposition weren't much chop and the early O'Brien injury definitely helped us, but: - our ball movement was excellent. - our defensive zone was the best it's ever been (first time we've had the double wall up with so much space between the two zones - the double press, loved it). - our forwardline pressure and energy was good (need to stick more of those tackles), but very 2018. That was one of Max's best games. He's so much better floating across half back. Good support from Jackson and Weideman in the air too. Oscar played one of his best games too. Spoilt everything and was always in the right spot. May panics a bit for my liking, and the defensive chemistry isn't quite there yet, but it's definitely getting there. Lockhart may well be a replacement for Nev afterall. Petracca obviously so clean and in everything. I'm not sure what's happened to Oliver's field kicking between the arcs, but I was happy with his game as well. He's so pivotal to so much of what we do. One of the other things I really liked was our ability to set up around stoppages and marking contests. It was very Richmond and the first time I'd seen us do it so consistently within game. Our big guys were just concerned with bringing the ball to ground for our smalls to go to work and we really ran well in waves. Gus is still a big worry for me, but was involved in some good play too, but sides often play through his opponent when he's on the wing and they exploited this early in the game. Kozzie and Bennell really excite me. Kozzie has that awareness of Cyril and very Hawthorn in the way he taps it forward and to advantage. Langdon's running and cleanness was important too and overall, I think our team balance was the best it's been for a long time. We're a lot less predictable without McDonald and Jackson should definitely stay in next week.

Happy to discuss, just disagree. Freedom of speech and all, Biffboy.

We went for the understandable defensive post to end the puzzle. It seemed like a reasonable idea at the time. As @Fifty-5 has said, I think it we win a flag or go close in May's time, it was worth it.

They tried the same with Lynch.

Gawn is also a horrible field kick and kick for goal. I'd rather they played him in the ruck and then rest him on the bench or across half back.

BT is useless. His vocabulary is so limited that in order to emphasise a particular moment in the game, he'll repeat the same phrase over and over again. That's his go for me too, mate. Still reckon Charlie will be alright.

It completely depends on how it comes out. I held the view for years that it was important to let loose at the footy, but it depends how it manifests. You can just as easily release pent up emotions by exercising and channelling frustration into healthier pursuits. For years, I found friends didn't want to come along to games with me and my wife rarely wanted to either. I was brought up with my father screaming and shouting, and it rubbed off. Over the past 3 or so years I've made a concerted effort to calm the [censored] down a bit because I don’t like the aggression that comes out. I still shout a bit but nowhere near as much. Letting loose is fine but there are constructive ways of letting loose that don't impact as heavily on others around you. That said, if you can't raise your voice at the footy like some people seem to think in the MCC, then you may as well stay at home and watch it on the TV.

Rowell will come back to Victoria, so will King. And Rankin will probably pop off to Adelaide too.

At this stage, I'd trade Gus, but intrigued to hear what others think.

Yeah, totally, mate. He has had the luxury of crippling their young talent stocks over the last 3-4 years by trading out of the first round, but I wonder if he's going to leave Hawthorn in a Ross Lyon-like situation, with an aging list of inconsistent players (Wingard, Frost, Frawley, Scully etc) and little good young talent. If it back fires, they might spend some time in the wilderness, which would be great. You can never rule out Hawthorn though, they are the modern football club to aspire to in terms of onfield success and list management, and FD structure. I hope you're right about the result too. We have a knack of losing games that we dominate and should win. It's frustrating, because as I've said before, I reckon there are a lot more average teams this year than good and a flag really was for the taking. I just can't see it happening this year for us.