Little Goffy

Interesting signs of several underperforming players beginning to steady. I won't say turning it around just yet, but better signs from May, Lever, McDonald and Brayshaw.

That goal was especially weird because it was created by a chain of really quite neat kicking., which isn't Melbourne's way even when we are on!

Y'know, considering we're one fumbled mark (Fritsch) and a poster (Pickett) from even scores, it's interesting to note that was the WORST QUARTER EVER SACK EVERYONE. For that reason, when angry and frustrated during a game of football I try to restrict myself to only inarticulate grunts and wailing.

Bases on this, I'm tipping a big win.

I'm glad I saw your comment, because I'd written it off and just flicked it on in time to catch the Butler and Bolton goals and for the first time this season outside watching Demons a game is holding my attention!

I just realised that today's games are like some kind of special championship event featuring all the teams where the only thing I care about is the particularly disliked teams losing! I checked the season guide and sure enough, the AFL have this marked in as 'shaudenfreude round'.

Starting to look like Charlie Dixon is the standout tall forward of the season, and by a significant margin. Although, horrifyingly, Ben King might be his main rival at present. Come on T.Mac, come on Weid, there's a loose All-Australian spot up for grabs for any tall forward who actually kicks goals this year!

Definitely should show interest just to annoy Essendon and put pressure on their salary cap. Funny that we have two ex-Essendon players but neither could actually tell us about him from personal contact, but we also have two ex-Suns (incl an ex-co-captain Sun) who might know him a bit. My level of interest in Saad will be entirely determined by how our little collection of smaller defender options make progress this year, although many of them are still listed on stats sites as forwards, it will be interesting to see how this season's experiments turn out. Other than that, a lot depends on salary caps, playing numbers, and the wild swirl of chaos we are all engulfed in at present.

Ironically, he would probably be much more valuable on-field now than he was back in his playing time. He was never a true 'target' forward close to goals and whenever he found his best form it was as a long-leading link player, going into the wider spaces out from half-forward. With the increased 'tightness' of defense due to shorter quarters and fresher legs, the key forward targets are getting fewer opportunities to be one-on-one or find a space to lead into anywhere within 50m of goal, so a lot of the tall forwards this season are doing their best work by providing a steady point across half-forward or even further away, allowing the attack to calm itself and lower its eyes (in a double-sense) to pick out the shorter forwards who just keep running around until the defense gets dizzy. But, as noted, Miller has hid head screwed on in that astonishing way where being close to your kids is a top priority in life. Damn these new-age rubbish attitudes, eh?

At some point a couple of teams will get their heads straight and rise a whole level above the rest. Then we'll be watching 10-goal drubbings which are really 100+ point smashings, and just counting down the season to see which one sustains it through the finals. On the bright side, with so much of the results being even more between the ears than usual, it is possible for just about any team to suddenly start running hot and becoming a late contender.

5 season, or a bad haircut. Proven time and time again. Is Weideman prepared to really commit to his football career?

If Sydney brings that first quarter and we bring our first quarter, we'll stomp them next week. Stomp stomp stomp. Football would be fun again. I wonder, maybe we're secretly the hipster club? We smashed Adelaide to dust before everyone else started doing it, and maybe now we will smash Sydney to dust before it becomes fashionable, too. I'm just enjoying fantasy land over here, never mind me.

I'm feeling kind of chuffed that supporters of another team know our team so well ?

You've got no issue with people pointing out a poor free kick, but heaven forbid anyone boo the umpires when the tally is 23-7?

Our positions lines are already mixed even when they aren't. And I mean that in the optimistic sense that we have a lot of players who could be shifted around a pinch.

I'm beginning to agree with Ricciuto on one point, we are paying too much to Lever. Really, he should be paying us for the opportunity to NOT play for Adelaide. Then again, it would appear that Ricciuto himself is right this moment paying a whole lot of people to not play for Adelaide up at Metricon.

It's interesting to note that the 2017 draft really dropped away after the first eight or so picks, with just a scattered pattern of talent after that. By the time you're out of the single-digit pics, the top talents are Kelly (24) Ryan (26) and Fritsch (31) and Worpel (45) Similar story in 2018 - From Liam Stocker on there is a serious drought of games played so far. The next four in the draft are yet to debut and the next 50 combined have played about that many games in total, with the exception of a little run from pick 54 to 56, which includes our very own Marty Hore. It is possible that Jason Taylor is a genius who simply noted 'actually, that pick isn't worth a whole lot' and put it on the table!

Seriously? Their first thought was to make sure TV went along okay? I'd be livid if I was one of the clubs told to reschedule their day within 24hrs of the start of the match. Wait... I'm already livid.

Don't be a jerk, there's literally nil chance he was there. I think the rallies were irresponsible, but they are also NOT the reason for the slowed lifting of restrictions - that relates primarily to hotel security staff not been given proper equipment and training for safety. So, unless you also wish to claim McKenna has been hanging out with hotel security contract managers, pull your head in on that one, eh? My focus is on Essendon letting him rejoin the main group while holding an 'ambiguous' test result. Not that Essendon have ever done great with the 'ambigious' medical scenarios.

I can't find live broadcast of the press conference up here in NSW, anyone got a link?

Personally, I'm willing to give Tom McDonald a couple more rounds to see if he can find his true self. There's the full variety of types of tall defender to match up on by the time you get through Essendon, Geelong and the Swans. None are a walk in the part (although the Swans don't seem to have the veteran height of the other two) but if by the end of that set McDonald isn't performing strong, not just adequately, then he should spend at least that amount of time off AFL level to rediscover form and/or take a good hard look at himself. So, short version, I'm in the 'give every realistic chance, but then seriously hold to account' group.

Might be a case of kicking to whoever is NOT near Hooker/Hurley. An interesting team rule. And whoever IS being marked by them can just go for a run. It's a bit like sharking the opposition ruck when you know they will win the taps!

The only way this thread could have become more chaotic would be if Jackson was dropped AND Weid wasn't brought in... oh... wait... For what it is worth, I do see a case for the 'taste' given to a very new player, so they have an idea of what is really expected at the level. Plus sometimes the kid responds to that environment and surges. But it has to be done carefully. Not sure I'd want LJ to spend a game being hammered around by a tag-team of Hurley and Hooker, for example. Who knows, maybe it was also decided that bringing in Weid with the certainty of being against one of those guys in his first game back would be unlikely to do much for his confidence, and that's why we decided to go for the magic kaleidoscope of medium forwards this week, just to see if we can mess with their system. Fingers crossed McDonald is up to the job this week. But hey, the guy has earned earned six brownlow votes and kicked 12 goals in his last five games, two of which he was the decisive matchwinner, so can't be ALL bad. (But don't look at how he went in round three against the Bombers last year) Is there anyone thinking about this set of problems who DOESN'T have a headache?

It'll be interesting to see if Essendon has the wisdom and humility to just accept that Bellchambers is so entirely outclassed in the ruck (as well as his usual being out-competed around the ground) that they should focus on sharking off Gawn. It actually makes it a curiosity to select Bellchambers at all, "We're playing on the assumption that this guy will be beaten all day, but he's in anyway." Heppell is now out, person to person with the exception of Viney our main midfielders now stand a full 5-10cm higher than the Bombers. Vanderberg in... Hannan in... Except for our FF line vs their FB line the height difference across the ground is astonishing.

I have to admit I've got some serious nerves about the sheer number of Essendons pacy shorties. But in the middle, with Petracca and Oliver being both taller and stronger, the only piece missing there is Viney playing a brutal game. 'Picking one someone your own size' isn't really a fair thing to say when Viney is involved. I'm wondering, with Heppell being their only tall true midfielder, would there be value in putting Brayshaw onto him as a tag. Compel Angus to work defensively to limit their most dangerous mid, and also draw him to the ball to hopefully pick up some touches. It will be strange seeing Hurley and Hooker at one end with Tom Mcdonald being their only full-time tall opponent, and May and Lever at the other end with only McKernan. It'll be a fascinating battle of the mid-sized forwards against taller defenders. In fact, strangely enough we've got +5cm on Essendon pretty much everywhere on the ground except their tall defenders against our mixed forwards. Maybe we should just drop the game plan and go one-to-one all around the ground play a giant session of kick-to-kick? Finishing the height theme - if anyone is wondering why so much hate for Bellchambers, remember that once upon a time he was going too be a big beast ruckman, the heir to Simon Madden or at least David Hille. But he has spent eight years 'about to break out' but hindered by injuries and now he's mysteriously gone form good prospect to over-30. As a match up, he's much less of a worry for Gawn than Pittonet turned out to be, because Pittonet made a good effort of running around and getting involved wherever he could, while Bellchambers will give the illusion of a ruck contest then struggle to keep up anywhere else. Realistically, expect Gawn to have a similar game to last week BUT also expect his direct opponent to not be so significant. (Full credit to young Pittonet, too, always good to see a player at a career cross-roads make an impression... and I can say by one point...)