Dr. Gonzo

Firstly, we won a few games with no spectators. There were also no spectators for the opposition. The Grand Final and Prelim were played in front of packed houses. We also performed poorly in a few games without spectators (Hawks and Bulldogs last year). Secondly, if you are denying the players don't feed off the energy of the crowd - especially when one of our own players has just emphatically stated that they do - you are living in denial. Can players play well without crowds? Of course. Do crowds provide greater energy to players/teams when they are up and about? Of course. Anyone who says otherwise plainly doesn't know what they are talking about. It is evident in team sports the world over.

That's great in theory but it's not the reality in any sport around the world. Players feed off the energy of supporters, it is undeniable.

I think it's probably a bit of both.

I wonder if we could see some swings this week? Petty to the forward line, Brayshaw to the midfield?

I'm sorry but this is complete BS. Gawn basically admitted after the Port game last year they'd just finished a block of higher intensity/loading training. It was evident to everyone watching the Pies, Bombers and GWS games last year we were extremely sluggish.

Yep there's more than a couple on here whose only response to any nuanced discussion was " but we lost". Well now we're winning but that's still not good enough!

Ideally I'd like to see more as well but I'm not going to fault the team when they're winning and up on top of the ladder. It would be great to see them play like the Harlem Globetrotters but ultimately that is unrealistic and unsustainable, the primary motive is winning. Let's take Saturday - we were blitzing the Swans in the first quarter, we were up 6 goals to 1 at the start of the 2nd - pretty good footy with a couple of breathtaking efforts from Kossie. The crowd just wasn't making much noise though - yeah there were the cheers and claps after goals but what about in between? I was yelling my lungs out mainly to stave off the cold but also to make up for the lack of noise from many around us.

I was [censored] off on Saturday but after sleeping on it I realise I am more [censored] off with the supporters for not turning up. The club will lose games that is inevitable and out of our control but to turn up 45 minutes before the game and feel like youre at a state league match is bloody frustrating. The players and the club deserve more, they need the stands full and full of voice to push them on.

Would you rather be exciting and lose? FMD.

Collingwood v Hawthorn still got a higher crowd than Melbourne v Hawthorn. I'm a bit sick of the whataboutism, the focus should be on us - I don't care what the other teams are doing. The circumstances are not comparable, WE are the reigning premiers on top of the ladder and it is after 57 years in the wilderness! It is not comparing apples with apples to say "what about Hawthorn, what about Essendon, what about Geelong". What about Melbourne, that's all I care about.

You didn't realise weve been absolute puss for most of those 22 seasons? I would've expected we'd get at least a few hundred more people compared to seasons where we struggled to win more than a handful of games. Carlton/Sydney? Didn't they get 45k a couple of weeks back? Just saw that Petracca clip, wow the MFC supporters staying away should be embarrassed. Someone on here yesterday said it was ludicrous to think the crowd impacts the players - well Petracca just put that to bed not that anyone with half a brain can't see it. Of course the players feed off the energy of the crowd - I've always thought it was part of the reason we struggled in the "should win" games in previous years, players turn up and there is no atmosphere it feels like a kick in the park on a Sunday arvo and the intensity is lacking. We could usually get up for big games though with a big crowd. Whether you think players should be professional and get up no matter what is beside the point - the fact is crowd energy impacts the players performance. Imagine winning the Prelim and flag in front of a relatively rabid mob in Perth and thinking "can't wait to get home and play in front of similar crowds of die hards" and then halfway through the next season you realise noone is bothering to show! It's embarrassing.

If Collingwood or Richmond were 10-0 on top of the ladder after winning the previous years flag you can bet they would've packed out the games against Freo and Sydney. Carlton are getting good crowds and they're only challenging for a top 4 spot. Richmond supporters are off the bandwagon after several years up the top, Essendon supporters are off, Hawks only turn up when they're winning flags - but if these teams were in our position they would not be struggling to draw 20k of their own supporters to games.

yeah I should proof read - replace "November" with "movement" someone mentioned no blocking which can't be done without movement from the forwards.

It's a few things - someone mentioned no blocking which can't be done without November from the forwards. The second part is being outmarked by oppo defenders, something which losing TMac really hurts us with. If our forwards don't mark it fine, but they can't get outmarked. They need to bring it to group d for our small forwards or so that when their defenders get it our pressure causes a hack kick and turnover. Which brings me to the next point, the pressure all over the ground but particularly in our forward line has been lacking for sometime. We haven't been locking it in and getting repeat entries - it happened for about 20 minutes in the 3rd quarter last night but we didn't capitalise

It definitely feels that way to me but maybe that's just where I'm sitting. In the AFL members it is sparse or full of opposition supporters and we generally have opposition supporters to our left in the Ponsford and to our right in the Southern Stand (although some of those bags are MFC reserved seating I think). Perhaps it seems louder in the Northern Stand but overall it feels like we are generally less loud than the opposition supporters.

If we can't get more than 20k to a game regularly (which we have demonstrated multiple times this year that we cannot) after winning a flag and being on top of the ladder halfway through the season we may as well pack up shop

Give me a break

I made that comment to make a point - I don't expect a few hundred in the cheer squad to make up for the lack of noise from 10k others. Obviously there were some yelling and cheering my throat is hoarse right now. But overall the noise from the Swans after a couple of their goals dwarfed anything we gave tonight (supporters as a whole not the cheer squad).

Nah, it's not but it's semantics. 16k each, 17k v 15k whatever it was it was still crap

What is the news on TMac? A couple of people have mentioned out for the year where did they hear this?

Outnumbered by an interstate mob at our own home game. [censored] pathetic. And the supporters who were there sounded like they were just sitting on their hands most of the match. Make some bloody noise, it is fair dinkum embarrassing. We kicked 6 of the first 7 goals and the cheering didn't get more than some polite clapping. The Sydney cheer squad was louder than ours in the first quarter and we were up 5 goals to 0!! WT actual F.

It is a [censored] disgrace

Agree although I think you're harsh on Spargo and ANB. ANB in particular was in everything especially early, those guys are role players and I think they played their roles. Its the engine room (Petracca, Oliver, Viney, Harmes) not doing enough to hurt the opposition and our tall targets with the exception of Max (Jackson, Brown, Brown, Petty, Tomlinson, Lever) not taking enough contested marks.

We dominated the 3rd quarter and kicked 1 goal. Should've put the game to bed then and there but shot ourselves in the foot.

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