DeeSpencer

I feel like one of Stretch or Grimes have to come in. We just need the run. I'd go Stretch unless he was poor. Similarly I think we need to consider how well White, Wagner and Hunt played because we might need of those guys in at half back. We can't keep going with the same guys in those spots.

Maybe it's the coach but then I think maybe it's the players and a combination in two groups: 1. Those brought in from other clubs who don't particularly have a connection to the club. 2. Those who have been here too long and don't have much pride left to play for. That said I don't really doubt Jones, Viney and Gawn's commitment to the club. Same for others like Watts. Bernie Vince as a trade in player seems to give his all. Always a bit of a catch 22 when you need to win to build that culture but it's hard to win without it.

We've got North, Collingwood and Richmond, will all 3 or even the last 2 and everyone will jump back on board, but yeah it's poor and will hurt the club.

Nope. He constantly runs to receive in the wrong spots making it hard for team mates to link up with him. Then he runs in to trouble instead of taking the first option. Almost all of his runs end badly. Shocking footballer.

They were great last week, poor this week. Tyson was poor last week, ok this week. The point is I doubt he's getting dropped.

Patrick Dangerfield must be in the 10% then given his misses last week. Tyson isn't a good kick, but doesn't usually have issues kicking for goal. Hopefully he sorts it out.

With the ball he wasn't that bad today aside from missing 3 goals (which was 2 really as the 3rd miss was a follow up to the 2nd). Defensively he was part of a midfield that had rings run around it. And maybe as the slowest member of that midfield he is most to blame. But the blame should be shared. I don't think he's getting dropped any time soon. But he'll need to go to half forward more and someone else with some speed will likely have to take up some midfield minutes. Tyson was better than Viney and Oliver today.

We need him. But almost no chance we get him. The suns did these guys by 10 goals in a canter and if he doesn't like it there he'll go to Hawthorn or someone else decent. We know our midfield isn't quick and doesn't run hard enough. Unfortunately I'm not sure how to fix it. Viney, Brayshaw, Tyson, Oliver, Petracca, Trengove aren't just going to get fit and fast overnight.

No wonder we lost. Our fans are as ahead of themselves as our players. Good job guys. Hogan got towelled by Gwilt and top ups. And the MFC isn't doing him any favours. Bulking him up when he came back out of shape. Playing him deep forward when he's always been a natural CHF. Incompetent coaches creating a lazy footballer out of a kid who worked his backside off last year.

The percentage play gets you know where in the AFL. We need to switch and open the game up more. Matt Jones' kick wasn't great but it was on Brayshaw for not attacking it. Tom McDonald's kick was terrible. Everyone's had their say on him. I'd be more concerned about his deliberate and other poor errors that show lack of composure. It was super windy today. So it had to be a day to attack using run and carry and accurate short kicking before using the wind when it suited. We did little of that.

Stretch should've played. I said that in the changes thread. Besides the 2 guys building fitness he was the best of those in the Casey Match Sim. Even if Lumumba played. Bugg and Harmes aren't wingmen. And if they were going to play Garland on Daniher then Dunn should've played instead. Garland's never been a reliable tall defender able to play on guys his height yet alone anyone nearly 6 inches taller. But that's not really the issue. Terrible effort on the spread. No matter the game plan you can't let a team have 100+ uncontested possessions. Then shocking ball use constantly going back in to trouble. There's no way this was the game plan. This was a side that just wasn't willing to work hard for any part of the game yet alone 4 quarters. Unfortunately we now need to drop (somewhat) talented players for guys who will work harder and it's back to square 1 again.

They might have to cut down contact periods at training. They've done that in the NFL, banned padded practises for most of the offseason. If the games run from Feb to September do we need guys getting hurt at trainings in Nov, December or January? But this notion of blindside tackles is stupid. 1. There is no blindside in AFL. It's a 360 degree game and a player can spin around in a circle and change their field of vision at will. 2. If you don't have vision or understanding of when and where you could be tackled from then you don't belong on an AFL field. I understand the need for tougher tackling rules in relation to spearing tackles, lifting tackles and slings, but this is crazy. Clubs and players need to take ownership for teaching players how to protect themselves as well. Strong bodied, smart and experienced players really get hurt in tackles.

I'm not sure the VFL needs to be a 22 round comp in line with the AFL. Seems like too many games for a reserves/development league. Casey will play their 3rd (or 4th?) practice match this week and as long as their are practice games for our players to play before the AFL season starts and then practice or real games starting promptly then I don't mind. The scratch match wasn't ideal last week but Casey had played the week before, so most guys had a chance to play one game over the fortnight which is what the AFL guys did.

We are starting to get some pace in the forward half to at least pressure and defend that way. Lumumba gives us speed at half back, although he needs to cement his spot in the team. Mainly we need to upgrade our wingmen to get a couple of guys who have that sustained speed. We'd probably love an inside midfielder with top line speed as well but they are very hard to find and the ones who do have often use it much more to run forward not defend anyway. GWS's transition speed sure is a sight to behold though. Now we've dealt with it I won't mind watching them cut apart some other teams. Hopefully other teams can't do it to us!

Essendon's team isn't all that bad and they've made changes to make them better. Their forward line has some talent and their midfield will do all they can to put in one big effort. This is a danger game for sure. Tom McDonald gets a chance to atone for his game against Daniher last time. Daniher is very good but if Tom plays him from in front more and drags him up the ground hopefully he wins the battle. Zaharakis and Zach Merrett are their most dangerous midfield and creative players. Zaharakis has a burst of speed that we will have to be careful of. I'd assign Jones and Viney to be aware of him at the stoppages. And Z Merrett is just pure class as a half forward/midfielder. Bugg might have to lock on to him. I'm really hoping Lumumba can be back to something like his best and that having Salem and Vince down back with him helps him pick his moments to run in to space and take the game on. Up forward I think the main priority is to get Pedersen, Hogan and Watts leading and working as a team like the final quarter of last week. We need the backline and midfield using the ball well but the forwards have to work hard and smart to make sure the ball movement doesn't stall.

What do you base this on? It's putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5. Pedersen did an acceptable job down back in the last quarter, and helped create a goal with a nice bump in the first quarter. Otherwise he did little up forward and it makes sense to pick Dunn ahead of him down back and pick between him and Frost for the forward role. He'd be unlucky to get dropped but that's footy. i'm not convinced Tyson played better or worse than Pedersen, but unless there's another centre square midfielder in line to take his spot then I wouldn't drop him. Vanders is better forward. Harmes didn't do a lot on the weekend. Brayshaw probably isn't ready to play mainly midfield. I can't see a lot of options. Michie is the obvious one but I'd be giving Tyson more time before picking Michie ahead of him.

Your last line said it all for me. The show pretty much is Sam Newman. Damian Barrett breaks some decent but mostly questionable 'news' each week. Boring players and ex players form a panel and don't have much to say. They cobble together some segments that usually aren't all that exciting and they announce teams and tip as seemingly a formality. Sam's street talk, mail bag and opinions are the majority of the show. I'm not a very politically correct person no do I have a high standard for what entertains me so I don't mind watching every now and then to see Sam's act but really I think he's past it. The show must rate enough to not change it much but I doubt a female host will make much of a difference. It's if and when they decide to move Sam on and shake up the format of the show that things will change significantly. Given how many other football shows in video and audio that are available I can understand why they really haven't changed much..

Really happy that Oscar has escaped major injury. Might give the selectors something to think about for this week but just as importantly he should be able to get on with his development. Same goes for Max King. He has the most potential as a 2nd ruck/forward option on our list so I really want to hear reports of his progress at Casey.

I don't know the specifics but it seems to be that a natural full tear seems to heal faster than surgically cutting it. Might be that there's less scar tissue as well as not having to worry about infection and other risks of surgery. Once it's fully torn (surgically or naturally) it can start to properly heal. Before then if you can't get the required rest and rehab it's increasingly sore which is why Spencer was heading for surgery and Robert Harvey jumped from his dining room table as the legend has it.

There's also a much smaller differential between how good he was in 2014 and how 'bad' he was in 2015 than most people realise even before you factor in the knee injury he carried. Plus his nab challenge game against the Saints was very 2014 Tyson and based on their game against Port the Saints look like they have at least a reasonable midfield. At least Casey have a game this weekend so Michie and Neal-Bullen can show what they've got as guys pushing for midfield spots. Dom can give his best 2nd up showing and we might then at least start to consider how he's going with a bit of a sample size. The last thing I'd be doing at this stage is taking Vince away from his new role at half back or chucking Vanders or Brayshaw in full time to the midfield mix when we need them forward to keep playing aggressive attacking footy.

This is Melbourne we are talking about. There hasn't been consistent structure or cohesion to our play for a long time, so it wouldn't surprise me if players have been second guessing their team mates. Either way, you brought up Dawes and I mentioned it, I don't think he's been leading or directing the forward line well enough for over 2 years. If he gets himself fit then maybe he'll get a chance to prove me wrong. But aside from the midfield and half backs playing better I'd like to see Hogan, Watts, Vanders and the smalls take control of the forward line set ups and movement and not look for anyone else to give them direction. Hogan has a lot on his plate but he's a natural. Watts has always shown ability to get the ball to the right spot and is starting to find more of it leading up as well. Time for those 2 to take control as they did in the last quarter.

Good 2nd half against Port. Poor against the Dogs reserves. Which is when I posted that comment. Others were saying he'll end up at Casey. I was saying the coaches will stick with him. Did they drop him for the Saints game where we fielded pretty much our round 1 team? No. And we were rewarded with 2 good games since. Clubs recruit players due to their attributes, a role in the team or structure but also due to a perceived developmental advantage to make them better than they had been. Pretty simple concept.

We might go in smaller down back and up forward, but if we don't and someone like Brayshaw is fit then it's one Roos project making way for another. As much as I like Harmes I think half forward is our most competitive spot right now. Watts, Kennedy, Kent, Vanders, Brayshaw is a fair group, with Petracca getting closer to a debut as well. I wouldn't mind Harmes going back to Casey and playing on a wing and really developing his outside game. Half back as well. If we he can develop there he might face less competition for spots.

There's a spot I usually sit in the members about 70m out from goal and about 10m in from the boundary is often where Dawes sits as well. Calling for the ball to be kicked over the back or up to him to contest. Didn't happen his first year but has regularly since. If Dawes is such a great leader then Hogan will have followed him to some extent. I didn't suggest Dawes has told Hogan to sook, but that Dawes very often sits and asks for the ball to be kicked to him. If you don't believe me that's fine but I'm not going to forget what I've seen. Contesting down the line is a job for a tall forward, but Dawes' timing to get down the line at the right time and repeat leads have been off for a while.

Dawes played in both the Carlton and Essendon losses that featured abysmal bombing of the ball in to a crowded forward line last year. I wouldn't be surprised if Hogan learnt some of his 'arm up, kick it long to me' behaviour from Dawes who has noticeably reduced his desire to lead up at the ball over the last few years. Even the way Jesse wasn't jumping at the ball was very Dawes like. I'm hoping Frost, Watts, Hogan and Vanders can create a forward line together where each uses their considerable pace to create space and we aren't forced to revert to Dawes or Pedersen.