bing181

Geelong very good, lots of experience right across the ground. Home and away counts for nothing once finals begin, and can't help but feel that Cats and Richmond will be there when the big boys come out to play.

Lack of confidence could help explain that. (or not, of course ...)

Not sure Viney will be straight in. Has been out for a long time. A half in the VFL first? Don't know that we can afford too many passengers against Essendon, they've got their tails up at the moment.

https://twitter.com/melbournefc/status/1404354243411070977?s=20

We're a game clear at the top of the ladder, we've beaten all the other contenders we've faced ... yet true to Demonland form, the sky is falling. Pathetic.

Short of injuries creating openings, on current form it's hard to see Melksham getting too many more games this year.

Don't quite read it that way myself. Good chance that M Brown doesn't get a run, suspect that they'd rather Ben B has a confirmed start and plays out a match, even at a lower level (or intra-club or whatever).

Not to mention, Melksham was dropped, and was replaced by Chandler ... who had about 4 touches. Only like-for like player for that position would be Jones, but presumably Langdon for Melksham and either Sparrow or Petracca push up into the high-half forward role.

You have such low number of cases because of the lockdowns. Chickens and eggs.

Er ... children can (and do) transmit to their families, parents, grandparents etc. etc. As I posted above, I know someone in her forties who's currently looking at being unable to work for the rest of her life due to the long-term effects of Covid picked up from a child.

Second part of that is just not true. I'm in France, and we've been in some kind of lockdown, including periods of hard lockdown, for going on 6 months from last October, just coming out of it now. I should also point out that across most of that period we were losing +/- 300 people PER DAY. Yes, there've been no crowds at the footy for a couple of weeks, but people from over here look at Australia gobsmacked at what you're able to do.

Increasingly we're going to find that a majority of people who want to travel to Australia have been vaccinated. The EU is implementing a plan where if you've been fully vaxxed, you can travel freely (within its borders), presumably Australia will do something similar at some point. Get my second dose in 3 weeks.

It's not just the fatalities, a lot of people who 'recover' are having a bad time. I have one friend who had it last November (caught from a child), wasn't even hospitalised but has been unable to work or do much else since: can hardly walk (in spite of two foot operations), has lost hearing in one ear and is permanently tired.

All of the above - but we still have a lot of improvement I feel. Let's not forget that we're doing it with a LOT of youngish/young players. If there's a word that dare not speak its name here it isn't just "premiership" it's "dynasty". This could go on for a few years, if not more. Steven May in particular will be hard to replace eventually, with his experience and leadership.

I still had a rough night, killer headache, hot sweats and the shivers, but was over it by the following afternoon.

Maybe, but would need to be staggered, only doing a few at a time. My wife and I both had Astrazeneca ... I was pretty rough for 24 hours, but it took her a week to get over it. Add to that re athletes that the fitter and younger you are (i.e., the strongest immune system), the greater the reaction. Care needed if this is an option.

Interesting (perhaps) that Jones isn't named anywhere. Perhaps still being "managed" injury-wise. Suspect that the poor performance of Chandler 2 weeks back, plus the unavailability of Jones is what's keeping Melksham in the side, as they're the closest like-for-like. On a similar note, suspect we'll see Bedford when one of Pickett or Spargo aren't available.

Re Melksham: his replacement isn’t Sparrow - who’s a mid. It has to be another forward, and the ready to go alternative is Jones. Sparrow for Jordan or another mid if he’s to come in, but Viney would be first choice if ready.

Late to this, but shows how important Salem is. When there’s no one reliably clearing the back line, so much easier for the opposition to bring the ball back in.

You can see with Chandler coming in why they prefer a settled side. Can't question his effort, but throws a bit of a spanner in the well-oiled machine. Unless I'm reading it wrong, they wanted Jones in for Melksham, and you can understand why.

Yep.

The single biggest reason for improvement this year is the increased maturity and experience of the players. As the players themselves keep saying but heh, what would they know.

Don't get some of the posts here. Jones and Baker were emergencies, and can go back to being emergencies. That doesn't mean that they're dropped, as they weren't named in the 22 in the first place. From that team, we've lost two: Viney and Tomlinson. For the latter, obviously either Petty, or Tom Mac goes back and Weed comes in. For the former obvious choice is Sparrow, has been doing well in the VFL. Less obvious and left-field choice is Jetta, who has been playing that bullocking inside role in the VFL very well for the last couple of weeks.

From Tom Browne: Understand Jack Viney late out and won’t play today. Baker In. Viney trained yesterday but had some foot soreness.

Time. = more experience, more maturity. Also increased physical strength.