spalding

7 news - apparently Brayshaw is cooked too

Great signing. Could be the messiah or a very naughty boy, but definitely worth the risk/reward. Wouldn’t swap him for anyone else I saw in the vfl.

The comparison of our player management versus Geelong’s player management is problematic for me, as Geelong have about 8 games a year that they know they can win at 80% of rat power thanks to playing mainly [censored] teams at welfare park

It may come down to keeping one of Toby or Kade Chandler. I think Chandler could be a more skillful version of ANB, depending on whether he can build a similar tank - i thought some of his kicking in the VFL GF was elite given the conditions (passes over 40m within a metre of the boundary). Never really seen how quick he is relative to Toby. Has anyone seen a comparison at training? I am assuming Toby is quicker, but I not 100% sure.

all summer there will be the usual suspects on Demonland bemoaning the fact that we draft incompetently, our coaching team is stubborn and wont tweak our game plan, our medical and conditioning team is second rate since Burgess went to Adelaide, Kosi is going to Port next year, and our premiership window has already closed.

I reckon Grundy still might be top of the podium

Some people have way too much spare time

Would Rutten be a potential replacement for Yze? maybe yesterdays comments by Goody was part of scenario planning by MFC as per speaking with Gundy. Heady days for us! reigning premiers quietly working away in the background without in-fighting and leaks. Even the stuff the Warner was agitating with earlier in the year has been met with a collective and consistent response

Ever heard of having a plan B ?

was my favourite melbourne highlight (Brett Bailey Night GF was a very close second) until Bang; Bang, Bang

i'm flip flopping too. As much as I want to keep him, I would rather let him go and trust our list management to use the collateral wisely to ensure we are in the premiership window for a few more years given we have locked up our stars. I think there would have been more damage to the culture of the club, and our chances or multiple premierships, if we lost Gus to keep LJ. I sort of feel the same way about the likes of Harmes and anyone else we feel is important to the soul of the club or the future who could be colateral damage to his contract. If he wants to stay, and will accept what we can offer for 2 years, then great. I don't think we can afford to blow up our list to keep him by trying to match the dockers. Lets be a Geelong, Hawthorn, Richmond - not a 1 off wonder like Pies, Dogs, WCE etc.

When he played in the midfield in 2018 with Viney, Trac and clarry, our losses tended to come when they were all ball chasing at contests and we got killed on the outside. The Pies have probably exploited this tactic better against us than any other team. I think the last couple of years on the wing and in defence will make Gus a better midfielder. Great timing for the test coming this week - as I reckon this will be something cats will also try to exploit.

At some point, if we are to win this thing, I think we will need to beat Geelong at the MCG in September. May as well do it in Week 1 of the the finals from 4th. Then the cats will probably have a 1st Semi versus one of WB, Tigers, Carl or Pies (none of which they would be comfortable about), and then an away prelim to one of Brisbane, Freo, or Sydney. We can then wait for our Preliminary final opponent (most likely an interstate team - of which the most concerning would probably be Sydney),

It was great that we changed our forward set up to go smaller - and it worked a treat. I have always felt the lack of pace of the lions defence, and Daniel Rich in particular is exploitable kudos to Bailey Fritsch. We played through him a lot in more of a tall forward role than usual, and as a result he had to fly for a lot of marks against multiple opponents at times. It’s a strength of his that he competes so well in the air and is rarely out marked in either a one on one or in a pack. also very noticeable that our inside 50’s mostly avoided high balls to stationary tall forwards that are ripe for intercept marks. Unlike the 3rd quarter v Pies that nearly cost me a flatscreen!

i thought the match up was tough already (for similar reasons to why we lost last year), and wish I shared your confidence. Maybe MFCSS is slowly creeping in (cue Powderfinger!), but I am already getting mentally ready for a 2 week self-imposed ban from listening to SEN and RSN and watching any footy shows.

Wonder what Caro thinks of that

In the words of supertramp ”won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned?”

Pointless.

Reckon we have had a pretty good run over the last few weeks. Is this another perk for being a good team? we really are in a parallel universe

Freo? Actually, wherever he wants as long as it’s for us.

yeah - they let anyone in these days. even annoying St Kilda supporters

2 outcomes Either I am going to wake up and find out I have been in a coma for a year and this was all a dream, or we will receive a ransom note from whoever stole my football club last year demanding we pay-up or they will give us back what we had for the last 57 years.

Will be incredibly important for the likes of Higgins and Cameron/Bailey Has improved the defensive side of his game significantly, but still creates an attacking threat - particularly in concert with Langdon or through the middle. Still iffy disposal, but now seems to take an easier short option or long to a 50/50 to limit poor turnovers. was noticeable yesterday how many times he managed to square marking contests when one on one with the key hawk forwards to help cover for the absence of Petty. Is not a marginal selection in our team anymore - in fact, with Hibberd seemingly struggling for fitness now, he is the one player that I don’t see that we have an obvious replacement for.

Better kick than Lever

He’s just got one more thing to get right before he gets to AA level imo (not that he ever will ahead of May or Lever or the other favs of the selection committee). A few times last night, after an intercept mark, he hesitated with his kick to an obvious option who was free, and then in the end kicked it to them anyway after the delay. They were then covered and resulted in a contest that wouldn’t have occurred if he went straight away. I just think he needs to have more confidence in his kicking, he actually is a better kick that level, but needs to trust himself like May does.