P-man

The fact there is a sense of dread about playing the 18th placed side who have been a basketcase all year says a lot about how far we have yet to go. I'm trying not to think about the result and am focussing instead on the excitement of seeing all of Viney, Salem, Brayshaw, Stretch, Neal-Bullen and Harmes running around together. Play our cards right and those six lads could one day be playing together in a premiership side.

There is no logic is continuing to play someone who looks spent because "they'll get a break in three weeks anyway". You're placing them at greater risk of injury for a start. If Brayshaw is cooked, which he appears to be, he should be rested. You'd fancy Fitzy's chances for a call up after his haul on the weekend. Probably a good move in using the last few weeks to formulate final decisions on any list changes.

Dude...chill out. We'll beat Carlton. It's all good. If we don't, I'll join the turd smearing party.

Yes, an easier draw would suggest more wins against bottom 6 teams, and yet four of the six wins have come against Geelong, Collingwood, Richmond and the Dogs. All top 8 sides either this year or last year. If we had taken the Essendon win that was on a platter and snatched the first St Kilda win, we'd be on eight wins and looking down the barrel of nine. Most here thought 7-8 wins was the benchmark for this season. You can't then change the goalposts and dismiss the extra few wins as resulting from the addition of Hogan. Expectation will go up for 2016 and so it should, but it's a very long way back when you sink to Fitzroy levels. Are we playing better footy than last season? I would have liked to have seen a more attacking and attractive brand this year but I'm impatient like most supporters. Certainly our best performances this year far exceeded our best from last year. Adelaide was probably the best win last season and that was a dogfight. Geelong was the best win this year in which they gave us an opening and we ran over them. Geelong in Geelong. Fanciful stuff two years ago. We no longer inevitably crumble when challenged and have been able to arrest momentum in games where previously we inevitably would have folded - see Geelong and Collngwood in particular. Starts and finishes are clearly still an issue, as is our kicking which to a large degree can only be addressed with a change in personnel. You simply can't be a top four side in the AFL if you can't consistently hit targets and that is where so much of our play is falling apart. The list requires another shake up or two, but the core is being assembled. I don't think Vince is the only one to have a good year. Gawn has had a breakout season. Viney has improved and moved ahead of Cross in the pecking order of our midfield, McDonald still gives me chest pains with ball in hand but has been solid, Jetta has cemented his form from last year, and so many others have been hit with injury that it's difficult to make a fair assessment. I would also add that I truly believe the team has not been 100% fit and healthy the past couple of weeks. We're used to seeing drop offs but rarely do we see drop offs like what happened on the weekend. So I'm not letting that cloud my judgement too much. If you let the weekend's performance be the reflection of where we are at, then naturally there would be massive alarm bells. I don't think it's a true reflection. If none of that sways you, simply be happy that we have McCartney in our ranks. He's the one who laid the foundations of the side that creamed us on Sunday.

Gotta love calling blatant propaganda a "column". Like Burgo isn't a club mouthpiece and this is all just his personal opinion

Definitively stating the players have given up on the season or want the season to be over would be cause for concern. That isn't what was said. I take issue with Roos when he says certain things of a defeatist nature, but at least quote the man correctly.

For the sake of clarity, Roos said the team LOOKED LIKE (as in played like) they wanted the year to finish. He never stated that they actually do want that. That one line seems to have grown legs beyond its original meaning. He was clearly doing his best to hold back his anger in that presser.

Won't be dropped now. His third full game in a row and whadda ya know, he's starting to find his feet. Out: Bail, M Jones, Lumumba, Jetta (inj), Brayshaw (rest) In: Salem, Tyson, Newton, Toumpas, Kennedy-Harris From reports Toump was one of the best on the ground before he went off. If his injury isn't too serious I'd let him play. I have a feeling he could ski all over a team like Carlton who should allow time and space that other teams won't. B: Garland Dunn Grimes HB: Howe McDonald Salem C: Toumpas Jones Vince HF: Newton Dawes Watts F: Garlett Hogan Kennedy-Harris R: Gawn Tyson Viney I: Cross, Neal-Bullen, Michie (Harmes) If Lumumba plays, he owes the club to play out of his skin.

I did get a chuckle out of the site crashing last night. Timed it well.

He 20 and 3'd on the weekend. Jarrod Grant ffs. If anyone wanted a demonstration of how poor we were, look no further than that stat.

Should? Yes. But Carlton are not that far behind us, as shameful as that is to admit. As poor as they have been, they are still ranked sixth in the league for clearances. They can't translate that into scores like the Dogs or Kangaroos, but they have the potential to place us on the back foot early which is not a good position for us to be in. It can lead to cricket scorelines like 2-76. I don't believe they want to lose. I certainly don't believe they will want to lose against us.

Dogs were better than I gave them credit for. Their transitional play is light years ahead of where we are, and their forwardline is looking almost twice as potent as it did at the start of the year when you throw in the likes of Redpath and Dickson, both of whom many would have discounted having any signfiicant impact. The development of their young players simply must be applauded. You will want to be switched on from the get go facing them in September. The likes of Hawthorn and West Coast have too much class and experience to allow the sort of procession out of the middle that we did, but they could cause more damage than I originally thought. They are tough, slick and fast. That's not a bad recipe.

It's almost immaterial what anyone thinks of Roos as a game day coach anymore. Whether he goes the +1 in defence at the right time, whether he is bold enough in his positional changes, whether he is reactive enough etc. It's plain as day when reading between the lines that he will be letting Goodwin hold alot more sway next season, and it is on Goody's shoulders that alot of our fortunes will lie. Roos was always about addressing the the bigger picture in the main - culture, playing list etc. In spite of yesterday, and my disagreement with some of what he says and does, he's been a major asset to the club in this regard. He is a proud man, and he will be doing everything in his power to prevent a repeat of last season where performances taper off and nothing is gained. The Carlton game has come at a good time for him and the club. The players need a shot in the arm. A figurative one. Not an Essendon one.

It's not always like for like. Salem and Grimes slot into the backline and it's a slight reshuffle. I'd comfortably back any of JKH, Newton, Stretch or even a battered up Toump to provide more to the side than Lumumba at the moment. He should've been dropped after last week.

That was one of the lighter moments. Rarely do you see every player literally standing and waiting for the whistle to blow because something is so blatantly obvious. Was it number 28? Wouldn't surprise me. If he isn't a Dogs supporter I'll go heave. Just had to take one look at the [censored] eating grin on his face every time he awarded them a free kick.

#herewecome

Only Melbourne could've stuffed up that chance.

Woeful. He's almost as bad as we've been today.

Yay.

McDonald's skills. Seriously.

By halftime, yep.

Wow. Wowee.

Massacre on the cards.

They are making our ball movement look uglier than usual.

Dogs are simply on fire. Hard not to applaud the improvement of this side.