hardtack

I’m really unsure of how I feel about our chances in this game. The ‘Aints didn’t look too inspiring on Sunday, but Nasiah (“no, he’s just a naughty boy!”) looked very very good; dangerously good!!

I have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind, that is telling me that we are going in with a lot of players who don’t have a wealth of experience, and we are going in with a new coach and new game plan, and we are yet to see just how well they have adapted and are able to consistently carry it out… yes we saw glimpses in the pre season praccy matches, but let’s see how they go when real shots are fired.

The other thing that hit me, was that I barely recognise the game of AFL anymore! The speed of the game and the ability of players to close opponents down in the blink of an eye, the ball rebounding like a giant game of pinball, leading to a lot of ground-ball handling errors and so many poorly judged passes by foot… I just hope we are able to compete well in this kind of environment.

This however does give players like Windsor, Langford, Lindsay, Culley, Howes etc a real chance to shine (from what I’ve seen, they all seem to be taking to the new game plan, quite comfortably)…I don’t know, maybe it’s just my Inner MFCSS speaking, but I won’t be able to relax until around 6pm on Sunday.

On 08/03/2026 at 11:05, Ghostwriter said:

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY Y’ALL!

And a belated Happy Bidet and IWD to you too!!

On 06/03/2026 at 16:18, Demongirl35 said:

Just saw on instagram that at every home game we will be playing songs(picked by players) after a goal. I don’t mind it. Gets the kids up and about. After a few bevs I’ll be up and about too! Haha

If anyone has chosen ‘Country Roads’ (or whatever its proper title is), I will personally get off my deathbed, use whatever means available to me, to drag myself down to Melbourne, and stick the USB, SSD or whatever media they are using, as far up the person responsible’s aaaass….sk your mother for sixpence, as possible.

And that goes equally for anyone using ‘Bohemian Rhapsody!!

23 hours ago, JTR said:

Hoping someone goes with 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again'

Particularly if it can get the appropriate crowd response!

4 hours ago, KozzyCan said:

It came from a demonland poster actually.

I know that…ghostwriter who you took the cheap shot at, is in contact with Fritch’s mum, and the message re just a clean up and a couple of stitches, came from her (Fritch’s mum)… considering the subject we were discussing I just didn’t think it was necessary to state that.

26 minutes ago, KozzyCan said:

Did Judd McVee tell you this?

If you’d bothered reading the thread, you’d be well aware that this was directly from the Fritsch family.

2 hours ago, BoBo said:

I’m just curious, if someone puts their hand into a toaster that’s on, do you then blame the toaster in this scenario? 😂

I do, regularly.

8 hours ago, Ghostwriter said:

It wasn’t even serious.

No doubt it would have been to get the wound properly cleaned and closed, to ensure that there was no chance of a serious infection such as the one that made Petracca miss a round due to an infected finger having had it bitten by his dog in 2018.

2 hours ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Might be come to separate those dogs, seems like they have beef, either that or they thought Frittas hand was beef

Maybe even a Frittata?

3 hours ago, Ghostwriter said:

Haha. Not even stitches. That’s the update.

Probably that skin glue… it works a treat and he will have plenty of recovery time, almost a full fortnight, given that our opening game is on the Sunday.

4 hours ago, picket fence said:

Well whose fault is it then!??

No one is at fault…simply a pet-owning accident!

5 hours ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

This has happened before!

Someone out there with a better memory or research skills please sooth my itch.

I believe it was Petracca.

4 hours ago, Brownie said:

That sucks. Hope they're not touring the US 😜

I’m pretty sure they would give the US a very wide berth considering the state of that nation. Australia is their favourite country as we were the first to take to them with such enthusiasm. The other countries they tend to tour every with any sort of regularity are South Korea and Taiwan.

3 hours ago, No. 31 said:

Have seen Buddhadatta twice now and was planning to go to the Thornbury gig a few weeks ago. Hopefully they will be back later this year.

They are friends of mine and will let me know what their future plans are… they are desperate to get back here asap, but I’m wondering if Australia has some lock out period before they are eligible to reapply to gain admission.

It’s a real worry as I’d hate to be in no fit state (or worse) to meet them when they eventually do return. Seiko san told me that she did consider telling them that she needed to meet with me and my partner, because of my condition.

On 08/02/2026 at 21:58, hardtack said:

My friends the excellent Japanese band Buddhadatta, are playing a handful of gigs in Victoria in Feb and March…try to catch them if you can…

Feb 19th Balnarring Social Club, Feb 20th Shotkickers, Feb 21st Medusa Bar Geelong, Feb 22nd Golden Vine Bendigo, Mar 5th Painted Lady Ballarat, Mar 6th Belgrave Hotel, Mar 7th Spring Ditch Beechworth.

If Buddhist chants and hard rock is your thing, this trio might just be what you’re looking for 😉. Tell them I (Tim in Sydney) sent you.

Unfortunately Buddhadatta got turned back by customs in Cairns as they had the wrong visas (they admitted it was due to their own carelessness). They are now back in Japan considering what to do next.

17 hours ago, hardtack said:

Sorry, but as terrible as this is for poor Luker, the comments here are just so typical of why the MFCSS acronym was ‘coined’. Sure he kicked 24 in 17 VFL matches last season, but it’s no guarantee he will have continued success at AFL level. I want him to succeed, and I also want Jeffo to succeed, but the fact that they are unavailable for the start of the season, is not the end of the world as the tone of some of the comments might suggest - I mean to say, we don’t even know the results of the scans yet, so how about we shelve the doom and gloom stuff at least until we learn what damage has been done (then we can panic!!! j/k).

In the meantime we have Mihocek and Melksham who we know are proven goal scorers, and as was shown in Friday’s ‘game’, we are now looking for leading forwards as opposed to just bombing it long and hoping. If we can stick to King’s game plan, I see plenty of reason to be optimistic.

ok, my apologies to all… I think. I did misread the room. It’s nice to see so much support for Luker, and like everyone else, I just want him to recover well and then have a good run at cementing his place in the team.

Sorry, but as terrible as this is for poor Luker, the comments here are just so typical of why the MFCSS acronym was ‘coined’. Sure he kicked 24 in 17 VFL matches last season, but it’s no guarantee he will have continued success at AFL level. I want him to succeed, and I also want Jeffo to succeed, but the fact that they are unavailable for the start of the season, is not the end of the world as the tone of some of the comments might suggest - I mean to say, we don’t even know the results of the scans yet, so how about we shelve the doom and gloom stuff at least until we learn what damage has been done (then we can panic!!! j/k).

In the meantime we have Mihocek and Melksham who we know are proven goal scorers, and as was shown in Friday’s ‘game’, we are now looking for leading forwards as opposed to just bombing it long and hoping. If we can stick to King’s game plan, I see plenty of reason to be optimistic.

9 minutes ago, John Crow Batty said:

The AFL said last season they will crack down on players who “make them pay” with blows to the head on opposition players in marking contests. Most cases deserve a free kick but in this case there was a serious injury forcing the player off the field. It was obvious Kentfield was incapacitated before he hit the ground. The punitive laws should be applied like with a dangerous tackle causing injury. Deserves a three weeks suspension.

I’ve always been of the thought that it should be the action and not the outcome that gets punished.

27 minutes ago, Deestar9 said:

Twice he kicked badly & I was right there. Gosh harsh criticism for a player who is coming from another club & is learning our system. He had some amazing intercept marking …broke lines ..exciting.

Well, in all fairness, the entire squad is learning our system, as King is introducing pretty much an entirely different game plan to that of his predecessor.

At the moment, my greatest fear is that we aren’t handling rebounds well at all, and unless our defence really tightens up, we’re going to suffer big time against better teams. I love Petty, but I wish he’d reign it in a little so that he’s not giving away so many free kicks.

28 minutes ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Nathan Jones said he was in a lot of pain. Isn't it often said that the 'bad' knee injuries aren't so painful? So, maybe (🤞) 'not-so-bad' news?

Yes, as I understand it, the initial injury is painful, but as it often severs the nerve(?), the pain can be very short lived. From memory, when my son did his acl, he initially cried out in pain, but after that, was not feeling too much at all.

25 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Tbh... I've now watched that half a dozen times the Tiger was NEVER really in the contest... he was in the vicinity and just had his arm up to collect whatever he could. .

Thats what I saw... happy to disagree Hard ;)

That’s ok Beelzebub… I’ll need to look a few more times.

8 minutes ago, dice said:

Reckless elbow to the head. 2 weeks. Hate elbows

I saw it that the Tigers player was in a contest with the other Melbourne player, had eyes for the ball, and unfortunately Luker got taken out. Clumsy yes, and he may do time, but I don’t believe there was anny intent involved.

19 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

I cursed us once.
Don't do it again.

Don’t worry, @Ghostwriter got in before you 😉

How did you see it @dice ?

19 minutes ago, gs77 said:

Oh christ the timing. Kentfield felled with a blow to the head in a marking contest just a minute or so before lightning stops play.

Isn’t this the third time we’ve been involved in such stoppages… lightning in the west(?) and lights out in Brisbane…now this. If I were religious, I’d think god’s not a fan.