Webber

Great to see Tayla used more aggressively up the ground, and getting more involved in ground-ball stuff too. ‘New’ midfield grunt looking good, should free up the better skilled players on the outside - Hanks, Mithen. This is the year?!

No problem maintaining his cardio-pulmonary endurance = swimming, cycling, circuit training, alter-G off load running. The endurance issue is to do with the specific requirements of running and its effects on muscles, tendons and joints that can’t be replicated otherwise - jog, sprint, jump, land, change direction. All very function specific.

Best live footy experience of my life (until the GF win in a few weeks time! 😜). Was behind the goals at the city end, remember Robbie floating across the pack in the pocket right in front of me for a screamer and a goal. Never knew footy could be so good….

I’m thinking we all want to read the next bit of that story. The bit where you reply to him - “funny you should say that, cos…….”, and what comes after.

Never gonna happen, not entirely, and you have no need to explain. I was born the year AFTER we won our 12th premiership, so as far as I was concerned (a meagre year since the ‘am’ obviously became a glorious ‘was’), the Dees lack of success co-aligned with my very existence. Has been good to find out I’m not alone in this irrational (or was it?!), thoroughly self-absorbed, self-imposed supporter dysfunction. Brick by brick Andy.

No confusion here. When it comes to any remission or dismembering of Andy’s MFCSS, my question was obviously rhetorical. ps….takes one to know one.

He’s the only one I can imagine coming out too. Melky is simply playing his best footy, which is pure and elite X-factor, AND with new-found defensive mojo. No way he’s coming out. I’m already grieving with and for James Jordon, he’s been outstanding this year. Tommy Sparrow exiting would be just as cruel. A fit list means harshly felt absences.

It is a serious injury, and I admit to doubting the optimistic timeline of his rehab. BUT, it’s also an injury that can be objectively signed off as fully healed - X-ray, MRI, bone-scan. If this aligns with subjective reportage, fitness, etc, then the risk is frankly minimal, at least of recurrence or aggravation. There can be compensating issues of course, but these will be ironed out through rehab, then with match-play, which he’s getting this weekend. Will be very interesting to see what transpires with Tmac.

There was another podcast last year (don’t remember which/who) on which Darren Burgess was the guest. When asked about the best athletes he’d seen in his time - Cricket Australia, Arsenal, Port Adelaide, etc - i.e. fastest, strongest, best endurance, he reckons the best combo of endurance with breaking speed he’d ever seen was Kozzie, and he was only 19 years old. Kid’s a freak athlete who loves the game and his teammates. Couldn’t wish for more. Great pod again boys, but never has Andy’s MFCSS been less apparent. Could it be permanent?!

Fantastic article, and gives perspective to our season. We are, followed by the Doggies, the most legitimate finalists. The 6 others, not so much. Lucky finalists.

IIRC, JJ’s “workrate in attack” is no. 1 in the AFL across the season. I’m very bullish on JJ, and think he’s easily best 22…..but based on Friday’s performance I can’t decide for who.

Yep, in fact statistically the luckiest in AFL-VFL history during a H & A season, no?.

That is a choke of the most almighty dimensions. Collingwood were utterly gone, and Carlton just coughed it up onto a silver platter. Wow. …….go saints…..

Wilbur Wilde. Have been at the footy with him…..loves the Dees.

Russell Howcroft. And a previous board member.

Brown comes from the era of “if you’re someone who cries…a cry-baby, you shouldn’t be playing football”. It wasn’t that long ago, so things are changing rapidly. Listening to the game commentary - BT, Brayshaw, and then Riewoldt, Lyon and Brown in the after-match analysis, it really iterates how rank and stupid Brown’s macho-garbage attitude is. BT no stranger to this of course. As usual, Kayo-FOXTEL-7 are waaay behind the curve. The more we/viewers/other media call it out, the better. Nick Riewoldt, one the bravest yet least aggro players ever, nailed the Lions rubbish tough-rough idiocy perfectly, making the point that it doesn’t work, and always backfires. He was really the lone voice, and you can feel his discomfort with the tough boys club mentality that Brown represents. As to Zorko, it’s inexplicable to me that this guy is the Lions captain. His angry schoolyard ‘make it hurt’ physicality (typified by the headlock on Lingers) is simply anathema to leadership. That headlock should also have been punished by the umps. I also want to praise Christian Petracca. EVERY single tussle and bit of aggro, he’s in there pulling guys away and talking them down (mostly Jack Viney!). His maturity and sense of responsibility for sportsmanship and fair play is unique. This club is extremely lucky to have him. Love the boy.

Brilliant high intensity win at an oppo fortress. EXACTLY what you want heading into finals. As for the Lions, they embarrassed themselves tonight with their ‘tough guy’ rubbish, and they’re winning nothing with Zorko as captain (couldn’t be a worse leader) and players like ‘Floppy’ Joe Daniher and ‘Slo-mo’ Harris Andrews running around.

I don’t get to do it often, but when appropriate I remind the ‘irrelevant’ accusers that the original rules of Australian footy are the “Rules of The Melbourne Football Club”, which they can see displayed at the National Sports Museum. No MFC = no footy (a long bow, I know, but never fails to shut them up). We couldn’t be MORE relevant.

Sneaky suspicion the Saints will have a very Saints-like win over the Swans…..just to give their supporters cruel hope for next season. They’re better when there’s nothing to lose.

Depends how fast you run I guess.

Happy to memorialise, anoint or erect @binman‘s nudey-run onto canvas if he (or anyone who commissions) so wishes. Done nudes before, so shouldn’t be a problem.

Yep……grrrrrrr.

Once-in-a-blue moon footballer. Had to laugh at his interview with Ben Gibson. He says all the right things….off the team script as it were, but there’s just no point trying to get someone like Kozzie ‘explain’ the way they play the game, or the nature of that game. He is a genius of pure competitive instinct, basically bred to become one with the ball, willing it into his possession and doing the best thing with it - scoring. It’s that simple, and why I love this game. It also makes me laugh when occasional critics say he shouldn’t fly for outrageous marks, or runs over the ball too often, or tries to take on too much. No, no and no. That’s the instinct, and it should never be second guessed.

Nuh. Way too sensible.

That wasn’t luck CBF. It was superb judgment and nerves of steel against 3 opposing spoilers. One of the best contested marks you’ll see.