old dee

3 hours ago, beelzebub said:

A key for sure.

Not just your assets though,   but how you use them. 

Different recipes,  same ingredients,  different result.

Have a sneaking suspicion we might have zigged, not zagged.  As most will concur...and going still with food analogy...proof of pudding in tonights eating.

Go Dees

( even have my lucky socks on 😉 )

I think you will need two pair BB.

20 minutes ago, Wizza said:

Will be a close game, but if our boys are able to execute the Flying Smother Bump flawlessly, we will emerge victorious.

Finally something to smile about Wizza.

After last night I am at the I really don’t care point. Part of me says end the pain on Friday. I can then enjoy my holiday in QLD with  my daughter and Grandchildren. 

I have had a love affair with the AFL since the early 1950’s when my father took me to my first game of local football in the country. That love affair came to a final end last night.

It makes a mockery of the AFL’s the head is sacrosanct. 
I am one game away from never watching AFL at senior level again, Friday night is my last game. 
Sadly I doubt I will continue my MFC membership in the future and while this is hurts the MFC in a very small way the sound of those  Morons chanting while an opposition player lay unconscious on the ground will never leave me. Every time I see or hear mention of that moron club I feel sick in the stomach. 

26 minutes ago, dees189227 said:

You know what's annoying. We were the laughing stock all those years ago because we were no good, now if we drop out of finals again in straight sets again we will be the laughing stock. 

Better get your thick skin out !

6 minutes ago, Xecutioner said:

Carlton missed the starting pistol for the season and spent the rest of the year trying to recover.

My theory is they responded to the fact they had pre season injuries by changing to a 1 pit stop strategy. Doing their preseason early to mid season to peak about 4 weeks ago in a mad dash to make finals. This will mean they won't have the gas in the 4th.

Melbourne will win the fourth quarter. Just depends how far back we get ourselves.

Now here is a radical thought how about we win the first quarter?

4 hours ago, beelzebub said:

Bop Bop....Bopping the Blues.....

( a little long...perhaps get a red, a beer or a panadol.... )

There's an old adage; If it aint broke ...don't fix it. Agruably conversely if it is BROKEN....you amy well want to FIX it !!

Our predicament is we enter all games currently as a game of two halves... Not quarters per se....but a Front Half and a back half.  Our Defence work's pretty good most of the time and certainly isn't the prime concern. Our front half is....let's be polite....broken.

It bumbled along quite ok until recently whilst we had Petty , who finally found his straps and it started working. Alas poor Petty...we knew him well..      Enter stage left.... Melksham.  A more than handy replacement as it turned out.....and then....well....

Since then...quite frankly it's a shambles. No coherence, no connect.  Now there's a word..and indeed the crux of the dilemma ( imho )...CONNECTION.  From the back half to the front hald there is bugger all. And that's where it all comes apart.

Strangley you win games by scoring. Defending is good  but that as such doesn't go up on the scoreboard.

What to do ??

Now some might have a good chuckle ( or just a chuck ) at what follows.  We move the magnets.

A role that Milky played was tobe the link between the two halves...as it came out of the half back through the wing or ,l occasionally the guts he was often there to mark and keep the bal lgoing to a forward...and a forward in a good scoring position ( very VERY important )

Back in the day this was pretty much what Tommy Mac would also do...Float fairly high as a HF and collect and deliver.

This is where we fall down. We need that High Half Forward type todraw the ball and in turn spot up a goal kicker

Where oh where tofind such a beast. Strangley enough he's right in front of us..A co-member of the 'failed' forward experiment. None other than Maxxy Max.  If he wasnt a ruck an independent unbiased observer might be mistaken for thinking he'd make an excellent CHF ( but not too close to goal ) In fact if we take the Dee-Goggles off for a tic  and watch, he actually does this role anyway..    He slots in somewhere on that half forward line...and marks.

Thats exactly what you want roaming along that territory...someone who 1)  Knows where to be 2) Can take a mark ( oftern in a pack ) 3) has some idea what to do with it afterwards.  Indeed if close enough have a crack....and hes been kinownto slot a few in a final...Handy !!

But ....but....but........

But what ??

You can't take Max out of the ruck......

Why Not ???... if only we had someone who could take that Role....if only we had.....     oh wait !!!

The bleedingly obvious solution is of course Grundy....  yeah... I know...only an AA Ruck...in pretty good nick   ...

That's , imho , what you do..Let Brodie ruck most of the ground .  If the ball falls forward  either Tommy or Max can take it whatever seems a better idea a that ( particular) moment

Forward structure.. the previously mentioned hot zone.   Thats gunna be Tommy's new home for the most part. He doesnt have to roamnearly as far as is HF... He knows how to mark, knows how to kick.   The other forwards..  let Frita off the leash..let him roam.. Cancel Kozzi's pilot licence...ground him... intruct to lead and crumb...and be Johnny on the spot in the forward arc creatinig mayhem..He IS very good at that. He needs a reset, a refocssing.

We need the ball to come back towards the corridor going forward.  We need someone to direct,organise thiings a bit... Someone who CAN NOT be disregarded..someone who's leads and presence MUST be heeded...Again this is MAX  ...burn him at your peril.

Keep the entries more central...   The reporting of some 'coaching' ( and that must be a very loose interpretation)  of 'clump" techniques in the pocket ....I mean wtf !!  someone has absolutley NFI if thats the case. Have we become so 'defensive' orientatated that we  have forgotten how to attack...to play forward... i.e  be brave enough to score ??

A caveat to all of this is not to crowd each other ...divide the defenders. This idea of british bulldog  forward footy...give it away...it's rubbish.   ( and more the point well worked out rubbish now )

It will be hard to keep Trac forward now I guess..  But we need to find someone(s) with flair  who can rotate through the middle and let Christian be dangerous

Do you entertain bringing Woey back and have some limited time in the guts as well as forward ...  in a fashion that's the second tier element to the problem...but any number of possibilities there.

The main one...the BIG FIX is to rejig the forward  game....and it really wouldn't take that much. Thery're all kinda there...thereabouts...    just the set up is WRONG

Let Grundy do what he is very capable of doing...and release the Max

The pairing in a fashion of Max and Brodie is , for mine...still full of potential.....  just not how it's been done to date.

We have nothing to lose..  If we keep repeating what hasnt worked....well guess what !!!

 

likelihood of happening....  nada

thanks for humouring me by reading.....that's my say...     now off you all go to snicker...sneeze...guffaw...

Go Dees

 

 

I am not laughing BB but I doubt the coach is that enterprising.

22 minutes ago, TRIGON said:

Or just put a full stop on it @Redleg?

As for team selection, I'm not saying that we should pick Schache, but if we don't then it does beg the question as to why he's on the list. If it is for insurance / break-glass-in-case-of-emergency situations then how much emergency is required and how thick is the glass?

The problem is in the games he has played he has contributed very little. Vs picking ah all Aust ruckman who has played some good games and occasionally kicks a couple of goals. Easy choice for me. 

1 hour ago, Young Angus said:

Question...can Fritsch actually tackle?  I never see him tackle...

When you are as good as him you don't need to.

Well the dance has ended for 2023 I got M13 Row R not far from where i was last week.

52 minutes ago, Palace Dees said:

Cheers Layzie. Have been listening to Gerard this morning and he is very much in our camp which is good. He certainly has influence on AFL thinking. I deliberately hadn't listened to Cornes, knowing how he 'thinks'. Apparantley he has said 'only people who have never played the game would believe Maynard to be guilty'. Gerard took a couple of calls after that who, whilst not reaching Cornes' unmatchable low, still pointed the finger a bit at Brayshaw.

They have convinced me to look at history differently. JFK should have seen the bullet coming. He has to accept some of the blame.  FFS!

It is the reason why my interest in AFL has decreased. It is populated by an extremely large number of morons. 

8 minutes ago, Demon_spurs said:

Brissy? (For the Prelim?)

Enjoying my Daughter and grand children is way in front of AFL Ds.

24 minutes ago, roy11 said:

Well the computer has randomly decided it hates me then!

You are not alone

System just crashed for me so I start again

39 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Cheer up layzie. 

Backs to the wall but we are still in this!!

Love your confidence LH.

Just now, The heart beats true said:

God I hate this.

You are not alone.

1 minute ago, Jaded No More said:

Thank goodness this is the last time we have to do this this year.

No chance I am going to Brisbane next week, and we don't need to do this for the GF. 

I seriously doubt we will need to worry about a PF seat jaded. I think out in straight sets will be the result. Injuries have ruined 2023. Trading and drafting will return to focus in September  

Well the dance has commenced for the last time in 2023 for me. After this week's game I will be on holidays in the warmer north. 

13 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Yet if Fritsch converts two pretty straightforward set shots we win despite our lack of KPF. Of course it would be easier with a gun KPF but it's not impossible without one.

Agree it is just way harder. 

3 minutes ago, Macca said:

I tend to agree but the dog eat dog attitude extends to off the field

All avenues to winning are taken up by all the clubs and whilst we could set a good example, the other clubs won't

Collingwood will fight tooth and nail to get their player off as we should expect them to

But the authorities, the AFL, the tribunal, the MRO and the rule makers need to do their job properly ... not pander to popular thinking or weaken under pressure

In other words, we need great governance

That will be difficult Macca it is the AFL we are talking about.

10 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

For a very long time I’ve felt like AFL is becoming harder and harder to enjoy. 
This incident and the follow up from the media and fans has really solidified for me just how little I like or enjoy football beyond watching Melbourne. 
 

The sheer lack of empathy for a man who is potentially never going to play again, is mind boggling. 
While in the same breath the media is defending and protecting a known thug who has form. 
It is despicable to hear and read and I’ve had just about enough of it. 
 

A part of me wants this season to be over for us ASAP so I can just stop caring about football and take a much needed break from the steaming pile of trash that the AFL, the media and the general fans have become. 

I agree last night my wife asked me are you watching the game tonight? My reply I have little interest in Senior AFL beyond Melbourne. Yesterday I went to see my granddaughter play in the GF of their basketball season. I am way more interested in them  than other AFL games.

PS sadly they lost and felt way more emotion at their loss than the MFC on Thursday night.

5 minutes ago, Macca said:

I was disappointed in Gil's response to the Maynard shirt-front (sat on the fence) but by contrast, he was on the front foot when Toby charged through the umpire

He's got no leadership skills and is a pure money maker and panderer.  He was also p/weak during the Cripps fiasco (I've got Carlton mates who cannot believe he got off)

However, Laura Kane is a breath of fresh air and we need more like Laura at the top

But the boys club thinking is not confined to the actual AFL.  It's rife through the media and amongst the ex-players

The callous putting aside of the condition of Brayshaw is disgusting.  It's as if he's a mere commodity and cannon fodder

I agree it is getting harder and harder to enjoy. Callous is the word. If he doesn't get a substantial suspension it makes a mockery of the AFL's statements about protecting the head.

14 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

That's an extremely simplistic view of things. People who were confident we would beat the Pies were proven to have every right to be confident considering the key stats not least of which being inside 50s and expected score. You're acting as though we could never have won on Thursday without a genuine kpf when clearly we could have.

I not sure why everyone fails to understand the simply facts of winning and losing. If you dont score more than the opposition you lose. You might have actually played better but they did not put a winning score on the board

I always thought we would struggle with Tmac and JVR as our key forwards. As I expected we got very little from Tmac and not much more from the Roo.

This week we don't even have JVR, to be honest I think The Bun with give us more as a ruckman than JVR and as much as a forward. I hope we put on a good effort but I don't expect us to win. Again No good KPF's IMO you need as an absolutely minority One KPF to be  playing well in finals games. Carlton have a good backline if our KPF's give us nothing we lose.

16 hours ago, layzie said:

We should have won and gone straight through to the prelim.

I will say it again "But we didn't" Layzie

16 hours ago, Macca said:

You might be right old dee (again) but I'm reckoning 5 or 6 weeks

The CTE issues in general, ongoing litigation, class actions, optics, Gus' ongoing concussion issues and Maynard's absolute guilt points towards a hefty penalty

But you have a habit of getting things right so I've got my fingers crossed

I really hope I am wrong Macca.