DEE fence

Hard to separate 'want' from 'think' Carlton (hate this) Dogs (Never going to get an easier free hit) Hawks (Not convinced re Snowtown) Weagles (yo yo phase of rebuild, whereas Saints DGAF) Geelong/Richmond (50/50 Geelong has been a bit off for a month according to the sage, in other words they stink) Us, just, we like Alice, but Freo has had our number for awhile. However I'd like to think our improved rebound wasn't just a Saints thing but a plan coming together GC, easily, home factor is something.

Cursed the moment they hired Cipriani as the marquee player. I like Union, am old enough to remember Gregan, Ellis, Nobody and of course Campese. Was genuinely excited when Melbourne got the Rebels, but the operation has been the antithesis of the Storm. Rugby has been a hard watch for awhile now, entitled, brattish players who are superstars before they have paid their dues, little team culture etc. If they don't fix it we will be (or are) a middle tier country like, Italy, Georgia etc.

I spent many years getting nervous watching Melbourne rebound effectively. JMV has been a brilliant replacement for Hibbo and even better for my heart. Please can we leave him where he is, he saves certain goals all the time. I was super interested in the vision shown on 360 of all the collingwood mids bar one grappling to give one player a one on one contest in the middle, I'd rather we tried that, because Clarry or Trac 1 v 1 i would think would fall to us 70% of the time.

Not sure if your as old as me but Madden had way more space that Gawn had. Watch 4:15 through to 6:00. While Madden had to deal with much rougher play, Gawn got huge defensive pressure with blocks and holds, no coach is ignorant of what Max can do. While Gawn/Grundy didn't have the immediate result we wanted, I seem to remember Gawn kicking 5 in a prelim.

Is no disrespect to those awesome Demons to acknowledge Max as GOAT. Madden was very very good, but also played one out, We would win by cricket scores if Max played one on one in the forward line.

6 - Gawn - God mode activated, I deeply love and am moved how it takes the game so personally. Flower and Barrassi hold a place in the pantheon that can't be touched. But Max is the best Captain ever for the MFC, and I think the best ruck ever. 5 - Viney - Looked 10% faster today, really feel like he's been carrying something since the Port game that he has just got over today. He also looked god-damn happy, sometimes he just seems to be suffering for the team, he looked like he was free and having fun. 4 - Tmac - playing with authority. 3 - Neal Bullen - Looked like he belonged in the middle, how much did you love him telling Petracca to have a ping at the goal, made me smile. 2 - Tomlinson - Has leaned up, looked like '21 pre knee version, after that game, Howe, Turner and Hore move back in the queue. (I also don't mind how tall we are down back because our mids defensive efforts help with fast smalls). Way to take your chance and not sook 1 - Salem - This game makes me think he will be right for finals, after the loss of Bradshaw we badly need his QB +10 votes for Lever celebrating May in the box. McVee - that was a flex on the goal line with the one hand ball hold I gave Salem over Langdon and Viney preference because I though we were much better set up coming out of the back half. Also Hunter had a go. Trac looked great, Oliver improving, Could have given Kozzie a vote, we look so much better with him starting on-ball, being a papa suits him, and he has cleaned up his game heaps , no stupid niggle.

Not to put a mozz on it but Lever out and we still have just given up 5 goals to 4th qtr. Great coaching.

Was listening and every time I hear his name though I thought the cats had it #too old. Cats press conferences have become must watch TV, only a matter of time b4 it replace drip tray on Front Bar and they bring back under the pump.

I want to like this, I really do.

Really pleased Collingwood has lost the Midas touch in close finishes. A loss would have been funnier though, Collingwood would have blown up about the time wasting free

From Saints board, made me laugh. (Btw we have a fair number of guests (lurkers) on-line… Hello there (-; Have to give them credit, they’re quicker than us

I have to say I want doggies to do well against all but us. I hate the way the media goes after Luke, always feels feral. I thought GW on 360 was surprisingly honest when he spoke of a media campaign in certain quarters against him. And they have several players who are silk. Of course they are cheating throwing basterds when they play us.

Fair play to WCE & Simpson, they had a plan for Max, blocked him perfectly. Goody got it wrong today, could have tried something else but they didn't have an alternate. But am not with the OTT criticism of the coach, Simpson got one over him, I'm not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. As a coach he's tried a new game-plan, he has a good track record in this department, especially after his blitz was thrown in the bin by 6-6-6, we're struggling with cattle to execute, but those cattle were Wagyu beef, and have recently turned into something Jack would sell for magic beans. Also e are taking our turn with the injury stick at the moment, I can't see Waterman kicking 5 if Lever plays all game. Likewise JVR being out hurt us. Also look at how many blokes have been given a chance this year, there is a mini rebuild going on right now, give it a chance. Billings has shown glimpses all year, but we now have a definitive sample size to say not best 22, (which is a shame I was hopeful) not excited about Hunter coming back either. Langdon please come home. Lever was a kick in the guts, I would have liked to see Rivers swap to Rick's role instead of the run and carry that was frankly like Hunt on a bad day. Oliver is having an annus horribilis, at least he's still with the club, so many guns have had a bad year (Stephen Coniglio etc), let's not reach for the bolt gun just yet. These midfield issues are compounded by Gus of course, that was hardly a Goodwin coaching booboo. I am ready to trade Sparrow ATM, have been reviewing previous seasons, and I feel like he out of the current team, has a touch of bathwater gin. Needs to get his head right fast, and he needs to trim up. Petty is having a bad run with injuries, this has happened to cream like Cameron can we give a bloke a chance to get right. Watch the 21 Finals series again, in fact any of the matches from 21/22, he was a stone killer, 23 finished badly, people knocking him have recency bias. Not saying he's Cameron level, but Cameron had a couple of shocking years, didn't stop Geelong going all in. Salem is looking better, going through thyroid issues atm, we were so close to losing him on medical grounds, we should all be saying thank you to the medical department. Bowey has underwhelmed me for awhile now, I think his confidence is off. Anyone have a clue what is up there? Tomlinson will be back I think, I liked how Marty Hore was coming along, hopefully he's ready soon Lastly on JJ, we all knew he was good, but rightly he wanted a starting role, not professional sub, he was hardly shown the door, and based on 2021 Trac, Viney, Oliver and Sparrow (who has fallen far from his 2021) were all ahead of him. We are not done yet, we have hit a rough patch, the effort/pressure rating in the first half though was 220 (massive) the execution wasn't, so calm the farm, we are far from done. I still don't get those ready to right off the whole season, we're just barely halfway. I had us down for a 10 goal win so am filthy and frustrated. Lastly nothing to do with today, but I think some of the frees we give away are coachable, there has been a shift and we're not reading the green right, this I think McQualter should be addressing, I don't want to be the new Richmond that gives up a ton of frees. Also we're staging a bit too much (hate to say it) this is killing the game and needs to end, As every teams is generally much sharper, people are looking for the smallest edges, we don't want to go down the soccer path. (stopping here as this could be a 1000 word rant)

How good is his bounce at speed, mad skill level.

Bedford Jordan and Grundy, would love that depth, I think Jordan plays a more accountable game than Sparrow. Good luck to them all, not complaining just observing.

@Fork 'em they only thing you're missing are the salty tears of Chris Scott's post match comments, cheeky grin, couldn't help but wonder if the R8 Scott PC, was tinged by memories of '21, he seemed very touchy about Max. Thanks so much for the video's always an excuse to watch them again.

IIRC - 2018 for the loss in that 4-1 score-line. Including Freo. we are 7-3 for our last 10 games, and our average score for those 10 games is 94 for v 68 against, the highest of any venue. Yeo is out and Barrass under a cloud. Not tipping anything as I am a proven jinx, but we love playing at Optus, anyone older than 40 couldn't have imagined this prior to 2018. (source https://www.aussportstipping.com/sports/afl/stadium_records/team/melbourne/)

Everyone can have a bad day for whatever reason, but you would have to say the body of work across a fair period of time has been pretty chilled. However I noticed during the Easter Egg hunt video that was uploaded that he was in a bad mood, and from other clips that sometimes when he is focused he is far from a teddy bear. But these small moments haven't dimmed my agreement with the sentiment expressed by the OP.

Have noticed a few non Melbourne types are putting him ahead of Cox now (King and someone else I can't remember) he is running at 80% for goals outside 50m this season I think, makes me think of Neitz who could dob a 50 to turn the team on. Not sure why the Brownlow doesn't feature more blokes like Gawn, fairest is in the Brownlow job description afterall, not cheating, dog kicking, throwers like Cripps. I always thought the difference between Australians and Americans was Hard but Fair, versus Win at all Costs, then we had the Chappell underarm ball and I've realized my sentiments are aspirational. Gawn (I guess he was born a Kiwi) seems 100% who the Brownlow was designed for.

There is a reason the bible left out Jesus's teenage years....

Please be the year we square the win/loss ledger for Narrm. Also if we could go back to more goals than points, would also be much appreciated.

Having to watch Tom Morris smugly reporting this is nauseating.

Petracca 6 May 5 ANB 4 Viney 3 Langdon 2 Gawn 1 Can't add Sparrow I felt he killed momentum early going into fwd 50 with bomb kicks.

Swallow murdered 3 inside 50's, didn't see him look and don't think he was under the pressure he thought he was. Pickett also a ghost.

[censored] week for Umpire respect round.