monoccular

Many seem to forget that we were just a few straighter kicks (and two score reviews) from playing this weekend. It is a tough competition with very little separating the top teams. Luck, and injury ( and the timing of injuries) is crucial to the ultimate 🏆. Luck and injuries were on our side in 2021 (and 1964 🙄).

What is Jesse Hogan's contract status? Could he be lured back?

Is there available footage of this? Was thee any protestation by the Cheaters player?

1/ yes. Have we ever had them all fit and available together? 2/ worth a look early preseason. Certainly would contribute to forward pressure.

We had a dream injury run in 2021, which enabled us, the best team, to win the big one. We have been top 4 (after H&A) 3 years in a row. Lost two finals by a total of 9 points the first with a catastrophic injury in the first minutes which left the team mentally shattered for the first half. Only 2 teams make the GF (let's hope it is BNE and GWS) - it is bloody hard. Kick straight and we would be off this week and playing GWS next week. Its a fine line.

Chandler - great start dwindled Grundy - didn't fit, sadly Lever - solid and reliable May - dee fensive leader McDonald - body failed him McVee - hard work rewards Melksham - sad season's end Neal-Bullen - consistent, great contributor Oliver - sorely missed midseason Petracca - needed up forward Petty - revelation until injured Pickett - needs to focus Rivers - fabulous consistent defender Salem - thyroid or knee? Schache - can;'t teach hardness Smith - improved every game Spargo - needed first final Tomlinson - essential third tall Turner - needs more gametime van Rooyen - solid debut season Viney - never say die Woewodin - looking like dad

Preferably on an incorrect score review. Karma.

Clarrie, like JV, is a genuine on field leader but lovely guys as they are, we need an articulate captain (as Max has been). Also demand that umpire 22 never gets a game against us again. Surely they would be brilliant set shots after attending the MFC Mark Williams goal kicking academy. 🙄

Toby G - please run through Maynard in the first quarter, in a spoil attempt of course.

I have sworn of supporting Gil’s AFL for the year, and had planned on ignoring the GF having been to nearly all except 2021 since 2000. Clearly Gil wants a farewell C v C GF - I will break my vow if it is BNE V GWS.

Touché IF we could kick straight we would be sitting back this weekend preparing for a PF. It is a very serious and recurring problem and must be addressed over the summer, or this will happen again.

The first half dozen or so games this year Chandler was outstanding - tough, fairly quick and deadly accurate. Sadly this did not continue - I guess even though he has been on the list for ?3 years it was his first real season. but he would feel quite at home 😢 If that was the shoulder to shoulder bump against Cripps, no head contact, then its only proves how corrupt the MRO and AFL as a whole is. OK to jump and collect high a la Maynard, but don't dare bump Mr Cripps. I cannot bring myself to watch any more AFL this year. Gil clearly has his heart and possibly money on a C v C GF, and it will happen. (I could I guess bring myself to watch GWS - with Jesse and Bedford - vs Brisbane)

Do you actually KNOW if Hibberd was in physical shape to play last night? He has been really struggling with his Achilles. And hopefully we will have Petty and a more mature and experienced JVR in our forward line, with Joel Smith showing major progress as a hybrid forward last night, four the first time. Fritta has had a long layoff with a foot problem, and I would be surprised were he 100% last week or last night. The foot is a fairly important part of playing football. Sure but by ¾ time TMc was looking done and Schache could hardly have contributed less than Tom. That I thing was a huge missed opportunity Do you sincerely believe that our players are gutless? I would be surprised if our "pressure ratings" were not very high through most of the game. Our conversion, once again, was our downfall.

We have one premiership 🏆 , and have finished the HA in top four three seasons in succession. 2022 we limped into finals based on a good start with an exhausted list. 2023 we made finals despite losing the new key to our forward problems every time one emerged - Frittata, Petty twice, and Melksham. For a poorly connecting very makeshift forward line to lose finals by 7 and 2 points (and being on the wrong end again of three score reviews) whilst devastating is actually quite a feat. Throw in even one of those missing forwards fully fit and it is a different story. So, room for optimism but a lot of hard work needs to be done on and off the field.

You can take the bogan out of Broadmeadows, but you can’t take Broadmeadows out of the bogan. Clearly moving from Broady to Toorak doesn’t make you classy.

Need to review our footwear probably in association a podiatrist regarding our foot injuries - were Fritsch and Petty (and TMc over the last two years) to have not had those mid foot injuries we would have been preparing for a PF since last weekend. Is it just bad luck, or is it to do with footwear? And whilst on footwear too many players just slip over too often.

Andy, binman, George - I for one really appreciate your hard work and positivity even in a gut wrenching loss like tonight. I have followed the Dees since the early 1950s, so enjoyed the glory years, and missed through work and travel the late 60s, 70s and early 80s. This was the most frustrating loss that I can remember. Poor delivery into F50 resulting in low percentage shots, missed gettable shots, and don't start me on the score review that has won The Cheaters 3 recent games - us, Swans and us again. Gill's wet dream departure scenario is a Pies v Blues GF and he has certainly given every assistance to this dream. I can only hope that Gil's dream is shattered (as our was tonight) by Brisbane beating the Cheaters, and Port or GW$ beating Collingwood. But back to us. Where do we go to change out greatest weaknesses? Scoring goals is surely the KPI of this game? There seem to be several elements to this. Structure - how many tallls, mediums, smalls and who rotates with whom, when? Do we have the structure if Petty returns in his pre injury form, if JVR does another full preseason (has done particularly well for a second year player IMO), but who else? Melksham won't be ready until the last few games of 2024, if at all. TMcD, great servant that he has been, looks on his last leg. BBB surely has no functioning knees and should be retired. Smith has surprised me and was very good tonight. Schacke clearly did not have the confidence of the coach when he was not subbed in for poor TMcD who just couldn't run or jump. So the forward debacle isn't just personnel, or just structural - it is also delivery and also positioning and creating space and leading. Do we need new specific forward coaches and forward mid connection teams? 16. gaols, 27 behinds in our two narrow finals losses just about says it all. 2g 6b in the final quarter says a lot. Is it "soft under pressure" (which I think os wrong) - binman will no doubt has the quarterly pressure ratings, which I have no doubt will be amazingly high) - or just trying set shots at goal from poor positions? Do we need (and Petty will no doubt help) a new structure, or is a new mindset more important? Mindset from both forwards but also midfielders and half backs. Should be adopt more of a SAS mantra - who dares, wins !!! And, binman, should we expunge the stat "expected score", or does to really Menach um Backline has done a sterling job most of the time and Tomlinson has added much in structure releasing Lever to intercept. Is failure to get enough % of centre (and other) clearances demons having atratwa dominant ruck a result of that dominant ruck, rucking dumbly?

May Lever Spartacus - welcome back ANB Smith Max

But will it be in time to save Max from his weekly dozen deliberate hits to the back of his head? I am no expert but I believe that at least in some junior leagues headers are not allowed. It does seem logical that repeated hits to the head from a 450 gram projectile (and gets heavier when wet) And don't start me on boxing and that vile MMA / cage fighting 😠

May - held us together Spargo - red hot go Smith - best marking forward Umpire 22. - repeatedly crucifies Melbourne

Not if his Achilles is stuffed

Check his Sportsbet account. Every time.

I would hope that, even with a win and even with a flag our forward coaching / planning / set up would be under severe scrutiny. PS and will our footwear / podiatrics come under scrutiny too. TMc Frit Petty all forwards with (probably) similar foot problems.

To answer your question Goody - Genius or insane? YES - POSSIBLY BOTH.

EJ was a complete thug, and wouldn’t last a season if the current MRO and tribunal system were in place when he played. Like Matthews, Dyer and even Ditteritch. In any competently run organization (as opposed to an old boys’ club) this would be firmly entrenched in the rules, and enforced. But then in the AFL …….. There are already rules in place that have hs players suspended for leaping off the ground causing contact to the head, with serious injury thrown in for extra penalty. They just chose not to apply them in this case vice captain of a big club Colonwood , finals, lots of money on Magpies etc etc