binman

Just now, binman said:

We'll in the spirit of constructive criticism it did nor come across that way AT ALL.

It came accross as rude and condecending.

My critique of your critique is you are completely wrong - it was an excellent interview, more professional and properly researched than almost every single so called journalist covering football atm.

And another pro tip - you need to do some serious work on your apologies.

Using the word but negates what comes before it (ie 'it wasn't a knock') particularly when it is followed by a back handed wack like 'interviewing is a skill'.

Really, a skill you say? I guess it was just sheer dumb luck that a young bloke, in his first season of footy, who was giving his first long form interview (13 mins is a long interview - though i guess you know that such is your expertise) gave such detailed well considered answers to Andy's questions

And by the by, do you know why the MFC offer Andy so many long form interview opportunities (at least a dozen, maybe more) with MFC staff and players?

Because of how professional and well researched his interviews are and the respect in which he is he held.

Compare and contrast Andy's interview with the bison with this interview:

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/1745499/harvey-langford-rising-star?videoId=1745499&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1743400800001

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

It wasn’t a knock but more that interviewing is a skill. Constructive only intended.

Good to get to know the players and like to hear more “Andy interviews”.

We'll in the spirit of constructive criticism it did not come across that way AT ALL.

A pro tip - you need to do some work on your apologies.

1 hour ago, beelzebub said:

Granted it's a few years ago and he's bound to have lost a few yards but in field play Milky has been quite speedy.

Just as a curiosity... ..a d just as an FYI for those comparing speediness of players..

The defenders who run away from him must be all be gout gout level then.

26 minutes ago, D Rev said:

I was thinking this, but then I also thought he's probably the best to fit into Melkshams role

Can't see them asking kolt to play a defensive forward role. We need his up the ground lead ups, energy and creativity too much.

I think fritter plays melk's defensive forwardrole, or if not him, Sparrow (or perhaps a combo).

18 minutes ago, Jjrogan said:

I think this is a bit harsh on OD. Everyone does see the game different. Whilst Melksham body is not elite mobile, i see his point. He is still very decent in terms of changing direction off a step and then executing either side as last week showed. No way Jefferson can do that, but then not many players can.

Ill take the other side of JVR being quick. It might be our shocking game plan, but there's a reason he's found it hard to get separation and plays back shoulder a lot.

Fwiw im ok with the selections. . Hawks play small so we are going to try and beat them another way. Eventually we have to find out if our kpfs are any good at taking us to top 4 level. May as well start the learnings and yearnings now.

I take your point about melks ability to change direction off a step and execute either side, but OD argued that we were replacing 2 mobile forwards with two tall slow players.

There's no universe that Melksham is more mobile or faster than Jefferson.

Petty and JVR are more line ball, but JVR still has Petty covered for speed and mobility, particularly the latter.

Leaving that discussion aside I like the selections too.

Perfect day for footy - no wind, no rain, and an early arvo start means none of that late arvo/evening dew that can make the G tricky.

Great conditions for tall forwards, particularly someone like jeffo who has great hands on the lead.

There's an interesting subtext to Jefferson selection and Melksham's non selection.

I can't see jeffo playing any other position than lead out from goal square forward - which is the position fritter has played the last two weeks.

And with Sicily being such an important player for the hawks in terms of his intercepting we will need someone to play the defensive forward role.

Surely that player will be Fritter.

With Petty, and perhaps to a lesser extent, Melk to come back in to our best 22 this is a critical game for Jeffo and Fritter.

If Jeffo has a strong performance hes a chance of cementing his spot in the ones - in a position that is Fritters best role.

Fritter needs to do the job on Sicily and then he's possibly competing with Melk for a position.

2 minutes ago, old dee said:

We take out 3 mobile players 1 with low form and put in two tall slow players. Mystifying.

OD - do you actually watch us play?

Jeffo is not slow - in fact his acceleration off the mark and mobility are probably his standout strengths. Those attributes were certainly highlighted in his drafting notes.

I'd argue that a key reason jeffo has been selected this week is because he covers the ground so well.

And jvr is also pretty quick for a forward - and like jeffo good below his knees.

And what on earth are you talking about when you suggest we are taking out 3 mobile players?

Jefferson is a hell of a lot quicker and mobile than the player he is directly replacing - Jake Melksham - whose lack of mobility and leg speed is his biggest weakness

Ditto JVR over Petty, whose mobility is just ok.

Ironically the player you didn't reference, viney, IS being replaced by a less mobile player.

We've all got opinions. And we're all susceptible to confirmation bias.

But you are next level in terms of twisting reality to support your relentless negativity about the club you follow.

20 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Thanks for that confidence booster. [censored]

It was a terrific interview Andy - typically well researched, erudite (as is Langford actually) and above all interesting.

My only knock is you didn't ask about the bison as a nickname.

53 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

flagmantle are so frustrating to watch

You're not wrong

My tip about the freo pies game - freo wil look a completely different team to the one last week that looked like they had led in their boots such was their appalling defensive running

Why? They are set for this game, and will have planned their program accordingly months ago. Part of that planning is a calculated gamble of a performance like last week.

And of course pies are coming off a five day break.

Another tip.

In the wash up analysis this won't be mentioned at all. It will all be freo came to play, mouthguards at training did the trick, look how much better their defensive spread and running was compared to last week, blah, blah, blah.

All symptoms, no diagnosis.

Final tip - the 2.15 for freo is overs as is even money for more than 163 tmp. Don't mind the 8.50 for fro mote than 39 either.

Just now, MrFreeze said:

Plus we have shifted Sparrow forward and added Kolt and Spargs

And koz, who obviously wasn't in the round one and two teams when jvr, jeffo nd fritter last played together.

1 minute ago, Dannyz said:

These changes take me back to the forward line that looked lost and uncompetitive at ground level. I would love to be proved wrong but i just don’t see us being able to compete at ground level with those selected.

Jeffo and JVr are both pretty good at ground level.

5

12 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Given we’re down a couple of soldiers in Viney and Petty I wonder if they could’ve deferred the resting of Melksham by another week.

Hawks are missing Day, McKenzie, Dear, Barrass and Scrimshaw who are all clear best 22 players.

For the same reason the pies didn't chang their plans with managing players after a loss, we aren't with melk.

As mcrae noted the program for managing players is months in the planning.

And though he didn't say so its also true for the overall conditioning program for each team. Planned to the minute and metre.

I really wish the footy media drilled down on the impact of team's high performance programs given how critical it is in terms of influencing the result of each game.

My tip about the freo pies game - freo wil look a completely different team to the one last week that looked like they had led in their boors such was their appalling defensive running

Why? They are set for this game, and will have planned their program accordingly months ago. Part of that planning is a calculated gamble of of a performance like last week.

And of course pies are coming off a five day break.

Another tip.

In the wash up analysis this won't be mentioned at all. It will all he freo came to play, look how much better their defensive spread and running was compared to last week, blah, blah, blah.

All symptoms, no diagnosis.

1 hour ago, jnrmac said:

Frost to come on for Barass

Even if we got dragged down to their level we should still be able to do enough to win.My worry is their biggest strength is our current area of inexperience.

We're the second least experienced midfield group in the competition. Gawn is in ripping hot form. There is a world in which the likes of Hust & Ward get overwhelmed and we struggle to steady the ship if Worpel or Newcombe are off their game.Hawks and Dees are very similar in the ruck and clearance stats this season. Both among the top few for centre clearances, both among the bottom few for stoppage clearances. But we tend to setup with a spare behind the play at stoppages with the intent to win a lost clearance back and rebound from it.

Where Gawn has killed us in the past is intercept marks when we exit long from D50. Hawks had been bottom 4 for contested marks across 2023-24. In 2025 we are now top 4.

On Oliver returning:

Good. deadset battling & runs like he's towing a caravan

Oliver in is close to an advantage for us. Doesn't apply any defensive pressure, lacks a secondary position and has been struggling big time with both accumulation and impact.
...and now that I've written that he's going to have 30 and kick 2 lol

On the Hawks repeatedly kicking it to Gawn

Maybe we should imagine Gawn is standing 10 metres behind the middle of the goals whenever we kick for goals. Might help our accuracy.
You could have sworn Gawn was wearing a Hawks jumper.
If Meek can manage Max’s influence, we will win comfortably. Melbourne stink but Max is a superstar

'Hawks and Dees are very similar in the ruck and clearance stats this season. Both among the top few for centre clearances, both among the bottom few for stoppage clearances.

But we tend to setup with a spare behind the play at stoppages with the intent to win a lost clearance back and rebound from it.'

I thought these comments were interesting. We also setup with a spare behind the play. Or at least we did in previous seasons - I think we have done so in the last few weeks but I reckon we were bringing extras to stoppages at different times before that.

5 minutes ago, rjay said:

I would love him back.

...the icing on the cake would be Kozzie staying.

I mean why would he want to go to Freo anyway.

The real icing would be Hogan and Bedford also both coming home.

4 hours ago, Wells 11 said:

This!

He had a few operations in the off season so it was certainly not a smooth one. This coming off a very limited preseason the year before and a season of carrying injuries making it hard to train.

Would not surprise me if Clayton was a lot better in 26. I’d even consider giving him a mini preseason within the season this year.

Exactly.

Choosing to raise this when the club has said he's taking a well being break is pathetic.

Leaving that aside, the reporting is lazy.

Claz is clearly not yet fit enough- which is why he's not getting the minutes he was in 2021. I mean, der.

Another solid preseason like the one he just had and he'll be closer to his optimal condition. He'll get more game time, be quicker and play at a higher level

9 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Video link:

https://www.afl.com.au/video/1313726/wrapping-our-arms-around-him-trac-praises-brave-oliver?videoId=1313726&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1746277676001&pageSize=50&tagNames=ProgramCategory%3ASnippet&references=AFL_COMPSEASON%3A73%2CAFL_ROUND%3A1154&tagNames=ProgramCategory:Snippet&references=AFL_COMPSEASON:73,AFL_ROUND:1154

Thanks luci - great stuff

13 hours ago, Pates said:

He was frustrating, an almost game is exactly it. Each behind he definitely could've (should've) got, he dropped easy chest marks but takes a good grab on the goal line.

I'm on the fence, it's tempting to give him some time at VFL but someone made a good point that his biggest issue isn't getting involved it's getting up to the pace of AFL. Playing at Casey won't help that.

Kolt is a lock in our best 22, even with his middling numbers.

He leads up hard has good hands is good on the ground and brings great energy.

He has an X factor and just seems the sort of player who if he gets his end up he can do a lot of damage.

Break out games are a bit of myth I reckon, or least rare, but I could see kolt having a massive breakout game - lots of quality score involvements and a bunch of goals.

1 hour ago, jaydenh10 said:

07 onwards in his early days geelong were on another level, in a two year period they had 20 in the aa team cant remember what years, but there is only so many goals to go round if he was on another team even an average one he probs could have doubled that 107 goal figure

That makes zero sense.

44 minutes ago, William said:

In his first year at Casey, JVR was considered the next big thing for MFC. Like many players who do well at that level, he has failed in the next two seasons (and 45 senior games) to replicate that reserves form. So it is no surprise that he kicked a few last week - Richmond's reserves defense are so far below AFL standard that one should not extrapolate that performance into likely AFL outcomes. You will be disappointed if you do.

I am glad JVR is (currently) not playing tomorrow. He clogs the forward line with his poor running patterns, dropped marks, and slow ground level movements.

I know that is not a popular view but the data over many games bears it out.

Total bollocks.

The data over many games absolutely 100% contradicts your opinion on JVR.

Have you even looked at the data?

Laving aside his poor form.this season, his first two full seasons are the equal of the very best key forwards in the last 30 years, including any playing now (not to mention bestingevery other young key forward playing now).

You can do the research on thst - you'll find a post on mine from last year going thru the data in forensic detail.

Opinions are great - but claiming you have data that supports that view is so on point these days

1 hour ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Wasn't there a free to North before or on blowing the whistle. I can see (but don't agree with) the 'advantage' logic but why a 'time wasting' free against?

Because it's an infringement to kick or hit the ball into the stands after a whistle had stopped play.

Melk got pinged fir it in 2021.

4 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Were there two frees?

I watched the last 10 minutes on 7 and saw that chsnge in decision - couldn't believe the commentators got that so wrong, particularly cornes who was up in arms about something he got 180 degrees wrong. So much for expert comments.

A split second after play had stopped a roos player booted the ball into the stands. A free kick should have been paid against him for time wasting.

The umpire clearly thought it was a bombers player who kicked the ball and so was going to give the roos a free kick.

Bomber's players immediately started yelling at him that a roos player kicked it.

Someone told the umpire the call was wrong Technically the free should have been reversed, but instead he changed the decision to a ball up - which was the prudent call.

Good use of technology and good umpiring- not that viewers would know that based on cornes ridiculous, wrong comments (his reflexive instinct to be 'controversial' and editorialise is annoying at the best of times but just flat out stupid in the context of calling games)

2 minutes ago, In Harmes Way said:

If this were to happen binnie then I'd be questioning this move - atm we have May, TMac and Disco as the three key defenders and Petty, Fritsch and Melksham as three key forwards. Removing May from the equation leaves us IMO a bit short defensively and congests the forward line - unless we moved Petty back which I'd be loathed to do.

Only having two key defenders (Turner and Tmac) as our key defenders would be no different to last week when they ran with only May and Tmac.

11 hours ago, Ghostwriter said:

I thought the aim of sending a player to Casey to try to recapture their form involved keeping them there for a substantial amount of time, even if they kick a bag in one game.

As for Melk, “coming back from injury” doesn’t really apply here. He had a gash in his skin, not a soft tissue or muscle injury. They kept him out for a week so as not to run the risk of infection.

Sure, but that logic didn't apply for fritter who came back into the seniors on the back of one, at best, average game at Casey - a game in which he didn't sem to address his issues with defensive intensity.

And that decision has a cascading effect - he comes in, kicks two goals and who knows perhaps gets somewhere close to the defensive kpis they no doubt gave him. So they don't want to drop him after one game back in (hopefully fritter repays the faith, has a blinder, gets back to his best and is once again a best 22 lock).

As fans we don't have all the information that feeds into selection. For that reason I don't get too worked up about them.

But that doesn't preclude me being perplexed about some decisions.

I don't mind melk's selection - most teams run with a defensive forward who have a focus on negating the opppo's best intercepting tall defender, and he'll likely go to McGovern who is a critical player for them. He is arguably the best kick in the team and provides important leadership in our forward half.

Bur the non selection of JVR, particularly given they dropped fullarton and didn't select a back up ruck, is flat our strange imo.

JVR has had two games now at Casey, the second of which was a cracking five goal game where he was hard at it and was back to leading up to ball carrier. And now Casey have a bye.

As a fan I'd love it goody is asked about the logic behind his non selection.

By the by, I'm tipping JVR will end up coming into the team - perhaps as someone has suggested in place of May.

27 minutes ago, Pennant St Dee said:

He’ll play as a defensive forward on either McGovern to prevent intercepts or on Reid who has been playing off half back

PSD - what's the talk on Reid over in the west?

If I was an Eagles fan I'd be very unimpressed. Doesn't look fit, unsurprising given he cake back from his break in [censored] condition.

And his head seems all over the shop.

8 hours ago, Pennant St Dee said:

The Eagles don’t have Darcy as their first ruck let alone their second and as we know Fritsch only came in because Melk got injured against Freo.

Based on as you’ll say the exposed form in the seniors vs Essendon, Fritsch’s form had improved whilst JVR was still underperforming and devoid of confidence

Surely you understand the potential for Melk to play a defensive forward role on McGovern or Reid along with Sparrow. Which is probably why he came in

JVR may still come in the way the weather forecast has changed for Saturday night and I’m still not convinced on Mays fitness

I have a feeling JVR will end up playing

2 hours ago, Pennant St Dee said:

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

99.5% of Dees supporters, members and fanatics had JVR as back in. Kicked 5 goals, led up strongly, back home in WA, ruck relief if needed.

But MFC selectors go with a 33yr old in his last year of footy with no form and coming back from injury. I love milkshake but it’s not the right call imv. McGovern will intercept everything

Have to trust the “ inside the four walls” decision but seemingly it’s a very strange call

@binman @george_on_the_outer can you explain it to me

Um, i think Goody really wants to.....................

Nup, i got nothing