binman

Funny you should say that. I actually initially typed Peter Moore AND Kelvin Templeton. But after considering it i deleted Kelvin. Was an out and our star - one of the bests forwards i have seen live. But was cruelled by injury and by the time he came to us was slow, big and as you say couldn't kick past his shadow. In terms of raw talent, albeit way past his best, Phil Carmen came to mind. Insanely talented player who was the complete package early in his career (for one or two seasons). Brent Crosswell also came to mind.

You got it exactly right DD re the backline having only the two bigs. Well played. I share your concerns about the forward line. But i think benell will make a big difference in terms of delivery and I like Jones forward for the same reason.

Hunt was a big surprise. But maxy said in last night's zoom session he had been dynamic since they have been back and seemed to hint he would play and do so as a forward. The selections and goody's comments about game style seem to suggest a pretty big tactical shift. Which if true would be pretty amazing (and risky) given they only had 3 weeks back.

He wasn't asked about omac specifically. There was a question about the decision to go small this week and whether it would be a horses for courses decision. Mahoney said lever and may play big, the focus was speed (repeating goody's comment footy would be fast this year) and that with Smith they had flexibility as he could play tall if needed. A bit ominously for Omac he didn't answer the second part of the question. As I have said before coaches like settled defensive units so if it works omac (and Hibberd for that matter) will find it hard to get back in.

Hah was wondering how long it would take. I am disappointed he didn't get picked. As he will after what Mahoney described on the zoom session tonight as one of his best games. Wasn't surprised though once Smith was picked. By the by which poster has said he is a walk up start best 22?

We are playing at Princess Park against the blues Saturday at 11 i think. Be fun to sneak in and watch

I can see May, Lever, Omac and Smith play as Lever is not really a big as such. As Gawn said in the zoom members q&a tonight he's a specialist intercept player, like McGovern and won't directly take a big. May will but again as Gawn noted he likes to play off his man a bit too. That leaves Omac to man up Cassboult I really rate Smith. Super pleased he is back. I reckon Hibberd comes out, with Smith and Rivers playing across half back and Smith also being an intercept player who uses his leap to spoil packs. I see your point though about team leaving Omac out due to pace given the shorter quarters and quick track. The may think we have their forwards covered and want to be more attacking. But even f he does get dropped i reckon Hibberd will still come out.

The big if is will his calves hold up. If he does remain injury free fit he will be a gun week in and week out. And totally agree he could really change our fortunes. I have followed the club a long time. In term of recruits probably only Peter Moore comes close in terms of potential impact on our team.

Forget ET the news breaker. binman is the Nostradamus of demonland. A pro pontificator. Hubs: tick Crowds at footy: tick Omac in team: tick Next predictions: Harley Bennell: the best recruit (ie from another club) the MFC has had. Ever Scoring: teams to be more attacking this year with a much greater emphasis on scoring

Apparently they are keen. Or at east Eddie is

He is talented as Chris Judd. Maybe more. He is that good.

The last goal sums up why he is so dangerous. Marks it goal side of the wing (nice kick to him by the by), runs to 60, has one thought in mind, and effortlessly slots it. Love how straight his kicks are too.

No. But still struggle to kick to a Melbourne player

Natural. A smoother mover you'd struggle to find. Andew Mcleaid is a very apt comparison. I know I have banged on it about it and at the risk of being captain obvious this guy is total A grade. Elite. Easy to forget he was a number 2 pick. And before starting his shocking run with injury (compounded by off field dramas) he looked every inch worthy of that pick. Again I repeat myself but we have a team of butchers. Just look at the clips of of our scratch match. Butchers. Harley is a surgeon who I'f he plays will instantly become one of our 2 to 3 most important players.

In the mix I guess. Beautiful kick but very one sided. And best when having a set shot.

Two themes, sort of. A desire for hard ball winners and competitors. Unfortunately at the expense of skill. Which is just one reason why Harley will be way more than a bonus if he plays regularly. If he does he will be our most skilled player since Robbie. Big call, and was going to say last ten years. But the only players in the same ball park since Robbie are Watts, TJ, the Wiz and maybe Yze.

Agree on all three points. You're right dazzler Hibberd is poor one on one. He is also completely one sided (one of the most one sided players i can recall at the dees) - which is a problem for a defender given it make shim predicable and often mean he can't cross to an open player. When in form these weakness are balanced by his attack, ability to run and carry and his penetrating kicking. Unfortunately he has lost a yard of pace and the penetration on his kicks. To be honest i can't see him regaining either. I hope i'm wrong as when at the top of his game he a valuable weapon. I can see Smith taking his spot. It will be hard for any player not picked to get back if there are no injuries given there is n VFL to press their case.

Good.

Maybe. But even if 20000 go to docklands that is monbusier than trains are right now during the week, let alone in 2 months time. Surely they will close the roof at night and when wet, even with crowds. Hardly an enclosed space.

Don't hold the bigs and you don't concede 78 points against the best forward line. You concede 120. Three bigs down back is a furphy. Lever is not that tall and certainly not that strong and is never going to take a big forward. So that makes it 2. And May who is tall and strong plays on bigs, mediums and smalls. And often plays outside the 50 mere arc, leaving only one big, omac, deep. So may, lever and omac all have to play. If omac got dropped they would still have to bring a big in.

It will be no issue at all Rjay. Unlike Chadstone the AFL will be able to exercise a large measure control over movement. Lets say 30, 000 at the G (and worth noting that perhaps a quarter will be kids under 15 who are extremely unlikely to have the virus). They can make it ticketed entry for specific seats. use all stands and all gates. From memory there are ten gates, so 3,000 enter each gate and each gate has say 4-5 turnstiles so 600 though each turnstile. People naturally stagger their arrival to the ground but easy enough with that number of people to create staggered lines with barriers etc and waiting say 30 seconds between people going though the turnstiles. They could even do temperatures test and refuse entry to anyone high. Four seats between all people and no food or drink options. Attendants at the toilets counting people in an out and controlling entry. No bars open will mean less traffic to the toilets anyway (and on the causeways for that matter). So, very little issue with social distancing in the ground during the game. Getting there is also not really an issue. Most will drive these days but even if half don't that is only 15, 000 on various transport routes - two trains stations and two tram lines. The only real issue i see is at games' end. But in reality it would only be 3,000 people leaving each gate (assuming no one leaves early) and given they are moving, it is basically in the open air and people are not really passing each other as they are going one direction (meaning social distancing is easy) it is very low risk. Your average Bunnings is more risky, let alone a Chadstone (how many people will go to Chadstone this weekend - or in say 2 months when i reckon fans will go the G?). Given all of the above and the the fact that by making it ticket only you could create system to record contact detail of all fans gong to the footy will be one of lowest risk social activities people can participate in.

They scored 78 points.

I thought that had been outlawed. These days you have to stick to your opinion, not consider other opinions and only talk to people with the same opinions (unless you want to fight).

If there is serious second wave that leads to widespread community transmission then we will go back to lock down and everything will be off, not just football. But widespread community transmission is relatively unlikely whilst we have our borders closed and they have the capacity to test, trace and isolate (remembering they can do this so much better now than 3 months ago) Second wave or not infections will happen in the community. 100%. But they are now controllable and are very unlikely to trigger mass infection. :Look at the cider meats clusters. Such was their confidence they could contain that and find everyone who might have become infected they still went forward with the next phase of lifting restrictions. At the footy they could make sure each ticket had an allocated seats and require members or ticket holders to provide their full contact details. And if someone tested positive immediately contact everyone in their bay, stand or even the whole ground. Compare that to say the train.

I can hardback (see it happening). In fact I will be surprised if it doesn't. Going to the football will be relatively low risk. Easy to limit crowd and enforce social distancing (e.g. mandatory four seat spacing, no food or bars, no members dining, stagger entry, temperature tests at entry, maybe even mandatory installation of the covid app etc etc) and critically is outdoors. Transmission appears to primarily have been in clusters, certainly in Australia. There has been almost none here where there has been random, fleeting contact. Which is why the case in QLD in the news today is causing consternation for official (How did he get it?) All the clusters here (and seemingly most in other countries) have been in environments where people have shared space for a good chunk of time indoors (weddings, work places, cruise ships, family homes, restaurants . We had covid in the community at likely a higher level in say early March to mid May than we do now. In that period, just prior to the restrictions we had 95k people at the world cup, mutiple outdoor music festivals (I was at one) and concerts etc. When the restrictions came in - and close to the peak - thousands crushed into supermarkets to panic buy. I'm not down playing risk and fully support the restrictions and the need for social distancing and cleaning etc but the fact that there seems to have been very little community transmission in those environments in that period suggests they are relatively low risk. Not no no risk of course. In July we will have thousands of people back on public transport and working from offices. That is high risk. Compared to that football is low risk. Again not no risk but with mitigation stratgies and ability to respond quickly test and isolate, an acceptable risk.