binman

Stuie is going to take over. Failing that MB

I listened to the excellent dl podcast interview with neita on the way home from work the other day and he is asked about this incident. Intersting response.

Yep. And good kicks can put one in to players in holes created by zones, like the one Freo found 30 metres out (which did my head in). It does require good kicks to hit the free target. Which is why we need fritter forward. And maybe Lewis?

Yes, totally reasonable to compare him those players. I'm not convinced by either McKay or Curnow. Flashes of ability but not much more. Really like hippwood and himmelburg. Both are ahead of weed at this stage. But at this stage is the key. Let's wait until they are 25 to judge where they all land. Weed is yet another player at our club who had an interrupted preseason and is a also confidence player. He'll get there and is the best option for his position (preuss is his competition).

Agree. One of the commentators noted some thing about how we enter forward 50 compared to other teams that I hadn't given much thought to. I know we like to go quickly into the hotspot 30 out, often to a contest and that we struggle to hit up targets. But the comment was most teams kick it around the arc until an option opens up as opposed to our style of going directly in. Which is right. Going around the arc allows teams to flood back a but also means you risk a rushed kick that does not hit a target.

This a community announcement: For the love of all things good and just can people please stop quoting MB. If you feel you must quote him please delete his text or simply refer to the relevant post number. Continuing quoting of said poster renders the ignore function obsolete and studies have shown is bad for your health and cognitive function.

And a critical difference is key forwards now cover much more territory, so have to be much fitter. And unlike say the ox or jackovic have to contend with zones, third man in and 7-8 man defences so have much less opportunity for pure one on one marking contests that the great forwards historically thrived on.

100% agree. The club probably did Omac a a disservice by trading Dunn and not having any other senior big defenders and leaving him to fill the breach, rather than playing more games at Casey. And there was no question of him being gifted games last year as he was key part of a back six that from round 12 was the most frugal in the AFL and helped us make a prelim. It is important to to note in that context that omac's form in the second half of the year ensured our best forward, Tmac could actually play forward and not go back. it is also relevant to note they elected to extend his contract to the end of 2020, something clubs don't do with players they don't think are up to it.

Oh please. In isolation you're right about about the difficulty of accurate prediction of time out. But this was yet another example of terrible communication from the club about injury. Also the way misso said it sounded completely unprofessional. He made it sound as if the medical team had no real influenceon how quickly he recovered from the injury (which to be fair might be true) and that anyone's guess is as good as theirs. Remember he was supposedly in line to play against freo. 3 days out misso says he was injured against the pies 10 days before. Ridiculously I read that had happened on Demonland (Lord nev I think) before the club deigned to keep irs supporters informed. If injured in the pies game why was he not in the offical post game injury report? Why was he not on any mfc injury list for the next week and half when misso pulls a mystery injury out of the hat? And for that matter why was it only then we found out that variety had dislocated his shoulder at training on an unspecified date. Why? Because we think it is ok to provide fans, the club's key stakeholders with rubbish comms.. Okay lets accept the premise that at that point they didn't have enough information to definitively say lever would be right for the brisbane game, or give any clear time frame for thst matter. Then why say he was a chance for the lions game? Why not do the prudent thing and say it is not it clear, we won't rush him and it could anything up to 3-4 weeks - anything sooner is a bonus (but possible). You know manage expectations. Communication 101. It is totally amateur hour. No who knows he might have got up for the lions game but very few people would have been surprised he didn't. And very few people will be surprised if the 1-2 week prognosis (which magically they now can give ie give a definitive time frame) turns out to be another 3-4 weeks. This all from a so called professional club.

An important missing not! Petty stays in for sure. In fact I wouldn't mind if lever takes 3 weeks and petty gets those games.

Don't think Lewis can apply enough forward pressure to play HF and too slow for the wing. HB seems the obvious spot but as DS notes jones played that role and i agree did it well. Not sure where that leaves Lewis but I too would like to him deliver the ball inside 50.

Lever out for 1 or 2 more weeks. Given his injury will be a mile of fitness a wise. So comes back and plays another scratchy game that he struggles to run out and struggles with his touch. Given he actually only played 2-3 decent games last year before his injury we won't have got much from him for close to two full seasons. To be clear I'm not down on him, injuries happen. More a lament on our luck. (I am down however about the pathetic comms from our club about his latest injury. Injured against the pies and fans are only told he is in doubt for the freo game 3 days before the game, some 10 odds since the injury. And when we are told they say one week, but maybe 3 or 4. I mean seriously what a joke). Here's hoping he has a great pre season And a massive 2020.

Hibberd will come back in Hard to leave Lewis out after a 40 touch BOG performance. Not sure which 2i go out. Wagner is one probably, but if so a bit stiff. Not sure who the other would be

GWS not so well. And you have to feel for both the Saints and of course even more so for Paddy McMartin.

Nice to see some balanced and thoughtful posts on a thread about OMac. Refreshing.

I thought gus IS a right footer. No?

Indeed. But also the real issue has been the kick inside 50 to our forwards. Improve that and we will convert a lot more chances. Draft or trade in some quality outside players who can hit a target. In the meantime put fritter forward.

Could not agree more. It is critical we finish strongly. Look at the bombers. Were well out of the finals race at this point last year but steamed home and had momentum this year. Fans had the 'what could have been feeling;' not jeez we finished near last. Have blown that momentum buy that is another story. Who cares about picks? We 'll get a top 10ish pick and that's the key. We don't need bigs and often they are the ones who go high. And don't need contested ball beasts. So we'll be in the mix for a player who meets our needs. Win and build belief. Get games into Lochhardt and Smith and Hore and other players who may mot have got a shot. Build a winning culture. Win

He was

Agree on all points. Time to draft a kid. One with really good kicking skills and pace. Would love Jack Martin but don't want to trade out the sort of player you need to offer up (trac and gus come to mind). They need to keep the core group of youngish players together. Trading out a trac or gus will damage the culture and team dynamic.

Wagner for mine. Blanket him. Hibberd too slow. Mediums and smalls are really causing us grief down back this year. Walters and Matera were by far their most damaging players, which continue a trend.

I can see the argument for dropping him but personally i'd like to see him stay in the side. Has not been in great form yet but with 3 (?) games under his belt he will be close now to full fitness and if he clicks i'd rather it happen in the ones not at Casey. At his best provides a real x factor and i have a feeling he is a good energy in the team.

Agree with all points. I thought he played quite well. Made some turnovers but jeez so did every other player. I liked when he crashed into a dockers player in the air - really committed to the contest. And i liked the mark he took late in the in the last q. Simple but snaffled it. Happy for him to stay in the side, but also happy for him to go back to Casey and keep building. If Lever is ready would seem a natural swap. A good dilemma to have.

Metaphorically i suspect he is. This MFC post game interview with Tom (with a young fella, whose name escapes me, that i'm increasing coming to like) gives a fascinating insight into Tom, and perhaps also his brother. He is is quite an interesting cat, Tom. Very open about his feelings and doesn't speak in cliches. His response to the question about the importance of confidence is quite revealing. Worth a listen, but in a nutshell he says confidence is THE most importance thing. I suspect Omac has a similar temperament. Certainly both had off season surgeries and as a result interrupted preseasons and both have been struggling for form and confidence. https://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2019-06-22/rd-14-tom-mcdonald-postmatch

Great post. Didn't realise frost was nearly 26. Can't believe they gave him so much time to develop (jokes).