binman

That is exactly right. Critical moment. I still think they would have gone on to won but you never no. To be honest though we were lucky to be as close as we were when jonsey fluffed that mark.

By the by i thought Wagner did ok. Can kick, which is a pretty good start, and is hard at it. Pleasantly surprised by Sparrow, but one game doesn't make a season.

Fair points. But Lever won't play big. So to speak. Most sides will play a second ruck against the dees this year and therefore will often have two bigs up forward. Omac and May will take the bigs - and Lever will go back to his floating intercept role.

I have been right about Omac's position in the team thus far. Time will surely tell if that remains the case.

It's remarkable how so may posters don't seem to get this fact. But there you go. May will come in for Frost. Absolute certainty. If there are no injuries Frost will struggle to get another game this season i'm afraid.Frankly i'm pizzed off at May for his stupidity. We needed him round one. People know my views on Omac so no need to rehash them. Except to repeat that Goodwin knows a great deal more about footy than posters on DL and he will pick Omac ahead of Frost (and won't drop him this season). So it is safe to assume he rates OMac more highly than Frost, which will do me. Those that get discombobulated by Omac being in the team side best work out a way to deal with it for the sake of their own well being. He is a lock for the rest of the season (and his career). Even after Lever comes back. The other defender who will come under scrutiny is Hunt. Its all well and good to focus on Omac and Frost (who was poor i will concede) but he does not butcher the ball like Hunt. His first four kicks were turnovers. A woeful kick. I doubt he'll be dropped but he is lucky we have so many out at the moment. Talk about Weed getting dropped for Keilty is just plain crazy. Won't happen. KK might be chance to come in, but really i think the likely scenario is just the one change - May for frost.

No i meant reveled.

Vanderburg is Jack's father. Little known fact. It will get reveled in season 3.

Yep. Never been longer. A brutal, long season and having your team ready for finals is a key. As is a bit of luck to a avoid serious injuries.

Yep. Spot on. This was the key factor, no question.

Good post. I think it is fitness. We looked absolutely gassed after the first quarter. Funnily enough so did wet toast. Collingwood and tigers also ran out of gas. Three of the prelim finalists beaten by teams who either didn't play finals or in rge cat's case went out first round. And tigers were very scrappy against a crap team. No coincidence. The impact od tge combination of a longer previous season and shorter pre season has never been greater given rhe aerobuc and physical dem aands of afl football. The other issue is how many shitt kicks we have. A huge issue. Particularly when combined with poor decision making. It was ironic to watch wattsy nailing both simple and difficult kicks with ease, being cool under pressure and making good decisions.

On what is an extremely tough day i'm making Thunder Cloud my best. Mornington race 6 no 6

Aren't you in Melbourne?

Phew.

Blood y hell has it started?

Don't get me started. To be honest a very big cross against pert. And for those who don't get what the issue is I respectfully suggest you don't grasp the imporatance in 2019 of effective online strategies (website youtube, social media etc) in terms if fan engagemet, increasing suppoert, building the 'brand' and building tbe value proposition for sponsors.

Mix one part gun recruit with anxiety issues, one part new general manager with small man complex, one part unbalanced CEO, one part gun recruit with dodgy calves and links to bikies and a coach with anger management issues. Mix and stir. A recipie for success.

Makes our comms team look like Pulitzer prize winners!

Lucifer's inn. On Wellington..Opposite Pullman hotel (the old Hilton). Right on Yarra park. Two minutes to gate 1 at the g. In 5 years time.

Good post. Speed of movement is absolutely the key to our game plan. Good to hear they are practicing another mode of entry. It is is important to remember they are still a team putting all of the pieces together and need to get each piece right before adding another. I agree on the need for a good crumber. Would make bombs in much, much more dangerous. I'm not sold yet spargo is that crumber. Really we need Jeffy to get back to his best but that is a long way from a certainty. Could Sparrow play that role?

1. That's partly true. I think though teams have to do more than match us in contested ball to beat us, they have to surpass us in that area, as was the case in the examples you give. But even if we were to employ a modified game plan if we don't bring the 'Melbourne' style we are in trouble. But the reality is teams rarely match us and we back our model in. But for me the answer is not a modified game plan - it is better skills. We waste way too many forward 50 entries because of poor kicks in and poor decisions. Exacerbating this issue is that we turn the ball over too often at HB or through the middle of the ground. A perfect example is the hawks semi. You're right they matched our grunt but we should have been 5 goals up at half time. We weren't because we wasted so many inside 50s and had some howlers where we gave the ball back, trurninbg potential attacks into Hawks shots on goals. 2. Yep you're right. I was probably being a bit hard on Jones. He has absolutely improved his kicking and is now one of our more reliable kicks, though i still think he makes some poor decisions going inside 50 sometimes.

I agree our game plan is relatively one dimensional, though I'm not so sure i agree that it is an issue for us. What i wholeheartedly agree is that we have weakness with our kicking skills. To me it is our biggest weakness. They have absolutely prioritized grunt over skill in their drafting and trading, and i said at the time i was bit surprised they went with say swallow rather than a player with better foot skills (though perhaps one wasn't out there). Our approach of kicking long to 20 metres out from goal , usually to a big pack was on full display in the JLT. This approach doesn't necessarily require brilliant kicks but it does require good decision makers (ie when not to go with that approach and instead hit up a target) and players who can put the ball in a landing spot that advantages our forwards. Which as i have noted before is much underrated skill and we pretty hopeless at it. And yes Gus is one player that struggles with it. So is Jones, ANB, Hunt and several other key players who we rely on for the majority of our inside 50s. Trac on the other hand is really good at it as rule, but often he is inside 50 and Melk is in the same boat.

I suffer from Pollyanna Syndrome. It flares up every year about this time when i fool myself into thinking we will have a fantastic year and make the finals only for the reality bus to run over me and back up to finish the job. I think it might have been in remission for the last couple of years, but i'm not sure. I still have the same feeling but lo and behold it has been proven largely on the money.

I hope you get banned again

Not sure I agree LH. I agreee it perhaps could be interpreted in different ways but i dont think Niall's is suggesting we let him down. You highlighted bit can't be read without the next sentence, which taken together imparts a different meaning: If their environment didn't cause Hogan's issues, it didn't shrink them much either That said he could have acknowledged the support we did provide which from the outside was terrific which Jessie said as much on a number of occasions Leaving that adide a pretty good article from a journo i rate.

That's a really good point. They knew our premiership window was likely to be 2019 - 2022 and have done a terrific job at creating a list that is predominately 70 -100, which history shows is the recipe for premiership success. A factor is that you don't have too many retirements of key players and in a year or so Dunn and to lesser extent Howe will be coming to the end of the road, whereas players like Frost and OMac will be hitting their peak.