speed demon

There's a lot of assumption Langford will move into the midfield but should he? Playing him on the wing this season was an excellent move; allowed him to use his strengths (decision making & ball use) and mitigate his weaknesses (speed, left-sidedness). To me, his marking game was inconsistent but showed potential. Will almost certainly improve. A wingman with composure and class who can take contested marks and kick goals is highly valuable. I'm more interested in seeing someone developed in the midfield like Windsor - who attacks the ball at pace - especially if he can re-find his kicking skills we saw in 2024.

Started trying to correct Trac's ball drop? 😬

Perhaps the leak was Chocco himself to Cornes, in exchange for Cornes public endorsement and recommendation for Tassie etc.

That's my take too. We may not be too far away but, to get there, hard decisions need to be made about premiership players and I was increasingly doubtful Goodwin was going to make those decisions.

I find it helps to think of Buckley as a Brisbane Bears person...

Not quite unprecedented: Malthouse did not win a flag in his first coaching stint (Bulldogs '84-89) and neither did David Parkin (Hawks '77-80) with both going on to win three flags each. I wouldn't summarise Buckley's time at the Pies as a failure. I'd say there were successes (turning over the list, improving culture, improving training standards) and failures (player relationships). If not for a Dom Sheed miracle he would be a premiership coach with a winning percentage of 53.6 from 218 games. Similar to Leigh Matthews time at Collingwood with one premiership and a winning percentage of 55.6 from 224. Matthews did alright in his second gig too.

Agree, worth a listen. Like many, I’ve enjoyed disliking Buckley based on my various biases. Begrudgingly though, I have had to recognise he’s quite intelligent and seems to conduct himself well. The interview shows his awareness that his ego has been both a strength and a weakness throughout his career. I think he still has the necessary drive to be a premiership coach but now with greater maturity and balance. Would be a strong play by the MFC.

Well said as usual. The AFL's focus should be on dangerous non-football acts like players pushing opponents into marking contests. It's like pushing an unsuspecting pedestrian in front of an oncoming car.

Agree with your comments on MJ. He's usually clean with his hands and a good kick, so I put the dropped chest mark and set shot miskick down to nerves and not skill. I like that he's getting to more contests and having a crack. Keen to see the club stick with him. I think he's got more to gain by playing AFL than VFL at this stage.

Going nowhere. In his current form, he is exactly the type of player we need more of; crafty and skilful while still doing the necessary team stuff.

Loading is a hypothesis that better explains the observation (i.e. great, high-intensity footy the previous weeks and rubbish, low-intensity the next) than the alternatives put forward (weak, soft, drinking bathwater etc). However, seems indulgent to be loading into the Saints game given our ladder situation. I note the points you raise above and, if loading did occur, maybe these are the reasons why. Even so, I think this is flawed. A high performance program that is rigidly set at the beginning of the season and not recalibrated as the season unfolds seems high risk of imploding. I think this is particularly true for MFC in 2025. Coming off 14th place in 2024, it would be foolish to assume we could roll into the middle of the season with 10 wins. Especially when pre-season we had injuries (and suspension) to key ball users in the new game plan (McVee, Windsor, Melksham, Kozzie). Six debutants in round 1 was both exciting AND worrying. I think we will be more competitive against Collingwood but even at our best a win will be hard. Come the end of the season, I worry that the Saints game will be game that we couldn't afford to drop.

The coaches disagree; Lever has received 59 coaches votes between 2022-2025. I wouldn't write Lever off yet though I think Turner is going past him (similarly good intercept mark but better one-on-one, better disposal, faster and more agile).

My recollection was that McKay's kicking yips reached a peak in 2023 when he was kicking snaps for set shots directly in front but resolved in 2024 when he returned to more conventional approach to set shots. His goals/behinds for 2023 (29.29) and 2024 (49.21) would seem to support that. Was also in the All-Australian squad in 2024. A genuine forward / 2nd ruck who would allow JVR to be full-time forward and Petty to shift back in the post TMac / May / Lever years seems worth considering.

Loved Max rag-dolling Grundy to take it out of the ruck and snap truly. Perfect start and set the tone for the day. https://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/1790882/gawn-v-grundy-max-banks-early-win?videoId=1790882&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1748152740001

I liked the look of our midfield yesterday, especially the extra dynamism Kozzie and Rivers bring. I'd bring back Viney to play Spargo's role. Viney similarly fit, disciplined and tackles hard and his disposal is better when he has more time and space.