Pates

I'm a Furphy fan, it's not a special beer but it goes back easy enough and doesn't break the bank. I'm happy they've got on board and the club should be congratulated for continuing to bring in support.

His 100th goal turned the momentum, I was young but I definitely remember Hawthorn responded the better from it. I also remember the emotions coming from a lot of people, as I said I was young so I don't think I fully understood what was happening but I could feel it for sure. Best Melbourne games I can remember are the 2000 Carlton prelim final and the 2002 Adelaide final (which I still have trouble figuring out how we lost). EDIT I just had a quick flick through the youtube video turns out our boys came back a bit after it! Ah the memories of a 10 year old back then! ?

Watching Hotter Than Hell right now, Craig Smoker. That's pretty obscure! ?

Watching Hotter Than Hell right now and something than I've found interesting is the way the boys sang the song post match, a lot slower and clearer! I don't know whether it was a product of 2018 being the first time the team was belting out the song on a (semi) regular basis but they sure sang it a lot faster. ?‍♂️

Matty Lloyd and Ross Lyon went through players who could possible benefit from the Coronavirus lock down and delay of the season, Daniher was the first one they mentioned but they talked at length about Bennell. Lyon mentioned that they’d been in touch and that the word from him was he was getting good distance into his legs. Always want to take these sorts of things with a grain of salt but that’s really great to hear. Lyon also said he was in regular contact with him which I think is great, can only be a good thing having another friendly face (or voice at the moment) in Melbourne.

If done with intent it could well work, if the idea is to get the ball in quickly to a certain location within the forward line and the forward structure matched that then yes I think it could be a workable tactic (not one I’d personally go for but yes a deliberate tactic). If the tactics are to look for and hit up leads then our midfield is barely even coming close to doing that.

I get what you're saying and I'm very much on board with the attitude of "let's focus on making us the best we can be". But I would hope that if/when we get there we remember where we came from and how we were when we were struggling. The Hawks fans and power brokers have forgotten that they were not all that long ago in history in a difficult place, well done to them for coming out the other side and they have created a dynasty on the back of probably the best modern day coach and some excellent teams. But they have also created an arrogance that rivals some of the worst Essendon and Carlton periods, they have an almost insatiable entitlement for being up the top out of that dynasty, and Kennett himself is just as bad (maybe even worse) as Eddie in him constantly changing the narrative to suit his and Hawthorn's position. So yeah, if I had a choice of us being up the top and having to be up there with the Hawks, fine and dandy. But I think Kennett and the Hawks are due for a little humble pie.

It’s interesting that Lewis has said all this, for one I think there was a perception that it was the “softer” maybe younger players leading the call for the cancellation. I think there was also the belief that most of the leadership group was on board with it, and at least a 50/50 split in the larger playing group. Seems like those perceptions were wrong, probably the biggest error was that the players didn’t voice their opinions earlier or the coaching staff not hearing their hesitations about it.

Jeez Kennett makes me want to vomit sometimes, might also have something to do with the disgusting colours of his club. Would love nothing more than to see the Hawks bottom out for a good 4 years, and perhaps little side of being caught in some kind of controversy just to really give people a chance to sink the boots in.

If I had to guess where part of this disconnect has come from it might be 6-6-6. In 2018 when we were winning clearances we had players coming from behind the ball so there was an instinct to look at who was behind to take the extra pause and sum up the leads. Now if we win clearances we blaze away and bomb without looking. Now if that what the instruction is then the forwards need to hold their leads to judge where the ball is coming. Having said that we have even more entries that aren’t from centre bounces that end in the same way, Hibberd and Langdon were our worst offenders against WC.

It's going to be really interesting to see how the players come back. I guess they are still allowed the exercise outside, unless the club has requested they stay on lockdown.

Will it help with some of those shocking winds that come through when kicking for goal?

Although I’m not a fan of the games I’ve seen at Casey should this be the case we should definitely petition to have games at Casey as it would be a genuine opportunity at a home ground advantage. Why should Saints, Blues, and Doggies be the only ones that benefit from it. A by the by, wouldn’t Perth stadium be another ground that would be unavailable? Could there be a return of footy to Subiaco?

Wimbledon’s been cancelled. I imagine TDF will be coming soon as well, would be interesting to see if the US Open tennis follows suit soon. New York is in a lot of trouble right now but perhaps they think there’s time for them to get things ok by then.

Honestly I wouldn't be against the AFL just creating a one time style of premiership, don't call it a premiership flag or any of the usual terminology, perhaps call it the AFL Championships (particularly if they're going to go down a US model play off system). By the way anyone that feels it's a selfish idea of the AFL to be trying to create a way to be able to maximise what little they can get out of the year, it's ultimately going to be beneficial to the competition and the clubs (ie us). So if a best of 3 Grand Final is a way to do that, then so be it.

I'm really annoyed with Foxtel, the only game they've made available on demand for the live recall is the Pies vs Tigers. I would really like to be able to watch it now (anything the pass the time right ?).

For a bit of fun I had a look at Jurrah's highlights on youtube, jeez he really was something special. I can't help but wonder if in a parallel universe there's a version of him who was able to be managed better and given a full AFL career.

Totally agree, I wasn't sure if the people in Ealing would get behind it but I was really pleased to see that they did. All the health care workers must be working to the point of exhaustion so I hope it provided them with good feels to know that people appreciate their efforts. You stay healthy as well mate.

Whereabouts are you in London? I live in Ealing (actually just moved a week before they brought in the tougher measures). I've *touch wood* been able to stay healthy and avoid getting sick but I also know that Ealing is one of the higher rated areas which genuinely makes me worry about going out. That said if you're not far from me and need someone to drop off essentials (beer etc) I'd be happy to help. Like you I thought the AFL would get a couple of rounds out of the way before pausing the season, but it sounds like Australia is making a similar mistake to the UK in that they've got a foot in both camp. Containment, but not restricting movement/non-essential work. Mixed messages stuffed up the UK (London in particular which should have locked down 1-2 weeks ago), I really hope it won't happen in Australia.

It was interesting that one of Kozzie's involvements was a low penetrating kick into the forward line which resulted in a goal. Now the kick wasn't the best in the world but the fact that it had a lower trajectory and more pace on it gave Melksham more chance to do something with it and made it harder on the defenders. I like the look of Langdon and I think he will be a good acquisition for us but he definitely needs to improve his kicks inside 50.

Absolutely it should be a sliding scale. Top earners (Dangermouse, Reiwoldt, Buddy, Dusty etc) should be showing leadership in this regard to help out their fellow players that are earning base salaries. Totally understand they're feeling a pinch as well but jeez there are others out there doing it a whole lot tougher.

I think the club should be holding off on it for now, there’s a lot going on in the world and people are still trying to figure things out. Australia isn’t even in lockdown. When it happens, I’m on board and will gladly dip in, but it could be a PR nightmare is they don’t time it right.

That is massive, there will be people out there struggling who will see that membership as a service that can't be honoured and they will feel they need that money back to help their family as they batten down the hatches.

I'm glad May got into the team of the week. A lot of frustrating things came out of this game but our defense looks better, when allowed to maintain their structures. As the commentators said, they would rightfully criticise May if Kennedy had kicked a bag on him so it's only fair that credit is given when he is kept quiet. Viney thoroughly deserves his spot, he cracked in all day and put a lot of his teammates to shame with his intensity.

The players stance is a really interesting one. I totally sympathise with them as a lot of them their playing career is going to be their major life earner so they have to cash in now or risk losing out in the future. But on the other hand the clubs and the AFL can't pay them what they don't have and the simple fact is there is no incoming cash flow. I don't know if there would be an option to defer salaries? But if the players demand to continue with being payed what they are asking they might as well start getting out red pens and striking clubs off the list because they won't survive, and I fear we might be one of them. Well done to Chris Scott as well, fantastic leadership and a great gesture back to the club and the game.