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Although it was definitely not on show last week we have developed a reputation in the AFL community that we are a hard grinding side that you should be prepared for a battle when facing us. This isn't happening as consistently as I would like but we have a reputation that isn't the "bruise free" footy we had a couple of years ago. You are right, he was brought to bring credibility back to the club. We were seen as irrelevant and an afterthought, no doubt he has helped to change that. Next step is to get the team to a standard where Goodwin is taking over a team that can challenge within his first 3 years as coach.

There must be a reaction from the playing group this week, and Paul Roos for that matter. He said the players have already checked, well he should be bringing them back down to earth and making it clear that they are paid for 23 rounds + potential finals, they don't get to check out early, not if they want to be a good AFL side in the future. Rather than giving up on the year, use it as a platform for 2016.

First off, not a liberal. I'm just someone that sees no need for it and also can see the potential commercial ramifications. To use my company as an example, they have to run that day, and as pretty much all workers are on award rates it will cost them a lot of money. Now I'm less concerned about them and more about small business who are in the same boat. I can see those guys dropping casual shift workers to save the money, which in term puts more stress on the worker not getting the income and the owner for having to take on more than they can handle. I also question the timing of it, I think the parade is made better by having blue collar workers getting into the spirit of the day with everything going on. All I can say is it will be very interesting to see how the day goes, I'm sure the Andrews government will be sweating on it. They need it to go well.

Reckon Viney and Brayshaw would have something to say about that. Both have been phenomenal this year. Bottom line with our team is that until the future pushes out the past it players there will still be serious deficiencies with the team. But at the same time they can't be gifted games as has been in the past. I was cut up about watching another demolition and what really annoyed me was seeing them actually play well in the third term. To then concede 10 final quarter goals was a tough pill to swallow.

It will be the ultimate irony if the first GF eve public holiday occurred with two non Victorian teams in the GF. Personally I don't see the need for it, I will be working that day at double time so I guess I shouldn't complain!

Any word on who will be taking over? We laugh but they do actually have a fair amount of proven guys who can step in, then they also have Neeld. This was a LONG time coming, funny thing is that I reckon if he'd taken a step back when this all came out and resolved to not return as coach until it was sorted he probably would've been given a lot more respect by the wider AFL community.

Not sure what you're hashtagging but if you're saying it's taken about 5 years to get back to where we were then yeah. I agree. This is an area that not only have we been poor in but consistently gone backwards, just another area that Roos has essentially had to build from the ground up.

Don't quite know where to begin on this so I'll just answer the OP's question. Yes he is captain material. How many times has he kicked the "captains goal" this year when we've been in front and game in the balance? For crying out loud two weeks ago when every other player was missing goals to put Collingwood to bed he was the one that stepped up and put it through the middle. He's adored by the players, always goes in for the hard ball putting his body on the line and until Bernie came along was streets ahead as our best player. He had a bad one on the weekend, truth is when I was watching him he didn't look right. He bumped into Lin Jong he bounce off him, Lin Jong! Whether he was just off or off his game it was probably one of his worst games for a long time. But is he captaincy material? Give me a spell.

Contact the club and ask for reimbursement, you paid to watching Melbourne play for 4 quarters but they were only out there for one!

The rising star might just come down to this week. Unless Jess gets a bag of 6 and Cripps gets 35+ possies I reckon one of the two will stake his claim. Must admit though I'm less and less concerned about Jesse winning this award, he is already an amazing player at his age, he doesn't need a medal to tell him he's going to be a gun. I get the feeling a premiership medal is the only one he truly wants (hopefully while wearing red and blue!).

100% disagree with you there. It's far better than what it was last year, it's in a totally different ballpark to what it was under Neeld, and I reckon it's better than at our best under Bailey.

No questions need to be asked about Paul Roos. He's got one year to go on his contract, over 2016 Goodwin will start to take more responsibility to ensure a smooth transition. For once the coaching caper isn't something we need to be worried about. What is clear this year is that we have attempted to get more of a running and attacking style going, the negative to that is that the players clearly still haven't been able to master the two way running that is the standard for any top 8 team. The Bulldogs showed exactly what it was against us, when we had the ball the controlled the areas we wanted to kick to and when they recovered the ball, BANG every dogs player was sprinting to be involved in the attacking play. I have said it all year the 7-8 wins is where I think we are at. I want Roos to absolutely drill it into the players heads that this week is not an easy game, prepare as if you are taking on Hawthorn and desperately want to win this game.

Brock will always be remembered as the guy that essentially forced the AFL to investigate and eventually sanction us for (talking about) tanking. Those comments were too much to ignore and the irony that (I think) Nate Jones was meant to be on that night but pulled out is sickening. But he loved the club and was clearly very close the Bailey and felt disgruntled with the direction the club was taking. I hope time can pass where he can be welcomed back the to club, he played his best footy for us, especially when he was delivering the ball straight down Neita's throat.

Obviously it's live on TV but is there an internet stream of it as well?

We should be murdering Carlton next week. [EDIT] That said we are the only team not to murder Essendon so as someone said earlier; nothing is a lock.

Lethal might just be going off goals v behinds not goals vs goals missed. Still aside from the Geelong match we have mostly been pretty poor in front of goal this year. Dawes and Garlett (off the top of my head) would probably be the worst offenders in the forward line.

We owe them for the one we coughed up at Etihad last year, would love it to be a close win to the Dees!

Yeah strange comment, I would imagine things like this is put on the club doctors. Sure if we were competing for a top 8 spot they might try to push Dom or Christrian a little further but they are both young players with bright futures at the club, why risk the future for little gain in the present? Sounds like this sickness that has gone through the club has hit some players harder than others, it is what it is.

You can only beat the sides your fixtured to play. The thing that will be interesting next year for them is given their improved year they will probably get a significantly tougher draw which could see them take a backward step. They have done the job very well in recent weeks, when they get their running game going they can be very difficult to stop and we still have had issues with stopping free flowing teams that get on a run. If it's a tight contest (something I think Roos will try to push for) and we stay within 6-12 points at 3 quarter time we're a show. But we can't let them get the jump on us.

I've tipped the doggies but unlike other years I'm not going into games like this with a doom and gloom attitude. When we get our run going we can match it with most sides, hopefully it won't take a quarter for us to wake up unlike last week. Losing Tyson and then Salem does reduce the class/smarts in the team, but hopefully Bail will see this as an opportunity and take it by the horns. Would love Jesse to kick another bag against the Dogs!

I remember when we were losing by 100+ points in the Neeled era and he was saying stuff like "we just didn't get our hands on the ball". Well Essendon did and it sure didn't help them! The last quarter was a total rout though, once Giles went down they didn't have anyone who could match Jacobs in the ruck for any contest (Giles was getting smashed as it was). Dangerfield was unstoppable.

Yep but Ling almost injured our star high flying from last year when he didn't stand his ground with the specci bag last night! Wouldn't have been the best look for Seven! I'm going to head in early to watch, I reckon this game will see the best reception for it. There's been lots of press about it and both teams (us in particular) are really getting behind it. I know it will never happen because of ground management but I'd love it if they became a semi permanent fixture as a curtain raiser.

Correct, if the departing player is being paid way overs then it's on the club he's going to for pushing the pick selection so high.

Well done Maximus! Looking forward to your rucking prowess going onwards and upwards from here!

I know......don't you love it?!