Pates

For me the whole Bedford thing is we shouldn't have been in a situation of it being one or the other. Bedford deserved games, at the time others weren't performing and should've been dropped. We would look better with Bedford in the squad right now. Just a thought that I've had for the last few weeks. Since Gus got taken out of the game with concussion I feel like that's a hole we have struggled to fill. The player that has great endurance and go to either end of the ground at any point in the game to be that extra option. Now Langdon has always been a sheepdog with crazy endurance and ability to get to both ends of the ground, but I just feel like what we're seeing from him resembles a bit more of a Gus-style game. He's taking more marks than he has in his career, more intercept marks, and seems to bob up for a goal or two every couple of games. I'm wondering whether Langford and others taking on the other wing role at times is just freeing him up to be a bit of a Mr Fix-it when we need that senior head.

6 - Gawn the GOAT 5 - Chandler 4 - Trac 3 - Viney 2 - Windsor 1 - Melksham

I think it's a bit of him being a victim of his own success and standards. The fans know he can (and should) be so much better, but that said the delivery to him was doing no favours in the first half. I thought he was ok without being good or bad.

Is there a link to some video of Petty's injury? I never saw it. I feel like this with the tunnelling rule that is relatively new there needs to be a level of intent. For example there was a tunnelling incident that Fitta did earlier this season, and his intent was to contact a guy that was completely at the mercy of gravity, to me that was a semi-intentional act (I say semi in that he didn't aim to tunnel, be he intentionally made dangerous contact). With Melk, they are contesting a marking contest and Melks eyes are firmly on the best way to win the ball.

This is a little side note to this thread but the clubs really need to come together to create a proper second tier competition where they match each week to the calendar. These weeks where Casey has a bye while we play is awful for player development and management. The league has enough money in the coffers, they should be making it a high priority. I think JVR will get the call up for Petty, if Fox Footy succeed in getting Melk suspended (and I just have this nagging feeling it'll happen) I say we bring in Howes to cover Disco who stays forward. If Oliver is available Sharp can play a full Casey game and give the sub vest to either Kolt or Spargo.

It would be so Michael Christian for him to give Melk a one weeks suspension, I have no faith in him making the right call.

May definitely looks to be reaching his cliff, I think it's important that we start to think of the next phase with him and whether that is him taking the number one defender. I like Petty and Disco as swing men, but I actually want them to both be defenders first with the swing there if needed. Ironically Petty seems to play better if he starts as a defender.

It has to be said that making Viney a tagger has completely turned his form around. I feel like it took Goody too long to swing that move but now that he has done it Jack looks so much more like the player he is, it feeds on his competitive spirit and best of all Jack is good enough to hurt the player the other way if given the chance.

I'm obviously biased, but for me he's the GOAT. Cox barely did half the stuff Gawn does around the ground.

I'm not saying this is actually the case but I swear it feels like it's always a Melbourne player that the media try to make an example of for a suspension. Melksham did an act that Riewoldt would've done hundreds of times in his career, he didn't shove him into a contest to hurt him, he tried to out body the guy.

I tipped us with zero confidence. At half time I was so frustrated that we let them back into the game and they even had the lead. I agreed with what you said though, in terms of match play there was maybe a 10-15min patch where they were on top and the rest we had them in most areas. Kicking goals is huge, but missing gettable shots is almost bigger. You can tell the shoulders drop from the players and they start to think, "all that work for nothing". Goals brings confidence, and I honesty feel like confidence is our biggest enemy right now. We are one bad miss away from slumping backwards.

He did an interview with the Deebrief and I thought he was good on there, talked more like a footy fan than a commentator. But his bias was massively showing all game, from trying to get Melk suspended, to shrugging off Allen's punch to Viney's scone, to Waterman dropping his knees and absolutely no mention of it. He was also always making points about cheap shots from Melbourne players but ignoring the ones from West Coast players.

He was frustrating, an almost game is exactly it. Each behind he definitely could've (should've) got, he dropped easy chest marks but takes a good grab on the goal line. I'm on the fence, it's tempting to give him some time at VFL but someone made a good point that his biggest issue isn't getting involved it's getting up to the pace of AFL. Playing at Casey won't help that.

The Fox Footy commentary team were doing everything to get him suspended, meanwhile Viney cops a fist to the face with eyes not on the ball and they shrug it off. The bias from them is honestly sickening at times. The Waterman free kick with May getting stuck into him was textbook him dropping his knees to initiate contact, but no they just say "not sure what he's complaining about it's a clear free". Guarantee if that's Fritta or Kozzie doing it they call out the drop of the knees.

I really hope big lessons have been learned from last years absolute dog's breakfast of a match at optus last season. Namely, show them respect. And tag Reid.

This is the big thing for me, for WAY too long Casey form has been ignored while "best 23" players get away with weeks of mediocre performances. This has been the case since 2022. It's time that the competition for spots results in players getting goes when their Casey form demands it. Fulla's deserved his shot, if he gets back to some good form and the players in the seniors don't perform he should get another go.

I think in a strange way tough is better, I kinda feel like we looked at the first 5-6 rounds and saw certain games as easy W's. We've been brought right back down to earth and now we will be the underdogs in most of those games (at least until we actually show we're the real deal).

I'm not at all happy about the final quarter differentials, I'm really hoping that the club has put that up on a wall somewhere and said, "we are not losing this game, and we are definitely not losing the final quarter".

I think this for me is one of the key reasons that I am frustrated and annoyed at Goody. Pre-game on the ABC broadcast they mentioned that we had (I believe) 15 premiership players out there while Geelong had 12. The experts were asked to discuss this and why then that Geelong were in a better position, Mick Malthouse pointed to Goodwin for too long being set that "these are the guys who won us the premiership" and not taking into account that that year we had individual brilliance of Trac, Oliver, Viney, Gawn, May, Lever, Petty, and Fritta. Now that all those players have trailed off (some much more than trailed off) the bottom end are being exposed for being average footballers that were playing at their absolute peak because they had the freedom to do so. Now that they are being relied upon to be something more they are shown to be what they are. He also then pointed to Geelong's ability to recruit for need and their aggressive style in doing it, they see a hole, they go and fill it with ready made quality. We have had holes in our line up since before the premiership, 2022 we also failed to take advantage of Casey's dominance and turn the list over. Bedford was an absolute failure, we was bashing down the door and yet we persisted with Spargo and Nibbler (who wasn't being as effective), while giving Chandler nibbles at playing. I've gone into a long winded rant to basically say this started a long time ago, I will always be thankful to Goody for helping us get a premiership, but his management of the team after that has cost us.

I'm sure someone would be able to give me a good reason why it was never a chance but I reckon the missed opportunity (apart from the obvious Olympic park one that we all know about) was the Elwood 9 hole golf club that's now being turned into wetlands. It's right next the VFA base of operations, already has two existing ovals, tennis courts, could've easily added swimming facilities as well, and it all could've been in one revamped complex. Also near Elsternwick station and trams so easy for public transport, could've made it a boutique sized stadium for AFLW. It's obviously a moot point now as the local council has committed to turning it into wetlands. I really hope this Caulfield project pans out.

Watch them sniff around JUH, bet you he will barely play a game for the rest of the season, the media will drop his worth down to a second round draft pick, and the Cats will do some kind of cheeky deal to get him over the line. Jeremy Cameron is getting on after all.

Probably still getting paid exactly the same though.

I honestly feel like our top 5 are still in the same ballpark as what they were in 2021, its our bottom 5-10 that has been the biggest issue. We won our premiership because our bottom 5 players were still capable and solid contributors, but for the last few years it's felt like most weeks we're carrying players. Even in 2022 when we started 10-0 our bottom 5 were pretty average (and Goodwin didn't have the guts to rotate the squad). Now this season our depth has been hit pretty hard, with Judd out you would've expected AMW to step right in. Koz out, McAdam was having a great pre-season until his injury. Melk is still a week or two away meaning our forward line is thin. It's no surprise that we had to turn to 6 new players 5 of which were playing their first AFL game. But we need to get back to that ethos of everyone is an important part of the team, everyone has to impact in some way. Oh and it's time Goody lit a fire under Fritta, if he plays a [censored] game again this week I'd be tempted to play him as the sub or drop him altogether.

Certainly not with the commentary shrugging it off as "nothing more than a free".

I honestly feel that it shouldn't be a role someone stays in for more than 3 years in any case. But Michael Christian does feel like he has favourites and takes others down harder. I can't work out the Archer decision, if the dogs player stays on his feet then it's just another contest, but because he gets a push in the back and falls to ground Archer gets punished for what I can see as an unavoidable collision. And yet Maynards was a "football act".