Pates

I remember last season the AFL only made like 400 seats available to a game in Brisbane despite there being a maximum about 2000-4000 people allowed. I hope they haven’t made it reduced capacity to save a buck, if anything I would’ve thrown thousands of free tickets at local schools and universities to get people through the gate.

Absolutely fantastic, well done to the MFC. Couldn’t be prouder.

I’m actually on board with the idea of shifting our bye to next week and making the Pies game the week later. That gives the AFL a chance to reassess and potentially have the game at the G with crowds reduced. It also means that a decision doesn’t need to be immediately made.

But the problem is the hotel system still has the corridors as red hot zones that you’re most susceptible to contracting the virus. Facilities and air-flow are the two things that I think need to be improved. Placing potentially infectious people into hotels that aren’t built to be used in this way is always going to have issues. You could have the quarantine for 100 days but then on the day you leave have a new individual infect the area and your stuffed. I’m actually surprised the government didn’t properly look into a “house arrest” style where you wear an ankle tracker to prevent you from leaving. Keeps you away from the public and keeps you away from new (potentially infected) arrivals. Damn those people that couldn’t do the right thing and just bloody self isolate.

I still can’t fathom how the AFL saw a clash with the bulldogs indigenous guernsey, predominant red with bits of navy blue vs predominantly royal blue with hints of red and white. Can only imagine after the ANZAC Day blunder with Pies and Bombers they’ve got skittish. Anyway it’ll be great to see us where it this round, and if there’s perhaps a opportunity maybe we wear it again if there’s a navy clash.

Yep there were so many missed opportunities that game, I even remember Huddo’s call as Bennell streamed towards goal “this is why they got him he’s a great finisher, and he.....misses”. I feel like the biggest difference this year compared to last year is that we take those chances to manufacture goals.

I’ve felt that as well, still missing the odd howler but they do seem a lot better now. TMac would be my choice for kick after the siren.

He’s someone that you’ve got to pay a lot of respect to, I think in his case the way to stop him is the win the ball. If he gets lots of uncontested possessions he can hurt you pretty quickly, that said he’s not one that shirks from the contest either. Some big match ups all over the ground, I was really annoyed we lost last year and we’re a much better side now. Really excited for this one!

Good and simple change. I like the way the FD have been doing ins and outs, not trying to over complicate it. Best guess is that Jordon will have first go on the wing. I feel like this is a big week for Weid, he has to at least start being a cog in the machine, I feel like right now he’s not sure if he belongs. Kozzie as well, he’s been relatively quiet in the last month, against one of the best teams and on the big stage it would be great to see him get back to form.

Yep you’re right, being overseas I sometimes skim through articles but I missed that about it coming from SA. In a lot of ways it would almost make more sense to have a week to 10 day quarantine, with a final four days in isolation (which is rigorously checked). I’m coming back from the UK in July and I’m going to self isolate for at least 2-3 days (or at the very least minimise contact with people). Sounds like you’re a higher risk of catching it on the way out than another time.

Yep I’m really hoping the team has learned from the game. Despite being roughed up Max almost always got good purchase on the taps but the smashed us at bounces and stoppages. I really think we have to at least break even with that. I sometimes forget the Mitch Robinson at the Lions is the same guy who called us bruise free. I would love for one of the boys to tackle him hard enough (but legally) that has him slow getting up.

Brown’s experiencing the same frustration the Sam had to go through last season. How do you push your case for selection with no way of getting form? Any chance of the leftover players in Victoria can play each other in a toned down practice match in the same vein as last year?

I actually don’t know what the financial return is for finals matches, I suppose us not being involved in many for a while has made me not really care. But do home teams get the gate takings? Does it go to the AFL and then portion goes to competing teams?

I would love to hear the statement directly from medical professional who made that recommendation. It just sounds idiotic, particularly when you consider the dangers of someone not catching the ball and it potentially hitting someone vulnerable (such as an infant/child, the elderly, or a disabled person). I wonder if they will have the netting up behind the goals?

Plenty of threads I could put this but this is as good as any. I find it almost laughable that Europe is able to create a system that allows the Euro’s to take place with the players flying in and out and being isolated but Australia’s states after a year of this have still been unable to come up with a system to create freedom of movement to allow professional sport to continue. The players and staff would be amongst the most tested people in the country, it just doesn’t make sense to me. With proper precautions and systems in place this match could easily have taken place in NT.

Just throwing a (probably impossible) idea out there. If NT are banning entrance from Victoria surely by the time our QB comes along the players will have spent enough time quarantined from the outside world and away from Victorian cases that we could move the game to NT. Kill two birds with one stone as it were, and at least we’re not giving up a future home game that members can go to, and we get money from the NT agreement. Unlikely, but just a thought.

The other thing that may not gave been mentioned is that even though we had the gates for the tigers match it was reduced capacity so it was nowhere near the usual money spinner. So two years in a row we have been screwed out of our usual big games. just throwing an idea out there re: Alice. If things don’t get better hubs might be back on the agenda (even if it’s temporary), I would really push Alice as a location for a hub that features us. Could be a way of getting our Alice money back while not being the only team giving up home games.

I just had a look at “all the goals”, the drop that I think was the most disappointing was the one that ended in Jordon’s goal (great crumbing goal btw). Spargo had pulled the kick perfectly, Sam got separation from his direct opponent and had the leap at it, he got a large piece of it first up but subsequently dropped it and fumbled the second grab. Those are the ones you expect a tall forward to gobble up more often than not.

They should put their hands up to hub a bunch of teams then. If they really want this then they need to grease some wheels.

I mean this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, so people duck for cover and instead the person behind might get smacked in the face with the ball. FFS just bring some antibacterial hand gel with you, or better yet make them available at the ground. Or another solution make bottom level empty and the crowd only available to level 2/3. Seriously there are some stupid decisions being made out there ?‍♂️.

The game being at Giants Stadium for me removes Hibbo from the list of potential wingers, and he's also the logical option for Cameron. I would love to see Hunt given first crack at the wing, see if he can channel his twin brother for a bit. But I also worry as I'm not sure Hunt understands the running patterns that Langdon does, it's a lot more than just having the ability to run hard, and Hunt has managed to turn his form around on the back of being able to explode from the backline. A few have suggested, and I wouldn't be against it, trying Rivers on the wing. Again, I worry that being a young player he hasn't developed his tank to be able to do what's asked on him. I think the club is going to be very straight forward with this. No shuffling of the magnets, just bring in Baker for Langdon and back Oscar to do the job.

Melbourne is a great example of how these board spills and tickets for new presidency can be an absolute disaster for a club and leave them in the wilderness for 10+ years. It’s hard not to have a little schadenfreude about it, particularly when it comes to the pies. Eddie should be feeling a lot of responsibility for this, which in some ways is a shame because if he’d read the tea leafs right he could’ve left the club in the best position but I get the feeling he is a person that loves the feeling of power so being selfless was not in his character. On the outside this tumbling house of cards started when he forced Mick Malthouse aside for his favourite son. They were on the verge of a dynasty with Malthouse, but that move clearly created discord in the club and it’s just been bubbling in the background ever since.

I know it might be unpopular for people wanting to go to the game but I really think if it’s possible we should rearrange the GWS game to be in Alice. Perhaps we can negotiate to have the Essendon game as a replacement for members. Losing both the QB and Alice will be such a massive hole in our budget, we should try to salvage at least one of them.

I’m in the UK but getting back in July, my MFCSS is telling me that when I return they’ll turn garbage again. I haven’t seen a H&A win live for about 7 years I reckon.

There were quite a few that he got his hand on that I can understand him not pulling them down, pack marking is something sometimes it just happens to stick but largely they go to ground. There were a few of one v one, two v two situations, that he got a big enough piece of that I was disappointed he didn’t pull down. I don’t expect him to take all of them but even just one out of three in those situations would be good. I don’t like potting him, but he needs to start clunking again. We can’t have a player that is largely ineffectual for large parts of the game, has a flurry of 5 minutes, but then after that is just “bringing the ball to ground”.