Pates

Personally I’d go with Tommo, for tall coverage. I can see them going with Bedford though.

I think for us to win today Max needs to get back to his contested making best and our clearance numbers get back to at least par. We can get the goals from a spread of everyone, we just need to lock the ball in to get the likes of Petracca, Sparrow, and JJ getting looks at goal while our small forwards can provide 4-5 between them. I expect they’ll put a lot of work into Fritta today so if Weid can jag a couple that will go a long way to getting the win. Let’s see a performance like vs Brisbane!

There’s nothing I have to go on with this but I think Gus will stay, LJ feels gone to me which hurts but he helped us break the drought so it’ll be hard to stay too mad at him (as long as we get good compensation). Gus always seems to show a passion for Melbourne that’s only met by Viney and Petracca, whether that translates into him staying I don’t know but I reckon he and his manager are doing what Viney did last year. Play the field to make sure they maximise the contract.

Quarter went for 35min, did the time-keeper fall asleep of something?

Good goal from AMW.

Not pretty but it's a win. Kozzie 3 votes.

What a game from Kozzie.

This is some sort of game from Kozzie.

What a chase from Melksham, Goody would be stoked with that. And does Viney not have a neck or something. Fritta finally spotted a team thing and did it perfectly, that goal was reward for effort and teamwork.

Ahhh Sparrow!

Umpire sucked in there, Max doesn't get the ball back to him it's fine but Dixon basically drops the ball and gets a 50.

Bloody hell that's a massive goal from Kozzie.

Christ Fritta is in really poor form, burning teammates and then missing very getable (and crucial) goals. This team looks a lot more like 2020 rather than 2021.

Kozzie showing Fritta how to be selfless and lower the eyes,

I'm not sure what has happened to our team first mantra. That was what got us the premiership last year.

That was a shocking burn from Fritta, I'm all for having a go at goal but fmd that was an easy goal gone begging.

Wow that's some proper doom and gloom! MFCSS has got you good!

Bring the pressure game and the rest will fall into place. Our defence, even with Petty missing (who's arguably been our best defender this season), knows what to do. Our midfield is weakened with Oliver missing but I reckon we could see Brayshaw have a run in there with Rivers back. Our forward line is out of form, but we just need to lock the ball in with pressure and the opportunities will come. I really feel like the "Melbourne Brand" that we had going last season has only existed a few times this season. The Saints, GWS, and Brisbane. All other wins we've got through on bursts of class, and our losses I can't really say we were anywhere near our best apart from one quarter against Freo. That fills me with hope because we are still in a good position for the season, and we haven't hit our straps. Today needs to be a statement day to come back from losing last week. We win today I feel like we get top 4. I'm backing in the players coming in to be desperate to keep their spots.

I tried to explain that to some other fans when I said my frustration at us always being sent there, for me they have the best of all worlds. Less travel and a massive home ground advantage. Personally I would actually like them to play all their home games there so at least across the board every team has to experience it, essentially turn them into an interstate team.

They seem to have had a bit of a habit of peaking a little early in recent years. Love it, would love them going on a drought of 30+ years where they keep getting close but never winning.

This is exactly it, but the mistake I think we're falling into is thinking that needs to be the problem that gets solved. We can kick a winning score with a smaller forward line and midfielders kicking goals (like the Brisbane match), it starts with making sure when the ball hits the ground the opposition is under such immense pressure they stuff it up.

Biggest thing we need to recapture over the last rounds of footy is the finals like pressure that defined us. We don't have to go all out to the point it'll exhaust us before the finals but we need to bring a lot more heat than we have in recent times. The likes of Nibbler, Spargo, and Kozzie need to up it to 2021 levels, while there's been issues with the key forwards for me it starts with pressure. Swan's system won tonight but they suffocated Freo at the fall of the ball.

Yep, I think Blues will finish 6th-7th and might win through to the second week. I also agree that we can take the cats. We can take all comers, for me our best beats everyone's best. It's just we've been inconsistent with our form this season while getting most of the jobs done.

Jeez this is such a tight year, I think the important thing for us is to purely worry about the week to week. We have the hardest run home of all, we can win them all and we can win them all. Swans and the Cats look the goods tonight, who will look the goods next week?

I'm backing Melks in, he's a veteran that I reckon will be given a job to do. He's still one of the best at delivering to our forwards (something we have been lacking at lately).