FarNorthernD

Young, new coaches are like young, new players. With hard work and dedication both groups will get better over time. They will become more confident and better at their craft. Goodwin has obviously formed a close bond with his players whilst also introducing non and a playing style that suits. He has also inherited a bloody good list. He is in the right place at the right time. The sky’s the limit.

I understand how others could enjoy that but importing another piece of American culture into our game makes me cringe a bit

Yes the 6-6-6 rule probably would have changed the result of last years Grand Final. West Coast would not have been able to drop back two extra players into defence and regroup when the Pies got out to 5 goals in front. For that reason alone thank god it wasn’t in place or we would all be putting up with a Collingwood flag!

Maynard Baker Petty Walker

Spargo makes good decisions. Invariably we are in a better position after he disposes the ball.

Let’s face it the ‘no third man up’ rule has helped Gawn become the dominant ruckman that he is. This rule change has helped us immeasurably The 6-6-6 rule should also provide us with an advantage; dominant ruck to dominant mods. Perhaps that’s why we have recruited Pruess so that when Gawn has his six or so minutes a quarter resting we don’t lose much. A team that really gets on top at centre clearances could make for some seriously lop sided scores. Think the recruitment of May will benefit us with the new kick in rule. May is a lovely long and accurate kick that should provide opportunities for very quick transition. As Binman said there are bound to be unintended consequences but overall you would think these rule changes will generally be great for us.

If you nailing your scrotum to a bull ant infested bench meant that no Melbourne players were involved in this rubbish I’d help you out and supply the hammer.

Pretty much favourite Weid moment for the year (yes inc the EF 3 goals) was his crunching Dangerfield tackle on the wing. Showed a real intent and a bit of mongrel. No way Hogan is making that tackle

Belief

Love that match up, ultimate one-on-one. Wonder who would have the upper hand? Nev by a whisker perhaps? Brilliant photo Dazzle, thanks

My father, a 70 year Melbourne supporter, was supposed to have a table in the dining room with his mates that day. Unfortunately he passed away unexpectedly and our family and his friends ended up with a couple of extra tables having a fairly emotional lunch. At half time there were a number of black humour comments that he was ‘lucky’ that he wasn’t around to watch just how crap Melbourne were. And then the tide turned. What a roller coaster it was and, of course, we all thought they were playing for Dad and he was helping from above. Then we were able to have a kick on the G after the game and quietly spread half his ashes on the ground, CHF scoreboard end.

Well for a tall Preuss is coming into the right age bracket - 24 June next year - and he will have been training against the best in the business for 6 months by the time rnd 1 rolls by. For him to be effective and give us an advantage playing two rucks, aside from his rucking skills, he is going to need to use his height and be able to mark above his head. If he can he will make it bloody difficult for opposition sides. But apart from all that he is just a freaky sized humongous human being. It will be very fun watching him run around in the red and blue

Agreed. The AFL site had a Daicos highlights vid and when viewed today a lot looked like goals you would see two or three times each round. Back then though they were never seen before miracle goals.

If I could pick any one player to come to Melbourne it would be Kelly.

There is some risk but I do like the way we are swapping out our high picks for known quantities (Lever/May) who will be automatic, guaranteed and important top 10 players for us. There is bit of the ‘what if’ factor by opting out of the high first round picks and does make draft day a bit dull for us supporters but it does seem the sensible and higher percentage way to go. Lower picks have also had their own stand out/generational players too Danger at pick 10 Rance 18 Fyfe 20 Jono Brown 30 Goodes 43 Scarlett 45 Harvey 47 Swan 58 Hird 79 (although some sort of weird family thing here) And then a couple of favourites. The park footballer who mistakenly wandered onto an AFL ground, Jeremy McGovern at 74 and Dean Kemp, a 2 X Premiership player, AA, B & F, 243 games and Norm Smith medallist at 119! By the time he retires our own Max Gawn (34) may possibly be considered the ruckman of this generation too

Admitedly this quote is from Tom’s coach prior to the draft so probably a bit of hyperbole but I do like the bit about speed, power and endurance - “He’s become an animal, an absolute ripper,’’ said SA under-18 coach Tony Bamford, who had no hesitation in selecting Sparrow, 182cm and 81kg, in his AFL under-18 championship-winning side this year. “Tom’s got that rare combination that every club wants — speed, power and endurance. “He’s the type of player who wins the ball on the inside but is so powerful he can get on the outside and really hurt the opposition there. “He is very driven, motivated, diligent and professional. He’ll not only make it as a long-term AFL player but he’ll stand out in his first month of training because of his workrate and toughness.’’

For the Storm to keep performing year after year in what is a NRL backwater is a credit to them. You have to respect what Craig Bellamy has achieved. They have pretty much been the Lions of the early 2000s but maintained it Cam Smith is a star

Wow that’s a great story. Thanks for posting

A bit further north DV8, Port Douglas. I know there is someone occasionally on here from the Daintree which is a bit further up again.

Original and obscure. Love it Way better than some here who have boringly named themselves after their geographical location

Yeah I agree with that. Even though his disposal is sometimes deplorable the rest of him makes him an important member of the team

Forward schmorward. When the back six with May and Lever clicks there are going to be some teams that kick some very low scores against us. Add in a midfield group that supplies more inside 50’s than any other in the comp and you could have Humphrey B Bear standing at full forward and we will still kick goals. But the fact is we actually have more forward talent than most other clubs; McDonald, Melksham, Petracca, ANB, the Weid... But defence wins premierships and we are going to have a ripper.

Thanks Six. As per usual professional quality photos and story telling. We are lucky to have you Tom Sparrow has quite the build for an 18yo doesn’t he. It will be interesting to see how he goes in ‘19 Obviously it is impossible to tell from photos but hopefully Garlett has drawn a line under his rather disastrous season this year and will get back to his best. He has done it before (Carlton -> Melbourne year) so hopefully he can prove a couple here who believe him finished wrong.

Can’t see much booing of Kent happening. Supporter discontent scale of ex MFC player in another jumper (1-10) 10. Scully 5. Howe 1. Dunn 0. Trengove I’d rate both Kent and Tyson maybe a 2. Both chose to leave but you can absolutely understand why they did. Should be minimal booing aside from those who would boo anyone including their grandmothers for dud Xmas presents. I wasn’t around for when Barassi went to Carlton. Anyone remember what his first match in navy was like against the MFC? Imagine the build up the AFL would give that match today. Do you reckon they would have us playing Carlton twice next year!

It is good to see other people’s opinions. I must admit I thought Hannan’s goal was the lay-down-misere best out of that lot