nutbean

26,000 people at ground were caught out by that - why on Earth Ro Bail decided to hook that ball back in is beyond me. I know you play to the whistle but that was a doozy of blunder. Within 10 seconds of the play I felt a massive wind fly past me. It was the runner going out to Bail with a message from the coach. I don't think the moment was lost on Roos.

Negatives for Tom - can get lost in transition, can be outbodied, questionable footskills and decision making Pluses for Tom - He can punch - he can mark. His big plus is his willingness for a key defender to get involved. I see him as being similar to Ted Richards - the big difference is that Richards averages 12 touches a game and TMac - 16 touches. The big ? of course is whether he can clean up his disposal and decision making - at 21 - I would definitely not put a cross through him.

You need to be goalside of your opponent when the ball is coming down. If you are either to the left or the right you open up the other side for your opponent to lead into and you dont want to be in front as the ball will end up over your head. ( there is a difference in a stationary play - then you can stand in front of your opponent and watch to the spaces he might lead to) The speed it was coming in always means that the defender is going to be caught behind and the mark is going to be simple unless the kick into your opponent is not perfect and gives you a chance or you have fantastic closing speed ( which Nev doesn't have) or your opponent has no leg speed at all (see Ben Brown who still took some in front - most small forwards will get you for speed). The key is not to let them run unopposed into your defensive zone - we have done that pretty well to date - but not yesterday.

Sorry - I am with Saty on this - and had sympathy for all the backs last night who were beaten on the lead. What let us down yesterday was the ease that the ball came into their forward line. I don't care if it is Nahas or Peter Daicos - when the ball comes into the forward line so easily with no -one filling the hole - you are going to get cleaned up on the lead providing the kick comes in cleanly which it did. I think one of the defenders mentioned in an interview previously said that the defense had been helped by the pressure the mids put on the balling coming into their defensive zone - that didnt happen for periods yesterday.

So obviously you disagree with trying to "develop" a player. Further consider that we have been appalling in this area for a number of years and this is the first footy department that knows anything about "improving". 13 games into the new regime - lets just flick him ? And further consider that not a single coach but ALL coaches have this benchmark of 70 games plus before footballers start to really know their trade. Then add that big blokes take even longer. McDonald has questionable footskills and is prone to poor decision making but there is also a lot to like about him. He finds the ball plenty and I am sure that the coaches will try to polish off his very rough edges. I am willing to suggest that Roos and co do not share your views on his retention so standby to see a 2-3 year contract signed. If TMac does not resign I don't believe it will because the footy department dont want him.

I'm not a vegetarian ( sweet sweet meat). Whilst on an intellectual level I understand animals are dying for my appetite I at least try and do something by doing something that is sold to me as more humane. Am I being hoodwinked - by buying stall free pork and free range chicken (and eggs) and meats ?

Last nights game ( except for 3rd term where they just outworked us ) and many this year have shown the fine line between success and failure. Last two years - simple - could not get our hands on the ball. For the first half of last night we had the ball and either made terrible decisions or poor execution. In todays football - turn the ball over and you are dead. Bails decision not to fumble the ball over in the first quarter, Jones horrible fumble at centre half back - led directly to goals - and there were plenty of others. The only tiny positive that I took away from a disappointing last night is - if you can't get the ball you are stuffed. Roos has to an extent fixed our most telling problem from the last two years - we can now at least get our hands on the ball - we just need to be cleaner and smarter. This will be a combination of the existing players using the ball better and getting ball users into the club. (confusing stat ? - at half time or just before we were going at 82% Disposal efficiency - not the game I was watching !)

Wow. He does have the odd brain fade and scares me a little with ball in hand but he has been the centrepiece of a defense who has been quite miserly compared to the last four years. He is young and learning and will improve. What gets me is that he is being pilloried for getting done on the lead. You can slam jetta for that too. Or we might concede that it had something to do with ball being waltzed into their forward line way too easily last night.

Yummy

Im in the "sure that his absense in the backline will telling camp" ? - thanks for telling me what camp I'm in - show me where I said that because you'd be wrong. At the beginning of this year Frawley's absense from anywhere wouldn't have been telling because he has been so average for the past two years. What I have posted regularly is that I was giving everyone a clean slate now regarding the last two years - pretending they didn't happen because besides Jones and Dunn and Matt Jones - everyone else went backwards. I am in the camp that everyone was at the start again, fresh clean page, and Roos and his football department will take most of the footballers forward or Roos will cut them. I am not concerned whether Hogans comes in or not - will we be worse off if he leaves ?? Here's my answer - 3 years ago he showed his talent. He had 2 pretty horrible years as did most. This year he has been more than serviceable learning a new role. The hardest role in football - playing CHF. We will be worse off if we jettison a footballer that has shown his talent in the past and is improving under Roos from his performances last year. If he continues to improve to his AA form of the past then we will absolutely miss him. That is a a big if - but no bigger than asking me if we will miss him when we a get a footballer into the team who has a bad back for most of this year and is yet to play a senior game.

I'm with you - it is all about stereotypes and reinforcing them and it angers me no end and...wait...I'll finish this post later - I gotta get my skis out of my range rover without ruining the leather sleeve patches on my tweed jacket ( go the number 6).

I like it - the Barassi Cup - a four way, over the top rope, battle royale - Melbourne vs Sydney vs Carlton vs North.

That's why I don't like him - what he reports may or may not be right - it is his toxic style that has me switching off SEN during the morning on the off chance I might hear that repulsive human.

I do the maths - cost of two taxi trips vs airport parking at Jetport - breakeven for me is a 1 week trip

I looked up cognitive dissonance - I am still none the wiser.

You want to throw you own spin so here's mine. Jordie was lucky to not give away a free for running back with flight ( courage to do this in itself) - but lets now look at what the two Essendon players did and what McKenzie did. Stanton didn't mark, became unbalanced and went to ground. Hurley went to impact the contest and missed everything. Yup two basic mistakes from Essendon as you rightly pointed out. Now lets look at what McKenzie did - he bravely went back with flight and impacted the contest and importantly he did NOT go to ground - he did not lose his feet - he was the only one to stay in the contest. You recognised that McKenzie was the recipient of what Essendon did wrong - can you not also acknowledge that he was the recipient of what he did right ??? Edit - you said it was an unbiased view - it is almost a biased Essendon view !! - pointing out everything they did wrong instead of pointing what we also did right.

I don't need to show it to my non MFC supporters. 3 Football shows ( AFL 360, Footy classified and on the couch) not only showed it - they dissected it in minute detail!!! They each mentioned certain events within the play. The hard running , the speed and execution, the bravery of decision making and also how too many Essendon players got sucked up into the contest. Why exactly did these shows not just show it but dissect it ? This was not amateur footy stuff - this was not fundamentals - this play was poetry.. Again - you seem to be lacking understanding our game - you say that we happened to have players free. Why do you think that is ? Viney, Cross and McDonald gut ran and burned off their opponents - that is why they were free ! And McKenzie was in a lucky spot - he was very lucky to be.. umm where was he ? front and centre of the contest - what a novel place to stand !!! And I may give the final word on McKenzies performance to someone who set his role - 3 guesses who said this ? “Jordie was a great example for the other guys. He was out for five or six weeks and he just does well and he doesn’t complain and he keeps doing his role and all of a sudden, you come into the team. He played a really, really good game.”

I haven't met him but I love him. xxx

Hmm . Dunn IMO was BOG last week - he wasn't helped by appalling kicking into the Essendon forward line ? You are looking to find reasons not to acknowledge what Jordie did last week - he shut down his player and he provided some valuable offensive output - he wasnt best on ground, he did a good job - that's all.

So we have devoted a thread to Pederson because of his improvement. We have devoted a thread to Jetta because of his improvement. We have devoted a thread to Dunn because of his improvement. McKenzie comes back in after being told what he should to be more valuable and does precisely that but we shouldn't recognise it ? If so I am in the wrong place too.

That's me. I will applaud when the fundamentals are done correctly because if you do 120 minutes of fundamentals correctly invariably you will win the game. I will also applaud passages of play ( most from our mob but even from others) that are sublime in their daring and their execution.

Not a natural tagger IMO.

no mismatch as you take the positional listing with a small grain of salt. I think McKenzie

Violent - but I like it.

He will leave for finals and success, AND money