Maldonboy38

Essendon got a few run and carries through the middle, but our defensive stifled almost all of them. Great effort all over the park. Viney and Clarry working so so hard. Windsor and Langdon playing well, and have clamped down on Duursma. Rivers and McVee - brilliant. And a BIG tick to JVR who negated the curtain maker.

I'm not sure what is worse for being Bombers-centric, channel 7 or Demonland. We are 1 point up (7 points up npw) not 5 goals down. Draper is playing ok but our pressure and system is really good so far.

Hahaha, I will take 10 goals Mono, but my tip is 10 points.

I have the ying and yang experience this morning. YING - Delight and expectation that my Dees are playing, are on TV, and a heap of new young players showing some skill and grunt. YANG - we are playing the [censored] whom I loathe with a passion equal to those drivers who refuse to indicate before they hit the brake pedal. If the game is played in a similar manner to last night Pies v Cats, we are in for a good night. If it becomes an aerial game it could become difficult for us. Kozzie's milestone, Clarry finding the ball, Fritsch & Melksham in tandem, May & Lever in tandem, Langdon & Windsor in tandem. Dees by 10

2 of the greatest stuff ups I have seen in ages. Blixavs playing on then throwing it, Collingwood slipping over 10m out. Ordinary game all round this one.

That advantage goal to the Pies was a howler. Both teams had totally stopped and even BT had shut up!

I really hate the way coaches are usually shown the door, but apart from some uncomfortable moments in the press conference, it looks like this one was done with respect and class. I love the public face of the way Simpson coached. And for the longest period, the players were absolutely in sync with him. I liked the measured and intelligent way he spoke in public, the way he supported his players, and the stoic way he stuck to his gameplan and footy philosophy. And until 2020 the WCE game style was powerful and attractive. So, well done Simmo! WCE could be in a worse mess after this (if that is possible), with sponsors questioning their association, players disgruntled, entitled or wanting to leave, supporters wanting instant success, and a new season of compromised drafting etc... due to the Tassie franchise. Cue the coaching merry-go-round. Hinkley and Nicks on very shaky ground, and Bevo not far behind (which I reckon is a misjudgment).

When everything began to change with Peter Jackson, Paul Roos and Jason Taylor as our Head of Recrruiting was the next best thing, quickly followed by making Nathan Jones skipper. Yes, there have been some recruiting misses but only because of the rose coloured glasses called hindsight. What I rate highly is his ability to trade picks to constantly get us multiple picks inside the top 20, even during years when we have finished high on the ladder and had little drafting positional power.

I agree in part Oxdee. The players you list have a good marking record, but as for contested marking, only JVR and May are showing their best at the moment. Petty strong in patches. But I think Draper, Wright, Laverde, Langford, Jones, McKay, Duursma and even young Caddy are all in better form for contested marking. They do get a lot of marking stats from chipping it around, uncontested footy, but when the contest is in the air I reckon they cover us at the moment. If Max played, he covers Draper easily, but I don't reckon either of Fullarton or Verrall will be as strong against him.

I like the way Verrall is tracking, showing intent and effort in his follow up efforts. However, he will get physically dominated by Draper & Goldstein. So I reckon it will be Fullarton. The main problem is Essendon appear to be a good marking team which will stretch us all over the ground. The actual ruck/stoppage work is not my major concern.

I prefer Spargo at his best as our 2nd small forward, but his form is a long way in the past at the moment. Goodwin and Co love effort-based players and Chandler is definitely that. He has periods of improvement followed by periods of stagnation but all things considered it has been a constant increase in output, form and effectiveness. I would like to see him kick more goals, especially those he shouldn't be missing, but love what he brings to our team. Glad to see him re-sign.

Loved our defensive intent and much of our intent around the ball. I felt the eagles ran it through the middle too easily at times, and I noticed that some of the new younger boys like AMW, Kolt, and Turner were sometimes slow to respond from a turnover. Love these new younger players being given a run. Windsor and Kolt earning their place and repeatedly looking AFL ready. Kozzie finally holds a speccy, the Roo dominating the air, The Milkshake is back and his class immediately evident. More than happy with that win.

1. Essendon. Like WCW above, my loathing of them is all consuming and multi-faceted. 2. Collingwood. Genetic. I am a 4th generation Dees man, and this hatred was part of my family conversation from my earliest memories. 3. Carlton. I grew up in the Carlton zone when the Dees were really poor. Cripps throwing the ball 10 time s a game totally does my head in. 4. Hawthorn. Brutally brilliant across many decades but arrogant with it. 5. Richmond. Their supporters are feral and disgusting.

I have only seen the last half, but am loving our effort and intensity from a bunch of very young footballers. Definitely room for improvement especially entering F50, but some of the sweeping comments on this thread for a single player error are astonishing. We are definitely developing a great next tier of young talent.

Each year just before round 1 I choose my Grand Finalists, Brownlow medalist and Coleman medalist. This year I chose a GWS v Blues GF. I felt smug after 7 rounds, but not now. GWS are a mile away from premiership contention. Swans v Blues looks the most likely now, although I reckon it might a year for a GF bolter like Dogs 2016, or Dees in 2021.

On cue, a throw from Cripps missed by the umpires (to be fair he was facing away from them) and it leads to a blues goal.

27 shots on goal to 20. Teams are finding ways to get it inside F50 against the Pies. With ball in had in the last quarter the Pies remain very dangerous but opposition no longer fear them. If you can pressure their forward running, and continue to be methodical once you have achieved a turnover, the Pies showed some genuine deficiencies in their defensive spread tonight.

Interesting watching how the Bummers are playing the Pies in the last 10 minutes of the game. Their pressure on the ball carrier has been great, but they don't get sucked into the feints and baulks of Daicos, Pendles, Frontbum, Hoskin Elliot.

I think the planets align between you and I, WCW. It is simple - hate the Pies slightly less (only slightly) than the horrid Bummers. Not sure I can agree about injuries, but I hope the Bummers are very sore after a physical game. Strangely, I love watching both the Daicos boys play. But with the constant self-flagellant drooling from the channel 7 commentary team, and all the non football cross promotions about them including their over exposed father, and their new deluxe spa for w-anchors, I am going to watch tonight with a vomit bucket near to hand.

I hope U2 are not thinking of a come back! Great band but their day is well and truly over. Not sure he ever visited the Bummers. Surely the Bummers still haven't found what they're looking for.

Our finals series in 2021 was some of the best kicking and goal-kicking MFC has ever produced and Choco was all over it. I applauded his influence then and till do. Since then, our general filed kicking and goal kicking has taken an absolute nose dive in 2.5 seasons and become embarrassing. If he gets congratulated for his positive part in 2021, he also gets critique for his negative part of 22 - 24. And our kicking 22-24 has been an epic fail.

Pity that GC can't perform outside Queensland. They look good when on song and their list of players with 50-80 games experience is very very strong. And the Hardwick hard edge is beginning to show which means they are becoming difficult to physically intimidate. Impressive 2nd quarter, and I would take Rowell in a heart beat.

Very, very good win by Freo. Winning in Sydney at the postage stamp ground is really hard to do, especially considering the form the Swans have been in.

Yes, I was a fan of him coming in to help with kicking and goal kicking skills but the outcome of his time is an epic fail. I am totally blind to the MFC internal narrative, but Choco and Stafford must be up for question and review.

I believe a lot more decisions are now called correctly, but a lot of decisions are missed entirely and not called. These are ones that get me riled. However, I am going to go in and bat for the Umpires here. The crowd around the ball, modern emphasis on tackling and "numbers to the contest", and people flopping and pleading for every knock or impact calling for a free kick, makes it impossible for the umpires to see and interpret clearly. I absolutely loathe the modern 18-player defensive net that moves as one across the ground, and it is nigh impossible for umpires to umpire with clarity when it obscures a lot of player contact.