Maldonboy38

Much rather Stretch than JKH, even with Stretch out of form. JKH has definitely been tearing it up in the VFL so I hope he can bring it. Nervous about this game. Their forward line has strengths that if they play to their full potential, we will find it tough to cover them all.

No.

Drop Hogan? Despite so many of our play-makers being out, other teams have got to do some serious planning to counter our forward line. Hogan's brute strength and contested marking means they have to try and get a third man up to spoil, and at times he is effective in the midfield. Meanwhile TMac's repeat leading aerobic capacity gives us an efficient, tough MOBILE target. No way do we drop Hogan while we can play this two towers setup. And to think we have Garlett, Petracca, Watts and Hannan prowling the same region. Hogan is far too important to how this all works together even if he genuinely does have a second effort problem which has yet to be fixed.

Very tough at the selection table this week. We seemed to have a few running with heavy legs, not getting to contests, poor disposal etc... but at one time or another they all played their part. The trip to Darwin might mean Watts remains another week away so Pedo stays. Darwin is very physically taxing, and Pedo is a grunt running swing man. For me, we are and will remain, a better team with Pedo in it. He stays. After the Darwin game it is all systems go aiming at a finals berth, so perhaps we rest Hannan and Hunt who are really important to our September push. Kent, Stretch and Melksham will hold their place due to Darwin. OUT: Hunt, Hannan IN: Tyson, Trengove.

Ditto for all that is above. The journo hung out a stupid bait, Goodwin ignored it and gave the media a 2.5 minute sermon on who we are and what we are about, with an unspoken but very loud "and we don't give w flying f*** what any of you think". I am now an offical Goodwin fan. Loved it.

This season is giving me a bl***y heart attack! I wanted to be competitive in every game but the reality is almost killing me. Nev - you epitomise MFC football. I was a bit worried about having a team full of Melksham, ANB, Stretch, Harmes, Hannan, J Smith. Just too many B graders or less. But hat off to these blokes who may not have had great games but continue to crack in and give it everything. With all our injuries and having to rely on these blokes, we have won 5 out of 6. ANB in particular continues to improve game by game. Our 2nd, 3rd and 4th efforts late in games is becoming a bit of a signature, even if we play ugly. I love this, especially after the last decade. Our tackling is a huge concern. Very soft at times today. When we get it right it looks amazing but for patches we look lazy getting to contests, and weak trying to make a tackle stick. And our kicking down the line is being mangled by opposition teams. They sit back and wait for us to kick blind, with constant turnovers. But we won, against a team whose game style would make Pia Miller look ugly.

Not only is it a heap of our best players out with injury, but many are our leaders or main influencers. This is the reason I don't understand the omission of Trengove. I understand that his excellence at VFL level might not immediately transfer to AFL level footy, but his leadership and steadiness would havebeen invaluable. Disappointed for him.

Wagner seems to be highly valued by the coaching staff so reckon he stays in. Would love the others to be Stretch, Trengove and J Smith. Our forward line is much too much for their depleted defenders but they will keep a spare man back - they have done it all year against every opposition. Their forwards are their problem while our defenders are the best part of our team. So, it will once again be lost or won in the midfield. Vince, Lewis and (hopefully) Trengove will be of huge value to help out Oliver and Petracca against Cripps, Gibbs etc...

An admirer and enjoyer of DL - oh yes. An admirer of wholesale hypocrisy? Only when it is not mine!

First of all, this is the best thread in years. A great topic and really thought provoking, substantial responses from the DL family. Jack - I too salute you. This is a generation driven by how things look and feel, layered by every person thinking they have something to say, and few who know the power of silence and reflection. And I am not criticing this generation - my age group is the leader of it and we have allowed a lot of this social-cancer to affect our young adults. For Jack to be the person he is, having copped it from every angle including me at times, he is a walking trophy of resilience, character and self-confidence. As for social media, internet-driven approval seeking, mental health and even Tom Boyd; I choose to quote this -"everything is permissable but not all is beneficial". Our life can be defined by our decision making. More of our young adults and youth need to be encouraged to view themselves from the people around them who love them, not by the successes and failures determined by social media, pop culture, or a toxic fan base wanting to criticse the talented people from behind anonymous computer keyboards. I wish Tom Boyd all the best and hope he recovers fully, plays great footy again, and maybe gets beaten by the Dees in a grand final.

6. OMac. His reading of the play and timing of when to impact a contest is improving exponentially. 5. Jetta. Another briiliant understated game from Nev. 4. Hibberd. Could have got the 6 points but some of his kicking under little pressure in the first half killed what little momentum we could have had. However, he wasn't alone in this. 3. TMac. How important is this bloke now? 2. Viney. Only half a game but he was winning so much grunt footy. 1. Hannan. Was often the only bloke lookong likely in the forward 50. Tyson played a good game but his blind kicking out of defence, or blind long kicking into our forward 50 was really bad. Petracca did some cameos, and looked likely at one point, but did not impact the game when it was in the balance.

This is the state of things. Review the game, move on, and set ourselves up for our next game. But it was a very boring evening.

Very flat after that. There was almost mothing to enjoy. Injuries and 6 day breaks killed us. Outstanding game from OMac and Jetta. Good games from Petracca, TMac. Viney injury now really hurts us, with so many other best 22 players injured. Very poor from White, ANB aand Harmes. Wagner will be better for the run but his fumbling really annoyed me.

Blind kicking from back pocket. Grea tactic. Very hard to watch tonight.

Apart from our touch being terrible, we seem to get 1-2 players to a contest, Swans getting 3-4. It is work rate. It can be corrected. Wagner is doing all the right things, but his ball control by hand and foot is pathetic. Long kicks forward are not working at all. Their marking is murdering us.

After all that, we are only 20 points down.

A basic skill of footy is taking the ball in one grab, in the air, along the ground, at your feet. Our first touch skills tonight have been atrocious.

Swans history suggest they target someone who is an influencer. Oliver will cop it tonight. He will also give it straight back, and Viney, Bugg, Hunt and Lewis will swarm in and cause havoc. The opening 5 mins will be electric. Two issues - Buddy and Kennedy.

It is a very good list, but I reckon it is our development that has made the difference more than individuals we have drafted. If that list was even slightly different I firmly now believe we would still be in a good position because our development model and personnel are top notch. Having said that, the recruiting of players like Hunt, Hannan and Joel Smith has been daring, different and very smart.

Really slow day at work, and the minutes are ticking by soooo slowly. Pumped about tonight - will be home on my own so I can rant and scream at the telly. Might indulge in a few Squires' orchard crush ciders to help me through the game. Eat em alive Dees!

A few times this year I have been nonplussed and bewildered about selections, but each time the selections have had a positive outcome. Wagner in makes good sense, but my memories of White are of being underwhelmed by his performance. Watch this space I suppose. On paper, we do look the weaker team, but we also look a lot quicker and our confidence is as high as theirs. With 3 forwards out, can we kick enough goals? This is the remaining question.

I love our current team footy, but this will be a difficult game to win, with 5 of our best 22 unable to play. Our ability to get in the game and stay in it will once again rely heavily on 1) our midfield's ability to match the experienced, hard-bodied Sydney mids. 2) Keeping Buudy covered. A very difficult thing to do at the MCG. 3) our forwards moving and not allowing third man up spoils or intercept marking. This is where I reckon we can win the game, as long as 1) and 2) above are at least breaking even.

We have had more false dawns, messiahs, red-and-blueprints, 3 year plans, 5 year plans, "new president - new era for the club", etc ... than any other sporting club ever - national or global. My relationship with the MFC is best understood as being like listening to a weather report where the meteorologist says "chance of rain". I just take what comes. We should have won a flag under Northey, Balme, and Daniher but the club behind the team was so poor that it was never going to happen. It is wonderful at the moment to hear so much good press about the Dees. Our club is respected. Our players are known and many are becoming feared. And our crowds are as strong and consistent as the traditional big Melbourne clubs. But I will not invest too much in any preview or opinion about our relative success until I see the Dees skipper holding aloft the cup on Grand Final Day, with me hoarse, crying, screaming, elated, shocked and overwhelmed somewhere at the ground. Having said all that, it feels bl***y good at the moment. I can watch the footy knowing we are in each game and we have the talent to win. That is something I guess.

His growth has been slow and steady. Week by week we may not notice too much but in comparison to his first few games he has developed very nicely. His past 3 games have been consistent, and as mentioned above, his gut running is beginning to be noticeable, especially late in games. I had him nowhere near our best 22 at the beginning of the year so he has been a pleasant surprise.

Massive selectors' headache for the Swans game. Probably need to wait until Tuesday to see who visits for scans, who trains, who is only doing light running etc... But a lot of players are in form, maybe as many as 30, so some unlucky sod is going to miss out. At the moment, the possibles looks like: OUT - Salem, Garlett IN - Watts, JKH/Wagner Having said all that, I was way off the mark with the injuries to Jones and Watts last week so its just a flying stab in the dark really. But then, this is Demonland...