Maldonboy38

I was having such a good day... until I read this. I was present at a lot of those games mentioned above - the 148 point loss to Essendon remains the worst I have ever felt about being a Dees supporter while at the ground. I was present for the huge Hawks loss and the huge WCE loss that same year. My two sons lost so much interest in footy after that. Just getting their interest back now.

I want to see this gameplan against a team that can effectively counter it. The Saints folded so badly once we stopped bombing it long it is difficult to see how our players adapt when the pressure is reversed. What we did to the Saints, WCE did to us in the last JLT game. At first we couldn't cope but matched them in the last quarter. Carlton this week probably won't counter it too well, (he says, knowlingly) but the following week against Geelong will really test it out. At the moment, the gameplan does look strong, it just needs to be tested.

Wow. Roos must have thought he was being paid well to coach in the VFL. What a shocking team that was.

It's ok to simply enjoy the win and gush over a few perlas (Hannan's goal, Petracca's celebration, Hogan's marking etc...). I am enjoying the feeling of a strong win. But St. Kilda were absolutely horrible for 2 quarters so we don't have a strong measure of what we are like under sustained pressure. So there is nothing to get carried away about. The season is 1 game through and we have no patterns yet. Round 5 and Round 8 are my first 2 places to stop and take stock. Lid firmly on until then.

Port beat the Swans. Essendon beat the Hawks. Brisbane beat Gold Coast. Perhaps the long-touted equalisation on the playing field is starting to happen? No team can take another lightly, especially us. Carlton are weak, but stronger than last year and they beat us. The 22 chosen to play the Saints looked targeted - selected specifically to play THEM. We need to do the same this week, not go in thinking we have them covered.

Good to see some love for Garlett. I especially noticed that when Watts went into the air, Garlett was near the pack. Watts should have actually marked a couple, he got his hands clean to the ball but couldn't clunk it. I reckon Garlett understands this and is in position A to cherry pick knowing Watts' is still devloping his pack marking. But it was Garlett's pace around the packs that was fhe highlight. His first 2-3 steps are ridiculously quick and gets to full pace early. I know he isgoing to have runs of games when he goes totally missing but when he is on, I lean forward I my seat when he is around the ball.

ANB surprised me. He always came across as one of those poor players too good for VFL, not good enough fofr AFL. His game today was very impressive. He added some real grunt and his disposal was clean. Could not drop him on that form. And I know Weideman is young, but once he starts clunking a few he will be something special. And to see Watts flying for marks was excellent. His marking is not great, but his attempts caused 2 goals and it means his player has to fly with him.

6. Jones 5. Vince 4. Lewis 3. Oliver 2. Gawn 1. Jetta I would like to give Petracca votes for his celebration. It is so long since we have had a Jakovich or Wizard to flaunt it with style. We have waited a while but boy is he worth it.

I was just thinking the same thing. And the Hawks looking very pedestrian.

No he won't. And a totally differnt footballer. We need them both. But he was very good today and seemed to thrive in the speed of AFL. Super impressed.

Apart from the 1st quarter, that was the first time in so long that I didn't feel we would stuff it all up. It was a new emotion - confidence. TMac improved as the game went on. OMac did some ok stuff late but he was the weakest link. Leadership and maturity make a heap of difference. Lewis, Jones and Vince were amazing. I have to agree now- Oliver is a total freak. So is Jetta. Feel very sorry for Smith, he really looked like he belonged. Hannan totally surprised me. A very good second half. Feeling very good tonight.

Experience can mean so much. Lewis, Vince and Jones were epic in that quarter. Structure means so much in modern footy. Changed structure and Roberton is hardly sighted. OMac.... TMac beginning to redeem himself. Weideman working very hard. The grunt of Jetta, Hunt and Brayshaw makes me want to watch the footy again. Petracca, Oliver and Stretch - Wow. How can we play quarter 1 and quarter 2 in the same match?

I am not an OMac and TMac basher, but some really poor, slow decision making from them both. OMac cannot pick the ball up off the turf. Our backline looks very weak. They are reading Max's hitouts so well. Our midfield was ok for 10mins. Can no one see Roberton? Is he wearing invisible spray? STOP KICKING IT NEAR HIM.

The app just keeps stopping, then buffering on and on. Pathetic.

A great game of footy from Pies and Dogs. Pies midfield of Pendlebury, Adams and Treloar was very impressive. Their backline looks fragile at best. The Bulldogs in full flight remind me so much of Geelong 2007 - 2009. Freakish quick skills. Murphy and Bontompelli are just so good to watch.

The balance of the selected side is very different to most of the teams we fielded during the Roos years. The difference seems to be that Roos would lean towards hard-at-it moderate footballers like Harmes, VBB and Bugg, while Goodwin lwans towards dare and skill. It is not the strongest side and does look a bit thin on defence all over the ground, but it looks set to really take the game on. Hannan and Weideman are the 2 interesting ones. Hannan is a complete unknown at AFL level. Weideman hasn't had a lot of the footy but flies for it so well in the air. I am not overly confident but can't wait to see them play.

Rance is the only stable part, even though he wasn't great tonight. They seem to harrass and tackle ok, but leave so many open marking opportunities for their opposition. If Rance can't get across as third man up, a good marking team will show up this glaring flaw.

Carlton look like a very good young list. Will be wooden spooners, but are doing the right thing with all the young players getting a game. Richmond will be a lot better than people think but will continue to do Richmond-esque things and stuff their season up. Their mids and forwards looked ok tonight and Martin is now a superstar, but their defence is an atrocious mess and any good forward line that excells ar contested marking - including ours - will tear them apart. Carlton' skill errors made Richmond look very good at times, much better thwn they actually are.

I'm in.

I still have a deep, cold, inner hatred for all things Collingwood that will not fade or die. It's in the blood. My great-grandfather was a passionate Dees man who despised Collingwood during the 1920's, my Nan followd on, my Mum remembers the great Melbourne-Collingwood rivalry of the 50's and 60's, and I simply hate them. For modern rivals we probably don't have one due to our lack of success, but I hate Essendon. The 2000 season with their Sheedy-instilled thuggery, hubris and arrogance ended on GF day when a brilliant young Dees team was beaten into the turf. I just want to annihilate them. Even more since their doping scandal. I was at the MCG the day Whelan hit Hird hard and although I don't like footy thugs I do remember standing and celebrating. I wish they had folded to be honest. GWS is an interesting one. My daughter and I go the Dees-GWS match each year calling it our "annual booing of Tom Scully game", and enjoy giving it to him (along with about 20,000 other Dees supporters) every time he does near the ball. But as a team they remain irrelevant to me.

Very impressive win. Some of the link-up play through the middle of the ground was outstanding. I just love the way Cranston plays in straight lines and follows it up with thinking and skill. I am still surprised how much I enjoy the AFLW and how quickly I adopted them as an official Dees team.

Casey. To understand it just think of one word - CRANBOURNE. Makes Broadmeadows and Niddrie look like Harvard Law School. Great surface. Developing suburb so good for long term. Average coffee at the ground, improving food. Both were horrid for most of the past few years. Great long term membership investment.The AFL shop in Fountain Gate shopping centre has sold MFC gear even when the club was a crock. At Auskick, more and more Dees jumpers emerging year by year. Nightmare for access. The long term plan for two car entrances, bus and rail access etc... is excellent, but the current situation shows the civil engineers in charge are dim-witted at best. Nightmare for prevailing wind. Organisers desperately need to plant some trees and build a large grandstand. The unrelenting wind ruins many good games of footy. If we can hold on for another decade, with our (hopefully some time soon) success, this move will be an absolute treasure. I can understand why so many inner south east Dees fans won't go there, but toughen up princesses.

Half-forward turnovers will win or lose the game for us. It showed in the JLT game versus WCE. We butchered the ball going into half forward, and their defense spread too quickly for us after the turnover, leading to being often outnumbered through the middle of the ground, and into their forward 50. In 2016, the Saints beat us this exact way, twice. To use a tennis term - keep the unforced error count low (especially through the middle and into half forward) and we have the personnel and gameplan to beat them. If we do repeat turnovers, the Saints will smash us on the counter attack. Very difficult game to pick, but with Brayshaw, Oliver, Viney and Tyson all fit and firing = the Dees by 8 points.

I am not saying Keith Greig never got clobbered. Almost everyone did in tnose days. But he never went into a pack, extracted the ball and came out. He was a brilliant wide receiver. Leigh Matthews' thuggery will always tarnish his brilliance - and I hated it. But his football was amazing. Kicking drop punts on both feet in an era when some players were still using the flat punt. His evasion, side step and reading of the ball in flight were breath taking.

The best three I have seen are Matthews, Ablett Snr and Carey. Ablett Jnr probably just behind them. All four deserve the praise they get. Agree totally about Flower and Wilson. I still get annoyed every time people go on about Keith Greig. A very, very good footballer but totally an outside player who never went in hard in his life, while Robbie missed almost a full seasons due to injury from his insane aerial courage. And Gary Wilson was a star, and for some reason gets no respect. He was as good as Platten and almost as good as Kevin Bartlett. But like Robbie, they played in the era when Carlton, Collingwood, Richmond and Hawthornn were always in the finals and dominated "The Big Replay". Enright is interesting. Definitely in and around the group of best defenders but there are a fair few ahead of him.