Maldonboy38

A very good coach at a train-wreck of a club. The attacking football we palyed in 2010/11 was breathtaking but we couldn't defend a soggy weetbix. And he was a wonderful human being.

Carlton and Freo take the prize for the weakest display during JLT. Richmond will do better than many think, although miss the top 8. And Rance is a gun. Brisbane are us 2 years ago, so expect some pain for them with a few glimpses of a good future. The JLT series tells us almost nothing about what to expect in the main season. And because of that the preseason comp is dead. Bruise-free footy, lack of pressure and intensity, poor crowds, bored commentators having to invent conversation, horrible camera positions meant the ball got constantly lost in the crowd at regional grounds.

This is a bigger deal than people realise. Fagan was the culture man who rounded off Clarkson' harsh and ugly style. I am not saying Clarkson is an average coach - he is clearly outstanding - but the momemt Fagan leaves, the relationship between player-leaders and club evaporates (Mitchell and Lewis), or has a huge downturn (Hodge). Freefall might be too strong but a huge downturn is on its way at Hawksville. Roughead is a freak of a footballer and more responsible for recent Hawks success than people realise but he is no leader like the three who have departed.

Turnovers are a specific thing, and do not include opposition intercept marks, high presure errors, or strong contested marks from opposition. They are skill and/or decision making errors and our game was filled with them. Not only kicks and handballs but deciding when to switch, when not to give off to first option etc... We only lost by 4 goals and matched the for much of the game but our turnovers were 2015-ish. The way WCE defenders ran through our half forward line with multiple free options opening up in their forward line is the biggest concern. The Saints did this to us last year twice and it remains our biggest structural weakness. Do we have the personnel to remedy this? Probably not straight away. Vince worries me. Love him as a clubman but I question his worth for round 1. Oliver, Salem, Hunt, Spencer and Brayshaw looked very good. Viney, Tyson, Weideman, Petracca and Harmes looked poor. OMac played a game worthy of being dropped. But it was a JLT game and we have Hibberd, Jetta, Frost and others to be considered. We don't need to over-react, but the skill and turnovers are concerning.

Stats-wise the game is very even. It is not a particularly tough, in and under kind of game but it rarely is at Subi due to its size. Some of our good players are having shockers - Vince, Viney and Tyson seem to be jumper chasing. Loving Spencer resting forward. Salem's kicking is bloody amazing. The foreward spread/handball running of WCE is tearing us apart. Our defenders are actually keeping is in the game. And for the haters, Garland is not the problem. It is the defensive spread of our midfield that is dysfunctional. After 3 JLT games, Vince's place in our starting 22 must now be in question.

Missing Nev Jetta badly. Missing Garlett or Kent badly. WCE continue to run it easily out through our half forward line with players coming unaccompanied from behind the ball carrier. Is there a record for opposition goals from turnovers?

Ball movement - good with some glaring shockers. Horrible team defence once WCE get the ball across our half forward line. Appalling decision making after a mark on multiple occasions. OMac seems to notice every opposition player except his direct opponent. Clarry is a gun. The sun glare is ridiculous.

Yep, Whately is by far the best. With him being in India for the cricket I have forgotten all about him.

I also agree on Matty Lloyd. Boring personality, and hated his demeanour as a player but really enjoy his insights. And he keeps Caro and Hutch in their place at times. I don't really follow or "believe" any single journo. It feels that for many of the in-favour current bunch, their own fame as a sports journalist is more important than reporting facts, and they keep on publishing rumours without checking them. Mike Sheehan was probably the last one I would really give my attention, but even he ended up talking too much about fringe stuff.

He is my favourite Dees player. He isn't perfect but has very few weaknesses and I love his toughness. And he is a grwat decison maker when at full pace. There are others with more skill (Petracca, Tyson) but I can see him leading in a Jordan Lewis kind of way when games are close are everything is tight. Can't wait to see what he becomes this year.

Midfield rotating forward. His decision making, toughness and quick skills are wonderful to watch. But his kicking demands time forward, especially wih Lewis and Jones playing back.

Out all day yesterday and only got to look at replay this morning. The Dees looked very sharp but I honestly think the game was meaningless. Bolton seems to have a very "practice match" mentality about the preseason games, and the whole match looked like bruise-free footy. A whole heap of our players looked very good, but apart from some extra confidence for our young brigade, we dont have any more understanding of our starting 22 for round 1, or how we will be in comparison to others teams. Very enjoyable though.

Now THAT just made my day. Thanks so much for posting. Certainly ranks as one of our biggest and best wins in the decade of no finals. Some thoughts: 1. Radio commentary is always so much better. And Tim Lane is one whose calls are accurate, interesting and emotive. 2. Jack Watts' kicking - breathtaking. 3. Angus Brayshaw's tackling and gut running. 4. This was the first time in a long time that our numbers around the ball outnumbered a quality opposition for most of the day. 5. I have too quickly forgotten how good our young players like Stretch, Oliver and OMac are. 2017 round 1 - hurry up.

We perfectly understand Foxtel is a business and is seeking to increase profit. No problems there. But there were two other parties in those contract negotiations, the AFL and Telstra. Telstra is also a business, but the AFL are supposed to represent the interests of the players, fans and the game itself. In the case of broadcasting via the app, they did not. They have limited the represented IT platforms, reduced the video quality, and absolutely stuffed up accessibility with the upgraded app. As far as apps goes, it looks good, but is too busy, too limited, and a lot of its basic functions are not working. No one on here expects a large company to be a benvolent society. But we do expect those people who are supposed to be representing our interets as fans (and it is our money that generates the game) to represent our interests. The current app simply fails at this.

Great Match overview. Modern footy is midfield footy and after a decade of watching midfield annihiliation, we finally have a group of players whose bodies are AFL ready, whose fitness is up with the best, and whose midfield skill and awareness makes most contests 50/50. It is only a practice match, and gun midfields like Sydney, GWS, Geelong etc... will still push us, but it appears that we might be able to compete in every contest, and in every game, without that horrible feeling in your guts of knowing our players aren't up to it.

Finally got to watch a replay of the game. Videos on the home page wont play so I had to wind my way through all the My Account rubbish to watch premium content. Why can't I just click on the game replay and play it? Spencer was a huge win for us. Not just his tap work which was very good, but his 2nd and 3rd efforts on the ground and in packs was focused, VERY physical, and actually had some skill involved. Certainly opens up a two-ruck option in our 22. Joel Smith. Wow. Brayshaw remains my main man for 2017. Balance, aggression ad plays both side of his body. The biggest win is the whole body of half forwards, mids and half forwards whom we can rotate through the game. Stretch, Salem, Oliver, Jones, Vince, Viney, Brayshaw, Petracca, Hunt, etc... A lot of opposition teams will struggle to cover all of these each week. We seem to have finally risen to be able to match and play modern mid-field football. Harmes and Melksham were the only two who really seemed to struggle. However, it is the pre-season.

I loved and loathed Dermot Brereton, Peter Matera, Wayne Carey. Ablett senior remains the best player I have seen. I met him a number of times personally and though he had troubles he was actually a quiet, decent kind of bloke. Bobby Skilton, Swan MacKay (an amazing mark!), Gary Wilson, Brett Ratten, Matthew Pavlich, Paul Kelly.

Viney as captain makes sense, but it feels too early. Perhaps 1 year as Vice under Jones would have been better. I have never been a fan of co-captains because there is simething inspirational about investing the team understanding of leadership into a person. He PERSONIFIES the aspirations of the club. And the story of Jones' leadership growth under Roos is amazing, and beleive he remains the standout leader at the club.

A cunning plan! Leave Jayden Hunt 20m away, deliberately cause congestion, and when the ump kicks it to him, everyone yell "Run, Forrest, run!". I also wish the game's overseers would simply leave the game alone. However, with the aerobic capacity of the post 2000 footballer, 16 a side would open things up.

This looks good, but is one tall player short in the back line. Most teams havd 3 players over 195cm playing as forwards and having Jetta, Hibberd, Hunt and Salem just makes the backline too short. Frost in, Salem to the bench, and we drop Pedo. It is all getting confusing because dropping Pedo means Frost has to take a duty in the ruck which is not optimum. As for Brayshaw, I am a huge fan and reckon he has more upside in 2017 than most on our list. His inside work is very good and he loves a tackle but it is his outside run and carry that sets him apart. Also, he is one player who can kick at full pace on both sides of his body. He compliments Oliver perfectly.

I love the general look and feel of the new app, but it is all a bit too busy. I would rather less volume and better content than to be flooded with half-arsed articles that say nothing, interviews with players who say nothing, and a sea of almost identical red and blue images. The old app was clearer and a better communication tool. The worst part is it is constantly crashing on my tablet, saying "MelbourneFC app needs to close". I agree with the KISS comments above - effective simplicity always wins the day. As for the younger person who said old people are so cute... if you get to your 50's you are going to feel an absolute dick for even thinking that.

I used to live 15 minutes away from Casey and have been there many times for preseason training, intraclub games and Casey games. The surface is usually really good and the facilties for the players is fine. The wind is always the issue and for some reason they have refused to plant a wind break for the direction of the prevailing wind - a wedge between Northwest and Southwest. So the wind howls through even when it can be still in most other places. Car parking has improved but they built the improvements around a single entry and exit - really poor civil engineering. Getting in is ok, but getting out is ridiculous. Oh, and of course, no strong public transport infrastructure by continuous governments means road traffic is the only way in. I believe another exit is planned for when the suburb develops around it. VFL park used to be like that, now it is in the middle of a suburb and the wind is no longer a factor. Until these major factors are addressed it will continue to be a horrible venue for the fan / spectator.

I have been really impressed with the attack on the footy and the intensity, a bit disappointed with the skills. But all in all I am enjoying it much more than I thought I would. But I definetley have a favourite player (do we use the term woman-crush?) No 30 Richelle Cranston is quick, good skills and hits a pack like Rod Grinter. Covered in tattoos with dreadlocks is not my look of choice, but just might keep my eye on her.

The players are paid enough. But to me, that is not the point. The institution/brand/adminstration of the game, the AFL, controls the vast percentage of money circulating through the game, and the profit derived from it. Any time a business or organisation prioritises time, energy and money for adminstration and maintenance over its core business (in this case the actual playing of football) then something has to be done to correct it. A player strike is not the answer here and just makes the players look like greedy fools. The AFL is putridly rich, yet local grounds across the country are in apalling condition, century old clubs are dying, and kids now look at a sporting smorgasbord of which footy is only one option. How about they put some more dollars to the communitg development of footy?