PaulRB

I think Gill means by "oversold" that we are better odds of winning the flag than many rate us... I took his quote as an endorsement that we are the close to favourite but not noticed... yet.

Are there any baby Hibbos in the nursery, now that we get first dibbs..? 😜

Was thinking that the team made a bold promise to us fans at the flag celebration day last year, when they committed to winning a flag on the G for us. That they have now delivered a Qualifying and subsequent finals at the G, means they have delivered on the first part and set them selves for the second part, winning through to the GF and Premiership. Kudos to the club for putting it out there and delivering. Love this club. Go Demons ❤️🏆💙

I like that we have TMac on the come back, and likely to be back for the finals. Often under rated as to his value and impact on our forward line. Gotta beat Lions, but with Tommy back we'll be ready to have a red hot tilt at September irrespective. And... imagine the glory of winning it from 6th..! :)

I must have missed something, what are we doing to spiders?

Carlton miss would be exquisite.

JVR will be a good player, but needs another pre-season to build his tank and strength to have an impact at AFL level. Would prefer to bring in Smith as a forward than JVR.

Its a big game for Luke tonight, given the situation he's set up re-his contract negotiations and the rumours of Freo being in the box seat should he leave. A big game by Luke tonight will ensure Freo cough up whats required to get him (i.e. a pick 3+), a poor game and that cough up will become a bit harder for the powers that be at Freo to justify. Melbourne will win or lose tonight, irrespective of Lukes form, but due to our ability to recapture our team first footy. Luke having a blinder will be the icing. Go Demons

Did an experiment... and they don't Add, but they don't subtract...

A website question; do facepalms add to, or subtract from ones "reputation"..?

Great news! A real boost for supporters and team alike… and perfectly timed to help us build momentum going into Friday night and remainder of season… Another Demon champion for life! ❤️🏆💙

The flip side of this is that those better teams are not loading to the extent we are... meaning come September we may have the edge...

With Clarry and Petty back, we are full strength in middle and down back, the two foundations of our game, and as a result there will be periods where we can play the game in our forward half. Doggies are on the ropes, pressure high, season on the line… must win. They, more than we, need to recapture form and find another gear. This is the perfect game for us, expecting an arm wrestle for a half as we grind through everything they throw at us, before breaking them (again) in the third. Demons by 10+ goals, statement made.

Was never going to look like last year. The next month is big, but it's the following month that counts... Geelong are hot now, will they still be in 7-8 weeks..? I feel we have paced our build to perfection, and we'll only see it a week or two out of finals. Go Demons!!

I reckon, Jake's role will be to guard the corridor to stop Port rebounding from our forward line through the corridor, Cats pulled us apart that way last week, and avoided the Gawn, May wall. Melksham's experience and leadership in that phase may be all he needs to do...

Given what we did when Jesse left... landed May. If Luke was to leave, rather than focus on picks, who would we be targeting to bring in, i.e. a 23-27 yr old key forward at a club thats languishing..? What do we need to find that would make losing Luke a win for the MFC?

To my view, we are in a similar spot to where we were last year, but the critical difference is this year we know (from last year) that we have, and can find, another gear as we ramp into September. And knowing is more powerful than hoping. So we are better placed to win this years GF than last years... Q.E.D ;)

Agree. If Oliver played, you could be sure the Port players would be wacking his hand (thumb) all game. Get him cherry ripe and sound of thumb.

I think we need to continue blooding our young draftees, give JVH games, draft another tall to develop to replace BBB/TMac, Gunston would clog the pipeline and add little during his time with us given his age, and the fact we now have many leaders with Premiership experience...

Should go further, blatantly pushed oppo into ump…

Also allows the club to establish a benchmark for Brayshaw and Jackson, with Trac and Clarry reasonably marking the top end of our salary model, hopefully there's cap left to offer both of them something like Clarry's salary minus x... to keep the team together.

Reckon the cherub signing will clear the way for the Brayshaw and Jackson deals to be done.

I find the talk of Jackson (and Brayshaw) leaving weird, tbh. I imagine the press conference and a reporter asking him why he left, if not for just money... and Jackson saying "... after these last two premierships in my three years so far at Melbourne, I figured I should roll the 18-sided dice and abandon my red and blue teammates and the lure of a truly historic football dynasty and hope something better happens in my football career. It seems the smart thing to do." Doh, what?...