La Dee-vina Comedia

I suspect Ross Lyon is a very polarising figure. Clearly some players love him (think Zac Dawson, but also, if I recall correctly, Nick Reiwoldt) but it seems to me that his demands might wear his players down. I also think he's been a poor judge of football character and has been involved in bringing to both his clubs players with flaws (psychological as well as known physical risks) that have ultimately wasted opportunities (Andrew Lovett, Colin Sylvia, Harley Bennell, maybe Jesse Hogan and possibly others). With limited list numbers each flawed selection is costly. We've seen it ourselves. In short, I suspect Lyon has been his own worst enemy by putting the powers-that-be at Fremantle off-side.

I thought following the Essendon and Hird experience everyone these days agreed that a senior coach should have some form of coaching experience. In my view, the best person to right the wrongs of 2019 is Simon Goodwin. He knows more about the playing list, the gameplan and the capabilities of the whole football department than anyone else. If he can't do it, then I'd turn to someone else. But he should have first crack. If we subsequently decide that someone else should take over, that person should have coaching experience (not neceesarily as the senior coach) as well as formal accredited coaching training. I would be happy to have Jordon Lewis as an assistant coach if he's prepared to do the formal training and if our football department is happy with his communication skills with respect to dealing with players.

I don't doubt Carey's playing ability but has he ever shown that he can coach? I find his media commentary banal so wonder whether his knowledge of the game (ie his footy brain) is as well developed as some people think. And even if it is, I question his ability to impart that knowledge to the players of today.

Is he known as a coach? There's no point getting him in if he's not. Just because someone was a great player doesn't automatically mean they can coach.

Given the recent poor crowd numbers at the Collingwood and Sydney games, it wouldn't surprise if we trained on the MCG and had our home games at Gosch's paddock from hereon.

It's pretty hard to be quick with a sore knee. I suspect Papley would outrun him, even if Salem were fit, but let's recognise that he played injured on Friday night and that made him "look worse". He's still the first player I want kicking the ball out of the backline. (Jordan Lewis is his equal for kicking, but he's now an overall liabilty playing in defence).

Salem played with a sore knee from the 1st quarter onwards. It was also why he was a bit slower than usual. Also, Melksham's efficiency reflects the 5 behinds. But I don't blame him for that given he was kicking from the 50m so often as there was no-one closer to goal for him to kick to.

6. Viney 5. Melksham 4. Brayshaw 3. Gawn 2. Oliver 1. Lever Although Hibberd got the ball a lot, he turned it over so often I couldn't put him in the best players. I may be a bit hard on Melksham, too, but I marked him down for his inaccurate kicking. That might be a bit unfair. The reality is that he had to take so many long shots because (a) there was no-one deeper for him to go to and (b) he would have frozen to death if he'd stayed deeper and waited for the ball to come to him.

Disgraceful comments. Both inappropriate and quite possibly incorrect. I can't understand why people feel that social media gives them a licence to say something about a person they wouldn't have the courage to say to their face. With respect to Maynard, I thought he was a battler from day 1, but I would never discount his courage or his drive.

Stephen's brother? With Preuss and Keilty as emergencies, it would not surprise me in the least to see one of them come in for [take your pick of a small forward]. Perhaps they're waiting to see if it's going to be wet (play Keilty) or dry (play Preuss). The alternative suggested earlier in this thread that Hore plays forward is another option, although my gut tells me that Frost might be the surprise forward and occasional second ruck.

As a matter of interest, how many did we play last year?

Carey has been bullish about us all year ("bullish" not "bulltish"). It's a pity I've never rated his special comments. Makes it hard to believe him this time.

You must be fun to talk footy with.

I have no idea whether he's ready or not, but the last couple of games in a meaningless season are a good place to give debut games. It gets rid of nerves so that when they next play (which should be when it really matters) they are better prepared, and rewards them for persistence (ie, for training hard all year). It would be even better if the promotion is merit-based on performance at Casey, but rounds 22 and 23 are for us as much a part of the 2020 preseason as are JLT games in February and March.

Hunt played in the forward line for the last quarter against Collingwood and I thought made an enormous difference. With him there, I saw movement which I hadn't seen in the first three quarters (Fritsch excepted). If it were up to me, and assuming Hunt is not injured, I'd be bringing in Chandler for Corey Wagner who's had a number of chances but failed to impress.

Agree, apart from NRL, Australian Soccer, FIFA, Cricket Australia, Tennis, US Gymnastics and road cycling.

A perfect example of confirmation bias.

I don't want to start a new thread, and he wasn't a Demon, but vale also to Graham "Polly" Farmer. A great player for Geelong, and a little after Bluey's time. Two greats (and not using that word lightly) gone in one week.

I find it extraordinary that McLachlan is encouraging a specific player to play with a specific club. That's a completely improper statement for the person who is meant to be in charge of the competition. If he truly believes that a player shouldn't leave, why does he oversee a system which allows trading, free agency and a system of employment by contract? I've been concerned for some time that McLachlan is not an appropriate CEO. This statement, while perhaps not quite confirming my opinion, certainly strengthens it.

Definitely not. The MFC website isn't a news outlet (neither is the AFL website). It is a marketing opportunity and therefore only presents a story that satisfies the interests of the MFC. It is therefore not going to be critical of the MFC. Ergo, it can't be trusted.

I believe the correct adjective is "frostacular", meaning something that is awe-inspiring but not necessarily always for the right reasons.

Fritsch - missed the target Just as apt, I would have thought.

Someone probably needed to heal that ooze. By not doing so, it all drained away.

I'm not quite sure how this is any different from how the game would have been played if Gawn wasn't "tagging" Grundy. Having said that, if there is some difference, Gawn getting that experience in a year when it doesn't matter makes some sense. Gawn might not be the best ruckman in the competition forever, and when the time comes that he comes up against a better ruckman, it would be useful for him to understand how to nullify said opponent.

Serious question. David King claims Salem was Sidebottom's man. How would he know that? I could see that most of the time Frost was on Elliott, but after that I couldn't tell who was playing on whom. Was it clear to others that Salem was meant to be playing on Sidebottom? My suspicion is that what King saw was when Goodwin decided to semi-reinstate last year's ploy of running an extra into the midfield at a centre bounce. When we did that (it was usually Baker or JKH), because of the 6-6-6 requirement, one of Salem or Jones was nominally in the wing position but about 1 metre from the back edge of the square. That had them 30 metres away from the Collingwood wingman, who was sometimes Sidebottom. When the ball was bounced, Baker/JKH ran forward and Salem/Jones ran into the 50m arc to pick up a man.