Little Richard

I am of the belief that no player is bigger than the club and therefore, if the right trade comes along you should take it for the betterment of the organisation. However, to absolutely contradict myself, there are also players who are and should be an exception to that rule and Gawn is one of them. Petracca is probably our only other one at this point. For both of them it goes well beyond what they deliver on-field.

This just shows how damn good he is at his best. He's having a shocking year by his own lofty standards, yet if it was anyone else they'd be a decent midfielder. It also exposes how much we relied on him producing exceptional performances week in, week out.

It's harsh on Tomlinson but probably what will happen - would prefer to see them drop Petty (let him sort himself out at Casey for a few weeks) and throw McDonald forward, keep Tommo down back with May and Lever.

We can't drop Fritsch, he's been down but without him our forward line is absolutely horrific.

He's such a tough one, has some really great attributes (which have faded admittedly); a great set of hands in the air, can roost the ball and is pretty physical. But he can't seem to find his rhythm. I had really high hopes for him as a midfielder but these days I'm agreeing with you. Half back might work well.

Fine, don't disagree with that. But now they've set a precedent they need to stick to it... but of course, they won't.

I'd give him a crack sooner rather than later. Surely Petty doesn't have many chances left, unless they decide to put him back and put McDonald up forward.

Bring in Jeffo

He is though?

Great to see him back in form.

Can't wait to see him in action! How's his form been at Casey? Haven't been following too closely

Honestly, in true MFC style that's the game we'll probably win (after losing to North) 🤣

Keen on some savvy deals but I think it's critical we use high picks this year where possible.

McDonald to go forward while his confidence is sky high and Petty to play down back. If it's not working out, swap them back at half time. Alternatively, drop Petty, bring Tommo back and play him in defence instead.

I think he'll bounce back and don't believe we should trade him. He's an integral part of our midfield and a generational contested ball winner... back him in. In terms of age, he's only 26 so he has plenty of quality footy ahead of him. And I know this is a thread about LDU but jeeeez what I'd give for Nick Larkey.

Absolutely, we have to learn from the McDonald farce. No way we trade Max under any circumstances. I'm also convinced he has a couple more good years left, seeing as he played very little footy earlier in his career thanks to injury (and his current form remains fantastic). Hoping that means his a little bit fresher than your standard 32 year old ruckman.

I think we'll bounce back to a degree and will finish 7th or 8th but cannot see us firing a shot in September. It's absolutely make or break without Trac so it'll be interesting to see who really steps up. Feeling a little more optimistic that we could see the making of one or two good young players in the back half of the season... McVee and Rivers in the midfield perhaps.

I think we'll bounce back a little and beat North and WC fairly comfortably, but the rest of the season is looking dire.

We simply must bury West Coast at the G, anything short of a ten goal win after what they did to us in Perth just isn't good enough.

Nibbler did a great job shutting down Daicos but we missed him offensively IMO. Great profile pic 🤣

I believe he's not had enough time in his natural position on the inside, so my point here is that this could be his chance to actually step up. I agree that he's underperformed enormously but what other young inside midfielders do we actually have?

No way we drop Oliver. He simply has to play himself back into form. Imagine a midfield without both Trac and Oliver... we wouldn't stand a chance, even against North.

Exactly this. May does the same thing any chance he gets, as he should. The result was just incredibly unfortunate. Moore is a genuinely good bloke and not a dirty player - this isn't a Maynard-type situation.

I think this is the team I'd like to see: FB: Tomlinson, May, McVee HB: Salem, McDonald, Rivers C: Langdon, Viney, Windsor HF: Neal-Bullen, Fullarton/Jefferson, Tholstrup FF: Pickett, Van Rooyen, Fritsch FL: Gawn, Oliver, Sparrow IC: Chandler, Moniz-Wakefield, Woewodin, Howes SUB: Sestan Midfield rotations to include Pickett, Salem, Rivers, McVee, ANB, maybe Tholstrup. Pretty inexperienced but these are all guys I believe are important going forward, so they do need more exposure at the top level. Also could have missed some important players here. Overall not actually confident this team would beat North.

Hopefully we see Sparrow get more time in the middle if Trac misses. It's make or break for him now so if the opportunity is there, he has to take it. I'd like to see Rivers and McVee roll through the middle too. Keen to see what McVee offers there, I think he has a lot of promise as a midfielder.