Jaded No More

What are the main differences that have stood out to him between Collingwood and Melbourne both in terms of game plan and off field?

Gawn was bullish but he’s the captain. What else was he gonna say? Trac and Kosi are very close. They lived together at one point. Trac would know way more about Kosi than Kane Cornes

Attendance was good don’t get me wrong but as you say we got 70,000 for a H&A game against Pies but only 62,000 for a semi final because we played an interstate side. We would have got 90,000+ if we played Pies and easily 80,000 if we played Cats

If Clarry left I would burn the MCG down. So no I would not trade him for anyone in the top 10. I would not trade him for any player in the competition. Signing him for 7 years was the best thing the MFC has ever done since that time they won a flag in 2021

Trac is a 'sexy' player. The way he moves, the way he can score goals, he just is more eye catching. You have to really understand the game to appreciate how good Oliver is. 90% of what he does is at such speed you miss it if you blink. He is genius with ball in hand, and if he puts a bit more scores on the board this year he will easily be recognised as number one across the competition. It's what I also believe will help him to win a Brownlow one day. If he gets even just 20 goals in a season he will win it. Having said all that, Trac makes Oliver better, just as Oliver makes Trac better. They have a phenomenal sense of awareness of one another and watching them play together is beautiful. We really need to appreciate how lucky we are to have both on our team.

Digital ticketing was another big hurdle for people, as well as having to pre-purchase tickets for a while even as reserve seat or H&A members. All this is gone this year, which will hopefully help get more people to the games. Home games on Anzac Eve as well as Kings Birthday will further help boost our attendance numbers. We had a strange draw last year where we had a lot of home games followed by a lot of away games, where we started to drop off. That too didn't help attendance later in the year, nor playing both finals against interstate sides.

It's because he's a red head. So rude.

Poor Viney not considered one of our best players? I reckon he’s ahead of Salem

Got through the game and didn’t look hampered at all. I assume it was a regulation twisted ankle last week

He has a serious girlfriend who is from Melbourne. Is that not a connection to the city? I mean she might be happy to move. But still to say he has no connection to the city of Melbourne sounds incorrect to me. Players have moved for partners and equally I’m sure they’ve stayed for partners.

Surely if we should worry about them playing 4 talls up forward they’ll need to worry about us doing the same and playing two genuine ruckman against their one. I doubt we bring an extra tall down back to combat their forward setup. IMO we play Gawn or Grundy behind the ball if need be as I’m sure Lobb will need to do a fair bit of rucking to help English combat these two. English can’t compete all day against them both and Dogs entire game plan revolves around clearance dominance so they won’t want to concede too many ruck contests. I have no doubt we can beat them if we are at our best.

Was on Dusty most of the game and kept him quiet which is a giant win. I think they gave him a purely defensive role this week to see how he goes against arguably one of the scariest players you’ll ever find yourself pinned against in a one on one situation. Kept his cool and did a really good job. He might just be our next Jetta/Hibbo!

Let’s not forget who their opposition was. I am not taking anything away from them, they are a strong side with a great midfield. But North are a disaster.

Viney and Fritsch the obvious ins. The interesting thing for me is the forward setup if/when Fritsch is ready to return from his mystery injury. Has to replace a tall for mine or we will be far too top heavy. While Fritsch isn’t “tall”, he plays like one and isn’t the best defensively.

The big change from last season for me was quick ball movement and ball use. Both were very much improved on last year.

KNOCK ON WOOD YOUNG SIR

Ah yes Facebook. Where all reliable news comes from 😂

Played in the centre at the last bounce. Looked fine

Good result. Bring on the real stuff.

I can’t see Tmac and Brown playing a full season. We need to give him some exposure.

Hunter with a beauty. I’m thrilled with this pick up.

This Ryan kid looks good. I’m disappointing we haven’t given JVR a chance today.

Some bizarre umpiring late

Phenomenal. Reminds me so much of Salem

[censored] in the same category as Cameron