Jaded No More

They are definitely a better side than Norf, who we struggled to beat away from the G. Luckily we play Adelaide Oval very well. I think Lever would have some good tips for our backline to defend Walker, and while every game is losable, I think we have enough guys in the team who are under pressure to perform really well that we should win (think Weideman, Harmes, Melksham). It may not be pretty, but I think we should get the job done. A nice sunny day on the cards too which will make for a lovely change from the wet miserable [censored] we've played in the last few weeks.

Unless you are colour blind, that is not a clash. What a joke. To be honest though, it seems more appropriate to wear it against the Lions in our game up in the territory.

My favourite one to date. It’s absolutely stunning and the story behind it so wonderful.

As someone who works in product development, you need to understand that the “slap a logo on it”, is the only way the AFL can produce anything within a reasonable price point. There is not enough of a market for individualized items for each club. They make a generic item and just slap a logo on it to make it fit into a price point. Production minimums would suggest that for things like bags, which are quite pricey to make (number of pattern pieces, hardware etc), they would use a generic bag a supplier is already making and have them add different logos to it. I know it’s not ideal and bad design is still bad design, but the AFL is not the NBA. There is no market for it and so the merchandising is always going to be expensive and rather poorly designed. I actually think that Cotton On does a really nice AFL range. They have the buying power to keep their price points low and their designs more on trend.

Credit to their opening poster. A sense of humor goes a long way to getting thru those long lonely years supporting a rubbish team. I approve.

Weid deserves another week. I feel the same about Chandler but acknowledge you can’t get away with 4 touches in a Melbourne side sitting 9-0 at the moment. I thought this was the week to try all 4 talls because Adelaide has a poor backline we can stretch. Perhaps we are giving Brown a rest ahead of a short break. He surely plays at Marvel next week to stretch the dogs.

There’s no doubt Melksham brings more than Chandler did last week. But we can’t talk about selection pressure and players putting in at Casey and then bringing in Melksham when you’ve got multiple players in the VFL working their backside off for a chance to play. What’s the motivation for Bedford for example to keep going when Melksham gets a week warming the bench and is then straight back into the side? What has he worked on while being a sub? Because he was obviously dropped for a reason.

Brown needs to come back next week. He’s a Marvel specialist and the Dogs biggest weakness is their backline. Especially now they’ve lost Wood as well.

Wow. Melksham must have had a killer week on the bench.

For me it's less about who is the most important player, and more about who is irreplaceable. We have nobody on the list who could replace May if he goes down, because Tomlinson is already out and Petty is his replacement. Likewise if Langdon is injured we are stuffed, as nobody on our list holds a candle to his name. On the other hand, Viney who is arguably one of our best midfielders, is someone we can cover with the likes of JJ, Sparrow or even Gus because the rest of our midfield is so strong. On the other hand, replacing Oliver would be almost impossible. You'd argue we would be stuffed without Ben Brown pre season. But now we have loads of depth. If McDonald is injured we can cover for him with 2 very solid tall forwards. Systems and defence will get you a long way, even if you are missing some players. But there are certain players on every list that cannot be replaced and their absence would make an enormous difference to the fortunes of their team. It is also about weight of numbers. Losing one defender or one midfielder is very different to having a lot of injuries in one part of the ground.

I will never forget that game. I snuck away from a Passover dinner to watch the last quarter ?

Yep. Thank god it flared up at training and not during a game. Seriously his feet are never not going to be a problem. That he can’t get thru training is a major worry.

Mate my 20 year membership certificate is signed by Mark Neeld. It could be worse.

Any 17 year old who gets told to lose weight to make his AFL dreams come true, and does it no questions asked, is someone who you know has all the right motivation and drive to succeed in this industry. Most 17 year olds would have told the recruiters to get stuffed. He found himself being picked at the top end of the draft not because he had freakish skills, but also because he did what Melbourne wanted him to do even before he was a listed player. For someone his age to come in, miss barely no games through injury (knock on wood!) and play such high TOG consistently every week, you know he is working his [censored] off and is very diligent about his fitness and recovery.

The difference is, if it fails him during a VFL game, the consequences are minimal. If he has to be subbed out against the Dogs in the first quarter, the consequences are massive.

See also: Michael Juice Newton

We will never lose again.

Christ that’s a blast from the past. We are so old.

It’s less about match fitness in the VFL and more about seeing how the foot pulls up after a game.

Premierships aren’t won in May. Just ask Norf.

Can we talk about Rivers just casually killing it in the best backline in the competition at 19 years of age?

Another week another MRP [censored]. Meantime you can throw Ed Langdon on his head and get off ?

No point risking him. I would be happy to give him half a game at Casey and see how he pulls up. These feet of his are an endless issue and we can’t afford flare ups in finals.

He is a freak. Best hands in the competition in close.

Having Brayshaw play the defensive wing allows us to play through Langdon, who is our real weapon. Teams have started kicking down the Brayshaw wing to avoid Langdon killing them on the turnover, but then they have to deal with Brayshaw, who while his disposal can stink, can read the ball very well, is very brave and makes great decisions (even if sometimes the brain and the boot don't work together for him). If we can find an Ed clone in the off season, or someone as good as say Merrett, then of course I would advocate pushing Gus back into the guts. But there is no doubt that Gus on the wing is working really well for us at the moment and even if he fluffs a few kicks, he is not going anywhere. Who are people suggesting we replace him with? Baker? Vanders? Jones?