Jaded No More

I think everyone forgets that Petty is coming back from perhaps the worst injury a footballer can have. Particularly a tall who needs power in their feet to be able to push into the contest. Tmac has said himself that post that injury he is no longer able to play forward, because his foot is not strong enough to be able to leverage off to fly for marks. Petty is not even 12 months post surgery, and he is clearly struggling. IMO he won't get to his best until much later in the season, or possibly not until next year.

I agree, I think now is a good time to rest Windsor, perhaps bring Kolt in for another taste, or give Woey a full game and make Billings the sub. We have a long season still, and Windsor's speed will be critical when we get to September. No need to burn him out now.

While the free was technically there, I absolute hate how harshly we interpret that stand rule. It is a huge penalty to pay, when most of the time, the slight movement makes absolutely zero difference to the game.

If Salem can stay fit and in form for the rest of the year (and I know that's a big if given his body has been letting him down a lot since 2021), it will go a long way to making us contenders. As you said earlier, he is replacing the hole left by Gus in the middle, but with better kicking skills. It also reduces the load that Trac, Viney and Clarry need to carry.

In other breaking news; teams do well when they have key forwards kicking goals

The absolute worse thing we can do right now is rush Jefferson in, have him struggle (which he no doubt will in our less than perfect forwardline), and crush the confidence he's building in the VFL. Let him continue to build his form at Casey, and his fitness, and when he's put together 2-3 good months then we can potentially give him a taste later in the year and set him up for another big pre-season. Everyone screamed to bring JVR in before he was ready. We let him develop at Casey, and he's rarely missed a senior game since debuting. This is the sort of development and continuity you want.

ANB playing more midfield is helping us defend the post clearance possession much better, which is something we've desperately lacked this year. We've let far too many easy 'out the front' balls to come out in stoppages and centre clearances, which has really hurt us. I also don't mind the switch up between him and Viney, as Viney is obviously an exceptional tackler, so having him spend time inside 50 while ANB is playing higher up, means we aren't missing out on the crucial defensive work that Nibbler brings to our forwardline. I am disappointed with what we've seen from McAdams, but I also understand that he is lacking match fitness and it really shows.

No change unless Petty is injured yet again, or Windsor needs a rest.

Ross Lyon should be banned from coaching in the AFL.

This game is frustrating to watch. We are clearly a better team, but we are not playing like it.

Real disappointed for Taj who has shown plenty and still is not getting a full game, while Hunter has had a less than great pre season and season thus far, and is straight in off very limited good form.

This is the problem with having no real options beyond him. He never should have travelled to Perth last week and these are the games where if we had a decent backup he could sit out to avoid doing any serious damage. Calves can be problematic, especially at his age. If he does more damage to it today and has to miss a chunk of games, you could probably kiss our season goodbye.

Because telling a Melbourne supporter not to stress has never not worked 😂

My MFCSS is outta control

What makes no sense is why, if Gawn is in doubt, did we take Fullerton off the emergency list and we don’t have Verrell listed either?

Oh Howes to the ruck

I can’t wait for Ben Brown to be our ruckman today 🫠😭

Does anyone have real evidence to back up the rumours that the group has been hit by Covid? @Dannyz maybe?

Didn’t even watch the game. Just finished the usual run around of life and checked the scores and laughed and laughed. Gonna enjoy the press conference with a nice glass of red.

Pro tip: if you need to get creases out and ya lazy, hang your stuff up in the bathroom while you shower. The steam will loosen the creases. If you don’t shower tho I can’t help you.

Eat a fat one Geelong

Will the Gold Coast ever be a good team? I feel like I’ve been waiting 20 years and 709 first round picks for that to happen 🙄 Kalani will join us next year so unless you know something we don’t, I think he will definitely still have Max, May and Viney around.

Playing at the G in front of big crowds every week, learning from some of the best players in the competition, playing for the club his dad played for where he’s formed long standing relationships with Goodwin and the players, playing for a foundation club that’s right in the mix as one of the better sides in the competition… should I go on?

This is the best thread currently on Demonland. Less complaining about how bad we apparently are, and more dog photos I say.

He will likely spend less time rucking, which will help him do more up forward.