Jaded No More

Goody said in the press conference today that JVR is likely going to be fit to play, but still needs to get thru a big load of training in the lead up. Fingers crossed.

I am exactly the same. This is the first ever King/Queen's Birthday match I will miss since I had a uni exam clash with a game about 15 years ago (which I tried getting out of! ha). I cannot bring myself to attend this game, after what happened last year. I have been a paid up members for 25 years, I pay for one of the most expensive memberships every single year, regardless of whether we are winning flags or wooden spoons, and I attend games religiously. But I made a decision after our finals exit last year, that I can no longer allow football to impact my life. There has to be other priorities, namely my mental wellbeing. It's why I am choosing to watch this game from home. Of course if it was our home game I would attend without a second thought, but I refuse to engage with the verbally and emotionally abusive Pies fans. Edit: and if anyone wants to suggest that I am not a true supporter because I am choosing not to attend this match, they can frankly get [censored]! I challenge them to compete with the number of matches I have attended in my life, including while very unwell, with broken limbs, shortly after a death in the family, and through just about everything else.

Only Melbourne supporters would wait 57 years to win a flag, and then immediately find ways to poop all over that flag. Insanity.

Is that all the squad or just Max, Tmac and BB? Hopefully JVR can come up for this week. He is very important to our structure.

Kate Roffey to FF? 🙄

We have to be really mindful that we are already carrying a few young inexperienced players. To throw more and more in will absolutely not fix the issues. In fact, it’ll make them worse as inexperienced players are often inconsistent.

So you’ve written him off after one senior game and 9 VFL games?

No doubt he will return to the wing with Hunter blowing his old man calf. Just don't complain when Billings come back into that half forward role. Cupboard is pretty empty.

We got May, Lever and Langdon who won us a flag. We also got Grundy. Hard to attract big names still in contract when your salary cap is pretty tight playing the likes of Gawn, Trac, Clarry, Lever etc. Have the Pies or Carlton done any better in attracting big name players recently? We also have no idea what conversations we have been in. I am sure we have made plenty of inquiries, but when you have no cap space and no draft capital, it's very hard to get deals done. UFA is where you need to look, and the quality of these in recent years hasn't been great. Did you want to spend $800k on Ben McKay?

Jefferson is gonna have a great time with -30 inside 50s. What could go wrong 🙄

It's less about one loss, and more about how we lost. That was an un-Melbourne like performance. I was ok with the losses to Brisbane and West Coast, because the competition is so even and we were just beaten by a team that played significantly better on the day, and we at least managed to win back some momentum at times. But to completely stop playing and get destroyed in every single statistic yesterday was unacceptable. -41 in contested possessions is Neeld-esque level putrid. We can't keep glossing over these performances and say they aren't a litmus test of our fortunes, because the loss and the massive drop in percentage yesterday may have just cost us a top 8 finish, let alone a top 4 finish. A good club with a good culture takes stock of where they are at, and are honest with one another. Burying our head in the sand will do nothing but continue the mediocre performances we've seen this season.

My PTSD is not ready for a Neeld-era level return to form

McAdam is certainly very very low on our list of problems. We got about 20 more pressing issues. Doesn’t mean that if he’s unfit and has no confidence in his body that he should be playing.

Who are both not much chop.

Thank you! To blame the forwards is to ignore the real issue. The numbers above are North Melbourne level putrid. You will never win games when the midfield and half backs are dishing up this level of uncompetitive garbage. You could have the best forwards in the entire world, but if they are getting no service, what are they meant to do?

It’s curtains on 2024 for me if we get smashed by them next week.

Why has the senior side become a rehab facility? One of the issues for me is that we are carrying to many underdone players. Carrying Clarry and Petty is one thing, carrying players who aren’t proven best 22 players and who can’t run out a game or kick more than 30m (see for example Hunter with his busted calf getting a starting role ahead of Woey yet again), is not helping us. It just increases the load on other players.

I love this man, and I will support him leading this club to my death. He is a legend.

He’s a liability right now, and rightly so. Many players never recover from the injury he’s endured, but it’s time to give him some time at Casey to build some confidence and fitness. It’s doing him no good to go out each week and not be able to give anything to the team. It’s not thru lack of trying either. His body is clearly not up to AFL standards right now. JVR and Disco should play forward together for the next month while Petty goes to Casey and get some time just playing as a forward without pressure.

Early days, but a forward who can’t kick over 30m shouldn’t be playing at this level. Either his body is cooked, or his confidence is cooked.

I would bring Melksham in. Don’t worry about your knee, just deck Maynard and you can be subbed off and continue your rehab while you serve a suspension

It’s no secret that I’ve been pretty much dead inside when it comes to football since the last time we played this pile of dog [censored] club. I don’t even carry anger or disappointment when we lose anymore. I get over it fairly quickly and my passion for the game will probably never be the same again. Having said all that, I would take not winning another game for the rest of the year, so long as we obliterate this bunch of ****heads next week!

We were a dirty thug and poor goal kicking away from making a prelim last year. If you want to change the game plan you need to change the list. Can’t do it with the same list.

Who is willing to take a 10 week ban for knocking out Maynard? You’re in son.