Jaded No More

3 things that would have made this game better: 1- a first quarter that wasn't as utterly as embarrassing, weak or uncompetitive as it was. Can't win a game with that sort of pathetic start. Unacceptable. 2- If Tappy hit and injured a few more Filth players. Should have hit Fasolo harder. 3- If the umpires could show some sort of consistency. AND USE THE DAMN VIDEO UMPIRING AT APPROPRIATE TIMES!!

Cale Morton ran off the ground and supporters around me were cheering. FFS imagine running off with 30,000 people heckling you, then having the coach yell at you. You would want to bury yourself! He obviously did not turn the ball over on purpose, and as annoyed as we and Neeld were, I bet nobody was angrier or felt worse than Morton. Give him a break FFS. If Neeld was so furious he would have subbed him off. End of story.

I love these threads. Watch someone else start a "we love Morton" thread in 3 weeks time. His clangers are infuriating. And so are everyone else's turnovers. He was wonderful in the first quarter. He did a few crappy things as the game wore on, but he was one of the only players who actually did anything in the first quarter when everyone else couldn't buy a touch.

Poor kid, it's not a very pleasant illness to live with. Wish him all the best!

EPIC WIN! Happy Friday news. Well done Russian. Edit: Forgot to say F' YOU GWS!

Given we lost our major multi-million dollar sponsor, and our membership count is soft, that is a very impressive result. And as Nasher said, even Collingwood and West Coast and Adelaide get cash handouts from the AFL. We are not a charity case and we are not living off these handouts, we are simply getting what everyone else is, but adjusted higher because unlike the above mentioned club we don't get as many blockbusters, or home games.

I never said Jones is not talented. He clearly is. Nobody who lacks talents manages such a long run of games as Jones has. I was simply pointing out that Jones gets the most out of his talent, while others more talented than him don't. Fair to agree that Jones isn't the best skilled player going around, but few have had better more consistent seasons, especially in such a poorly performing team. And that is a credit to his character. He has made the most of every opportunity, worked on his deficiencies and added more strings to his game. I wish Sylvia took a leaf out of Jones' book!

The only downside to Collingwood losing their star forward, is that GWS will most likely gain a star forward, and that club most certainly don't deserve to get better.

FFS Gysberts into the seniors now. He is bound to break something at Casey.

I meant no disrespect to Jones with my 10% talent 90% heart call. I just think that what makes Jones the player that he has become is his attitude and approach to the game, much more so than his skills. Plenty of players on our list with equal or superior skills who haven't grown or shown as much durability or improvement as Jones has. And that comes down to wanting it, and working for it. Jones wills himself to contests while so many others don't. And that's a damn hard thing to do when you are getting demolished week in week out with no support from your teammates. I love that he has never been a downhill skier.

Happy to report that one of our players has a chronic injury? Awful!

It helps when our midfield isn't getting smashed in the middle, and we can control the tempo of the ball movement. Yes Essendon had more inside 50's, but the ball was coming in under great pressure, which really helps the defenders. What a difference winning the clearances makes!

Haha, typed this while watching a report on the Sydney game. Oops. Yes, Heath.

So much love and respect for this guy. 10% talent - 90% desire to succeed. He and McKenzie are superstars in my eyes, not because they are supremely talented, but because they will die trying to be better than their opponent.

He irritates the crap out of me because he can do some brilliant things, when he chooses to. If he wasn't so mentally deficient, he would be an A grader. FFS, nothing annoys me more than talented people who don't think they need to work hard.

Dunn might be given the defensive job on Rhys Shaw, so I don't know if he'll get dropped. Unless Sylvia is given a defensive forward role again. If Frawley is fit and Blease gets up, then it's a simple out MacDonald, in Frawley. You have to put the talent out there, no matter how unlucky or unfair that might be for Joel. He is depth only. If Blease is injured I have a sneaky suspicion that Davey will get a recall. But after a win, our first one in about 94 years, we should make minimal changes. Nice to have a settled team for once. Too many changes don't often lead to victory. Edit: I forgot Bartram. If he's fit he will 100% get a game, as he should.

I can't stop watching the highlights. Help!

Nicholson's chase, slip, then recovery to smother the kick of his opponent. Beautiful desperation!

Everybody deserves a vote tonight for actually turning up and going hard. But when I think of a Grimesy's efforts in the second half I want to cry again. For everything he has been through with injuries and a very difficult start to his captaincy, he was simply inspiring. Absolutely the right man for the job. Jones as always was magnificent as well.

Defender or Casey. Now we know.

I did. Sad but true. Relief probably more than anything. Felt like vomiting for most of the last quarter. Nearly lost my [censored] when they called touched on the goal line. Who cares why or how we won right now. All that matters is that finally we have experienced some success. Regardless of how minor!

Dragged down Essendon to our level I see. We can't hit a target, and we are lucky Essendon can't hit the scoreboard. Half arsed sloppy tackling attempts all over the ground, Fletcher on his own in our goal square like some kind of sick joke. Flooding like the good old days because we are so desperate not to get smashed again. And yet we are not even a goal behind, so well done Neeld. You've managed not to count us out of the contest at quarter time. Football is utterly [censored] to watch these days.

Why the [censored] can't we hit a target????

Joel McDonald in all but guarantees Frawley out. Bummer.