Macca

We've finally adhered to the new game plan and we can do it again and again ... but old habits die hard But if we can keep it up, there's exciting times ahead and lots of wins in store Getting back to that point where we can beat any team, anywhere is also on the agenda There's enough base talent for that to happen and yesterday was a huge turning point, in my view I'm prefer to be optimistic rather than circumspect

Kozzie is contracted to the club until the end of 2027 We either hold him to his contract (preferred option) or another club will have to offer a King's ransom for his services It's a win/win although I'd hate to lose him as he's a genuine matchwinner

If we play like we did yesterday, we'll win Tigers are plucky but they have their weaknesses Our best beats their best

Because our players finally threw off all the old habits of an antiquated game style A question for anyone here ... When was the last time we won a game playing a game style like we saw yesterday? Fast paced offense Use of the corridor Sharing of the ball as a first option Always looking for teammates Minimal boundary line hugging Very few long bombs to the forward pockets Playing as a team Handpassing forward as a weapon Yesterday was a revelation in some ways but of course, we need to continue on the same course We're also playing catch-up so whether we may revert to old habits remains to be seen One pointer ... Oliver 5 kicks and 20 handpasses

And can you remember the last time we played with that sort of game plan, Gorg? The answer might be never It must be remembered that for the last 5 years at least, we've often played the boundary with long bombs to the pockets Trying to gain territory and then lock it in What we saw yesterday was a revelation and there's no reason why we can't continue playing in the same way Nearly all the other teams have a similar game plan to what we saw from us yesterday ... fast paced offense with the use of the corridor whilst sharing the ball always looking for teammate On a side not it was pleasing to see Oliver's ratio of kicks & handballs (5/20) ... more of that please as Oliver is not a great kick to position player But his handpassing is top notch

Yes, there was an element of that but the win yesterday wasn't based on motivation alone I'd rather look at it from a technical point of view We played the game yesterday adhering to the new game plan. Many were questioning where the new game plan was and they saw it yesterday (we also trained at that new game plan all Summer) We looked a different team in the way we played ... vastly different Suddenly we played as a team with a fast offense, sharing the ball and looking for teammates. Long bombs at a minimum When was the last time we played like that? (remembering that our M.O was to bomb it long to the pockets for at least the last 5 years) But if you and others want to believe we just played well because we were embarrassed, that's fine The sport has moved on from that way of thinking. It's very technical and a solid game plan is required these days And all the players need to be on board Teamwork has obviously always been a factor in footy but the sharing of the ball these days is a real step up from the past

So Goodwin didn't suddenly learn how to coach again overnight, same as he didn't learn how to not coach previously What happened is that the message finally got through and the players finally listened So the players got the same message, not a different message They listened and then adhered to the new game plan and hey presto, we play well and win But if you want to flip/flop on a week to week basis, go right ahead. Do that, and you'll just come across as a reactionary fool

Injuries or if a player or 2 didn't play their role (not everyone always plays well in a victory) You've also got players like May or McVee becoming available. Who are starting 18 players Also, a squad mentality is becoming more apt especially with 5 day breaks that can occur. It's a gruelling sport to play these days so rotations are sometimes necessary The notion of 'Don't change a winning team' is old hat

I heard the other day that $1Million is the base salary (per annum) for any head coach these days (even the rookies) I stand corrected though as I just caught the end of the conversation ... might have been via SEN Someone here will know As for the coaching today, I'm more inclined to give credit to the players today for adhering to the new game plan (about time) They did what we've all been expecting them to do ... if that plan was to share the ball at speed and play as a team and look for teammates as a default mode. And minimum long bombs

Yes, I agree And a number of teams are occasionally kicking long, low and bouncy entries to the 50 instead of bombing it long through the air It's an interesting ploy and can panic defences as those types of kicks can't be marked But you need good crumbers to make the most of those chaos type kicks We didn't kick too many long bombs today but when we did, we didn't look as dangerous Interesting that we only took 7 marks inside 50 but from an overall point of view, that low number didn't seem to matter much at all, as we got a lot of entries with handballing alone The contrast in how our offense was deployed this week as apposed to the previous 4 games was quite stark We clicked into gear and now that we've got a taste, we should become more and more adaptable to a changing game plan

Tom played his role to a nicety, all things considered Playing the proper 2nd ruck allowed us to save Max's legs for the last quarter And Tom led well on occasions when forward. At some stage, JVR will return but not necessarily at the expense of Fullarton We should give Tom a block of 4 games in order to make a better evaluation (from a MC point of view)

Yeah, Salem made a few errors but I thought he played quite well, otherwise 23 possessions at 83% DE and was involved in a lot of chained plays. 3 clangers not great though, especially for a backman However, from an overall perspective we turned it over 58 times (not too bad) but our overall DE ran at 78% (which is quite acceptable) I'd give Salem 6.5 or 7 out of 10 today. Solid enough but just needs to cut out the clangers

You are nothing but tenacious, bub Kudos 😁

Just a word on the selected team The MC took a huge risk in not selecting JVR & Fritsch as it did look like a threadbare forward line, pre-game But it worked and kudos to the selection committee for pulling the trigger The connection between the mids and forwards was very good (all things considered) Every time we got it forward we looked dangerous and the opposition's intercept marks seemed to be well down on previous games We outnumbered Freo in marks 110 to 80 which was another pointer on how well we shared the ball around As someone else noted above, we looked like a different team

I've seen enough We can absolutely go on a run now. Starting Thursday The performance was a breath of fresh air and what's more, all our players looked like they were really enjoying themselves It was like the shackles were released but really, it was always going to be about teamwork at speed and we had it in spades today We still turned the ball over a bit too much and our team defence needs to get better at defending the counter attack but that's the price you pay when you change things up Gawn was supreme and him dishing off handpasses and kicking passes sideways and sometimes back was a real sight He was a genuine midfielder today (28 possessions)... and with Fullarton giving him a chopout, he had plenty in reserve for the last quarter when we needed him

Yeah, Love Power!

We would have beaten a lot of teams today. And Freo are a good team and kept coming at us Loved the constant playing on and the sharing of the ball with great teamwork. Our default move was to look for a teammate We looked and played really well. Kozzie set us alight and away we went Petty was excellent up forward and the 4 musketeers all contributed to a good degree. Future looks bright with that quartet And we won without May, Lever & McVee (all walk up starters) Not sure that JVR or Fritsch get back anytime soon as our forward line worked really well without them today ... still, a spell in the ressies never hurt anyone

Be a dull old world if we all agreed with each other But all's well than ends well, hey! Fork 'em!!!!!!

That's a win for the ages!!

It was a fairly ruthless call as it lessens whatever chance we had of winning today Anyway, on to the game!

So it could cost the club up to $3Million, all up (to sack Goodwin) That's a lot of money when considering we're now out of the pokies coupled with only 2 money making MCG games this season (and the Tigers clash may see a smallish crowd to boot) There's no way Goodwin walks away from that sort of money either Folks here need to be prepared for a long season. Unless we come good of course We are not giving Goodwin 3 million bucks to depart the Goodship MFC. I can't see it

Well, taking them out of their role if they fail to carry out instructions is a good point So I've got Sparrow & Viney out of the team as both offer nothing much right now But Fritsch & JVR were offering very little and both got dropped. So a good proportion here got what we wanted but that now means our forward line is threadbare So there's always a consequence and we have no real depth Fritsch is at the crossroads and JVR is overrated. He can't create seperation like good forwards do Maybe as the 3rd tall but he's not a 1 or 2. He may improve of course but he needs to

Ha ha! What about all the assistants, bub?

Yes, the blame should be all-encompassing, including all the off-field stuff. We're running a couple of cylinders short and it's a bit of a train-wreck to be honest All the negative stuff that has happened has to have an effect. All that whilst trying to instigate a new game plan. Good luck It can be argued that Goodwin is a victim of circumstances trying to implement a new game plan ... which started early last year and then was abandoned at some stage last season. It takes time to work We probably should have kept with it last year but that's a hindsight observation (and therefore, unfair) The team was used to winning so copping a few big losses can bring in a 2nd guessing situation But by the sounds of it, we are sticking with the new game plan for the season I reckon we'll kick into gear at some stage and when that happens, everything can change for the better. Or it may not One thing is for sure, we were never going to win big again playing the long ball to the pockets So we had to take a chance and change The fact that we haven't seen it doesn't mean we won't see it, sooner or later

I'd get rid of a couple of the assistant coaches before Goodwin ... and I'd do it now