Macca

Yes, the fill-in players we've recruited over the last 3 or so years just hasn't worked ... we might have been better off taking 1 or 2 chances in the draft in each of the last 3 years with some speculation picks Yet, we did recruit Kentfield (18yo) in the mid season draft so maybe we've changed tack and gone down the project player path. Kentfield needs time Raw talent and a good dose of development can unearth a gem or 2 with those spec picks. The strike rate may not be high but recruiting older, NQR types may not deliver any gems However, trading for proven talent using draft picks is fine ... May, Lever, Brown, Melksham, Hibberd, Langdon etc etc have all been fruitful Recruiting is not an easy task and there's a fair bit of luck involved but if we're looking to pick up experienced players, those players really should be best 15 at the club that they play for (best 22 is a bit too vague for my liking)

That's right, he was #9 Maybe it was something else that had me link the 2 together Henry Coles wore #3 (before that #13) in 1979/80 and I mainly remember Henry as I would often run into his old man in the standing room area in the old Southern Stand Henry could really roost a torpie on occasions and he didn't mind a scrap!

Fowler wore the number 9 and Flower was #2 and even though they were very different players, I'd often think one was the other and vice-versa He didn't mind the rough stuff either and wasn't to be trifled with I was at Vic Park in the last round of 1976 when Wearmouth knocked Laurie out in the first minute of the game ... we won the game but just missed the finals (half a game) But the Filth won their first spoon that year after we inflicted that loss on them

You are right ANB's role is not easy to replace either. High half-forward with enormous stamina and an ability to get to contest after contest Gus' role as in defensive midfield role with a physical presence along with decent aerial skills, the same Those who follow the league closely (I don't) could probably put forward a few names that we could possibly trade for Draftees? Identifying 2 similar types is difficult when considering how under 18 footy is played Or we change our style of play to accommodate players with different skillsets? Although I wonder if Windsor could play that high half-forward role? Looks a likely type

I believe you are right They came down hard on the use of the elbow back then though But with Balme's 3 round arm king hits, he wasn't reported on the day and there was no reports via video Think I'm right in saying that Matthews king hit 4 Demons but never got reported and never got weeks for those 4 thug acts

I don't believe Laurie was reported either Nor Neil Balme who put McKay, Waite & Southby into tomorrow land I've got Carlton mates who to this day, have never forgiven those Richmond thugs for what they did that day A different game back then The Blues took a while to get going again but they when they did, they won 3 flags in 4 years ('79, '81 & '82) Also of note is that Carlton went out in straight sets in 1975 & 1976 (including 3 narrow losses) So there's hope for us yet!!

You may be too young to remember but we once had a top line midfielder in Laurie Fowler* who played his role (ruck rover) in a very similar way to Gus He was hard at it, tackled hard, had very good defensive skills and got heaps of the ball. Our coach at the time (Bobby Skilton) put Fowler into the middle as our centreman, Greg Wells, wasn't renowned for his defensive skills (although Wells was a dynamic attacking midfielder) Laurie won 3 Bluey's and was a coaches dream I can imagine that the person who misses Gus the most is Goodwin *Laurie also played as a back pocket and will also be remembered as the player who shirt-fronted John Nicholls in the 1973 GF (playing for Richmond)

Yeah, he's my mechanic as well so money is not really an issue, BoBo haha But the way he described the partition type wall separation the players with the player managers forming that barrier, was a real eye-opener Needless to say, he hasn't been to another B & F

Goodwin's mantra when appointed head coach was 'Fearless Football' and for the most part, that's how we've gone about it. Most games in fact Hard at the contest, win contested ball, solid defence, 2nd & 3rd efforts, excellent zone defence, pressure acts etc etc So against Port we did all that and the lazy Port turned up What we lacked was a decisive attacking mindset with speed, when we were on the attack. Do that and we blow Port out of the water Our use of the corridor when on offense was minimal yet at the same time we denied Port the corridor So a few tweaks on our offense with a fully fit list to choose from and we'll be a force next season We should have beaten Port but it was all academic as our poor percentage and W/L record would have denied us a finals spot anyway

I don't know but it was not impactful at all and quickly forgotten You have to remember that the club was in real disarray before PJ took over with Roos following not long after So the question was posed to Roos about what was wrong at the club or what his take was (words to that effect) and Roos just straight batted the player manager influence So that was it. Roos & PJ then went to work rebuilding the club That's how I remember it but again, I always remembered the player manager comment As an aside, I've got a Tiger mate who went to their B & F* in 2017 (Premiership year) and he was really annoyed that he didn't get to chat with one player. He told me that the player managers were front & centre and formed some sort of barrier between the players & public attendees *Tickets were upwards of $300 a pop

Gus was the glue that bound the team together both with his onfield leadership and experience But his role as a holding/defensive midfielder gave us a real advantage as playing that role is quite unique His vigour and physical presence at the back of the midfield was another factor When he is ready, he'll be ideally suited to some sort of coaching role A line coach as a minimum but he'd be nigh on perfect as a midfield coach Sadly missed as a Demon player

Losing Gus made me change my mind from top 8 and maybe top 4 pushed back to top 8 only. We would have needed a lot to go right to be top 4 without such a valuable player like Brayshaw (worth another 2 wins at least) Gus in the midfield would have given the MC an opportunity to use Petracca forward (along with Kozzie) With JVR, Fritsch Petty and company, suddenly our forward line might have been quite functional But we would have needed a fit & firing Clarrie, an impactful Petty as well as a productive Melksham (later in the year) as well, to push for the top 8. But the above didn't really happen so maybe top 8 only until ... Petracca went down Then, we would have been lucky to make the 8 and that's how it panned out Not having a proper ruckman as back up to Gawn also hurt us. Many of us thought that the recruitment of Fullarton would help but no call-up at all So, once we lost Petracca it was always going to be tough Hindsight tells us that losing to the Eagles and then getting thumped by Freo in the Alice were the 2 big pointers Also think that whilst our grinding, work for stoppages style often keeps us in the game, a more attacking mindset could have seen us win games against the Lions, Giants & Port But that subject matter (a more attacking mindset) is a debate for another day

It's like a John le Carrè novel

At one stage during the match against Port, Oliver kicked a nice 45 metre drop punt into our forward line to 3 Melbourne players The ball was marked unopposed by a Port player and none of the 3 Melbourne players even gave a contest. Certainly, none of our forwards fought to get to the front position (the ball can often drop short) But to my astonishment, the clueless commentators then criticised Clarrie on his kick forward?! And of course, the boffins and stats guru's will have classed the kick as a clanger. Total bs

The MRO is a disgrace. All the time in the world to get everything right yet they constantly get things wrong or miss various incidents Just the way the AFL like it too. Keeps footy in the news and keep it controversial I'll lay better than even money that during the finals a high profile player will escape suspension over some 'technicality' Looking back, we should have appealed the JVR* suspension in last years final series because this season, that thug from the filth got off with a deliberate elbow "It's not a conspiracy theory when it's the truth" *hindsight is a wonderful thing

Nothing is imaginary with me You slag off at players like no other And Gus being 'handy' only is another poor evaluation If he wasn't our most versatile player, I don't know who was. Maybe even our most valuable player with all the different roles that he could play As for our treatment of Oliver in leaving him on the ground with 3 major injuries, the MC must have the finger pointed at them The above is the sort of thing that the media should be all over but the media are more inclined to look for the gossip so they'll miss it The club might need a full internal review just to find out if we do have some pressing issues internally. I'd be surprised if a review doesn't unearth at least a few issues But internal reviews always have a sniff of 'Boys Club' about them so best done from an external source. Will that happen? I doubt it

My argument centres on amongst the community here, not on what is captured elsewhere

You're looking at this with a selfish point of view Do you care at all about the players welfare? (Oliver) You often come across as quite callous It's enough that you slag off at most of the players but you also don't seem to care about their health either So if we make Clarrie stay out on the ground with 3 major injuries, how does that help his mental health?

Yeah, we've been playing banged up but when you have that mantra and you don't win, the cracks can appear From a player welfare point of view. But most of us are in the dark as we don't know the full story In 2021 we had hardly any injuries and the mantra then (via Burgess) was being able to play through pain Maybe 3 years later it's all become too much and the players are worn out

An example of that was when we left Clarrie on the ground after he hurt his hamstring last season (?) And it was a decent tear as he ended up missing 3 months (of course, there were other, well documented issues) So why do you leave a player out on the ground who is in obvious discomfort? And please don't rehash the Grundy/Schache stuff as that is a completely different issue

You may be right but not everything is hunky dory at the club (the handling of the Petracca injuries was at best, clumsy) Unless you believe we're doing everything right at the club? Is that the case? Why didn't we sub Clarrie off on Saturday? We can't treat him like cannon-fodder If it was any other player, would be happy about that player playing the game out?

Excellent question So they make him play out the game with cracked Ribs, a knee PCL and a busted hand

Read my other post on Selwyn's comments

Didn't Oliver have rib injuries earlier in the season? And now that we're absolutely out of the running for finals, they call time on Oliver? If I was to hazard a guess as to what the issues are at the club it could be that we're asking our players (or certain players) to play through the pain barrier too much I could be totally wrong but something is amiss at the club. So what is it?

What are you talking about? Most of us knew about the hand injury but how bad it was is anyone's guess ... but most of us had no idea about the Knee PCL or the fractured ribs I can't blame anyone for questioning Clarrie's form. But the information with all his ailments was unknown (for most)