Macca

That's right, they were GC's picks ... of course, with the way the points system works with Academy picks, GC were still able to attain 2 picks in the top 5 in the draft Good point re King and how he might view the draftees. Traditionally, we've tended to use the mid-type draftees in the seniors quite early

So what's the story with XT? Thought he might have been a plug-in-and-play type. Track-watchers?

Yeah, we threw away 4 or 5 wins but I suppose finishing 14th was the catalyst for change

From all reports we'll be playing an attacking brand through the corridor (when applicable) but if we turn the ball over our defence will therefore be under seige Previously, we've been able to defend from a position where the opposition were often hemmed in near the boundary line (as a result of our long kicking/territory/towards-the-boundary line style of play) Retaining possession is all important otherwise our once much vaunted defence might become our Achilles heel Average points against 2021 - 66 2022 - 67 2023 - 72 2024 - 79 2025 - 89 We started leaking goals last year but still managed to have a percentage of 93.3 which was a full 24 percentage points above Essendon (15th) Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained (re attacking footy using the corridor)

I reckon that was another reason the Hawks moved (they couldn't have closed sessions) Where as we can still have closed sessions at Casey if we choose to. That's the luxury of having 2 decent venues I'm wondering whether we could ever have closed sessions at Caulfield as the surrounds etc is public land

The move to Caulfield was first mooted and talked about at club level (partnership with CRRT announced) in December 2023 It's now March 2026 and people are speculating that moving in day is 5 years away! That's close on 7 and a half years, all up (and counting) The years are flying past and it's just as well that Waverley became available

When did Caulfield become 5 years? In the last few days? There were plenty talking completion dates of 2027 or 2028 not so long ago Waverley as an alternate only became a talking point in the last couple of months. Before that, nothing And I applaud the club for moving to Waverley. But don't be surprised if it's a permanent move We get into Waverley and everyone's then happy. Soon enough the talk will be, why Caulfield? We don't need it and we still haven't got the funding required anyway? "Let's save our money" I'd prefer Caulfield but the silence about the facility since before the AGM is deafening And now, suddenly, we're moving into Waverley in the next few weeks? I reckon we grabbed the opportunity before that opportunity was gone As stated in a previous post, the Hawks had to move as they didn't have another facility like we do (Casey) For the MFC, Waverley is an ideal fit. Just a tick over 20 minutes from Casey to Waverley too

The issue for the Hawks is that they only had the one oval to train on (Waverley) where as we'll have Waverley for the Seniors and Casey (for Casey, AFLW & VFLW) The Hawks would have had a 2nd oval to train on but without all the creature comforts (Gym, pool etc) So they've now got everything under the one roof at the facility at Dingley. In many ways, they had to move

Did the Hawks not have all the money to pay for the new premises upfront? Makes a move a lot easier With plenty in the bank and with all the guaranteed funding from various parties, why not make a move to the swanky new premises? What we've done is have the new swanky training venue all lined up but we haven't got the funding (yet) Where's the money, old dee?

We're not a big club and we don't have the pulling power As for the Storm & Victory, they may well be happy with their lot and may not want to rock the boat. And both those clubs play their actual games at AAMI

Not necessarily if funding has become the major issue You know, all the great plans of mice and men Good intentions but we're talking close to $100Million in funding that is needed. And we don't possess that sort of coin without Govt. & Council funding

We were always going to feel the squeeze at AAMI ... the juggernaut of the tennis and the pulling power of the Pies So get out if the alternate suits. Waverley is a huge upgrade in more ways than one The training ground upgrade is like chalk & cheese Gosch's right next to Punt Rd with no viewing areas or protection Waverley is an enclosed arena with loads of viewing areas and a great surface & size Anyway, it's best to embrace if we may not have other viable choices

Sure, but if Caulfield is a definite goer, why bother making the move to Waverley in such a rushed manner? Seems a bit rushed to move 'in-season' anyway Either way, I reckon it's a win/win

My gut feeling is that we've grabbed hold of Waverley because we've hit a hurdle with Caulfield (funding) We would be relying on the State Govt. to cough up the tens of $Millions and that may or may not be forthcoming The AFL might have even stepped in and told us to grab Waverley while it's still available Again, just an opinion

There's nothing at all wrong with Waverley as a base and as a training venue. In fact, if we ignore the Hawks moving away, it will be far and away the best training venue we've ever had And everyone under the one roof which will satisfy those who have had their concerns in that area A great big ground with a fantastic surface with plenty of viewing areas. What's not to like? Parking is a bit of an issue but that's sweating the small stuff

Did you say that at the time? Hindsight tells us that but Grundy came relatively cheap and we had gone with a 2 Ruck combo in 2020, 2021 & 2022 So the pattern had been set Like most here I agreed with the decision at the time as we had visions of a type of Max/LJ combo It didn't work but it was worth a try The far bigger issue was losing all our forward line to injury or suspension. That cost us a premiership and there was nothing we could do about it The fact that we got so close in both finals backs up that argument D Grade forward lines don't win premierships

When we dumped Grundy to the 2nds that was it, as we had decided to go with just the one ruckman The experiment was over and everyone at the club knew it The fact that we needed him back because of all the injuries and suspensions to our talls (Petty, JVR, Brown & T-Mac) was irrelevant (unfortunately) Other 3rd tall marking targets like Melksham & Fritsch were both injured (Melk out and Fritsch proppy) In the end, we had a D Grade forward line and that's the big reason why we didn't advance in 2023 Not an excuse, but a reason A fit and firing forward line and we win the flag in 2023 However, 2022 was a different story. We really did blow that chance - the one that got away

In my view, him (Grundy) risking injury was also a big factor as he had all but signed with the Swans He'd checked out and the club had no real hold on him as we'd dumped him down to Casey without a promise of him being picked for the seniors again He was surplus to needs and both him and the MC would have known that. So the Swans come knocking (in season) Let's not forget that Grundy wasn't playing badly when he got dropped. It's just that we went in a different direction (One Ruckman only) Having a rash of injuries to most of our forwards didn't change anything either (obviously) Schashe was on the bench to cover for Gawn (who played with an injured big toe) Hardly ideal but that's my take on it Watching T-Mac struggle to get into a jog in that SF against Carlton kind of summed things up

Yeah, but we were a bomb-it-long team (territory team) so Goodwin's ability to get the team to change tack just wasn't bought into (that's according to the eye test) We did it for a few games but from an overall perspective, we wasted a lot of hard-earned possessions A different voice for Petracca (Hardwick & co. and his new teammates) and hey presto, it's all about hitting targets Whether King has the ability to re-educate our players away from the long kicking game remains to be seen - but it's more a senior players issue with the Demons Our W/L record this season will largely depend on whether we can share the ball (at speed) and not turn the ball over. And corridor use is paramount as well High risk football = long bombs & boundary hugging football. Do that and we'll be lucky to win 6 games

He was brilliant but the Cats midfield was bog average ... had a virtual free reign, centre-forward With Rowell slotting back in, it's a star-studded midfield. Matching up very difficult, to say the least

New coach and a new start for the list My reckoning is that all the players will get their opportunities and we could easily see some talent emerge With the 3 players you mentioned, they all need to get a step ahead instead of a step behind. If that doesn't happen, they won't make it It's such a fast game these days and the players need lighting quick skills For whatever reason, I still vividly remember Lindsay's first disposal last season. Gained possession and then hit a target 25-30 metres away without blinking. A great sign But the talent up North is going to be hard to match

No, of course not but the comment was more about what you said (D's fans) He was fantastic tonight and because we don't care for Geelong, him dining out on them tonight was good to watch I found myself wanting him to keep up his dominance. Really strange but I feel that way about Hogan all the time. And Neal-Bullen It's hard to hate premiership players

We're lucky we've got Jason Taylor Even if he just drafts enough talent for us to stay relevant (as a minimum) But ultimately, you need lots of Stars to win big 2021 we had 5 AA's and another 4 or 5 who went close to AA honours The perfect storm and most here watched the GF at home

Cats will probably play finals but they're not a threat for the flag (they've got 10 home games at Kardinia Park) The 2 Queensland teams have talent to burn as do Sydney. Absolute midfield dominance and their mids kick goals

Ha ha! Swans & Suns will take some beating but the Blues & Cats aren't much chop We might make a run from 9th or 10th 1988 is best remembered for the heavy GF loss but I remember that year for the run we went on from round 22 onwards (we had to beat 2nd placed Carlton just to make the finals and then won 3 finals from 5th spot to make the GF) We weren't a great team but we still made the GF