Macca

MVP - Sam Darnold ! (wouldn't that be something)

I always thought we were 4 or 5 top players short in that era So, outside of our best players, the rest were sometimes very good, sometimes ok and sometimes not that good But thanks for all the uploads, Gonzo. Kudos

McAdam is now just a depth player anyway. And like every other club, there's plenty of depth players that occupy a team's list (there's 100's of them) Many started out as potential top players but it hasn't worked out. Even in premiership years, up to (or more than) 10 NQR's are occupying a list at every club (180+ in total) It's not worth breaking a sweat about it. Recruiting is an inexact science and there's hits and misses My way of looking at it, is that a club needs about 16-20 top players (out of the 45 odd) in order to contend So how many top players have we got? Potentially, 15 - 18 Absolutes? Right now, 5 or 6 (and that includes Steele)

If Viney has acute Achilles tendernitus then he either needs a lot of rest or an operation. Either way, he's going to miss a lot of games by the looks of it Speaking from experience it's a nasty injury and quite debilitating ... one minute you're feeling fine and next minute, there's the burning pain again To overcome the injury I took 18 months off sport (enforced) and only ever wore flat soled runners (Dunlop volleys) *Not a Doctor

The big positive is that we embarked on rebuilding the midfield in the 2023 off season and have continued on that path. It's as if we saw the departures of Oliver & Petracca coming (and foreseeing the long term injury to Viney) If we had rested on our laurels and kept faith with the old breed, we'd be in real trouble. The replacement midfield lacks experience but a base of Steele, Kozzie & Rivers gives us something to work with and add-to (along with, down the track, Viney) However, the other 2 areas of concern is a functioning forward line and to a lesser extent, the backline. But we've recruited players to strengthen both areas I reckon we'll be ok down back if Lever, Turner, CJ, XT, Petty, Howes, T-Mac (back-up) & Salem can all stay reasonable healthy. If not, we might leak goals A more mobile forward line will probably see us play only a maximum of 2 bigs in the forward line (Checkers & JVR) ... the rest need to be fleet-of-foot and constantly presenting. A 3rd tall up forward is unlikely Checkers plays the traditional key forward role but JVR needs to play a more roaming CHF type role (similar to a HHF) Fritta, Melk, Chandler (HHF) & Latrelle the mainstays with Culley, Kolt, Kozzie & Langford pushing forward as add-ons And the delivery into the forward line needs to be crisp & precise. But it's a work-in-progress so it's going to take a bit of time to get right If we can get all 3 areas functioning well (or at least reasonably well) we can win 10 or 11 games And build from there As @Bombay Airconditioning mentioned above, there are a lot of middling teams that are quite beatable We may not be pushing for a top 4 or top 6 spot but neither are the Saints, Blues, Bombers, North, Tigers, Port, Eagles or Pies, in my view And I'm not convinced that the Crows, Freo, Doggies, Giants or Sydney are genuine premiership threats We can beat a lot of those teams if we can bring our best and have a good run with injuries

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Don't disagree with you but the midfield was way below par last year and copped a number of pastings Oliver, Petracca & Viney did very little with the ball apart from turn it over with their scrub kicks or long bombs. Petracca was far more useful up forward Two are gone anyway and to be honest, we won't miss Viney apart from his attack on the ball and ball winning skills (which of course, can be a real asset) But a fit Jack Viney would need to dramatically improve his disposal. He's in the starting 18 but we need to feed off his disposals and Jack needs to feed it out quickly by hand or by foot (once he recovers from his Achilles complaint Here's how I view how a modern, functioning midfield should operate (for general consumption) Quick handballs and quick kicks to position using all the angles are the new order-of-the-day for midfielders. Diagonal kicks for the highly skilled So wasteful midfielders are a thing of the past and the only way to fix the issue is to bring in mids that use the ball well. Those who can only bomb it long are surplus to needs 2-way running and defensive skills are essential as well, of course But it's getting to the point where teams will hang on to ball outside of the 50m arc until they find an opening. Pass, pass-pass, pass-pass, pass-pass, like soccer ... the alternative is kick it long, risk turning it over with the opposition scoring on the rebound/sling-shot Kicking long for a stoppage is the old way (the Melbourne way) and it's outdated Pardon the pun but we need to play the long game with a remodelled midfield (patience/time) Rivers, Kozzie, Steele, Windsor, Langford, Lindsay, Langdon, Kolt, Culley & Sparrow can all play but can any combination of 3 or 4 of them function as a unit? Time will tell 2021 Midfield - A Grade Elite (which suited the order of the day) 2025 Midfield - B- or perhaps C+ (well below modern midfield standards) So the 2026 Midfield doesn't have to be that good to more than match the 2025 midfield Internal discussions on improving the midfield (and how it functions) might have happened as early as 2023. Just a guess

If we're to get to 10 or 11 wins and therefore a possible spot in the finals, we're going to have to start the season reasonably well ... we can't be 1 & 5 or 2 & 6 Senior players need to lead the way if we are to have any chance of being 5 & 6 or 6 & 6 at the half-mark It will also be exciting to see the development of the young players but the expectations are tempered. We can't expect the young players to win games for the club, that's the domain of the senior players And the only way is up, as the last 2 years have been abysmal in terms of the output of the senior players (as a collective) They need to lift!

My tip ... Seattle 7-12 @BDA @Go the Biff @ElDiablo14 @Gorgoroth @Dee Zephyr @layzie Leaderboard Tipping Comp 22 - Macca 20 - BDA 17 - Go the Biff 16 - ElDiablo14, Clintosaurus 15 - Gorgoroth 9 - Dee Zephyr 2 - layzie

I reckon we went cold on Houston early. And there's always a fall back position anyway. I'm not sure we're big on Humphrey now either There's a lot of talk but a lot of talk is bs I'll take the 8+ first round picks over 4 off-seasons and if you reckon we didn't plan for an outcome like that, fair enough. But it's a lot of picks I'll give credit where credit is due but we've also done a lot wrong which isn't necessarily related to list building or recruiting

In effect, we started getting back into the 1st round of the draft (with multiple picks) following the 2023 season. So we're already there I'll give the club credit for seeing the writing on the wall and at least acting on that thinking But will Windsor, Kolt, Langford, XL, XT & Latrelle all become stars? Let's hope so *And right now, we've got another 2 first round picks in the 2026 Draft. I wouldn't rule out garnering another 1st round pick for the 2026 Draft

I'm not sure that the mood around here was similar (with regards to comfortably defeating the Hawks & Cats in the first 2 weeks of the finals) I reckon the thinking was that we might win a final and therefore play 2 finals. For some (or many) just making the finals was a huge relief All things considered, winning 2 of 3 finals in 2018 was a decent result (certainly better than 0 & 2, two years running ... 2022 & 2023) And we got stage fright in the PF against the Eagles but that loss and the finals experience in 2018 was invaluable 3 years later 🏆 *2018 > 2022 or 2023? I say yes. I look back at 2018 with fondness, not regret 1990 was the one that got away and perhaps 1998 as well (we got stitched up with the more difficult PF in 1998)

Fantastic match-up for the game in Melbourne. A lot of the overseas games are ordinary line-ups but not this one Tickets won't be cheap though. You'll have to pay a premium price. I'm betting the game will be a sellout, all the same

Neglected to highlight that 22 teams is too many teams for one comp. Just guessing, but the way it is set up might mean that certain teams may not meet each other

So the 2 big victories in 2018 was the surprise result, not the actual reaching of the finals 2021 was winning the actual flag. Hardly a soul here or elsewhere was predicting that So how does that relate to this season? It's hard to see it, but we could have a very good year in terms of wins based on the unpredictable nature of things One of the first things that needs to happen is a great run with injuries ... but Bowey & Viney being out for a good length of time is not a good start!

I wouldn't call it broken ... more so disjointed, rjay And the Northern States reserves teams (along with Tassie & Southport) are here to stay. They may as well add a few teams and have 2 divisions (Canberra, NT, FNQ, Bendigo, Ballarat & Albury could be added) That would bring the total number of teams up to 28 (14 teams per league with the winners of each league to play off for the overall best team) Subsidised by the AFL to cover all the costs & salaries A 22 game season with just the 1 bye per team thus, aligning itself with the AFL

The surprise in 2018 were the first 2 wins in the finals ... similar to 1987

We were surprise finalists in '87, '98, '04, '18 (?) & '21 (?) ... in a general sense 2026?

Well, if you're right, it might put another urban myth to bed Google doesn't help although there is a vague reference to Carlton The following from DemonWiki gives us a solution ... @Demonstone below beat me to it https://demonwiki.org/Robert+Flower#:~:text=The%20frail%2C%20short%2Dsighted%20Flower,lenses%20during%20his%20senior%20career

3rd & 4th get the double chance which is a big advantage over 5th & 6th 3rd & 4th also get the chance to win a QF and then straight through to a PF with a week off 5th & 6th no such luxury

Not enough to justify having 7th or 8th in the finals. Yet over time, it's been accepted that 7th & 8th should be part of the finals Top 6 would be my choice but I'm not running the sport. If I was, then the top 10 would be operative

7th to 10th are making up the numbers but we are getting extra representation & extra finals for a number of reasons Maintaining interest with fewer dead runbers Giving supporters hope Keeping Ch7, Foxtel & Kayo happy Not jeopardising potential revenue Not giving Rugby League a leg up etc etc etc The teams 7th to 10 haven't been added to give those teams a chance to win the flag (in my view) How many teams that have finished 7th or 8th have advanced to the Preliminary finals? Is it the Bulldogs only?

A conservative view could be that finishing 9th or 10th gives a chance for a team to play 2 finals And right now, I'd take 2 finals in a heartbeat for the Demons (I'd say a 25%* chance of finishing 9th or 10th) Normally, the aim is often solely the Premiership but with a final 10, different goals are created And under the old system, finishing 7th or 8th was no great shakes anyway. So it's really 4 teams making up the numbers (Doggies outlier premiership aside) A team being a possibility of playing 2 finals adds experience to the group for future years (as 2018 did when we played 3 finals) Aiming for 9th or 10th might not seem all that ambitious, but it's a stepping stone at least, and it gives supporters hope *Currently $3.75 with the bookies to finish top 10 (gamble responsibly)

I've got much the same team but with one less tall back ... so T-Mac out for Salem (if fit) I'd find room for Heath as I reckon King will prefer a proper back-up ruckman ... which means Max and the big blonde can spend a bit of time forward. Jeffo out as he would then be surplus to needs If Mihocek is fit he plays which means both ruckman can drift back or more bench time. Culley can push forward as an alternate Others here have included 3 tall forwards in their teams but I can't see that happening. We need a more mobile forward line and more defensive pressure up forward With the possession* game extending all the way into the forward line more regularly, a more medium-sized forward line is therefore required *We're seeing less and less long kicks into the forward and that trend will probably continue ... so teams run it into the F50 or handpass or short pass it into the F50

We don't want any sort of noise though, bub However ... I doubt that Steven would have been a high priority for selection especially if we want to build a backline for the future (and there's plenty of candidates for the 3 tall backs required) If anything, the decision has now been made easier (not picking him) Remembering that he was told to look elsewhere in the off-season, so that doesn't mean he'd be assured of selection anyway. In fact, my reading of that is that he's playing in the 2's unless we get a rash of injuries The watertight contract means the money is assured, but playing seniors? And with the longer contracts being handed out League-wide, there are going to be plenty of veterans still contracted when their use-by date is expiring. That's pro-sports