rufus

Season was pretty much summed up by that Bulldogs kick in where we let them stroll the first 30 metres (yep nice strategy) then kick to Ed Langdon in a one on one contest out in the wing, with no other players even close to that contest. He looked like a 7 year old trying to compete with his dad at the park. Embarrassing stuff. We are so non competitive in the air, often in our own D50 (unless we manage to get 2 or 3 guys up in a contest). We are a poor reigning premier...we don't seemed to have gained any of that winning know how that teams get when they succeed. Unfortunately we really do look a bit like down hill skiiers and at times it has to be said we are a bit soft (it's one extreme to the other, but the softness was supposed to be gone with our great 'new culture').

Embarrassing performance. Tomlinson not AFL standard. May reaching Maxwell lvels of finger pointing while making schoolboy errors himself. Disappointed in Brayshaw. Gets enough of it and can win a contest but disposal for an experienced player is woeful. Petracca once again not near an actual contest. Getting beaten by Ugle Hagan is a pathetic step in a premiership defence.

Where do you source the pressure rating numbers from? Ans is there a site with past games that you know of?

The raising of the white flag at the end was retro Melbourne style. Inside 50s got to 52 v 46 and we gave up the last 14 insides. With an important game on the line. Just don't think we have what it takes when things aren't falling into place for us.

Play the corridor. Make our guys contest without 3 of their buddies to help out. We are extremely overrated and are a system team that had a system that took a little while for others to work out. Corridor teams, including the appalling Hawthorn team, make us look pretty ordinary.

The first part (regarding our pressure up the ground) x 1,000,000. It's a pretty simple game really.

Still wonder why this game gets so over complicated. No team in the AFL can score well if the ball comes in with 15+ oppo players behind it. The skills just aren't good enough and there just isn't enough space for any margin of error. For at least the last 15 years, the team that wins is the one that applies the most pressure. Apply pressure, get the ball back from half back or forward of there, your kicking skills can look great and you can score (and all these fringe players that everyone thought had all of a sudden become modern greats, who have now started looking like plodders again, all of a sudden will look great again). Our pressure has been abysmal and frankly a bit embarrassing that we get outhustled by teams like Collingwood every year. This is all in the players court. Forget Goodwin, he's given them a formula to win and they couldn't have better proof that it works. If they want to go the Hollywood route and think they are above the need to apply high levels of pressure to win games then there's a big shock coming.

Biggest take out from that match is that if teams aren't petrified of kicking the ball into the corridor then the game can actually be entertaining again...just like it was 25 years ago...

Can win genuine contests (i.e. not talking about the contested posession stats necessarily, but those genuine one on one, 50/50 contests where if you win it you either drive a meaningful F50 entry for us or stop one for the oppo). Sadly outside of him, Gawn, Brayshaw and May (and probably Petty) we have too many who just can't win or half those contests.

Bingo. All this talk about 'forward connection' and how we have tired legs because we're 'loading'. Far out. Last year we applied pressure to turn the ball over in dangerous spots and got the ball into F50 quickly. This year we're applying no pressure, getting the ball back deep in D50, and then refusing to ever switch and hence moving the ball forward at a snails pace. Good luck to the forwards. The AFL is an extremely low skilled, high mistake competition where games are mostly won on pressure. 17th for pressure is embarrassing and reinforces just how far away from real cultural change we actually are.

Our style of play is so hard to watch...as a spectactle today, and last week for that matter, have just been so painful to watch that its hard to get excited. Our style can be fun to watch if our players apply the necessary pressure...but going to the football to watch a dour defensive team that relies on pressure get outhustled at basically every single contest in the match is so uninspiring. Our team right now look like exactly what you don't want to be known as...highly talented but not prepared to do the tough stuff.

This is why the talk of the 'great' culture the club has built (if they do say so themselves) in the off season was laughable. Still get done by teams that bring high levels of physicality. We look like we don't like the contest at times. Don't kid yourselves...Collingwood are a very ordinary football team who made a heap of errors today but beat us through pure willpower. Its unfortunately looking like we might be a team that played a good last quarter in round 23 last year, beat a poor finals team in week one, and copped cats and dogs with gastro bugs and traversing the country...everything just fell into line. Thankfully the flag can't be taken off us even if we fluked it. Also Petracca looks like maybe a one season wonder. So poor in the contest and so fumbly under any physical pressure (and sometimes no pressure). Also chases opponents in a manner that only Patrick Dangerfield would be proud of.

Playing this ultra defensive, slow and boring game plan is just so bad too watch when our contests and effort to get to contests are poor. It's funny how people blame the forwards but literally every time we get the ball backward of centre we slow it down and kick to contests...and we look extremely bad in the contest...

We don't look like we want it like we did last year. Lacking the will to work and compete at the level required. Shocking withdrawal from the contest at the end then against Mihochek. This feels like a loss coming and we are heading for scrapping for a top 4 finish after this.

I really just don't get the idea that we owe it to the club to go to the games. Some have made their financial contribution already and if they then choose to not use their membership to attend, that says more about the product than anything else. Most people work all week and want to do something they enjoy on the weekend, so if they don't enjoy it then why would we expect them to go? Whether people like it or not, the absolutely atrocious standard of umpiring is making games almost unwatchable. Half the time the players don't even know who a free kick is going to. They 1000% need to stop paying free kick for things that happen and do not affect the contest (unless they are deliberate). 40+ frees in a game is a joke. Also, the outstanding access that we all have to high quality sport like the NBA now just exposes the lack of quality in the AFL product. AFL teams need to move away from the ridiculous defensive schemes and back in their talent to win contests and win matches. Good defence is great to watch...but I personally don't consider outnumbering in and of itself to be a display of great defence...and that is pretty much the aim of every single AFL team...they all seem completely against the idea of ever having a player in a one on one contest anywhere other than forward 50. It's just not that enjoyable to watch.

27 frees in the whole game last week and 29 to half time this week. Have there really been that many more consequential infringements? And they wonder why everyone disrespects umpires. Once again they are refusing to let the contests be decided by the players.

Not sure what others thought but I also thought tonight was one of the best umpired games i have seen in ages. Only 27 frees in total...let the players decide the result. They didn't pay the incidental type of infringements that have no impact on the contest...which is exactly how it should be umpired.

We are very much built from the Paul Roos school of defence...which is to always try to outnumber and not need to be one out in 50/50 contests. Looked like Freo tried to shift our zone but importantly were then prepared to kick to one on one contests where many of our highly rated players were exposed all night...and Freo also worked harder to be the next number at the contest. I still think we are a side that has thrived on system more than talent...teams will do well to isolate our talent and make us try to win games by winning contests in genuine one on ones...

This x 100. The game is difficult to adjudicate...so if you're not sure it was an infringement then let it go. Do everything in your power to let the result be decided by the players. AFL games can go from one of the most enjoyable viewing experiences to one of the most painful based on the level of involvement of the umpires. Even if it doesn't necessarily advantage one team over the other, constant free kicks are an absolute spectacle killer.

A big thing for mine is that we didn't seem to fight too hard to convince guys who mighted have wanted to leave the club to stay. Players who are considering jumping ship for 'success' are exactly the kind of people you don't want at your club...especially our club which had a recent history of the tail wagging the dog. We seem to have managed to find a group of players of good character who seem to be invested in the idea that the MFC is not simply a vehicle for their own fame, but rather an important organisation that means a lot to a lot of people, and that representing this club is a privilege moreso than a right.

The Dennis Cometti call of the game is my favourite. Not so much for Dennis but for Lacky Reid calling the final siren. Captured the emotion perfectly for me. Not much of a fan of James Brayshaw, but will never forget the bang, bang, bang call on 7.

Here here. He is a winner. What length contract did we sign him to before the season?

Probably not as a player as I personally rate Oliver as the best MFC player I have seen. But for what he has been able to do in bringing this playing group together, he is the one I am most thankful for in my time following the club. At the time I thought his appointment as captain was a strange one...but I was wrong and to my dying day will never forget the contribution of Max Gawn to this football club. He is a legend.

Dogs are a great football club with a long history of scrapping and giving their fans something to be proud of. Was unusual for them to go out like they did last night...hard to say how much of it was the toll of the last month of travel and how much was just an over powering by our mids. I generally think the MFC have handled themselves pretty well in showing some class and humity in winning. Hopefully it continues club wide (including supporters).

Did Daniel stand over Max and give him a gobfull after that too? Felt like he did to me. And it felt like the moment from which we started to break them...