rufus

Maybe because of this there was no shame in being beaten by WCE. By why did we shirk it? We undid a lot of the gains yesterday. The first two finals might have started to put to bed the notion that things just get too hard for this club. Yesterday was an out and out disgrace.

We could have had wayne carey and gary ablett snr in out forward line yesterday and still would have got pantsed. If the team is prone to shirking the hard stuff your forwards will never be the difference makers.

The issue wasn't that we were in Perth. The issue was that every club in the league knows we're gettable through physicality and that we will roll over easily. If we'd have played collingwood at the G today the result would have been the same or worse. Did the players think a preliminary final might be played with the intensity of an AFLX game? I still feel for Goodwin. Reckon he's an excellent coach and must scratch his head at whatever it is about this club that just doesn't get what it takes to be successful. 34 tackles. [censored] me. How about we let the game be decided purely on talent? If the Eagles were the better team then so be it. We didn't even go close to making talent the deciding factor. We let it be decided by hunger and once it was MFC left wanting.

Collingwood turned up to Perth like a gang looking for a fight. We turned up to Perth like schoolkids on an excursion. We may not have won today anyway, but it's a perfect description of the difference between these 2 clubs. One wants to fight...one is ok with being pushed around.

Up there with 186 and 148 for embarrassment levels. We just spoiled a preliminary final for all neutrals. 34 tackles and Eagles players were at times literally walking around with the ball...bizarre. This club is still broken in my opinion.

Goes without saying that we mustn't get blown out early...if we can be within striking distance at half time our contested ability may wear them down at the pointy end. Huge test for our tall defenders. Would be a very nice day to have Lever but what can you do. 80 tackles and we play in a Grand Final.

Has anyone else noticed how well this game has been umpired? Just about the perfectly umpired game of AFL footy. Please let them umpire this way tomorrow so we can fairly and squarely work out who deserves the big dance.

24 tackles that quarter. Perfect. Same again please.

Lucky to be in front. Getting beaten around the contest and giving away some bizarre free kicks. Lucky Hawks have wasted their opportunities. Also, overall the umpiring has been nothing short of abysmal.

Obviously a huge night for the club. There are some things that I'm looking forward to finding out: 1. Do the coaching staff have good alternative plans? The way we played last week might not get it done. Knowing Clarkson the Hawks will have plenty of tricks. They'll eat our space and pressure at all opportunities. How do we break through it? 2. Our defence was excellent last week. But the individual defenders still seem to allow lead up chest marks into obvious spaces from stopped plays (i.e. when the opp has a mark or free 60m-70m from goal). Has this been addressed? This is a Hawthorn strength and they may burn us. 3. Last time we played Hawthorn they had something like 115 tackles (granted it was wet). I expect them to go 100+ tonight. That is going to make it very hard for us. The only way to counter it is by returning the favour. Do we have it in us? Been a great few weeks for the MFC. Let's hope the players keep it going tonight. At the least make it a genuine battle.

It is also driven by the fact that the wider football world sees the MFC as soft and likely to be exposed under physical pressure...and that perception has been there a long time. It's the worst label to carry in a physical sport and fans resent it because it's a bit embarrassing. Until it becomes apparent that this club no longer goes that way the underlying negativity will be there.

Huge test for this playing group over the next few weeks. Right now I agree they are what every opposition supporter likes to tell me they are...a group that doesn't like it when the physicality steps up. We've got injuries and they've got injuries. We've heard every excuse under the sun for the last 20 years, but this next two weeks will show us what this particular group is made of. When push comes to shove, will they again be the ones getting shoved? This is all about the players.

12 goals in 2 quarters to a team that struggles to score. Our problems in defence were born in the Paul Roos legacy protection era. Putting 18 men behind the ball doesn't help the individuals learn how to defend. Yeah it mitigates the damage but we have a group who do not know how to react to the contest in the back half. Positive out of the last quarter was that we didn't let our percentage get smashed. 13 wins should still make it.

Except that it does matter...because we know that the MFC will need one finals series with the excuse of 'it was our first finals series in ages so we were a bit overawed'. Now we may have to wait another 12 months to get that one out of the way.

Our 2018 team is putting together one of the most dominant midfield performances I can remember. We are constantly generating >55 inside 50's and limiting them the other way. Yet we are still finding ways not to win. Different list to 2011 but relatively similar result. The thing that $hitted me most about the crap teams from early in this decade was that it never had to be as bad as it was. A bit of pride in the jumper and the results could have been much better. The thing that $hits me about this years team is that the results could be so much better. A bit more pride in the jumper when things get tough and we could have been onto something. Might have even made the finals.

Reality is, if we had a single competent tall defender on our list we'd have played finals last year and be finishing top 2 this year. And that's even accounting for the general softness of the club under pressure. But we don't and without our high draft pick we probably have little ability to bring one in. I can't believe I'm saying this but I somehow even miss Frawley now. He seemed to put in about 50% of the time but at least he was capable of beating an opponent at times.

Yeah Goodwin could have moved Tom McDonald back but there goes one of our few effective offensive threats. Tough spot for Goodwin dealing with our abysmal tall defenders. Easiest position in football yet for the past 2 seasons we have been an absolute calamity in that area. Lever was going to help but if we don't bring in a competent tall defender (defensive minded defender) next season then our dominant midfield is going to deliver us duck eggs. Must really pi$$ the mids off watching the turds laid by the defenders.

For a supporter of any other club, if they could choose any team the be behind against in a close match in the 4th they'd be crazy if they didn't choose Melbourne. And I don't just mean the groups of this year and last year. I mean the Melbourne Football Club. The club that doesn't want to do what needs to be done when things get tough. Simple.

This club is exactly what everybody outside the majority of this forum thinks it is. Soft and gettable. Our defence is a disgrace. We are on the verge of wasting one of the most dominant midfields going around. How many games can you lose with 60+ inside 50's?

How in the front doors are the Dees $1.12 to win this match? Similar odds to last week...the books are usually very switched but this one has me stumped. Do yourselves a favour and put $50 on the purples...be happy either way...

Play that game at the MCG and have Port 8 points up at 3 qtr time...and Port will win that match by 5 goals plus. Finding a way just isn't for the MFC. We are what everyone knows we are. The most gettable sporting team going around.

We have a top 4 midfield along with a bottom 4 defence. Who knows what to make of our forward line but ultimately it is the forward line that is deciding games for us. Midfield will provide them plenty of ball and the backline will leak like a sieve despite limiting the entries...we need our forward to convert their opportunities and we win plenty of games.

Salem is outstanding at picking when to expose himself to the possibility of his direct opponent getting a cheap one over the back by getting to a contest to provide help. Has excellent timing and contests well. Jetta played as well as I've seen from him today. I thought Gawn got clear hands to a ton of balls but we don't quite maximise that with enough clean clearances. Not sure how the stats bear out but that's how it felt today. If we could maximise this area we may become consistently very hard to beat.

Tackling differential tells you everything you need the know about what this game means to both clubs. One club is bad and doesn't care. One club is terrible but do care. As it goes with this sport, the one that cares and gives more effort will win.

The biggest worry i have is the players going the full white flag on the season if we have a couple more bad losses. We have a rich history in this area. And it doesn't look good given the way the current group has just flat out given up when it got tough in the last 2 games.