rufus

Great pressure applied last night. It really is the most important thing in a football game. Interesting that we had less tackles than them but our pressure was better. Wish there was a stat published more widely that explains the pressure applied. I know on the TV coverage they sometimes show the pressure gauge which is interesting. Have heard a number of Bulldogs people bemoan that they played into our hands by kicking long and high instead of lowering their eyes, thus bringing May and Lever to the fore. The thing is, when we apply great pressure in the middle, it's much harder for them to lower their eyes. Lots more hurried entries into the 50 which is helping our backline hugely.

Our pressure has dropped way off and we're fumbling the ball in all parts of the ground. Both are a recipe for disaster against the dogs. If we get within 5 goals I'll be surprised.

Reality is we've been ordinary for the last month. Has been an amazing result to come out 3 and 1 over the last 4. Skills have dropped off in direct correlation with the drop off in defensive intensity especially in the forward half. Looked like 2 evenly matched teams today which is concerning. Don't believe we are contenders but if we make strides towards showing intensity for larger periods of games this season (which overall we have so far) it will have been a good season and a big step forward.

If a player tackles another player, it's either: - holding the man if the umpire deems the player did not have posession - incumbent on the player who has posession to move the ball out legally, via kick or handball, otherwise holding the ball, regardless of 'prior opportunity' (the opportunity was to not take posession and knock the ball forward if under pressure). Personally think this is pretty simple and will keep the game moving.

We seem to be doing well by making games into arm wrestles and making the most of the periods where the momentum swings our way. Playing that way i think we will lose somegames through inefficiency and some others when our opponents capitalise on the momentum at the right time. If we lose games while still fighting tooth and nail i don't care...been a long time since we've been able to watch the MFC play with a fair idea that we'll get a real sustained effort. That's all I ever cared about.

Time up for Melksham. Avoided contact which cost us today. We can't accept that if we want to transform into a consistently competitive football club.

First half massive concern...that our players can still come to a game with that level of intensity is baffling. Thought we'd learned and were past it. Our intensity was so bad that not only were we walking around the stoppages but North were almost walking out of them. Some guys had absolute shockers. Was Brayshaw trying to get tackled by executing as slowly as he possibly could when he had the ball today?

My view is probably too simplistic, but i think it comes down to the players finally applying the required amount of pressure for long enough. Everyone looks a better player when you are getting ball off of turnovers...it's just so much more damaging. Think our players have been incredibly lazy over many years...which translated to our bad days being much worse than they should have been. So far this year we haven't let lack of effort decide a game...we've either let them be decided by talent (by matching intensity) or have exceeded the oppo intensity. I believe the AFL is a pretty low skilled professional sport...premierships are won by the teams that go harder for longer. Not sure what has got our guys heading in the right direction, but it's nice to see some genuine fight.

It's a good point and a hard thing to do (refraining from arguing with umpires). Takes a lot of discipline and in the long run it works in your favor.

Great to see the players absorb the physicality early and then respond with a sustained effort back at them. This is something we haven't seen since Northey days. It's amazing how applying sustained physical pressure opens the game up for your own scoring opportunities. We still made bad skill errors (dropped chest marks and fumbles mostly) but because of our relentless pressure we still created good quality scoring chances. The players look like they may have finally cottoned on with the intensity. Long way to go though.

Plus a team that plays with higher intensity across the ground...which makes it easier for everyone to play better...

The team look like they're 'angry' about the opportunities they've let slip this year...great to see them showing it through on field actions.

Gee these guys really just don't seem to get it. So much talk and so many efforts like the one vs. Port last year...didn't look like there was a burning desire to make a success of the season.

My belief is that our skills look poor because of our lack of defensive intensity. When we have applied high levels of pressure to our opponents, we create turnovers in situations where we can break away and have more time and space, hence it's easier to hit targets. Our defensive intensity back, forward and in the middle is very poor.

100% right and the softness is possibly also a reflection of the supprter base...in general we don't seem to expect that much from these guys. I always think back to those reported comments made by Melbourne Storm players about the lack of dedication and professionalism at the MFC. Doesn't seem to be changing.

Like all of us, been burnt many times! I do admire those with eternal optimism though. If/when the wheel does eventually turn they will have the most satisying celebrations.

Not sure about Port before this year. But I will give you a few predictions based my sense of the kind of culture MFC have vs. some other clubs. We'll see in a few years how close my sense is: - Carlton will do better than us this year. - Hawthorn (who right now I reckon have one of the worst lists for talent I have seen in a long time) will be competitive in the top 4 before we are. - Essendon same as Hawthorn. - North Melbourne will win games against us over the next few seasons because they'll go at us physically. Hope I'm wrong about all of these and our guys are now committed to a 'compete at all costs' culture but who knows.

Sadly the Saints and now Carlton have gone past us...players look hungrier for success than ours. Pies always hungrier than us so expect them to finish above us. That leaves limited room for us in the 8 without a change to how our guys compete. For those who think Petracca and Oliver want success or will likely look elsewhere, what would define success? Only 8 out of 19 'experts' believe this team, including players like Petracca, Oliver, Brayshaw, Viney, Gawn, May, Lever, Brown all in and around their prime years, are good enough for much more than 8th. So would making the 8 be enough for a successful season for this group? I think yes.

Just going off what I've heard on here about Oliver and Petracca. Really hope it's incorrect...because if it's true then i don't hold much hope for us. Reality for great players in professional sports is that there is no legacy like winning a premiership with your original team. It generally means that not only can you play the game, but you are also a person who potentially can change and/or drive a culture of success.

Doubt there has been a premiership team in history where there's been noise that players 'want success or they'll leave'. Never heard that from players at Haw, Coll, WCE, Syd, etc. even during lean periods. Until we get the right mix of players who take responsibility for the success of this club we're not winning anything. We are way off with this group.

Who cares what people think about him. Jackson like all our players has it in his own hands whether he can be effective in various roles. Let actions talk. Unfortunately our players over the years have tended to deliver less than what they're capable of...hence commentators seemingly 'picking on' the MFC. Hopefully Jackson is one of the guys to start turning the tide.

Collingwood will re-invent. They always do. They have a highly competitive culture that we should aspire to. Can't see us being better than any of those teams, and Carlton are also ready to go past us. Despite having significantly poorer lists than ours, I expect that both Ess and Haw will go past us soon enough too. Didn't see anything from our group this year that suggests they are the ones who are going to turn the club around. We are paying way too much for underperforming senior players which is also making it harder to improve. This club need a string of seasons where we show fight and compete for 4 quarters for the majority of the seasons. Results will take care of themselves but i think it's more important that we start to shift the culture than necessarily playing finals. A more competitive general culture would help entice the kind of talent you need to bring to the club. That should be our focus. If we have another season where the players choose to take quarters and full games off we are going to suffer big time. Hope I am proven wrong and our youngers guys take a huge leap forward and help set the tone for what we all want this club to be...

Gee if the net result of his 4 year contract is $3 million out the window and jeopardising our ability to sign consistent performers like Oliver with the required contract value, all for a return of 4 years of VFL standard football, then this is one of the better duddings from a well paid player in their peak years that we've copped in recent times (and there have been plenty). I wanted them to move him on at least to show that this club is over copping that level of output from the guys who should be driving us towards the top. Even if you accept the excuses for a drop from his full capabity, he took the field many times and was unable to compete in any fashion (including tackling or even just getting the ball to ground in contests). Lets hope he can turn it around. Reckon he owes this club a bit over the next 2 years.

This is interesting and while not the intention of his comments, it does highlight what others have mentioned about Oliver. And that is, if rumours of wanting to play in a successful team are true, well so much of realising that at the MFC are hugely in Olivers control. I rate him very highly but he can be even better. And further improvement from Oliver would help us move towards the next level. Like our other mids, if his improvement was centred around how he leverages his strengths to compliment the strengths of our other mids then we would improve in leaps and bounds. I guess we'll see what he's really made of over the next 12 months.