damienjr

I will be watching with interest this week on Harvie L. He looked slow against StK and did not have a great game. That said he has great IQ and is a good ball user but up to now is not a high possession player. Not sure what position best suits him.

A big shout out to DavisJarra on YouTube for his assessment of MFC and on how we have changed as a club from the top-down and how impressive it looks. He is not a Dees supporter but boy he knows his stuff. It’s a brilliant video.

There were distinct similarities in game styles with Vic’s game against WA. The Scott / King connection.

How did Onley play? Not much mentioned about him.

Anything on the draftees Onley and Matthews?

A lot more impressive than the Carlton clip someone posted on social media

Pit stop

Have not heard anything regarding AJ during this preseason. Is he alive?

Has more similarities to Bowey than Salem imo.

??

I like him. He is exactly who we need. We’ve got grunt (Viney), system (Sparrow), and polish (Bowey), but what’s missing, now post-Tracc, is that burst-from-stoppage game-breaker who can take the ball from congestion and turn defence into attack in one step. I think that Cumming does that instinctively. He wins his own ball, breaks lines, and hits the scoreboard — a rare combo that immediately will rebalance our midfield mix.

Hey guys, I’ve got to ask you this: Melbourne gets three first-rounders for Petracca because the Suns wouldn’t trade Bailey Humphrey. So what are we saying here — is Bailey Humphrey genuinely worth the equivalent of three first-rounders? Or has Melbourne just pulled off one of the smartest list management plays we’ve seen in years?”

We are bottom 4 side with them so why would you want to keep them?

Clarkson didn’t move on Hodge and Mitchell because they were old — he did it because they’d served their purpose and the club needed to evolve. You could say the same about Trac and Clarrie. They’ve probably already played their best footy, and if they’re not fully aligned with where Melbourne’s culture and standards are heading, then age and contracts mean nothing. It’s about fit, not years left on paper.

Let’s have some perspective here. Hawthorn and Collingwood both went through this exact cycle — and it worked. Alastair Clarkson, one of the most successful coaches of the modern era, moved on Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis, two club legends and premiership heroes. People called it heartless at the time — but it reset the list and set Hawthorn up for the next wave. Collingwood did the same with Treloar, Stephenson, and Grundy — copped the backlash — and were premiers two years later. Trading a star isn’t “rolling over”; it’s ruthless planning. As I mentioned in another thread, the real mistake is hanging onto players out of sentiment and ego while everyone else moves forward. If Melbourne’s finally making the hard calls, that’s not a disaster — that’s what serious clubs do when they’re chasing their next flag, not clinging to the last one.