poita

Just long enough for the scalpers to get their tickets.

I love how ticket prices supposedly haven't increased, but the amount of tickets in the more expensive categories is much higher.

I'm okay with Harmes coming in for Jordon, as he and Sparrow have both underperformed for a while. I would love to know the KPIs that lead to Spargo being selected each week, because they clearly don't include disposals, goals, tackles, clearances or defensive accountability. The opposition's best rebounder / intercept mark is going to him at the opening bounce each week, and then basically doing as he pleases for 2 hours. My concern is that Spargo doesn't find enough of his own football to be dangerous, so he is highly reliant on his teammates being able to deliver the football to him in space. That's not our go at the moment, so he is really struggling to get involved.

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1202262/vfl-stars-come-back-for-top-of-table-clash No love for Casey today? Chandler, Bedford & Jordon all named.

I would find 11.35am a weird time for an under 11s game to start. For a marquee fixture in the country's 2nd biggest league to start at that time is just bizarre. That said, it would fit in perfectly with the joke that is this competition to have the first final to be played at 4:17pm on a Tuesday.

Our defense was so good last year that we were able to cover for Bowey's lack of size, speed and strength. This year there are plenty of cracks to be repaired, and he has been regularly exposed. I can't see him coming back in that role this year, unless we have multiple injuries. A role in the forward line will surely be his next chance, hopefully to put pressure on Spargo.

I'm concerned that Brayshaw's increased midfield time has come at the expense of Petracca. And we're certainly not getting better outcomes from centre clearances. I'd much rather see Brayshaw taking wing time away from Jordon.

If we can't beat Brisbane, we may as well give up any hopes of winning a final. They are clearly the weakest team in the top 6. We just need to keep the pressure up for four quarters, put a tag on Neale and we'll be fine.

I could copy my changes from last week. Harmes for Sparrow should be a given. Sparrow is offering nothing at the moment and Harmes should come in to tag Neale. Van Rooyen / Weideman for Spargo. I don't care how good Spargo's disposal supposedly is, he had 4 touches at 50% efficiency last night, he's kicked goals in 3 of the last 12 games and his opponents are running off him and having a field day every single week. At least another tall keeps the defence honest and will ease the pressure on Brown. Our two wings are a major concern. I don't like Petracca spending so much time forward either. Therefore Brayshaw back to the wing, Petracca into the middle and Jordon on notice.

Jackson is going to spend a fair amount of time rucking against Silvagni. Luke simply has to have an impact tomorrow night.

I'd be furious if I was the MRO or the tribunal. The correct decision was made on both occasions and should have stood. This was opinion shopping by Carlton, nothing more. It was a disgrace that the AFL allowed them to appeal, and even more disgraceful that the appeals board spent more than four hours hearing and then making an incorrect decision. The system is broken if clubs can keep on appealing at no cost. At least we know now that anything goes in a marking contest these days. I'll be disappointed if May or Hibberd don't plough through Cripps at the first opportunity on Saturday night. So long as they wave their arms in the general direction of the ball, they can do whatever want.

What's the penalty / cost for appealing tribunal verdicts? If there is no deterrent (eg extra week penalty), I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

Who are the available players that would improve our list who do not want to come to the club? Good key forwards are hard to come by, and expensive to recruit. If Collingwood want to pay McStay $600K a year, good luck to them. Franklin is 35 and wants $800K which prices us out. I don't see a Tom Lynch or Jeremy Cameron on the market this year, not even a Peter Wright. Maybe you could make a play for Mitch Georgiades, but West Coast would seem more likely. Perhaps better to save some cap space and make a play for Harry McKay next year.

Given the amount of publicity that Mason Cox attracts, I was stunned to find out he wasn't a dual Brownlow Medallist, five time premiership player and All Australian regular.

Kennedies?

This is where McRae clearly outcoached Goodwin. Collingwood were happy to use Mihocek and (largely) Ginnivan to drag May and Lever out of the play. That left Hibberd and Petty to flounder one out against Elliott and Johnson. We should have stuck to our preferred structure even if it didn't give us the match ups we wanted.

Harmes for Sparrow should be a given. We then need to bring in another tall up forward. Van Rooyen for Spargo is my preference. Spargo plays too far up the ground and too wide, and consequently is rarely a factor either offensively or defensively. Melksham can equally deliver the ball inside 50, but will also keep Docherty more honest. Van Rooyen, assuming he can stay out of Brown's way, will provide another marking target inside forward 50.

How many of Oliver's possessions benefited the team? He is without doubt a wonderful player, but most of his disposals on Friday were pretty ordinary. In particular, his reluctance to kick started a number of pointless chains of handpasses that ultimately resulted in us losing possession.

50K would be a very good result on Saturday night. We only got 38K to last year's game when we were 8-0 and playing really well at the time. If only 20K - 25K Melbourne fans turn up again, I can't see another 25K - 30K Carlton fans attending given their current form.

Every part of Gawn's set shot routine and set up is abysmal. The guy is currently our main target inside 50 and he hasn't kicked a goal since round 12. At present he'd have more chance of kicking a goal by facing the opposition goal and kicking over his head. Melksham's decision to kick around the corner on his left foot in the second quarter and Pickett's miss in the third quarter were just awful. I knew we wouldn't win after Pickett's effort.

I love Jesse and would have him back in a heartbeat, but I can't see how his style of play would suit the way we seemingly want to play. He'd be a great fit for Collingwood with their quick ball movement, but he would hate sitting in the pocket waiting to be crunched by ten defenders whilst we stuff around on the wing.

Serious question, exactly what is Jackson contributing to the team at the moment? He's getting flogged in the ruck, can't take a mark and doesn't kick goals. He wants to get paid a fortune to run around like a midfielder, but he's getting 12 largely mediocre touches a week. Not having a third ruck on the list is a major list management failure.

When you keep opening your mouth and making stupid comments, you'd better be able to perform. Ed was terrible from midway through the 2nd quarter. Very disappointing.

Well done to the 50K Collingwood fans who turned up loud and proud to an away game. The biggest game this club has played in Melbourne for 4 years, and our fans stayed away in droves. Absolutely pathetic.

Each pick has a points value. If North bid on Ashcroft with their pick 1, Brisbane need to find enough points to match that bid (less the 20% discount for father / son selections). I don't see how Brisbane could get both Ashcroft & Fletcher without trading in a bunch of picks given their current selections.