poita

I thought we'd drop one of Sydney or Carlton, but am not worried about this week. If we keep doing what we've been doing, I think we'll win and win well.

Chandler was truly awful, and has no place in an AFL side. Some of his decision making and positioning was abysmal. Sparrow is probably the best option, but even Melksham would touch the football occasionally and make his opponent be accountable. As I've been saying since Brown came to the club, he and Weideman are playing the same role and cannot possibly play in the same team. I'd usually prefer Brown but, if he can't take a turn in the ruck, then Weideman gets the gig. Ideally we would replace with another mid sized forward who won't fly for marks against the other talls.

Because every SMJFL player has the option to add a free 3 game St Kilda membership to their playing registration. I get one for my son each year so that I can compare their communications with members to what MFC members get.

NRL clubs have been announcing teams on Tuesdays for years. Not sure why it is so hard for AFL clubs to commit to Thursdays.

Shine on you crazy diamond.

It is really hard to make changes to a winning side when none of the possible replacements (other than Jones & Baker) will have played a game for 17 days by the time next Sunday rolls around. That said, I don't think we played particularly well on Saturday and there are a few players who look in need of a rest or a couple of weeks at Casey. Jordon and Melksham would be the prime candidates.

I've been convinced for weeks now that Max is playing injured, and it is showing in both his ruck work and his marking efforts around the ground. Most likely it is a shoulder or back injury that is restricting his ability to get his arms up and then twist around to hit in a variety of directions. That said, our midfielders too often give up front position at centre bounces and are too often stationary. When Max is hitting to neutral areas, Sydney's midfielders in particular were much quicker to react. It was really disappointing that nobody, particularly Jordon as a more defensively minded player, made an effort to neutralise Parker at any point. Jackson's leap is making up for his lack of height, and his athleticism makes him effectively a fourth midfielder which is tilting the balance in our favour. We look far more dangerous with him in the ruck at present.

Agree re Fritsch, but Salem is sixth in the AFL Coaches Award (ahead of both Oliver and Petracca).

Bad news about the postponement, given we finally have AFL & VFL games in the right order. Is an used AFL injury sub allowed to play the next day in a VFL match, or are they deemed to have played already?

At the moment Weideman is a player who had one scoring shot in his last four AFL games last season, and who is stuck in the VFL this season because he was injured (yet again) in the pre season. Sam and his manager might believe he is worthy of more opportunities and a big fat contract, but the reality is that he is yet to make a compelling case for either. The standard of the VFL has dropped significantly, and players are going to need to do more than kick a few goals in a dominant side against poor opposition to get promoted. There is no doubt that Sam's best football is very good, but we see it very rarely. All too often we get the lite version of him, who is not strong enough in marking contests, doesn't demand the football and won't give consistent second efforts. If we can keep Weideman on a two year contract on moderate money, that's great, but I certainly wouldn't be throwing the farm at him.

I've been collecting Melbourne cards since the mid 1980s. Nothing ultra top end, but plenty of signature cards and the like. I find them a good souvenir of each season and of my favourite players.

Only the AFL could come up with a system that lets people sit in their own seats that is more complicated than the system to book tickets each week. A seven step process that can only be done two days before the game? How pathetic.

It will be weird having an injury list next year with none of Smith, Nietschke, Vandenberg and Hore on it. It probably hasn't been that way since late 2018. Sadly none of them have bodies that are able to stand the physical stress that comes with being AFL players.

Absolutely we lack depth. I rate Harmes & Brayshaw higher than most, but we drop off quickly after those two. Jordon and Sparrow are grunt players, they are never going to be top liners. You can run the likes of Pickett & Jackson through for a short term impact, but they can't play 50% or more midfield time (plus you lose their impact in other parts of the ground). The likes of Vandenberg and Melksham have zero midfield value at AFL level. Since hitting gold with Oliver in the 2015 draft, we haven't taken nearly enough midfielders and it will catch up with us at some point.

You are actually hoping that one of our players has a shocker? That's a new low, even for you. Explain to me the logic behind replacing a player who has been in the coaches votes in most games this year in an unbeaten side, with one who had one scoring shot in his last four AFL games.

Who comes up with this appalling schedule? Bad luck if you're a Casey listed player who works full time, then needs to play a game of football in the middle of the working week. Bad luck if Melbourne loses a few players at training on Friday and possible replacements have already played on Thursday. What's wrong with having the game on Sunday? And why on earth would you play it at Marvel - it must cost a fortune to open the ground for a few hundred people to turn up.

Ziebell and Hooker - that's funny.

https://womens.afl/news/71758 Both Hanks and Zanker made the final side. Note also that the AFLW B&F, Rising Star and related awards will be presented tonight. Fingers crossed for Tyla Hanks in the Rising Star award.

There was an article in the HS today that suggests that this will be the case. It seems as though this is a bigger factor in lower crowd sizes, than any capacity issues.

The club has been negligent if they haven't pursued this vigorously. A location close to each of the population centre of Melbourne, public transport and our traditional heartland ticks a lot of boxes.

Does it actually require you to make a payment, or just click the payment icon? You are making a payment of $0, so there is no issue with selecting this.

You have to pay for level 2 tickets. You will get free tickets in general admin.

I would prefer the bye before the grand final as well if it gives a clear weekend for state and local competitions to play their grand final. It doesn't really bother me if players are rested in round 23 - good luck to the clubs who have played well enough during the year to put themselves in that position.

I'm pretty sure my access is from 10am tomorrow (Wednesday). Are there multiple access levels for away club members as well?

It will be a tough midfield to break into. Are there any better rucks than Lauren Pearce going around - she seems the most likely to earn a spot. One of Hanks or Paxman might slide on to a flank or the bench, but I'm not sure there will be room for both. Not sure how she qualifies, but based on the nominees, Tyla Hanks must be favourite to win the rising star award this year. Nobody on that list has come close to her impact.