poita

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.

I still believe Weideman and Brown are fighting for the same spot in this team. Weideman is a distant second in that race. McDonald has done more than enough so far to hold his spot for the foreseeable future. I'm not convinced by Jackson as a forward, other than if we can exploit a height mismatch. Same goes for Gawn. Fritsch needs to lead in front of goal, but his kicking is sure to come good at some point. Pickett is a certainty. Neal-Bullen and Spargo are probably fighting for one spot if we are keen to rest Petracca or one of the other mids forward.

I think this is the issue. Going to the theatre is an event for most people - something they might do a couple of times a year, so they make it a big day / night - dinner, event, maybe a night in the city. With the AFL building up certain games as stand alone events, people will make an effort to get to a couple of blockbuster games for the year, and that is it. I've thought for a number of years that there are less rusted on fans than there used to be, and last year has probably turned even more off. People may buy a three game membership to have some connection to the club and feel like they are making a contribution, but have no interest in spending 5 hours travelling to and attending games every week, especially when you can camp out on the couch for 2 hours to see a game. Average AFL attendances have generally been phenomenally high relative to our population, behind only the NFL and a couple of large soccer leagues. Maybe this is changing to go the way of the NRL.

There are a lot of reasons why people may not be going to the football at the moment. The current rules are a significant deterrent to people deciding to go on the day or bringing friends along. I can't take my son along because I can't buy him a ticket at the same time as getting mine. The inability to choose seats is resulting in people receiving seats far worse than what they have paid for with their memberships. There are so many dumb rules in the name of social distancing and the like, but then they only have one gate open after the game to clear half the Southern Stand. Then you go and stand on top of each other on a train or tram. Maybe a lot of people lost interest last year after not being able to attend. The lack of kids at our game last week would suggest it will take a long time to get them interested again.

Assuming Melbourne win, we only need one of Adelaide or Fremantle to lose to finish top 4.

I'm not sure I would trade Gawn, but I certainly wouldn't have given him a four year extension on huge money on top of his existing deal. This club is very good at failing to read the tea leaves. Max's ruck work on Saturday was quite poor, as evidenced by the goal he gifted Andrew Brayshaw at the end of the third quarter. He definitely needs to lift this week.

Yes, pretty disappointing. Understand the lack of interest and response if it was a bunch of Casey kids playing, but the side included our AFL vice captain, two of our four most experienced AFL players and all of our 2020 draftees. The game was pretty significant in the context of our season.

I can't understand the love for Jetta here. It is embarrassing watching him trail in ten metres behind his man. A decent small forward in a decent team would have kicked at least five goals on him on the weekend. He was cooked at the end of 2018. I don't know what the answer is given our critical lack of quality small defenders, but either Higgins or Butler will have a field day against him. Hunt and Sparrow would be the others on edge - Viney has to come in if fit and probably Hibberd as well.

I didn't have the pleasure of watching the game, but that is a fantastic result for the players and the club. I was pleased when I saw our draw for the last three weeks, because it gave us the opportunity to control our own destiny. Now they must have the belief that they can genuinely challenge for the premiership over the next month. Beat Brisbane and we may well finish top four, which gives us a home semi final. From there, anything is possible.

Definitely no

Surely the Casey coach (or one of his assistants) can spare five minutes to give us a write up of the game and let us know how the 4-5 key Melbourne players went.

Thanks for organising this. I thought Gary spoke more confidently about the on field side of things, than the off field side of things, whereas I would have thought the off field side should be more his department. I get that there are limits to what he can say about the home base, but the response to the revenue question was concerning and unsatisfactory. It seems to be assumed that it is only at matter of time before we're a consistent finals side, which will see members and sponsors beating down the door, and the dollars rolling in. It's not that easy, and there needs to be a plan B and C. I would hate to see the proceeds of Leighoak (and ultimately the Bentleigh Club) absorbed by covering operating losses.

I received the text directly from the club from the same account that sends my monthly billing reminders and other information. I have a couple of reasons for thinking it was legitimate, but if it was an open site it is likely that it has been abused by all and sundry. If so, then this was an appallingly managed promotion that once again sheds doubt on the ability of the club to properly process even simple tasks. I can't wait until Anzac Eve or Queens Birthday and we can't get into the games because the club has given away a bunch of free MFC memberships to Richmond and Collingwood supporters. The site is now saying "This exclusive Community offer has closed. Please contact the club directly if you have any queries".