poita

Forget the final margin, that was as bad as we have played since probably the GWS game. The Dogs gave us every chance to win that game and we still couldn't do it. Goodwin had another shocking day in the box. I get that he can't play for the players and he is limited somewhat by the players available to him (although our abysmal depth is certainly his responsibility after four years running the show (three as senior coach). However he just lets us down in the same ways each and every week: playing unfit players (definitely Jetta, and probably Lever as well (zero touches in second half) playing his favourites regardless of form (Hannan (3 touches), Hibberd being slow to make obvious changes (Fritsch forward, May forward) or missing changes completely (Harmes to Dunkley or Bontempelli, Gawn playing from goal square) terrible game plan and game style I thought Viney was good, Salem and May solid, Petty a clear positive and Petracca good for 3 quarters. Gawn was okay, but probably underachieved given the opposition. I didn't notice Oliver except for when he stuffed up a certain goal in the 2nd, Brayshaw was awful. Hannan was invisible (read: lazy) yet again; Dunkley not much better. Neal-Bullen has no skills and no goal sense. Preuss was poor forward and in the middle - he still should go to Alice Springs, but only because WC have two strong rucks. Jetta continued his miserable season and needed at least two more weeks in the VFL. Lever is hugely overrated (see first Dogs goal as example #1) and Hibberd is pretty much done. Jones was terrible. I rarely mention the umpires, and they certainly didn't affect the result, but they were truly awful both ways yesterday.

What's wrong with Weideman? This really highlights the stupidity of relying on Smith as a backup key forward - he is never available when you need him.

To be fair, Goddard wrote the first part of the article, down to the Ed Langdon photo. Everything else is from Jay Clark. I don't see anything wrong with Goddard's contribution, and most of Clark's contribution has been discussed previously.

Weideman's big problem is that he doesn't consistently do the basics well, which means that he feels the need to compensate by doing something spectacular. Most of us would be delighted if he could give us two lead-mark-goal plays a game, coupled with some decent defensive work. But when he is dropping relatively simple marks in front of his eyes, or spraying set shots, I wonder if he will ever consistently operate at the required level of intensity.

I don't rate Spargo, but there are two significant issues here: 1. We have so many players who show glimpses at AFL level, but drop away completely for the next 2-3 weeks when they head back to the VFL. Spargo should be dominating at that level from week one if he is going to be a decent AFL player. We need to look at how we manage players when they are dropped from the senior team. 2. Spargo has been tried over and over again as a small forward at AFL and VFL level this year, and it is simply not working. Try him in defence, try him in the middle, play him as a tagger, just do something different to break the cycle. Ideally let him get some cheap touches across half back and build his confidence back up.

Cool, let's play Max until he suffers a major injury from overwork and then maybe we can give Preuss a run.

Good luck Kyle, just do your bit and you'll be fine.

Wins and losses are irrelevant to me at this point of the season. I will particularly get no joy from beating an under-manned Carlton by 1-2 goals. What I do want to see is something different from the coach over the last eight weeks (not all at once, but progressively over this period), including: Salem to play a full game in the midfield Brayshaw to move back to the midfield Oliver to have more kicks than handballs Neal-Bullen to be moved to the wing or a defensive midfield role Spargo and/or Kennedy-Harris to play in defence, at Casey initially and then perhaps in the senior side Viney and/or Jones to play permanent forward to provide much needed defensive pressure Fritsch to return forward Hore to be tried on the wing May to play forward at some point, perhaps to swap with Weideman if Weid is not getting a kick Preuss & Gawn to share ruck work 50/50, so Gawn can rest forward Hibberd to find form at Casey. Ditto Hannan. No need to rush back Jetta, Melksham or Lever. Get games into Dunkley, Baker, Lockhart & Petty. Put a line through T.Smith, Maynard and Wagner x2. Lewis can have a farewell game in our last MCG match.

We fill in the surveys each year but never get a response or any feedback. I understand that on-field performance will fluctuate, but nothing seems to change off-field regardless of the survey results or feedback. Communication to members has always been poor, but it has been totally absymal this year. Couple that with the dire on-field performance and I really wonder the club hopes to gain from this survey.

I really hope that is not the case, because Brisbane's woeful kicking for goal was the main reason we were still in the game at half time. We got smashed in the clearances all day, particularly from the centre bounce, and had far too many useless handpasses. If that is in any way what we have to look forward to next year, it is going to be another miserable season.

Not sure about a full rebuild, but I've been saying for the past two draft periods that we need to add more quality kids on to list. Hold on to high draft picks, and use them wisely to fill holes in the list. I get the May recruitment, but I always hated the Lever deal. Draft picks in the first two rounds should only be used on genuine midfielders and key position players. Turn over the NQRs on a regular basis, rather than giving them 5-6 years to show something. Hit the state leagues hard to find guys who can come in and play roles straight away (eg Lockhart) for the last few spots on the list. A T.Kelly / Stewart type late blooming, A grader would be a bonus. The coach needs a kick up the backside. If he doesn't have an experienced mentor outside the club, he needs to get one. A massive turnover of assistant coaches is required, and we certainly need a better alignment between the list managers and the recruiting staff.

I was amazed that Goodwin didn't try something different in the middle at any stage. Salem was definitely one that could have gone through there, at least he can tackle occasionally. Harmes should have been tagging Zorko from the first bounce. Jones looked lost in defence, and could have moved up the ground. I must admit I also thought May could have had a spell in the middle, as Hogan was used at times last year. At least it gives the opposition something different to contend with.

I'd be more concerned if we have a narrow, uninspiring victory over Carlton that allows Goodwin to keep on pretending that all is well (see wins over Hawthorn, GC17 and Fremantle for precedents). At least there is no sugar coating the result when we lose.

Don't be silly, those are all completely unrelated injuries. Just like Jetta missing most of the season with a knee injury that is completely unrelated to the knee injury that he was carrying previously.

I'm an Oscar McDonald fan, but this naming of players without adequate form or match fitness behind them has got to stop. It has cost us multiple games already this year and is sending a horrible message to players who are working hard at Casey but are having players leapfrog them into the senior team seemingly on a whim. How Hannan has retained his place is beyond me - he is a total passenger at the moment. At least Spargo looks interested occasionally, even if he doesn't have Hannan's ability. I assume Hibberd for J.Wagner will be the only change, with C.Wagner to travel as the emergency. O.McDonald needs to play at Casey this week and get some confidence back. I don't see any value to playing Lewis unless finals suddenly become a reasonable chance later in the season.

I'm amazed he lasted 14 weeks.

I am not a massive fan of Aaron Vandenberg as a player, but I can certainly accept that some of our best football in 2018 was played when he was in the side late in the season. By the end of this season AVB will have played just 7 out of 69 AFL games across three seasons, an appalling return for a player who will be 28 before next season starts. Give that, I am surprised at the radio silence surrounding his continued absence and ongoing injury issues. I would like to know: 1. Is AVB's current injury related to overuse or to a single, unavoidable event? Did we push him too hard to return in 2018, or again through the 2019 preseason? 2. Given AVB's injury history and Sydney's reported interest last year, on what basis did we offer him a three year contract? Was this in any way conditional on his continued fitness? 3. Did giving AVB a long term contract, presumably on decent money, affect our ability to retain either Tyson or Kent? 4. When did it become apparent that AVB would take little or no part in this season, as the initial reports were that he would return sooner rather than later (ie within weeks, not months)? Why have members not been kept better informed on his progress. 5. Has there been any progress made since round 1? Will AVB be able to do a full pre season, or are we still completely in the dark as to what the problem is? 6. Is AVB still in Melbourne doing rehab, or is he off working in his family business? 7. At what point do we consider paying out AVB's contract and freeing up a list position if he can't get back on the training track?

The issue is not with the individual players he is selecting, it is the type of players he is selecting. You don't win premierships with 173cm slow forwards with no tricks, and certainly not by selecting them in the second round.

So we played a player on QB who was already significantly underdone in his comeback from a serious knee injury, but who was also carrying a foot problem that may have caused him to change his running style, hence leading to this current knee soreness? Congratulations to the club on its never ending quest to achieve new levels of incompetence.

The question remains, who is Jones keeping out of the side at present? Answer = nobody. Both Wagners, Stretch, Kennedy-Harris, Neal-Bullen, Lockhart and Spargo have all been dropped this season, some on multiple occasions. None of those offers anything new. Jordon, Bedford and Chandler are miles off senior selection. Dunkley will hopefully get his chance in the next month, but is more likely to come in for Garlett, Spargo or Hannan. Jones' form has been underwhelming for most of the past twelve months, but there is hardly a queue of talented young players at Casey. It will be up to him whether he pushes for 300 games next year.

Not our worst game of the year by a long shot, but we are miles off being a decent team. The good: Gawn's game was excellent, Harmes was very good, Petracca had some good moments, May was solid first game back. The bad: Our goalkicking remains putrid. Lever and Hore spent half the day crashing into teammates in marking contests. Wagner and Spargo were their usual inept selves. Viney and Jones had zero influence on the game. Hibberd continues to struggle. The early loss of Frost was costly. The ugly: Oliver 33 possessions for 54 metres gained. What purpose did any of his touches serve? McDonald continued his abysmal form and I really can't see that he is adding any value to the team in his current role. Garlett's inability to put his body on the line - I can't believe an AFL footballer is allow to snatch at the ball whilst avoiding all contact. Tim Smith's inability to play more than two games in a row without getting injured - please delist.

Swans were keen on Vandenberg last year. They can have him and his busted foot for Jones. Vandenberg might be the better player, but he is not doing us much good sitting in the stands each week.

Lever, May, Hannan - can Goodwin find any more underdone players to bring in this week? Salem after a couple of weeks off, perhaps?

Or they could have a competition, and give $1,000 to every junior club in the country. I know mine could make good use of that sort of money.

The bottom of the barrel has been well and truly scraped clean this year. At least the inclusion of Brad Hardie means that Brian Wilson is a sure thing next year. How many of Melbourne's 1950s/60s premiership stars are still waiting on inclusion? Plus Garry Lyon should have been in a decade ago.