poita

Here's a tip for the simple minded who don't like this thread: don't read it, don't post in it, just ignore it. Carry on with your lives as though it never existed. Let those who want to talk about Jack Watts do so.

There are far too many Goodwin apologists on this thread. Allowing the opposition to have 1 or even 2 more extra players around the contest all day is just dumb, particularly given the lack of leg speed in the side. All it does is allow the opposition to win easy clearances, stream forward in number and pepper our defensive 50. Playing loose men in defence can be okay if those players are getting to contests and helping out their teammates. I assumed we paid a fortune for Lever for this purpose, not so he could be outmuscled by a first gamer. Having guys like Lewis and Wagner bludge around by themselves at the top of the 50 getting cheap kicks is pointless. When you are getting smashed in the clearances you need to put more players around the ball, not less. And you need to get players spreading to provide short options to maintain possession for a time, rather than just kicking down the line to a 1 on 3 contest forever.

1. I didn't watch, so didn't know we gave up a 7 goal lead (yet again) until after the game was finished. 2. We won. 3. From all reports we won't have to put up with Bugg and his appalling goal kicking for too much longer.

Lever was really disappointing on the weekend, and I suspect the club has overrated his ability to be a one-on-one defender. That's not to say he can't be a really good player for us, but it is going to require a change of plans from the coaching staff. I was surprised at how easily Jake was nudged out of the way by Ratagoulea - perhaps he needs to do some serious work in the gym. If opponents take away his room to jump, he is going to need to be stronger in the contest. It has perhaps also underrated the value of Talia in Lever's game, as a player who can beat his own opponent and organise the defence at the same time. McDonald was good on the weekend, but he is a long way from being a general. Lever wasn't alone though, as Jetta, Hibberd and Hunt were all disappointing Jetta and Hibberd are allowed the odd poor game, but you certainly notice when they are below their best. Hunt is a problem. His end to 2017 was ordinary, and he was close to our worst on Sunday. Teams have clearly worked out how to stop his run, and he needs to work harder to find space. (As an aside, if Troy Chaplin can't sort out the defence this year, he will need to find a new job, because his work with the forwards was pretty ordinary last year).

I'd be interested to know how many goals Max would kick from 30 metres out at training, because he has always been a poor kick for goal from that distance. He seems better from longer ranges when he kicks through the ball properly, rather than just trying to poke it through. This feels like the sort of thing that the assistant coaches should be able to get improvement in without too much work.

The free kick was borderline at best, but Lewis was unnecessarily clumsy and forceful given that he had Jetta in close support. The spray to the umpire was completely over the top and unacceptable by a senior player, and the 50m penalty was the right decision. For a leader, Lewis allows his temper to get the better of him far too often.

No, but we're not a great kicking team.

I think it is inevitable that both sides will get right on top for periods of games in the current era. What matters is how you deal with it. We were carved up across our half forward line in the second quarter because Geelong had an extra number around the ball and because the likes of Melksham, Garlett and Hannan didn't work hard enough to lock the ball in. With Fritsch also in the side, we have too many players who are not capable of playing four decent quarters, and who don't work hard enough for long enough. Meanwhile our extra player was often Wagner or Lewis across half back, and neither was positioned well enough or worked hard enough to make a contest when Geelong went forward. If Goodwin wants to play seven defenders, he has to ensure that the spare is someone who can read the play well and provide cover for the other defenders. Lever was recruited to be that player, so I'm not sure why he was wasted in a traditional defensive role. As an aside, Jetta and Hibberd both had poor games, and they are generally players who can be relied upon to be third man up. As others have said, we seem to want to play a certain way and are reluctant to change things, even for a few minutes, when momentum is against us. We probably should have taken out the loose player and moved them onto the ball to stop Geelong from taking easy clearances. I don't think Goodwin had a great game overall, even though we could have won the match in the end.

We have way too many players in our forward line who go missing for half a game. It's not as though they are having minimal impact in those times, they just go completely missing. I prefer Fritsch over Hannan at this point, and would much rather see us play another midfielder in his place.

1. We had ten players who did absolutely nothing, and still gave Geelong a real contest. Some of those, including Lever, Salem & Jetta, could not have played worse if they had tried. 2. We didn't throw in the towel in the second half, and put ourselves in a position to win the game. 3. Simon Goodwin gets another reminder that he is not as smart as he thinks he is, and can not afford to play games at selection.

Wagner over Tyson? Absolutely ridiculous. I was hoping Goodwin would stop playing games at the selection table after he cost us big time in the last month of last season.

I love that so many people around here believe Goodwin when he says that both will be back in 6-8 weeks, when he has been less than honest (or at best, so very wrong) on this subject in the past. I have zero confidence that Viney will play this year, and am losing faith that we will see McDonald play any meaningful part in our season either. Goodwin should just say "we will take the time to get these injuries fixed, we don't know how long that will take, we will update you when we have something definite to tell you", rather than providing a running commentary and looking like a fool or worse when his deadlines are missed. That said, I do expect him to explain why McDonald played AFLX and JLT.

If stupidity was an Olympic sport, there are a number of employees of the MFC that would be strong favourites to bring home the gold medal in their respective weight divisions. Not only do we allow Jack Viney to destroy his foot by playing him early against all prevailing medical wisdom, we allow Tom McDonald to do the same thing six months later. At least Viney's problems stem from regular season matches - the club was stupid enough to let McDonald play a shitty exhibition game two months out from the season. Given the countless half truths and outright lies spoken by everyone from the coach down since Viney's initial injury, I can only assume that we will spend the next 23 weeks enduring the same regarding McDonald's problem. Time for the club to man up and admit to their errors of judgement and give honest timelines for the returns of both Jack and Tom. PS. Vandenberg - indefinite, McKenna - indefinite. So glad my membership dollars are paying for these two to not play football for the club.

Hopefully writing Herald Sun columns is the extent of Max's media work this year. Just focus on your football, Max.

I was just thinking the other day that what we really need to make our football experience complete is for the classic songs of Carlton, Richmond and Melbourne to sound more like the putrid GC17 and GWS equivalents. Just [censored] off already Dil.

Re: Sam Weideman, I've said it before, but it has nothing to do with the number of marks, kicks and goals he has, at any level, at this stage of his career. It has everything to do with his lack of intensity, physical presence and hunger for the contest. That is something you can't teach, and it is the reason that I doubt he will make it as an AFL footballer. I'm sure Sam will see out his contract, and will probably even get a fifth year if he shows signs of improvement, but there is little doubt that we will be having the same conversation in 2020.

I wish the club would stop making statements on this matter. Since Jack disappeared from sight after round 21 last season they have given us about a dozen updates as to his progress and expected return, and all of them have been proven wrong. They just look foolish and deceitful, particularly Goodwin after his statements that Viney would play round 1.

I don't drive to the MCG, and really don't care whether parking is available or not. But to cite terrorist concerns as the reason behind removing parking is just absurd. Queues to get in and out of Richmond station, to get in and out of the ground itself, and the totally inept and disinterested security staff are far bigger concerns than the car access.

Bumping this back up. We have 8 teams in at present. Would like another 4 if possible. If we can't get Demonlanders on board, happy for friends / family to join as a last resort? As an aside, has anybody had trouble logging in to the site this year? There is a lot of wheel spinning and refreshing required for me to get in.

In all likelihood this charade will continue well beyond round 1. The club has been less than honest from day 1 about this injury, and Jack seems no closer to actually taking the field than he did a month ago.

Double post, sorry.

I would like to join.

The ground is virtually empty 45 minutes before a game, so the impact of not having a warm up on the spectators is negligible. I would much rather watch a curtain raiser, particularly one that finishes just before the main game, rather than two hours before.

I understand why we have moved on from Luna Park, but I thought yesterday was a little disappointing by comparison. There were really very few activities for kids, and no rides, and I thought they could have made better use of the players (Jordan Lewis was fantastic interacting with kids in the arts & crafts section, but far too many of them seemed to go missing for large parts of the morning. I get that it is not fun signing your name for two hours straight, but surely it is a small price to pay for making a few kids happy). My suggestions for next year: 1. Have a signing area for the big name players where you only need to line up once, rather having to line up ten different times. 2. More players helping out with the activities, engaging with the kids. It is a great way for the younger kids to become comfortable interacting with fans, in a relaxed environment. 3. More rides / skill activities. Even run a mini clinic or two. 4. Have a bit more space between activities, so that lines are not running into each other. PS. When you advertise something as being at the MCG, I was hoping it would actually be on the MCG.

Salem has been a big disappointment over the past couple of years. There is no doubt he has all the tools to be a very good player, but he needs to get his head right (like a number of his mates). Hopefully this is the year that it starts to happen for him.