deelusions from afar

He was definitely a huge factor in our premiership - although I don't think May when leaving the Gold Coast was in the Butters / Humphrey / King level. He was a club captain, sure - but for the worst team in the league. No All Australians, known to be undisciplined (got reported a lot) and wasn't seen as a player who is or could be a top 5-10 player in the league. I think the level he played at 2020-2024ish was much higher than most would have thought he was capable of playing at on a consistent basis.

I agree - That team has way too much talent in it and we should try and snaffle a few that are not playing in the positions they want. Walters is not (yet) a mainstay in their side!! And even has to ruck! Was surprised that one of the footy shows - classified or couch - were asking questions about where he's at. It was his first game for the year and he kicked a few and definitely showed a bit. Clearly has loads of talent. Having said that, i think if King leaves then there will be a spot for him every week and so is unlikely to go anywhere. In terms of targets, as nice as a King, Butters, Humphrey, Bailey etc would be, other than Jeremy Cameron, I can't think of too many big signings that have worked out in terms of getting a premiership. I think often it disrupts the salary cap and maybe the locker room as you have to pay overs to get someone to come to you. Obviously easier said than done, but I think better bringing in players that fit your needs (we did this pretty well last year) rather than the biggest names in the trade period Eg Pies before their flag got Hill, Frampton, Mitchell, McStay - the first 3 played a big role in their GF, Hawthorn bringing in Barrass and Battle, Brisbane bringing in Dunkley at end of 2022.

Left field suggestion - bring in Heath to give Gawn a bit more of a chop out. Surely Gawn can't keep this level up all season. Appreciate its very hard to drop anyone from the team that took care of Goldcoast and there's a bunch of players coming back from injury / performing at VFL level - what a great problem to have!

I feel like this was a stitch up - all three options were terrible. anything that adds white / grey / silver to the jumper gets a thumbs down from me (unless part of one the indigenous ones that have additional colours)

Not doubting the intel but seems a bit unfair that they say he was dropped and he's carrying something . Doesn't that impact his standing / reputation? Or is it more that they don't want opposition to know (surely they can work it out if that were the case)?

Moose will get his chance but I hope and am pretty sure it will not be this week. The first 4-6 rounds are typically far more frantic in terms of speed and running required. If Max can get by with a chop out, that vastly improves the running capacity of our runners. Personally I'd swap Lever for McDonald as I'm not sure Lever or Disco could take Traecy when Petty goes into the ruck. But I'd be surprised to see this happen.

I LOVED the flamehead as a kid growing up.... but when I see it now it reminds me of all the terrible dark days of the MFC... though potentially it got much worse after they changed it to something else.

What a fun day Sunday was. Love the attacking game style - it matched the talk we had heard all pre-season. But it made me reflect that we might need to re-calibrate our expectations for our defence this season. The reality is that we are going to get exposed a number of times each game when we turn the ball over / certain risks don't come off. Our defenders are going to look helpless and even hapless at times compared to what we are used to. I'm not Lever's biggest fan, but he has copped it from a lot of dees fans here since Sunday. When it's about his disposal then that's fair enough but I think when it comes to one on one defending / guarding space / have the defence setup when the opposition counter attacks - we're going to look very different this year. Lever, Petty, CJ, Disco etc are all going to be under more pressure than we're used to seeing for our backline and their opponents are going to get better looks than what we've come accustomed to. So let's keep that in mind we're critically analysing the game / who has / hasn't performed etc. Interested in others thoughts.

Thanks for the update - I'm so confused about this when it seems like the MRC are no longer keen?

Interesting that King and co had him ear marked for this role about a month ago... hence some time down back in the practice matches. I get the feeling King wouldn't want any player to be a designated stopper in the team - it's about getting the best matchup on the day. So will be interesting to see what role Kolt plays under King when / if he doesn't have a run with role. Really want to see him make it - I think he has "something" whatever that is. It's amazing with a bit of belief / confidence how players can transform.

This is really promising obviously - but it does surprise me. I've got high hopes but given he missed all of last year, the pre-season games and was not a regular prior to last year, it's a surprise to me he could be a lock for round 1. Maybe they know he's the best equipped to deal with a dangerous small forward by a long way? I assume he would go to Higgins this week if he plays?

I miss you Benny Brown

Interesting in his interview on SEN today he was not wanting to commit to Latrelle debuting this week (when presumably unless there's an injury he's in) but also when asked about Nasiah and said we would back our whole system in. I always thought Goody didn't play many games with this sort of thing and if he said something about selection or strategy it was pretty spot on (maybe why he tried to give so little away). Some other coaches deliberately mislead - maybe they think it will give them an edge on their opponent. Will be interesting to see how King goes with this - surely after the weekend, it makes sense to have someone run with Nas this week.

I'm not too phased about media asking questions about Trac and Clarry. They were probably our two best players for a number of years including our premiership year and were subsequently traded out. From the outside, this is what is most interesting about Melbourne for a neutral supporter. This talk will disappear pretty quick if we can demonstrate a new playing style and snag a few early surprise wins.

Haven't seen much of pre-season training but with the extra bench spot I would think the big Moose (Heath) should get a go. He did ok up forward for the saints last year and at his size can be a good get out kick (hopefully we see less of that with the new game plan but it's always needed from time to time). If Moose fails to fire, I'd think it would be a mix of AJ or JVR. Surely White needs some years to develop. Haven't heard of Culley doing any ruck work at training - seems to have come from a random article (maybe not researched) but I stand to be corrected. What is more interesting for me is that if Moose plays (presumably spending more time forward than in the ruck), and Mihocek plays, surely there's only room for one of JVR, Jeffo and AJ - especially if we have Melksham and Fritsch in the mix. Playing fast football in terms of ball movement will require fast forwards (with lots of repeat efforts) - will be interesting to see who is the preferred option at the end of pre-season.