deelusions from afar

I might be in the minority here but I feel like Salem hasn't improved greatly this year - I just feel like he has a better team around him so what he does comes off more / gets noticed. I feel like Salem has been doing what he is doing now for years and has been criminally underrated.

Not defending Kane but I'm not a fan of the long term contracts. In this case I think it's probably ok because right now it builds stability and adds to the good news story snowball for us and he's (reportedly) being paid much less than other clubs would be prepared to pay him. Having him locked away for life does so much for membership, for being a destination club and to put to bed the rumours that would otherwise have plagued Melbourne and Petracca his whole career. But that's probably my Melbourne Bias talking. Other than Dusty, there's not too many 7+ year deals that have worked for the club and plenty of them that have gone the other way (or at least so far) e.g. Grundy, Kelly etc. Hope to the (Demon) Gods that it works out for us / him.

about Trac's contract?

Yeah Lloyd brought it up. Was interesting to note their coverage of the Fritsch incident as well compared to On the couch. All saying Fritsch should have got a week and no comparison with the Dangerfield GF incident. I actually think Fritsch should have got a week (and Dangerfield as well) - but have noticed that having the likes of Lyon and Healy on fox footy and the radio does a lot to ensure the Melbourne view is presented in the media. I think this is pretty valuable.

Loved seeing the start of footy classified where they spoke about the long term contracts after looking at the Petracca. Eddie talking like he knows how to manage these things by talking about Pendlebury never getting a long term deal but him staying at the club for 12 years. Then also went on to say how the long term deals can change the player - they feel the pressure or lose the drive to perform. Coming from the guy who was the president of the club that had to have a firesale at the end of last year. I'm not generally in favour of long term deals like this so I think the criticism is fair... but coming from Ed is laughable

I wouldn't hold the weekend's game against Brown - our midfield was a bit out of sorts (as was our backline) and the conditions always make it a bit of a strange match in Hobart. It will take a little bit of time to build chemistry with the mids and other forwards but a fit and firing Brown is more damaging than Weid (or anyone else). If he looks out of sorts after a few games then its a luxury to have Weid waiting in the wings! What I found interesting was that we seemed to play better after TMac went back - was that because we were too top heavy with both of them forward (and one of the rucks?) or did the midfield get back on top? Will be an interesting couple of weeks.

I was thinking about this as well - the pies prob need to move De-Goey on unless he find some consistent form this season. They need draft picks but a ready made key forward they need more than anything. I wouldn't want to lose Weid but I do remember De Goey destroying us with Cox in 2018 and thinking that he has a higher ceiling than Petracca. Since then their careers have gone in opposite direction. If at the end of the year Weid or TMac said they wanted out (because they didn't finish the year in the team), I wouldn't be against this if he could fit in the cap.

Happened to be flicking round different radio stations this afternoon and landed on 3AW with Gerard Healy - he did a big start to the segment all on Kozzie. He can't help himself! But it was great listening as a dees fan. A couple of points he made: A lock for the AA team if he keeps up this form Couldn't remember a better 1st / 2nd year player in all his days as an AA selector. Similar stats to Cyril in his second year in terms of averages but averaging 2 goals a game (rather than 1). He then asked his co-hosts (Richo and maybe scoop maclure) what they thought of Kozzie before starting the interview with their guest Stewie Dew by asking him about how good Kozzie is. Was a good listen!

Might not be popular on here, but I think there is a good chance Harmes will come in for Viney to play the defensive midfielder role as he has done this before and Sydney have a number of midfielders that are damaging clearance players (Kennedy, Parker, Florent). Alternative is obviously Sparrow who would be more deserving - but I don't know if I've seen him lock down on a player in the way the at Viney / Harmes have.

Not saying he's in the same league but doesn't Majak do both of these already?

Have a look at the one-eyed sydney supporters comparing it to the fritsch incident: ?? https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/sydney-swans-vs-melbourne-demons-saturday-may-8-mcg.1265792/page-9

What about Koutoufides - I see a bit of that in him

dislike but agree

Who has the pies first pick this year?

I don't think you can blame McDonald solely for his form in 2019 / 2020. He had injuries, was clearly asked to bulk up to play a key position forward role he wasn't suited to and was asked to carry the forward line when the team was playing poorly. I don't think Weid / Brown would have necessarily done much better. TMac has always performed better when there are other tall targets in the forwardline and given his running capacity, I think having a mix of Brown / Weid / Jackson in the team will allow us to get the best out of him.

True but also for him he may want to see good form from the team for more than 6 weeks. When Simon Goodwin had his contract extended at the start of 2019, many "experts" had us as their favourite for the flag, champion data said we had the best list etc etc and then we had a terrible season and missed the finals the following season. If we're cautious as supporters, I wouldn't blame Petracca if he wanted to see a bit more for committing to the club long term when his contract doesn't expire for another 18 months.

Emotion aside, if you're Trac why sign now? He's not out of contract till the end of next year. Unless he gets injured, his value is going to continue to rise and until we make finals and win finals, we (and he) doesn't know if our current form is a flash in the pan or if we have really turned the corner.

I reckon very high chance that one of Bedford or Chandler will play on Sunday if Jones and Melksham are both out.

Just saw the interview BBB did today that's on the club website. We all know he can play - but gee he also speaks well. You can tell by what he says that he's very aware and humble - would have to be great for our culture. How the Roos let him go for next to nothing I'll never know.

All makes sense but I get the feeling that Goody would like to try playing them all to see how it looks. And if ever there was a game to try it, this would be it. I don't think it would work as we would lose too much of the ground level pressure - but we are in a unique position of having a large number of big men with great aerobic capacity. There is a parallel universe where this type of lineup means we are dominant in the air all over the ground and become unstoppable. I don't think this will happen but if when you're 6-0 and playing the bottom side, it is worth trying some things to see if we can get even better.

In '18 and '19 we roughly signed another 4k from this point so with more wins and hard work it should be doable - would be an incredible achievement!

Agree although I think it's more about positioning eg They don't want Lever dragged back to the goal square - if that's where his opponent goes then someone else will pick them up. I feel like it should be fairly easy to exploit this type of approach but many teams like us manage it pretty effectively - I think it's also why it's harder for Jetta and Lockhart to stay in the team as they are more likely to be shown up for height regardless of their relative strength and determination.

I think I read a stat that Thommo has only lost one one-on-one this year. Is that right? Incredible if true.

All of these amazing stats - undefeated with players queuing up to get a game with hot VFL form - I don't know what to do with myself! Very strange feeling!

It does tell us a bit with us, doggies and port in best shape atm.