deelusions from afar

I get sick of this type of talk each year too when it has almost never been backed up - but makes me wonder whether its a case of the media / comms / marketing areas of the club saying that if they aren't "upbeat" about our prospects then it costs us X memberships which mean x dollars etc etc.

I agree - selfless football is great but sometimes you need someone to back themselves in and take the risks. I think where we fall down as a team if the selfless acts when we don't have the ball - gut running, shepherding etc that the best teams seem to do much better.

Great post! It's easy to forget this. I remember hearing an interview with Balme when he joined at the end of the 2016 season. There was speculations of a board challenge and they'd been woeful off field. Everyone wanted to get rid of hardwick and he somehow survived the review. When Balme said he thought Richmond were very close (like Geelong were before they won flags) he got laughed out of the interview. It's amazing how quickly things can change!

I think the opposition have done a lot of homework on us since our second half of 2018 (6-6-6 etc haven't helped either). In some respects it's easy for the opposition as Gawn wins the majority of taps so it's just a matter of analysing where he likes to hit it and nullify the player he's hitting to. I felt early on last year Oliver was usually his target and Oliver was tackled / held / scragged before he had even received the ball. After a few holding the ball decisions it lead to a bit of panicking and quick handballs / kicks which ended in turnovers. While I think the umpires should have clamped down on this, it was disappointing that we weren't able to adapt - with Gawn and Oliver (and Petracca and Viney) in there, we should be the team that is able to make things unpredictable for opposition teams. It's clearly not an easy fix but it is good to have some experienced fresh eyes looking at it in Yze. I'm hoping this is the breath of fresh air our mids needed.

Won't happen. Not a bad idea but Hunt has spent the pre-season training in the backline. With the rule changes his explosive speed from defence can be a weapon again. Our forward half doesn't look potent but I think v the dogs that was actually more about the midfield not getting it in there enough or in spots that we are able to lock it into. I'm hoping that Kozzie / Chandler / Spargo / ANB / whichever resting midfielders are there can put on manic pressure that creates turnovers. We looked ok v Richmond - lets see how we go with most of our midfield back.

Maybe - but I think you'll find that these criticisms would have been leveled at every team over the last few years. Richmond copped plenty last year and went on to win the flag.

Or they may be doing it and just might not be good enough? There's so many factors that add up to a being a successful team - recruiting, revelopment, game plan, conditioning, skills, injuries, culture etc Every club is trying their darndest to make finals and win it. You need a bit of luck and sometimes things just need to click into place. I'm not saying that's us - but I sure as hell hope it is! Maclure is dead right because it's easy. Pick any club that hasn't won a flag in more than 30 years and it's culture, it's cos they're soft, no one is putting their hand up etc etc. But he actually has no idea as he is not close with anyone at the club and does not do any research - ever. For what it's worth, I remember tralling through the Port Big Footy thread prior to our game against them last year. So many calls for their coach to be sacked, that we were going to smash them, that their season was over etc when they went very close to being a grand finalist and many think they'll be right up there again this season. Might be an interesting read for some to realise sometimes it's not as bad as we supporters think and that things can turn pretty quickly. https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/rd-9-vs-melbourne-changes.1243698/page-19

Disagree - I have heard him stick the boots into the Dees for years. He makes these big statements but really has no idea what he's talking about. I'm not saying everything is fine with our culture but I won't take notice of what Maclure thinks as I see him as a Dinosaur of a different era. If you listen to him talk about any team (not just Melbourne) he wheels out the same narratives when things are going poorly for a team - he doesn't do the research or keep up with the changes, just shoots his mouth off and that's enough to start a chain of articles. Do people seriously think that Max Gawn isn't "doing it"? Do you think the senior players aren't getting together and talking about it? Gimme a break. The AFL is a very competitive industry where 9 teams lose every weekend - we're in the preseason with half our first choice team not playing against a nearly full strength team that will be in contention this year.

I think if you look at preseason form the last 5-10 years you'll find it's generally not a good guide for how teams go throughout the season. The Bulldogs midfield (inside and outside) towelled us up last year and it will be even better this year - I rate them highly and would not be surprised to see them in the top 4. They reportedly set themselves for the game. We played them missing half our forward line (Brown, Weid, Kozzie) and half our midfield (Viney, Brayshaw, Oliver) so I don't think we need to read too much into it. Even at full strength I would think the Bulldogs would be better than us at the moment so the loss cannot be a huge surprise. Its disappointing that our second string midfielders (Sparrow, Jordan, Baker etc) did not go up a gear but I don't think we can expect these guys to carry the load - but they will be useful when they have some more experience and muscle around them. My biggest concern is that we still seem to be unsure about who will play the other wing. The biggest positive is the form of May and Lever - they look set for big seasons. If they can keep up that form, that will keep us in a lot of games while we sort out our issues forward of the ball - fingers crossed its not far away from clicking when our prime movers return.

I also like the idea of Fritsch being given a go on the wing - maybe rotating there and forward along with someone else. I like the idea of having someone like Salem (or Bowey) given time on the wing / half forward as they could do a lot to improve our connection to the forwards. However unless we see Salem given some time there or half-forward v the dogs then i'd say it's unlikely as Goody tends to have people train in a particular role and doesn't make big positional changes during the season (unless forced to by injury). Will be very interesting to see which players line up on the wing v the dogs - I'm not filled with great confidence with Baker and Jones but of course would love to be proven wrong.

What I'm interested to see is what happens when Viney and Brayshaw come back - who goes out? From last year you'd say Sparrow and Jordan. But this role that Harmes plays in the centre square is what Viney seemed to do for much of last year - particularly if you have Oliver and Petracca as the other players in there.

I heard Richo say on the weekend that the defensive part of Farmer's game is strong but he still needs to work on a few things in the offensive part of his game. I found this interesting as often it is the other way round for small forwards. I wouldn't write him off yet - given the long term injury list, I'd be happy to rookie him and allow him to battle with our other small forwards to win a spot on the list next year.

Haven't watched enough of Majak forward to know how he goes at this but I don't think being the stay at home key forward is really TMac's strength. Brown is great on the lead with his height and reach but isn't really the long range get out kick. Weid has shown flashes of potentialbut not consistently. What am I saying? It will never happen but as Max is our best contested mark, if he was playing deep forward then that would give opposition defences much more to worry about - you wouldn't actually need many more talls around him (esp if Fritsch, Petracca and Jacko are around). If I was a defender and Melbourne were bombing it in long, he would be the one I'd be most worried about.

You're entitled to your opinion (none of us really know) but if you think that a savy operator like Jason Taylor is going to spill the beans on a fan podcast then I don't know what to tell you. If you listen to his interviews, he talks up the players he's drafted as if they are the best players in the draft - I don't have a problem with this as clearly he rates them very highly. But it doesn't mean he doesn't rate other players higher - if he comes out and says "yeah we really rated Holmes and hoped he'd slip through to our first pick", it would lead to a meltdown on here - supporters would be saying we traded away next year's pick to get a player we didn't want, and for Laurie / Bowey they're essentially told the club wanted someone else. Some players wouldn't handle that very well. It's just not going to happen. It's probably all mute anyway - I for one am very happy to have two great decision makers and kickers as additions to the side. And I suspect with his freakish running ability, that Rosman has some similar attributes to Holmes - maybe we wouldn't have gone for Rosman if we picked Holmes? It might have looked more like Holmes, Bowey and Carroll. Who knows?

I don't think that's right DD. They're not going to telegraph in a club video that we missed out on who we wanted. My read is that Laurie and Bowey were always rated highly but prior to Geelong getting Holmes, they were only thinking of taking one of them. Taylor saying "I'm happy with those two" to me sounds like he is saying, that although it's not the plan they talked about these two will be a great fit. Love how Taylor goes about it - but just because he says we weren't that interested in Holmes as the media made out doesn't mean it's true - if he said the reports were true then he and all involved would have egg on their face. I think he has a list of players in order of who he wants to take and essentially crosses them off the list as they go - there's no guarantees and so given the way the draft panned out, Laurie and Bowey were good gets for us at those picks.

Some really interesting insights from that which is surprising given they only show you what they want to show you. Seems like we would have picked Holmes if he was not taken ahead of us. But as Taylor said (multiple times) - we've got the 2 best kicks and decision makers in the draft in Bowey and Laurie. Also said "they like footy more than anyone else - probably why they don't make mistakes" I'd heard Bowey talked about as a halfback, small forward and winger. Interestingly Taylor indicated he noticed some Sam Mitchell type qualities in Laurie too.

I assume they think Max is more likely to mark the ball kicked by the opponent than if it kicked by a teammate!

Would love that to be the case. We've all seen the cycle before - a young kid having big expectations on them and when they don't live up to those expectations they become the new whipping boys for supporters. Let him play first!

I agree - haven't seen him play (only seen his highlights packages) but the fact that he can run (quickly and all day), has size and can take a grab makes me think he must have a few other things to work on (otherwise why didn't he go top 10?) Like all of his cohort, he's essentially missed a year of footy - let's not put too much expectation on the kid before he's even played a practice match!

You might be right - but unless you're one of the players, how could you possibly know whether the "quiet word" from these players is any different than from anyone else. My sense is that for a young player, it would help to hear it from someone who is seen by the football world as a start of the game - which Petracca and May are - but so is Gawn. They're all doing it - does it make a difference if they're captain when they're doing it? On a related note, it think this is another reason BBB will make a big difference to our forward line - having been one of the leading goal kickers in the comp for a number of years in a row. Compare that to our previous leaders in the forward line - Melksham and McDonald who have both struggled (for various reasons) to recapture their 2018 form.

Are you just guessing what it says? seems about right

Not solely directed at you tiers as many here share similar thoughts but I think this is pretty unfair on max. Does anyone here really have a good sense of who are the best leaders at the club? People were crying out for Max to be added to be captain prior to last season and now we think he isn't the best leadership material because we didn't finish where we wanted to. It's not the be all and end all but to me it makes a difference that he's a captain that doesn't talk in cliches - love/d them all as players but Viney, Jones, Green etc never inspired me because confidence/words weren't their forte. Which you don't need to have to be a good player but I think it is important as a captain. And it's not as if Gawn doesn't back it up on the field. While he didn't necessarily stand up when we needed him most last season, we now know he was carrying some big injuries - if anything shouldn't have been playing at all. Gawn understands what it is like to struggle - with injury, in the VFL, being on the fringe of the list etc and also through hardwork has become a star of the comp. It is well documented the homework he has done on ruck craft, opposition analysis, diet and fitness to become elite - and has been at this elite level (aside from injury interruptions) since Roos final year. I'm not against Trac and May being part of the leadership team in some form - but is it really just because they were our best / most consistent players last year? If Trac can't keep it going / isn't suited to longer quarters - does he go out next season?They're big bodies and players that impact games. But I don't think so any more than Gawn - he has saved us with critical marks in defence in addition to his ruck craft consistently for years. I take your point about other captains, but in Trac and May you seem to be going for the best players in the last year aren't you? It's interesting how prior to the tiges winning premierships, Cotchin regularly got criticised as a player (his possessions don't count) and captain (isn't one of the boys / doesn't live and breathe footy etc etc) In my view, Gawn is best suited to be our captain but if we think leadership and captaincy changes is where we are going to make up the lost ground in catching up with the 8 / top 4, then i think we're on a hiding to nothing!

Yeah sorry you are right - I often get mixed up due to that last goal he kicked v Hawthorn in the 2018 final.

I disagree - I think he offers something with his field kicking ability and speed that many of our mids don't. He's obviously also very capable in the air and in one-on-one situations. Given he's a left footer, could he be a genuine option as the other winger to Langdon? I know people have said that Baker, Hunt and even the new kid should play this role but I think he offers more than Baker and Hunt at least IF he has the tank and has the desire - last two years he has looked like a player that's only willing to play on his own terms.

Yeah you only really should be back ending contracts if you are in the window or have some big contracts about to finish. I don't think either applies to the pies