The heart beats true

I’m all in on the Oompa Loompa’s.

I don’t accept that. The stats don’t say that. We lost both those finals, much more than we were beaten. That’s what makes it so frustrating.

Disorganised. Joel Smith nominated twice but the umpire said it was too late.

I got home from the ground and saw some of the post match on 7. They were reluctant to say how much he towelled up Curnow. Saying stuff like ‘probably got the better of him. May absolutely decimated Curnow. He out marked him one on one so consistently that in the last quarter Curnow was just trying to bring the ball to ground. Steven May was extraordinary in that game. He has every right to be filthy. He couldn’t have done more.

I think you can question the game plan, but you can’t question the effort. The players give everything.

You could put Dunstall and Lockett in our forward line last week and they’d have struggled. Our method going forward is about defence, and it worked for a season, but since (and before) then it hasn’t worked. I think the personnel issues are undoubtedly a factor, but our forward half connection has been an issue for all but one season. It’s not hyperbole. Every single stat highlights it.

I think in the cold light of day we aren’t playing the type of football that wins finals, and the numbers back it up. We’ve been defending our place for the last 2 seasons. We play with such restriction and tension. Everything is done through the lens of defence - because that’s what wins you finals. Except it hasn’t, for 4 in a row. The game has changed again. Our football department needs fresh faces and new ideas. We went with what we had for 3 years, and we were entitled to do it based on ‘21. Now it’s time to reassess and get some fresh thinking in. Last night was the worst loss we’ve had as a club for a long, long time. You can’t consistently get beaten by what you know. We’ve known we’ve got forward half connection problems for 7 years.

Good analysis of what went wrong…. https://www.theroar.com.au/2023/09/16/finals-fix-how-melbourne-killed-their-season-with-the-butcher-job-to-end-all-butcher-jobs/

I think it’s fair to highlight that our forward line was decimated by injuries. But I also think it highlights our list inadequacies when the 2 most important injuries to our forwards were to a guy who played most of the season in the back pocket, and another bloke whose 32. We simply need to get 2 more forwards in, and one of them needs to be a marking target. Good luck with that task. 10 other clubs need the same thing.

Will he be available at our current (Freo) pick?

You didn’t sit where I sat. I sat with the most passionate, vocal, unrelenting Melbourne supporters I’ve ever seen. This narrative about our supporters is hot garbage. We were outnumbered, but we gave everything we could for our team. On the siren that was the most gutted I’ve ever seen our supporter base. You can be disappointed in the loss, but it’s simply untrue to say our supporters are ‘shocking’.

I think Goodwin coached quite well tonight. He got the game on our terms for large parts of each quarter. The reality is that we didn’t take our chances as a team with the ball in hand. There’s not much a coach can do in that circumstance. Simon can take accountability for the game style, and movement of the ball to an extent, but those final shots at goal aren’t on him. Max just needed to stand up and kick one of his 2 shots. Fritsch the same.

We need to find a way to add more skill in the middle and forward half. We can’t have a centre line and midfielders without one elite kick, and 80% of them with very little penetration in their kicking. I’m of the opinion that the only upside of this horror show is that it’s unavoidable. All levels of the club will have to stare it down and come up with solutions. I also think we need to tinker with the game plan so that not every game has to be a smash in contest. We have to find more ways to win with skill. I think our players are exhausted by our game style by September.

Expected Scores: MELB 69 from expected 81.3 (+2 rushed) CARL 73 from expected 63.5 (+0 rushed)

Oh, tell Tobes I said hi back! Always liked him.

Wow. Well if that’s the case I’d love a couple more of those ‘flash in the pan’ premierships.

The only upside of this horror show of a finals series is that it’s an unavoidable problem now. Something has to be done.

https://www.afl.com.au/video/1032553/woozy-weitering-spotted-stumbling-in-defence?videoId=1032553&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1694780100001 This should, and probably will, be a massive story. Didn’t Port get a 100k fine for this?

Jimmy, you’re better than this garbage. Baiting people into an argument post loss is a losers game. You add heaps here, but this isn’t helpful mate.

I was at both those games. We were terrible in 2013, and something culture shifting happened behind closed doors in 2011. This is different, but if you can’t understand that I’m not going to argue with you. Enjoy your night.

That’s the worse Melbourne loss since the ‘87 Prelim. Im absolutely gutted.

Ok cool. Great thread. Don’t have an opinion. Gotcha.

Sorry, which one is it?

Don’t be sucked into this conversation. This is the argument being made by people drawing parallels between things that don’t exist. It’s not logical to assume that if the AFL suspended Maynard they would have to suspend anyone attempting a mark. The ball in dispute, in the air, is significantly different to a player moving passed the ball and cannoning into a player.

Lower the eyes, speed.