Lucifers Hero

Great news for us. It is some rare good and encouraging news which gives supporters and players something to get excited about. Will also help allay fears prospective players might have of joining us.

The AFL seems to be pushing it Mid Season Trade Fox's view of Rules for eligibility: - Must have played eight AFL games or fewer this season (ie less than half of all matches) - Must not be listed as out for the season on the club’s latest injury list - Must not have been first drafted within the last two years (2017 or 2018) - Must not have been signed through the 2019 pre-season supplementary period or 2019 mid-season draft Suspect Fox needed to change their criteria to include 'Not traded in, in the last 2 years' to ensure the likes of Preuss aren't eligible. Fox's best guess at our eligible players: Mitch Hannan Declan Keilty Jay Kennedy-Harris Jordan Lewis Braydon Preuss Tim Smith Billy Stretch Corey Wagner Hannan probably shouldn't be there as he has limited games due to injuries. Lewis shouldn't be there either. Wouldn't begrudge the others wanting to be traded. It could have helped us cover some of our injuries this year so I'm ok with the idea of mid season trade Edit: thanks @olisikfor the correction - yes it is trade not draft. Have changed title etc

Sorry, but what I posted was not wrong. I named the players at Richmond and StKilda who had interrupted preseasons and/or injured in the first half of the season. The article you posted earlier was iirc the top 20 players. My comments were based on the top 8-10 players at those clubs. Many of those I named for Richmond and StKilda still have not returned. It would be helpful if you had quoted the whole post. Whether you accept what I presented is up to you but please do not tell me it was unhelpful. I don't have a narrative and don't push any particular view. On the contrary my posts on all subjects are generally researched and I include facts and information whenever I can locate such. The point of the post from which you extracted a small part was to say I believe the club needs to stop talking about the preseason and injuries because it just invites unnecessary criticism. If you are happy for them to keep talking about it fine.

I've seen ladders which reverse the narrow wins/losses and we won only 2 or 3 games and are bottom 3. Another ladder removes the GCS results and we are bottom 17th. So on what measure does the ladder position not truly represent as much as many are reading into it?

We could do with a real fwd coach!! Don't know who our fwd coach was in 2016 but it wasn't Chaplin as 2017 was his first AFL coaching gig. Not one has a career as an AFL forward so how on earth can they teach players forward craft they haven't experienced let alone been successful at. It is no wonder our players can't get separation or run to the right places to connect with mids. It is no wonder they then lose confidence and look to pass it off or miss set shots. And it is worth noting that only Garlett has AFL experience as a forward prior to joining mfc. The rest have been 'taught' forward craft by the above Defenders turned fwd coaches! With defenders as coaches it isn't surprising they think converted backmen/mids (Mcdonald, Melksham, ANB), kids or ex VFL players will get the job done. It seems to me there is little appreciation of the need to put in the appropriate resources to teach them how to be AFL level forwards. Please don't tell me we have to use the players that we have. We had good experience forwards (Watts, Kent, Hogan) and while there were good reasons for letting them go they were not replaced with experienced forwards. Forward play is a specialist craft and deserves to have at least some specialist forward players and some specialist and experienced forward coach. What we have is just not good enough. In fact it is laughable to expect winning scores with converted mids and defenders. And it certainly doesn't help to change the forward 'coach' every 12 to 18 months. Recipe for inconsistency which is exactly what we have. I have said elsewhere a first rate forward coach has to be our 1st priority. And it wouldn't hurt to have a ball-movement coach to help develop some connection with mids.

I hope so ET. Gven that Goodwin hasn't given him many votes doesn't bode well for him in the B&F. Will be very disappointed if he isn't in the top 4. Something is wrong if he doesn't get due recognition.

Malthouse and Pert could not be in the same room without dagger looks across the room let alone 'break bread' or have a chat! malthouse-rips-into-pert-over-new-afl-role at the demons

2nd round picks will range from #19 to #36 (excluding academy etc players) A very wide range! Our 2nd round pick will be around ~20-22. Hope people aren't saying we use that as 'the second rounder' for Langdon!! Would much rather use it for someone who is a proven goal kicker of any shape or size.

Better late than never! Goodwin can't win! Some say he doesn't change enough and when he does someone else says it should have happened earlier! Anyway, the 'brand' (ie game style) changes have been happening for quite a while but yesterday was the first time they all clicked. Allocating specific player roles was also good tactics which helped the revised game style.

Yesterday was one of Goodwin's best coaching efforts. It looked like he simplified the game plan and simplified player roles. Things I noticed: - Played more like WCE in prelim: Slowed down movement out of backline. Jones and Salem took their time to find targets. Switched the ball across half back often, particularly by May. a more kick/mark/control game as shown by the # of uncontested possessions, kick to handball ratio, and # of field marks. - He gave players simple and very clear roles: Lewis at ff to keep McGovern deep. Fritsch our lead up marking forward (took 14 marks!!!) Those two positional moves really opened up the fwd line and made it easier for connection with mids. Gus to tag Yeo May to go one-on-one all day with Kennedy. The Wagner boys on the wings - Played 'tempo' footy - controlled by Jones and Salem and to some extent Harmes in the midfield - Played mainly one-on-one defence rather than zone.. Its probably a bit early to say the manic/chaos style with zone defence is dead but there are very clear and significant signs that our coaching box has got the message than in 2019 the top teams are the slowest to play on and the lowest teams are the fastest to play on. We may have done some of that recently but yesterday was the first time I noticed a significant and simultaneous change in game style, player roles, ball movement and tactics. It worked. Damn shame we didn't get the 4 pts. The coaching box deserved it. There is still a lot of work to be done but if I read yesterday correctly Goodwin has taken a huge step towards flexibilty and change.

Agreed. Thru' my biased lens the commentators always seem to down play hits on us, like the hip and shoulder comment yesterday, or imply staging. However, they stick the boots into us when our player has 'offended' eg May in the JLT.

Just saw a replay of the Viney concussion incident. It is in this article Hit on Viney (but I don't know how to just post the video. Any tips welcome). Careless+High contact+Severe impact+bad optics = at least a week's holiday. No attempt to shepherd. To my biased eye Barass lined him up! Viney had to sit out nearly 3 quarters when he was on fire so hope the club don't play 'nice guy' and squip the medical.

Yesterday may not have been so good for him if Hurn had played. Best to go out on a high. Has served us well. We need a smart footy brain off-field as much as we do on-field so would be a good addition to the coaches box.

We faded in the last due to fatigue but it wasn't all lack of fitness. A lot to do with interchanges. We had 9 players who played more than 88% game time; WCE had 3 so they had fresh legs. We had the same no of i/changes. The difference was Viney being out, managing Jetta's and Preuss's game time. Fritsch played 96% so makes his game even better. Had a poor tired kick in the last qtr but really held up well.

Slow start when we kicked badly and flat finish in the last where they kicked 4.3 to our 1.2 but on the whole we played well. Good to see the switch across half back and the tempo changes. We lost but a lot to like for the last few games of the season. Huge game by Clarrie and Fritsch not far behind.

Yep, playing Lewis and Fritsch fwd has meant Petracca can play midfield.

No hip. Raised shoulder straight into the side of his jaw while standing. Should get weeks.

Good to see Gus start in the middle. Needs to find some form there today.

Its our Home game, so why is an Eagles fan tossing the coin?

Apologies if it came across as it being personal with Mahoney and Viney. Not intended and have tried to use publicly available information. Just think a decade is long enough of presiding over a relatively unsuccessful team. Moving out players is a bit different to changing football admin staff. And, Goodwin moved out Watts and Hogan and we survived the aftermath. But definitely agree change needs to be handled very carefully which is why I think any changes in the broader football department will take several years for Pert to implement.

Don't disagree with any of that. Answer to the Quiz re Common Factors from Bailey to Goodwin eras: 1. Mahoney (with mfc in 2008). 2. Viney (with mfc in 2010). Their roles have changed but both have been and are in critical positions to decide list management and coaching selections. Their methods and attitudes are entrenched and in many respects moulded our culture of the last decade. They have built a team in their image on and off the field: our team is see ball and get ball types without much finesse, speed or skill. That has become exaggerated since Roos left as Goodwin's game plan requires more of the see ball get ball type. The coaching panel is full of people they (or Goodwin) were friends with. A decade is long enough. I have long stated it is time to shake up our football department not just the coaching panel. My experience is people (in any type of organisation) cannot or will not revamp what they have created. eg There is little doubt in my mind the mid-season coaching changes would not have happened if Pert and Bartlett didn't make it their business to go in and find out what was wrong. So, I am firmly of the view that our club will not really move forward until one or both are no longer at mfc. That is why my last hope is Pert. Agree Pert can't wave a magic wand and it will take him several years to revamp the football department. But I feel he is our only chance to avoid another decade without regularly going deep into September.

Agree: 'should fix' - I am clinging to some hope that Pert will shake the place up. No one else will. Re the preseason 'excuse'. I have been saying for a while the club should just shut up about the preseason stuff but Bartlett, Mahoney and Goodwin are still talking about it either directly or indirectly. While the preseason was an issue, I see their constant reference to it as diversionary tactics to stop the media from digging deeper and keep the blowtorch at bay. eg When the media tried probing the success of mid-year coaching changes, at Goodwin's most recent press conf he said something like 'that is internal business and we are a happy camp'. One can draw their own conclusions. I could go on about players ruling the roost but it will probably meltdown this thread, so shall refrain. A quiz: what is the common factor during the Bailey, Neeld, Roos and Goodwin reigns. Anyone can answer.

Its a long article but paraphrasing: His family history, providing for his family in Darwin and the Gold Coast, and the challenges of moving to Melbourne (the city moreso than the club). The season was a 'perfect storm' of lows: broken relationships, poor fitness, media scrutiny, injury, Jessie playing well and Dee fans 'blaming' May for not even being on the park. He was surprised that at start of preseason he was thought to be unfit by the club. Goodwin read him the riot act after the 'drinking incident 'and May started looking for other ways to help while in rehab. May: "...I started mentoring (teammate) Harry Petty, doing extra sessions, going to games with Goody, scouting a team with (assistant coach) Troy Chaplin, trying to find ways I could help without playing." A notable quote: "May is grateful that Goodwin not only challenged him but joined him. He didn't send him to the naughty corner to train alone. Goodwin was beside him at the gym for extra weights and bike sessions. He went to games of footy with him. If May wanted to do more, the coach would do it with him". I thought it shows Goodwin's compassion and preparedness to get into the trenches with the players. All credit to May and Goodwin. How he won over the coaches, players and fans. May: “This year has been a roller coaster, no doubt. A lot more lows than highs for me but the highs are bloody worth it already. Just to pay in a couple of wins in the five games I have played, that feeling getting the Gatorade shower walking out through MCC and Melbourne fans – it feels great....“Hopefully I can get myself in the good books.’’ A roller coaster but I think he is already in our good books and has won people's respect. Look forward to him anchoring our backline for a many seasons to come.

On a side note, I found it odd that he was told only the day before pre-season training what preseason would be like. That he had to get his skin folds from 60 to 50. He seemed surprised. So was he not given a fitness test after the trade and not given a fitness regime to follow? I thought it was standard practice for all players to get an off-season fitness regime. Maybe not or maybe fitness staff assumed players would self manage their dietary, fitness and rehab behaviours. Risky! These might explain why there were claims players came back out of condition.

A real credit to May for making some really difficult adjustments in his life and in coming to Melbourne. And to Goodwin for walking the tough road with him.