Lucifers Hero

In that case pray for a huge win by Port tonight!

My heart goes out to Jesse. His injury today was the 5th major setback this season. He has carried such a personal burden. He worked so hard to come back from the collarbone injury to play again and the hamstring goes. It just isn't his year. Chin up mate. Look forward to you getting healthy for 2018.

Yes, but I think it is becaise he hasn't fully recovered from his mid-season niggles which became injuries and came back to early. Firstly, he had back spasms, then groin issues, then his ankle. It is no wonder his hamstring eventually gave way. Like Viney we rushed Watts back too early. Even with his fitness /injury issue he did his job today.

After 10 pages in the Post Match Thread no-one has potted Jack. I guess that means he played a good game, right? I thought he was one of our better players - kicked a goal and started the chain of at least 3 other goals. Laid some good tackles. He didn't excel (no-one did) but he did his job today. Its a shame most of his 21 team mates didn't.

If Geelong beat GWS tonight then Crows will put the cue in the rack vs WCE as they can't lose top spot (and the chance to play Richmond in their first final). They will want to minimise risk of injury. If Geelong win watch them rest Sloane! WCE will romp it in. The only chance we have of the Crows trying to win is if GWS beat Geelong and if the Crows want to keep top spot. The equation is simple: barrack for GWS tonight, as unpalatable as that might be.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-08-26/more-prime-time-matches-for-melbourne From the article: " MELBOURNE expects to receive more games in primetime slots in 2017, but won't purposefully lobby the AFL for Friday night and Saturday night action next season, according to CEO Peter Jackson". I get it when he says teams are given the fixture they deserve but the evidence this year contradicts that eg Ess have received about 10-12 FTA Saturday night games. Carlton, Collingwood and Richmond have also dominated the Thursday, Friday and Saturday night FTA games plus a bunch of Sun aft games. All were bottom sides last year and yet got the cream of the FTA spoils because they lobbied very hard. I have no faith in the AFL doing the right thing and rewarding us with a favourable fixture, FTA or anything else. The big clubs always leverage their way in. Smaller clubs need to shout louder to be heard. So, Jackson' s position surprises me because those prime FTA spots are a golden opportunity to promote our sponsors and expose our team to new fans/renew old fans. If we don't lobby, we don't get is my view!!! I hope that Jackson gets this right and we do get a fair fixture in 2018 - not just on the FTA but also 6-day breaks, sequencing of interstate trips and getting Home MCG games against big Vic clubs to help our revenue. PJ don't let us down on this...

A huddle in the middle 1.5 hours before the game, is a tad unusual Revving each other up and getting into the right head space, I guess...would love to have been a fly on the wall, so to speak. Good to here Jack is walking ok. May he play again soon.

I suspect most people didn't...it is a terrific idea so good on your for offering it here. I just read it yesterday and not many people have heard about it as it hasn't been promoted. http://www.afl.com.au/womens/stateoforigin That is a shame because it will be hard to fill Eithad if people need to come from interstate or change their plans to get there.

Greenwood also out for the Crows... ...didn't they say mid year that we were the hardest team they played against... Dees and Ess are the big losers of a Crows loss to WCE and it is very unlikely Ess will lose. ... can't bare to think of us not winning tomorrow.

Not sure if that is meant to be a bit cryptic... ...because that is exactly what is scheduled. SOO (Vic) vs Allies (All Stars). It is on Saturday night Sept 2 at Etihad. It will be telecast on Ch 7. Our Daisy is captain of the Vic team.

Half a game clear bb

Agreed. Best result/draw for Adelaide is to finish on top which is a decent incentive to beat WCE. However, by the time they play they will know the result of all games in particular the GWS vs Cats game: GWS win, Adelaide must beat WCE to finish first. Geelong win Crows will end up on top and their WCE game is meaningless. The Crows will be in the box seat to decide who their opponent is in the first final, even if Rich lose and Sydney win. I am just praying for a Dees win so I can relax for the weekend.

Take your pick from the links below. Never tire of seeing that goal! They will all bring a tear to your eye and warmth to your red and blue heart, especially the first one which shows Jack's journey

Yes, it was the reason the bulldogs won the final. A week earlier and they would not have had Libber and a few others on the park. Sydney are resting Handleberry and Papley this. They are happy to finish 5th or 6th and get a home final. Those guys will get two weeks off and the whole team gets one week. The Swans then only need to win 3 games against teams they have beaten this year. Strategically played by the Swans. I agree with Clarkson. Finishing top 4 might be a poisoned chalice. The best place to finish is 5th or 6th. Week off plus home final then win 3 in a row. Every side will back themselves in on that deal.

On the Marngarook footy show last night Jetta and Harmes were asked about how the dees were handling the pressure of getting to finals and if they get there playing in them. Jetta said the leaders were encouraging players to 'embrace the pressure'. That phrase has Jordan Lewis writ large over it. Lewis has gone up a gear over recent weeks but now his best work may well be off field getting our excitable lucifers into the right mind space!

I find it amusing that the media experts who maligned Jack, kicked him when he was down are now leading a chorus of commentators saying he is best 18/22, we need him for finals etc. Garry Lyon, Wayne Carey and Damian Barrett leading the charge. It just shows when push comes to shove they recognise his worth. So often he has got us over the line with a goal, goal assist or goal save just before the siren. He is a big moment player. Cometh the hour cometh the man! Jack is our man!

That is good news. He will have a better chance of getting AFL games as the 1st back up ruckman. Now that Pedobear is re signed and the success with TMc ruck/forward, Jake is 2nd or 3rd back up so little chance of getting games. The club has been pretty decent about these types of trades and won't ask a lot for him so it will be a win/win.

Definite grounds for non-selection (if correct). Not working on identified problems is not smart as Goodwin had shown he is not to be trifled with.

They have the same manager so doing the contracts at the same time makes sense. Also, 2 years is the initial renewal term for a recent draftee. Hunt, Petracca, Brayshaw etc had 2 years on initial renewal. So Oscar got the standard 2 years. The club wanted Tom to sign a long-term contract as he was in hot demand. He declined. He signed for 2 years as it takes him to 8 years with the club ie he has Unrestricted Free Agent status. Tom had seen so many false dawns that even if blind freddy could see the direction we were going there was still serious doubt. I don't see any signs of a brotherly bloc. But I will leave it at that as I have no more facts to offer.

Not sure about that. Lever is a fraction taller than Frost and the same weight. And Oscar is bigger than both of them. (Based on respective club websites). So we would be no worse off strength wise. Lever gives us much more. I don't want to see Frost leave but accept sometimes these things happen. I just hope if he goes it is to a Vic club as he wants to live in Victoria. I guess he can refuse a trade. The club in recent times has been very professional on how it exits players so the same would happen this year.

He learnt from The Master

That seems to be the view on the Match Preview thread - we will soon know.

That may be it. I guess it is important to have as many players as possible available going into the finals just in case. Nonetheless I am really happy for Keilty's upgrade. And, it shows mfc is giving our rookies a real go - 4 of our 6 rookies have been upgraded this year.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-08-24/keilty-upgraded-to-senior-list Keilty upgraded - a sign that he will play this week? Someone reported that Tom Mc looked sore so Declan could come in. IF so its, a very big game for him to debut in!!

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-08-24/keilty-upgraded-to-senior-list Congratulations to Declan on being upgraded to the Senior list. A sign that he will play this week? Where is @Drunkn167? I bet you and the family are absolutely rapt!