Lucifers Hero

@picket fence Hi picket, wondering if you saw the post above about changing your avatar for a while. Are you going to deliver?

We as supporters need to move on from feeling hard done by by the fixture. The club requested the first part of the season games be in Victoria to help with getting members, so not travel. Our last 3 games this year are at the G. . The end result is our travel is condensed into the middle of the season. DL has long called for a bye after a NT game and we got that this year. We can't have everything. On the positive side the team (players, coaches, support staff etc) really enjoy going away together - get to know each, comradeship etc. Important things to build a team and teamwork in the wider sense.

And Richmond are nowhere to be seen!

A lady called SEN during the KB show, saying she knew what was wrong with the bulldogs and it involved two players (which she was asked not to name on air). I think it was Martin Blake who (completely unprompted) asked if it involved a woman and the caller said 'yes'. For Blake to ask that question would suggest there are some stories floating around behind the scenes. I assume that off air she gave the producer more info and the player names. That call will probably trigger the media ambulance chasers to start digging for dirt. Only a matter of time before it becomes public. Poor doggies, their season is falling apart on and off the field. Tbh I have no sympathy for them at all!

Lots of discussion in the media about what has happened to the Bulldogs running game. Yes, in part it is because the likes of JJ are not getting as much space, they aren't attacking the ball, have a hangover etc. But I see an elephant in the room: umpires are paying free kicks against them this year, especially throwing and incorrect disposal when tackled. This slows their game, causes a turnover and the bulldogs can't or won't run the other way. I rarely, comment on umpires but this year they need to be applauded for the more equal treatment they are giving the Bulldogs. I read somewhere they have been pinged 43 times so far this year for throwing vs 16 times for the whole of last year (26 games) The puppies are fair weather sailors really and when the wind changes they have been found out.

This is my favourite line written in the media about the game: "The Demons hunted and stalked their prey with the hunger and cheek of a pack of starved hyenas for a full 120 minutes". Jay Clark, The Australian.

The Age Rnd 12 votes: Oscar McDonald (Melbourne) 8 Tom McDonald (Melbourne) 8 Jack Watts (Melbourne) 8 Christian Salem (Melbourne) 7 Jeff Garlett (Melbourne) 7 So proud of our team, especially those that have had to wear so much criticism or setbacks and able to rise above it and perform as they have recently!. Takes real grit to do that. Well done guys

@picket fence Hey picket, remember the above posts? Now that you are well and truly on the Oscar bandwagon are you ready to change your avatar for a while? I think ProDee suffered a Jack Watts avatar for 6 months...same penance for yourself, maybe? Here is my suggestion!

Getting a bit personal there Wise. You are better than that. You don't whether its banter or not Wise, so your post is no more worthy.

Those Bugg tweets smack of hubris. It reminds me of his antics after a goal early last season when he gave it to the crowd. Was told by the club to pull his head in. Hubris is not funny and it is not smart, especially from a player who has nothing to rave about! Hope he pulls his head in and lets his footy do the talking. I suddenly have this sick feeling that (some) players are getting ahead of themselves, again.

The big payoff if we win is not so much 5th place. What is really at stake is a win gives us one game clear (on 7) plus a %'age break to the other four teams with 6 wins. Win today and it almost cements a position in the top 8. Lose and its like 'snakes and ladders' - we slide down to fight it out with the other teams in the pit! So lets just win this one and the ladder and will take care of itself.

Its laughable that several commentators, who should know better nominated Hardwick 'coach of the year' this week. Their wins have been Carl, Coll, WCE (@MCG), Lions, (undermanned & injured Demons), Ess and NM. As I said, laughable.

My take: The traditional trade period (of 2/3 weeks) would continue. On draft night clubs could trade the picks they went in with. The AFL are also considering that picks can be traded for a player in the draft after the player is selected by a club ala Academy players. The difference being that with Academy players the picks are surrendered whereas with the 'draft pick trading' the picks need to be accepted by the trading club. Each trade needs to be completed before the next club makes its pick. If I've interpreted it correctly this could make for a very long draft night with little time for a club to decide to accept a trade. To me it is just more AFL meddling and trying to dazzle up draft night and add some 'excitement'. In practice if a club wants a player in the draft, then trade for those picks during the draft period - that is what clubs do and what it is for eg Demons traded up to get Oliver and Weideman. I say leave well enough alone! It ain't broken, so don't fix it! Edit: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-06-16/live-draft-pick-trading-on-afl-agenda

A really good insight into where Oscar is at http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-06-16/mcdonald-making-strong-strides Highly regarded by the club and he seems well aware of his weaknesses and what he needs to improve. I've been wondering whether his improvement has been faster recently when big brother isn't in the backline. They do tend to look for each other a bit and when Tom isn't there Oscar has to make the play more often and goes forward more often. Oscar may yet become the better McD player!

I'm happy with that. No player deserved to be dropped. I'm sure the FD would have weighed up match-ups to go in unchanged. Up to the players now to repay the faith!

Probably not but we have been short of able bodied soldiers! Bernie is the type to say 'i'm right mate' and keep going and he is such a clever player for us, so he takes the field (without complaint). A few others are in the same boat Petracca had knee bone bruising a month ago which usually takes a few weeks to recover but he kept playing. Watts has been carrying an injury and hurt his ankle at training and he plays. With our long injury list and no-one at Casey knocking the door down these guys soldier on (and for the most part have been critical in our wins). Tough caper being an AFL player.

We need to cut Bernie some slack. The big toe he hurt in the early rounds has been slow to recover. It would swell up every week and he needed injections pre game and at half time. Not sure if it was his kicking foot but nonetheless it would affect his running, chasing and balance when kicking.

Thanks to WCE win Bulldogs are now out of the 8. Lose vs Demons and they will stay out of the 8 with only 6 wins and a % of =/< 100. To make the 8 they will then need to win 6/7 of the last 10. They play North, WCE, Adel, Carl, GCS, Ess, BL, GWS, PA, Hawth. Only a couple of gimmes there. It helps that 6 of those are at Etihad. Expect two very desperate teams. Huge game for both: We win and we are a game and % ahead of 8th and 9th. Bulldogs win and they get a game clear. The classic 8 point game!

IN 2016 WB was an ok home and away side that had a great finals series. But they haven't done anything of note this year. Comparative performance: (MFC in Itallics) They have beaten one top 8 side - Rich by 5 points. Demons beat 1 top 8 side - Adel by 41pts They have lost to 3 top 8 teams - GWS, WCE and Geelong We lost to 2 top 8 teams - Geelong and Rich Their big wins (>30pts) have been BL and StK Our big wins (>30pts) were Adel, StK, Ess, GC Their % is just 102.5 Our % is 110.9 So for mine our 2017 compares very favourably. We have banked 2 wins at Etihad this year so we can play that ground. We have a better midfield and I don't see a line where they have an absolute advantage. They are not so formidable this year. Don't get me wrong this will be a tough game to win and we can't give them a 5 goal head start. In many respects we are the better side with better recent form. It is a 50/50 game.

I've noticed that some of the best AFL players slow their tempo a fraction just before they kick. Jayden kicks while he is running flat out. He may not realise it but the op is rarely within a few meters of him so he has time to slow his pace a fraction and pick a target rather than bomb it in and hope for the best. Jack Watts instinctively knew he had the time when he kicked the match winning goal - he slowed down before taking aim. Petracca and Salem also have it instinctively. When Jayden finds this level of composure and can vary his pace at the right time he will be a match winner by setting up our goal kickers.

A very balanced assessment by Lyon. I can see a time when Lewis plays about 60-70% game time. We do this with young players and players coming back from injury so no reason to not apply that principle to Lewis, or say Jones in a year or two. Bring Lewis on when there is a momentum swing, late in quarters 1, 2, 3 and for most of the 4th. That is when we need him the most. He can coach off the bench when not on the ground. This will be infinitely better than not having him on at all. We can also manage his playing time/energy by resting him for the long-haul games eg Perth and Darwin.

Oh, you mean ignore the Norm Smith medalist who is their chief play maker and tears teams apart with blistering speed... We can do both...bring the 4 qtr effort (motivation/attitude) and exploit opposition weaknesses (tactics/strategy).

Glad to see we are going to keep the frisky terrier, JJ on a leash! http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/melbourne-demons-set-to-target-western-bulldog-jason-johannisen-20170613-gwqmjp.html He certainly didn't like being jostled, coralled and tagged vs Sydney last week. Lots of fair bumps anytime a Sydney player went near him. Didn't put up a fight and gave up without a wimper looking more like a wounded puppy than a raging bulldog!. The bulldogs game plan isn't working so well, key players are out of form and others are vulnerable. Importantly, they are not getting such an easy run with the umpires which inhibits their free flowing game. They are nowhere near their best. They can bark but have lost their bite! We can win this if we don't give them a 5 goal head start. (Apologies for all the dog metaphors - it is so easy to apply to WBD!)

Pendlebury was interviewed just before the game and was asked what Daniher had said to them when he addressed the Coll players. The only part of Pendlebury's response that I heard was was '..he didn't wish us good luck as I think he wants Melbourne to win!' Loved it. And like you loved that Daniher wears his Melbourne heart on his sleeve. (I prefer to ignore that he has some black and red in there).

They say 'he who laughs last, laughs best'! And, Jack had the last laugh: “I had a nice little moment in front of the Collingwood cheer squad when the siren went at the end of the game...” http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/melbourne-star-jack-watts-gets-his-queens-birthday-revenge-against-collingwood/news-story/5c6f16733096aa02907910e9480fc2c2 How sweet that moment must have been.