Lucifers Hero

Our score at 3/4 time was 12.17. Obviously, converting any one of those 17 misses would not make a difference. But converting 3 or 4 of them could have kept Geelong at a distance for us to better defend. Nothing to do with your post or discussion point, it is the 2 Geelong 3rd qtr junk time goals that really bug me. (This is where the momentum swung as they kicked two more in the first minutes of the 4th). Last year it was Watts who dropped back in the last few minutes of each quarter to stop late goals. In the first few games it was Lewis. Jack couldn't be everywhere so this is where we really missed Lewis both his positioning and his leadership to get some else back there. For a variety of reasons, it was the game that got away. All history now. Onward and upward!

High praise from Goodwin for Hunt and Watts:http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-04-09/goodwin-praises-hunt-watts Goodwin said Hunt was “outstanding” and Watts “did a terrific job”. “He’s a true competitor Jayden. Our ball comes in his area and he wins a lot of one on ones,” he said...“His speed and offensive stuff, and ability to win contests is very good. “I thought he performed strongly, Jack. His second and third quarters were outstanding. And it’s a big role for him – he’s undersized, but I thought he fought on manfully and looked really good around the contest.” A very astute assessment of the game by Hunt: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-04-09/hunt-still-on-the-chase but he is clearly not happy with his game which is a good thing in terms of development. And hopefully Jack has silence all his preseason critics: “I thought I started pretty well and then when big Maxy went down in the ruck, I thought I competed well – and that’s what I thought early, as a forward, I was making the contest,” he said...“That’s all the coaches and my teammates wanted from me. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-04-09/a-frustrating-team-result-says-watts That would be a really confidence boosting game for Jack. No turning back now, young man!

Agreed 'jumbo'. It scares me. It is a long time since he rucked alone in an AFL game. His good games since were as second fiddle to Max. For mine, Jack Watts is not a ruckman - an excellent back up when push comes to shove like Saturday but not on an ongoing basis. A ruckman needs to be either tall and lanky (Gawn) or not so tall and solid (Mumford). Jack has neither the height nor the build. And to put Jack in as the ruckman takes away the 'link man' role between the 50m arcs that he played so brilliantly last year. We will lose both positions if we try and make him a ruckman and risk serious injury to him. So while it scares me, imv we have no choice but to go with Spencer and pray to the footy gods (with whom we seem to be out of favour) that he doesn't get injured.

Don't ask! King is still on the LTI for at least another 10 days. He just turned 20 and has yet to play an AFL game. Hardly played a Casey game either. This situation is exactly why coaches like John Longmire like to have 3/4 available ruckman on their list. Our ruck depth has been a concern for some years. We rolled the dice with our recruiting last year in not getting another back-up ruckman/forward/defender. If Spencer goes down we pay the price and kiss goodbye to any chance of making finals this year.

St Kilda! It doesn't matter where Hawthorn finish, their first availalbe pick will be around #35-#40 depending on where GWS finish and how many Academy, Father/Son, and AFL FA compensation picks there are. Finishing in the bottom 4 with no draft picks has a nice karma about it!!! A world of pain awaits the Hawks! Summary of their 2017 draft position is: HAWTHORN · Round two selection (tied to GWS) · Round one selection to St Kilda · Round two selection to Gold Coast

Max wasn't even at full stretch but has done serious damage, it seems. I blame the Etihad turf! We may have beaten the hoodoo but it is still a terrible paddock to play on!

Wise, this post justifies Max's pessimism in the interview. Edit: Club statement: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-04-09/gawn-set-to-see-surgeon-for-injury “At this stage, it’s too early to determine the exact length of time that Max will miss, however with the tendon involvement, we expect his recovery to be longer than your traditional hamstring injury.”

That is what Goodwin said more or less: "We'll get him assessed and get the full results tomorrow (Sunday). The medical team have done a terrific job with our group over a couple of years now so it'll be a standard four weeks and hopefully get him back as quick as we can." I wasn't saying it won't be a month, just saying that Max didn't sound optimistic in his interview earlier today.

Don't think it is confirmed, Wise. The article on mfc website is from last night. Max was earlier and said he was waiting on a phone call for scan results. He jokingly said something like 'I may not take the call if I don't want to hear the news'. He didn't sound too confident but it could still go either way as to his time out.

Not a win but yesterday's game will help memberships. Full memberships are still excellent value as we have played only 1 Home game; 10 to go! So more reason for people to sign up. We will break last years, all time record of 39,211 THIS WEEK! That is 3.5 months earlier than last year. Not bad, eh.

Who is Ross Lyon trying to kid: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-04-09/premiership-coachs-advice-guides-lyons-focus when talking about the Freo turnaround: "Someone I respect in the game I spoke to, he said everyone wants to talk about this and talk about that, sometimes it's just working around the ball and the contest a bit fiercer. He wouldn't name who that person was but then he said: "He was a two-time Grand Final coach and premiership coach, so I thought 'that's a pretty good point'. It can only be Paul Roos! Not very well camouflaged, Ross!

Not only was Watts' goal excellent, how slick was the ground ball pick up. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2017-04-08/rd-3-watts-kicks-a-ripper (Haven't figured out how to post the actual video so that is the link) Jack is so skilled, silky things like that pick up simply go unnoticed. He was mammoth yesterday. Edit: Had missed it live but in that video, how good was Clarrie's take down tackle of Dangerfield. Flattened him!!

Some random comments: -I thought Gawn's discipline was poor. He gave away 3 silly free kicks in their forward half which became immediate goals. I think there was another in the middle which became a goal after a bit of fumbling by Geelong. The behinds we kicked aside, those goals alone kept Geelong in the game. -The slick pick up by Watts in the middle was a joy to watch finished off by that fabulous goal. -Our mid-field was superb keeping the ball in forward half after kick-ins and lets face it we gave Geelong a lot of practice at kick ins...made the job easier for our defenders. -Another salute to Watts - he had only two 3 minute rests in the second half. A Herculean effort on his part. He showed immense determination - like he knew it was up to him and he did it! I hope the coaches and the players who took him to task in the media in the preseason give Jack a lot of love this week. He deserves it. -Petracca had 2 players on him a lot of the time and he usually won the ball! Opposition already see him as a dangerous player (especially in Hogan's absence). -Too many players went missing. But that bodes well for when we have 22 contributors. -We took our eye off the ball: the two junk time goals at the end of the 3rd cost us big time and after the break they kicked two more so 4 goals in 5 minutes. Shows the need to be switched on for every minute. -The Eithad hoodoo has been put to rest! -A terrific game. We fought and fought and fought. It could have so easily been our W. -So proud!

If that is how he thinks he and Richmond deserve each other: an inflated sense of entitlement; destined to wallow in mediocrity. He should read Caroline Wilson's article cautioning players moving to "a club that invests so much hope and fanfare in one player" eg Gary Ablett/Josh Kelly: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/caroline-wilson-gary-ablett-a-cautionary-tale-for-josh-kelly-20170407-gvgele.html Richmond's list is ordinary and ageing and they have an average coach. Schache and his high priced contract will be a fine target for disgruntled tigers as they struggle in the middle of the ladder for years to come. He better make sure he has shoulders as big as the ego your post suggests.

Interesting! Watson said in last night's news something like - there was a bit of a fuss brewing at Carlton with Rowe selected to play. Then Sam Mcclure said after the game last night he wouldn't be surprised if Rowe was a late withdrawl because of the 'little bit of concussion'. (Note Carlton's medical report chose the words carefully - 'little bit of concussion'. Hedged their bets: enough to condemn Hogan but not enough to stop Rowe playing?). Maybe the Channel 7 folk know something? I would laugh and laugh if Rowe's 'little bit of concussion' backfires and he can't play The only downside is its more likely Ess will win Best case scenario: Rowe out and Carlton find a way to win!!

Am article with much high praise of Oliver http://www.theage.com.au/afl/melbourne-demon-oliver-leads-army-of-stars-20170407-gvgbek.html Some snippets: "He is like Cripps or Sydney's Josh Kennedy, a tall and strong midfielder who with longer arms have better reach to be able to get clear of a tackle and still get a handball out... The difference between Oliver and Cripps or Kennedy is that he is quick..." "He accelerates through the contest," Melbourne player/coach performance manager Brendan McCartney said. "He is electric. He just has great power". "Even for an AFL player Oliver has a fierce competitiveness in everything he does. Which means not just getting the ball and winning, but even making sure he gets the last word in an argument". Final word to Macca: "He was a really inspired pick by our recruiters,"

Is the 'Lucifer' a reference to my good self? In case it is, let me set the record straight. I started the 'Fearless Football' thread and was not one of those that doubted the reporter. In fact I relished the concept and welcomed the team standing for something rather than being considered irrelevant. Even if the reference wasn't to my good self why signal out one poster when there were quite a few that were skeptical of the reporter.

Watts can't take a trick on Demonland, Lord T. -Always criticised for lack of aggression. -Gets aggressive, is in a scap and gets criticised. I don't get why people are so upset about Jack not being at the bounce. Anyone had a look lately, at who Richmond, Geelong etc are nominating (not nominating for a bounce/throw in). And the umpires are confused: giving free kicks away for blocking a ruckman who didn't ruck, arbitrarily nominating a player to ruck, bounce/throw in with only one team's ruckman nominating, stopping a player from taking a bounce. Right now the umpires don't know how to manage the 'nominating ruckman'. So they were the cause as much as Jack. Any signs of aggression from Jack is a step forward. We lost nothing from the episode. I'm glad Oliver saw what was happening and took the initiative!

Some people are being harsh on Brayshaw. After his run of head knocks last year he said it took a while before he stopped being anxious going for the ball. If I recall correctly he worked with the club psychologist to get ok with it again. Fast forward to last weekend. He gets a hit of some sort to the head and a cut on his forehead. While he may not have been concussed it may have been enough to trigger worry about concussion. I think after the knock last week he was distracted which was the more likely cause of him not playing well in the second half. To me that distraction is totally natural for a young guy who has just turned 21 and with his recent history. Folks, give him a break!

Emg: Tom Bugg, Cameron Pedersen, Jake Spencer In: Kent, T.Smith, Vince Out: Hogan (suspended), Lewis (suspended), Brayshaw Brayshaw looked a bit worse for wear after the forehead cut last week so not surprised he is out.

Tweet from Jack T: Melbourne FC Retweeted Jack Trengove✔ @jtren9 That's what it's all about! Turning dreams into reality. The big Bull can seriously give out a bruise or two! Well deserved mate. All class from Trengove. Even as he watches his own dreams evaporate he still finds the time and integrity to encourage teammates. Just love Trengrove...so said that injuries have cruelled his career.

Has Smith been upgraded from the rookie list... Great to see the club give an ex Casey player a go at AFL - will be enormous encouragement to others on their list. May even attract a few to Casey! Well done Smithy. Big game for Weideman and our forward line as not much experience there. Watts and Garlett need to play like the senior players they are.

Sounds like Goodwin has a plan to deal with Selwood and Dangerfield. "Like all teams we'll have some scenarios that we can go to depending on how those two guys are going..." http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-04-06/demons-back-infrom-mids-to-take-on-dangerwood But he isn't giving much away on selections: "...revealed midfielder Tom Bugg and versatile tall Cam Pedersen were in the selection conversation....He also forecast the club could blood a third player for the season, with mature-aged recruit Tim Smith a strong chance to join round-one starters Joel Smith and Mitch Hannan as Demon debutants in 2017..." Goodwin may be being coy but no mention of Kent... Is it conceivable that Bernie might miss (...to send everyone a message...). I doubt it but stranger things have happened. With Bugg, Petersen and Smith in the conversation and Bernie to come back there may be more changes than we think!

When one reads articles like this admiration for Jones goes sky high. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/poor-form-gold-coast-champion-gary-abletts-tv-spot-says-it-all-really-20170405-gvejsx.html Ablett did a sook last weekend when he was given a role he didn't like. And not happy that his traditionally lack of defensive game was highlighted by the media. His management 'blame poor coaching, recruiting, player development, medical and high-performance personnel. And they blame the poor culture at the Suns'. Compare that to Jones. He played thru the worst period and culture a club could have with never a complaint. Gave his all on the field regardless of how tough it became. Helped change the cultlurle. Set a great example even when we were losing and he was a warrior before even having the captaincy. Endured the most demoralising of losses. Played injured. Now he takes the disappointment of co-captaincy in his stride. . Gary may have the brownlows and medals and no doubt has been a champion player. But in my mind it is Jones who is the greater champion in terms of bottom of the pack play, fortitude, team player, loyalty, captain, leadership etc etc. So much respect for Jones, not so much for Ablett. I just hope we win a premiership while Jones is still playing.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-04-05/reach-raises-37000-following-campaign Amazing coincidence: $26,000 raised before the game $11,000 at the game $37,000 Total A very fitting outcome - as the article points out: "Coincidentally, ‘37’ and ‘11’ were significant numbers for Reach’s co-founder, the late, great Jim Stynes, who wore No.37 in his first VFL/AFL match for Melbourne in 1987, before shifting to his regular No.11 the following year". I think Jimmy would be rather chaffed that mfc is supporting Reach and amused that '11' and '37' featured prominently!