Sydee

Thanks mate - much appreciated for those of us unable to get along to training ourselves Couple of questions if I may Who would you pick first as a tall forward (schache or JVR)? assuming TMAC and BBB not available Surprised that Trac was struggling with the running - he looked very fit in pics and thought he'd been doing some special training overseas? How was Kozzies demeanor? We are all a bit nervous about where his head space is at. Hunter is supposed to have elite footskills - think it's a matter of just getting used to playing group? Does he look fit ? keeping up in the running ?

Gee hate to think what they are going to say about Jacko when/if he doesn't deliver to their lofty expectations What an absolutely feral bunch

Or perhaps has a very good relationship with most of the recruiters

Welcome home Jed - you have some of the best defenders in the comp to learn from Hope you enjoy a very long and successful career at MFC

smart move if true

or Keeler

78 will be a pass I would assume

Welcome aboard Matt - you are a lucky man coming to the best footy club there is Work hard, take your chances - we are all hopeful you enjoy and have a great career at MFC

Only seen the highlights on AFL.com so probably should keep my gob shut but based on those he didn't inspire me

Better interview his Mum

The ones not based in his home state perhaps?

No point lamenting what has past (we were always going to come out of that trade the loser) - we need to optimize what hand we have now

Wouldn't be assuming we get much output from BBB going forward - Goodwin has said more than once he will have ongoing knee issues to manage for the remainder of his playing days I suspect this isn't a fix but part of the ongoing maintenance regime My sense is that if we are still reliant on him being our main tall target inside F50 in 2023 we have not improved - I remain hopeful that one of the following can happen - JVR has a massive summer and performs at the highest level consistently - H Petty is used as a tall forward - Either Grundy or Gawn (or both) can have a meaningful impact in the F50 - J Smith trains as a forward over summer, stays fit and surprises everyone with 40+ goals (yes, I know this one is a bit out there 😀)

He finished the season off clearly injured - arguably should not have played the last final or the rest of the game vs Swans after fracturing his leg One of my all-time favorites and he is "heart and soul" MFC - love what he has brought so far and can't wait to see what he delivers in the seasons to come We are oh so lucky to have CP5 - absolute gun

That is a pretty good summary of events - not sure anyone is trying to rewrite history based on the fact that LJ has left the building Even before he left many people on this board would have differing views on how much or how little his influence was in the 3rd quarter of the GF Based on your summary and my own observations I think it's fair to say he was one of a number of players that lifted us to a level we haven't seen before. Was he the most influential - I'd say definitely not but he was good like a lot of his mates during that period I'm still really disappointed he left and personally I can't see Grundy offering us more than LJ could in seasons to come. No doubt Grundy is a good footballer, particularly if he can overcome any ongoing injury concerns but if I had a choice, I'd certainly stick with LJ for his ability to jump, his mobility to get to contests, compete as an extra midfielder and his "potential" as a dangerous tall forward. I've been watching a few games of Grundy as a pie, and he seems to really struggle to jump off the ground and his agility/mobility generally is nowhere near as good as LJ

Yes, I know that - I was simply trying to clarify that Oliver Hollands father is not "Dutchy" aka Ben Holland who played some games with MFC

You may be confusing him with big Ben Holland who came from the tigers. Ben Hollands didn't play for MFC

Happily take the first of those but would love to see the Freoflogs sink like a big anchor

I think the legend of LJ and the 3rd qtr of the grand final is well and truly overstated I’m not suggesting he isn’t a talent - he is but the 3rd qtr was all about our midfield he did handball to Clarry for one goal but having watched it several times it was all about Trac , Clarry and Viney imo

I understand people liking the idea of Petty staying back as I for one think he is arguably our best defender - however I can't say that your or JG's arguments for leaving him back are that compelling Your logic for not wanting to try Petty forward is 1. We don't have any decent forwards, or they are always injured - ok so isn't that precisely the reason to try someone else? 2. It's a structural problem - not sure what that means exactly other than the fact that our delivery into the F50 is predictable and often poor. In any event if we have no decent forwards as you've suggested then surely it makes sense to try and find a forward that can deliver a greater return. In Petty we have someone that we know can actually take a contested mark BBB can't and Schache has never shown he can do that either. TMac maybe but he has a very big challenge ahead to get fit enough to play a whole season. Petty is also far more capable of contesting if the ball hits the ground than any of those guys As far as Max being our main tall forward target that is a very high-risk strategy as it leaves us very vulnerable in the ruck should one of Max or Grundy get an injury. Max is a great player, but his set shot goal kicking is poor and I really struggle to see how that can change, he is also not great when the ball is on the ground which is understandable for a bloke of his size. Schache is certainly worth a try but tbh he's had plenty of chances (just like Weid) and never managed to hold down a spot as a key forward - the likelihood of that miraculously changing is very low Just because we won a flag with Petty back doesn't mean that it makes more sense to leave him back - teams evolve, they change personnel, they play to their strengths. having a mindset where everything stays the same is doomed to failure. WE are lucky to have a couple of capable replacements in the back six should Petty be tried in the F50. Premiership teams and those in the window for ultimate success have always changed personnel in subsequent seasons and tweaked their game plans to try and improve (aka Geelong). If you were looking at our premiership win as the litmus test for player positions/performance, then TMac may never play forward again - he didn't fire a shot that day until the game was well and truly over Anyway, you both may be right, personally I'd be trialing him as a forward as I see a lot of upside in the team's performance - ultimately our coaching staff will be making the call and in them we must trust

AMW has talent but he needs to find a way to get involved in the game on a more consistent basis - this is obviously a challenge for many young players - hope he takes the next step in 2023 and really pushes for senior selection My dream is that he becomes our version of Shai Bolton (no pressure Andy 😀)

One of the first I would be selecting each week - love to see a contract extension Very important player for the club going forward

All interesting points - not sure this thread is the best placed to discuss though 🙂 Agree there is a lot that can and should be improved - not sure there is any single reason why our I50 efficiency is NQR This year I believe we were ranked 3rd for average I50 count (last year 2nd) - however our average goals per game rank dropped from 4th to 6th - not that bad but obviously worse One of the biggest shifts in team stats was average tackles per game where we led the comp last year and this year dropped to 13th - fitness / mindset? who knows but it looked like that watching from the sidelines some games I'm not a fan of the predictable kick-in to the left hand wing every time either - I'd love to see a bit more variation in that as well - maybe a Bowey or Salem taking the kick ins as I think their kicking is vastly superior to May's

Love the way this bloke goes about it - pretty under rated IMO - hopefully his body allows him to have a good pre-season and full 2023. Important player to control dangerous opposition smalls

Agree that Keeler is far from perfect but there is a bit to like and in the right environment with the right attitude he has the potential to be very very good. Just like your comparison with LJ he is probably a better mark and kick than Jackson was at the same age - does he have the desire and will to be a top-grade AFL footballer? Thats the big question our recruiters need to ask and answer However, given our list profile and lack of good mobile talls I'd be surprised if he wasn't in the conversation for pick 13