Sydee

Charlie is a smart footballer - not a big possession player but his influence is significant - when he does get a possession it is usually constructive or leads to a scoring opportunity - rarely if ever wastes it Nice to see him finally getting some recognition

Paid up member - no email Need to upgrade my membership ?

Sorry to burst the happy / blue sky bubble But how are we spoilt with choice exactly ? Our forward line is getting the job done largely because our midfield and back six are performing well by getting repeat inside 50s and stopping the opposition from scoring Fritta - rate him highly but not a KPF TMac - looks like he has returned to some good form but even now not kicking bags of goals BBB - past performance is no guarantee of future performance - lets hope he can deliver when he finally gets his chance but totally untested in a MFC jumper at senior level yet Weid - so many divided views on whether he is the real deal - one things for sure has never consistently performed at the top level - not saying he won't or can't just hasn't done it yet M Brown - honest servant but no champion and if all the above are fit would be last in line for selection Daw - not really a forward imo In short, not sure why this would even be suggested - forget about the fact that its not possible

I thought I'd read that Goodwin has already stated that both wont play this week and that Weid was the one most likely - He said he was not wanting to make too many changes to a team that so far at least has got the job done

Blow it up - hand it to every MFC player now and let them think about how they are going to shove it down their throats this weekend They didn't look much chop round 1 against Carlton They beat Hawthorn by 29 points in round 2 - whoopee They lost to the swans round 3 - whoops They lost to PA by 2 points round 4 - decent effort that one Smashed the saints who I regard as being massively over rated They are no better than WC, WB , PA in my opinion any of those three can beat Richmond on their day If MFC are serious we need to be added to that list

Not a fan of Tex he’s the biggest peacock going around but I have to agree his kicking action is v v good

I would imagine it is reflective of clearances from centre bounces - ruck dominance if effective in getting your midfielders possession should in theory play a big part in this

Love your enthusiasm but you may need to change your name to “red and blue optimist” These guys need a good solid block of training and match sim before they even get considered

Richmond, Port, WB, WC seem to go ok without Darren Burgess Prefer to keep him but the sky is not falling if he wants to go elsewhere

It is going to be very interesting to see how BBB and the Weed (if he gets a game) perform with the new manning the mark rule Without doubt there is more space to lead into for forwards and less pressure on the player delivering inside F50 Both these factors have resulted in higher scoring and more freedom for forwards Neither BBB or Weed are contested mark beasts - they are much better on the lead and with space in front of them where they can use their speed and reach BBB in particular is arguably going to benefit more than just about any other key forward with these changes - I'm hoping so anyway

Let’s just politely agree to disagree on this topic Based on your first paragraph you probably would have sent Max packing - that would have been a mistake You also concede that LJ will probably be really good in 2 -3 years - this I agree with so why move him on now when Max may have 3 to 4 years left There are plenty of others that I would target before LJ and btw I don’t consider him as just a ruck he has the potential to be so much more than that in fact he could be a once in a generation type player - our recruiting team probably agree and that’s why he was taken with such a high pick As I’ve said before it’s great that you have an opinion on this - I hope he stays and I hope he helps us win a premiership one day Our best players will get paid handsomely - like Richmond , Geelong and previously Hawthorn during their sting years each of their better players will compromise a bit on $’s to share the ultimate success with their mates The AFL is littered with examples of players that left for big pay days that never enjoyed the ultimate success. I don’t feel Trac or Oliver are like that. Tom Scully says hi !

MD you seem to not be a LJ fan to quote you from 21 March "The only reason to play Jackson at the moment is to increase his trade value. Jackson is superfluous to need and it was a mistake to draft him. He will never be a first ruck and if he can't make this team as a forward he will be playing at Casey most of the year. We have 2 guys running around Casey that would do Jackson's job better. Majac has been doing well and Andrew Courtney is a better ruck and a better forward. The best hope is that some team sees value in Jackson and take him off our hands." That's fine you are entitled to your opinion. Any you may be right LJ may turn out to be a bust - personally I don't hold that view we can respectfully agree to disagree on that

Settle down MD I wasn't having a dig at you simply clarifying that I do not support any suggestion we trade LJ The is a long list of players who are quite well paid (I suspect) that would be higher on my list to consider trading to manage the list I'd rather note list them because that is not my role it belongs to our list managers - they know far better than me Not sure how you interpreted my comments as some sort of insult as that was certainly not intended

Assume he has signed then ?

Ah sorry MD I don't support trading LJ - please don't suggest I am in any way a fan of that strategy thank you

If we have to trade LJ to afford to keep our key midfielders we are managing our player payments as well (or as bad) as Collingwood I hope that's not the case I find it bizarre that a team that has achieved very little cannot afford to keep its playing group intact when other far more successful teams (Richmond, Geelong, Port Adelaide, West Coast) do not appear to be in that position Are we just dumb ? Are some of our better players just too greedy ? Are our weakest players getting above average payments ?

Clayton seems to have a great report with his mates at the club He and Trac are both special talents who together should lead this team to both finals and a premiership/s Great players and great teams know the importance of sticking tight and enjoying success with those who have done the hard yards to get there - they will sacrifice a little on $’s to achieve that because it is worth I hope he signs soon and on terms that fairly reflect his value to this team

Yep I noticed that too - in real time difficult for the umps to catch that one

Disappointing no mention of either Bowey or Laurie

I am hoping that some of this, if not all is driven by the knowledge that we now seem to have some depth and players very capable waiting on the sidelines and hungry to get a game Lose your spot now and it could take a considerable amount of time to win it back

Stats from the weekend - he seems to be doing something right Metres gained from centre bounces: Melbourne: 821 | St Kilda: 195

Bit harsh - the connection between Max and the midfield group seemed to be missing in round 1. It certainly seemed to be better this week It was spoken about by Goodwin after the game and I thought he said it was something they would have to work on during the week - seemed to me at least like they had made some adjustments and it was working better Max can palm or hit the ball to a designated area but if our midfielders are too slow to react or in the wrong position you can't blame Max - not saying our Max is perfect but I wouldn't be swapping him for any other ruck in the comp

Wait a minute - flag favourites ?

Agree - it almost a given in this day and age that having a balanced respectful discussion without people pushing their own agenda or being respectful is not possible This is not just a reflection of Demonland but also main stream media and social media It seems very easy for some to lose sight of the real issues and big picture

Most of these guys would have no trouble getting a kick under no pressure to within a couple of metres of a team mate standing 40 metres away The problem is in my opinion is not so much about technique but what is going on in their heads Think golfer on tee who rarely hits a ball off line until he gets to his bogey hole - there he regularly hooks the ball into a hazard - not because of technique so much but because he is focused on missing the fairway Fritsch always looks to me that he is over thinking every kick - if he ignored the goal posts and just imagined he was kicking to a team mate behind the goals he might just find things turned around quickly