Diamond_Jim

we can but hope... as I have said many times Toiges have a tough draw but with their win against GWS and the Saints seeming to drop form (they play the Tigers again in a couple of weeks) they should make the 8. If they make top 4 or even 5th they will have played very well. Hawthorn V Swans is also a big one.

Time to argue against the compromised draw. Teams should play home and away in strict rotation. TV companies nominate Friday night games six weeks out based on ratings and interest. Won't happen because there are too many special interest groups but the problem is MFC isn't special and is unlikely to be so ever again. The good news is that we are at the top of the also rans and just might give the likes of Hawthorn and perhaps Richmond a run for the sponsorship dollar over the next 5-10 years. The bad news is that Collingwood and Essendon will only get bigger as will the Crows and West Coast. Watch these boys push for special stadium and media deals as the years go by. In years to come we will regard the last few years of equalization as the high water mark of that practice. Taking back the Queens Birthday match on alternate years is the first salvo... it's low hanging fruit and we are an easy mark. Practically it dents our budget and makes it more likely that we will have to sell more home games ... something we must resist.

Good article on the AFL website: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-07-27/afl-victoria-dumps-vfls-development-league "The fear among clubs, especially those with AFL alignments, is there will be too few playing opportunities to encourage footballers to pursue the VFL pathway. VFL clubs will have to foster a strong feeder system with grassroots clubs, where the increased leftover players will filter to. " Also reports that Saints and North look like fielding their own VFL clubs next year with Frankston a possible additional team. If there are three more teams one hopes that the seasons are more closely aligned (length wise) and that byes are used sparingly.

more likely Trenners is the out

Last week's Brisbane win seriously opened up the bottom end of the ladder for North. They would be mad not to play the kids and see what happens. That being said they did well against the Bombers until around 3/4 time so I don't under rate them. Over confidence and the weather will be the greatest dangers.... time to get it done

Thanks guys for all your wonderful work. The page is a little slower to load but i expect that may be a caching issue

They have changed the weather forecast for Hobart. A few days ago it was no rain and light winds. Now it is rain and strong winds. Let's hope this does not become one of those wet weather slogs where a few lucky kicks decides the outcome. The rain is predicted for the afternoon and evening so let's hope we can get a good lead before it sets in. Saturday 29 July Summary Min 2 Max 15 Rain. Possible rainfall: 1 to 4 mm Chance of any rain: 80% Hobart area Cloudy. Areas of morning frost. High (80%) chance of rain, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Winds north to northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h tending north to northeasterly 25 to 35 km/h during the morning then tending north to northwesterly 25 to 40 km/h during the day.

I remember looking at our list after the GF loss in 2000 and thinking there was little that needed improvement. How wrong could one be. All lists can be strengthened especially at that 18-30 player level. On another note however I cannot remember a time when we had so many potential A graders (perhaps when Lyon, Schwartz and Neitz were at their best) but the likes of Hogan, Oliver, Petracca and Gawn are if they live up to expectations the types of players one can build a team around.

As you know VFA used to play 16 a side (no wings). Would be interesting to trial 16 a side at VFL level for a few years. It would have the benefit of improving list quality. The con is that the style of game might differ to that of the AFL and therefore lessen its use as a "training ground." Worth discussion though.

There are some things one perhaps should not say. BTW... was it straight juniper or did you add lemon??

Years ago there was a great pre game thread entitled something like "Get thee to a Cattery" As a play on Shakespeare's great writings it was impeccable and really tied me into this forum. (I became a contributor years later.) Perhaps that is an omen..... I like it !!

Hard to believe that one I must agree... Anyway it doesn't have Toiges at 9th which is a must in any perfect dream ladder. Big points for dreaming big if not weird... highroller Keep those predictors going... perhaps one after round 22 would be interesting to see who fights whom on that last weekend.

Goodwin mentioned that he played in a bit of pain after half time and that they would be sending him off for scans so I have not given up. Of course he may have received a magical jab at half time that masked something a little worse. Not sure I could take another injury to a key player. This season has been a nightmare on that front.

The 52-year-old ruled out applying for the vacant role as the AFL's general manager of football operations, saying his immediate priority was to spend more time with his family. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-07-24/magpies-ceo-gary-pert-resigns

Hawks v Richmond on the same weekend that we play GWS. Will be a lot swinging on those two results. Why does my MFCSS keep telling me we are going to lose a relatively "easy" match. Time to believe that we are over performances like that one against Carlton in the second last round last year. Go Dees

Let's see if we can make it a "Melbourne Home Game." Given the GWS following this is not a real hard ask crowd wise. It's 1:45 pm Saturday ... so it's a nice drive to say Albury on Friday night and then 2:5 hours roughly to the ground on Saturday morning. As the ground is in a residential area there is not that much parking but it is easy to park in the streets say 1km away and walk. Being a frequent visitor to Canberra it really is a nice place if there is some winter sunshine. Stay the night if you can. The museums (that we all pay for) are second to none and well repay a visit. My favourite after the War Memorial is Old Parliament House. Go and sit in the old cabinet room and enjoy the PM's office set up as it was in the days of Whitlam and Fraser.

Fair points Drunkin but he has had at least 8 games back at VFL level where he has been a winner in only 1. I went to watch the last game against Coburg on what was a perfect day for football and I closely observed his play. That day he was often pushed under the ball and I saw little evidence of leading. Will be interesting to see how he goes this week given that Coburg are not a power team. His actions around the ground are laudable but he is in the team to take marks and that is how he will be ultimately be measured. Tough game footy but after Cook and the Juice you can understand the skepticism that pervade the thinking of so many supporters. #Grow the Weed !

Darwin and the Swans loss stopped our momentum and the gradual crowd build up that comes with success. It's a pity that we are on the road for the next two weeks as it will be another momentum killer from a crowd perspective. The positive is that these two road trips are relatively nearby so I hope there is some push for travelling to the game. Does anyone have an idea of the prices for a trip to Hobart this weekend? Imagine a boat load of Dees supporters heading to Launceston and then bussing to Hobart.

Hawks form is important to us ... They play Swans, Tigers and Bulldogs as part of their last five. Go Hawks (this last few weeks only) !!

Agree with those tips... you can exchange Bombers and Bulldogs which in turn exchanges 8th and 9th places. Not much movement likely but we must win to stay in the mix. The real moving day is the next week where there are a few intra 8 games. The GWS game is shaping up (dare I say it) as a season defining game. Go Dees

Thanks WJ for those detailed stats. I was hoping that Weideman would be showing a little more as the season moves on. It seems that the 6 goal game against Box Hill was not the break out game that I hoped for. Understandable that last night's conditions may not have suited him with the strong winds but would definitely like to see him shine against Coburg this coming week. Good to see that Wagner and Stretch had solid games from a possession viewpoint. I agree on Jake ... he is showing very little around the ground and has not really done so since returning from injury.

North is getting very close to that number 1 draft pick........ could influence their selection for next week's game

Now that Round 17 is over I just did a ladder predictor after round 18. It isn't pretty. If next week's games go to order we end up 7th still with a log jam behind us. The toss up game is Bulldogs v Bombers (the winner is 8th.. the loser 9th) For the rest I have picked the logical winner. Looks like you definitely need 13 wins to make the 8.

You ever had one of those weekends where despite a win you feel as if we went backwards. Even the upsets worked against us. O well .... no reason we cannot win five more straight

Toiges do have the toughest draw of all the teams fighting for the 8. If they make it they will have done well .... but I have them 9th GWS are the wild card in the sense that they have all that talent but they are just scraping in , drawing or losing. I am beginning to think that they drafted very well for the run and carry game but not so well for the Bulldogs helter skelter game plan that is now in vogue. Much harder to own the corridor these days.