Diamond_Jim

Would be interesting to know whether any players "rest" these days on the ground. Someone into stats might be able to tell us. In the modern game perhaps the most viable on ground resting position is around the wing as the push up forward. That being said I am not sure I would like to have that position taken by my resting ruckman ... Nic Natanui and a few others aside.

After the first five weeks hard to see the next six being worse but I suspect they will be due to harder competitors and the long injury list. Before the season I had us 4-1 at this stage with the Essendon game dependent upon how their senior players performed on return. On paper and the Essendon performance we should have been favourites. Throw in the injuries and the patchy form and it is now a 50:50 at best. The older players need to fire and a few need a purple patch if we are going to maintain any momentum over the next six weeks. Sure there is an excuse for each week but each week we were in a winning position and lost. Hell relatively speaking we stumbled over the line against Carlton.

ooooooooooooooooouch all those references to how lucky we were to have Mitch Clark in place of the guy who went to GWS were very painful

As I mentioned earlier you have to attract the "theatre goers" who have made the ANZAC day clash such a success. In reality neither Essendon or Collingwood have been up for a while and certainly not both at the same time but the event is regarded as the home and away match of the season. It is attended by a lot more than just the supporters of the two clubs as well as being a big corporate game. Sell out the MCG... put a few extra dollars on the tickets (say $10 not the $40-50 imposed today by Essendon) and as Terry in Minder would say .... that is a nice little earner. As an aside years ago Melbourne was in one of its early final series. (1988) A friend of mine knew someone and got us tickets to each of the finals. When Melbourne got to the grand final I asked whether the tickets might be available. He said ... "no my wife is using them." .. "But your wife doesn't like football" I replied... "yeah but she loves the balloons before the game!" That's a theatre goer !

In theory they share between Docklands and the MCG but the only Victorian teams they play at Docklands is us and North. All other Essendon home games against Victorian teams are at the MCG

how did we get to play the Bombers next week at Docklands when both teams nominally have the MCG as their base?

Many teams are rated by their "bottom 6" Another way to rate is by their over 25 year old players. It is in this category that we have failed miserably. Take out the recent additions of Hibberd and Lewis and one can easily see what the last ten years have done to this club. The mantra over the last few years has been draft more mids as that gives you an immediate hit. Hard to disagree but hell I hope Weid and Hulett come on in the next two years. On the ruck position.... well at least Lumumba's position is free next year. Frankly I think this season is gone unless we alter the game plan to one which is more defensive. The again we could look at using this season to fine tune the game plan. Lose next week and we may as well "play the kids".

The danger to our game is not from the Collingwood v Essendon fixture (they are powerful enough to protect their turf) but rather from other clubs when Anzac Eve starts to fall on Thursday, Friday Saturday or Sunday. Here's a hard one.... if you could only keep one blockbuster would you choose Anzac Eve or QB. Personally I think Anzac Eve has more upside. Collingwood supporters do not appear to be exactly enamoured with the QB game... just another game to them Richmond also has its "Dreamtime" game but the reality is that without Collingwood, Essendon or Richmond as the other team it hard to create a blockbuster.

Hate to say it but we need to attract the "theatre crowd" ANZAC day is almost a pre -season sell out because as well as the usual club supporters it attracts people who like the sense of the big event. The horse and the cauldron has been a great success and the night time gives us the opportunity to build the theme.... (think projections onto stands of wartime memories). Nice to talk about something positive for once.

Apparently the crowd last night was the biggest home and away crowd the MFC has played before since 19663(4). Next year it will be our home game. Let's hope we monetise the game appropriately without alienating the fan base. It will be a Tuesday night so the long weekend affect we had this year may detract from the numbers. An extra $10 per entrant would do wonders for our finances.

Apparently Fitzy was almost BOG for Box Hill last weekend TBH ruck stocks and back up KPP's must be hard to handle from a list management viewpoint.

This is perhaps where a team's VFL side could come into play. One could have playing rookies who are nominated for the senior list for the first half of a season and then either renewed or replaced from the whole of the VFL list. It could also be extended to allow you to "deactivate" a player at senior level while keeping them on the VFL list and then return them the next season. Sure there are some problems (salary cap, contracts etc) but it would enliven the VFL and certainly provide for some enjoyable speculation for fans around mid season.

ok.... coming down very slowly after yet another disappointing MFC result. In line with the eternal optimism of an MFC supporter still believing in the mathematical chance of making the finals (wasn't late last year fun for a while) I am curious what is the best outcome for us from the Collingwood v Essendon game. My head says Essendon to lose as I think Collingwood can be relied upon to achieve mediocrity and a near bottom four end of season position even with a win today. Perhaps a draw so both teams can rue what might have been. Cannot bring myself to hope for injuries no matter how tempting the thought might be. So.... Essendon to "hit the wall".

Agree someone last night posted the stats of our main midfielders ... handball to kick ratio..... the over reliance on handball was readily apparent. Same at VFL level. A chain of three handballs with the last going to a player who was covered notwithstanding that players one and two could have kicked it forward. It could be that coaches prefer the third player getting caught and the subsequent ball up rather than the risk of an intercepted kick

The third man up allowed many teams to paper over inadequate ruck stocks.

As they say in management parlance.... King's inclusion would be "sub-optimal" but it is the right choice. We need a nullifying ruckman. Dare I say it we also need to adapt the game plan to a lack of ruck dominance. Surprised that there has only been limited discussion re Declan Keilty for some role.

Sober analysis says that is pretty well our season gone The first 5 games (6 if you count next week) were our easy run. We needed to win 4 or 5 of those 6.

36 odd points scored by Tigers since our last goal what a joke the MFC is

I certainly know which game has had the more rule changes !!!

I like this... perhaps the proceeds could go to Reach

Much easier to predict with single electorate system. The result was predicted within a minute of polls closing and Francois Fillon was conceding within half an hour. The interesting thing is that neither of the run off candidates have formal party backing. The French political system has similarities to the US system and it is difficult to pursue an agenda unless you have support in the equivalent to the US Congress. The role of the Prime Minister in France is particularly tricky if he/she is from a different party to the President. Have you guys watched Spin? It is a fantastic show based on spin doctors and French politics.

Excellent article Tennis betting occurs on what we would think are insignificant matches. May not be too far into the future when you can bet on the Dimboola thirds. It is obvious that gaming has gone way too far in the sports context. Time for it to go just like tobacco advertising. I do notice that they are getting a little more savy... when you load the AFL app for the first time you have to tick a box if you want the game odds to show..

Back in our glory days ... (remember some of those few years in the 90's and thereabouts) I would love a Friday night game (win) so it allowed you to enjoy the weekend while watching other teams slog it out. Somehow I cannot remember such a feeling for many many years

The AFL brought over one of the guys who advises the NFL on minimizing concussion. Heard him interviewed on the radio. FWIW I recall him saying that the structure of the AFL game as played was not a high concussion risk sport. Hope he is right. NFL on the other hand maximises high risk repetitive body contact not only with the ball carrier but also the defensive and offensive lines. The one who is often at most risk perhaps is the quarterback who can take a big hit when hit by a blindsided sacking. The upside if there is one is that such sackings while not rare are not common.

Under the present game plan he has little chance. His form at VFL is solid but he lacks the flair and speed to push his way into the AFL team bar significant injuries. I was hoping for a different outcome but it does not look promising.