Older demon

Tom has 2 years left on his contract and key position players don't grow on trees. he had major surgery on his knee last year and also became a dad. He would not be the first footballer to go off the boil with the disruption of a newborn. Same with Viney, he and Charlotte have a new born taken to the hub along with the McDonalds. Unless you are in the club we have no idea how they are coping with the lifestyle change. Tom as stated today is a required player.

I went back and read the article again. Bartlett may be shrewder than we think. If they gave Goody a contract extension with performance KPI's in 2021 he has effectively covered the club if Goody stumbles. No coach will be sacked after 2020 given all the difficulties that have arisen. Also don't forget she sits on the same panel as Ross Lyon each week on Footy Classified I am sure it is no co-incidence he gets a mention in talk about MFC coaching.

She means Steven Smith 200 game full back and recently retire MCC president

But in the same sentence she states that Smithy has decided to devote his energy to his law practise. What point she is trying to make. There will be no challenge.

I don't see wholesale changes and hope there aren't. If this club is to move forward the admin must stick to their plan for now and the future and adjust it as necessary. This year is a mess due to COVID and we must stay the course. I am not surprised that 3 teams that have endured and are ready for finals are the Cats, Eagles and Tigers as they have mature lists, with structure and good systems in place. I am not convinced Port and the Lions will do well in the finals. The fact that 3 first year players, Picket, Jackson and Rivers have had such an impact is good, but also reflects badly on the existing troops. I don't think that the club thought Jones, Jetta, T Mac and to a lesser extent Melksham would have their form fall away so dramatically and we haven't had troops step up to play at their level at their best. This can be seen in last years draft strategy. I like that some posters have listed rucks, forwards, backs and mids as this is what recruiters do looking who is out of contract and who is ageing and what do we need. I repeat this does not entail a mass cleanup at the end of season. Jones o.o.c probably won't get another, Jetta has a year to run and Mac & Melk have longer term contracts and I hope KK retires for his own good. Hopefully Petty is available next year. I expect if lists are reduced that many of the ooc players will not be renewed ie Oscar, Bedford, Brown and maybe both Wagners so that is 7. Viney if he wishes to exercise his RFA right. We may only have 4 draft selections to bring someone new in anyway.

WCE may be the one state monopoly but They had half their team out tonight and still found a way to win. They have a great coach, a system that they all adhere to and they don't celebrate minor victories like they have won a flag. In relative terms MFC are a few years behind in development and be it the head coach or coaching panel too many changes don't help. For me they epitomise "Mental Toughness" and we don't ...yet.

Credit where credit is due. The resilience and work ethic of the eagles is something MFC must learn and develop ge I admire them. With so many injuries and lose McGovern early headed by the saints and they fight back. That is the culture I want to see at Melbourne.

I think I read that the cap limit has been reduced but you can exceed the cap but have to pay a tax on the figure in excess. Wealthier clubs could still exceed the cap in this scenario. Can anyone clarify this?

I know Bevo from his days at St Bedes and told him at the time I wish he would go to Melbourne. He laughed and said he would see. I think he is Footscray's coach for as long as he likes and has built HIS team. Why would he go to MFC and start from scratch? Not going to happen.

Luke Beveridge was approached when Roos was looking for a succession plan you know. He declined as he wanted to be his own man and not spend a year learning the Roos way in order to get continuity. Dew said no and with a time pressure Goodwin got the gig and as an assistant offered some attacking flare to the Roos based defence strategy. Ironically we haven't got the continuity from the Roos mantra as Goodwin has moved in a different direction and slowly dismantled that in successive years and now we are 18th in the league for tackles. Bevo is now a premiership coach and has rebuilt his list on the fly and they have a red hot go. Goodwin has shown what he has got and the trend has been downward. Unless he has some new tricks or a sudden change of heart, the slide will continue. A new coach takes time to change up or another year of same old Goodwin style tells me that 2021 expectation should not be too high. Also consider that Jones, Jetta, T Mac and Melk have all fallen a long way from 2018 and have not been adequately replaced and are either gone or past their best. Sacking Goodwin will not fix things in the short term.

Done. Keep it tidy as they don't read the insulting ones. All I asked is for them to hold to their word, that if we don';t make finals questions will be asked. I want heads to roll. Do it

Maybe a straight swap Clarkson to Melbourne Goodwin to Hawthorn. There was an example years ago when Walls and Parkin swapped clubs.

I have a bad feeling about tonight which is the opposite to how I felt about the Swans game. Freo chase, tackle and defend well while applying lots of pressure. Just the sort of team we don't like playing against and this is when we over handle the ball and bomb it. 7 changes may bring in fresh legs but these guys haven't played together in ages and with Picket, Rivers and Bedford we are playing 3 first year players and expecting a lot off them. Baker hasn't played many either. I fear our midfield might be overwhelmed by Mundy and Fyfe who were part of a team that pushed Richmond to the limit. I don't know who will kick our goals and do enough to compile a winning score. I cannot bear to watch.

Well the website listed who was in the mix for this week and I reckon they named everybody in cairns bar Bradtke as a possible in. At least most of them will be fresh.

What about a bloke named Gawn! Do you mean vice-captain?

Ben has been brilliant. I was very disappointed with Max post match

The answer for this group of players is yes they are mentally soft. Downhill skiers who drink their own bathwater is not fair but they seem satisfied with minor achievements. Iy is irrelevant to look back over the last 50 years because ever era is different and the club has not been well managed over that time. This group is talented, have the best resources and are fitter than ever. Despite the criticism among his peers Goodwin is considered a good coach but I think on match day he is not a tactician or innovator. We don't tackle and our game falls away under intense pressure. I watch the lions with 2 down on the bench from half time guts out a win. Every player contributed. They went hard, harassed the opposition and to quote John Northey "had a red hot go". The same can be said for Richmond. As much as I dislike them, they have a system and everybody buys in and have a manic attack on the ball. If someone is injured another comes in and plays their role. I suspect Melbourne may have more talent, and these teams turn over the ball as much as we do, make mistakes and often do not kick straight but they never give away easy goals and every player is prepared to commit to the plan and contribute and persist. We do not! When we get into a good position we are unable to lift to that next level when teams come after us. I put that down to lack of leadership, attitude, commitment and being happy to play pretty football and be an AFL player which I define as mentally soft. The mental toughness needed first has to come from the coach who must be prepared to draw a line in the sand and insist on buy in and those who won't commit, move on. I do not want to hear him say that quarter was not AFL standard again it is an excuse I can no longer bear.

Refuses to chase or lay a tackle does someone have access to his season tackle count. Late in the last quarter last night in our forward pocket Allir gathered the ball and Fritsch ran past him rather than tackle him head on WAP effort

Ditto and can only remember the Grand Final floggings

Of a 4 day break a few need a rest or a chop out Out Oscar, Jones, Smith, ANB, Fritch who can stay out till he shows a desire to tackle In Hibberd, Picket, Pruess (Freo play 2 ruckmen and give Max some relief) Lockhart and Hannan

6 Langdon 5 May 4 Max 3 Tomlinson 2 Oliver ---------

Nothing ever changes!

Soundly beaten in all areas of the game, coaching, tactics endeavour and ball use. So typically Melbourne it just shows you cannot trust this team as they just don't have it. Freo outplayed Richmond last night but they managed to win ugly. If we aren';t on then that is it. There is no inner spirit or desire to turn it around. One passage of play summed us up. Late last quarter the ball spills from a pack and Allir runs and picks it up and Fritch runs past hime. Fritch refuses or is incapable of applying pressure or tackling and that is Melbourne. I believe we just don't want it enough. Sydney are well drilled, play to instruction and work bloody hard to get back and don't all hunt the ball. For goodness sake I saw Viney 3 times get in the way of a team mate in a better position because he was hunting the ball for himself. We are so far of being a tough, competitive regular finals team it makes me hurt.

Looked like a quad and that could be his season over. At 33 and reduced list that may well be the end. A former captain and warrior a true club champion.

Is it possible some changes are with the short turnaround time for the next game in Cairns?