Older demon

A lot has been written about this year being an aberration and there was a variety of opinion on our status on radio yesterday. I decided to look back over the last 9 years at ladder position and who fallaway and how long did it take to rebound. The stats suggest the next few years will not be what we hope for In the period 2010 to 2018 the only teams that didn't appear in finals were Brisbane & Gold Coast with the other 16 teams all making an appearance with MFC making it just with one. From 2010 to 16 teams that made the top 4 and fell away and the time to rebound were Bulldogs 2010 missed finals next 4 years. West Coast 2011 missed next 3 years. Adelaide 2012 missed next 2 years. 2014 Geel missed 1 year. 2015 Freo missed the next 3. Lesson to learn, bad years are rarely a 1 year aberration which doesn't augur well for MFC in 2020 Overall the stats for the 16 teams is as follows. Listed are finals appearances over 9 years and largest gap in between finals appearance. So, Collingwood have 5 finals appearance and a gap of 4 years between finals. Geelong have 8 and missed 1 year. Saints have 2 appearances and 7 years out. Bulldogs have 3 finals appearances and a 4 year maximum gap. Syd have 9 out of 9. Freo have 5 finals appearances and a 3 year gap that is growing. Hawks 8 and missed once. Carlton what a surprise 3 finals appearances but 5 years out and growing. West Coast 6 finals appearances and a 2 year gap out of the 8. Essendon 3 times in the 8 but never out for more than 2 years. North 4 top 8 finishes with a 4 year gap missing the 8. Richmond 5 top 8 finishes and at worst out for 3 years. Adelaide 4 top 8 and out of the 8 for 2 years. Port Adelaide 3 top 8 finishes and out for 3 years. GWS took 6 years to make their first final but have made the top 8 the last 3 years. The moral is don't expect to return to finals next year because it is rare. The fall is usually for a couple of years. I don't think our list is as good as we think and we need much more depth so I hope we use the high draft picks wisely. Given the delistings last year and the influx of Sparrow, Jordan, Bedford, Nietschke, Here, Chandler, Lockhart and Dunkley means there is a lot of development needed. I have lowered my expectation for next year as history says only Hawthorn and Geelong have slipped for a year. With the exception of the dogs in 2016 the flag always comes from the top 4. The top 4 since 2010 has been limited to 9 teams Hawks have 7, Cats 6, Swans 5, Pies 4, Freo & Eagles 3, Crows & GWS 2 with Saints & Dogs 1 each. Port Adelaide is the team stats that most interest as a model for MFC to avoid. In 2014 they came with seconds of knocking off eventual premiers Hawthorn since then they missed finals for 2 years got 5th in 2017 and haven't made finals since.

My sentiments as well. Jessie may be out west but he just cannot get the cards to fall his way. A recurrence of a navicular on top of everything else he has endured hardly seems fair. We have had our fair share of this foot injury and the successful return rate isn't good. I wish Jesse all the best post surgery and in his recovery

At the start of the year we were touted as having the best midfield in the competition. This certainly hasn't been the case on the evidence shown in 17 rounds of football. The KPI I don't like is clearances and inside 50's which suggest our mids are getting plenty of the ball and there is a disconnect with the forward line. I have looked at the midfield depth of other clubs and their marquee players and come to the conclusion that our midfield is inexperienced, shallow in depth and is lacking skill and kicking efficiency. I hope that this draft we look to bring some class and speed into the mix. To prove my point I am comparing Max, Clarry, Gus, Harmes & Viney with other teams. Max and Viney are experienced but Clarry, Gus and Harmes are still learning the caper. Of this group I consider only Harmes able to hit targets on a regular basis. It is fair to also include the others who may run through the midfield ie wings and flankers, to see how we match up. At the top we have WestCoast with 2 rucks feeding Shuey, Yeo, Sheed, Gaff & Masten with Ryan and Rioli as rovers. The Pies carry 2 rucks feeding Pendlebury, Adams, Crisp, Sidebottom, Treloar, Phillips and Wells. Both have players who hit targets up forward and pace. Yesterday English was removed from the ruck and they let Bontempelli, Dunkley, MacCrae and Hunter run wild and still have Libba and Wallis to return. Geelong try 2 rucks but have Danger, Kelly Selwood, Duncan, Guthrie, Ablett, and this year have added Myers, Dalhaus and Clarke to the mix. Our support group is Fritch (efficiency 50%) Hunt (quick but awful kick) Trac (who should be in the midfield but gets lost sometimes on the half forward flank) Salem (needed down back) Melksham (injured and sadly missed) Vandenburg (perpetually injured). Special cases are Lewis (Last season) and Jones (better kick on either foot than Clarrie & Gus but rarely in the middle). In comparison our mids is still young compared to those I have mentioned with Jack the reader being a bull rather than the cream. I don't despair that this year we have gone backwards and maybe next year won't be as good as we expect because I believe we need to develop a lot more before we can consistently play finals and challenge. We need goal kicking mids, centreline and half forward players. We need more class, speed and midfield depth in my opinion. A good old fashioned rover would be a godsend i.e the Papley, Gresham, Rioli, Betts, Tipungwuti type. What do you think?

I wonder if Petty will have some time up forward he is good overhead and may defend the area better than some of our forwards. Looks like max and Brayden will rest at full forward.

As I have no cartilage in either knee after 5 menisectomies I can understand the cautious approach. Minor tears can heal but take 6 weeks and more major tears can be stitched and take longer to heal. Not sure about current orthopaedic practices but surgeons appear to be very conservative about snipping out cartilage. cartilage doesn’t grow back and arthritis is more likely to develop in the knee later in life.

6 Oliver 5 TMac (he did take the 4th quarter off) 4 Preuss 3 Harmes 2 salem 1 Jones apologies to Frost and May

So given max won't play and Preuss is in who was the other emergency held over for tomorrow. Jones may also be in some doubt

Has anyone considered that the coaching staff whilst saying we are still going hard are in fact working towards next year already. This mornings analysts were surprised we went head to head with Brisbane with the run and gun. It looked good and for a half and we moved the ball well, played a good short game and according to Zorko was NOT what they expected from us. It was bruise free footy with minimal tackles and lots of turnovers. They adjusted their game at half time and we didn't resulting in us getting belted in the second half. Consider that the coaches were trying something different and stuck to it all game in contrast to the long kicking game we have tried unsuccessfully. Petty was left on Hipwood and Zorko, Lyons and Neale were left running riot. Our most experienced mid Jones who was playing well was never moved into the centre. Harmes, Brayshaw, Clarry, Viney and at times Trac got their pants pulled down. Even the coach admitted to this and pretty much said he left Viney on Neale all day and lowered his colours. For Lewis to be promoted it would be for a farewell game, Preuss to cover Max and JKH only if he was getting a contract extension. Petty is interesting as he can take a mark but turns the ball over a lot and hasn't quite adjusted to the pace of senior footy. Play him to get games into him but be careful not to destroy his confidence as I note the opposition play through him and his current opponent . WE badly miss Melksham (our most polished mid) Jetta ( best small back) and Lever. I don't see anyone at Casey belting the door down for a game. As for playing kids we already have 3 first year players in the team, Petty in his 2nd year with 6 game and Bull Smith with only 11 games in his time. There was a big investment in youth with Jordan, Chandler, Sparrow, Lockhart and Dunkley coming in this season

Actually Goody didn't make the move. Steven May was shown on vision talking to Frost and getting him to pick up Hipwood, showed some on field leadership. Very slow to react up in the coaches box...

Brisbane are a very polished settled side with a fantastic midfield. 14 of their players have played every game this year. This has allowed them to grow together, be very cohesive and have a very settled line up. We have all known that Hipwood is a gun. In contract Hore, Lockhart and Baker are first year players and Petty in his second year has 5 games to his name. In the last 2 weeks the opposition have played through Petty taking advantage of his inexperience. He is a good mark reads the play well but hasn't got the strength or poise yet and turns it over. Hipwood took him apart in the third and the start of the fourth and if you watch the vision, it was May who asked frosty to go to Hipwood. Poor form from the coaches box to not make the move in the third and idiotic to leave hime there at the start of the last. I also think the long season may be catching up with More and I like Lockhart and bake has a go. Lets not forget Smith has played 11 games and if he was the answer he would have played a lot more than that. Compounding all that our mids got smashed today. Neale, Lyons and Zork tore us to shreds and won so many centre clearances we could easily have lost by a lot more. The deficiencies are plain to see I hope we can recruit to fill them.

6 Salem hits targets 5 May hits targets 4 Jones Best game for the year 3 Viney Never stopped trying 2 Oliver Gets it a lot but treats it like a hot spud 1 Fritch Did some good things and generally kicks well

In a more elegant time ie long ago ageing rovers and mids went to the back pocket. Think Sam Nankervis, who stayed as captain and played 325 games.

OMac not even selected for Casey must be injured

Personal communication from someone involved. Not at liberty to name but it has been mentioned elsewhere

Interesting thoughts and the only reason I can think of is that some senior players still cannot warm to Macca. Don't forget that when Macca came to MFC Daniel Cross was concerned and wanted nothing to do with Macca. His last stint as senior coach did not finish well and that would influence whether you sent Macca to Casey. I do believe he may have done some line coaching at Geelong and the players loved him and his tough love.

With all due respect to the incumbents this is all about leadership and direction. In the last quarter with us threatening (we were within 3 goals) I noticed Pendlebury position himself down back and direct traffic and get involved in the contest. On this day and not for the first time we got nothing from our co-captains. They were invisible and not a presence. Whilst Max is the leader I think we are short on for dynamic follow me leadership. Think Selwood, Pendles, Cotchin, Crips Ziebel and so on who all can impact a game and influence the outcome. Who do we have that fits this description. Before his knee reco last year Lever was a captain in waiting but with 2 ops is not ready to step up Jones has been a great servant but it is time to step down and Viney doesn’t have enough tricks. He can lead in hard ball gets but only has a left foot, cannot kick more than 40 meters and has limitations in his game.

Despite all the extended bench being named at Casey there is no Oscar Mac selected at Casey. Is he injured rather than omitted? Notable that Lewis is selected at half back for Casey. On the news tonight Lever's selection is subject to him getting through training tomorrow. If fit he plays if not he won't be at Casey

He was and always will be the great orator, the reverend. As he said, he loves to tell a story and what I heard in his message to this playing group was a beautiful story. So you have had a bad year, lots of injuries and fallen short of expectation and even last week lost at the bell. Don't look for blame, own it, take responsibility accept the handball and work your way through it. Rather than motivation I felt as a lesson in life. I have no doubt one of the reasons he has lasted longer than any predictions is his dedication to this cause and to fight MND. No matter what life or footy throws at you, face it and work your way through as best you can. It starts for MFC Monday IMO and who better to take on than the Pies. Neale you are an inspiration to us all.

Don't laugh but watching Oscar reminds me very much of a young Brendan Goddard. He is tall, balanced, quick and can kick the ball and hit a target. I remind the group that he was part of the Brisbane academy so they obviously saw something in him. His drop from there coincided with his mom's illness, so maybe it wasn't ability that saw a dip in his form. He may be the best pick up in recent times

Maybe not looking at the longer term. His foot issue is serious and if Jones stands down I think it would be wise to name another co-captain.

My first thought was that he reminded me of Steven Stretch playing on the wing. Tall balanced and quick I hope they persevere with him.

Jack has his deficiencies but he lacks nothing in courage and will to win. His foot is not good and will not get better. He will need to be managed for the remainder of his career however long that may be and I would always have him in my team.

6 Gawn 5 Hunt 4 Harmes 3 Oliver 2 Frost 1. Hore

Fritsch is having the 2nd year blues and doesn't have the game to play down back. He is missing targets and his skill drops when put under pressure. I am sure he will develop into a fine footballer but not down back.

I only wanted the team to show some endeavour and compete as there were some predicting a smashing. No we didn't win but I thought that the best 4 quarter effort for the year. The team took chances and made mistakes but no one can fault the effort. My disappointment is with the established players who just don't stay in the game for long enough. Trac could have been anything tonight but he has a lot of maturing to do in the footy smarts. I loved Maxies game, he was awesome. I loved the run of Hunt and his attack on the ball. Harmes never stops running and Clarry was back running and creating. I was impressed with Marty Hore and noted that Baker shows some poise and speed an. Consider that with so many injuries we have players in the team with limitations but it was TMac, Trac and Garlett who failed in front of goal and they are are go to players. Kennedy rarely misses and two of Shuey's snaps were unbelievable. It was very notable how much better the Eagles field kicking was and ours was horrible. We made the yards and entries by overlap handball and some will not play many more games because they cannot kick. As for the umpires I thought that it was only one who imposed himself on the game, Dean Margetts the other 2 didn't appear to make many decisions it was all Mr W.A. I hope Eddie creates a groundswell of criticism against Margetts a) for pinging Smith for holding the ball and b) for not paying a free for a sling tackle. The scores were level and Smith about to snap for goal.