Straight Sets Simon

That's the great thing with the Category B Rookies, we have to give up very little to get them.

Fritsch will become a genuine A grade player before too long. I was skeptical of him moving up the ground because he is a great forward but at the moment he is the outside player we have been crying out for who can kick goals as well.

As if that's the reason... In all seriousness, he looked lost on the wings but since going into the guts he's back to his best. I was very skeptical, but he's had a fantastic month. His tackling is a highlight and by playing in the centre he's naturally getting the ball a lot more than he used to.

It's a fair effort against any opposition.

We've not lost a quarter since I started this thread. You're welcome.

What.

Whateley isn't the moron here.

Brayshaw can hit targets, his kicks are just often a bit loopy and lack penetration which the stats don’t show.

"You're really good at footy, Jesse". "You're really good at footy too, Tom".

Yes, he is more rounded but Petracca has more tricks. I'm still not sold on Brayshaw's kicking (I think he goes to his left foot too often) but the fact that he was able to get the ball so often was a huge tick for me.

Richmond still managed to crush Fremantle in the fourth quarter despite playing the same number of games over the same period of time as us.

Getting caught holding the call 20 metres out from the opposition goal is inexcusable. Luckily for him St Kilda’s goal kicking was horrendous.

No, I was implying that Goodwin was playing him out of position earlier in the game on a wing and down back.

Moving Tom McDonald forward too.

It was clear that he was abusing his position within the club to further his own media career. I’m surprised it took so long for him to get replaced.

I notice that Tom Morris wasn’t on the latest Inside Melbourne podcast, did he get the flick? EDIT: Just saw the posts above about this.

Most likely. Still, a lot of those issues haven't gone away from a half of football.

Praising young Fritsch.

The pick we got from Watts is what we used on Fritsch. Shows how good Fritsch is already.

Watts v Fritsch in 2018

Excellent debut, love his fight and thirst for the contest. His goals were both excellent and very timely in the circumstances.

I’m taking credit for turning it around. We have been much better, but is it sustainable? A lot of the same issues I mentioned are still there, it just helps that the opposition are putrid.

As I am writing this Melbourne are only one goal down at half time, against Essendon but it is continuing the trend of rubbish football we have seen over in the past few weeks. The same problems still exist: Fumbling Missing tackles Not being able to break clear or dispose of the ball when tackled Poor skills Overrunning the ball on the ground Kicking into the man on the mark because not getting back behind the mark far or quick enough Drifting off the mark causing the umpires to call play on resulting in free kicks turning into unnecessarily pressured kicks Panicked kicks and handballs Not looking to break clear for disposing of the ball, just coughing it up Multiple players flying for the ball and no one staying down The opposition getting easy goals out the back in the clear Stagnant down-the-line ball movement with no flair or dare Out-numbered in our forward line Even with all of this we are only one goal down, it just shows how much we still need to improve because our ceiling is much higher. I've got no doubt that the systems and structures in place are what is leading to these poor performances. Talent on the list isn't the issue, we no longer rely on players like Magner, Crouch, Bail and Sellar. We have even seen a nice debut from young Spargo who has been lively. So all you optimists out there, convince me of why this isn't the Mark Neeld era all over again.

Way too many people.

This year he has been on the box, in previous years he was on the bench.