I obviously didn't see what you saw but do you think that there are some established players who would use their comeback games in the Northerns to get fitness rather than have a big influence on the game? Maybe he was just trying to have a physical training session to make sure his knee was OK and MM told him not to get injured.

It's different with the Buckleys of the world and the Ellards and so on who are fringe players and need to impress the MC via the Northerns. They are fringe dwellers and have to rely on being selected when someone is dropped or injured.

What do you think of that as a hypothesis?

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Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

No smarts and few skills.
The game has evolved beyond that now

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

This. Mick and Wiley seem to rewarding those who traditionally train hard by selecting Duigs, Davies, Joseph etc.

Game exposure should even things out soon.

Time will tell.

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Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

Not particularly confident. But like how younger/fringe players are getting opportunities. One of the things I really like about MM.

Get out

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3 weeks don't forget nab cup final

He's got more to his game than people give him credit for....There i said that....

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"I will rejoice in their anguish, delight in their failure and revel in our success"

We are Carlton, @#$%&! the rest !!!!!!

..Krooz to play majority in the ruck with Bolt helping out, but levi playing deep fwd when fwd.. ..Rowe to be CHF [though fitness a concern?].. ..need to play one of the talls fwd as a perm fwd, and not chopping the set-up every 10 mins..

..ultimately it's less about structures and personel, as it is about work rate.. ..simp-ly have to work harder, both ways..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

Fair call. Although my concern about Laidler wasn't just about form, it was also fitness. He looked to be labouring a bit to me. And I also thought his body language looked ordinary for a bloke that is supposed to be our 'general' in defence. If I didn't know better, he appeared to have the sulks up when he wasn't able to zone off and had to play on a man (Aaron Edwards) in the 3rd quarter. He had 3 goals kicked on him in about 10 minutes and gave away a stupid 50m penalty. I will say in his defence that the ball was coming in at a million miles an hour, so I don't blame him for being pissed off about that. Anyway, the MC obviously were happy enough and that's the main thing....

Laidler is one of my favourite players so I'm really keen to see him get back to peak form/fitness. He'll get there, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes him a few AFL games.

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It's never as good as it looks and it's never as bad as it seems.

MM might as well play as many on the list early in the season in these blockbusters to see what he's got. No use playing them against the lesser teams where there may be less pressure.

I agree he is rewarding hard trainers, but playing like rubbish in matches will mean he will come to similar conclusions Ratten did on a fair few players.

Interesting to see Duigan dropped. Being in the leadership group and all I thought Mick might have persisted a bit longer. It's a shame Duigs hasn't been able to match the levels he reached in his debut season. Hope he can get back there.

Hope Laidler plays as well as we all expect him to and that he remains injury free.

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Seen someone at a local family restaurant last night. What's having a chat with the owner and this player....... A lot of planing has gone into this match, he said much much more than then the tigers game. Player said a good mood considering the loss. He Agreed waite is our most important player. And if he comes right, we should have a much better second half of season.

he Spoke glowingly about Mick. Said that his communicates his instructions clear. The difference between Mick and Ratts is Mick likes to teach and get out on the groin and teach rather 3 hour reviews. mick takes a big interest in the players lives outside of footy. He has encouraged some of the boys to look into getting a part time apprenticeship or uni studies. The player we spoke to said he's keen to get a sparky apprenticeship

He'll want to find that level before Round 11 when we can play rookies and McInnis returns from injury. Expect less of a surplus of half-back flankers next season.



Likewise, although be prepared for a slower Jeremy Laidler. Not being blessed with any pace prior to injury - he's going to have to use his first option on most occasions.

Win lose or draw i will be happy if we keep them under 70pts. I will still find something to get stuck into "Its All About Me" Mick though.

We need to play tighter and have a plan where we can lock down a game for 10 mins if things start going the other way. Playing ultra defensive tomorrow will be a good start to adding such a plan to our weaponry.

I could see that approach working for some players, but probably not all..

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Well his career did start at st kilda.....

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#DonTheStash

Is planing like planking?

I'm jut so relieved to hear that we plan much more for some games than others.
Brilliant.

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”