He was playing as a tagger last year as well Jerry and I thought did a very good job. He's been servicable thus far, even playing as a tagger he still needs to be able to find more of the ball himself. He kicked a good goal today, but when he was switched forward he really needed to present a stronger option. I like him - he's got a big body and moves well, but he needs to start imposing himself more on the game.

I was interested to see how Dunn would cope with a fwd marking role. They played him deep in the fwd line for part of the game and. I was sitting right behind the goals. On about four occasions he contested the ball in the air in the 50 and to me he looked at sea. I just dont think that overhead marking is caper unfortunately.

noticed that too. he actually got a lot of clean hitouts that landed straight into the arms of a pie. I would imagine that is something that they will have to work on with PJ and the onballers.

I notice this a lot when i watch Collingwood. Due to the ineptitude of their own ruck division (Fraser is ok at best in the taps, Bryan's ONLY weapon is his long kicking, and Wood is too slight). Their midfielders are very well-drilled at reading and sharking the ball off the opposition ruckman. They rarely rove to their own ruckman, and on the flipside to winning many clearances from the opposition's rucks, don't get too many from their own.

Have seen a lot of the Filth play this year, and it's something i've noticed watching them more than with any other team in the comp in '08... I wonder if it's just me who sees this, or if there's a stat source somewhere on the net for "Most Clearance's/1st Possession from Opposition Ruck Hitouts" to back me up?

also disagree on Morton. Won the ball in more damaging positions today but his disposal was poor. Kids are always going to be up and down in their first year to say he is going backwards is a tad harsh.

Morton's game was certainly not his best but we have to remember that young players thrive on confidence and unfortunately for Cale he messed up a few of his early kicks and I think that hurt him. He's not going backwards but rather he's going forward at a very slow pace which is what you can expect from a kid in a team that's under the pump. He did enough nice things to show he's on his way and his disposal is usually pretty good. I have no doubt that by the end of next year, he'll already be an influential player at the club.

Bruce - teams biggest liability

I actually agree with you, Y_M. I was totally embarassed to have Bruce as our acting captain today. Made SO MANY inexcusable, pathetic, little league mistakes. I am so angry writing this as I reflect back on some of the stuff I saw today. My goodness.

Also, am I the only one that didn't think Bode was totally awful? I'm trying to be optimistic after being proven very wrong about Garland (who I thought was shocking when he first started but has done a wonderful job for the last few weeks ) but I think Bode did a few nice things (mostly spoils) and could turn into something with a few more games under his belt.. Thoughts??

A bit harsh on Ooze.

I thought he he ran hard, attacked the ball, got plenty of it and found teammates on frequent occasions. Also some good passes into the forward line. The only blemish I could see was some poor finishing.

Yeah he did run hard. My reasoning is due to that poor finishing. He would have had a ripper game, if 3 of those poor finishes were passed off to teammates instead of deciding to ignore and have a pot shot. On 3 occasions, there was 3 players free, in great positions, and he ignored them. Selfish.

Bruce - teams biggest liability

Green - should be skipper

Agree with both of these from YM......

And that's twice this week I have been on the same page with him, and that is genuinely scary !!!

Agree with both of these from YM......

And that's twice this week I have been on the same page with him, and that is genuinely scary !!!

You agree that he is the biggest liability playing for Melbourne? biggest liability? You are genuinely scary.

You honestly telling me he didn't contribute more to the game than anyone else out there at all? Joker.

wonna - lazy without football

wonna - lazy without football

Are you kidding me!!! have you not seen this kid lay some massive tackles? His defensive pressure is great.

You agree that he is the biggest liability playing for Melbourne? biggest liability? You are genuinely scary.

You honestly telling me he didn't contribute more to the game than anyone else out there at all? Joker.

Oh for gods sake can the attitude (and insults) would you......

But FWIW I believe that Bruce, given his status in the side, alleged leadership, and supposed skill level has been disappointing, and yes because of it he has been a liability. Players like him, with his status, need to be the ones that the others in the side can look to, but while he does get the ball, he has distinct problems getting it off to a teammate effectively, and if you don't think that makes him a liability then so be it, but to me his disposal is shaky and only getting worse.

Was he the worst out there today? No, but he certainly isn't putting his best foot forward either.

Oh for gods sake can the attitude (and insults) would you......

But FWIW I believe that Bruce, given his status in the side, alleged leadership, and supposed skill level has been disappointing, and yes because of it he has been a liability. Players like him, with his status, need to be the ones that the others in the side can look to, but while he does get the ball, he has distinct problems getting it off to a teammate effectively, and if you don't think that makes him a liability then so be it, but to me his disposal is shaky and only getting worse.

Was he the worst out there today? No, but he certainly isn't putting his best foot forward either.

Absolute CRAP! Watch the replay for the other things in footy, spoils,tackles, clearances. You and a couple of others are being hoodwinked by YM.

Absolute CRAP! Watch the replay for the other things in footy, spoils,tackles, clearances. You and a couple of others are being hoodwinked by YM.

I'm with you bobby.

Bartram - 6

Bate - 5

Bell - 3

Bode - 6

Bruce - 6.5

Dunn - 5

Garland - 8

Green - 8

Johnson - 5

Jones - 7

McDonald - 8

McLean - 9

Miller - 6

Moloney - 7

Morton - 3

Rivers - 7

Sylvia - 5

Warnock - 8

Wheatley - 7

White - 7

Yze - 7

Wonaeamirri - 8

Sylvia - 3; very ordinary

Absolute CRAP! Watch the replay for the other things in footy, spoils,tackles, clearances. You and a couple of others are being hoodwinked by YM.

Oh my god hoodwinked, really some of us don't have any opinion of our own, or maybe that is because it doesn't agree with yours?

Last time I checked I actually believe that I am allowed to think what I want Bobby.

And I think that he being as "valuable" as he is he needs to improve the most basic fundamental in footy, something which he used to be far better and more effective at. His kicking (field and at goal) has gone downhill in recent years, and I am also not sold on his pure defensive skills either.

We need him to be better (which we all know he can be) across the board, sorry.

But then again take all this with a pinch of salt because I am apparently nothing but a weak minded little girl who is easily influenced by evil doers :angry:

You agree that he is the biggest liability playing for Melbourne? biggest liability? You are genuinely scary.

You honestly telling me he didn't contribute more to the game than anyone else out there at all? Joker.

Bruce would be on about 500K a year.

He is contracted for next year.

He has no skills, and continually hands the ball to the oppositon on a platter.

The way he is playing he will have ZERO trade value.

if thats not a liability, then what is?

Absolute CRAP! Watch the replay for the other things in footy, spoils,tackles, clearances. You and a couple of others are being hoodwinked by YM.

What, cant they form their own opinions?

It must really hurt you that other people put there dont rate Bruce.

You know I am correct, and its time to be a man and own up tp it.

One of Oozes 'shots' was a pass to Wonna running towards the square, just too far out in front for a tired young man. I thought he was one of our best apart from his last kick. I actually thought Bruce wasn't as bad as he has been, although he always has at least a couple of poor efforts that ruin his game. Same with Bartram, did some good things today, but I doubt he'll become a consistently good player. Morton has played a couple of good games early in his career and I think he will turn out to be a gun, but he should get 0/10, worst game I've seen by anyone since I've been watching footy (and I've seen more than enough games by Dale Thomas and Cameron Ling that actually benefit the opposition).

We are going to have to find some small defenders soon, because Bell and Bode shouldn't get another game this year, and Bailey must have something against Wheels.

Bartram - out wrestled medhurst

Bate - worst agility ever

Bell - rest my case

Bode - not afl standard

Bruce - in our best

Dunn - had limited impact

Garland - has established himself

Green - a costly miss

Johnson - a pleasing game

Jones - had a crack

McDonald - excellent stopping game

McLean - will poll 2

Miller - gaining some respect

Moloney- shame about injury

Morton - some wayward kicks

Rivers - had limited influence

Sylvia - shoulda kicked more

Warnock - is developing nicely

Wheatley - an excellent game

White - field kicking underrated

Yze - in our 18

Wonaeamirri - efficient with 3

One of Oozes 'shots' was a pass to Wonna running towards the square, just too far out in front for a tired young man. I thought he was one of our best apart from his last kick. I actually thought Bruce wasn't as bad as he has been, although he always has at least a couple of poor efforts that ruin his game. Same with Bartram, did some good things today, but I doubt he'll become a consistently good player. Morton has played a couple of good games early in his career and I think he will turn out to be a gun, but he should get 0/10, worst game I've seen by anyone since I've been watching footy (and I've seen more than enough games by Dale Thomas and Cameron Ling that actually benefit the opposition).

We are going to have to find some small defenders soon, because Bell and Bode shouldn't get another game this year, and Bailey must have something against Wheels.

Agreed. Yze has not been in my good books for a very long time but credit where it is due.

Yze: Surprisingly Strong Commitment

Yes he made a couple of desperate, perhaps even selfish attempts at goal. However at least they seemed born of a genuinely overwhelming desire to contribute. Nobody seems to remeber an overly optimistic shot by Wonna amidst a lot of better options.

Yze played one of his best games for a while (I haven't heard that much "Ooooze-ing" from the crowd in a long time) and even more significantly (at least as far as I'm concerned) - he had his head over the ball.

Bartram - very brave player

Bate - didn't do anything

Bell - is a dud (said this 4 weeks in a row now)

Bode - elevated rookie? joke

Bruce - not good enough

Dunn - what a goal

Garland - continues to impress

Green - poor goal kicking

Johnson - not anything special

Jones - finding space, time

McDonald - a mcdonald effort

McLean - best on ground

Miller - nothing to exciting

Moloney - yet another injury

Morton - struggled under pressure

Rivers - career in trouble?

Sylvia - played very well

Warnock - definately deserves spot

Wheatley - just a game

White - alot of mistakes

Yze - a great game

Wonaeamirri - Wona fuckin mirri

Bate - worst agility ever

This is a real problem IMO: he was never once able to break away from O'Brien.

This is a real problem IMO: he was never once able to break away from O'Brien.

I think Bate just had a really bad game on a pretty good rebounding defender. Nothing more, nothing less. He is one paced, but when he gets confidence going, I think he is quite agile and good below his knees for a bloke of his height. Just not yesterday.

Moloney wasnt good IMO. Spent the entire day starting fights rather than actually getting the pill

17 possessions of which 11 were contested (MFC equal 2nd most), 5 tackles (MFC equal 2nd most) and had 4 Frees for and 1 against.

Only played just over 3 quarters.

You are wrong.

I think Bate just had a really bad game on a pretty good rebounding defender. Nothing more, nothing less. He is one paced, but when he gets confidence going, I think he is quite agile and good below his knees for a bloke of his height. Just not yesterday.

Bate does not have good agility. In fact, its pathetic. He cannot move quickly from side to side if his life depended on it. He is the same height as Joel Corey yet Joel Corey could side-step Bate at walking pace.

Morton's game was certainly not his best but we have to remember that young players thrive on confidence and unfortunately for Cale he messed up a few of his early kicks and I think that hurt him. He's not going backwards but rather he's going forward at a very slow pace which is what you can expect from a kid in a team that's under the pump. He did enough nice things to show he's on his way and his disposal is usually pretty good. I have no doubt that by the end of next year, he'll already be an influential player at the club.

Exactly, WJ. He's playing in a team that is bottom of the ladder. Imagine if he was surrounded by 21 Geelong players - he'd already be favourite for the rising star, or close to it. No, he's surrounded by kids and blokes who won't be there next year. As the team rises over the next few years, so will his status and stature.