Melbourne has, for the second year in a row, been drawn to open its NAB Cup campaign against the reigning premiers in foreign territory.

What should our expectations be for this competition? Do we pick our best possible team (knowing the Hawks have a number of players unavailable) or do we throw our youth in at the deep end straight away?

I would not play Bruce, Green, Junior, Flash or Morton till round three regardless of the results.

I'm unsure of where Robbo is at, but if fit play him.

Fringe players such as Bell, Frawley and Newton must be played early. This could be Bell's last year, the other two need to show something or could face similar fate.

Martin, Warnock, Garland and Rivers must all get equal time over four weeks, one will miss out come round one, then play the kids who have shown the most during pre season.

Jurrah will be an interesting one.

We have no cash and no sponsor. We should be trying to win the thing to spark as much enthusiasm and interest as possible. This should not be to the detriment of risking players returning from rehab but we should not be holding players back for the sake of it.

We have no cash and no sponsor. We should be trying to win the thing to spark as much enthusiasm and interest as possible. This should not be to the detriment of risking players returning from rehab but we should not be holding players back for the sake of it.

Correct.

We have no cash and no sponsor. We should be trying to win the thing to spark as much enthusiasm and interest as possible. This should not be to the detriment of risking players returning from rehab but we should not be holding players back for the sake of it.

Spot on. And we should take the same approach in the practice matches.

Last season we didn't win a quarter of any of our preseason games. 90% of the posters on this forum were saying "she'll be right come round 1, they're only practice matches". Well I was concerned, and I'll be even more concerned if we can't win a practice match this year. Enough of this b#llshit line of "being competive", let's get back to Northey's culture of winning.

as a club were broke, nothing new there. we must look at the big picture.

Seeing as the club as all but written off the season, I think their aim should be to try and win the NAB Cup and the money.

Seeing as the club as all but written off the season, I think their aim should be to try and win the NAB Cup and the money.

when did the club say the season is all ready a write off?

Last season we didn't win a quarter of any of our preseason games.

Not quite right. We outscored Geelong in the first round NAB Cup match at Skilled Stadium and then played the Bulldogs on a Friday night in a NAB Cup Challenge match in the country and we kicked the first five goals. According to the report from diablo these were the quarter by quarter scores:-

Western Bulldogs 2.3.15 8.4.52 11.7.73 14.9.93

Melbourne 5.4.34 6.6.42 9.9.63 9.9.63

as a club were broke, nothing new there. we must look at the big picture.

I'm afraid the "big picture" is out of the equation given our current financial state. We need to be producing results now.

Not quite right. We outscored Geelong in the first round NAB Cup match at Skilled Stadium and then played the Bulldogs on a Friday night in a NAB Cup Challenge match in the country and we kicked the first five goals. According to the report from diablo these were the quarter by quarter scores:-

Western Bulldogs 2.3.15 8.4.52 11.7.73 14.9.93

Melbourne 5.4.34 6.6.42 9.9.63 9.9.63

I stand corrected. We were absolutely flying during last years' preseason.

f it you guys have swayed me over, lets go out there to win it. but i would still like to know when the club declared this season a write off.

1. We need the money.

2. We need the exposure

=

Let's win this.

but it would be good to play most first year players to give them a taste if they are fully fit and mentally/physically prepared for a quick run. don't forget we can have 8 on the bench i think

but it would be good to play most first year players to give them a taste if they are fully fit and mentally/physically prepared for a quick run. don't forget we can have 8 on the bench i think

Does anyone know how the NAB cup fixture is drawn...why do we play the premiers again..we have for the last 2 years.... doesn't seem fair to me.

Anyone going to watch our guys on the 21st... I am

i expect...............

no one to care

Does anyone know how the NAB cup fixture is drawn...why do we play the premiers again..we have for the last 2 years.... doesn't seem fair to me.

Anyone going to watch our guys on the 21st... I am

like most of the big decisions made at AFL house .... with the help of the Plucka Duck Wheel courtersy of ch 9

I expect us to go as hard as we possibly can and play anyone who is fit and ready.

We need to win this competition for so many reasons, and above all else we need to get that winning feeling back to the club. We've been losing too much for too long.

This is the only time in the season when average teams can win, so let us take full advantage of that!

I'd love to see us advance. We need the dough and we need the winning habit.

But it is interesting, since everyone including the AFL knows we need the money desperately, that for the second year running we are drawn to play the reigning premier.

If this were due to some seeding principle then Geelong would be playing West Coast and the Bulldogs would be playing Fremantle. Instead WC gets the relatvively easier draw of Collingwood (at Subi) and Freo gets the easier draw of Richmond (guess where...at Subi). Us? We're at Launceston.

So the two faltering interstaters get a hand up, and we're kept under pressure.

I really would be rapt to see us upset the dead hand of AFL fixturing.

f it you guys have swayed me over, lets go out there to win it. but i would still like to know when the club declared this season a write off.

Don't sell yourself short Al, there is some real logic to your earlier post....

I would not play Bruce, Green, Junior, Flash or Morton till round three regardless of the results. - Disagree if fit they will play, brock, rivers and robbo are the 3 that may miss IMO ATM

I'm unsure of where Robbo is at, but if fit play him. - Will not be seen until early in the season proper

Fringe players such as Bell, Frawley and Newton must be played early. This could be Bell's last year, the other two need to show something or could face similar fate. - I think all 3 will play NAB cup, the extended interchange will see if fit all 3 be included.

Martin, Warnock, Garland and Rivers must all get equal time over four weeks, one will miss out come round one, then play the kids who have shown the most during pre season. Correct, probably see a bit of garland and or martin up forward as well.

Jurrah will be an interesting one. - Can't wait. next sat night he is playing in the all stars game v adelaide at 11pm on ABC. Well worth a look i think.

Martin, Warnock, Garland and Rivers must all get equal time over four weeks, one will miss out come round one, then play the kids who have shown the most during pre season. Correct, probably see a bit of garland and or martin up forward as well.

I imagine we'd have to see quite a bit of Frawley too, at this stage.

There's been a bit of hype about his preseason, but I really think he'll emerge this season.

Good call shaft,

It will be interesting to see what role he will play. as KPD he is probably 4th in line behind rivers, garland, warnock and martin. Maybe he will become an attacking rebound defender of HB. Maybe become a small defender to play BP in a few years?

As many have already said, there are plenty of reasons why we should try hard to win the NAB cup, the least of which is that the team really does need to have a win, for confidence. The tone of 2008 was set when we failed to win any match (NAB cup or NAB Challenge) in the pre-season. Getting Hawthorn, who will be sorely undermanned due to many injuries, and beating them first up will set an entirely different tone for 2009. Moreover, it might help with the sponsorship debacle.

On a different note, I have been told to watch out for cam bruce this year. Apparently he has been training the house down.

Has anyone noticed the same? If he is fit and up + firing it will go a long way for us to have a good showing in the NAB comp(s)

Good call shaft,

It will be interesting to see what role he will play. as KPD he is probably 4th in line behind rivers, garland, warnock and martin. Maybe he will become an attacking rebound defender of HB. Maybe become a small defender to play BP in a few years?

This is how I see Garland being used. He's not overly strong, so even though he can play on a gorilla, its not ideal.

He goes well on the small speedy forwards & can use his height & reading-of-the-play ability to advantage.

Maybe. We'll see.

So how many players are training the house down? And what are we compairing this to, i hope you all right.