Robbo

[Grand New Flag 3,227]

It was great to see Robbo back in form last weekend. He went along way to winning us the game... again.

I am sick of negative threads on Robbo. I am sick of people saying he should be delisted. Robbo haters remember this:

1. Robbo is coming off a very serious injury that kept him out of the game for 12 months.

2. Robbo has had no pre-season (at all)

3. Robbo gets terrible supply week in, week out

4. Robbo takes the number one backman most week despite not being a true KPP. In a strong team he would play in the pocket or off the flank, would have the 3rd or 4th defender and not rotate through FF and CHF.

5. Robbo chose to stay with Melbourne at the end of 2007 knowing that he would probably never play finals football again and would be nothing more than a mentor in a rebuilding team. He decided to stay despite a longer and more lucrative offer from the Western Bulldogs who's premiership window is open.

6. Robbo has been an outstanding, excitement machine who has given us all many, many memorable moments and won many games for us off his own boot. We would not have won without him on Saturday. Yes he is a show pony at times, but I for one love it. I love what he brings to the game and I love what he has done for the club. He is probably the only proven match winner on our list at the moment.

Robbo needs to be re-signed to another 2 year contract!

Come to think of it he will be definitely re-signed (for at least a year probably two).

Thank god some of you guys don’t work in our recruiting department as you truly have no idea.

Edited July 7, 2009 by Grand New Flag

[Brettmcg 24]

Absolutely no doubt that he loves and bleeds for this football club, which is exactly what you want from a culture perspective. The thing I have been disappointed with this year is his "sookiness". The Queen's Birthday game was a shocker, where after flying for an impossible speccy he landed on his a*se and thumped the ground without getting up to put in a second effort. It is not the thing you want our youngsters to be seeing. He also made a point in media interviews prior to his return that he was raring to go and would be back to his best, which in my opinion has not been the case.

HOWEVER...I think while we continue to lack a strong, power forward there is no point getting rid of him. His ability to pull a goal out of his behind and split open a game (as evidenced against Sydney a few years ago) gives him that X-factor which is half the reason I go and watch every week. I would love to see him go out on a high as he has been a great servant for the club. With a solid pre-season behind him, who knows what may happen?!

[Grand New Flag 3,227]

We all hate Robbo playing for frees and his game is not faultless. However to suggest he should be delisted for this is ridicules.

[kemp 0]

Recent sooking is surely him hating himself for not having the confidence of old to fly. After some injuries there can be an attached stigma of every time you jump, your landing could be your last. Growing in reassurance each week as seen against WCE where he seemed unimpeded like previous weeks.

One more decent year in him IMO, and then a well deserved 2011 forward pocket rest to retirement. Hope he can still bag 40 in that final year and get his tally to 500. Would provide a great salute to himself and the club honouring his commitment. Fingers crossed.

Would be great to give him one more final to try and cut loose in, but probably too far a stretch (i reckon 2011 finish will be about 10th)

Edited July 7, 2009 by kemp

[rpfc 28,386]

He turns 31 this November.

He is going to have to play a very solid last two months to get another 1 year contract.

It's just where we are at.

That's not to say we shouldn't enjoy the career of a player who has given a lot to this club and entertained us for a decade.

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

Robbo should definitely get at least another year. We can't only have kids populating the entire list, particularly in the forward line - and Robbo is still very much a required player.

The fact that he loves the red and the blue is not irrelevant either. Nor is the fact that he is still a bloody good forward and is a good leader around the club ... and a good marketer of the MFC.

[Sir Why You Little 37,034]

Played a Cracker last saturday, & that is what he should aim for each week.

Robbo is a perfect scenario for the 1 year incentive based contract next year. 2011 is up to him.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

The Club should have learned alot from "gifting" pension years to Yze and White in recent years.

Robbo's time is up and it has been for a while. Thanks for the memories but you are not part of the future or the culture that is required with it.

[Axis of Bob 11,798]

I'm not looking forward to being around these board when delistings/retirements come about at the end of the year.

Not going to be a pretty place.

[Brettmcg 24]

Robbo's time is up and it has been for a while. Thanks for the memories but you are not part of the future or the culture that is required with it.

and exactly who do we replace him with next year?

[Roost It 1,434]

Time for the kids to takeover.

F: Maric Martin Wonaeamirri

HF: Watts Bate Jurrah

Thanks for the memories. Robbo is not the player to teach our youth, nor does he have sufficient talent left to compete at the level required of an experienced AFL player.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

and exactly who do we replace him with next year?

We dont.

He will be superceded by younger players with a better work ethic and commitment to the team cause.

I am not sure we have lost anything more than a bleedin' hearts favorite for supporters who cant recognise the hard decisions that have to be made on list management at year end.

And I dont think Robbo is one of the hard decisions to make.

[jumbo returns 6,741]

We dont.

He will be superceded by younger players with a better work ethic and commitment to the team cause.

I am not sure we have lost anything more than a bleedin' hearts favorite for supporters who cant recognise the hard decisions that have to be made on list management at year end.

And I dont think Robbo is one of the hard decisions to make.

He'll get one more year - speaking of 'pension' players, there's still a couple more out there still running around.

[JACKATTACK 17]

The Club should have learned alot from "gifting" pension years to Yze and White in recent years.

I think the problem in that case was that holding onto White and Yze meant we lost a lot of experienced players in a short period of time.

Robbo, might be held onto because there are not many players to lose at the end of next year, and therefore holding onto him won't cause any major disruption.

I have no doubt we are more likely to win games if we hold on to him next year. Ultimately I would probably rather give a Newton/Hughes and suffer the pain next year than drop one of them and enjoy one last year of Robbo.

[drdrake 3,163]

I like Robbo and will be a little upset to see him go but unfortunately the club will have to delist 5-7 players this year, you go through our list and with out knowing contract status you would think it has to come from McDonald, Whelan, Wheatley, Robbo, Johnson, Dunn, Bell, McNamarra, Newton, Cheney, Bartram, Petterd, Miller. From that list I think Wheatley, Cheney, Petterd, Miller and Johnson will still be there next year, that leaves 8.

We may get one more year out of Robbo but will that benefit the club in the long term, no, it will apply a band aid on our forward line for one year.

[H_T 3,043]

Robbo needs to be re-signed to another 2 year contract!

Come to think of it he will be definitely re-signed (for at least a year probably two).

Thank god some of you guys don’t work in our recruiting department as you truly have no idea.

Are you a part of the department GNF?

If you are, it's a concern that you would leak such information.

[Trisul 664]

Robbo needs to be re-signed to another 2 year contract!

Come to think of it he will be definitely re-signed (for at least a year probably two).

"Tell him he's dreaming"

[True Believer 1]

"Tell him he's dreaming"

year by year now....when playing well, he's great BUT on a bad day, he's not !!!!

Edited July 7, 2009 by True Believer

[45HG 1,539]

7/8 of these guys will be gone by the end of the season you'd think, ages as of March next season in brackets:

Whelan (30), Wheatley (28), McDonald (33), Bartram (22), Bell (24), Dunn (22), Buckley (22), Johnson (25), Miller (26), Newton (22), Hughes (23), Valenti (23) and Robertson (31).

4 of our 6 oldest players in that list - highlights where we're at IMO.

Backmen

Whelan, Wheatley, Buckley, Bell

Mids

Bartram, McDonald, Johnson, Valenti

Forwards

Dunn, Miller, Newton, Hughes, Robertson

Bold are the players I feel are almost certainly gone. 2-3 of the others will go I think

[Akum 2,660]

It was great to see Robbo back in form last weekend. He went along way to winning us the game... again.

I am sick of negative threads on Robbo. I am sick of people saying he should be delisted. Robbo haters remember this:

1. Robbo is coming off a very serious injury that kept him out of the game for 12 months.

2. Robbo has had no pre-season (at all)

3. Robbo gets terrible supply week in, week out

4. Robbo takes the number one backman most week despite not being a true KPP. In a strong team he would play in the pocket or off the flank, would have the 3rd or 4th defender and not rotate through FF and CHF.

5. Robbo chose to stay with Melbourne at the end of 2007 knowing that he would probably never play finals football again and would be nothing more than a mentor in a rebuilding team. He decided to stay despite a longer and more lucrative offer from the Western Bulldogs who's premiership window is open.

6. Robbo has been an outstanding, excitement machine who has given us all many, many memorable moments and won many games for us off his own boot. We would not have won without him on Saturday. Yes he is a show pony at times, but I for one love it. I love what he brings to the game and I love what he has done for the club. He is probably the only proven match winner on our list at the moment.

Robbo needs to be re-signed to another 2 year contract!

Come to think of it he will be definitely re-signed (for at least a year probably two).

Thank god some of you guys don’t work in our recruiting department as you truly have no idea.

Good thread, outstanding OP GNF. All the points are good but your 4th point is where the rubber hits the road IMO.

A lot of people seem to want Robbo to be someone else. I'd love to be able to give Robbo another 10cm - according to the team list he's the same height as Grimes, 1cm taller than Sylvia & Bell, 2cm taller than Petterd & Strauss, and 3cm (i.e. just over an inch) taller than Blease, Cheney and McLean. We'd never consider playing any of these as FF. I'd love to give him another yard or 3 of pace, to put him in the Brad Johnson category, or another 10kg weight. But we have to go with the Robbo we've got. He's not the ideal FF, never has been & never will be, but I can't think of anybody who's worked harder over so many years to play well above his physical drawbacks.

At present, we have no other forward who's capable of taking on the opposition's best defender week in week out. In fact, a good indicator of when we no longer need Robbo is when another potential KPF - don't care whether it's Jack W, Stef, Jurrah, Bate, Dunn, Butcher (??), Miller, Bruce, even Juice or PJ god forbid ... whoever! - attracts the opposition's best "stopper" defender for 3 weeks in a row. That day will come, maybe next year or maybe not (meaning that we may need Robbo for another year or another 2 years, hard to tell at this stage - sorry Rhino!), and when it does come we can put Robbo out to pasture in a FP, if he's our best goalsneak FP at the time.

But until that day, the simple fact is that Robbo's considered, at least by every other team (if not by some supporters), to be our top KPF, like it or not ... with all his deficiencies, with all the things we'd prefer him to be or to do. If we lose Robbo, we expose Jack or Stef or LJ or Bate or Dunn to being smashed every week so early in their careers, with all the inherent risks to them. For 2009 and 2010 and perhaps for 2011, we simply have to go with the Robbo we've got, imperfect beast that he is, until a better alternative comes along.

[Heart Beats True 1,228]

Whole-hearted agree. Robbo has been a fantastic player over the years and is a great clubman however his time is up. We need to move younger players into the side and he will need to make way.

[DangerousDemon 3]

It was great to see Robbo back in form last weekend. He went along way to winning us the game... again.

I am sick of negative threads on Robbo. I am sick of people saying he should be delisted. Robbo haters remember this:

1. Robbo is coming off a very serious injury that kept him out of the game for 12 months.

2. Robbo has had no pre-season (at all)

3. Robbo gets terrible supply week in, week out

4. Robbo takes the number one backman most week despite not being a true KPP. In a strong team he would play in the pocket or off the flank, would have the 3rd or 4th defender and not rotate through FF and CHF.

5. Robbo chose to stay with Melbourne at the end of 2007 knowing that he would probably never play finals football again and would be nothing more than a mentor in a rebuilding team. He decided to stay despite a longer and more lucrative offer from the Western Bulldogs who's premiership window is open.

6. Robbo has been an outstanding, excitement machine who has given us all many, many memorable moments and won many games for us off his own boot. We would not have won without him on Saturday. Yes he is a show pony at times, but I for one love it. I love what he brings to the game and I love what he has done for the club. He is probably the only proven match winner on our list at the moment.

Robbo needs to be re-signed to another 2 year contract!

Come to think of it he will be definitely re-signed (for at least a year probably two).

Thank god some of you guys don’t work in our recruiting department as you truly have no idea.

David Neitz did all that for years without the histrionics and gymnastics that Russell displays. Great player for the club and mentor for younger players he might be, but iI am afraid much like Lloyd the injury might just end his career.

[Akum 2,660]

7/8 of these guys will be gone by the end of the season you'd think, ages as of March next season in brackets:

Whelan (30), Wheatley (28), McDonald (33), Bartram (22), Bell (24), Dunn (22), Buckley (22), Johnson (25), Miller (26), Newton (22), Hughes (23), Valenti (23) and Robertson (31).

4 of our 6 oldest players in that list - highlights where we're at IMO.

Backmen

Whelan, Wheatley, Buckley, Bell

Mids

Bartram, McDonald, Johnson, Valenti

Forwards

Dunn, Miller, Newton, Hughes, Robertson

Bold are the players I feel are almost certainly gone. 2-3 of the others will go I think

Look, honestly, I can see how this makes a lot of sense. I don't particulafrly like Robbo either. Like most posters here, my favourite players are the young guns, and I can't wait for the time when they're the core of the team.

My point is that we can lose some of the senior players from our midfield and defence, because there are young guys who have either stepped up already (Grimes, Frawley) or will step up at some time over the next 12 months (Morton, Cheney). And enough experienced players will remain in midfield & defence so they don't have to take the major responsibilities until they're ready for it.

But KPF is not the same. I'd love it if Jack & Stef, for example, started ripping it up as KPFs before the end of this season (though not ripping it up enough for us to win more than 2, obviously) - nice fantasy, but not going to happen. OK, maybe preseason comp 2010 - highly unlikely. Or 2010 season - possible, but probably still too early.

I want Robbo to help keep the pressure off these young guns until we know they're ready to take it. I'm happy to concede that Robbo staying on may not contribute much to team performance, but it's making a substantial contribution to team building. Not the ideal situation, but I'd hate for Jack's career to be seriously damaged by having his body & confidence smashed because we let Robbo go before Jack was ready to take on the No.1 defender each week.

Just don't see why we should risk unnecessarily sacrificing a great young player just because some have major grudges against Robbo, even if they have good reasons for those grudges.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

I think the problem in that case was that holding onto White and Yze meant we lost a lot of experienced players in a short period of time.

Robbo, might be held onto because there are not many players to lose at the end of next year, and therefore holding onto him won't cause any major disruption.

I have no doubt we are more likely to win games if we hold on to him next year. Ultimately I would probably rather give a Newton/Hughes and suffer the pain next year than drop one of them and enjoy one last year of Robbo.

No we just contracted them past their useful lives.

How do we figure we dont want to lose too many players at year end. There is a bit of logjam if you look closely. I'd have Robbo at the front of the queue.

If Newton had performed I suggest that Robbo's window of opportunity would be even smaller.

And I am not sure what Robbo gives us in team building and younger player development. In all honesty he is poor example of what is required on the ground

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

7/8 of these guys will be gone by the end of the season you'd think, ages as of March next season in brackets:

Whelan (30), Wheatley (28), McDonald (33), Bartram (22), Bell (24), Dunn (22), Buckley (22), Johnson (25), Miller (26), Newton (22), Hughes (23), Valenti (23) and Robertson (31).

4 of our 6 oldest players in that list - highlights where we're at IMO.

Backmen

Whelan, Wheatley, Buckley, Bell

Mids

Bartram, McDonald, Johnson, Valenti

Forwards

Dunn, Miller, Newton, Hughes, Robertson

Bold are the players I feel are almost certainly gone. 2-3 of the others will go I think

45,

Newton and mabe even PJ are contracted for next year. They wont be paid out early.

Valenti and Hughes are rookies that have been elevated onto the main list. They will be rookies at year end and I would suggest that they are likely to go. This does not affect the main list.