We know the draw for 2010, and we have nearly finalised our player list. Assuming we don't have another horrible year for injuries like 2009, what will be some reasonable and achievable goals for the club in 2010?

The criteria is that the goals can't be too low, otherwise the are worthless. They must stretch the players and the club.

They can't be too high and unattainable. I think a top 2 finish in 2010 might be out of our league.

Here's 3 for starters.

1. I reckon we can win 8 games in 2010. We have averaged only 4 wins a year for the last 3 years. I look at our current list and i think it's good enough to double our average next year. I base this prediction on the impovement in players like Davey, Sylvia, Warnock, Frawley, Jamar, Jurrah and Grimes in 2009, and i'm not expecting any massive contribution from this years' 6 new draft picks. I chose 8 wins rather than finishing 12th or 10th, because our final position on the ladder will largely depend on the performance of other clubs, and that's outside our control. I do not believe that 4 wins is acceptable to the club and supporters.

2. Win ONE match interstate. We have not won a single interstate match in the last 3 years. We better learn fast with 2 new clubs by 2012. I don't think we should count our 'home' match in Darwin verses Port as an interstate win.

3. We beat a side that is in the top 8. I'm not counting a win in round 2 against a side that eventually finishes in the bottom 4. I'd like to see us beat a side that has genuine finals aspirations. A good example could be a win in round 11 against a Carlton team that is 7th on the ladder with 6 wins, or beating an 8th placed Essendon in round 15.

I'll add a goal that would be an exceptional performance. Winning 3 games in a row. We may have a window of opportunity in the first half of the year. It would show everyone that the players got a taste of winning and they liked it and they want more.

To quote Vince Lombardi- 'Winning isn't everything, but making the effort to win is!"

How about we actually put in a respectable performance at Etihad Stadium.

I know most MFC fans hate the stadium, but it doesn't mean the players have to play like dogs there.

6 wins would be acceptable IMO. Still a lot of work to be done to expect the club to start winning on a semi regular basis.

Davey, Bruce, Green, Warnock, Moloney, Jones, Petterd, Miller, Bate, Sylvia, Morton, Maric, Wonaeamirri, Garland, Grimes, Jamar, Jurrah. Then add Watts, Martin. Strauss, Blease, Jetta, Bennel, Scully, Trengove, Tapscott and Gysberts. For mine that's 27 pretty good reasons why this club (injuries aside) could easily win 8 games, possibly as many as 12.

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I think I have said it before but a quote from DB "we won every game we planned to win this year" that and he was [censored] himself with Richmond as he had planned to bet Freo

We still had some disappointing injuries last year but as we hopefully will be planning to win all games this year we should win at least ten and with the talent on the list you never know how many we will win.... We aren't a top four side and won't demolish many teams but I think we will start winning games....

Davey, Bruce, Green, Warnock, Moloney, Jones, Petterd, Miller, Bate, Sylvia, Morton, Maric, Wonaeamirri, Garland, Grimes, Jamar, Jurrah. Then add Watts, Martin. Strauss, Blease, Jetta, Bennel, Scully, Trengove, Tapscott and Gysberts. For mine that's 27 pretty good reasons why this club (injuries aside) could easily win 8 games, possibly as many as 12.

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no chance of 12 wins next season, i know we have to set standards and goals but i think if we were being real about this, 12 wins is not a realistic goal

How about we actually put in a respectable performance at Etihad Stadium.

I know most MFC fans hate the stadium, but it doesn't mean the players have to play like dogs there.

6 wins would be acceptable IMO. Still a lot of work to be done to expect the club to start winning on a semi regular basis.

The last time we won at Etihad was round 19 2007 against the dogs.

Have a look at the lineup.

Daniel Bell, Jace Bode, Nathan Brown, Nathan Carroll,

Aaron Davey, Lynden Dunn, Ryan Ferguson, James Frawley,

Brad Green, Ben Holland, Mark Jamar, Travis Johnstone,

Nathan Jones, James McDonald, Brent Moloney, David Neitz,

Michael Newton, l Byron Pickett, Russell Robertson, Colin Sylvia,

Paul Wheatley, Jeff White,

11 players gone and one delisted from the 22. They won but they were going nowhere. There's only 3 new players in the lineup that are still on the current list (Jones and Dunn debuted in 2006, Frawley in 2007.) This is our biggerst dilemma in 2010. We have to win games and still develop players.

I was talking with one of my arrogant Crows-supporting mates (they are all a bunch of clowns) and he wanted to put two cartons on the fact that MFC will finish bottom four. I said I'd bet on number of wins, not on placings. I am waiting to hear the response from him that we will win 8 next year. I think that is the realistic goal. Eight wins would be fantastic. If we are 8-14 next year, there's every chance we'll go 12-11 or better in 2011.

Apart from eight wins, I would also like us to not lose any game by more than 70 points.

With respect to your Crows supporting mate (limited respect, obviously), it may be a shaky bet, but it makes a lot of sense.

We have failed miserably in 2008/09 because of one MAJOR factor. We have a team of teenagers. We have just lost our leading goalkicker and one of our most respected defenders of the last decade, and we've added another bunch of kids.

I absolutely expect there'll be an upturn in form for 2010, but if you're looking for an ironclad 8 wins, or even the hope of a 12-10 finals season, you're going to need to wait until 2011 at least.

It's not a safe bet your mate made, but it's a long way from the stupidest I've heard.

Finishing no lower than 12th, with the objective being 10th

Winning two games against finals sides

Watts, Scully, Trengove etc to get at least 15 games.

I've made a bet with a cats supporter that we will finish within 8 places of Geelong. Given that they will probably finish between 2 - 4, It's a risky bet but a good one if it comes off, especially if they finish 4th and we finish 12th!

The three wins this year would have been IMO 6-7 if:

1. we were not getting half our list "ready" for next year for the second half of the season ie getting all our players medically fit where in a "normal" competitive season they would have played through injuries in most cases;
2. we had have played at fully competitive mode for the second half eg players out of position, giving "the kids a go", experimenting with gameplans, all designed to give us two priority picks - a policy I wholeheartedly agreed with by the way; and
3. retiring several of our better more experienced players as a means of positioning for the future.

Coupled with the quality of the list we now have with our high picks for the last three years (remember Watts, Strauss, and Breeze will next year be virtually new recruits, but ones with a pre-season behind them). In my view Trengove and Scully will be picked from the first game.

All these issues indicate we will be SUBSTANTIALLY more competitive than last year. If given normal behaviour last year we should have won 7 games, it would not surprise me in the least if we won between 10 - 12 games next year, maybe even sneaking into the 8 (think 1998 - 2000 when travis johnstone was drafted no 1 pick, and the year after we were mid list, and thereafter a consistently finals side).

Who agrees?

10 -12 wins in 2010 might be too optimistic. We have 8 kids who have never played a game. We have another 11 players who have played 20 games or less. 18 players are under 21. A lot of these guys will become regular players, but it's going to take a couple of years of training and playing together to develop a consistently winning side.

I thought 8 was a good target because i saw encouraging signs this year from the current list. There were good quarters of football against collingwood, geelong hawthorn and st kilda; we pushed the dogs to within 7 points, and unlike 2008 we didn't lose 7 games by > 75 points!!

Remember what happened to St Kilda in 2003? They struggled along and were 12th on the ladder by round 17. Then it clicked and they won 4 games in a row by 60 points or more. The same thing could happen to Melbourne in the next couple of years.

There are 6 games that the MFC should have pencilled in for a win next season. These are Port (Darwin), WC, Swans, North & Tiges (twice) all at home. There are another 7 games that are possible wins. Port & Freo (away) & Ess, Carl, Bris, Adel (all at the MCG) & North (Etihad) are winable games. I consider these games 50/50 because the opposition are closer to us in talent/experience. Bris & Adel are the exception but I have taken home ground advantage into consideration. These 7 games will decide whether we have an outstanding year and sneak into the finals or just make a slight improvement over the past 3 seasons. I believe we can win 2 of these 50/50 games and finish with 8 wins. Therefore, 8 wins would be a realistic goal for 2010. I will be stunned by any result over 10 wins or under 6.

I don't think the list is quite in the same position as it was in 1998 so am not anticipating a massive rise up the ladder and smashing teams in the finals. Back then we had a more mature core group of players and the Ox was almost like a new recruit after recovering from injury. The current list probably has more raw talent and will be more successful but will take 3 to 4 years to be fully realised.

We still have to blood a lot of youth next season. You would think we'll try to get as many games as we can into the likes of Blease, Strauss, Watts, Scully, Trengove. I cant see us winning anymore than 6-8 games. Id love to beat the Dons at the G.

Get a few more wins, blood the kids, play some exciting footy and getting the finances into order.

We know the draw for 2010, and we have nearly finalised our player list. Assuming we don't have another horrible year for injuries like 2009, what will be some reasonable and achievable goals for the club in 2010?

The criteria is that the goals can't be too low, otherwise the are worthless. They must stretch the players and the club.

They can't be too high and unattainable. I think a top 2 finish in 2010 might be out of our league.

Here's 3 for starters.

1. I reckon we can win 8 games in 2010. We have averaged only 4 wins a year for the last 3 years. I look at our current list and i think it's good enough to double our average next year. I base this prediction on the impovement in players like Davey, Sylvia, Warnock, Frawley, Jamar, Jurrah and Grimes in 2009, and i'm not expecting any massive contribution from this years' 6 new draft picks. I chose 8 wins rather than finishing 12th or 10th, because our final position on the ladder will largely depend on the performance of other clubs, and that's outside our control. I do not believe that 4 wins is acceptable to the club and supporters.

2. Win ONE match interstate. We have not won a single interstate match in the last 3 years. We better learn fast with 2 new clubs by 2012. I don't think we should count our 'home' match in Darwin verses Port as an interstate win.

3. We beat a side that is in the top 8. I'm not counting a win in round 2 against a side that eventually finishes in the bottom 4. I'd like to see us beat a side that has genuine finals aspirations. A good example could be a win in round 11 against a Carlton team that is 7th on the ladder with 6 wins, or beating an 8th placed Essendon in round 15.

I'll add a goal that would be an exceptional performance. Winning 3 games in a row. We may have a window of opportunity in the first half of the year. It would show everyone that the players got a taste of winning and they liked it and they want more.

To quote Vince Lombardi- 'Winning isn't everything, but making the effort to win is!"

One down (Brisbane)..Two to go. And we achieved our goal for exceptional performance after only 5 games!!!

My expection for this season was genuine hope for the future. Last night went a long way for me to believe that this will be delivered this year. Keep blooding the young guys and next year continue to march up the ladder.

My expection for this season was genuine hope for the future. Last night went a long way for me to believe that this will be delivered this year. Keep blooding the young guys and next year continue to march up the ladder.

This is a realistic post. We need to consider that as good as what we have been the last three weeks that a young team will tire as the season wears on and be inconsistent. That we have a dream run at the start of the year with majority of games at the G and Collingwood aside have not faced any of the top 4 teams. Enjoy the glimpses of the future, they will become more and more but be wary of getting ahead with your expectations.

Agree Big red, but it is getting hard to not get too excited

One down (Brisbane)..Two to go. And we achieved our goal for exceptional performance after only 5 games!!!

Is it now two down and one to go? Or does the darwin game not count as an interstate game because it was our home game?

No 2 achieved

That was a F@#$%ing top effort to win in that heat.

Jamar was interviewed sitting on his bum on the boundry line spent.

That was our first away win on the road since 2006- we were spent in the last Q because they had worked so hard earlier (Judy Garlands wide handball at the start of the last gave Port the sniff)

but we withstood a serious challenge, only just, but 4 points is 4 points while port got Zero.

Jack Watts was involved in 6 goals, Miller kicked 5. Neville Jetta Rocked Scully Trengove & junior all worked hard.

So often one to many handballs were given. The team must learn to kick earlier in tight situations.

The Bentleigh Club was great We helped the boys get home.

Why was jamar not paid the mark in the Last 3 minutes in the Goal square???

Go Demons.....

Why was jamar not paid the mark in the Last 3 minutes in the Goal square???

Touched off the boot.

That was a F@#$%ing top effort to win in that heat.

The Bentleigh Club was great We helped the boys get home.

Go Demons.....

Terrific support shown at the Bentleigh club, despite the funny screen. it was v difficult to read the players names, and the timeclock was all over the place.

Next week - Geelong at skilled. EASY!!! got 'em where we want 'em!