Matthew Bate

[Captain Jack Jordan 32]

Bate is a top notch contestor of the football .

He can mark and present better than anyone in the club beside Watts .

Without him we would have been thrashed today .

Trade Maric ,Evans ,Warnock and Morton but not our GingerBateman!

Having MB on the ball helped him get his mojo back

[Jaded No More 68,976]

Ordinary player, gives us nothing we need.

Is as good as gone.

Not a midfielder and struggles to hold a spot up forward with the likes of Watts, Jurrah and Howe all much better.

[DeeSpencer 26,480]

Since when is Watts a good mark. It's probably his worst attribute. Howe, Sylvia, Trengove, Jurrah, Rivers all better marks than Watts and Bate.

I think Bate has a contract so he might stay anyway, but really one good game with some time in the midfield doesn't mean he's any good.

Port's midfield don't work the other way so it's no surprise he got a bit of the ball.

[Undeeterred 3,127]

I only watched the last quarter, but I thought he looked slow against a very average midfield. Hawks, Blues, Pies and Cats would smash him in the midfield I reckon.

[Captain Jack Jordan 32]

Since when is Watts a good mark. It's probably his worst attribute. Howe, Sylvia, Trengove, Jurrah, Rivers all better marks than Watts and Bate.

I think Bate has a contract so he might stay anyway, but really one good game with some time in the midfield doesn't mean he's any good.

Port's midfield don't work the other way so it's no surprise he got a bit of the ball.

Rivers isn't as good as Bater in the air.

He has a top go in my opinion

Wattsy can mark perfectly .

Bates wins contests-repeatedly ,and at Centre half forward or in the middle too.

[Guest Gareth Keenan]

Rivers isn't as good as Bater in the air.

He has a top go in my opinion

Wattsy can mark perfectly .

Bates wins contests-repeatedly ,and at Centre half forward or in the middle too.

NFI

Bate is almost incapable of taking an overhead mark.

[Captain Jack Jordan 32]

Ordinary player, gives us nothing we need.

Is as good as gone.

Not a midfielder and struggles to hold a spot up forward with the likes of Watts, Jurrah and Howe all much better.

Hes a genuine HFF - left side of the ground ,

Hes slow on the turnaround I admit but today the turnaround was never his mistake .

Has a habit of stopping and scanning behind himself now but I reckon hes learnt to deal with his limitations as a player .

The are so many worse players on our list ,and on other teams' that we cannot trade a player of his maturity .

[Lil_red_fire_engine 11,339]

All Bate did today is increase his trade value and allow some of us to not feel as bad if we cannot move him on.

[Hellaintabadplacetobe 4,305]

I feel for Bater. He had a crack today, but I think he is gone.

He`d probably be a good player in a better team with better disposal than ours because our delivery to him the last 4 or 5 years has been atrocious at times. So many times over the years he has presented really well only to have the ball fall at his feet or sail over his head.

Looked alright in the middle today, but keep in mind, it was a midfield that barely won a game all year.

[Harrisonrules 273]

Bate is a top notch contestor of the football .

He can mark and present better than anyone in the club beside Watts .

Without him we would have been thrashed today .

Trade Maric ,Evans ,Warnock and Morton but not our GingerBateman!

Having MB on the ball helped him get his mojo back

Thank goodness compulsive supporters don't guide our team

[Harrisonrules 273]

Rivers isn't as good as Bater in the air.

He has a top go in my opinion

Wattsy can mark perfectly .

Bates wins contests-repeatedly ,and at Centre half forward or in the middle too.

Totally disagree. Rivers is one of our better marks, judgement and hands. Unfortunatley playing on the very talls to often means he cann't always display this skill. Bate is an ordinary contested mark most of the time. He can not jump. God hands in uncontested situation. None the less I'd keep him for other reasons. Watts has markingpotential but not at the top of his game at the moment

[beelzebub 23,390]

Ordinary player, gives us nothing we need.

Is as good as gone.

Not a midfielder and struggles to hold a spot up forward with the likes of Watts, Jurrah and Howe all much better.

this +1

looked better for the ordinary opposition ( yes they stil beat us though )

[Nasher 33,617]

Thank goodness compulsive supporters don't guide our team

Agreed.

[daisycutter 29,914]

Agreed.

Sheesh, I'd just be happy for ANYBODY to guide the team. They are [censored] rudderless

[angrydee 842]

I was not a fan of his, but today's performance was good. He gave his all, ran hard and used the ball well. Too many watch him through biased eyes.

[Guest Gareth Keenan]

Yeah, good performance today, but he's just not up to it.

Unless we have aspirations to be a bottom 8 side until our demise.

[1858 285]

He isn't a part of our future or the modern game but he can at least hold his head high that he gave it his all over the years.

[Allen Jakovich 516]

NFI

Bate is almost incapable of taking an overhead mark.

Kicked a goal after one today from 40 out right of screen.

[Captain Jack Jordan 32]

Kicked a goal after one today from 40 out right of screen.

Thanks for the back up but facts are unwelcome in Gareths reality .

I have NFI what he talks about but I know he replies to posts with NFI a lot

[Captain Jack Jordan 32]

Since when is Watts a good mark. It's probably his worst attribute. Howe, Sylvia, Trengove, Jurrah, Rivers all better marks than Watts and Bate.

I think Bate has a contract so he might stay anyway, but really one good game with some time in the midfield doesn't mean he's any good.

Port's midfield don't work the other way so it's no surprise he got a bit of the ball.

My point is really about marking in the CHF area or centre ,coming out of defence .

Howe and Jurrah take hovvers .

Rivers is usually third man up.

Col is solid for his size and JT same but they aren't really leading targets .

Watts and Bate can take a grab on a hard lead with a backman or two right on their arses.

[Outside fifty 967]

Like most forwards at the club Bate is a victim sub standard forward line delivery. We crucify our forwards. I suspect that given an opportunity at another club with a well drilled mid field supplying the forwards he would flourish. His game today was excellent, his willingness to present can't be questioned. I for one have always thought the problem with our forward line lay further up the field.

[Captain Jack Jordan 32]

Like most forwards at the club Bate is a victim sub standard forward line delivery. We crucify our forwards. I suspect that given an opportunity at another club with a well drilled mid field supplying the forwards he would flourish. His game today was excellent, his willingness to present can't be questioned. I for one have always thought the problem with our forward line lay further up the field.

Thank You. That is why he struggles for consistency .

The delivery to half forward has been errant .

Get well Grimesy

[tonatopia 278]

I thought bate was very good today and with a pre-season of endurance gut-running may be a handy player to swing from forward to centre.

[Demon Disciple 12,491]

Bate has had 7 years, that's right, 7 years to prove himself as a player for the MFC and because of this 1 game you are basing your decision. Pfft, talk about accepting mediocrity. All today did was enhance Bate's trade value. We have way too many passengers on our list, who only go when they have to. Whether it be for a new contract (i'm looking at you flash), or playing for their careers (Bate, Morton, etc). Such a pi$$ weak attitude is a big reason as to why we have been so poor this year. The attitude from far too many is so far short of what is required to play AFL it isn't funny. For too long now, too many at the MFC have felt that they are deserving of their place on an AFL list, they have forgotten what a privilege it is to play at the top level, let alone earn such a ridiculous amount of money. In any other industry, if so many played so poorly for such a period, they would get the arse.

If it were up to me, i'd be getting rid of at least 8 players this year, it's probably lucky that i'm not in charge, but it would definitely send the message to the playing list. You want your wage? you want to play AFL? You want to put on the red and blue guernsey and represent the MFC? You show me why you should get the chance, you earn it.

Players i would trade/get rid of - Bartram, Bate, Dunn, Maric, Morton, Scully (for obvious reasons), Spencer, Warnock. These players have either had way too many chances to prove themselves, have passed their use-by-date, or are simply sub-afl standard.

Players that are teetering on falling into above category - Bennell, Davey, Green, Jetta, J.MacDonald, Rivers, Wonaeamirri (agonising, but injuries and recent tragic events might have gotten the best of him - God i hope not because he has real passion).

That's 8 player's i'd get rid of, and another 7 that are threatening to fall into the category. In total i have doubts on 15 players on our senior list, aka 34%. Many might disagree with me, but there is no question that all of these players are treading a fine line, the former 8 have gone over the line. Will we get rid of all these 8 players? Absolutely not. Should we?..........yes.

Sure this years draft is rather shallow, but for us to be serious about moving up the ladder, we need to get rid of the dead-wood that is holding us back, plain and simple. Trade in players, or draft players from 2nd tier competitions that will give 100%, like Myles Sewell (this guy is champing at the bit for a go in the AFL). We are not in the friend making business, we are in the premiership winning business. Mediocrity has resulted in a now 48 year premiership drought. Anything less than a ruthless approach will continue the rot.

Be ruthless, make no apologies, be DEMONS. And it starts with those who are responsible on a weekly basis, the players. Anything less is unacceptable.

[Captain Jack Jordan 32]

How do you know about their attitudes ?

OK ,we'll shed 16 blokes who we have developed over the tough times and get a whole bunch of aging rejects and some unknown kids and start again .

Bates season was bad- but he isn't finished yet .

and he ain't no Robinson Crusoe there.