THE HOWE JONES INDEX

[angrydee 842]

FWIW I thought given how few there were available to play today, it was an acceptable performance in an ordinary game.

Jones continues to become to become elite (29 @ 97%) . Howe finally had a DE above 60%, as did Sylvia. Joel Mac's DE was 91%. Tommy Mc continues to improve. Gys was reminded about the pace and intensity of AFL. Green showed he hasn't lost it all.

Dunn is continually improving under the new regime. The captains led well. Blease needs to see some vision of Davey's 2004.

Tappy indicated how good he's going to be.

Some of you will never be happy!

[deejammin' 2,185]

I stated in the pre match that this is one of the worst Melbourne teams I have seen on paper and I stand by that statement, as a result I will very happily take an easy win where we were never challenged. Spencer, Sellar, Morton, JMac, Bail, Dunn had all been terrible before this game and all played better than usual, Strauss and Gys are both coming back in after a long time off AFL footy, and Moloney leads a list of players horribly out of form. This was a good win in the context of the match, I can see at least 7 of those players dropping out of our best 22 next year to be replaced with far more quality, given that it was a good win.

Edited August 5, 2012 by deejammin'

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Despite the prejudice in this club (a la Stanton) the up side is far too good to get rid of yet.

The only upside he has shown is that he was a No 4 draft pick five years ago. He has shown little since then.

The difficulty is no one would take him off us unless it was 4th round consolation draft pick.

Pretty sure the player has to agree to the trade as well. Of course, if your club came to you and said, "hey, we're planning on offering you around to see if we can get some sucker to take you off our hands" would you really want to stay?

Just tell him you dont fit into the game plan and if you dont want to spend next year playing for Casey you will be open for a 2nd chance at another Club and accept a trade,

However it is poor form if anyone cheers an injury to a player especially one of their own team.

[pitmaster 3,450]

Cannot believe some of the negativity here. Yes nasher, jnrmac, stranga, maybe olddee too, this means you.

Half the side missing through injury and you've also forgotten Gold Coast's pretty good form line coming into this having been competitive against some tidy opposition.

We saw Tappy play his best game yet, Spencer show some promise - we lost our drive out of the middle when Sellar went in to spell him - Green hint at the possibility he could be a useful senior player next year, Sylvia continue to show what he can do, Grimes continue his form, and some very positive ball movement in the first quarter and the latter part of the second. The alternate skipper gave us some strong contested marks and Dunn some mongrel.

Sure they ran out of steam - Gysberts was up and down on the spot from midway through the last quarter - but it is an underdone side.

The coach has been telling us Cook can't run out a game and now we see the effect of having to put too many not quite fit enough players into the side. Hey here's a thought, maybe the coach does know what he's talking about? Wouldn't that be amazing.

Just enjoy the win you ingrates and take the positives out of it the way you've had to take the positives 15 other weeks when there was no song at the end.

[timD 994]

We were awful and did not work hard enough to make position. That said, the suns were genuinely bad. If we had ablett we would have won by 100 points (and still have been pretty poor).

[Roger Mellie 3,883]

If you were gifted Peg Leg Limpatelli as an opponent, you'd think you'd run off him all day and then some

[Nasher 33,607]

Cannot believe some of the negativity here. Yes nasher, jnrmac, stranga, maybe olddee too, this means you.

Half the side missing through injury and you've also forgotten Gold Coast's pretty good form line coming into this having been competitive against some tidy opposition.

We saw Tappy play his best game yet, Spencer show some promise - we lost our drive out of the middle when Sellar went in to spell him - Green hint at the possibility he could be a useful senior player next year, Sylvia continue to show what he can do, Grimes continue his form, and some very positive ball movement in the first quarter and the latter part of the second. The alternate skipper gave us some strong contested marks and Dunn some mongrel.

Sure they ran out of steam - Gysberts was up and down on the spot from midway through the last quarter - but it is an underdone side.

The coach has been telling us Cook can't run out a game and now we see the effect of having to put too many not quite fit enough players into the side. Hey here's a thought, maybe the coach does know what he's talking about? Wouldn't that be amazing.

Just enjoy the win you ingrates and take the positives out of it the way you've had to take the positives 15 other weeks when there was no song at the end.

My post had 10 "likes" so I assume that those 10 people (at least) felt the same way I did. Like I said, I was grateful for the win and it was definitely a relief (a loss would've been a PR disaster), but the standard of the game was diabolical and I find that hard to get excited about. It's not about whether a 'W' or a 'L' appears in the result column - I've been satisfied with losses and disappointed with wins before. In this case I was neither satisfied nor disappointed, I was just bored. Just like the last 5 weeks.

No doubt there were plenty of positives to take away from the game which others have covered, and I completely agree with many of them, but at the end of the day the quality of football we've played this year has completely flattened me emotionally and this game was no different.

And Dunn showed some mongrel? Forgive me for not doing backflips about that.

[jnrmac 19,905]

FWIW I thought given how few there were available to play today, it was an acceptable performance in an ordinary game.

Jones continues to become to become elite (29 @ 97%) . Howe finally had a DE above 60%, as did Sylvia. Joel Mac's DE was 91%. Tommy Mc continues to improve. Gys was reminded about the pace and intensity of AFL. Green showed he hasn't lost it all.

Dunn is continually improving under the new regime. The captains led well. Blease needs to see some vision of Davey's 2004.

Tappy indicated how good he's going to be.

Some of you will never be happy!

We won the last 3 quarters by 2 points thanks to a goal in the siren by Howe. If you are happy with that performance then that demonstrates our supporters need to become a lot more demanding,

And you call yourself angry???

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

And Dunn showed some mongrel? Forgive me for not doing backflips about that.

Jumper punching is clearly in vogue this winter.

[jnrmac 19,905]

Cannot believe some of the negativity here. Yes nasher, jnrmac, stranga, maybe olddee too, this means you.

Half the side missing through injury and you've also forgotten Gold Coast's pretty good form line coming into this having been competitive against some tidy opposition.

We saw Tappy play his best game yet, Spencer show some promise - we lost our drive out of the middle when Sellar went in to spell him - Green hint at the possibility he could be a useful senior player next year, Sylvia continue to show what he can do, Grimes continue his form, and some very positive ball movement in the first quarter and the latter part of the second. The alternate skipper gave us some strong contested marks and Dunn some mongrel.

Sure they ran out of steam - Gysberts was up and down on the spot from midway through the last quarter - but it is an underdone side.

The coach has been telling us Cook can't run out a game and now we see the effect of having to put too many not quite fit enough players into the side. Hey here's a thought, maybe the coach does know what he's talking about? Wouldn't that be amazing.

Just enjoy the win you ingrates and take the positives out of it the way you've had to take the positives 15 other weeks when there was no song at the end.

GC has four injured players - one subbed out, one stuck on the bench one prostrate in the goal square and Harmichael K who could not raise his right arm. That said we won the last 3 quarters by 2 points thanks to a kick on the siren.

Go ahead and enjoy your win PM but you are delusional if you think it was good under the circumstances. Some ppl here have standards they would like our team to play to in terms of commitment to the contest.

And to say GC had good form coming into this game is simply laughable.

[Jonesbag 487]

Game was over at 1/4 time and melbourne just coasted and kept them at an arms length.

In case you all forgotten we had won only 2 games this year.

We arent superstars and played a pretty underdone team.

Im happy we won a game, couldnt give a stuff about how we did it.

Ps, Got a photo with Liam Jurrah at the end of the game outside the G. Lovely guy who was happy to pose for fans. Hope to see him back playing soon.

[BLWNBA 744]

My hopes for gysberts have faded slightly

FWIW it was his first game back in God knows how long. I wouldn't judge him on that game, still have hopes for the fella. See what he can do next year and hopefully a full preseason under his belt.

[rpfc 28,052]

Ok, so show me a direct quote where someone from the MFC coaching staff said they weren't impressed with Gysberts?

Stop making stuff up and stating it as fact, that's my biggest gripe with 'Land.

Not making it up, Stuie.

Sometimes, fans know more than Mark Stevens and his calvalcade of in-the-know expert peers...

[Samsara 65]

Not a win get excited about. Needed to maintain the tempo set in the first quarter, but we just coasted along the rest of the day.

Some good invidual performances though, but a largely boring and uninspiring game.

[Ouch! 2,205]

So yeah it wasn't the greatest game after quarter time, but our team was pretty sad on paper given the injuries. But it was a comfortable victory against a side that had injuries through the game and I'll take that.

Neeld seemed pretty satisfied with the win, and at the moment if he thinks the internal indicators suggested that the club played well then who am I to argue. I just want us to finish off the year strongly and work on preparation for 2013.

Edited August 6, 2012 by Oucher

[dpositive 1,652]

Well today I went to what may be my last game for the year.

Outside engagements and work may stop any further trips to the G in 2012

I went today to watch 6 players specifically

Bail, Blease, Gysberts, Moloney, Trengove and Tappscott

( and Caddy for GCS )

It is always better to win than Lose and I tried to keep in mind that we were playing a bunch of kids.

Interesting that it occurred to me that when our kids play mainly their near peers they look better.

- Bail obeys the first rule of football he gets the ball and seems to know where to go, looks fit and can run all day.

But he is a p--s poor kick. I was however more impressed than in the past.

- Blease played an average game, does some nice things but is clearly not fit enough. Goes in and out of the game.

At one stage during third quarter he could hardly make it to the bench. Leaves me wondering.

- Gysberts Poor game I know he has had a lot of injuries this year. Clearly not fit enough and his skinny frames gets pushed aside easily.

I have a bad feeling that what we see is what we get. Skinny kid who will not get a lot bigger. I would trade.

- Moloney Played a good game equal second in Positions for the dees.

- Trengove struggling, an average game, did a few nice things but compared to the co captain he was ordinary. Perhaps this is his Third year blues year.

Sure not playing like a number 2 draft pick.

- Tapscott I have wondered if he was more than just a tough competitor. Played what I thing was his best game. I was impressed.

In the end I thought Bail and Tapscott were better than I expected the others lived up to my expectations.

A couple of other observations from today

Dunn I thought he played well, tough and takes no prisoners and was seldom beaten.

Green Five goals 250th game came one week early. I would give him another year if he wants to go on.

Like Maloney for a reasonable price I would keep both.

We have so few senior players They can both contribute in 2013 to help the kids develop.

Last but not least is Caddy from GCS

Based on that game I would do nothing to recruit him. He can go to Essendon for mine.

Average footballer IMO.

I had a good time today winning is never crappy, sure beats tanking.

A couple of players went up in my eyes.

I hope 2013 is a lot more kind on the injury front.

2 more wins before year end would be good.

Go Dees

Old D would like you thoughts on MOrton even if you didnt go specifically to watch him

Is he worth perservering with?

other posters are still divided into the outright no or maybe yes

Helooks light and maybe soft but as I have said before we dont want a team of tanks.

[thaipantsman 180]

Walls giving the votes

Bennell (GC) 3

Ablett 2 votes

Green 1 vote

What a joke he is. They were good but when does a losing side get the best two players??

A general observation Jnr.

Ablett and Bennell did stand out while Melbourne's was across the board team effort. Though we did make errors hitting targets there is now a line in the sand between Melbourne and GC/GWS. A gap. Not far off challenging Bulldogs and would probably roll Port Ad if we played them at the G?

The critique of Gysberts is not called for. Saw enough of him V Cats early in his career to indicate the boy can play. Comes back to confidence/fitness and building up some strength.

[old dee 23,505]

Old D would like you thoughts on MOrton even if you didnt go specifically to watch him

Is he worth perservering with?

other posters are still divided into the outright no or maybe yes

Helooks light and maybe soft but as I have said before we dont want a team of tanks.

Mate I think giving him the job of sitting on Ablett was foolish he is not that sort of player Ablett has beaten a lot better players than Mortion over the years.

He was hardly on the ground for a quarter so my comment is based on the past.

I agree with RobbieF I think we are trying to turn him into a player he will never be.

It is not IMO and never will be a Hard in and under player.

He is in my view a Half forward or wing man.

His strengths appear to me to be his ability to run all day.

His best games are when he has been able to run the lines.

He is a good kick and a good mark.

Used in that way he could contribute a lot.

However it would appear the FD do not consider him to in the first 25 picked.

Probably just as well he has a contract for 2013.

Not that it stops him from being traded.

I would give him the last year of his contract.

So that probably means he will be traded.

Just my humble opinion.

[old dee 23,505]

Cannot believe some of the negativity here. Yes nasher, jnrmac, stranga, maybe olddee too, this means you.

Half the side missing through injury and you've also forgotten Gold Coast's pretty good form line coming into this having been competitive against some tidy opposition.

We saw Tappy play his best game yet, Spencer show some promise - we lost our drive out of the middle when Sellar went in to spell him - Green hint at the possibility he could be a useful senior player next year, Sylvia continue to show what he can do, Grimes continue his form, and some very positive ball movement in the first quarter and the latter part of the second. The alternate skipper gave us some strong contested marks and Dunn some mongrel.

Sure they ran out of steam - Gysberts was up and down on the spot from midway through the last quarter - but it is an underdone side.

The coach has been telling us Cook can't run out a game and now we see the effect of having to put too many not quite fit enough players into the side. Hey here's a thought, maybe the coach does know what he's talking about? Wouldn't that be amazing.

Just enjoy the win you ingrates and take the positives out of it the way you've had to take the positives 15 other weeks when there was no song at the end.

Well just goes to show you never know how some people judge your words Pimaster

I thought I have been the most postive I have been all season since this game.

I have made numerous comments about enjoying the victory etc.

Said a couple players went up in my eyes as a result of the game.

Not sure how much you want me to gush.

[Hannibal 5,814]

It's actually very common for a team's quarter-time, or half-time lead to remain about the same come the final siren. Against Collingwood we were down by 35 points at quarter-time and lost by 42.

There's also not a hell of a lot for a bottom team to play for at this time of the year. You may argue otherwise, but the reality is that plenty of these young bodies just want the season to end.

In general I thought our field kicking was pretty good. In a year when there's much to bemoan, yesterday was a day I'd rather concentrate on the positives. Such as the fact that it was the first time that Strauss, Blease, Tapscott and Gysberts had played as a collective.

[Disco Demons 92]

Got to the game 10 mins into the first qtr and then left at 3 qtr time. Hard game to watch.

Dees have a lot to work on.

[Dee*ceiving 1,630]

Green should go on. Has played pretty good footy in the second half of the year. Bagged 3 against the Roos last week and hasn't failed to commit his body to the contest once. We have ushered too many great servants out of the door 1 year to early far to often recently. We won't make the same mistake again.

No one on the list deserves his place in the team as yet anyway. Petterd's barely had a kick at any level all year, Bate is shot, Taggert is not ready and Tapscott still has a long way to go. Plenty of other blokes to delist before pensioning Greeny.

[The Reverend 1,736]

GC has four injured players - one subbed out, one stuck on the bench one prostrate in the goal square and Harmichael K who could not raise his right arm. That said we won the last 3 quarters by 2 points thanks to a kick on the siren.

Go ahead and enjoy your win PM but you are delusional if you think it was good under the circumstances. Some ppl here have standards they would like our team to play to in terms of commitment to the contest.

And to say GC had good form coming into this game is simply laughable.

Given the quality of the cattle on the paddock, it was a reasonable win. Yes we could have/should have won by more but it was a win nonetheless. I guess it just comes down to what makes you happy. If being disgruntled does it for you that's fine. Be my guest. I'd rather look for any positive I can find and put it in the bank for the future. Howe, Jones, Tapscott, Tommy Mac and a few others played well today and carried a lot of others. When these guys are part of a team that includes Clark, Jurrah, Jamar, Watts, Nicholson, McKenzie, Gawn, Davey, etc. we will start to look a whole lot better. Patience my friend. Enjoy the ride. We have bottomed out and it's upward from here.

[pitmaster 3,450]

Go ahead and enjoy your win PM but you are delusional if you think it was good under the circumstances. Some ppl here have standards they would like our team to play to in terms of commitment to the contest.

And to say GC had good form coming into this game is simply laughable.

Laughable? Laughable is it?

Well full marks for chutzpah, kid.

Let's see their last month:

they beat Richmond by 2 points (we couldn't get within nine goals);

they went down to Geelong by 11 points (we were happy we kept the loss to just two figures, in fact they were five goals better than us);

they lost to the Lions by 11 (that's five goals better than us);

then got thumped by Sydney (even then they were five goals closer than us - bit of a pattern there, don't you think?).

Two close losses, one win, and one big defeat to the premiership favourite in the same time we had four losses by an average of six goals.

Keep laughing Junior.

[Bossdog 2,002]

Not sure where the good signs are. What were the clearances in the end? At one stage they had a ridiculous lead on us in that department. Sorry to be a downer, but we've seen this all before. Roll the weak interstate teams at the 'G. Nothing good in this at all. Green takes a couple of easy marks that were telegraphed to his chest and kicks five, celebrating his fourth like he'd kicked the winning goal of a Grand Final. Christ, cringeworthy. Do it against the decent teams, not just the predictable ones.

Can't believe the whinging.....In all honesty we are about the same as GC (given the injuries and the personal out)

We win by 7 goals......

Our players get a bit of confidence

We had a 72% in kicking effiency(best all year)

Some of our players celebrated a bit to much???....So they should after the year we have had....

Yes we are not premership material yet....So what???

I saw a bit of improvement in the shepards....tackling....running to position....

God help you lot if we had lost

You know we can enjoy a win....It may not go down as a great win.......but it was a win...