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'Raising The Bar' ... 9 MFC senior players who must lift.

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A lot has been said and written about Neeld's revolutionary list overhaul in the off-season. Can Clark and Dawes gel effectively? Will Rodan and Byrnes be worth the punt? Can Viney and Toumpas have an immediate impact?

But for me the greater question will be how the blokes who've already been there for four or more years will go ... the 50 - 150 game players who until now, if we're being honest, have not exactly set the world on fire.

We've seen cameos here and there, a couple have even cracked it for a one-off All-Australian nod, but none of the following players could confidently stand up as of today and declare themselves to be a top-line AFL player.

From my vantage point, it's time for the following guys to quit flying under the radar, to end this habit of "just getting by" each week.

It's time to Raise The Bar .... Jack Watts

You were adjudged the best young talent in Australia five years ago. Time to show us why we shouldn't be weeping every time Nic-Nat lights up Subiaco.

It's time to Raise The Bar .... Jack Trengove

They said you were the second coming of Nathan Buckley out of South Australia. You have been appointed Captain of the oldest and greatest football club in the known universe. Start playing like it.

It's time to Raise The Bar .... Colin Garland

The difference between your best and your worst is far too great. Give us supporters a reason to stop thinking that this is because you lazily switch off, opting to coast laconically through games. Also, you are a backman. Start getting on the angry pills and make forwards hate playing on you. I don't get the feeling that has ever been the case.

It's time to Raise The Bar .... Colin Sylvia

A Demonlander I can't remember said it perfectly of Col last season when he posted ... "Sylvia merely likes the idea of being a footballer". The Tarzan physique, the half-million paycheque, the birds hanging off your arm at the Middle Park. It's all for nothing Colin unless you consistently put it together on the field ... especially in big games.

It's time to Raise The Bar .... Jordie McKenzie

Okay, you're a footballer with limitations. But that doesn't mean you have to limit the impact you can have on games. If it's your bag to be a run-with player, be the best God-damned run-with player in the compeition. Have the elite ball players of the compeition consistently cited for for striking you out of pure frustration and annoyance.

It's time to Raise The Bar .... Luke Tapscott

We love your brute physicality. Adore it. But what else have you got mate? With an injury-free run now's the time to show your coaches, MFC supporters and the footy public what all that 'next Paul Chapman' hype was about three years ago. Because if toughness is all there is ... that 'aint enough.

It's time to Raise The Bar .... Mark Jamar

Injury and form have seen a significant drop off from your sterling efforts of 2010. In 2013 - as the main man in the middle - the acid is well and truly back on you to recapture that form. A few more telling grabs around the ground each game wouldn't hurt, either. Quality ruckmen must help control the air.

It's time to Raise The Bar .... Lynden Dunn

You have been much maligned over the years. Most of it justified. I dare say there was a time last season when you were penciled into the "gone" column of the coach's list clean-out ledger. But to your credit, you worked your way back from the abyss during the second half of the year. As one of the most experienced, harder-bodied players in the team, the onus is now on you to show us all that that form was not just a blip on the radar. Impose yourself on contests Lynden and demand to be selected each week. You have it within you.

It's time to Raise The Bar .... James Frawley

Like the Russian, 2010 seems a lifetime ago. Whereas once you asserted yourself with Scarlett-like authority across the last line, of late you look indecisive and out-of-step. Get your mojo back ... now. Raise The Bar!

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