MATCH PREVIEW AND TEAM SELECTION

[JJJ 1,220]

Well then North would've selected Gysberts on that basis

Maybe they should've. The may rue that decision at 5pm Saturday.

[Demon trucker 1,800]

Oh thee of little faith I think we are a good show, its easy to beat north. And the top teams have worked them out, tag harvey stop.harvey, u stop north, when was the last time harvey had less then 20 pos and north win a game of football, how many games did they wininfirst six rounds when he was suspended.

[Young Dee 1,303]

Is there only one game at the MCG this week?

Would have liked to have seen any of Strauss, Tappy or Davis instead of pedo

[Dockett 32 1,239]

Does this mean Davis's papers have been marked without his ever having had a chance.

I know his kicking and decision-making have been questionable, but at least he doesn't duck his head and is terrific one-on-one, both Ped weaknesses.

Disappointing!

Some may even see it as manifestly unfair, making a mockery of rewarding people for performance and showing gross disrespect to a young fellow who has consistently put his hand up in favour of a bloke who has already had repeated chancs and failed to deliver.

But sadly i'm not surprised, even picked it.

I cannot blame Pederson for being selected ( Good luck to him) but expect him to play very, very well. On the other hand the judgement of the football dept/selection panel are clearly on the table, I hope they are smart enough to realise that decisions like this will make them or break them.

For mine its just rubbish.

[Young Dee 1,303]

Maybe with this new development program that might actually teach the players how to kick a footy!

Don't give up on Davis yet - at worse he can be a depth player or have some trade value (would rather have players like Davis than Gilles and Sellar who virtually have no hope of improving)

[Dockett 32 1,239]

Maybe with this new development program that might actually teach the players how to kick a footy!

Don't give up on Davis yet - at worse he can be a depth player or have some trade value (would rather have players like Davis than Gilles and Sellar who virtually have no hope of improving)

Actually I prefer blokes who know how to go and get the bl..dy footy but that begs the only question here. Who should have been rewarded for performance? The club has its view I have mine. If I'm wrong I will gladly say so but already Pederson has had far more chances than Davis. Would you not agree? Will they both get a fair shake at proving themselves on this basis? Time is running out for one of them it would seem, not to mention a contract already in place that doesn't exactly thrill me.

[DeeSpencer 25,515]

Actually I prefer blokes who know how to go and get the bl..dy footy but that begs the only question here. Who should have been rewarded for performance? The club has its view I have mine. If I'm wrong I will gladly say so but already Pederson has had far more chances than Davis. Would you not agree? Will they both get a fair shake at proving themselves on this basis? Time is running out for one of them it would seem, not to mention a contract already in place that doesn't exactly thrill me.

Possibly with Pedersen contracted and Davis not it makes more sense to give game time to Pedersen if they've given up on Davis.

But players have saved their careers with unexpected performances in the last 6 round many times.

The possiblity is that Pedersen was always playing better VFL than Davis was and Davis has never to date showed enough to get himself a gig in the AFL team. Which is why they sent him forward at Casey which to me is the biggest crime. Sellar, Pedersen or Gillies should've been playing forward and Davis should've had an uninterrupted run at being the number 1 depth defender so that he could come in at a time like this.

The thing about Davis is he's a guy who hasn't ever showed enough to break into one of the worst AFL teams in modern history. That alone means his chances of actually being any good are very slim. So I'm not going to be too upset. But I expect Pedersen to put in a much improved performance than his last stint in the team where he looked slow and soft and his defensive skills look very average. A few well timed spoils and some serious attack on the ball would be a start.

[Young Dee 1,303]

Craig did recently say he likes versatility (Watts) and maybe he was experimenting and testing Davis. You can learn about defending from being a forward I guess. Although we don't really need another tall forward.

It's funny how this time last year Neeld was so desperate for key forwards that he was playing players like Garland and Rivers in the forward.

Edited July 25, 2013 by Young Dee

[Dockett 32 1,239]

Possibly with Pedersen contracted and Davis not it makes more sense to give game time to Pedersen if they've given up on Davis.

But players have saved their careers with unexpected performances in the last 6 round many times.

The possiblity is that Pedersen was always playing better VFL than Davis was and Davis has never to date showed enough to get himself a gig in the AFL team. Which is why they sent him forward at Casey which to me is the biggest crime. Sellar, Pedersen or Gillies should've been playing forward and Davis should've had an uninterrupted run at being the number 1 depth defender so that he could come in at a time like this.

The thing about Davis is he's a guy who hasn't ever showed enough to break into one of the worst AFL teams in modern history. That alone means his chances of actually being any good are very slim. So I'm not going to be too upset. But I expect Pedersen to put in a much improved performance than his last stint in the team where he looked slow and soft and his defensive skills look very average. A few well timed spoils and some serious attack on the ball would be a start.

The point about that is we have had a chance to assess Pederson ( quite often and without any success and here we go again) and not the 21yo Davis who has consistently been in our VFL side ( refer this weeks coaches notes - are they fairdinkum?).

Sorry don't buy you argument and frankly them as wishy washy and maybe to placate some ordinary selection in my eyes..

[rjay 24,894]

Oh thee of little faith I think we are a good show, its easy to beat north. And the top teams have worked them out, tag harvey stop.harvey, u stop north, when was the last time harvey had less then 20 pos and north win a game of football, how many games did they wininfirst six rounds when he was suspended.

Trouble is we've never had anyone good enough to stop Harvey, we've tried it before.

[Don24 103]

Strauss must be getting annoyed, he has been one of the better demons and had over 20 touches for about the last month straight, and Toumpas gets 2 handballs and still stays ahead of him..... need to reward form

[The Lobster Effect 887]

not much love for pederson on this site!

[McQueen 17,864]

Strauss must be getting annoyed, he has been one of the better demons and had over 20 touches for about the last month straight, and Toumpas gets 2 handballs and still stays ahead of him..... need to reward form

They play in different positions so that's a moot point.

The concept of rewarding form is plausible but at this stage Craig is getting games into players he sees a future in.

Strauss is obviously not one of them.

[The Lobster Effect 887]

Oh thee of little faith I think we are a good show, its easy to beat north.

well, they've beaten us 10 times in a row so apparently not that easy for us

[jumbo returns 6,740]

I like him.

Edited July 25, 2013 by jumbo returns

[Robbie57 2,020]

Good to see faith in the 22 each week now. That will build confidence.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

The lack of changes each week is interesting. While there are a number of players playing for Casey that I would like to see getting a game, Craig is making it clear that if you want to make the Melbourne team you need to really perform at Casey.

We have become used to seeing three, four, five or six changes each week (the fact that the team is playing better recently helps), it is nice to see some consistency in the side.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

not much love for pederson on this site!

I think I prefer him to Dunn, which doesn't say all that much.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,706]

The lack of changes each week is interesting. While there are a number of players playing for Casey that I would like to see getting a game, Craig is making it clear that if you want to make the Melbourne team you need to really perform at Casey.

We have become used to seeing three, four, five or six changes each week (the fact that the team is playing better recently helps), it is nice to see some consistency in the side.

As a matter of interest, do we have a Match Committee that selects the team or just the senior coach? If we have a Match Committee, have there been any changes to it, apart from the senior coach, since Neeld left? Who's on it?

Typo: grammatical correction to satisfy the pedants (see Mitch Clark thread)

Edited July 26, 2013 by La Dee-vina Comedia

[old dee 23,782]

I think I prefer him to Dunn, which doesn't say all that much.

I really don't think Dunn is THAT bad.

IMO Pedersen is VFL end of story

[Guest]

I find it hilarious that the bookies have St Kilda (who have won one more game than us for the season) at shorter odds to beat Geelong at the Cattery, than they have us at to beat the 13th placed side on the ladder, in Melbourne.

[old dee 23,782]

I find it hilarious that the bookies have St Kilda (who have won one more game than us for the season) at shorter odds to beat Geelong at the Cattery, than they have us at to beat the 13th placed side on the ladder, in Melbourne.

I think the bookies are right, The saints have not put up the number of shockers we have this season.

Edited July 26, 2013 by old dee

[Ted Lasso 19,356]

slapped 50 on us just in case going to be a very nice day if we get up

[deanox 9,902]

While pederson hasn't shown heaps at afl level what I have seen in him is the ability to read the play, the ability to take a mark and the mentality to take the game on.

To me he looks unfit. That is extremely disappointing if the case but if he can get his fitness right and get shine confidence up I can seed him playing a role.

We often talk about wanting "footballers not athletes" and I think he is a good example. At levels down he would be a great footballer, but we need to seed if he can transport those skills to afl level.

For these reasons, I can see him being an appropriate swap for Garland but not as versatile obviously.

Edited July 26, 2013 by deanox

[Generation dee 1,336]

slapped 50 on us just in case going to be a very nice day if we get up

I feel the morning after will be a little dicey though, demon fan