Tom signed a contract extension late last year.

Daniel Gorringe or Zac Clark are two i would chase hard at the end of the year.

Two years ago, I wouldn't have thought that we'd need a ruckman......

A little bit like the Alastair Nicholson story - he started life as a ruckman.

Hope he will a better player than wrong way Nicho was.

Tom signed a contract extension late last year.

Daniel Gorringe or Zac Clark are two i would chase hard at the end of the year.

Gorringe is full of himself. I cannot stand that kid. Let him go home to SA.

Clark would be a good pick up, but Freo will have an open wallet with the departure of Sandilands, McPharlin and possibly Pavlich.

Hope he will a better player than wrong way Nicho was.

Agree Nicho was no great shakes. I didn't bring his name up as someone to aspire to. Late in his career he played a game as a ruckman and it was embarrassingly bad. As a back man his main positive was disposal - he rarely turned it over.

I thought Fitsy looked like a true CHF at times.

Brief times.

But is he worth the wait?

Big men take time they say.

He will need to do some damage this year.

Fitzy is too good at being where the ball aint to be a forward. Backline is the last chance and he would know it. Now or never.

Agree Nicho was no great shakes. I didn't bring his name up as someone to aspire to. Late in his career he played a game as a ruckman and it was embarrassingly bad. As a back man his main positive was disposal - he rarely turned it over.

Good hockey player though!

So, how about that Training Thread eh?

Oops!

I'm not sure about everyone getting excited but I think it's a good idea to try him down back.

Rjay it may be good for Fitzy but we are building up a glut of KP backmen. I am adding Frost and Oscar to this list because neither is a natural forward at this stage, Pedo can go back or forward as well.

I am now thinking it might have been good if McCartin had fallen to number 2 this year as having lost Clark we are looking light on for key forwards. I think Hoges is going to take some time and shouldn't be attracting the best or second best defender this early. WCE Darling comes to mind in his first year, played half forward with oppositions more concerned with the likes of Nic Nat up forward, Kennedy and the smaller gun forward whose name escapes me.

Pretty disapointed really. I wouldn't have moved Fitzy to the back line unless I had completely given up on him.

I am guessing that the coaching staff have made that decision. Fitzy just does not look like a backman at all. His strength is his speed and height.

He hasnt got the endurance or strength to play as a defender.

Speed, strength, less wonky kicking (not that he's great but he's better than McDonald) and slightly calmer decision making as well.

McDonald's a very disciplined solid player. But his spot a good team would be challenged due to his lack of skills - marking, kicking and hand-balling and also because he's just not that good one on one. He doesn't intercept mark with authority or punch the ball clear, he's not immovable in a battle of strength nor is he lightning and capable of shutting down the best when they get him on the lead.

That's Frawley's key attribute over McDonald. Frawley worked hard to improve this aspect of his game and succeeded. Tex Walker made him look silly, but most haven't.

McDonald has quite a way to go in this department, among others.

You can't polish a terd...

You know from many years of working on yourself?

You know from many years of working on yourself?

Ouch!

Just maybe just maybe, who knows, if panda can become the dragon master then anything is possible, you just have to believe.

Love some of the comments on here, a poster (keyboard hero)(and supposedly a supporter) called Fitzy a turd, and couldn't even get the spelling right

Another said I sugar coat, I keep repeating we need to see the ball movement in games, we saw bits of it against Freo, a half against the Doggies and a bit against Essendon, I know where we are at, after NAB Challenge, have not changed my opinion of maybe 6 or 7 wins this year

The coaches have made the decision to try and get Fitzy to play in defence, not anybody on here, so the Messiah must have had a hand in it, or is his halo tarnished now?

Fitzy came into the team at the end of last season and ended up being about the only player in 2014 that knew how to kick a goal

He has great goal sense and his speed is a nightmare for opponents inside 50

Strange they are trying him back

Jack Fitzpatrick 2014 season

Round 1 - 4 disposals 0 goals.

Round 2 - 4 disposals 0 goals.

Round 3 - 4 disposals 0 goals.

Some people have said he wasn't given opportunity.

Compare him to a Ben Brown from North Melbourne.

How much does/will Fitzpatrick impact games?

4 DISPOSALS 0 GOALS

Umm why did you leave out the final two games of the season?

Round 22 - 13 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals

Round 23 - 12 disposals, 4 marks, 2 goals

Love some of the comments on here, a poster (keyboard hero)(and supposedly a supporter) called Fitzy a turd, and couldn't even get the spelling right

Another said I sugar coat, I keep repeating we need to see the ball movement in games, we saw bits of it against Freo, a half against the Doggies and a bit against Essendon, I know where we are at, after NAB Challenge, have not changed my opinion of maybe 6 or 7 wins this year

The coaches have made the decision to try and get Fitzy to play in defence, not anybody on here, so the Messiah must have had a hand in it, or is his halo tarnished now?

Saty... you are going to get a rude awakening come round 1. Your last sentence is quite bizarre. I put it down to your blind, slavish, sycophantic lust for the individuals you choose to say hi to on a weekly basis.

As melbourne supporters we should always support or boys. i understand what you do. i would to, its just that i don't have the balls that you do, to talk to them, to say hi, to ask them how it join. i have never felt the compulsion to. I'm 31 and unemployed, but i don't have the heart to say hi to them, to ask them if they are ok, to let them know that we care, that we support them, that we wish that we would do ok. you have to understand that they are polite to you because they have to be, because if they weren't, that would not be a good thing, because you are obviously are big supporter of the club.

We are not doing well at the moment as a football club. between the years of 1987 and 2006 we seemed to make finals every second year. why is that? why were we good for such a poor club? we have not been any good since 2007. why? have you asked them why? i don't know if they know why. do you know why? will be ok this year? i don't think our players are that good. when i look at other teams. i think other teams and their players are better than ours. at the moment. maybe we will be better some day. maybe stay you can tell the boys that they will be ok and be able to beat a lot of other teams and we might be able to make finals one day. do you think we can make finals in the next few years? I hope so. you should ask them if roosy says they can do it. Or if they can think they can do it. It takes very good footballers to be able to make finals. But, we can keep trying, we will always turn over a certain amount of players because they are no good. Maybe our plasters will be good one day. Maybe we will be like geelong, or hawthorn or freo, or sydeny or like a good side.

let them know, while you are taking photos, that we look forward to better games and players and performances, like we use to have a long time ago.

thanks.

Love some of the comments on here, a poster (keyboard hero)(and supposedly a supporter) called Fitzy a turd, and couldn't even get the spelling right

Another said I sugar coat, I keep repeating we need to see the ball movement in games, we saw bits of it against Freo, a half against the Doggies and a bit against Essendon, I know where we are at, after NAB Challenge, have not changed my opinion of maybe 6 or 7 wins this year

The coaches have made the decision to try and get Fitzy to play in defence, not anybody on here, so the Messiah must have had a hand in it, or is his halo tarnished now?

I'll try and take the focus off Fitzy and actually turn it into a training thread.

What are the chances of Vince, Howe, JKH and Kent all playing in the VFL this week?

Umm why did you leave out the final two games of the season?

Round 22 - 13 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals

Round 23 - 12 disposals, 4 marks, 2 goals

Didn't want the facts to get in the way of his argument

What does Frawley offer that McDonald doesn't?

Dishonesty and disloyalty.

Umm why did you leave out the final two games of the season?

Round 22 - 13 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals

Round 23 - 12 disposals, 4 marks, 2 goals

He has a career in politics ahead of him.

Love some of the comments on here, a poster (keyboard hero)(and supposedly a supporter) called Fitzy a turd, and couldn't even get the spelling right

Another said I sugar coat, I keep repeating we need to see the ball movement in games, we saw bits of it against Freo, a half against the Doggies and a bit against Essendon, I know where we are at, after NAB Challenge, have not changed my opinion of maybe 6 or 7 wins this year

The coaches have made the decision to try and get Fitzy to play in defence, not anybody on here, so the Messiah must have had a hand in it, or is his halo tarnished now?

We are crying out for a forward/2nd ruckman. Pedo is out of favour. Gawn starts the last game as sub and has been underwhelming in the preseason. Frost, who has made his name as a backman, is the 3rd player that we've tried in the role.

You keep bringing up the wonderful stat line of Fitzpatrick kicking 22 goals in 19 games (over 4 years mind you). By trialling him at full back at Casey, the coaches clearly don't see him as an answer long term for a forward/2nd ruckman role. Just accept that he's been shifted to fullback because the said coaches above, have been unimpressed with him to date.

And of course you sugar coat things. You keep pumping up players like Fitzpatrick, McKenzie and Spencer, who are probably rated by the coaches from 30-40 on a bottom 4 list. They may be nice guys because they give you the time of day, but quite frankly 99% of supporters only care about on-field success, and what the players or coaches say to you is largely irrelevant.

The coaches have made the decision to try and get Fitzy to play in defence, not anybody on here, so the Messiah must have had a hand in it, or is his halo tarnished now?

Ouch.

Is he one who doesn't talk to you much?

Speed, strength, less wonky kicking (not that he's great but he's better than McDonald) and slightly calmer decision making as well.

McDonald's a very disciplined solid player. But his spot a good team would be challenged due to his lack of skills - marking, kicking and hand-balling and also because he's just not that good one on one. He doesn't intercept mark with authority or punch the ball clear, he's not immovable in a battle of strength nor is he lightning and capable of shutting down the best when they get him on the lead.

I can't agree with that at all. Frawley showed himself to be a very poor decision maker last year and from what I've seen over recent times McDonald is capable of providing a lot more run. I agree that McDonald's kicking looks unorthodox, but I haven't seen an enormous amount of clangers over the past 12 months (compared to others).

Having said all that, I think Frawleys going to have a good season at Hawthorn.