From the AFL website

http://afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArti...px?newsId=41837

MELBOURNE'S horror run of injuries could ease this week, with captain David Neitz "some chance" to return for Saturday's AFL match against Sydney.

Neitz suffered a knee injury during the round-two loss to Hawthorn and is listed as a test for this weekend's away match against Sydney.

Brent Moloney (groin), Travis Johnstone (hamstring), Daniel Bell (concussion), Paul Wheatley (shoulder), Nathan Brown (calf) and Jared Rivers (hamstring) also are rated as tests for the Swans game.

Melbourne

Daniel Bell (concussion) - test

Nathan Brown (calf) - test

Travis Johnstone (hamstring) - test

Brent Moloney (groin) - test

David Neitz (knee) - test

Jared Rivers (hamstring) - test

Paul Wheatley (shoulder) - test

James Frawley (foot) - 2 weeks

Nathan Jones (ankle) - 2-3 weeks

Brock McLean (foot) - 2-3 weeks

Matthew Whelan (hamstring) - 2-3 weeks

Russell Robertson (knee) - 5 weeks

Clint Bartram (knee) - 5-7 weeks

One of the toughest men alive and a real leader of men is our captain. Missing 2 games with a medial strain is unheard of I am sure. He would be desperate to get out there and help out his embattled team mates. But for the sake of his career and the team I hope they give him at least one more week to rest up.

No point playing him if he is not fit.....

We need him but only at 100% fitness!!

Save Neitz for round 6 V Port.

We should also have Moloney, TJ and Rivers back for Port. Also by that stage Pickett and Sylvia would have had 2 solid games under their belt.

Provided we have a solid crack this week and keep the margin respectable, I really believe we can open our account against Port.

can we make the finals from 0-5? i think we showed last year we were good enough to mix it with the best at full strength. maybe 0-5 and we have the team back on track, we'd need to win 12 from 17...possible with a rich vein of form. probably not with the number of interstate games we have to play.

regarding neitz, i dont think we play him til he's right. i dont think we should be playing any injured players atm. we're not gonna finish high on the ladder, and we have so many players out that playing a payer or two who are carrying injuries isnt going to get us just over the line but could result in longer term injuries. get games into the kids. we're not gonna win anyway so who cares?

From the AFL website

http://afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArti...px?newsId=41837

Melbourne

Daniel Bell (concussion) - test

Nathan Brown (calf) - test

Travis Johnstone (hamstring) - test

Brent Moloney (groin) - test

David Neitz (knee) - test

Jared Rivers (hamstring) - test

Paul Wheatley (shoulder) - test

James Frawley (foot) - 2 weeks

Nathan Jones (ankle) - 2-3 weeks

Brock McLean (foot) - 2-3 weeks

Matthew Whelan (hamstring) - 2-3 weeks

Russell Robertson (knee) - 5 weeks

Clint Bartram (knee) - 5-7 weeks

So, looking at this list we could be nearing full strength by Round 7.... Of course Robbo and Barts will be a little later....

If we can somehow manage a win in the next 2 weeks we are some chance to shake things up come the latter part of the season!

For some strange reason I think we may have a real chance against the Swans this week.... I know it sounds ridiculous, but we have a decent record at the SCG and maybe the smaller ground will reduce the chance of a blowout! They will play a tight, contested game and I am willing to bet that we lose by no more than 3 goals...

Call me stupid but I have a strange feeling in my guts! Could we possibly open our 2007 account against the Swans?!?!?!

can we make the finals from 0-5? i think we showed last year we were good enough to mix it with the best at full strength. maybe 0-5 and we have the team back on track, we'd need to win 12 from 17...possible with a rich vein of form. probably not with the number of interstate games we have to play.

I think we can

We are that type of team

After this week, the cavalry will come rolling in - Neitz, TJ, Beamer, Moloney, RIvers, mclean etc...

They will all be underdone, but we cant win without them

I'll be mighty [censored] off if they risk anyone who is not 110% fit.

One more week will not make any difference in the long run, especially if these players are at risk of re-injuring themselves.

I doubt very much they'll play Neita before Round 7.