LOl. You have mentioned, quite arrogantly, that I am 'wrong', insinuating that I have difficulty comprehending the written word. This is a message board where opinions are expressed, and you seem to believe your opinion is gospel. Far from it.

No factually not arrogantly.

You have made assertions as to what my opinion is and I said you have got my opinion wrong.

So before you want to have a shot at a poster at least exhibit the fundamental skills of getting their position correct.

Its not hard. Try it.

im a big wrap for petterd. i admit it is the first time i have seen him play so i wont weigh into the debate about whether he was ready or not. also i am not going to cliam him to be a champion on that one performance. however, he did look the goods last night. he got inti everything, wasnt afraid to stand his ground and put himself on the line. he won his own ball, he dished it off well, his disposal was good. he thought took time when he had it. he tried to break lines. yes he got caught a couple of times, but too be honest, thats what i think football should be about. run with the ball if you get caught sometimes well good on the opposition. it doesnt have to be possession footy all the time. he played a bit up forward a bit down back and in the mid. i thought he looked most comfortable in the midfield, it seemed his natural position. he won the footy here and used it well. when he drifted forward he looked like a midfielder on the forward flank. he wont be a permanent forward but i think we can expect him to kick a few goals there over the year as he pushes forward. playing him back on davies is what interested me. a normally pretty specialist positon the small defender is. with wheelan and bartram out we might see petterd playing down here the next couple of weeks. he held davies reasonably well, had the pace off the mark to go with him and still managed to be creative when he had the ball. the reason he wasnt our leading possession getter in my mind is because of the time he spent back. if he had of played the full game in the centre i think he would have been more prolific.

fwiw, i agree that we need to play the kids, but the kids need to be ready. from all accounts newton is a confidence player who probably isnt ready for the big league. that makes him very different from a player who is a work-a-holic workhorse who isnt quite ready. because when the two players go up, the confidence player can really struggle but the other bloke tries his guts out and ends up pulling his weight. ND and the footy dept are the best people to judge this, the next best are those who watch both sandy and mfc. id like to think newton would get a go. but i also would have liked to see him step up his work rate at sandy over the past few weeks because he knew that robbo and neitz were out of the dees and that if he performed there was an opportunity for him. he hasnt stepped up. maybe he doesnt want it. maybe he is lazy, maybe he is down on confidence. maybe he wont make it. from all reports he will so i'd suggest that he isnt mature enough for that step yet either.

I'll reserve my judgements on Petterd until he's played at least 30 or so games. Remember Matthew Bate tore up Geelong last year in his second? game and I honestly thought he would be a star, a season later and he's gone backwards, ditto Chris Johnson. Having said that he was terrific. Great disposal for MFC player these days is a rarity. Looks like he has all the assets to be a great half back flanker

people are harsh on bate. i think people must remember he is still young, very young. he is tall for the midfield and i think no one is really sure where to play him. his kicking can be fantastic. ie that goal on sat night. his disposal can also be terrible. he seems to fumble the ball alot which worries me. i think he is out of form, a little bit nervous, and maybe we are expecting him to do more than he is ready too. he has only played a handful of games remember. not all players are like bartram. if we had enough players he would of been at sandy. for those who have been saying play the kids they should have been watching him closely. i reserve my judgement on bate. at the moment however i think he will play for quite a while but never be the best player in the league. i stumble when i say this because he can kick it long and straight, and not many so-so midfielders do that, if he can be damaging on the score board when running from the centre or the wing he will be a good player.

Bate has the right skill set to be a really great player.

He is tall, athletic, has reasonable pace, is a good mark, a good long kick... he is similar to Goodes in a lot of ways.

Yes, he's struggled as of late, playing in a team that is struggling very badly. We cannot and should not expect him to rise above and carry the side, not when he is out there all alone.

I think that now that he's injured, some time on the sidelines will help. People are so quick to forget that the kid has played all of 19 games.

I'll reserve my judgements on Petterd until he's played at least 30 or so games. Remember Matthew Bate tore up Geelong last year in his second? game and I honestly thought he would be a star, a season later and he's gone backwards, ditto Chris Johnson. Having said that he was terrific. Great disposal for MFC player these days is a rarity. Looks like he has all the assets to be a great half back flanker

The issue is with you Anders placing unreal expectations on him so early.

FCS, Bate is still only 19. He is under siege and lost confidence in a side where more experienced players have flown the white flag.

Like Petterd, Bate has ability. He should be given fair chance to show it.

However Sydney have traded their early picks for the past three years for "ready" players like Jolly, Richards and Everitt to capitalise on a list spearheaded by Hall, Goodes and O'Loughlin. Their spend on now and their lack of investment for the future will cost them

Fair trade for a Premiership. I haven't been around for the past 43 years but I'm figuring we've had a few poor seasons - and without a flag to comfort us =)

RE: Chris Johnson - I know many players in AFL and other sports haven't played to their potential while insecure about their place in the side. I'm not sure how many games CJ has played consecutively but I doubt it's too many, and from memory he's always been in and out of the side during his brief AFL career so far. I wouldn't write him off so soon, particularly as we don't exactly have a plethora of players with pretty sharp skills.

RE: Bate - Amazing that posters seem to expect more consistency from a kid than they do many of our experienced players. I understand that some of our senior players have runs on the board and that Bate has been out of form, but he's a kid and those that are writing him off based on '07 when they were fans in '06 could afford to be a little more circumspect IMHO.

Petterd looked pretty good - very composed. I couldn't help but contrast his composure with that of Bell's, particularly in his early days. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind Bell at all. Just an aspect of his game that was pretty exciting to see in a young kid.

Who would he have manned up on?

Good point. I remember hearing from all and sundry in the lead up to Saturday's match that it says a fair bit about Biz and Ward that they were dropped in an injury ravaged side. It says less about the Biz I reckon. Matchups and lack of pace probably played a part, as well as previous form and the fact it was at the SCG. As for Ward, his time has just about come.

Bizz and Ward's omission is a telling insight into where the FD see the list and the rest of the season

Yep. Pleasing insight actually, for mine. 2007 is all about small pleasures from here on in for me.

There be a number of threads and posts by "experts" who could not believe that Newton, Buckley, Petterd, Garland and Frawley would not be selected and played from round 2 onwards.

Yes. A number. But not all at once right? Clearly I'm defending my desire to have a SINGLE player played as I didn't call for any of the others, and I don't want to be lumped in with the others...

Your slant was not what they (who were numerous and in the generally vocal) were in general arguing. You are right it is not reasonable unless they are ready but that did not stop them..or you (re Newton).

Spelling was a slip up and I will get it right for game 2. Not as bad as those who will say "I watched and analysed Neil Daniher closely and he blah blah.."

blah"

:D:D:D Oh man. There's nothing worse.

Stan Alves said he sat down on sat night to flick between the two games but only ended up watching our game because he saw Pettard playing and he was also weaing his number that Alves used to wear when he was at Melbourne. Apparently Pettard rang Alves and wanted him to come down to the club cause he was wearing the same number as Alves did. But Stan had a business committment he couldn't get out of.

Anyway Alves was very impressed with Ricky in his 1st game and hopes that he can hold his spot in the team for a while. He thinks he may be something special.

Stan Alves said he sat down on sat night to flick between the two games but only ended up watching our game because he saw Pettard playing and he was also weaing his number that Alves used to wear when he was at Melbourne. Apparently Pettard rang Alves and wanted him to come down to the club cause he was wearing the same number as Alves did. But Stan had a business committment he couldn't get out of.

Anyway Alves was very impressed with Ricky in his 1st game and hopes that he can hold his spot in the team for a while. He thinks he may be something special.

Stan is a lucky man. I mean, to actually be able to watch the game live on T.V. :angry:

Sat on the first tier right behind the goals, next to the SCG Beiruit stand.

With not a whole lot to take away from the game I make the following observations;

- it was good to see Miller go straight to Barry Hall and have a pretty amusing "hi how are you?"

- Petterd showed more poise and composure than any other young kid ive seen step up in the last 3-4 years. The quarters are blurred for me but he did a beautiful baulk / side step then a lace out pass near the middle of the game, cool under pressure, definite future.

- Jamar has either gotta start kicking it straight or just stop pretending to be a fwd. magnificent mark out near the fifty on said beirut pocket, then a complete spray to the far behind post, useless.

- Was pretty happy with Davey's performance, good to see him getting more of the ball.

- How bad is Garland's picture when they show the teams on tv / big screen, he looks like a complete freak and nothing like he does in reality.....have another crack at it son.

I think the biggest compliment that was paid to Pettard was the fact that Michael Voss, commentating on CH 10, seemed to almost be in awe of how well he was playing in his first game.

Voss had questioned Melbournes effort and commitment so far this season at the start of the game.

So, to have one of the most courageous and "hard at it" footballers of the modern era commenting on how good Petterd looked. That probably tells me Pettard has the makings of an outstanding footballer.

I think the biggest compliment that was paid to Pettard was the fact that Michael Voss, commentating on CH 10, seemed to almost be in awe of how well he was playing in his first game.

Voss had questioned Melbournes effort and commitment so far this season at the start of the game.

So, to have one of the most courageous and "hard at it" footballers of the modern era commenting on how good Petterd looked. That probably tells me Pettard has the makings of an outstanding footballer.

That tells me that Voss has the makings of an outstanding coach!!!

Let's do it!!