Miller, Dunn, Newton, Saunter all picked for Sandy

[Tex 68]

All 4 have been picked to line up this week for Sandy in the forward line.

How the hell are we supposed to develop our list if we still have to play that old haggard Saunter at Sandy.

Newton is on the verge of an AFL debut and will no doubt again be the scapegoat to be played out of position, most likely up on the wing or on the bench.

When is something going to be done about this rubbish?

For years i have heard the rhetoric about how great our alliance is with Sandringham.

3 premierships in a row.

Big deal.

At what expense.

How many have the Demons won?

None!

How often are our players the first to make way for ageing duds like Sauutner, Crowe, Gallager, Liddell, etc?

Enough is enough.

I will be at the game on Sunday and if Newton is given a raw deal by Mark Williams i will absolutely spit the dummy and i expect and encourage all others at the game to voice their concerns at the coach as well.

The supporters of this club need to voice their concerns.

We have been too quiet as a club for too long now.

The development of our players must now become a prority, Sandy have had it good enough for long enough!!!

Saunter should be dropped!!!

[buck_nekkid 5,847]

Thanks for your thoughts Haydo.

Where do I start in replying to this? On second thoughts, I can't be bothered.

Enjoy your time at the Sandy game.

[Nasher 33,607]

It's one thing to express disappointment at the relationship between MFC and Sandy, it's another to go off half cocked and point the fingers at the wrong people. If you went to Sandy and gave Mark Williams a piece of your mind about picking Sautner then you're seriously barking up the wrong tree and it says more about you than it does him.

Have fun standing at TBO by yourself on Sunday. The game has been moved to Monday.

[Madness 44]

Yeah Sandringham are not going to play their best foward just so we can develop ours better, doesn't work like that champ.

[Beach Road Bazza 0]

Saunter should be dropped!!!

So you would drop a player who kicked nine goals for his state in a representative game against the WAFL two weeks ago just to accommodate a player at Melbourne who has shown great potential.

And that's not taking into account the fact that Newton played a fantastic game at CHF (and not FF) in the last game I saw him play in at TBO against Williamstown so if there's any logic to what you say, then it's Brad Miller who shouldn't be selected at CHF for Sandy but playing in their reserves instead!

The problem with your analysis of the alliance is that you base it on one single discrete grievance but the fact of the matter is that times have changed since they last played AFL reserves as curtain raisers to senior matches.

The two major issues in the equation are the finiancial cost and the preservation of grounds. The alliance with Sandringham is saving the club a fortune in cost of running the infrastructure of a reserves team, in engagaging extra players to take part in matches and provides us with a handy ground for summer training. What's the value of that? Half a million dollars?

The wealthier clubs might well be able to afford it but I'm not convinced that standing alone is the best way to go in a climate where you have to compete for funding with nine other clubs in this state for sponsorship dollars.

You complain about so called " ageing duds like Sauutner, Crowe, Gallager, Liddell, etc?" but surely a Melbourne reserves would have to employ a number of players to supplement its list in order to field a team in any event. Last week the Demons supplied 10 players only to the side that played against North Ballarat. One other MFC listed player, Daniel Hayes, played in the Zebra reserves in what was his first game for the season. In these circumstances, in the absence of an alliance with Sandringham, Melbourne would have needed to find and pay up to a dozen footballers of competitive quality who were interested in playing at this level.

And what lesson would it send to an up and coming player if he only secured his place in a side at this level, not because he was the best player for his particular position, but because a player considered capable of doing better than him was discarded for a younger player with potential? If he was on the "verge of an AFL debut" you would like to think he was good enough on his own merit to displace someone who is "old" and "haggard". I'd prefer our players to earn their places through hard work, talent and ability rather than on your standards.

[drdrake 3,162]

This type of post comes up every couple of weeks, Sandy is a good thing for MFC. If people believe that our young players are being held back in their development by the Sandy arrangement you are kidding yourself. If a young player can't play well enough to get a game at Sandy's first consistantly then how is he going to make it at AFL level. Maybe we should stop looking at the Sandy players but the MFC players that have been playing consistantly for Sandy for the past 4-5 years that have had little or no impact at AFL level. These are the guys holding the development of our younger guys back.

[Nasher 33,607]

Sautner is the only one who you could even have the slightest cause to complain about and even then it's a pretty weak one. Newton has kicked a few bags in recent weeks, WITH Sautner in the side. I'd argue that playing along side hardened senior bodies like Liddell, Gallagher, Crowe et al is actually more beneficial for our young players than playing against top up players in a reserves side.

[Jaded No More 68,867]

Our players should get used to playing alongside bigger and better men.

If they can't make it work in the VFL, they have no hope of making it in the AFL.

Sandringham is a very proud club and it plays to win. If you don't like it you should put up the money it would cost for Melbourne to have its own reserve side.

Until then, build a bridge.

[drdrake 3,162]

On Newton we never read that it may have been Nick Smith that kept him out of the team last season, MFC got great value from him what 2 or 3 games over 6 seasons, drop him and play Newton that would make more sense to me last year.

[Brocky 4]

How often are our players the first to make way for ageing duds like Sauutner, Crowe, Gallager, Liddell, etc?

Rod Crowe is hardly ageing, he's 23!!! Get your facts straight before ranting buddy!!

[Jarka 767]

It's a topic worthy of discussion, although perhaps the delivery could have been a bit better.

The question will always remain - What's the best thing for the development of our players?

Sandringham are obviously going to do what's best for Sandringham, naturally and fairly. We though, have to work out if having a stand alone team would be better to develop our players like Newton, buckley and Neville, and with the AFL planning on changing the setup to make it alot more cheaper to do this inthe future then finances aren't a concern.

Is it better to have a player on the fringe of selection in a strong team so they have to work harder or is it better to give them game time to enhance their development? That's the question, I'm not decided either way just yet, but don't make the mistake of dismissing it.

[Yze_Magic 3]

So you would drop a player who kicked nine goals for his state in a representative game against the WAFL two weeks ago just to accommodate a player at Melbourne who has shown great potential.

Yes

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Personally, I prefer to have Juice FIGHT for his spot in the Sandy side, and learn from a great VFL forward about the game, and also learn how to win and play competitively rather than have a walk up start in a magoo team... He's learning, and he's learning from as good a set of teachers as you kind find outside the AFL...

But we don't see this, do we?

[don cordner 204]

Dunn.. his first game will i'll never forget. he looked leet... read the ball well. was skillful and fast. .and i haven't changed my mind about him since. he should be given more of a chance on the sceen.. if ya know what i mean

[dazzledavey36 54,281]

sautner deserves to be played haydo because you know why? its who he plays for ffs!! they are not just gonna drop sauts for one of or young forwards just to develope! not the greatest thread here! :angry:

[Guest]

Haydo...read the following list

James Frawley

Ricky Petterd

Colin Garland

Nathan Jones

Lynden Dunn

Matthew Bate

Matthew Warnock

Chris Johnson

Daniel Bell

Brock McLean

Colin Sylvia

Jared Rivers

Nathan Carroll

Simon Godfrey

Brad Green

Cameron Bruce

Guess what Haydo...ALL have played for Sandy before getting a game at Melbourne...so if that's not helping with their development I'm buggered if I know what is...

Oh...and a couple of other guys we helped develop at Sandy who were not deemed good enough for Melbourne...Darren Jolly and Steven Armstrong

Michael Newton is doing all he can at Sandy...now it's up to Melbourne to select him...

Good grief....your argument virtually reeks of sour grapes....and fortunately a lot of post here agree with that

If you don't like the alignment then post off a letter to Steve Harris and vent your spleen about how unsuccessful it has been...

and some food for thought for you...winning a premiership with Sandy in many cases will be the only senior grade premiership that some players will play in....and if you think that the players don't really care then I suggest you come on down one day and have a chat to Guy Rigoni and ask him personally about how it felt...read Shannon Motlops football career highlights...North Melbourne flag and the 2 Sandy premierships...

Fair dinkum...I just shake my head sometimes at the so called LOGIC that some people come up with...

GO ZEBRAS

GO DEMONS

[Jarka 767]

Personally, I prefer to have Juice FIGHT for his spot in the Sandy side, and learn from a great VFL forward about the game, and also learn how to win and play competitively rather than have a walk up start in a magoo team... He's learning, and he's learning from as good a set of teachers as you kind find outside the AFL...

But we don't see this, do we?

That's a good point, my preference would be for him to learn from standing next to David Neitz, but that's an entirely different topic...

[Beach Road Bazza 0]

That's a good point, my preference would be for him to learn from standing next to David Neitz, but that's an entirely different topic...

For those who won't be at the G on Sunday (and shame on you if you do) you'll be able to catch up with the Zebra game against Coburg on 3XX (1611).

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Michael Newton is doing all he can at Sandy...now it's up to Melbourne to select him...

I think you hit the nail on the head there.