Brown - turned back clock

Carroll - looked at sea

Bizzell - gave away height

Ward - a commendable effort

Bell - unfortunate early injury

Green - had no influence

Johnstone - had minimal influence

Bate - thrown around field

Bruce - prolific ball winner

McDonald - pure committed effort

Davey - the better Davey

Robertson - great third quarter

Neitz - played on courage

Johnson - continuing to impress

Wheatley - had little influence

Jones - couldn't break tackles

White - controlled centre circle

McLean - consecutive disappointing games

Sylvia - brilliant in bursts

Godfrey - impressive and determined

Petterd - showed impressive glimpses

Newton - an impressive debut

Robertson-Watch Out A League:P

Neitz, Green, Robbo, Wheatley all played injured. Johnstone I thought was solid and Bate worked his absolute butt off all game. Poor Carroll was the only real tall and struggled to keep up with Lloyd on the lead, otherwise he did what he does well. I'm not sure what you mean about Doggy, I thought today confirmed his future.

Neitz, Green, Robbo, Wheatley all played injured. Johnstone I thought was solid and Bate worked his absolute butt off all game. Poor Carroll was the only real tall and struggled to keep up with Lloyd on the lead, otherwise he did what he does well.

Agreed.

Stupid decision to drop Frawley, but Brown got his last hoorah with Daniher.

Thought Bruce's disposal was horrific in the first half, but improved in the second. While Travis was brilliant then went missing for long patches, is he still not fit?

Neita is the most inspirational captain you hope to see, but he needs at least two or three weeks off now just to fully recover.

Was very impressed with Sylvia and thought Bate was courageous and worked hard.

McLean made a few uncharacteristic mistakes, but I thought did ok. Pevrill is a very good tagger.

I have three words that reminds me exactly of this game tonight, and for all the wrong reasons.

Adelaide 2002 again.

MFC Playing For Judd

Brown - cost the game !!

Carroll - well beaten

Bizzell - more good than bad

Ward - well played son

Bell - bugger bugger bugger

Green - less good than bad

Johnstone - he was there ??

Bate - played it tough

Bruce - not best thinker

McDonald - onya Junior, thankyou

Davey - Davey on Davey, Davey won..lol

Robertson - limited brilliant glimpses

Neitz - commendable walking wounded

Johnson - some good stuff

Wheatley - must take kickins

Jones - hard at it

White - lowered to laycock

McLean - not his month

Sylvia - much better game

Godfrey - great 100th game

Petterd - continues to shine

Newton - not bad Juice :-)))))))

Brown - Dumb decision making

Carroll - Lloyd too quick

Bizzell - Gallant on Lucas

Ward - Provided a spark

Bell - Yet another injury

Green - Very little impact

Johnstone - Good in patches

Bate - Good in patches

Bruce - Kicking still worrying

McDonald - Back to best

Davey - Played best forward

Robertson - Kept on flying

Neitz - On one leg

Johnson - Very little impact

Wheatley - Very little impact

Jones - Very little impact

White - Not enough hitouts

McLean - Very little impact

Sylvia - Best on ground

Godfrey - Had his moments

Petterd - Great first half

Newton - Very good debut

...

White - controlled centre circle

...

Carroll - is a disgrace

Ward - BOG

Johnstone - I give up

McLean - Does too much

Carroll was a disgrace. If anyone he cost us the game. How can you allow a player to lead off the ball so often. He literlally lost sight of him at least twice.

Johnstone - My fav player but pis**s me off soo much. Does too much and must be traded or i will scream

Ward - BOG

McLean - Selfish indovidual who seems to feel he is in his own class. Your stupid little play in essendons goal square was so bad that i think it warrents being dropped. I am so angry at him. Stop this selfish type of play

Ward - BOG

McLean - Selfish indovidual who seems to feel he is in his own class. Your stupid little play in essendons goal square was so bad that i think it warrents being dropped. I am so angry at him. Stop this selfish type of play

If you didn't give Ward BOG, I would actually give you one back for that pathetic comment about McLean.

Thankfully, all your credibility has flown out the window with your previous comment.

Brock McLean was average tonight, but to call him selfish is one of the stupidest things I've read on this website, and I've read a LOT of stupid things.

not in defence of anyone... but that really was a crappy effort on Brocky's part ... ( the goal square incident )..

continuing the Brocky themehere , rathr than in Doggy space...lol..

he has had to adapt some in the last few weeks due to al the attention. Only very good playrers get all of THAT attention. Am sure he will rise above it.. but it may not happen overnight. Its a test of his character, let alone his ability.

I'l wager he gets through :-))

not in defence of anyone... but that really was a crappy effort on Brocky's part ... ( the goal square incident )..

Agreed - but worse was Carroll's half-arsed attempt to shepherd for him. Had Nathan put on a half decent block rather than throwing out a token elbow, we'd have had a 2 on 1 and a good chance to clear the ball

many will lynch me.. but Ive mooted for some time that Im not convinced that Carroll is our answer ( he's our best contendr presently ) but he's not the answer down back, he conssitently toweled by the better forwards.. if we are going to win premiership(s) we need better than that. he either improves vastly...or we need to replace him.

lynch away !! :-)

MFC Playing For Judd

We have more of a chance of getting him if one G Lyon decides to get his act together, Garry being Judds childhood hero and all plus barracking for the MFC as a kid! - meant to be...

We have more of a chance of getting him if one G Lyon decides to get his act together, Garry being Judds childhood hero and all plus barracking for the MFC as a kid! - meant to be...

I would beg him til the cows come home to coach us. It'd be a dream.

I'm excited about the new era at the Dees, however tonight was the most painful game I have ever watched.

I won't shake the image of Nathan Brown slamming his head against the ground and wiping his eyes any time soon.

Having just watched the replay (don't even ask why cos I don't know..), I'm currently dwelling on the many things that could have and should have been done.. Neitz and Robbo should have been more accurate in front of goal, Brock shouldn't have fumbled with the ball in the Bombers' goalsquare, that free should have been paid to Bruce for being tripped, and so on and so forth.

But as many have already pointed out, as per darn usual, what should have and could have been done simply wasn't, and we fell short in the end.

I went to the game tonight purely to support and see Neale off. I didn't expect us to win at all. But when we came so close, it was nothing short of cruel to watch us lose. Just like the game versus the Kangaroos, but 100 million times worse.

Bell - Life just sucks

Johnstone - Important in last

McDonald - Best on ground

Neitz - Absolute opitimy of leader

Wheatley - wasted team selection

McLean - Frusturated, unusually off

Sylvia - Possibly best game?

Godfrey - Had his moments

Petterd - Continues to impress

Newton - Want to see more

deestroy06 - very, very upset .. going to bed!

many will lynch me.. but Ive mooted for some time that Im not convinced that Carroll is our answer ( he's our best contendr presently ) but he's not the answer down back, he conssitently toweled by the better forwards.. if we are going to win premiership(s) we need better than that. he either improves vastly...or we need to replace him.

lynch away !! :-)

I have said this since last year. He is ordinary overhead and has no speed. Frawley will take that position hopefully

I have said this since last year. He is ordinary overhead and has no speed. Frawley will take that position hopefully

Expand on this. Ordinary overhead? I think I know what you mean, and I agree on this to a degree, but I reckon he deserves SOME credit. He's leading our marks this season and without being Juice, he's ok at taking a mark in a pack when it's needed. Did you perhaps mean as a spoiler? And while his speed is certainly not a strength, he keeps up, assuming he has the right match-up, and he runs to the right places, which makes it easier.

I reckon Carroll is certainly a workman. He certainly doesn't MOVE like Frawley, in the sense that he's not as quick to react, not as flexible... But he has some aspects of his game that raise him above the category of ordinary IMO, such as his courage, his ball-finding ability (gets more touches than many similar players), his set-ups and his out-and-out toughness... I've seen him take some horriffic hits and he just gets up and keeps going. His durability would be up there at this club. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he's pretty much our most durable.

Oh, and the hair-do... He gets points for that. Simply impossible to call him a good ordinary player with a bonce like that.

If you didn't give Ward BOG, I would actually give you one back for that pathetic comment about McLean.

Thankfully, all your credibility has flown out the window with your previous comment.

Brock McLean was average tonight, but to call him selfish is one of the stupidest things I've read on this website, and I've read a LOT of stupid things.

Dont you dare tell me what is stupid and what isnt. I am guttered and got home from the game to watch the entire match again...I know what im talking about when i say mclean was selfish. Take the innitative i took and watch the game again before you critisise people. Jesus

Expand on this. Ordinary overhead? I think I know what you mean, and I agree on this to a degree, but I reckon he deserves SOME credit. He's leading our marks this season and without being Juice, he's ok at taking a mark in a pack when it's needed. Did you perhaps mean as a spoiler? And while his speed is certainly not a strength, he keeps up, assuming he has the right match-up, and he runs to the right places, which makes it easier.

I reckon Carroll is certainly a workman. He certainly doesn't MOVE like Frawley, in the sense that he's not as quick to react, not as flexible... But he has some aspects of his game that raise him above the category of ordinary IMO, such as his courage, his ball-finding ability (gets more touches than many similar players), his set-ups and his out-and-out toughness... I've seen him take some horriffic hits and he just gets up and keeps going. His durability would be up there at this club. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he's pretty much our most durable.

Oh, and the hair-do... He gets points for that. Simply impossible to call him a good ordinary player with a bonce like that.

I rairly see carroll win a contested mark, rairly see him keeping up with a forward, he loses focus on his oponant too much and he cant spoil. Melbourne have a serious issue with filling that position but to be honest, i dont care less. I have seen melb with a superbe list capable of winning a flag and whether it be they win 10 in a row and lose the next 6 or lose important games against carlton. I honestly dont care anymore what melb do. Ill still attend games, but i wanna see some improvement until i take the team as serious again

Hmm. Good to see there are a handful of landers who don't mind sticking around to chat even when things are as dire as they are...

Yeah, look. Like I said, Carroll isn't a STAR of the competition. But in the end he's a good backman. You can't use your first selection in a superdraft for EVERY defender. Personally I'm happy with a starting KP defense of Carroll, Frawley and Rivers... With Warnock, Ferguson and Miller in the wings, I'm not AS confident.

Actually, if you look at our defence, assuming Petterd ends up there one day... Rivers (22), Frawley (18), Petterd (18), Bell (21), Bartram (19)... That's a YOUNG defence. Even if you round the six out with Carroll at 26, it's still complete... and you have Buckley (20), CJ (21) and Warnock (23) all coming through and let's not forget Whelan (27) who will be there for a few years yet.

Yes we still have some recruiting to do, to replace Ferg and Holland (you can't expect to do will with 3 KP defenders ONLY), but there's no reason to throw your hands up in the air yet occo... I mean, not for 2008.

The list is still as good as it was at the start of this year. Just look at the Bombers, Kangaroos and Geelong. They all went through this. Hang tough mate.

many will lynch me.. but Ive mooted for some time that Im not convinced that Carroll is our answer ( he's our best contendr presently ) but he's not the answer down back, he conssitently toweled by the better forwards.. if we are going to win premiership(s) we need better than that. he either improves vastly...or we need to replace him.

lynch away !! :-)

Carrol is a 3rd tall option, nothing more. He's only a FB because we haven't had a proper full back probably since Jamie Shanahan. We are bereft of Key defenders of quality and I can't remember us ever having a really good one. The passing of Broadbridge really set this club back along way, Rivers injury this year is probably one of the major reasons we've only won 2 games. Carrol is undersized and/or underpaced for many of the opposition full forwards and has been shown up plenty of times this year. You can't fault his courage though and he's definitely got good hands in a contested marking situation, just couldn't get in the contest tonight. Our midfield, which is very much in rebuilding phase, has a lot to answer for though in terms of the ease at which the ball comes into the opposition forward 50. It's made it awful tough on the defense and has made Carrol look a lot worse than he actually is.

In terms of the future of Key spots down back, I think Rivers needs to become our franchise CHB. Carrol/Frawley can take the third tall but we need a genuine FB with a bit of pace, a lot of strength and most of all discipline. Maybe Brad Miller can be developed into this player. With the development of Newton and Dunn as tall options up forward I can't see much of a future for Brad up there. Hopefully the new coach can pull Miller's head in and get him contributing week in week out.

I have three words that reminds me exactly of this game tonight, and for all the wrong reasons.

Adelaide 2002 again.

That's exactly what I thought. I couldn't be more gutted.

Yeah, look. Like I said, Carroll isn't a STAR of the competition. But in the end he's a good backman. You can't use your first selection in a superdraft for EVERY defender. Personally I'm happy with a starting KP defense of Carroll, Frawley and Rivers... With Warnock, Ferguson and Miller in the wings, I'm not AS confident.

Actually, if you look at our defence, assuming Petterd ends up there one day... Rivers (22), Frawley (18), Petterd (18), Bell (21), Bartram (19)... That's a YOUNG defence. Even if you round the six out with Carroll at 26, it's still complete... and you have Buckley (20), CJ (21) and Warnock (23) all coming through and let's not forget Whelan (27) who will be there for a few years yet.

Is CJ a defender? I thought Buckley was a mid and Petterd has been used up forward a fair bit - but he certainly might end up there, as you've said.

Anyhow Frawley is probably a couple of years off becoming a KPP and both Rivers and Carroll are undersized IMO. Rivers would be a great third tall fulfilling the general role.

The list is still as good as it was at the start of this year. Just look at the Bombers, Kangaroos and Geelong. They all went through this. Hang tough mate.

That's true. That's why I didn't think we were going anywhere this year - problems with tall defenders, poor ruck stocks, and a very one-paced midfield (to combat this we've robbed our forward line of Davey, giving us little in the way of crumbing goal kickers).