Jared Rivers is flowing again.

Praise lord he's back

the drought will be over

Jared Rivers is flowing again.

Who? I think I remember him.

By the way, worst pun headline ever. About as bad as the "Great Scott" headlines when Adam wins at golf.

The number one reason we struggled this year.

The number 1 reason it won't be doom and gloom next year.

He is by daylight our most important player in my opinion.

anyone who makes a comment about how much we missed him this year, is making an understatement...

Rivers and Bell, dominating, in the same backline...

*drools*

He could even give a few players some lessons of how to read the play

With a whole year off, natural maturation and a big pre-season it will be interesting to see what shape his body takes. He may well be ready for bigger tasks and bigger bodies.

Oh i cannot wait to see this man dominate the back line again.

It might take a year or two but Bate CHF and Rivers CHB could be a winning combination in a winning team.

What I particularly like about Rivers is his ability to lose his opponent, run forward and snag the unsuspected goal. Only happened a few times but I hope Bailey encourages something different and imbues the team with a bit of imagination.

The number one reason we struggled this year.

The number 1 reason it won't be doom and gloom next year.

He is by daylight our most important player in my opinion.

Agree 100% - No Jared Rivers = A massive Hole in our team

Nobody rates The Dee's however consider the following:

Fully Fit :

Rivers, Bartram, Whelen, Moloney, Yze & a fully fit Brock, Sylvia , Robbo & Neita

Continued development of :

Jones, Frawley, Bell,Bate, Dunn, Newton

Hopefully some positve list changes in trade week, National Draft & PSD.

We have a huge upside that is slipping under the radar & Jared is our ace in the pack

Bring on the New DB era, lets not get angry, LETS GET EVEN IN 2008

He is one of, if not the best defender i have seen at this club in my 15 years of supporting us. He's miles ahead of anyone in the team in terms of reading the play and knows exactly when to leave his man, he is easy top 3 most important at least and i'd put him at the top. If we can get him, Bell, and Wrecka fit, it will go a long way to having a bit of backline stability.

The number one reason we struggled this year.

The number 1 reason it won't be doom and gloom next year.

He is by daylight our most important player in my opinion.

Incorrect.

While Rivers was a big hole in defence, our number one problem week in week out was our inability to win the contested ball and the clearances from the midfield or at least stymy the opposition winning it.

A fit Rivers would not have corrected this fault. However as our most important defender he would have provided a good defensive and rebounding option.

IMO he is about No 3 on our list. A fit and firing McLean and Jones are my two most important players.

Incorrect.

That's right.

ND and his "run and carry" was what hurt Melbourne the most year, even more than injuries.

Rivers even admitted it himself on the radio.

It ruined Melbourne before the season began.

IMO he is about No 3 on our list. A fit and firing McLean and Jones are my two most important players.

I have to agree, and isn't it just great that FINALLY, our 3 most important players happen to be young, mentally focused and most importantly, can be trusted to put in week in week out?

We've waited a long time for this, and as I've said for a while, when these boys (Bate, Bell, Dunn, Sylvia, etc etc...) become our core group of players and leaders, we'll finally see a real change in this club.

Thankfully we have a new coach who can see that, and who will hopefully devote most of his energy to developing these guys and getting as much experience into them as possible.

We have a very good, and balanced, group of under 23's. We have a range of smalls, talls, midfielders, defenders and forwards, which is something that not a lot of clubs have. We've done really well with the draft in the last few years, picking up great kids with early picks, and with picks as late as 60. If we manage to get another first round pick and draft well this year, there is no reason why we can't set up a team for 5+ years.

Also, Rivers is a gun!

Incorrect.

The CHF, & the CHB are the most important positions on a football field followed by a Ruckman.

The midfield is important but not more important than these 3.

I am Jones' number 1 fan but you can't say he's our most important player Rhino.

Furthermore, you added when McLean is firing & what I saw this year was a 30 year old trying to get a kick.

I agree with Demons 32 that he is a very important player & the fact we don't have a true CHF - This makes his comment even more true.