our best team- post trade period!

[sylvinator 96]

now that trading is done, we can look at our list pretty close to how it will look for round1 2008!

Bell, Carrol, Frawley

Wheatley, Rivers, Pettard

Sylvia, Mclean, Bruce

Green, Newton, Bate

Davey, Neitz, Robertson

White, McDonald, Jones

Interchange: Moloney, Dunn, Bartram, P.Johnson, Yze, Miller, Whelan

still developing: Meesen, Buckley, C.Johnson, Garland, Bode, Weetra, pick4, pick14, pick21, pick54, PSDpick3

Depth (in case of injury to first choice k.p.p or ruckman): Holland, Warnock, Ferguson, Jamar

Rookie: Hughes

out from 07:

7 players (Bizzel,Brown,Ward,Pickett,Godfrey,Neville,Johnstone)

in to 08:

7 players (4 draftees, 1PSD pick, Meesen, Bode)

NOTES:

- i think people will find that Miller will have a significant role this year. Bailey anounced he thought players were being played out of position in 07. clearly he was refering to miller being shifted to the backline. Bailey will back himself to transform miller into a quality forward

- With Johnstone gone, watch Sylvia and Dunn train the entire preseason with the midfielder. they will not play in the forward line as they did this season. sylvia could be the big improver with a big preseason

- i suspect Green should play closer to goal, more at halfforward. pretty much how sylvia played this year, but sylvia will not be playing in the midfield, so this opens up.

- big improvers in 08 could be Garland, Sylvia, Frawley, Dunn and C.Johnson

- guyz coming back from long term injury- Rivers, Bartram, Moloney, Yze and Whelan are pretty much 5 recruits for 08 and all are in our best 22 when fully fit.

- Meesen will start at sandy to continue his development. he's only 20. but watch him be in our starting 22 by midyear 08

- pick 4 we must pick up a midfielder to replace johnstone, and midfielders are less risky for such high picks. i will be hoping for Cotchin, Masten or Palmer!

- pick 14 should be for a top10 that slips through abit...it's possible one of Grant,Henderson,Rance or Rioli will still be available. if so, what a steal!

- pick 21 and 54 should be used for the best available key position players

- pick 3 PSD should either be another 18yrold, or hopefully a good uncontracted player (Brennan? who knows at this stage?)

[WonnaJurah 5]

we also have psd pick 19,if we use it

[Curis 0]

Has anyone seen any news on Holland and the Recovery from Anthony "Tubs" Rocca sitting on his shoulder?

He played a handful of very good games before the injury and I would look to him to possibly play a similar role in 08, but I still don't know if he is used best up front or back. Hopefully Bailey will also make this call as he surely will with Miller. I think that has been the problem at Melbourne under Daniher other than only having 1 game plan, he used to swap players positions too often and they couldn't settle.

Although we are missing Johnstone's delivery, I still hold hopes for a massive improvement in 08 and look for us to finish anywhere between 8 and 12

Go Dees!

[The Cold Hard Truth 0]

MelbourneFC 2008:

B: Frawley Carroll Whelan

HB: Petterd Rivers Bell

C: Bruce Jones Green

HF: Bate Miller Robertson

F: Davey Neitz Newton

R: White McLean McDonald

Int: Jamar, Yze, Sylvia, Moloney

I'd imagine to see Bartram, Dunn and C Johnson push for the 22 every week as well as those we pick up at 4, 14, 21 and 3 in the PSD.

Miller will have first crack at CHF and hopefully he can cement himself there. Doesn't help himself with poor decision making, but i never felt Daniher used him well either especially when he is thrown from end to end every week. Miller is a good size and a good runner who will attract a key defensive player leaving Newton and Bate to hopefully line up on smaller bodied players and really do some damage. I know he is maligned for not kicking many goals, but we don't need a CHF to kick lots of goals - we have plenty of firepower in Neitz, Robertson, Davey and now Newton and Bate with Bruce and Green always kicking 20-30 goals a year - we just need a CHF to keep presenting to structure our movement foward, take away the pressure off Neitz and inforce a strong physical presence.

Would like to see Sylvia unleashed and push into the midfield in the absense of TJ. With a fully fit Moloney, our midfield is looking very powerful with some tough bodies rotating through there. Will do plenty of damage in '08.

Jamar gets the nod at this stage but the econd ruckmen is still very much undetermined at this stage.

[Yze_Magic 3]

If we can get an uninterruoted preseason into Sylvia, Petterd, bate and Dunn our midfield is going to be awesome

Travis wont be missed, thats for sure

[Little Goffy 14,521]

I think that has been the problem at Melbourne under Daniher other than only having 1 game plan, he used to swap players positions too often and they couldn't settle.

Go Dees!

Agree completely. I often got the feeling that Daniher wanted every single player to be a utility/tagger except Neitz. I think there was a definate attitude that young players should make themselves versatile to 'give themselves the best chance of getting a game'. Hopefully we'll see players asked/allowed to make a real committment to filling a specific role instead of 'putting barriers in front of them' where they have to make themselves available for anything.

So. Who wants to be the next fullback for the Melbourne Football Club? Mr. Garland, Mr. Frawley, Mr. Rance? Step up and be counted!

[Adzman 2,154]

Whelan STARTS, make no mistakes about it, he walks out on the field and stays there!

08 should be the year we see some purchase on beemer, Sylvia and the next step for Dunny. Jones, bate ,petterd will still move upwards quickly.

Cj, is a wildcard, and bell just needs to do what he did last season to make me happy in pants!

Frawley and Garland could go forward or take more time.

You neve know, one of our picks could slot right in.

[GawnWithTheWind 604]

Has anyone seen any news on Holland and the Recovery from Anthony "Tubs" Rocca sitting on his shoulder?

He played a handful of very good games before the injury and I would look to him to possibly play a similar role in 08, but I still don't know if he is used best up front or back. Hopefully Bailey will also make this call as he surely will with Miller. I think that has been the problem at Melbourne under Daniher other than only having 1 game plan, he used to swap players positions too often and they couldn't settle.

Although we are missing Johnstone's delivery, I still hold hopes for a massive improvement in 08 and look for us to finish anywhere between 8 and 12

Go Dees!

Anthony 'Tubs' Rocca........... haha.. classic

[Ausyid 0]

Ideally whoever we pick up at no.3 in the PSD will slot straight into our best 22 or at least be young and have the potential to be a future first-teamer.

Otherwise there is really no point using that pick for back-up IMO. Especially ageing back-up.

[Yze_Magic 3]

Best 22 in 2008.

Backs

Matthew Whelan - will be fit and firing in 2008, a level headed veteran down back who will be very important for us. And in a young squad his toughness is like gold.

Nathan Carroll - still the best option at FB. Hopefully he can get back to his 2006 form which saw him considered for AA selection

Daniel Bell - absolute gun, lockdown defender with great pace. Creative , smart footballer.

Half backs

Jared Rivers - welcome back. Our defense will be superb with this bloke up and about

James Frawley - I am backing Frawley for a massive pre-season, and to soak in everything Wellman and Bailey tell him, and he will hold down CHB in 2008

Clint Bartram - hopefully he can get back to his rookie season form. He can shut down anyone, has great pace and skills.

Centreline

Brad Green - the loss of Travis Johnstone gives Green more responsibility and I think he is up to the task. Needs to become damaging again

Nathan Jones - the perfect centremen. A tough little nugget that can run all day, the future of the MFC

Ricky Petterd - get on the Petterd bandwagon. He is a gem this kid. Tough, blistering pace, neat skills. Could become a match winning onballer in the mould of Peter Matera

Half forwards

Colin Sylvia - 2008 is the year of the Kid. He has all the tools, just needs to get his body right. An immense talent that will tear teams apart

Michael Newton - exciting KPP prospect who is very hard to match up on. Big things coming in 08'

Matthew Bate - Yet another gun youngster. Got the feeling Dean Bailey has big things planned for Bater

Forwards

Aaron Davey - its time he put it all together and kicked bags of goals consistently

David Neitz - the great man is still the best option at FF, but will his body hold up?

Russell Robertson - getting older and with suspect knees will play closer to goal. Still capable of the brilliant, still hard to stop

Rucks

John Meesen - No messing about, the kid is 200cm and a legit tap ruckman and we haven't had one in years

Cameron Bruce - let us pray that Bruce can correct his kicking over the summer. it is the difference between him being a good player and a great one.

Brock McLean - we know how good he is and what he is capable of, but the best is yet to come

Interchange

Jeff White - handy player to come off the bench in his twilight years and to tutor Meesen

Lynden Dunn - Dunn the gun, will be a very important player for us. So versatile, can play anywhere

Brent Moloney - here is hoping his groin is right. A fantastic onballer and his kicking is important and a real weapon

James McDonald - you know what you're going to get with J Mac, and its all good

Emergencies/depth

Ben Holland - love Dutchy. Could be our CHB or CHF in 08. Has plenty left in the tank

Adem Yze - could easily be slipped in as a forward pocket and boot 50 goals for the year. An X factor

Paul Wheatley - again, a lot of people would have him in our best 22. I had to toss a coin.

Jace Bode - love the looks of this kid

Brad Miller - could be the answer at CHB, lets see what Bailey and Wellman can do with him

Paul Johnson/Mark Jamar - ruck depth

Simon Buckley - promising , could become best 22 in 2008. Wildcard.

Chris Johnson - make or break year for CJ

Matthew Warnock/Isaac Weetra/Colin Garland - all have something to offer

This of course does not include draft picks. I am sure that one of the guys we pick up will become a permanent fixture in our best 22 next year, always seems to happen.

And I am praying we get Jared Brennan as well, would love to slide him into the best 22.

[bjgc 0]

BP: WHELAN, CARROLL, FRAWLEY

HB: WHEATLEY, RIVERS, BELL

C: BRUCE, JONES, GREEN

HF: BATE, MILLER, DAVEY

F: ROBERTSON, NEITZ, NEWTON

FOLL: WHITE, MCLEAN, MCDONALD

IC: BARTRAM, PETTARD, SYLVIA, MEESON

EMERG: DUNN, PICK 4, PICK 14

We don't have much depth at all. With a full side we will struggle to make the 8 a couple of injuries and we will finish near the bottom again. The next 2 years I think are going to be very tough if we finish above 13th we will have over acheived. We have made it clear that we are rebuilding by getting rid of Johnstone which is fair enough although I thought we should have got more for him at least pick 8 or Sherman\ Selwood with pick 14 which was disappointing but no surprise considering how poor we have been at trade week over the years. If our draft picks don't make an immediate impact then Cameron should be sacked. He has been around too long he should have resigned when Daniher resigned he is just as much to blame for the problems we face as Daniher was.

[Yencks 8]

i like we're you are going YM. especially, with pettard away from the bloody defense. hes too slim ATM, get him higher up the ground IMO.

[Ausyid 0]

FB: WHELAN - CARROL - BELL

HB: FRAWLEY - RIVERS - GREEN

C: BRUCE - MCDONALD - BARTRAM

HF: SYLVIA - NEWTON - BATE

FF: DAVEY - NEITZ - ROBERTSON

R: WHITE - MCLEAN - JONES

INT: MEESEN - PETTERD - MOLONEY - DUNN

EMER: BODE, P. JOHNSON, WHEATLEY

LEFTOVER: HOLLAND, YZE, C. JOHNSON, BUCKLEY, JAMAR, MILLER, GARLAND, WEETRA, WARNOCK, (DRAFT PICKS/PSD PICK)


Wish list for me re our 22:

1. Picks 4, 14 and 21 (at the least) get an extended run of games in the first team

2. Davey stays in the forward line to crumb. We need him there.

3. Green lose man in defence.

4. Bartram our no.1 tagger.

5. Rivers, Whelan, Robertson, Neitz, etc.. STAY FIT

6. Jones, Mcdonald, Mclean, Bruce, Bartram, Moloney rotate through the centre square.

7. Sylvia and Bate play as roving CHFs with Newton leading out from the middle of the forward 50. Neitz reamins as a target, and Robbo does his thing.

There's more but these immediately spring to mind.

[rpfc 28,383]

BP: WHELAN, CARROLL, FRAWLEY

HB: WHEATLEY, RIVERS, BELL

C: BRUCE, JONES, GREEN

HF: BATE, MILLER, DAVEY

F: ROBERTSON, NEITZ, NEWTON

FOLL: WHITE, MCLEAN, MCDONALD

IC: BARTRAM, PETTARD, SYLVIA, MEESON

EMERG: DUNN, PICK 4, PICK 14

We don't have much depth at all. With a full side we will struggle to make the 8 a couple of injuries and we will finish near the bottom again. The next 2 years I think are going to be very tough if we finish above 13th we will have over acheived. We have made it clear that we are rebuilding by getting rid of Johnstone which is fair enough although I thought we should have got more for him at least pick 8 or Sherman\ Selwood with pick 14 which was disappointing but no surprise considering how poor we have been at trade week over the years. If our draft picks don't make an immediate impact then Cameron should be sacked. He has been around too long he should have resigned when Daniher resigned he is just as much to blame for the problems we face as Daniher was.

This is pure Melbourne. Talking down our chances so that we can live in the cocoon of predictable failure. If you set the bar low enough you won't disappoint and you won't get your hopes up.

We are not bottom three material, we are not beginning to rebuild, we started rebuilding in 2003 and are well into it.

I expect to finish in the top 8, I believe that we have only improved on the sides that, in 2004/5/6, have been in the top 4 deep into the season.

CAC has had to deal with a tight MFC budget and doesn't have the resources that the bigger clubs enjoy. And he is regarded as one of the best recruitment managers out there. And that comment about this years draft picks making an impact in the first year is utter nonsense, their just boys when clubs get them and they rarely do anything of significance in the first couple of years.

Daniher has been such a scape goat over the years, things aren't that simple. Blame the senior players that have imploded in the past as they headed toward september in an excellent position.

[Yze_Magic 3]

If our draft picks don't make an immediate impact then Cameron should be sacked. He has been around too long he should have resigned when Daniher resigned he is just as much to blame for the problems we face as Daniher was.

HAHAHAHAHA

Yeah, lets sack the best recruiter in the business. Good idea

Craig picks the right kids. He is a genius at spotting talent. But sadly, the Daniher/Fagan/Riley/Royal combination were the worst in the league at player development

[classy dees 42]

Jeff White - handy player to come off the bench in his twilight years and to tutor Meesen

white is still ahead of meesen who has only played 2 games in his career. white will be number 1.

apart from that YM that is almost your best post on this forum, seems spot on. although you could be a little more lavish with praise for j.mac seeing as though he is the reigning b&f winner for the last two years!

however, imagine what that team would be like with the ultra handy inclusions of sampi, kepler bradley, whitnall and ferguson as many have suggested ... WOW

[Pates 9,660]

Moloney will be an interesting player to watch next year, i really hope he can shake his groin problems because his first year at the club showed what he was capable of and he was only young then. If he can stay fit we will be able to see some very good performances from him IMO.

[mauriesy 7,287]

For a team to continue progressing, it needs to inject new blood. Every year some new players will progress into the "best 22", a couple will probably regress. Most posters here haven't listed any new players over what we could have picked from in 2007 (disregarding our huge injury list).

I'd expect by mid-way through next season to see a couple of new names in our "best 22". Buckley has a good show, others could be Bode, Meesen or Garland. Conversely, I wouldn't be surprised if some players (for example Whelan or Moloney) fall out, either through injury or inconsistency.

My tip is that Dunn especially will establish himself regularly in our best 22 throughout the year, either in the midfield or on a wing. Most of you have him as an emergency or interchange at best, for some conservative reason.

[Yze_Magic 3]

I'd expect by mid-way through next season to see a couple of new names in our "best 22".

I would consider Petterd, Bartram, Newton and Frawley as fresh blood

And as you can see I have them all in my best 22

With pick 4 we may even get a kidn that walks in and dominates from day 1 if we are lucky a la Buckley, Judd, Riewoldt

Will it be Cotchin, palmer or McEvoy?

Exciting times

[Jaded No More 68,903]

My tip is that Dunn especially will establish himself regularly in our best 22 throughout the year, either in the midfield or on a wing. Most of you have him as an emergency or interchange at best, for some conservative reason.

I agree 100%.

I'm a huge fan of Dunn. He reminds me of Bruce, minus the bad kicking.

I'd love to see him in a run-with role next year, even if it's just to learn from the best players in the league.

Another possibility, which is a bit left field, is playing him at CHB- Chad Cornes style.

That leaves Frawley and Carroll deep in defence, with Rivers free to roam.

Also means we can have Bartram in the middle, tagging.

Both Dunn and Bate give us huge flexibility in that they can be thrown forward, back or play through the middle. We should experiment with them in all 3 situations throughout the season.

[mauriesy 7,287]

I would consider Petterd, Bartram, Newton and Frawley as fresh blood

Bartram has played the same number of games as Dunn.

[Bails 0]

Whelan Carroll Wheatley

Bell Miller Rivers

Bate Moloney Green

Sylvia Newton Davey

Jones Nietz Robertson

White McLean Bruce

Meeson Bartram McDonald Cotchin

Yze Frawley C Johnson jamar P Johnson Buckley Bode

[occo 2]

Whelan Carroll Wheatley

Bell Miller Rivers

Bate Moloney Green

Sylvia Newton Davey

Jones Nietz Robertson

White McLean Bruce

Meeson Bartram McDonald Cotchin

Yze Frawley C Johnson jamar P Johnson Buckley Bode

Pettard? Dunn? Ur missing a fair few players there. Miller CHB...i dont think so. cotchin? We havnt got him yet haha so how can u add him 2 the team. That team would really struggle to win many games

[sylvinator 96]

this thread has been done only a week ago...

btw i do believe Miller will have a big role to play in our starting 18 next year. Bailey has made it clear that he has big plans for him.

as a 194cm big bodied KPP, who runs his but off and takes a nice mark on the lead +already 50 games experience...miller has alot to offer if he can get his decision-making right. hopefully bailey can help him

[Demons 32 235]

Pettard? Dunn? Ur missing a fair few players there. Miller CHB...i dont think so. cotchin? We havnt got him yet haha so how can u add him 2 the team. That team would really struggle to win many games

You know I love Dunn, Petterd and even Newton comes into this catergory.

But they are no certainty in a new coaching panels eyes to be in the starting 22 come round 1 2008.

I actually think Miller has a stronger chance of lining up round 1 than the other guys do. Even though Petterd cleary deserves to play. I would also have Newton and Dunn in my best 22. Whether or not the coaching panel agree is different so it really is up for personal debate.