We were chronically exposed for height by Franklin, Boyle and Roughead.

Can John Meesen play full back?

If Rutten works at Adelaide, Meesen should be able to make it work at Melbourne.

Or does Rutten benefit big-time from Adelaide's flooding back into the spaces?

Rutten benefits from having defensive ability.

Having never seen Meesen play before, I'm not sure if the same could be said about him.

Full back is not some position you fill with whatever big player you can find. You need to train to be a defender, and as far as I know Meesen has been training with the ruckmen not the backline.

What's Rutten got to do with it? He has never been a ruckman. Sure you're not confusing him for Ben Hudson? The closest thing I've heard of a ruckman becoming a key defender is Al Nicholson, and well....

I don't like the idea anyway. Meesen's supposed strength is his fitness and endurance, i.e. he can run all day like a midfielder. That would go to waste at full back.

No, I'm not confusing him with Hudson.

If yesterday proved anything, we need to be able to stop opposition forwards taking one-on-one grabs.

Rutten is the first big lump of a full-back who came to mind who is rarely out-marked one-on-one.

So, have we got anyone similar? No, if yesterday is any indication.

Why not give Meesen a shot.

He is supposedly agile for a big bloke, but unless he takes over from White or Paul Johnson, he's not going to get a gig on the ball.

He is a far better credentialed footballer than hockey-boy Nicholson.

He has endurance and agility and might be able to keep up with the likes of Franklin.

At 21 he's certainly not too old to learn the caper.

And I repeat: We absolutely need a key big bloke down back.

  Godemons said:

No, I'm not confusing him with Hudson.

If yesterday proved anything, we need to be able to stop opposition forwards taking one-on-one grabs.

Once again the backmen take the wrap - Carroll, Miller and at one stage we used Bell FCS against a man 10 cm taller and allowed the Hawks to pump it in with precision then blame the defenders??!!**

Forwards and midfielders totally culpable and made judgement on the defence meaningless.

I can't seee him doing any worse than Daniel Bell swatting flies at full stretch while Franklin never left the turf

  monoccular said:

Once again the backmen take the wrap - Carroll, Miller and at one stage we used Bell FCS against a man 10 cm taller and allowed the Hawks to pump it in with precision then blame the defenders??!!**

Forwards and midfielders totally culpable and made judgement on the defence meaningless.

Yes, the midfielders were rubbish, and deserve all the extra punctuation marks you can spare.

But the backmen, regularly out-marked one-on-one, were still too short.

  Godemons said:

Yes, the midfielders were rubbish, and deserve all the extra punctuation marks you can spare.

But the backmen, regularly out-marked one-on-one, were still too short.

Martin is a better prospect here. Still inexperienced but with size and some real mongrel. He delivered a perfect shirtfront on Steve Johnson in the first NAB Cup match. Johnson got up and went on to kick more goals but it showed me something about Martin's attitude.

My old man was saying we should have put johnson to full back lets face it he looks quicker than carroll and is a big body, we could try worse.

Still don't think it would work though.