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I like that Flanagan article, never a truer word than his closing paragrapgh:

The reason so many players were missing from the main training session was that the rest were playing a scratch match against collingwood at Victoria Park. I was only able to attend the first two quarters during my lunch break, and it was sometimes hard to differentiate betwen players due to the absense of numbers on jumpers, however, here is what I observed: The coaches (Neeld and Buckley) were able to call plays i.e. we kicked a goal and rather than having a ball up in the centre, Buckley would call out and it would be a kick out instead, providing boths teams an opportunity to practice certain stuctures. Each coach had this kind of conrol for a quater. We dominated the first quater but the Pies came back into it in the second, smashing us in the clearances on many occasions, however when I left we would have still been up by a couple of goals. From what I saw (which was somewhat surprising considering the bashing he has received here) Cale Morton was a stand out. He played across the backline and disposed of the ball well by foot and finding targets in space, he competed hard in marking contests, kept his feet and, and made good decisions under pressure. Steph Martin was playing in the forward line, while Fitzpatrick was rucking. Unfrotunately Fitz got absolutely smashed in the ruck, although he is tall, and relativley fast for his size, he does not look to have much of a leap and was continually beaten. James Magner and Tom Couch are tough as they come, in and under, see-ball-get-ball midfeilders, while Seller is a physical beast and played well in the back line, it would not surprise me if he plays quite a few games this season, freeing up Frawley for a more attacking role. Jack Watts is all class, he did not have many touches, but whenever he got near it looked dangerous. Although he does not look much bigger compared to last year, he was able to demonstrate great strength in contested marking contests and his ability at ground level once the ball hits the deck is a real weapon. This kid will be a gun. Sam Blease is super quick. He played mostly in the forward line, and looked dangerous whenever he got near it. He ran hard, chased and tackled. Rohan Bail looks really good, he has great speed and can find the ball. Mathew Bate and Gysberts competed well in the midfeild, but had very poor service in the ruck. Jeremy Howe played a high half forward/midfield role, and looked good, this guy will be a gun. Jamie Bennell has pace to burn and if he can find more of the ball this season will be a real weapon, he is also one of the few MFC players with the attributes to be able to shut down top-line small forwards. Overall the tackling was great, they stuck most, forced plenty of turnovers and applied more pressure than I saw in most games last season. There seemed to be good defensive structure, and when players were out of position they worked hard to fix it. On the flipside, kicking was average. Many kicks missed targets, during the 30 minutes I watched there would have been at least six kicks that went out on the full. Dan Nicholson may well be an elete runner, but he still cannot kick! As I said, I only saw 2 quaters, but from what I did see, there is promise for this season. However, it is worth noting that there were very few of the starting 22 for Collingwood playing, and this really was just a training drill for both teams.

Love Beamer, but he averaged 9 touches less in losses than in wins. In 2010 he averaged 5 touches less. In 2010 and 2011 Jones averaged half a touch less in losses than in wins. BRFE is on the mark here. We are not burning him at the stake - we are asking more from arguably our best player.

You do realise that he's one dimensional, hasn't got great vision, isn't creative and doesn't run the lines ? He is what he is, which is a good ordinary footballer that gets the most out of himself. I actually respect the guy. He was a rookie draft pick that has gone on to win a club's Best & Fairest, which is a great achievement. But I'm aware of his limitations as a footballer. He needs to be relegated to a second string midfielder if we're to become any good. There's certainly a role for him, but while he and Jones are our best two we're crud.

I saw Robbie Flower get beaten more than a few times in his career ( against good sides ) According to some here that may qualify him as a flat track bully . It's a totally flawed argument . Oh and 'Lutz' , next time you run into your "Mate" Brent Moloney , make sure you tell him what you've said on this site about him . Now , I reckon we'd all like to be "Flies on the wall" for that steamy conversation !! Cheers

I don't think it is tough to sit in the grandstand and bag our players or sit in the comfort of your study and bag them on a supporters site, they are human and as such have faults. Just re watched last years prelim (Haw vs Coll) So many mistakes, so many missed kicks and so many missed shots for goal, yet all players were launded for such a great game. I see the faults but I also see the effort and the direction we are striving for without calling for player's heads. If all of the players that this site bagged were culled, we wouldn't have a team.

I'm sure you'll find most players have better stats in wins than losses and against lesser teams than better teams, so does that make EVERY player in the AFL a flat track bully? I can't believe people are pulling out stats to support they're bagging of a player at OUR CLUB. What is happening here?!

Moloney top 5 possession games 2011 36 vs Brisbane 35 vs Port 32 vs Gold Coast 31 vs Adelaide 30 vs Richmond Moloney bottom 5 possession games 2011 0 vs Geelong (NB: he played the half so no excuses to not touch the ball) 15 vs Carlton 16 vs North 17 vs Hawthorn 18 vs West Coast Stats dont lie. The vast difference between his best against bottom sides and worst against top sides clearly supports him being a flat track bully.

Moloney was one of our few shining lights last year in an otherwise forgettable year . People knock him for supposedly being a flat track bully but I don't see it that way . Our midfield last year was generally poor so when we come up against excellent midfields then Moloney is largely on his own . How about pointing the finger at some of our midfield who can't even get a kick against the poor sides ? That's the real ssue . If all the players decide they wan't to go hard at the ball all of the time then we'll become a finals team . The rev up that blokes like Moloney exhibit is all important in a footy club and shouldn't be underestimated . A lot of players need to be motivated before and during a game . Some are self starters but a lot aren't . Cheers

i reckon he'll stay

Terms like 'flat track bully', 'ordinary' etc don't help when explaining a man who does bleed red and blue, gives it his all etc. The guy had his best year playing a lone hand against some elite midfields. He played better against the weaker teams. That's how it goes. We have a weak midfield. We got thrashed multiple times and midfields lifted against us, coz we are terrible. The accolades last year speak for themselves. Beamer is the least of our worries. Credit where and when it's due. Why do most talk up Grimes, Trengove or Watts and then some talk down Beamer. he just isn't as talented. Give me performance over talent

Wow. I can see why T$ left us and went there, they are just so professional.

Last year Brent Moloney was declared our BEST player by THE CLUB. The End. Calling a former member of our leadership group not even "a leader's toenail", IS player bashing. The End. I can take criticism when it comes with some fraction of thought. And AGAIN I POINT OUT, I DID NOT say Moloney should have remained in the group, I say AGAIN that no one knows unless they know everything behind the scenes. So there is your correction. The End. And as I've pointed our above, you continually misquote, misinterpret, and blatantly just make things up to try and support your weak arguments. The End. My apologies to everyone else reading this thread, has some great stuff in it, and I should have known better than to feed this troll.

Nice to see Cale mentioned as our best in the Age article today and by the review in the training report. It's clearly not definitive and I'm not celebrating but it's a lot better than a negative report.

I think it's a great move. Mat Burgan has been great for us in many ways, but he always seems a little uneasy in front of the camera.

Foxtel programme guide now shows the programming for the opening night: 5.00 pm Live: Opening Night 6.30 pm Live: NAB Cup Richmond v North Melbourne 7.50 pm Live: NAB Cup North Melbourne v Hawthorn 8: 55 pm Live: NAB Cup Hawthorn v Richmond These games will then be replayed on rotation in the following hours. The first AFL replay will be at 4.30 am - the game between Western Bulldogs and Melbourne in 2010 when we wore pink and Tom Scully got 19 disposals in the last quarter.

Great. Thanks. Ultimately though I tend to prefer my own definition when it comes to footy, as an on-line dictionary probably doesn't have the same feel for my sport. If you look up "crumb" or "banana" I think they'd send you down to Safeway. A speccie would probably have you at an optometrist. Our game is a little bit different. I don't know about you, but "superstar" has always been the pinnacle. But if it's good enough for you don't let me get in your way. Cheers.

have you considered help? modern medicine has made huge strides in recent years. there could be a cure

Mods can delete this if they wish, but I'll post a story about little Tom. That celebrity fatty show filmed a segment at GWS training, and Tommy was supposed to run at/through Dipper after a Dipper challenge, I'm told Tom "squibbed it", and Dipper proceeded to take the urine (in a jocular way) calling Tom a [censored] and such. Tom completely cracked the shizzles and stormed off. He had to be apologized for. I'm told sadly that won't go to air. I wouldn't run through Dipper either, at any weight, but what a joyless little boy Tommy is. Probably had flashbacks of bouncing off Phil in the back yard whenst trying to grab a sausage.