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Protest by smashing them into the turf by 15 goals That's enough for me!

Melbourne FC ‏@melbournefc 3m3 minutes ago Congratulations to Clayton Oliver, who has been named the NAB AFL Rising Star nominee for round one! Awesome debut game. Thought the guy from Sydney would have got it but good start to your career Clayton.

People mature at different rates, psychologically and physically. I was looking at Liam Hulett on Friday, and physically the 'kid' is eighteen going on 28. Clayton Oliver at 18 has the psychology of self-belief in his game right out of the box. Jack Watts is different, he's just begun his 'peak years', where physical maturity meets self belief. Given the innate talent he always had, it's a potent combination. The lesson is for all of us who refuse to accept individual variation and idiosyncracy as something to be tolerated, let alone celebrated. The treatment he has had on here over the years, the personal vilification, has been nothing short of embarrassing at times. And this despite the fact that by all accounts Jack loves the club, is loved at the club, and is a bloody good bloke. Any lesser sportsman would be very bitter about the ridiculous scrutiny that's been directed toward him, but he's just sucked it up, tucked it under his arm, and is now delivering it lace out into the waiting arms of Jesse Hogan. Well done, Jack.

i live in absolute fear of losing this game.

They have Neeld. That is enough payback.

Hird: gone Little: gone Thompson: gone Robinson: gone Dank: gone 34 drug-taking players: not playing What is left to boo? A whole lot of players who had nothing to do with the drug issue and a new coach. Just beat them, that's enough for me. Anything else is childish, vindictive rubbish. P.S. Are you going to boo Jamar too if he plays?

I dunno - maybe for some just the sight of an Essendon guernsey might be enough to boo, but to me I'd feel like I was booing the players who opted out, the players who are young and unfortunate enough to be drafted there, and the players trying to eek an extra year or two in the system by playing as a top-up. None of the people I feel are guilty and worthy of my contempt would be present. As an MFC and sport fan, I'd be happy just to grind their team in to dust on the field and leave it at that.

Quick shout out to the 28,505 of us who got down to the ground on Saturday. North vs Adelaide was a game between two of last year's finalists, one of whom some say is a top 4 contender, at night (i.e. "primetime"), but only drew 25,485. WB v Fremantle was also a game between two of last year's finalists, both of whom people considered to be top 4 contenders (though to be fair was played in the dead-zone of 1.10pm on Easter Sunday), and drew 27,832. We also pulled a bigger crowd than in Round 1 last year vs GC (despite last year's game being played in glorious sunshine all afternoon). I'm quite proud of our effort this week and I hope we see a decent portion of MFC supporters this week to try to deafen the crap coming from the Essendon morons.

Dee-luded has had acid on his cornflakes...again.

Just watched replay. The Watts-Hogan bromance. Sensational.

Ok, I'll start by recognising I'm not a regular poster but a very regular reader, but I don't want to discuss where Watts went in the draft, how hard he is at the contest or what we think he will become. I don't want to discuss how we think he has turned out after all these years or how he should be playing right now. I am a demon fan as you are all obviously on this page. We have all seen Watts play very well at times and very bad at times. We are reluctant to give him credit while we will give Hogan, Oliver, Gawn et al the praise they deserve. I just want to say that while you are all celebrating that not quite convincing win, I'd like us all to acknowledge the impact he had in the last quarter. As much as Hogan lifted, make not mistake, Jack Watts, our favourite whipping boy, won us that game. Not Salem, not Petracca, not Brayshaw, not Jones. We might give him a bit but we know we love him. Watts just won us a game as the underdogs. Think about saying this a year ago, it sounds ridiculous. You want to know what makes it more crazy? He has a history of going to water after he loses his confidence. He and the whole team lost it in the 2nd quarter. For the first time in his career he took charge. I truely believe that something has changed. He set the tone in the last quarter. I want to talk about this but if there is already a thread or discussion, feel free to merge or delete.

Favourite bit of new rules yesterday was when the ball was hacked out of the Melbourne backline and heading for the boundary line wing. GWS player half-heartedly chasing it, waving his arms around appealing for a deliberate out of bounds. More waving and appealing, Melbourne player sprints in, grabs ball just inside the boundary and accelerates away from the GWS player who is now dreading the mid week review. Classic

Prestia is in the best 5 clearance players in the league. He's also a great linking, running mid and can kick goals. How anyone can say we don't need him, especially when he is likely to be keen to come to us, is beyond me. Must get.

I would, but I'm unprofessional and just want to entertain myself. But the club won't. We already have Oliver only playing 58% game time. Petracca would be the same or less, can't afford that. He's just not ready, needs fitness and to earn his way in. Sadly. Edit ps. It'll probably be at one of our home games too.

Go on, Nasher. Do it.

Stuie, that was last year. People are a heck of a lot more optimistic this year. You keep talking about 'fill-ins' (I believe you called them scabs in an earlier post?), but what you seem to not acknowledge is that is what is feeding the belief (rightly or wrongly) that the Dees will unleash a world of pain and hurt on Essendon. In addition to the other factors mentioned in this thread, that is why people want to go. They want to see another team on the receiving end of what we suffered for so many years.

What most aren't taking into consideration is that Prestia is almost as good outside as he is inside.

Bit worried about Jesse's attitude. This is based on a few things. 1: His call that his stats are better than Schwarz's so he doesnt need his help. That is the wrong way to look at it, if you really want to learn and be the best you can learn from everyone, sometimes especially those you least expect to. 2: Roos pointing him out about not knowing yet what is expected from an AFL footballer (or now starting to work it out). He did point out others but Hogan stood out. 3: His dummy spits at the umps where he stops playing. 4: He usually has little second effort and only seems to when the ball comes back to him, not when he chases the ball. He seems to give up easily. He seems to believe the hype and expects to be great. There are warning signs there that he may not realise the work you need to put in to be great no matter how much talent you have. In saying all of that he does seem quite stand offish and reserved so it may just be an outward projection that doesn't match his inner thoughts. One of those introverts most on here seem to discard at will.

Good news. He is a crucial player for us in terms of pace, goalkicking and an x factor. Hope he plays every round.

I say we should fling faeces at them, planet of the ape styles.

I say keep him locked up in his cage a little longer and continue poking him with sticks. Get him extra angry.

I've put up with some horrible players over the decades and Dom Tyson isn't one of them. He made mistakes he wouldn't be proud of, but he also plays where there's the most heat. I'll cut him some slack in the first game of the year.

As for if we were going to be anywhere but 9th after winning round 1 by 2 points.

When we win next week and Richmond lose and drop to 9th spot, order will be restored.

also possible for us to be the only undefeated side and a game clear on top

Could do with missing their minute-long applause for convicted drug cheats and their general arrogance. In terms of a real protest, hopefully the players protest by dismantling them entirely. Memories of 2013 are strong - one of the worst nights I've had at the footy. Not helped by Essendon faithful. Re: crowds - 240,000 extra sounds impressive. You've also got to factor in that we played a game in Alice, a game in Darwin, a home game in round 23 against GWS and a game in Canberra. Almost a quarter of our games played in much smaller stadiums away from our traditional bases. Not to mention we weren't 1-0 going into a match against a depleted arch-rival - pretty disingenuous to suggest we'd be outnumbered 4-1 based on last years averages (which don't support the claim) and total supporter numbers (which are irrelevant. If they were relevant, Collingwood would outnumber us every year 10:1). Also forgot to mention that they get 50,000 more than the average from one game alone.

Smith and Hill are both cherries on top of the cake and cream. Their engine is made up of players who are both really strong contested ball winners and are equally as damaging on the outside with their disposal and decision making skills. Which is why they've been so dominant. I think posters are really confused about Prestia. It's as if everyone thinks he's a pure inside mid who offers little else when in fact he offers our midfield a dimension that we're lacking and which stood out on the weekend against GWS. Running power and efficiency by foot. Prestia has both. Compare him to someone like Tyson. A player who excels at winning the ball and is creative with his hands but really one-sided, has little running power and is an average field kick. We need players who will complement our midfield group and add attributes that we lack. Pace, running power and kicking skills is what we lack through there and Prestia possesses those attributes. Is it any wonder why over the past couple of years players like Dahlhaus, Jack Steven, Boomer Harvey, Dylan Shiel etc destroy us. We're very much a one-geared midfield atm.

It's absurd isn't it. As for being a player 'we don't need' because of how many strong inside players we have on our list, it's just utter shite. Prestia possesses qualities that we lack as well as being a strong inside ball winner which is what makes him so good. He is really skillful and a smart user. The more players you have on your list with a really strong blend of both, the better your side. Just look at Hawthorn.

All this garbage about types - we need good players period. Is Prestia a gun? Yes..... We will find a spot for him if he wants to come and we can do the deal. If we have depth in a certain type then great - if that means we end up losing a good player who wants a trade for opportunities then guess what we will get another good player in return

During the push and shove before the bounce I commented to one of my mates that Watts looked a lot more up and about and aggressive knowing he had Hogan there who would be doing the same and backing him up. Having the presence of Hogan there alongside him has undoubtedly lifted his confidence and taken that main pressure focus off him, and Hogan absolutely benefits as well when you see the smile on his face having Watts kicking it to him on the lead.

He is far to good a player not to go for. MFC has chased Dion hard the last two years, family of long term Dees supporters, but given he was contracted the Suns would not even entertain the idea, now they don't have a choice, and i have no doubt the Dees will be neck deep in chasing him. My info is he is about 80-20 towards leaving and the only chance of him staying is if the Suns win a heap of games, play finals and look like contending for a flag, he and a few others don't seem to be huge fans of Eade.

go for a key backman. id be throwing a big offer at michael hurley

Please. Guy is coming off a knee reco and a broken toe, and we want to throw him straight into an AFL game having not even played a full scale practice game?! Performing in a 30 minute match simulation at training doesn't count. And I reckon whoever got dropped for him would be filthy given they'd earnt their spot through pre-season performances in games

Yes. We are buying Prestia a house in Moggs Creek

Anyone questioning whether we need Prestia... Didn't Matt Jones plays yesterday? He did ok, but if he is sneaking into our 22 there is certainly room for Prestia.

Worked it out. if anyone has any gif requests let me know... can do them without the cheesy captions I added on

Garland - once again undervalued M Jones - was a revelation

As others have said, let's just go out there breathing fire and absolutely pummel them. In saying that, if Hird shows up, I think we owe it to ourselves and the supporters of the other 16 clubs to let him know about it.

You know things are on the up when Tyson is your whipping boy.

Welcome Dom, to the much vaunted position of Demonland whipping boy. You're in very good company. In fact, with your mates you might be able to form a 22 all of your own.

Watts was the only useful forward the entire game, played through a corkie, and changed the game in the last. That is not 'The Minimum Standard' for a role player like Watts. He will play just as well as that in easier wins because he has help in that forward line and delivering into that forward line. If you are asking him to be the best at both of those areas of a game, then you want him to fail. Against GWS the icing was the cake but don't ask that to happen often; we have a cake now - it's just out of the oven but it's there - and it's not fair to the icing.

Nat that can't be right about McCartney. According to Dog fans, he was the only reason the Dogs missed finals all those years and that Beveridge fixed the mess in 6 months. Apparantley McCartney is afforded no credit for the incredible development of their players and that Beveridge did it all.

So people want to see him in the side on the back of what was little more than a training session with primarily Casey players. Fools. I want to see him for the next ten years, not the next ten minutes He'll play when the club thinks he's fit, in form and ready

Clint Biz is going to run out of hand lotion with this one.

Yes but then we perhaps win a couple more games and don't end up with Petracca and Brayshaw or Oliver and the Weed. I understand the angst of "we should have picked X" but it is so pointless. We are in the best shape since the late 80's, let's enjoy it

Earned what?! He hasn't played a bl**dy game for Casey yet! Staggering comment. When will we learn that you don't just put someone in the team purely on the basis of talent when they haven't earnt it through performance. And before you say "Oliver"....he earnt it by playing well in three NAB Challenge games and proving it with performance in games

don't worry when they get jeremy howe on the field they'll be flying

Jack has always been an icing player, we just never had the cake. Now the pressure is off and hes going to shine. He was incredible yesterday.

Jack was immense yesterday. Loved how he backed himself on the wing in the first quarter, but by far my favourite part of the day (aside from winning) was his mark/goal/celebration in the 4th. He was seriously fired up after he converted - the casual, lackluster, high five was replaced by screaming and sprinting, forcing his energy into teammates and ultimately kickstarting a 4th quarter comeback. I've never seen him so pumped in his entire career - love it.