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Reminds me of myself.

I think that just about every match discussion about the womens' game carries with it some comment about the standard of the matches being well below those of the men. To that, I say - "well, what do you really expect? The men's AFL competition has been going for 120 years (much of it as the VFL) and before that, it was developing for about 40 years. Womens' footy has been around for a fraction of that and in many instances it was shunned by the general community that even today still regards playing the game as "unladylike". For years, boys have from a young age been encouraged and taught at home, at school and via junior clubs to play football but not so girls. It wasn't much more than a decade ago that three young girls had to engage a senior counsel in VCAT to win the right to play in a boy's competition in Melbourne's southern suburbs. The boys have had the benefit of elite pathways in the sport through the TAC Cup system and the AIS academies since the early 1990s. The TAC Cup system is only now being opened up for girls so it will take time for playing and fitness standards to rise. When that happens, there's no doubt that we will see a marked improvement in skills and an even better spectacle at AFLW level. Let's also remember the physical differences between the genders play a role and our expectations should not be measured by direct comparisons. The Gippsland Power TAC Cup squads had fitness testing yesterday and one report indicated that in the beep test, Travis Bindley had the best test out of the boys with a 15.6 while Holly Whitford scored the best of the girls with 10.1. That's a big gap and it's understandable but it will narrow in time. Unlike in other areas of life where women do outshine men, it's a big ask at present to expect complete equality in the physical area. Of course, we don't know what will happen in the future but we should, at least for the time being, cut the womens' games some slack and allow for the fact that the skills in the infancy of the game at the top level will not be the same as in the AFL and that direct comparisons are therefore not valid. I recall not long ago watching a grainy monochrome film of an early 1900s VFL match between Carlton and South Melbourne and some of the skills displayed there were quite laughable by today's standards. So who knows what the AFLW will look like in 100 year's time when the sport has had that much time to develop? In the meantime, let's enjoy the efforts of our pioneers - the Pearces, Paxmans, O'Ddeas ... and of course, the famous Melbourne names of the Cordners and Mithens as they battle away next week for the right to become part of womens' football history.

In todays paper, is anyone else "Staggered" that Rob Flower isn't in any columnists best? I am... even Doug Hawkins figures and Corey Enright !! Doug Hawkings,and Corey Enright , better than Rob Flower ??LOL Obviously these blokes never saw his influence and influenece over 274 games of footy, not to mention his "Megastar" status in State games! An absolute disgrace he was overloked IMV.

SLOW START AT THE TOP by Bewitched The hot conditions would probably have proved too much for Bernard Tomic but, for the women of Melbourne, the heat and the humidity were the perfect conditions to enable them to overcome the Adelaide Crows after a now standard slow start in the nation's Top End. What is it about the slow starting Demons? Only once during this inaugural AFLW season have they held a quarter time lead and that was in the opening round against the league-leading Brisbane Lions when they scored three points to nothing and failed to goal until just before half time. Their best quarter time score to date stands at 1.1.7 when they trailed the Doggies by a couple of goals in round three. And so it was last night at TIO Stadium with a listless start that, as in Sydney the week before, saw the opposition on 2.1.13 at the first change (only this week the Dees hadn't even scored a point). It was almost as if last week's shock loss had sucked the life and the fight out of the team - but all that changed in the second quarter. Led by inspirational skipper Daisy Pearce, they fought their way back into contention for a grand final berth. After Deanna Berry bobbed up for the team's first goal early in the second quarter, an arm wrestle ensued and the Crows took sway with a goal in response midway through the term. However, from that moment on until late in the night it was all Melbourne with Daisy leading the way. She was everywhere. At one stage she goaled up forward and moments later was marking strongly deep in defence. Along with Karen Paxman who had 21 possessions for the game, Pearce (20) was fantastic and so were the hard tackling Elise O'Dea and youngster Lily Mithen. It looked as if their fast start in the thirty degree sauna-like conditions had taken its toll over the Crows. They were completely shut out in the third quarter and when Aliesha Newman scored Melbourne’s fifth goal at the 10-minute mark of the final term, they seemed to be up against an unassailable lead. But as is usual for Melbourne sides, that was not the end of the drama because two late goals from Adelaide, one after the other, led to a heart-stopping finish. The final siren couldn't come too soon. The equation for next weekend is simple. The Dees must beat Fremantle at Casey Fields on Saturday and then hope for a Pies victory over Adelaide on Sunday to set up a replay of the opening round clash in the grand final due to take place in Brisbane. Melbourne 0.0.0 2.1.13 4.3.27 5.4.34 Adelaide 2.1.13 3.1.19 3.1.19 5.2.32 Goals Melbourne Berry Mifsud Newman D Pearce Scott Adelaide Bevan Gibson Perkins Randall Riley Best Melbourne Paxman Pearce Newman O'Dea Mithen Smith Berry Adelaide Foley Bevan Randall Randan Phillips Injuries Melbourne Nil Adelaide Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Adelaide Nil Umpires Andrew Crosby, Brodie Raynor and Nathan Toner Crowd 5,100 at TIO Stadium, Darwin

But you did notice... just now... when you posted about it. (There's also not a whole lot of emotion in wanting to observe the form of a broad range of players on our list before the season starts.)

We are witnessing greatness, I am forever grateful to Jason Taylor for taking the risk and not just going for the pre-draft favourite in Parish.

The Hun, meh... Surprised they can count to 50

Whilst I suspect the Goodwin has a good relationship with most players (judging from listening to a glowing endorsement from Tommy Mac the other day), I agree fully with Dante above! Jack has given a lot to the MFC since he was recruited as No. 2 in the draft, and certainly deserved to be given a chance to demonstrate his contribution post recovery. It was not just Goodwin's insensitivity in the humiliating way he named him and then flicked him, but the perception that this has created within the MFC family and the wider Football Community!

Strange that Pederson has been left out of the mix. He can play ruck, forward and chop out down back and is more mobile than Pencil. Would be handy against the Saints

Hibberd being available for round one is a must. He completely changes the feel of our back six.

Regardless of pre-game strategy the situation still sucks for JT .

TPF39 , i agree, i think t'was an opportunity forsaken. Was a practice game, but at a level to properly evaluate Trenners. Casey provides nothing by comparison.

The gripe I have comes down to the fact that Trengove was there and didn't play. That we have seen the same players each week and we're now left scratching our heads over ANB, Harmes and Bugg and crossing our fingers over Tyson, Kent and Gartlett. Preseason should be an opportunity to see how training form translates to matchday. Each match of the JLT Trengove was initially named, then demoted to emergency the morning of. I am very disappointed that we as fans, and the coaches didn't see what he was capable of over this four week stretch.

The fact this conversation is happening serves as an embarrassment to Jack. Send a rookie on the trip to gain the travel experience ffs.

Super talent. His hands are great but it's also nice to see him becoming more damaging with his kicking. Such a strong core for a young fella as well. The tackles he stood up in broke out of last night were excellent.

RRR and Radio National for me. Might on occasion tune into SEN if Pies have lost. Too much waffle and kerfuffle.

I agree about Wilson, he was a star. But I also agree that Matthews is the greatest player in history. He won a B&F in a premiership year when he was 19. He also kicked 91 goals as a rover in 1977 before he became more of a permanent forward. The same year he averaged 27 disposals, which would be the equivalent of 35 in today's footy. Not to mention 9 B&Fs in strong teams. Goat.

Weakest three flags ever, won it in a watered down comp when the lower-mid ranked teams were hurt badly by the plethora of top picks given to GWS and GCS. May their demise last for decades.

I think his leads have been overlooked for quite a few years.

Some of you people are far too precious! Jesus - we should re-draft Morton for the way we treated him over his career.. I'm sorry, but you guys are nuts if you think JT had no idea that was going to happen.. And I am very certain he would be happy enough to be close to making the best 22!! From where he has come from that is an achievement in itself! The coaches and selection staff don't have to answer to us for the reasons they do things and for those who think it is a massive lack of respect, think about what industry we are in! Most other clubs wouldn't even have JT on their list this year. AFL life is cutthroat, and the people complaining will be the first to call for his delisting when he inevitably plays a game this year...

What a load of absolute drivel

U sure he isn't going to be an emergency dd?????????

TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T? by George on the Outer Well that was the JLT pre-season practice series and the final one for Melbourne was away against a side that lost in the first round of the 2016 finals to the ultimate premiers. Both clubs took the field in this game with probably their best available sides so we expected what should have been and was a close tussle. The thing that was noticeable was that the game was treated as a true practice match with both coaches trying different options, but not giving too much away. Melbourne under Simon Goodwin went into the game with the two ruck option again but did it work? We really don't know because although Jake Spencer finished with three goals, he also had a paltry seven possessions and his hit-outs were against WCE’s third and fourth choice ruckmen in Vardy and Petrie. Melbourne also played a match attempting to simulate a 22 man team set up as close as possible which left Jack Trengove stranded on the boundary line. Has he recovered from his tragic injury run - again, we now simply don’t know yet but the team was left one man short in the Perth heat. For almost three quarters, the game itself was almost goal for goal with some momentary lapses allowing the Eagles a margin of less than a couple goals until a run of goals in the final term allowed the Eagles to nudge out to a winning margin. Even then, with ten minutes to go, the Demons could have been within a kick, save for some easy misses in front of goal from Jesse Hogan and Sam Weideman. The result could have been different, but we won’t know. The unfortunate observation was the lack of finishing skill into the forward line. At one point, eight West Coast goals in succession had come came from Melbourne turnovers into the forward areas. The quick counter attack saw the defenders with simply no chance, and both LeCras and Kennedy took advantage as they were left either one on one or on their own in a replica of Pagans paddock. No defender in the league could defend against that. We have to give Dom Tyson some leeway since it was his first hit-out for a long time, but some of his field kicking was way way below par. Likewise, Jack Watts needed to show more than what he produced, particularly with his defensive efforts. For someone with a selection cloud over himself, it was necessary to show the same level of intensity that Clayton Oliver, Tomas Bugg, Jayden Hunt, Nathan Jones and Max Gawn were displaying. Does he have it in himself to get to the level to play round one - we still don’t know. Oliver played an absolute blinder again. His vision in tight situations, and his ability to get the ball when it seems impossible, are rapidly approaching elite level. Thirty-one touches including 13 contested is well up there with the best, and yet the Coach had him off the field for long periods, probably because in his case - we do know about his capabilities yet. Others needed to be evaluated and were given the chance. James Harmes, ANB, Weideman and Colin Garland are at the fringe area of selection, and while the latter is a work in progress in need of senior game time, the others only showed enough to confirm their fringe status. Will we see much of them during the season - we don’t know as they aren’t knocking the door down, and we still have the likes of Jeff Garlett, Dean Kent, Nev Jetta and eventually VDB as choices before them. The match showed that the Demons still have a way to go. We should have known that the inconsistency of youth would show a drop-off of what we now expect from Christian Petracca and even Jack Viney. They still played well, but they just weren’t there at times. Finally, let's reflect that despite this series being a training run for both sides, the team has beaten last year's premier on its own home turf, flogged a bottom for side that for some reason it usually struggles with and has taken it right up to another finalist. We don’t know if that means anything or nothing at all but for years we have been saying "we want to be competitive" and "we want to challenge for finals and better". In order to do this, we have to win comprehensively when expected and to be truly in the game against the better sides. That we have done, and if it translates into the season proper, then finals will beckon. We still don’t know what we can take away, but two out of three ain’t bad. Isn't it? P.S: Will the AFL please stop using W.A. based umpires in games in WA? They need to be exposed to how the rules are applied in the rest of the country and not just in Domain Stadium. Melbourne 0.2.2.14 0.6.3.39 0.8.5.53 1.9.7.70 West Coast 0.3.5.23 0.7.5.47 0.12.8.80 0.14.11.95 Supergoals Melbourne Jayden Hunt West Coast Nil Goals Melbourne Spencer 3 Hogan 2 Brayshaw Jones Salem Viney West Coast Kennedy 5 Darling LeCras Vardy 2 Gaff Hill Priddis Best Melbourne Oliver Oliver and Oliver Hunt Lewis Bugg Salem West Coast Mitchell Masten Gaff Vardy Kennedy Wellingham LeCras Injuries Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Umpires Haussen Dalgleish Kamolins Adams Official crowd 5,337 at Domain Stadium

It's always a debatable point as to where the plaudits should be handed out in regards to draft choices. I like to think Taylor's success links to the arrival of Roos and Jackson and in general the greater level of communication in getting the new list strategy in place and executing it. Absolutely, the efforts that Taylor and his team have put into finding players with what appears to be huge talents needs to be recognised but at the same time it is merely not a single arm of the club performing their role better than other areas. As Roos always said, it was about creating the environment and culture where everyone can be developed to become the best they can be and in this instance, it's pretty clear that the recruiters are benefitting from that ethos.

A good read, thanks. Quote: Clayton Oliver has shed 5kg in order to take his game to the next level and has credited a drink-driving charge as the spur behind his big pre-season... Oliver escaped suspension over the drink-driving charge, but said the infraction had motivated him. “It was pretty embarrassing,” he said. To think that some posters on here wanted him disciplined or suspended, some even wanted him suspended for Rnd 1. Thank goodness the club didn't see it that way. He has learnt from the experience and is set to repay the faith, in spades!

An article out of yesterday's West Aussie. Unsure of it was also published over east. Oliver in for a bumper season

Each to their own 'Rusty' but I find Richo unbearable.

Anyone go to Moomba! It was totally awesome. Squirrel found a KFC box that still had a whole piece of chicken in it. Don't worry Uncle Bitter we got a dentist last week, at the bottom of Queen St going into one of those 24/7 gyms. ......come and hang out with us and we'll look for a vet. Plumbers are a bit difficult but if there was you me Squirrel and Dingo I reckon we could snare one.

Not so much tagging but I've noticed even last year that oppo coaches were aware of Olivers impact around the clearances and have put a lot of work into him. They try to block his path to the ball but he's still getting plenty of it and he will learn to get plenty more.

No disrespect to others but Clarry's impact with ball in hand already makes him our best midfielder. Its now all about game and quarter consistency and when a tag shifts to him (which it will very quickly) how he goes. The addition of his outside work we are starting to see shows how quickly he is developing. Lock to be in the pivot round 1 first bounce against saints I reckon.

With reference to Philip K, Dick's 'Do androids dream of electric sheep?' Your top end footy correspondent reporting from post-apocalyptic Marrara. Was at the game with my teenage daughter this evening, great turnout by the local community. A most impressive win by the Demon girls in oppressive conditions, With a big tropical storm brewing in the background with some distant flashes of lightning. Superior teamwork and defense in the second half were the key factors in the result over the Adelaide Crowbots. The late flurry of goals added a piquant of excitement to the final climax of the game. My daughter's knowledge of the AFLW rules, 15 minute quarters with time on added on was a calming influence! My best players in no particular order were Daisy Pearce, Karen Paxman, Rocky Cranston, Laura Duryea, and special mention Aleisha Newman, best goal cameo at this ground since Liam Jarrah. The skill level of the women's game can be variable but I was most impressed with the courage, resilience and determination shown by this Melbourne Football Club team. ps. There were some very good chest marks taken.

I felt sadness in Jim's passing, but the build-up was one that we all saw coming eventually. Robbie's and Bails' passing were and still are more of a shock. Part of me will always be unable to comprehend the passing of all 3 great blokes. I wouldn't go as far to say that life can be cruel, as it is to be celebrated and enjoyed whilst we're living, but this is a constant reminder of just how delicate and precious life is. May they continue to rest in peace.

Close your eyes & think of Melbourne

Tom McDonald better then Alex Rance.. Only at Demonland..

Fair comments George. We got close against a very good side when many of players put in sub standard performances. Hogan's miss at a potentially match changing moment was a shocker. Oscar and Weid showed glimpses but both clearly need more experience and more hardness. It may take another season, particularly from Weid, before we see his full potential. I liked Bugge's game - he maybe a surprise this year. Garlett cops some whacks on this site but his absence was a glaring hole. Turnovers were really disappointing and unless we tidy up in this area the Saints will give us a [censored] at Etihad. I thought the umpiring was ordinary. The OOB rule confuses me. Are the umpires actually trying to mind read and judge "intent"?

VitalDread is a Casey official who post on bigfooty a fair bit and this was his run down. Hannan- Really showed class with the footy and broke the lines open, really has elite speed esp coming from a part time footballer Tim Smith: Took some solid marks up forward and kicked 2 goals form memory, played high up the ground Maynard: rotated through the midfield and on the wing, did some nice things, still learnign the overall game Trengove: just do trengove stuff, nothing special was a class above Jetta: Looked really fit after missing out on somany games, took some strong contested marks in defense Kent: played a solid game as a midfielder and forward, nothing too special did appear to havehis hammy worked on a bit Johnstone: hard running midfielder that hassome class with the ball McKenna: didn't spot too much of patty throughout the game Pederson: used in the ruck and down in defense and had a solid hitout, nothing overall special from him just classic pedo game Kennedy: took the game on when he had the ball and was a spark of forward, though he did drift in and out of the game Hulett: Didn't notice much of Hulett, kicked 2 goals i think

"Remarkably the Hawks will now enter their clash against the Bombers without any of Hodge, Sam Mitchell or Jordan Lewis, the last two of whom were sensationally traded to West Coast and Melbourne respectively in October. The last time Hawthorn played without any of the three was round 10, 2002. "

It's probably only a small crack, but it's definitely another crack. Honestly, it would be really good if the Hawthorn Football club slid into an era of bitter recriminations and failure for a couple of decades. Remembering just how many of their fans are both soft and arrogant.

G'day, Happy. I can't recall seeing the team breakdown as listing emergencies. Trengove was in his playing kit, sitting on the pine all game - a practice game. I can't imagine it would be an enjoyable experience for any professional and driven athlete - particularly for a bloke with a history of battling through adversity like JT has. I and many others feel for him. Maybe if you put yourself in his shoes you would too.

He was named in the team, he was not an emergency. If Goodwin wanted him to play- he could have. People aren't questioning the technicality, rather the choice that was made for him not to play. Did we really need three full preseason games into Jones, Vince and Lewis? Maybe you and some others think so, but the frustration for many is the fact that we have shown little versatility over the three games and have left ourselves with many unknowns going into round one. Jetta hasn't played at all and we got carved up last night by Lecras; Weidenman is talented, but is he going to outperform Pederson, who we also haven't seen; are the two Macs in better form than Frost, again we don't know. If the plan was to have Trengove as an emergency, why not take over a first year played and give them some experience traveling and preparing interstate? It's not 'stupid' for people to be asking some of these questions.

You had me at "I'm a little unusual.." ( anticipate a brick coming my way..)

The degree to which Bailey could 'coach' will never be fully determined. One thing however that was evident at every club that he served was that the players played for him. To have that young, talented, but ultimately flawed list play the exciting football that we saw is testament to a coach who was able to get the best out of his players.

Are you complaining about HD?

A very good coach at a train-wreck of a club. The attacking football we palyed in 2010/11 was breathtaking but we couldn't defend a soggy weetbix. And he was a wonderful human being.

I believe there is a clause that allows this in such situations. Go Dees! Never in doubt

i much prefer watching the aflw to the jlt.

You're absolutely right Biffen, white men are hard done by these days. This guy, the chairman of Tesco, claims that white men are an endangered species in current day boardrooms. He'd know, he's, um... er, a privileged white male and he's in the boardroom of a major international company, so that, er, proves it I guess...

I think, on reflection, we had the best possible JLT3 match up given our Round 1 opponent. They are, of course, called practice matches for a reason. We got to practice for Round 1 against West Coast in Perth. We sucked, but the result of the match is meaningless, It's all about what we learn from it and we've surely learnt a lot.

My take: Oliver is our best young talent. The Gawn/Oliver partnership is already dominant in the centre bounces, but we need to capitalise better on this advantage. Tom McDonald has had 3 ordinary games so far this year. He has done this in previous years and played well in round 1, so hopefully he does again. Our forward line was too tall and lacked forward pressure. As well as Spencer has played this preseason, I hope we go with just Hogan and Watts as our only talls in our forward line in round 1. Hopefully Garlett and Kent can play VFL next week. We lack a bit of speed around the ball. I would prefer to use Vince on the ball and Lewis and Jones off half back. Glad we didn't have any injuries. Garland played a solid game and probably needs to play against St Kilda given their marking forwards. Hogan's goal kicking technique has improved.