Lil_red_fire_engine

"However, Notman did confirm that ruckman Mark Jamar had been placed on the long-term injury list while he battles to overcome a stress fracture in his foot. His place on the main list has been taken by Jake Spencer who has impressed in the pre-season and is in the mix for a round-one ruck berth. Jamar was placed on the long-term injury on Thursday last week and must remain on that list for a minimum of eight weeks. It means the earliest 2009 match he can play is in round seven." http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsart...74/default.aspx

I wouldn't.

I would say if we had any intention of playing Martin in the ruck in rd 1 then Martin would have played in the ruck at some time in the practice matches. I would say next week against the bullies will be more or less our round 1 line up. If Spencer plays then I will assume they have a plan to get him on the list sooner rather than later.

Thanks Freak, you have made me see the light. I will now look at football in a whole new way. To rate Petterd so highly when he torches the ball consistently just further clouds the very vague argument you have put up thus far. I think maybe it is you who needs to remove the blinkers and listen to other opinions rather than pumping yourself up. NB: I am a fan of Petterd but it for his courage and ability to read the play but it certainly isn't for his ability to hit a target,

Would you prefer he came out and said we expect to be premiers this year? We are a coming from a long way back and to voice a realistic expectation to a supporter base is what I would prefer rather than a far fetched untruth. It should be noted that staying competitive longer does not mean you expect to lose or that a game is not winnable.....

Freak can you define what makes a player an elite kick in your opinion. Is it not just their ability to consistently hit targets across a variety of distances? What would you have classed Travis Johnstone?

The rules have been left alone until recently now there are knee jerk reactions to every new tactic. Flooding, clusters, rushed behinds, kick out strategies all could have existed 10-20 years ago. Its just now they go rule changing as soon as something new is tried. Just leave the game alone and let tacticians sort it out.

And lets put bibs on them with letters signifying the position they are playing. The same thing happens every year. Something new is trialled by teams - people raise their arms as if the sky is falling in and by early in the season teams have worked it out and you are left with more or less the same game. Leave the game alone it will sort itself out.

Bottom four (4-7 wins) with alot of competitive losses due to our defences ability to minimise the scoreboard damage. We lack forward power and midfield polish but as long we keep getting games into the kids we will keep showing improvement.

Thanks Freak, - Suprised Morton had 22 possies. Most of them must have been on the opposing side to where I sat. - I found Petterds game today very disappointing. - Grimes probably missed 2 targets all day. Same goes last week. At what point will you admit that you were wrong on his disposal.... - Think you will be wrong with little Neville as well but understand your logic.

Showing that you have no idea what you have done wrong further highlights why you should be banned from this site. There is nothing wrong with opinion or rumour but posting something as fact when you know it is false cannot be allowed.

To post such unsubstantiated rubbish is inexcusable. Should be never be allowed back on this forum.

Just got home. Grimes for mine was BOG by a mile. Sylvia was quiet in first but strong in last three quarters. Promising first up performances by Jetta and Bennel. Bail had alot of ball late (when subbed on) but turned it over numerous times. Strauss used it well when had it but was timid at the contest a few times. Our backline overall was outstanding. Major concerns we were smashed in the clearances after qtr time and our forwardline was completely disfunctional. Our only decent forward was Miller who has no confidence in his goal kicking. Newton's effort was improved but he is just not an AFL footballer. Considering the strength of the Sydney side on display and knowing the players to come back in to our side I left the ground content with the display but wondering how we will kick winning scores this year.

Jones will be nothing more than a good toiler in the midfield. That is not necessarily a bad thing if he learns to play to his abilities ie: handball rather than kick, give off first option rather than try and run with).

Does anyone know why no Bate?

Bail had 6 possessions at 50% effectiveness..............................

Gold Rogue, PURE GOLD

Did you see North play last night? Would you have preferred that to be us?

FFS, I am actually enjoying that I care about the result of a game for the first time in 18 months. I got as angry as anyone in the last but anyone that thinks that losing like that is worse than being out of the game in the first quarter and losing by 10 goals needs their head read. Has anyone seen the standard of other NAB cup games thus far? It takes more than a pre-season to change a losing culture to a winning one but maybe I should have the lofty expectations of others. Bailey could have flooded with 3 minutes to go but I think he would have learnt more about some players in that time than he has all pre season (Grimes smother, Bartram's choke). We may have found a true quality ruckman. We may have found Bates rightful position. We confirmed the importance of Mclean to our side. Frawley and Garland were outstanding and will only get better Our clearance work and game plan was existent unlike last year We got through the game with no serious injury. Yes it sucked but get some perspective.

6 - McLean 5 - Green 4 - Spencer 3 - Bate 2 - Frawley 1 - Miller

Melbourne (from) 2. Nathan Jones 3. Clint Bartram 5. Brock McLean 6. Matthew Bate 7. Brad Miller 8. James Frawley 10. Cale Morton 11. Paul Johnson 12. Colin Sylvia 14. Lynden Dunn 15. Ricky Petterd 16. Jack Grimes 18. Brad Green 20. Colin Garland 21. Daniel Bell 23. James McDonald 25. Kyle Cheney 26. John Meesen 29. Michael Newton 32. Cameron Bruce 33. Austin Wonaeamirri 34. Stefan Martin 35. Trent Zomer 36. Aaron Davey 37. Matthew Warnock 41. Rohan Bail 42. Jake Spencer 44. Shane Valenti 45. Matthew Whelan

I am unclear why we would rest Mclean or play him for only a half. Has his pre-season be interrupted that I am unaware of. I know he had the injury last year but I did not believe that had severely hindered his preseason. Cheney and Bell will play ahead of Bail I would think.

I would hope so. May be the case with Moloney but I was more concerned with Sylvia his inability to handle the ball cleanly and some of his turnovers. Hopefully your optimism is correct.

Bells defensive game was solid but his disposal atrocious. He turned it over three times in a row in the third term (twice by hand and once by foot to show his versatility). With the style of game we are moving towards unless his effectiveness dramatically improves he should not be in our starting 22. Top three highlights for me. The skill and dash of the three indiginous boys (Wona, Jetta, Bennell). The use of Brad Miller as a deep forward. The poise of Grimes, Petterd and Cheney across half back. Top three disappointments Newton- an inept display if I've ever seen one. Can we say he is out for 8 weeks with heart issues (does not have one) and promote Zomer? A fit Moloney and Sylvia yet zero impact from either. Admitting that Valenti is a better AFL prospect than Jones. NB: I did not see Rivers go down but if I did that would have snuck in as well.

A good side is built around the 24-27 age bracket. Our issue last year is with the talent gap in that area amongst other issues and not because of the point you make. Whilst I agree those picks may have not set the world on fire you cannot look at who we picked in isolation. If you look at the 10 players picked after that choice in each draft you will find aside from 2001 we have actually have done quite well considering. I have noted for each of those drafts the players I would state were better than what we picked: 2001 (Molan) Dal Santo, Reilly, Ladson, Kelly 2002 (Bell, Smith) - Minson (debatable), Gilham (delisted prior to making it). 2003 (Sylvia, Mclean) - Troy Chaplin compared to Sylvia. None compared to Mclean. 2004 (Bate, Dunn) - None 2005 (Jones) - Birchall 2006 (Frawley) too early to tell but none that stand out so far