Deespicable

You seem to have missed the point of Demonland, which is to enable fans to express a view - however wrong or right that may be - and shock, horror, some views may not be politically correct. Perhaps change your name from Deestar3 to JustinKoschitzke because you have complete lack of awareness of what is around you.

A bit early to tell with confidence before a verdict on Salem, but if he went off with concussion from the late attempted spoil in middle of ground by Taverner (I think), then you would have to assume he'll miss one. There are a lot of players under the microscope this week but I suspect there'll just be 3 or 4 changes. 1) Salem out for Jetta. 2) Stretch (23rd man) in for McKenzie. 3) Dawes (if fit) in for the only under-performing tall forward that we have - Watts. If Dawes is not fit, then Spencer/Gawny come in to play for Watts. 4) Riley (24th man and best in reserves) maybe in for Michie or Newton. Newton may have a few more runs on board, meaning Viv will be the unlucky fourth. JKH to get one last chance to shine, with Stretch the sub. B: Jetta Dunn Garland HB: Grimes T-Mac Howe C: Lamumba Vince Cross HF: Brayshaw Dawes Vanders F: Garlett Hogan Tyson Ru: Jamar Riley N.Jones Int: Pedersen, JKH, Newton, Stretch (sub)

So which player on our list - other than Stretch - is going to add pace - and as I said Viney, Frost and Jetta were out. The other factor with pace is if you are always chasing because you can't win the clearance, you look even slower. Roosy needs to spend the week working on our stoppages because our next two opponent are hot in this department. If Tyson and Jones with support from other can break even, then the slow query goes out the door.

I assume also that Fitzy played the whole game down back and it's very encouraging that it sounds like he is showing good signs there. But when three of our best six were TMc, Garland and Dunn, it is almost impossible to make a case for including him this week to play on Tippett - would you agree demonkey? Was his kicking OK or still a bit of a liability?

Go back and do it again and take into account we were playing the most in-form team of the comp. You let yourself down with complete negativity. You have a good column and I like reading it, but if you came home grumpy, at least take a bit of time to rationalise before putting your thoughts into print. You have to be bigger than this

Sounds like Riley just played himself back into the seniors and maybe Matt Jones as well. Does anyone know if Billy the kid played or was he 23rd man for the seniors and required to wait until the AFL games started?

That's just crap. We were smashed in the middle from the first bounce and our two best clearance players were in there. The only criticsm I have is that I would have gone with a second ruckman - Spencer - in the hope that he could tire out Sandi a bit more - but other than that what was Roos meant to do. He tried Howe as a forward in the last term, what massive change were you looking for. He had a terrible mismatch in the third term when Fyfe was on Michie, but it was only that term and he was trying something after Vince and Lumumba hadn't worked and Salem was off by then. In terms of styles, he could have gone more man-to-man defensively, but that would have exposed the fact that we were missing the pace and run of Viney, Frost and Jetta.

Hard to believe how good Freo's midfield is and it was a bit like after quarter time against GWS, we simply couldn't win a centre clearance as their big bodies - Mundy, Fyfe and Barlow just kept hurting us. Not having a back-up ruckman hurt too - especially in the first term when we lost the game. But basically Dom and Jonesy and Cross and Vince and Lumumba and Vanders couldn't win the clearances effectively and they have very professional backmen who are very good at pushing our blokes aside and utilising the extra numbers. The biggest critcism has to be for Dom and Jonesy - even though we all love them - because they are meant to be our ballwinners and they couldn't get the job done. We played 1 or 2 behind the ball to deny them options when they went forward and that meant their defenders had time and space to switch whenever they wanted. It's going to be very tough to get up for Sydney now, but that's what Roosy has to try and get them to do.

This is music to my ears - can't understand why a weekly tackling session hasn't been part of his normal routine - although this pre-season his groin would have limited its appropriateness. One question - was Tom Mc training? Assume he was but did he look fine after his second term tightness I was worried he had a very minor tear.

Not sure what happened to changes v Freo thread, but now we have the VFL game done, the two clearcut changes we can expect are: Out: Kent and Jetta (I really can't see how we can take any risk with him in current environment). In: Grimes and Spencer Pedo would be a chance but he hasn't been really doing any rucking and we have to go with two rucks to have any chance of coping in next three weeks with the big boys. I'm pleased both Grimes and Spencer will get a game and I suspect they will play well because they have been sweating on it for four weeks now. To those of you who don't rate Spencil, you unfortunately need to update your thinking. The day he went from being a hack was when he smashed McEvoy at St Kilda two seasons ago - and he was providing plenty of drive that day before he sent him bye-byes. He will most likely win our VFL best and fairest and deserves another go and to be honest he may be better than Jamar these days. He is more physical, can run all day and whilst he will always be a tad ungamely, he has improved his set shot kicking which means he can rest up forward to make a mismatch on occasions. He's never going to be star of the comp, but he is very serviceable - meat and potatoes like Jamar. I'll be interested to see where Grimesy plays as he has been more midfield for Casey, but realistically it has to be either him or Crossy taking on the serial pest or sharing duties with Salem on Walters. Watts will play as it is his 100th. I reckon JKH will be the sub, but I said that last week and was wrong, so it could still be Grimes or even Watts. If Tyson is out injured, I'd actually go with more pace and make Stretch the sub, but really there is no clearcut player to come in after Grimes and Spencer. It could be Riley, could be Bail, could be Jordie, could be Matt Jones, could even be Terlich, but ultimately it doesn't matter too much which one as they'll be the sub if they are required. B: Cross Dunn Salem HB: Garland Tom Mc Howe C: Lumumba Vince Newton HF: vandenberg Dawes Tyson F: Garlett Hoges Brayshaw Ru: Spencer N.Jones Michie Int: Jamar, Grimes, Watts, JKH (sub)

He had his knee heavily strapped and was obviously limited in mobility - hence sent to full forward line. I suspect he has been struggling for two weeks now - maybe patella tendonitis, but really I am only guessing. It can't be too serious or else he wouldn't have gone back on at all. The others to watch as I said in my match report on Friday night are Tom Mc (tightness in hammy), the skipper (hurt his shoulder again but too courageous to let it get to him) and Viv Michie, who was hobbling for much of the last quarter (he may just be tight after two games in five days). The nine day break will help.

Just got home from game - tired (not used to big crowds departing these days), elated and now really looking forward to see how we fare with Freo. A few ramblings - note, I am yet to see replay so may need to be corrected on some things. It is possible that by next year we will be able to pick a side that will have only two players left from our 2012 list and we will win. Everyone has commented on vandenBerg - his tackling was immense although his disposal tonight was a little off - tricky conditions though. Michie had a huge third term as well - he's not a tackler but with Tyson injured and forced to play out of the goal square - he really stepped up into the ball winner role and his low flat passes were superb. Brayshaw - another big bodied courageous mid - big tick to our recruiters and probably only Heeney or Hoges can beat him for Rising Star award this year. Newton - another absolute bargain - he almost scored about three goals but kept getting cut off by his own teammates. I wasn't sure about him until tonight. He's another big body with a booming left foot. Hoges - if you were there you couldn't believe what he did. Rising Star nomination this week and with Tom Mc - the best bookends we've had since Wight and Jakovich. Then there's Garland and Salem - no wonder poor old Grimesy can't get a game. Garland took Martin or Cotch when they drifted forward and smashed em. Who was it that used to say he wasn't fit in the pre-season? Howey also had a huge second half - providing dash that we needed. Even Wattsy figured out that it was OK to put your body in to play during the last term and possibly did enough to keep his spot - I have a feeling his 100th game is pretty soon? There were six injuries and three of them should be fine, two will be out and one in doubt. Jones (copped a big knock to his shoulder) and McDonald had a tight calf that hindered him big time, but with nine days off he might be OK. Michie also looked sore towards the end - remember he only had a five day break so hopefully nothing major. Jetta (concussion) has had quite a few knocks of late, so I'd be very surprised if he plays against Freo. Lucky Walters. Kent tore a hammy in a chase down early in game and will miss for sure. The biggest worry to be honest is Tyson, who had his knee taped and clearly isn't moving right. He may be nursed along but let's wait and see on training reports this week. Final comment to the guys that will say that our balance was right and similar to how we structured up against Gold Coast. Yes the balance was right, but it's a case of horses for courses and if you think going into the next three weeks - (Sandi and Clarke, Pyke and Tippett, McEvoy and Ceglar) with just one ruckman and Dawes backing him up, you are deluded. We will have to play Spencer or Gawn with Jamar and a decision on which one will be made on Sunday night after the VFL game I suspect.

There's nothing more exciting than watching youth and when Hoges and Angus take on the big boys and succeed we all get more passionate about things. In Jack's first season we all watched so closely when he took on the Pies, but unfortunately by then our club was a post-Daniher rabble. There was the great game the year after when he pivoted (around no-one as it turned out) and scored a super long goal - I think it was against Carlton but I may stand corrected. Then in his third season I think most of us will remember how he destroyed Richmond and kicked either four or five and we all thought he was going to be a superstar. Since then, and I'm sure I am not alone, the naysayers have been out in force telling us he was too soft to make it. No better than Jarrad Grant at the Dogs. That's why when he scores a goal, you just feel like shouting out to the opposition: Up your expletive, he's going to be the real deal. But unfortunately I can no longer see it happening - he's 24 now, he's not a kid anymore. He's been tried down back, Roosy tried him in the midfield but the game has moved on - there's just so much contested ball and tackling and that's not his go. I thought the return to the forward line and the extra tuition in pushing off would help this season would help, but he's never going to be a hulk, so he has to tackle and he just doesn't have the inclination. There's a learned guy who keeps telling us that Brendon Goddard was critcised at St Kilda for a long time. But by Goddard's seventh season he was an All-Australian and he'd missed most of one season with a knee reco. Jack is now in his 7th year. I think we'd all love for him to succeed and prove everyone wrong - there's no greater story than the guy who sticks at it and prevails against the odds - and if ever you hear him talk, he's such a ripping bloke that you just wish he did. There's no more skilled footballer at Melbourne either and as I said before, his vision is suberb. But footy's changed - there's so much hardball these days that skill is just a minor, but essential, part of a player's makeup. I'm not saying Jack needs to go back to the twos and learn something. He gets the game. I've been to enough training sessions now that I can tell he's not about to stay back after everyone and work on his tackling. He'd much rather nail shots from the boundary and by christ he's good at it. I'm not saying we should trade him either. What I am saying is that he chose the wrong sport - basketball with its tight reffing is more his go. Roosy may well decide not to drop him this week and play him against the Tiges and I can guarantee you I'll be cheering and be so rapt if he kicks five. But I'm not a delusional parent. You can't easily change your nature. We saw at the start of last year that even when he went into the middle, he wasn't keen to lay tackles. He's just not an aggressive kind of guy and that is no crime. But in footy these days, sensible aggression is mandatory. When I watched the Adelaide game, I knew it was over for him. My dream, and almost everyone's dream for him to become a great player, came to an end. Plenty of other Demonlanders knew it long ago and there's still plenty more who still think he'll make it and prove 'em wrong this Friday and the following week. But I'm tipping the penny dropped for Roosy too and even though Jack's record against the Tiges is good, I reckon there's some things that even Roosy will deem unacceptable. Thankfully since Prenderghastly left, our recruiting staff have realised the more essential ingredients in a footballer's make-up and we're building the nucleus of a great side now. And yes you are right, let's get right behind watching Hoges and Angus and dreaming of them becoming stars of the game.

If you don't know who I am talking about then you haven't been watching our games.

Agree with all you said, except there will be a lengthy debate at selection over one player. What's in his interests (short-term and longterm) versus what's in the team's interests. Roosy went down that path for the last 8 weeks last year and decided he didn't want to make him a high-profile example. But when all the principles of team ethos (putting body on line for your mates, watching the ball when going for marks instead of fearing contact from behind, toughness in a scuffle, courage under fire etc) go out the door, you actually have to decide at what price can you let it happen. I love the guy's off-field attitude and even his training attitude, but unfortunately I was a bit a whoosy when I played and I get now why you can't keep selecting a guy who is a super bloke but isn't by nature aggressive. The game changed about a decade ago when it became all about strong core and tackling - the Swans of 2006 were regarded as the stoppage kings but even they wouldn't get anywhere near Adelaide's 108 tackles. This finally is the week when it has come to a head. The marks were embarrassing and costly but it has nothing to do with the dropped marks. It has everything to do with the fact that once the errors were made (and every player makes errors) that he didn't get mega-aggressive and try to make amends. He internalised and went back into his shell even more. Unfortunately these days it doesn't matter if you are the fastest and the most skillful player in the side, when you lose the respect of your teammates, it's over. His teammates love him, we as fans love him, he's that kind of bloke, but do they respect him in the heat of the battle? I had hoped that he would have spent most of the summer being taught how to tackle with intensity, but his groin issue obviously cruelled that sort of session. I have always wondered if regular boxing sessions with teammates would reduce his game fear, but that doesn't seem to have been the case. There is no player I love watching more, nor is there a player who I'd prefer to have the ball in his hands than him, because I know he has incredible vision and the skill to execute. Had he been playing in Robbie's day his athleticism and skill would have made him a player and he would have had a big body like Big Carl or Biffo or Whacko Jacko protecting him. But nowadays there's nobody that is immune from the physical stuff because it is so congested. Don't forget, Roosy considered trading him in the off-season, so all of this is nothing new to him - Roosy knows how good he can be and he knows the damage not doing basic requirements does. He will consider many things (he is a great coach after all) and he will be aware of his great record against Richmond in the past. But he will know that he can't have rules for one player (however talented) and another set for the rest of the team. I'm tipping this will be the week when he decides he can't stay loyal to him anymore. It's a sad day for all of us, because unless you are braindead, you will have realised what a great potential talent he is and how uplifting it is when he scores a goal because you can tell he really loves Melbourne FC. But as I said earlier, the game moved 10 years ago. It's soccer build-up, rugby numbers and intensity when the ball spills and sublime speed when on the break - eg: Garlett. I suspect it's over for him and it came to a head in Adelaide. We can talk about changing his position (there's very few positions left now that haven't been tried except maybe tagger), we can talk about him spending weeks in the twos etc and I'm sure he already sees the club psychologist. But ultimately he's a nice guy. There's nothing wrong with that, except that at a footy club, nice guys come last.

Having just watched a fair bit of the VFL replay (streaming) it's fair to say Viv is in the best form I've seen him in since he came to the club. Sure the opposition wasn't great and he knew Spencer and Gawny would get the tap, but he read the clearances exceptionally and was the standout. So following on from the previous comment, he is a certain in no matter what the situation or team balance. I'm predicting the following line-up, assuming Frost is out injured - yet to read any update on the details yet: B: Salem (Newman/Morris) Tom Mc (Riewoldt) Garland (Lloyd) HB: Howe (Gordon) Dunn (Griffiths) Jetta (Edwards) C: Lumumba N.Jones Newton HF: Tyson Dawes Garlett F: Kent Hogan Vandenberg Ru: Jamar Vince (Martin) Cross (Cotchin) Int: Brayshaw, Michie, Spencer, JKH (sub) 23rd man: Grimes If Vince gets suspended then Grimes will play. Cross and Brayshaw to work in tandem on Cotchin.

Sorry Chook, but there's no chance Fitz will play, unless you are going to make a case for sending Garland, Tom Mac or Dunny forward. But he's certainly showing something as a VFL defender and could get a call up later in the year. The most likely ins are our three emergencies who all apparently did well in VFL again, albeit against weak opposition - Michie, Spencer and Grimes. Frost sounds like he'll be out, Watts will be named on Thursday night so that Roosy doesn't cop a stack of phone calls, but will be a late withdrawal and Vince may yet face some form of disciplinary action from MRP, although he'd be stiff to cop a week. Michie is a certain in and a decision will be made on whether to go big (adding Spencer) or small (adding Grimes) and that will be made on the night, depending on the conditions. There's an outside chance that Spencil will come in for Jamar anyway, given the Russian's heavy workload the past two weeks, but I doubt he'll want to rest up against a big Croat. The Tiges only play with two bigs up forward - Riewoldt and Griffiths - so Tom Mac and Dunny will get that role with Garland on Lloyd and Howey picking up Gordon. Edwards is the danger man and will get Jetta. Salem gets Newman or if they go back to Morris. I like our chances although the Tiges will be confident after their win and will probably start well. Should be a very exciting night and I think JKH might find himself as the sub this week, allowing Brayshaw a gig - possibly even on Cotchin for a fair chunk of the night, Vince on Martin

6. Vince 5. McDonald 4. Prince 3. Jones 2. Hogan 1. Garland Agree with top six but thought Jetta, whilst beating Betts, lacked his usual kicking control. Howe also could have snuck a vote, while Cross is very unlucky. PS: The guy who gave the best players for the Herald Sun is a new guy in Adelaide and didn't actually know most of the Melbourne players - hence they are out of touch with reality.

That's part of the answer but the main one is that he's the long outlet up the line when all the other options are covered and that means it is crowded and quite often the opposition ruck has dropped into the space - you assess his game on the number of times that he makes a contest and the ball doesn't go straight to the opposition, not the number of times he actually gets it. I reckon he's very good in this area and that's why he's a better option than Pedo or Gawny. There's really only a handful of times a game when Dawesy's is part of the link man up the line - he could probably improve that area a bit, his handball and kicking could be a bit slicker, but generally he's not too bad at this. The only real area that he hasn't done well is the 3-4 times game when he actually gets a one-out with his opponent - he needs to take the odd mark in this situation and I think when you compare him with Hoges on this area, you understand what I mean. He also has the advantage over Gawny and Pedo in that he can really hurt blokes when he tackles them. Both Gawny and Pedo have advantages over him, though. Gawny is a very good second ruckman and a cleaner mark. Pedo can turnaround quickly and kick 55m to a player on the run. But I suspect the problem of having a top-heavy forward line will be solved anyway in the next few weeks - Frost is hopefully not out for long and Watts won't be playing AFL for a while.

Are you a young kid, canplay?

Even though we lost, it was great watching as I really feel there's a sense of passion and pride reemerging and we now have a fair bit of youth mixed in with a few old pros. To the guy that keeps wanting Cross out, hang your head in shame. He was always going to look a bit slow pre-season, but he does all the things you want from a player - the amount of times he makes body contact to evoke a spoil is fantastic and he's the sort of leader we need. I would be very happy if Roosy signs him up for another year. How good is it that our recruiting staff now seems in synch with the game - big fast guys like Vandenburg, Lumumba, Frost (unfortunately got injured early so little impact yesterday) and tough big bodied midfielders like Angus and Newton. If Petracca hadn't done his knee he'd also be playing and showing the same sort of approach, although maybe as the sub. A lot has been made of Vince's intensity and it was great to see, especially in Viney's absence. A lot has been made of Wattsy's lack of intensity and it will be the topic of the next few weeks. But back off him, the guy is a great kid and has immense skills - it's not his fault that he doesn't have the aggression for AFL, there are more things in life than being an AFL footballer. Roosy will sort it and he's been through it already last year with him - the final 8 weeks or more were devoted to it. He'll be playing for Casey - enough said. Tom Mac rise is now getting plenty of airplay and it's great to see him run off the superstars - a bit like Hawk Chris Langford in the old days. But it is also great to see the return of Col Garland as a player - he seems to actually be enjoying taking the game on now - hard to believe if you watched him last year. Perhaps a bit of Tom Mac's confidence is rubbing off him. There will be three/four changes this week for the Friday night game and it will be interesting to see if a few players get rested after halftime today for Casey in preparation.

The main issue from the game, which has been correctly pointed out is that after the first term, we were smashed at the stoppages and that made us look slow because we were chasing rather than doing like last week. So I would suspect the only major restructuring this week will be figuring out how to fix the stoppage issue. And there won't be too many switches there because our two best players from last year - Jones and Tyson - were the main culprits if you like and they have countless credits. I'd suspect Jonesy was ill or tight, or like us, allowed himself to dream of better days. Unless he has the dreaded OP which I doubt given his training, he will be back working his butt off in Adelaide. One of only two switches that I see is deciding whether against Adelaide we can back Jamar to last the whole game against Jacobs, or whether he feels he needs to have another bull - Spencer. If he goes Spencil and Jamar, then Frost either drops out or gets sent to defence - that's why we recruited him after all. Another option to this is that Roosy could just drop Jamar and back Spencer's greater endurance (but less reliable tapwork) and retain Frost as the second ruck. Our defenders have to be looked at a little - McDonald's hot form means he will go to Tex, but can Dunny cope with Jenkins' height. Isn't Jenkins the perfect match-up for Frost. It could be that Frost is sent back and Garland is unluckily squeezed out. Given Garland's Rd 1 form, that would be a huge call and Lynch does appear a perfect match up for him. But Howey or Dunn could go to him. The other selection issue is that JKH had a blinder in our shock win in Adelaide last year and he must be a huge chance of a recall. The question is for who though - almost impossible to gauge that which is why it may not happen unless there is a genuine injury. The Adelaide win last year is a reminder that we actually match up better with them and hopefully Brodie Smith is out because he provides so much of their drive out of defence. I'd expect Viney to go to Sloane and Cross to Dangerfield, but it may be the other way around. Jetta will have Betts like last year, Salem will have to take Douglas or Cameron. The key in my view is having Tyson, Jones and Vince playing like in 2014 - if they do we could pull off another Adelaide Oval upset. The second key is that going big up forward can be a huge advantage but it also requires the third and fourth tall - Watts and Frost and Vandenberg - to create match-up havoc. That didn't happen at all against GWS. While I know there will be heaps of calls for change and yes, I accept that Dawesy didn't provide the strong long outlet that he needs to, but I reckon we may end up making only the one. In Spencer. Out Frost. If Jones is injured, then JKH will come in as the sub.

Interesting to see the turn in comments from last week and primarily from half time yesterday. Ultimately after a really good start, we were smashed in the middle and didn't cope with their tackling intensity which started in the second term, but we hung on. Any chance of us slowing the run on and turning the game into a Sydney-style stoppages game was destroyed by the fact that our two best from 2014 - Jones and Tyson - were unable to get their hands on it and as a result our confidence went out the door and we suddenly looked really slow, something which this year we aren't. I am sure Jones had a niggle of some kind - it was so unlike him. Interestingly if you throw in our most improved player last year - Jetta - who had another quietish game - it's fair to say that some times when you think you've made it, you've got to go back to the basics and work even harder than before - Crossy style. I am still a bit concerned at the lack of pace in our midfield - I know we did a lot of 400 reps in the off-season, but did Misson employ a sprints coach for the guys who needed it (eg: Toumpas, Tyson, N.Jones, Vince, Dunn, Pedo, Salem and quite a few others who would have benefitted) or did he just assume that with Garlett, Lumumba and Frost now in our side, we didn't have to work on explosive speed? My only comment is "Don't write everyone off on the basis of one game or in reality one bad half". I very much doubt there'll be a lot of changes this week and nor should there be - give them a chance to get back to being level-headed after the Rd 1 euphoria.

If Tomlinson was as bad as mo64 makes out, then they would almost certainly bring in Downie to replace him, which is even more reason for us to stick with our current defensive mix.

Yep agree with this. I didn't see enough of the St Kilda game to know if Tomlinson was still playing up the ground like last year. Given that he rucked a bit when Mummy went off, you may be right that he plays more from the square this year. Whoever plays more from the square is who Dunny will have and that could even by McCarthy. Dev Smith is our main danger small and therefore it would seem Jetta will get him, but the nice thing is we now have the luxury of sending Harry O back on to him if it's not working.