pringle

I would love to think so mate. Honestly I would. And perhaps for some posters this is the case. But the topic of the thread was 3 word PLAYER analysis.

Occo, that wasn't a pot shot at you, but rather the media, who seem to have NFI. Those link articles used 'CAT' scan, as do many ridiculous TV shows like 'ER'. The public can only go on what it hears. CT means 'computed tomography', a form of medical imaging using x-ray beams that move in sych with special detectors across a 'slice' of the body and are processed by a computer to provide detailed pictures of anatomy and pathology. I fail to even see where anyone added an 'A'. I think it's an Americanization. And I have little time for that country (let it be known that I have nothing against individual Americans, but rather the attitude, ignorance, self-centered views and moral banruptcy of the country as a whole - if that makes sense). So I'm sorry if I sounded like I was having a go at you with that one. :D

Posters - 'Oh so negative' I too am devastated. But bagging our players is not the answer. I'm not saying I enjoyed the performance. I was distraught when I got home. I punched a few walls. Threw a few objects. Tore up a newspaper. Drank a few scotches. Have not watched a game of football since... But I could never bag our players in the severe way some posters here do. Are you all Melbourne supporters? Do you love our players, or do you see them as pieces of meat; send it back if the chef didn't cook it quite to your liking. The fact is, for the next 21 rounds (+ hopefully finals), these are the boys we have. These are the boys who put their bodies on the line each week. These are the boys who put their heart and soul into the club. They don't deserve this. They don't purposefully play to lose; to make our lives a misery. They deserve our support. I was just as disgusted as everybody here, but I guarantee you, even if we were 0-22 at the end of the season, I could NEVER fire some of the cheap shots handed out in this and other threads. I'm embarrassed about our lacklustre performance. I will be ashamed to face my mates this afternoon at a party. I'm certain to be bagged by you all now just as much as you have bagged our players, and I will accept your hate mail as I know that it is borne out of the same frustration I feel. But yet... 43 years without a premiership and we're all still here. I know you all love the club, and deep down you even love Adem Yze. Knee-jerk reactions to one bad performance don't help. Now I'll run for cover. God help me... I mean, after a handfull of games, even Nathan Jones and Matthew Bate have copped it. I'm sure I'll get a pasting!!! I can see it now: Pringle - 'Accepting of mediocrity', Whereas I prefer to say: Pringle - 'Unconditionally loves demons'

The news is far from good YET for Brock. I not trying to be negative. All i'm saying is that a CT scan (not CAT scan, which means absolutely nothing other than perhaps a look around the pet shop for a new feline) of the foot would only be ordered to prove or rule out a suspicion of a fracture. We know there is bruising and swelling of the soft tissues. That MIGHT suggest a fracture, or MIGHT be just bruising. But I can't see how any of this is good news YET. I will only breathe easier IF and WHEN a fracture is ruled out. If so, Brock may be back very soon. If not, he might be out for quite a while (8-10 weeks). Fingers crossed, but journo's have no idea what they're on about when it comes to medical details... unless it was Doc Larkins or Peter Brukner who examined the foot. I do know that our doctor and doc Larkins work at the same clinic, but I doubt our doc would be too candid too early about the full extent of the injury, and the clinic is not open on the weekend. Fingers crossed guys, but he's not out of the woods quite yet. And if it was a small fracture, he could easily have limped off with the adrenaline still pumping. I'm still praying... to God, Jesus, Buddha, Ganesh, Zeus, the trees and whoever else I could possibly think of.

A CT scan would be to look for a fracture. Worrying to me.

I honestly don't think it's too bad an assessment. It's his opinion, and none of what he said is out of the question. Time will tell, but no-one ever gets pre-season predictions right, and he's taking a punt with some of those smokies at the top end of the ladder. Who would have predicted us to be up near the top in mid 2004? Or the pies to knock on the door of the top 4 last year? One or two teams will surprise this year, and he's taking a guess as to who they will be. At least he hasn't replicated last year's ladder and just swapped a couple of teams around. That would be too easy. He's trying to throw up a few surprises that could percievably occur. And he's also given some decent reasons.

And forgot to add: Yze - sticks up doubters

It is nice!

Biz - solid down back Jones - coming of age Neita - back to best Whelan - most important backman JMac - workman-like as usual Joeboy - please do mate Brock - usual brilliant self Davey - brilliant chase-down efforts Pickett - tough as nails White - top notch ruck-work Bruce - class midfield performance Carroll - Unpassable down back Rivers - still a star Bate - red-nut stands out Johnson - father and son Johnstone - classy delivery again Jamar - taps no posessions Greene - superb skills tonight Holland - held his man Ward - pacy good rebound etc...

I stand by what I said. Back page of th HUN today, "Besieged WCE coach John Worsfold was emphatic yesterday he wanted banished superstar Ben Cousins back at the club and hoped it could be within a month..." They WILL be soft.

I heard a mention on SEN yesterday that today is Melbourne membership day. If anyone hasn't joined up yet, today is the day. And in reference to another thread on this site, apparently David Schwarz whill be interviewing Neale Daniher on 'the run home'!!! So let's just see how relations are. But regardless, call all your mates and get everyone on the bandwagon. We need all the members we can get!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know many posters here have gone cold on Yze and perhaps rightfully so considering recent form, but I have a small contribution to add to the debate. A couple of years ago i spent 6 weeks working with the club's medical dept. During this time I had the opportunity to attend all training sessions and games and watch our players show off their skills 1st hand. What I will say may not exactly relate to on-field performance and therefore may easily be rebutted by anyone who has seen him play this pre-season (which I will admit I haven't), but despite the obvious criticism I will receive, I will put my little yze-loyal ass on the line. Watching him at training had me absolutely mesmerized. His skills are absolutely incredible. He hits targets and regularly if not all the time. He exudes class and in my experiences, always gave his all at training. Sometimes he can look like he is lazy, but many people say this about Travis and no-one would deny that he SHOULD be in the team come round 1. The best players often look lazy because things come easy to them. Yze has sublime skills, and I am of the opininon that even if he does make the occasional lazy stuff up, his precision passing and shooting for goal more than make up for it. Think about how many times this year he will hit Neita on the chest to set up a shot at goal, or slot a freakish goal himself from nowhere. Try to remember games such as Collingwood in the last two years where he turned nothing into ridiculous goals. Try to remember the game last year when he nearly kicked a goal from the left fwd pocket from 50 on a freakish angle (celebrated too early) and hit the post, only to try the same shot a few minutes later and put it through the middle. Guys like this don't grow on trees! If Yze gets dropped and we have a few ordinary games early on, and comments like "Neitz tried hard, but the delivery into the forward line gave him scant opportunities", or "the Demons lacked enough avenues to goal up forward" come up, trust me, it will be because we lacked the silky smooth passing skills of a bloke like Yze. He may not be the perfect player, but how many AFL players are? And if the rest of the team set a standard of toughness and unrelenting pressure at the opponent, I doubt that Yze would fail to follow the lead. The pre-season is the pre-season. players tend not to risk their necks in a practice game. I think Adem at least deserves to play the 1st few rounds, and IF he fails to deliver, then we might have to talk about replacing him. But at the moment, the bloke is still a star of the AFL. As I said before, a talent like his does not just grow on trees...

With regards to your question about Neaves Dappa, I take it to mean that White and Jamar are our preferred rucking duo, PJ is the '1st backup ruckman', and if two of these happen to be injured, Neaves could fill the void as the '2nd backup ruckman' (and one would have to be a 'long-term' injury for Neaves to be promoted from the rookie list). Does that make sense?

It is interesting to note how the perception of the 'ideal' physical shape of our players has changed. In previous pre-seasons we have all thirsted for comments from posters in the pre-season how this or that player has bulked up in the pre-season. Now we are hearing about how Brock and Jones and others have lost kg's etc. I'm a bit confused at the moment. Which is better? Physical strength or lighter/endurance players. With the constant rule changes making the game quicker, maybe we are getting smarter and producing lean mean running machines. Or maybe we are falling into a trap and producing puny push-overs. It will be interesting to see whether our new fitness coaches ideas blossom or flop in the coming months.

Heard or read today (can't remember which), that Worsfold has spoken to Cousins, who has vowed to do his best to fix his problems and will speak again with the coach in a week. Wouldn't be surprised if he's back at training after that conversation... Let's just wait and see, but me thinks the coach is paving the way for a swift 'resolution' to the problem. Don't think round 1 is realistic, as that would be perceived as far too soft by the football public, but round 2 is not out of the question. As you said, "he's too good a player for the Eagles to leave out".

I don't think it's right to say things about the 'ice epidemic' when there is no proof Ben cousins is involved in taking any drugs at the moment. I'm no lawyer, but that could be considered slander or something like that. And 2nd, I still think he'll be back very soon in Eagles colours unless he's put behind bars.

My word.... Some of you guys have some real time on your hands. Did you really go through EVERY game AND predict a margin? I know I'm up at nearly 3am posting on this site, but that is true INSANITY . I do like the predictions though. Go Dees.

I'm a bit skeptical about this. Expect Cousins to miss round 1, maybe round 2 and 3, and be back in the side by at least round 4 (I expect earlier than this though). This suspension will give him a bit of a jolt, and if rumours are true (none of which have any basis by the way, we're all just hypothesizing at the moment) he should probably be sacked. But the Eagles were soft on Kerr and will be too focused on winning another flag to waste a talent like Ben Cousins in the stands. It's just a shame that a club with such a [censored]-weak culture has enough talent on its list to win a flag, whilst other clubs with good honest workers like us, the kangas or bullies can't throw around the type of money the Eagles can. In a one/two team town (?Freo considered a 'Perth' team), these guys are treated like and think they are royalty. It's time they grew up, and the only way they will is if their board hands out harsher penalties to ANYONE caught transgressing (star or not). I have heard numerous stories from people in Perth about the arrogance and behaviour of WCE players out on the town. I may be wrong, but I highly doubt Cousins' punishment will be anywhere near harsh enough. As I said, 1 or maybe two games out and he'll be back again, dominating the competition. And Even if his team-mates do learn a lesson from this (which I hope they do), I still can't see the punishment being much harsher than what I've stated. After all, winning is the name of the game. And West Coast can't afford to lose games - their public will simply not accept it.

Does anyone actually know the full story on Sylvia. I know we had to wait quite a while to get the best out of Trav, and patience is important with young players. The story is that the kid can seriously play and I am willing to wait as long as it takes and stand by the bloke for a few years if we have to - and I hope we do. It's just frustrating not getting to see him out on the field week in and week out. Brock has already become a star and he was picked in the same draft. I dare say that Sylvia might already be classed as good as Brock if he'd had a couple of pre-seasons and 50 games under his belt. It's sad that the kid just can't take a trick at the moment. Can anyone shed more light?

Are you certain all those guys aren't playing? I was under the impression that Riewoldt was going to be ok for round 1. And what's wrong with Gardiner? Plus the article states that Kosi got through the game ok and Maguire did too. I know you said 50-50 for those two, but I'm sure they'll play. Hayes is not suspended as yet and I heard on SEN that it wasn't much and he'll probably get off with a reprimand. And let's not get too cocky after last year's Carlton debacle!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Judd isn't going anywhere in any case. All he did was decide not to sign a deal right now. It's a smart move. He might increase his value with another brownlow, and even if he doesn't, he's still not going to lose value. Plus the article also reported that he had an off-period after he signed his last contract. Maybe he just needs some kind of motivation to keep himself at his peak (such as having to continue to impress before any future contract negotiation). Or maybe he is just superstitious. They gave him the captaincy to ensure he stayed there. The captain of a club does not leave. I can't think of any who have, but if anyone has a list, please post it. We can dream and dream all we like, but it aint gonna happen.

I still think Wheatley should be there... at least in the emergencies.

I love that Chopper quote Jaded. Gold!