MikeyJ

Err, mate, I gave my thoughts on clash teams earlier in the thread (post #73): Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Essendon, Fremantle. Probably Port Adelaide, too, with their new jumper. If there's a seventh, I can't think of which team it might be. And we haven't all missed the point. It's just that not all of us are that worked up about having a white jumper. I actually prefer it to the red jumper, for what it's worth.

Off the top of my head, we clash with Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton and Essendon and Fremantle. We probably clash with Port Adelaide's new jumper, too, but that is yet to be tested. Unlike some, I actually don't mind the current white clash jumper. It still identifies us with the red and blue, and it achieves the aim of avoiding a clash. In away matches, I'd rather see us wear an easily identifiable alternate jumper against any side with which we remotely clash, rather than suffer through any modicum of confusion among the players or the spectators. EDIT: I have the same aversion as other posters to playing in a grand final in an alternate jumper.

Take a look at Port's forward line. With Tredrea out, there's no point taking four tall backs into the game, particularly in the humidity of Darwin. Rivers is more mobile than Warnock and Port are missing their gorilla, so Warnock misses out. And I'm with others who reckon Jetta will be a late replacement for Spencer. Edit: Jaded was posting as I was posting! Great minds etc, etc.

Just a gentle tip: go to the AFL Photos website and see how many pics of Jack Watts there were from Saturday's game.

I'm pleased about Gysberts' progress but I've got to pull you up here. If Daniel Jackson ends up having half the career that Cameron Bruce has enjoyed, he'll be a very lucky man. No doubt Bruce's influence and importance to our side has waned in recent years as the game has changed, but don't let that cloud your judgement of his contribution to our club, and his worth as an AFL player. 15 other clubs would have loved to have Cameron Bruce in their team for the past 10 years.

Reckon that's the only thing that would have kept some posters happy.

The Lions' Matthew Leuenberger suffered exactly this fate in the final term last weekend. Had to go off the ground to get an ankle treated in a close-fought final quarter. While he didn't have any chance to avoid contact a la Bennell, the potential for more serious injury was obvious. I have no doubt he would have jumped if he'd had the opportunity.

Err, no one's disagreeing with you on this point. But raising this truism in the context of Thomo's erroneous criticism of Bennell doesn't make any sense. Consensus is that Bennell did the right thing by keeping his feet in wet conditions. The point that many, including Nasher and myself, are trying to get across is that there is a fine line between self-sacrificial, courageous acts and stupid ones.

Four points. What's your point?

Scully wasn't confronted with a player sliding towards him at speed on a wet surface. Both players in the Scully-McIntosh collision were on their feet. If what you said earlier about the Bennell incident is correct - the opponent was sliding in - it's a completely different set of circumstances.

I can't recall the exact incident but I'm not that concerned about players indulging in a little self-preservation in those circumstances (wet night, late in the game, opponent sliding in at speed). If for whatever reason a player is not in a position to match an opponent's attack on the footy - weight on the wrong foot, opponent comes sliding in from an unexpected direction - I would rather see them not break their leg or ankle, and keep their feet to make the next contest. There's brave and courageous and then there's reckless regard for one's own safety. You're no good to your team if you've got a broken leg or you get a concussion that knocks you around for a month like Jordan Lewis or Scott Stevens.

Most sensible suggestion so far. I applaud your work.

I reckon our point kick-ins are reasonable at the moment. Of course there is always room for improvement but no team will ever be perfect, by the very nature of the situation. Those who demand no errors are kidding themselves. If you want some perspective, take a look at the last quarter of the Adelaide-Richmond game. I kid you not, the Tigers did not get a single point kick-in past centre half-back for the entire final term.

Never has a truer word been spoken on this site.

Just as you've picked one example from the weekend, I'll pick another two - the Swans-Lions game and the Carlton-Collingwood clash. Both involved big hits, plenty of contests and contested marking, incredible goals and free-flowing play. I'd argue that those two games - and not the Dogs-Saints grind - are a truer indicator of how the game will evolve. Fiercely contested stoppages and a desire by both teams to release their damaging players into space and to move the ball quickly will be hallmarks of modern football.

There certainly need to be accountability, no doubt. Hopefully the errors have been picked up and pointed out - to both the reporter and the editors who overlooked them. But I reckon some of the abuse hurled at this reporter from some posters is more about those posters making themselves feel superior and not about holding a reporter to account for their error. What was that about poorly researched?

No, I'm not. I just like to keep things in perspective. By all means, have a crack at Caroline Wilson or Mike Sheahan if they were to do the same thing, but castigating someone who is in all likelihood a very junior reporter for inconsequential factual errors is the worst kind of journalist bashing.

Geez, you guys are a bunch of keyboard heroes, aren't you? Sure, there was a factual error in that piece with regard to the second half scoring on Sunday. Sure, the information about Morton being a chance to return isn't likely to be right But does it really warrant the nastiness that's spilled forth from most of you? I think not. Branding someone who is in all likelihood a reporter in her early 20s, in her first job out of uni, an "idiot", a "fool" and a practitioner of "crap journalism" reflects worse on you than the errors do on her.

Wouldn't say he was a downhill skier that night - he just wasn't fit enough. Say all you like about mental fortitude - you can't gut run when your body gives up. However, had he done a bit more gut running in the pre-season, he might have been able to play that final term and it might have been a different result!

Am I the only Melbourne supporter who thought the Adelaide game last year was absolutely fascinating in terms of the strategy employed by both teams? Look, it was a shocking night for footy so we were never going to see a free flowing spectacle. Accordingly, it turned into a war of attrition and both teams gave plenty. Tactically, I thought it was interesting in that we virtually conceded our attacking half of the ground when the Crows had the ball and dared them to break through a zone at the other end. They struggled to do so. While the goalkicking was appalling from both teams on the night - and Newton's contributions have been noted above - I don't think the game was anywhere near as bad as some suggest. It didn't conform to most people's notion of a good game of football, but it was a fantastic contest.

Bate mightn't be a world beater but I reckon you've got short memory syndrome. There aren't too many players who can play as a KPP, a midfielder and a half-forward flanker with aplomb, and two top-five finishes in the B&F in the past three years is testament to his consistency. Not as many "arrows in his quiver" as Petterd? You're kidding. I'd suggest that Bate is a far more rounded player than Ricky at AFL level. You've been blinded by Ricky's strong start to 2010. I suspect you and many others are deceived by appearances - while Bate might look ungainly at times, he's certainly quick for his size. A thumping long kick for goal and what's more, a generally accurate field kick. Finally, lumping him in the same 'can't mark over his head' basket as Paul Johnson is plain wrong.

+1. Those calling for Bate to be dropped have short memories. He looked slow, fumbled below his knees and fluffed kicks last year after an injury interrupted start to 2009. He ended up in the top few of our B&F. There is no way he'll get up to speed playing with Casey, and he was actually quite good in the second half of Saturday's game. Those who have already watched a replay will see what I mean. My tips are the same as most others: In: Sylvia Out: Bartram If Rivers is fit, there must be a match-up for him against Adelaide otherwise he'll be playing at Casey. At a glance, I can't see one. Warnock to Tippett, Frawley to Walker and that's about it as far as tall forwards go. Joel Mac can play on Porplyzia, who is about three weeks short of a gallop anyway. And Joel Mac's game on Travis Cloke was exceptional after he was beaten twice in the second term in one on ones.

Jamar needs back-up to face Jolly, Fraser and Leigh Brown. He can't go solo and as titan said, Martin's no ruckman. Jake it is.

The seemingly high ratings are a function of the fact that Schwab has three of the seven categories for players who are considered outside the best 22. That only leaves four categories for players who are best 22, and I think we can all agree that the top category (Cat 7) for Melbourne is redundant for our 6yr+ players. Another category (Cat 4) is for those players who have to play to their peak to be in the best 22. That leaves two categories to classify our talented, experienced players. If you want to remove Cat 6 as well, that leaves only one place to classify our older best 22 players with more talent than the likes of Brad Miller. I don't think that's accurate. Junior (1AA, 2 B&F) and Cam (1B&F, something like 10 top-10 finishes) are cut above the others, and under the criteria, they get judged for their historical performance rather than their actual performance. But anyway, it doesn't really matter what definitions one uses for each category, as long as they remain consistent for each club that one applies it to. For instance, the likes of Geelong, Hawthorn, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs would have far more 6+ years players in Cat 6 and 7 than we would. Collingwood, Brisbane and Adelaide would be similar. The matrix model serves only to highlight just how far we are away from contending in any way, shape or form.

Yours and mine look similar, bar a few players moved around here and there. I suspect most supporters would look something like this. It's an interesting exercise and one that would be worth keeping track of at the start and end of each season for the next few years.