Scoop Junior

What also needs to be taken into account is Carlton's position. They are a competitor. Regardless of our draft selections, do you want a competitor getting access to two of the top three draft picks after years of high picks?

out: robbo and anyone else carrying some sort of slight injury in: neville weetra garland But we don't have the balls to do this. It's a shame.

They mostly want to lose. The ones that know anything about footy want to lose. The ones that don't know anything then either copy the others or maintain the stance that they want to win.

I'm not yet sold on Bate. I know he stands out with the red hair, the long left foot kick and the hard leading, but there are a number of queries on him. The two main concerns are his toughness and his ball handling. I don't think he attacks the ball hard enough. When there's players around the contest, he doesn't go in with full force. This probably affects his ball handling, especially at ground level, and perhaps he fumbles because of the perceived pressure of what's around him. He has some fantastic attributes but if he doesn't improve in this area he won't make it. I'll cut him some slack because he's young, but he needs to learn quickly that attack on the footy is non-negotiable. He has certain tools that will enable him to make it, but he must get better in other areas. The jury is out on him.

Yep Adelaide will really look to trade a gun FB like Rutten. Last line gorilla defenders are expendable

Would it be possible that fans of the team that is winning may leave early?

True DV8. I was thinking the same Tim! Apparently one of the biggest tanks designed in WWII was called the Landkreuzer. Ironic?

I went to that game too. Of course I didn't cheer Sydney. Just sat there quietly hoping they'd run over us, which they did. I also love the feeling of a win - but not when it costs you Brock McLean in the draft! That kinda makes the win an empty feeling! Any nice feelings associated with a win in those circumstances is short-term. I'm happy to sacrifice short-term gain for long-term gain.

See I don't understand this. By loving Melbourne, don't you want what's best for the club and what will best help the club in its quest for premiership success? Assuming you do, then let me ask you this: which scenario best helps the club, beating Carlton or losing to Carlton? It's not as if hoping we lose is not showing your support to the club. In fact it's the opposite. Hoping we lose is actually showing that you want what's best for the MFC.

How can anyone want to win this game? It defies all logic.

What seems a little strange is that Fagan has apparently been heavily involved in the selection process for a new coach. If he knew he was going, surely he wouldn't put himself in such a position. So it appears that it's a very recent decision. Hawthorn must have come up with a very good offer.

How about Rooney breaking his foot in the first game like Brock McLean did. Then Ronaldo sent off and missing for three games. Saha and Solskjaer already injured. No firepower whatsoever, just like the Dees without Neitz, Robbo, etc. 2007 has not been a good year for my teams! I like the Spurs, they've got a good squad and they really should push for 4th this year.

"Players could not hit targets and there were countless turnovers resulting in Collingwood counter attacks." Geddy Lee: Yeah, he's awesome. Matthews are a ripping band.

I don't think Johnson's a dirty player and I don't think he tried to knock Bell out. But certainly it was reckless and he'll go under that classification.

I love Jones - isn't it great to have a player who just rocks up week in week out and puts in 100%, runs till he drops, always goes hard and just brings that intensity to the contest. Very reliable for a player so young. His next task will be coping with closer attention that will come his way next year. He's earnt that respect from the opposition.

Admire the effort to play on but head over the footy and eyes on the ball are non-negotiables and he let his teammates down. It's frustrating - he's got a lot of ability but he won't make it if he doesn't get harder.

Leg injuries don't make you duck your head whilst backing back timidly. Leg injuries don't make you fumble and lift your head when you go for the ball in pressure situations. I excuse Bate for not running well and being restricted, but courage is non-negotiable. I was very disappointed by some of his efforts, especially given the way a number of our younger players attack the footy like Bell, Jones, McLean and Sylvia.

Thanks Gouga. About time someone recognised the performance of some of our defenders tonight. I thought Ferguson was fantastic and Carroll was also very good. Rhino: I need some clarification on the Bate vote. I thought he continually jibbed contests and in a side that was throwing itself in and trying really hard, it was painfully obvious to see.

I think Bate also suffered a pulled heart string The words gutsy and Bate should not be in the same sentence.

I think there's a time and a place for making players earn their spots. Teams in form can do this. Teams anchored to the bottom with little to play for shouldn't subscribe to such a theory. I mean, it's a bit ridiculous for a coach to say to a young player that he needs to "earn" his spot in a team that has won 3 games for the year and is being routinely thrashed.

While Davey's output can be all or nothing, I can see him being very valuable in a winning side. I think in a team that is up and going, he can be a very important element. If we had the luxury of a number of pacy players with great foot skills, then I'd consider moving him on. But in a very one-paced side with a plethora of big-bodied midfielders, Davey provides that variety that I think is important for any good team to have. He does need others playing well around him. But I think he can be very damaging if we string some form together.

Good post Jaded. I suspect you'll enjoy reading my match review, which will be up soon. Well, not really a match review, but a commentary on where we're at. I think we've got a little eye on development, but a lot of eye on results. It shouldn't be like that when you are 3-15. It should be all about next year and the future.

I don't think they do. I reckon Ward gets a harsh deal with foot skills...I don't think he's too bad a kick. His execution is far better than Godfrey's, he can kick longer, better non-preferred side and his awareness is fairly good in traffic. I think a bigger problem of Ward's is his lack of accountability rather than his disposal. In an ideal world, you want a better flanker. But with our lack of speed, I wouldn't have Ward at the top of my list to go. He is clearly on thin ice, given his age, but there are others I'd flick before him. Put it this way, I see Ward contributing more to a winning side than Godfrey.

I wouldn't scratch CJ off the list yet. I'd definitely like to give him another year. I'd prefer Ward over Godfrey. We are so slow and Ward is one of the few who can provide line-breaking pace off HB. With guys like McLean, Jones, Moloney, Green and McDonald in the middle, we don't have any pace and playing Godders in there just adds another big-bodied slow type (with poorer skills than the above players). Godders gives his all and has been a great servent, but surely we need to aim higher and look for better. Desperately need to focus on pace and skills come draft time. I see natural improvement in contested ball - Jones will keep improving at the stoppages, McLean surely could not have a worse year, Sylvia hopefully can have a good pre-season and add bite in the stoppages and I think Bartram could add something here with his clean hands and attack on the footy. But we are light on for class and pace...Buckley shows something in this area though. No one could break away from the stoppages yesterday and we struggled to chase down the likes of Rodan, Pearce, Burgoyne, etc. And one of our biggest problems this year has been turning the ball over - I don't want blokes in the team who can't kick the ball.

Thanks for the newsflash sylvinator, but if you reckon we are selecting a side to lose you are kidding yourself. The way we are playing and with our record at AAMI Stadium, we probably wouldn't beat Port even if we had half the key players back from injury. There's no need to "tank" at AAMI Stadium when we are in such poor form - all we have to do is turn up and we'll probably lose! I've never said Holland or Ferg are good or that I want them on the list. But I strongly believe they have been selected for match-up purposes. Carroll is tough and battles hard but he would be giving up far too much height on Lade/Brogan or Westhoff. I think Carroll should've kept his spot and I'd prefer a developmental approach than playing guys like Holland, but I understand the need to get taller defenders in there if suitable match-ups and winning are on the agenda. If Riley didn't want to win, he wouldn't bring Holland in and he wouldn't drop CJ. Jaded - I must have been at the wrong game if CJ was better than Buckley last week. Buckley looked up to the speed of the game and worked his way through AFL-level traffic well. I'm yet to see CJ adequately navigate himself in AFL-intensity traffic. I still have hopes for him (and I wish he'd play seniors till the end of the year) but he is struggling to make an impact ATM.