mo64

Michael Phelps' diet includes a mass intake of junk food. And geez he's a fat unfit bastard. I suppose you want the club to have the players giving poo samples, so they can be tested on what they ate the night before a game.

I'm not saying that, history says that some will and some won't. I hope they all do, but it's not a given, which is why we need to see development from the core group of players in the 21 - 25 age bracket, rather than just pinning our hopes on 1 - 2 year players and future high draftees (Butcher and Scully), that many are talking about.

In the Casey game on Saturday, he committed the cardinal sin in football, and that is needlessly going to ground rather than keeping your feet. That is inexcusable for a suburban footballer, let alone an AFL one. His game on Saturday was not up to VFL standard, yet some nuffies on here actually thought he played well.

Really good post pitmaster. Playing the kids seems to give us an excuse for our inability to win, because it gives some supporters comfort, as they assume that the kids will automatically become better with experience. Bell, Bate, Dunn, McLean, Sylvia and Jones are all 1st round draft picks who have failed to live up to expectations. However, that doesn't mean that we throw them all on the scrapheap. Our improvement needs to come from this group, not just the kids in their 1st and 2nd years. That will be the test of our coaching and development department.

Your underrating of Valenti is becoming tiresome. To describe his performance as "active" is a disgrace. He was the most influential player on the ground. His decision making and disposal is probably in the top 3 at Melbourne. His perceived lack of pace is overstated. He always managed to get clear and effective disposals in contested situations.

He kicked it from the left pocket with a floating left foot kick. Not sure if it was meant to be a centre or a shot for goal. We'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

A few observations: Newton - Playing well when there's a forward structure. Seems to have cured his kicking yips. Valenti - Best vision and disposal in the side. Watts - Excited by his footy smarts. Grimes - Unsighted Bell - Not up to VFL standard Bail - Needs to put his head over the ball, but getting plenty of it. McNamara - Reads the play well but is an ordinary kick. Wona - Finding his feet. McKenzie - Done a few good things. Whelan - A class above Where's Spencer?

I agree. It's a ridiculous excercise because premiership teams are made up of players with varying degrees of talent and qualities. An average indvidual player in an average team can actually play an important role in a premiership team. Stephen Gilham is a case in point.

True to form Teflon, you're blowing hot air............

Well if you are in the know as to Lyon's behind the scenes involvement within the club, why don't you share it with the rest of us? Or are you blowing hot air as usual?

What a load of carp. The fact that he is in the media doesn't mean that he represents the club publicly, and he is entitled to express his opinions of the club whether they be positive or negative. And what exactly do you mean by "some involvement behind the scenes in the club"? Yes he does honourary work such as hosting functions, but are you suggesting that he is a powerbroker? You are getting sucked in by Hazy's McCarthyist witchhunt of Stynes and any of his associates.

What the hell is Garry Lyon accountable for when he is no longer a paid employee of the club?

In answer to the question, yes Morton should be in our 22. I personally don't believe that he's being utilised properly, and his confidence is down. And when a young player's confidence is down, he appears timid and indecisive. I know it's a modern day fad to play keepings off through innane handball, but I don't think it's Morton's natural game. His decision making in close quarters is ordinary. His strength is his ability to find space, and it should be utilised. He should be given the freedom to run forward of the ball. We play with few options in our forward line, so having Morton run forward of the ball surely can't hurt.

The same flashy types that won Port a premiership. There is no blueprint to winning a flag. As previously said, luck plays an enormous factor. As for your concept of keeping players who bleed red and blue. pffft. It's a hackneyed term that holds no relevance.

Do you know Newton personally, or are you guessing that he has a huge ego and a chip on his shoulder? It will be interesting to see our in and outs this week: In: Jurrah Out: Newton (Inflated ego) I tend to agree with Pates. Newton's skills aren't great at the moment, but he has a presence that gives our forward line some structure and potency. Having 2 key forwards (Miller and Newton) have 6 or more shots at goal in 1 game has been a rarity of late. PS: I'm waiting on the Newton bashers to jump on here after the Adelaide game, and bag him if he gets towelled up by either Bock or Rutten. Just a preemptive word of advice. Better forwards than Newton have been towelled up by Bock and Rutten. Give the kid at least one full injury free year in the seniors to prove himself. He hasn't had that yet.

Ha, ha my thoughts exactly. The moral police are at it again. If anything, the 22 Freo players who played on Saturday night should have been charged for falsely impersonating an AFL footballer.

Well said Redleg. Myself and Clint Bizkit have been crying out for us to play with a forward structure that allows us some opportunity to kick a competitive score, and that's exactly what Miller, Newton and Bate do. None of these players will be stars, but if they provide a contest, we can at least apply some pressure on the opposition defence. I much prefer a forward structure of limited talent than a non-existent forward line.

Watching live, I had the same impression of Bowden, but after watching a replay, he was one of the few players on the ground who used the ball effeciently. But using the ball effeciently doesn't make you a damaging player. Sylvia had a greater influence on the result of the game than Bowden.

I'm a bit torn on Richo. No doubting his best is sensational and you can't question his effort, but he can have a demoralising affect on his teammates. When his teammates don't pinpoint a pass, he outwardly castigates them, yet he's consistently sprayed shots at goal over his career. IMO, missing easy shots for goal has a more demoralising affect on a team that's struggling to win, than an errant pass, because the team aren't getting reward for effort. And I agree with what many have said about our performance. We weren't good, we just weren't as bad as Richmond.

If it takes him 3 years to be proficient, we've wasted a pick. I'd expect him to be proficient in 12 months, and hope he's a star in 3 years time.

Ha, ha, no it's my maths. See what the club's done to me!!!!

I'd hardly call it a "rash" assessment of a coach when we're consistently getting belted. The pessimism is based on results.

I do listen to people who know something about football, unfortunately I don't find many on this website that fall into that category. I'm old enough to have endured that dark ages of the 70's, when I did go to the football and accepted honourable losses, simply because watching Robbie Flower was worth the admittance. What Hannabal wrote was spot on, but I tend to take the pessimistic view, rather than see things through rose coloured glasses. That's what 27 years of supporting Melbourne does to you.

So if a player doesn't improve or regresses, the player just isn't good enough, but when a player shows improvement, it's due to the coach's development program. I get it...... Keep up the blind faith people.....

How many of the following players who have been at the club 3 - 6 years have developed under Bailey? These players are at an age where they should reaching their peak, and should be the backbone of our side. McLean Sylvia Jones Bell Moloney Bate Dunn Davey Johnson