mo64

Thanks godees, that was it.

So you think that a spine of Lake, Everitt, Boyd, Hahn, and Minson is far superior than Carroll, Rivers, McLean, Miller and Neitz, which would have been our spine when I claimed that we were capable of making the finals? BTW, I rated the Bulldogs at the start of the year, and in fact they were the only team that I backed to make the eight. My rating of them had nothing to do with their spine.

We were also lost draft picks due to salary cap abuse. Can anyone recall what no. draft pick was given to the Dockers as compensation for picking up Jeff White in dubious circumstances? (I'm not talking about the actual trade.)

Rhino, if you did an analysis of the Western Bulldogs spine, it wouldn't be too different to ours, and they're sitting on top of the ladder.

Ok, let's analyse our imposing list of key position players, one by one: Warnock - Probable delist early in the year, who's played ok in some games, but been slaughtered recently. Garland - Very promising player, who with maturity could end up being a CHF. Martin - Played 1 ordinary game to date. Rivers - An injury plagued star, who doesn't play on the opposition's best forward. Frawley - A player with poor skills who's yet to make any impact. Bate - Not a key position CHF. Miller - In 7 seasons, I doubt that he's played 5 games where he's been in the best 3 on the ground. Newton - Shown promise, but his football could go either way. So from that list, the only KPP with established credentials is Rivers, and he's rarely on the park.

Meesen looks like he'll be another Kepler Bradley. Has all the physical attributes to be an AFL player, but just doesn't know how to play football. Meesen aside, our crop of draftees from last year (including Wona), are looking very promising. It's good to see that Maric isn't being pigeon-holed as a small forward. In a couple of years time, Craig Cameron may be seen as the messiah!

If you're prepared to put $100 on each, I'll give you 1000-1 on Weetra, Petterd and Valenti winning the Rising Star. Although, he had a delayed start to the season, Cotchin has been the standout IMO.

Not entirely true. Our paltry percentage is a truer reflection of how we've played this year. For a vast majority of the season we've been uncompetitive. Ultimately, the coach is responsible for the performance on the ground. And I don't buy Rhino's argument that Bailey took over a deplorable injury riddled list. At the start of the season, including the preseason, we were playing an obscenely bad brand of football with almost a full list. I just don't buy the bottoming out argument either. If Bailey truelly wanted to rebuild the list from scratch, Robertson would have been traded. When Clarkson arrived at Hawthorn, his intentions were obvious. He traded senior players en masse. Given the draft concessions that the new clubs will receive in the ensuing years, the opportunity for any club to rebuild from scratch is limited. Off the field, the club couldn't afford to bottom out this year. A $2m loss awaits us. Our onfield performances have a lot to do with this.

Harvey - 1st full year as coach like Bailey Worsfold - Premiership coach, 2 GFs Williams - Premiership coach, 2 GF's I'd be rapt if Bailey finishes with either Worsfold or Williams coaching record.

I always miss your point because it's usually hidden amongst paragraphs of drivel. And you obviously struggle with reading. I said that Daniher frowned upon "any" player who ran in an arc and kicked, not Brad Miller specifically, so what's you point on the vice captaincy? I missed it as usual. B)

Factually incorrect as usual. We beat St.Kilda in the 1st week of the finals.

All a coach can do is get the best out of the list he has at his disposal. At 2-12 with a 64% , no coach would dare say that they'd got the best out of their players. As for player improvement, Wona is a 1st year player, Garland is making the improvement that you'd expect in a 3rd year player, Green has always been a good player, I'm not sold on Warnock, and Sylvia has had an ok season. You are spot on with Miller. Daniher frowned on any player who took the arc and kicked. Miller is a better player when he does this.

In an interview I heard when he was appointed, he stated that when he was an assistant with the Power, he found Melbourne to be a skillful side. And Rhino's post is an emotional rant because the whole premise of his argument is that Daniher, as a coach and list manager, was the devil incarnate. He seems to forget that Daniher took over an ageing underperforming list, and took them to a prelim in his 1st year, and a GF in his 3rd. Daniher's record suggests that he was a good coach, but not great. History shows that good coaches can turn ordinary sides around very quickly. Bailey has done nothing to suggest that he is a good coach.

I'll address your 1st point, because the rest of your post is an emotional rant as usual. When Bailey was appointed coach, he stated that we were a skillful team. And an unskillful list doesn't make the finals 3 out of 4 years. If they do, then that makes Daniher a master coach.

The problem I've had with Bailey's game plan (run and carry, with a concentration on handball) is that it didn't compliment our list. But if you hadn't noticed over the past month, we've made adjustments, and our kick-to-handball ratio has markedly changed. We also now use the long kick to the top of the goalsquare as an option. You constantly bemoaned this tactic when I brought it up, and described it as outdated. Well how much more potent has our forward line been since we've use this tactic, and included a permanent crumbing forward? The other problem I've had with Bailey has been with team selection. It's not so much about the personnel, but the structure of the team. Early in the year, he had 3 tall forwards and no crumbers. Out of good fortune, Neitz and Robertson are no longer there, and our scoring effeciency has improved. And the selection of 3 ruckmen last week was ridiculous. (And no, PJ is not a key forward).

The biggest impact of McLean's injury is the effect it will have on Nathan Jones. All of a sudden he becomes our main inside onballer, hence will attract the best opposition tagger, if he's playing well. Not sure if he's up to it at this stage.

Spot on Mono with everything you've written. As for Bailey's calmness in the box, it's easy to be calm when there's no expectations of winning. And IMO, his apparent calmness doesn't prove anything. It's the coach's game strategies and how the players are performing, that really matter. Personally, I don't believe that Bailey has coached well to date, but as long as he's prepared to learn and adjust, he should be given the chance with at least 2 years in the job.

That's where we are different Bub. For me, it wasn't just a home and away win. It was a game that brought me enormous excitement because of the personnel we had on the ground. The win came out of left field. The emotions after the siren went weren't those of just another home and away win. I understand your point that it's probably a reflection of the club, but hey, I live for today, not for something that may never occur in the near future.

I wouldn't know the feeling of a premiership Bub, so the euphoria of wins like today won't be fleeting.

I can't believe that you waste your money buying an Adult membership. B) And to the likes of Hannabal and Rhino Richards who profess that winning a premiership is all that matters, you can get stuffed. Days like today is what supporting a football team is all about. Unbridled joy until the next game. And if that game costs us the no.1 pick, I don't give a shite.

That's my point Jarka. The issue of leadership is superfluous if you haven't got the talent. The Cat's talent eventually shone through. Premiership sides are littered with ratbags. Hell, Martin Pike won 4 of them without being a model citizen off the field.

Very good point Bub. Give me a great footballer with no obvious leadership skills, than a leader with average football skills. Two years ago the Cats were accused of lacking leadership. Perecptions can change very quickly when you're winning games.

And what happens if our playing list is full of atheists?

He's been in the football system a whopping great 3 years. Started playing the game as a fill in an Amo's under 19 team, and proceded to win the comp. b&f with 9 bog's in 10 games. Prior to that, he was a very promising basketballer.

The other benefit of White's omission is that Paul Johnson will play in the ruck. Whilst he did some nice things last week, PJ's future is as a ruckman and not a key forward.