mo64

I was behind the goals at that end of the ground, but don't recall Kennedy's goal being disputed. And apart from Eishold's choke, what about the goals missed by Yeats, Campbell and Jackson. If any of those were kicked, we would have won the game. Having said that, I still think that with the injuries we copped, we would have lost the following week. Everyone remembers Stynes running through the mark to give Buckanara a 15m penalty, but the reason he did it was because Dipper was on his own in the forward pocket. After the game, Northey should have been looking daggers at Dipper's man, not Stynes. What made things worse was that we couldn't find our car after the game! Bl##dy Waverley! The point you raise about team spirit is a good one. Under Northey, we had it in bucketloads. You can have all the wiz bang game plans you like, but if you don't play with passion and endeavour, you'll rarely win.

Can we afford to play 4 forwards who lack defensive intensity? Neitz and Newton are physically incapable, whilst Yze and Robertson refuse to tackle and chase. If Neitz is to play FF, then either Robertson or Newton miss out. Rather than Yze, I'd prefer to see Sylvia played as a forward pocket, with an occasional run in the midfield.

Unless you are a team of superskilled elusive players, the idea of holding on to the ball until you find a good option comes unstuck when the opposition apply pressure. Apart from Davey, who else has got evasive skills? Furthermore, the presenting players don't know when the ball is going to be delivered. They may well be running to the right spot.

Get used to the phrase "Kick the bl##dy thing". You'll hear it alot this year.

I agree, but you left out the year 2015.

Hannabal, it's only taken a week, but we are now on the same page.

Yeah, and the fruits of our development will be watched by the Gold Coast or West Sydney residents!

Yeah, there's a lot of development left in the likes of Neitz, Yze, McDonald, White, Holland and Robertson. Others such as Whelan, Wheatley, Green, Bruce, Carroll, Miller and Bell have gone beyond the development stage. If the club isn't being upfront with it's supporters, there'll be a massive drop-off in memberships.

The problem is, Bails has been saying the exact opposite. "We are not rebuilding". 'Rebuilding gives players an excuse for losing".

Jeez, they've come into $3.80 on Sportsbet. At $5, I was about to have a nibble myself.

Agree. I've been saying this all along. Playing all the kids in the NAB Cup was a cop out. If anything, Geelong should have rested all their senior players. Our senior list needs to grasp the new game plan more than the kids. We continually lose, then we wonder why our membership is poor.

And where's the problem? At least he or she has named the source of his info.

I think Maurie's right. Pic no. 1 is actually Gladstone Small!

I recall that game also, but I'm pretty sure that Flower toweled up Maurice Rioli, whilst on the other wing Peake killed Greig. After the game, Peake was being rated as the best footballer in the country! Barassi also played Flower at fullback on Malcolm Blight. I think Blight had kicked 7 before Barassi moved Flower. Some people seem to forget that Greig and Bourke played close to 10 years each in the backline. How they made team of the century wingmen was beyond me. The wingman that Flower had the best duels with was Micky Turner. I rate Peter Matera alongside Flower as the best wingman I've seen.

I agree, which means that compiling a list of the top 50 players in 150 years of football is an act of futility. What are his and your opinions based on? And unless of course you are both 160 years old, where are your observations and experiences? And I wasn't the one initially slagging off VFA players. If you knew anything about the history of football, you'd realise that some of the best players chose to play in the VFA, ahead of the VFL, because there was more money in the VFA. Frank Johnson is a prime example. Won 2 All-Australian whilst playing in the VFA. Won a B&F for South Melbourne in his 1st season of VFL, knocking off Bob Skilton. I'm not myopic on football unlike your good self.

Funny you should mention him, because I actually blamed him for us not making the finals in 1976. I recall being a young tacker, and listening on the radio to the round 11 game against Colllingwood at the G. In the dying minutes and we were a few points behind, Colin Graham had the ball and there were 4 Melbourne players on their own. He kicked it straight to a Collingwood player (Ian Cooper I think), and that was it, we lost the game. As it turned out, we missed the finals, so I blamed Colin Graham. I know he was an indigenous player, and I'm pretty sure he was a left footer.

If the likes of Steven Trigg (Adelaide) and Trevor Nisbett (WCE) are on the short list, I'd be happy with any of them.

I'm not being precious, just stating a fact. If it covers Australian football, why not include the records of the VFA and interstate competitions? Opinions are generally based on facts. The opinions of yourself and Mike Sheahan regarding 150 years of Australian Football are baseless. And by the way, there have been star VFL players who played a majority of their football in the VFA. For enlightenment, read up on the records of Ron Todd and Frank Johnson. Maybe next time you'll make an informed opinion.

Typically, they haven't quoted Neitz in full. They left out his last sentence: Melbourne skipper David Neitz said yesterday that the curfew meant that the players must leave any nightclub or bar by 1am. "Basically, you need to be on your way home, looking for a taxi line but you're not to be in a nightclub or a bar at one o'clock," Neitz said. "You need to be out the front looking for a taxi and getting yourself home." "But if some b#stard tries to get in the taxi before you, you won't be punished if you snot them."

AFL/VFL football is NOT 150 years old. The games played by interstaters such as Cable, are not included in the stats, hence it's an assessment of VFL/AFL footballers. And was Cable a better footballer over his 115 VFL games than the likes of Dempsey and Flower were over their 250+ games careers? Doubt it! If he was commissioned to make an assessment of the best 50 players in 150 years of Australian Rules Football, then legends of the VFA should have been considered. And Rhino, on what basis do you assess that Sheahan has done a reasonable job? If I can hazard a guess, you would have watched football for maybe 25 - 30 % of the 150 years that Sheahan has allegedly covered. The fact that it's commissioned by the AFL makes it ridiculous, not the fact that it's a Mike Sheahan opinion piece.

I'd be extremely surprised if Rivers, Whelan or Bartram play for us in round 1. They've each missed close to 12 months of football. They'd require 3-4 serious hit-outs before playing senior football.

Add Mitch Clark to the list.

Sydney, Collingwood and West Coast only need to fine-tune their gameplan. We need a massive overhaul. I too enjoy watching the kids go round in the NAB cup, and I'm excited about the likes of Morton, McNamara, Maric and Grimes. But the core group of players from last season have done nothing to suggest that we'll immediately turn things around. With the proposed 2 new teams, the club can't afford 2 years of short term pain.

What? By playing a bunch of kids, he's really tested the opposition coaches! The point of the preseason is to get your own gameplan down pat. There has been little in the preseason to suggest that we will immediately turn things around.

Nah, I reckon it will be Peter McNamara who spills the beans. :D