Rhino Richards

I made the same error earlier on Newton. He is officially a rookie and cant be upgraded unless there was an LTI. Further as he was allegedly rookied to provide a pinch hit 2nd ruck option now being well coveted by Martin, I dont think there is a role for him. I am also cognisant of Newton being the perfect tweener .....capable at VFL but lacking at AFL. I think Martin has snuffed his opportunities. He would need further bags of goals between now and mid year to get a sniff.

I thought the same thing watching Curnow. Does everything they wanted Brock but the difference is he can actually do it. Overblown ratings of McLean since 2007. Only injury or poor of others will give McLean the chance to challenge. No, no and No thanks.

Rivers was in his element in the last quarter and he took some match saving marks. Opposition forward line lacking key targets where delivery was poor inside 50 by the opposition midfielders. Yesterday was his day to make hay for Jared. The issue is and has been demonstrated in the previous two games that he struggles against quality forward where his lack of foot speed, questionable body on body and medicore disposal skills get found out.

Thought the same. A bit of media fluff. However on form to date....we should be an easier opponent than Carlton or Bulldogs.

Good summary And Gawn is 2-3 years away from AFL atm. Spencer is showing positive improvement.

I agree. If the facts are brought down and what has been alleged has occurred then I cant see how a senior player, VC and one who is high profile can be given a "there there". At the moment we have a MMM talkback caller. Lets see what's traspired. Urinating in a public place/venue is a disgusting and disgraceful act. If proven he should be held accountable for it.

Yes and its the Presidents role when a club gets beaten that badly. And its happened often before. Stynes is far better media performer than Bailey who plays a dead bat at those trivial post match conferences. Did you ever think its takes intelligence to lead a group of players to perform at the highest level. And the coach can only encourage and guide players to be disciplined. Its the players choice and Malthouses ability to engage, persuade and direct are outstanding The coach cant force it on the players. But I guess thats not in your book. B)

Mick Malthouse is one of the sharpest coaches around....ad he is not bright??? As for Bailey, he was clearly critical on the replay I saw in the last quarter. Jones dropped mark (where Nailey and Jones were clearly animated in discussion. There were a few other efforts which were 2nd rate from players who should be delivering more. I am sure Jimmy and the Board read D'land and have determined the critical ingredient "Tell coach to get animated." Shrewd move.

No but their players certainly do.....

Petterd and MacDonald were not prominent at Casey. Given Morton had little game time I dont think they will drop for either of those. Good point on Newton..Doh! Watts will probably stay.

Newton might be a chance for the Gold Coast if the FD think Watts needs to get some good mentoring from the Fev. Morton has just come back from a long injury lay off and gets 15 minutes and MFC are going to drop him for MacDonald. I dont think so.

Actually we were more dominant. We gave them gave them a 5 goal start and then beat them by 2 goals in low scoring, scratchy standard game. What did your son get expelled for?? Oh well we can put down the torch and take off the batman mask for another week... If anything the first 3 rounds at this stage show is that we are a 3rd quartile side this year for the reasons given ad nauseam on this site.

He has missed a number of weeks in so far with injury. First week back in a scrubby game. Finding his feet. I would have thought a game against the Gold Coast would have been a perfect 2nd match up for him

Brad Green and Mark Jamar say Hi. I seem to recall your seminal thread about Bailey losing the players. There was certainly heaps of evidence last year as to Bailey was trying to do. Its a younger list this year. We have had 3 of our keys out in the midfield mix in Scully, Jordie and Morton. We have draw with a definite final contender at the MCG and got belted by a top 4 side with a 1000 games more experience and 4 times the number of hard bodies in the centre. The acid test is on for all players and FD. Some of the claims on here are amazing to the say the least.

Well done Juice. Cant see whats his name Bernard Fennola getting a look in here. Probably a good back up for Newton never the less. Surely the medical staff would be able to treat the Grimes disease. Given MFC have only lukewarm support for Casey and will pull their players at or before the finals, I doubt whether Casey on its own will trouble many at the business end of the season.

Very concise and thoughtful note and I can confirm you were indeed big on recruiting Jones in 2005. I think you have nailed this well. His chronic soft tissue injuries didnt get better. We never saw the best of G Lovett.

Has Scully actually committed to that statement. I thought that was another media inspired rumour. Do you have a source for the information?

The issue is that GWS can approach and contract Tom Scully without involving MFC. This is what they might have done already. If it is a case of battling $ vs $ then there is no realistic way we could compete. I actually thought Stynes comments about the GWS draft rules forcing players to lie had crpytic undertones.

I would have thought the experience of MFC with its younger players would have taught most people that young talented players are inconsistent in their output. Gold Coast has a huge pool of young talent backed up by some experienced players. They gave a poor showing in their first game against a mature and physical side with top 4 aspirations in Carlton. They also got little out of the senior players ex Riscitelli. Hunt was ordinary as the rest of the team. To merely write them off and deride them by thinking they will week in week out be chopped liver is ludicrous. While their real consistency is 3 to 4 years away they will have their days in the sun in the time before then. You just dont want to strike them on their day. Any game against GC will always be a danger game due to the leapfrogged expectations of supporters and the ficklessness of their young players. I cant see why anyone would be scoffing at the moment. Like Brisbane, I will be looking for on field commitment effort and discipline before I count numbers on the scoreboard.

I think Melbourne supporters need to be realistic on the match this Sunday. While we are all keen on revenge on Brisbane for the pitiful display against Hawthorn, there is a real risk that this game could be closer than what some expect or want. Both Voss and Bailey have their coaching careers on the line. Neither can afford or want a big loss. Voss knows that if they are going to pick up a win this season then MFC are a fair target. He would be pushing his troops hard that MFC are very beatable atm and that his group will throw the kitchen sink at MFC and also seek to close down the game. If people remember the last time we played them the movement of the ball by MFC particularly through the corridor was scintillating. Voss will seek to close the game down and seek to have MFC accountable in the midfield through Black,Rich, Power and Rockliff. I think there are some expectations on the scoreboard that need tempering with what happens on the ground.

Agree with HT and Rogue on the midfield issue. And is there any chance that Davey learns to shake a tag? If we are brainwashed to believe that Davey cant handle a tag then he really is going to be limited every week in AFL. He gets a tag week in week out. Some weeks he plays well some weeks he doesnt which may be due to a number of issues. If we have to move Davey away from the preferred position set by Bailey just to shake a tag, its a huge win for the opposition coach.

Absolutely agree and the changes we made had to be made. I am not convinced by Maric or Jetta at AFL level.

Regardless what happens on the scoreboard re winning margin (I hope) I want to see all 22 players make a contest each and every time for four whole quarters. I would like to see committed players running in numbers following team rules. Second and third efforts to back up an aggressive first effort. A performance like our last meeting at the MCG early last year. They would want to back that up against GC. It will do the very least that is expected by the football media and many supporters here. We want start to win respect until we beat a Geelong, C'wood or Carlton. On last Saturday's effort its a big big gap. Lets start the first steps of redemption on Sunday. We must win but also the way we win will be important. Oh and no injuries to MFC players please.

Gold Coast have a lot of talent and its young. It will take them time. And the jobs of Ablett and co is to bring them through the nurturing period. It will take them 3 to 4 years to put together consistent competitive performances. Any earlier will be a bonus for them. Despite the drubbing which was not unexpected given it was man vs boys event, I really like a number of their youngsters. It goes with saying Swallow and Bennell will be good...very good in a few years. There are a couple of others. MFC are probably 2 years ahead of GC on the development curve with similar challenges with a young side. After the weekend results it might not be much solace choosing GWS or MEL on performances. It might also be irrelevant if he has already signed with GWS. Was Stynes dropping a clue the other day in his criticism of the GWS draft laws?

In situations like that the Chairman/President should be prepared to send a message at all stakeholders. In addition, Stynes is also a very capable media performer (as opposed to a Kennett or Colless) Ok should we get the whole coaching panel and 22 players at the post match conference and say "We're very sorry and it wont happen again?" When you lose like that it is not one individual that has failed in either the FD or the playing group, its both. And you are kidding that Stynes as the Club President of the Board has very little to do with a department he oversights and is responsible for their appointment. Given the coach is in his last year of his contract I would have thought he would have a very deep interest in what the FD was doing. Might have been your choice of words....