Rhino Richards

The Club does have a heap of respect for Brad indeed. Brad has known where he stands at MFC for quite some time. The Club has handled this well. And my information is that he wont be going to the GC when his contract expires at MFC and that he will play footy locally in Victoria.

If we want height then PJ at 199cm should do it. If you mean marking options I dont think Miller adds much to the markeing ability of Jurrah, Green, Watts and Sylvia while detracting the potential speed in our forward line. Bringing Miller in causes imbalance.

So who does Rivers pick up as a defender? Unless we play an extra man in defence he just cant "float" around. As other posters have said he lacks pace and you have recognised his lacks body strength to play on the gorilla. His disposal is recognised as unreliable. He does not break the lines. The things you laud in Rivers are also down by Frawley and Garland who are taking the main forwards. His role is nothing out of the ordinary yet posters gloss it with cliches. He needs to work his spot each week. You are making unsubstantiate assumptions about what Bailey thinks. And the reason Morton is not in the team atm is his lack of defensive accountability. Morton does not play the same role as Rivers. Warnock is playing very well in the VFL but its hardly "rare form".

Most defenders have that attribute.I not sure why you wanted to make an analogy particularly of Hodge. Hodge just does not fit Rivers game style. Frawley and Garland do it as proficiently if not better than Rivers while their skills in other departments are stronger than Rivers. He is the "3rd man" defender for a reason. B) His lack of pace does make it hard to work out an appropriate match up for him. Looking at the Hawks side I dont think Warnock should come in this week.

Very witty

You gave me an example of a player who plays a different game to Rivers. Hodge is definitely not loose at all. If anything he is very accountable for his opponent making him chase Hodge. You clearly dont understand the loose man role. And Frawley and Garland are better defenders than Rivers at playing that assisting role. That is why Rivers is the cliched third man up. There is nothing overly specialised about Rivers role that is not played by the other KP defenders through a match. He better have the other defenders ready to help him out on Skipper. Peterson is on the bench and if he was forward he will run Rivers ragged. I agree I cant see Warnock in unless possibly Frawley is a late withdrawal with the rumoured toe injury.

That's what I am thinking. And I said before NO CHANGE.

Nice try but Rivers plays nothing like Luke Hodge. Hodge is an attacking player who plays off the half back line. His game is such that sides try to make him accountable to take away his influence on the game. His disposal, strength and commitment and line breaking ability puts him in the top 10 players in the AFL. Rivers has commitment and questionable strength body on body. His disposal is moderate and he has no line breaking capability. Hodge is averaging 25 possessions a game and has changed the outcome of games. Rivers averages 13 possessions a game and basically pays his way each week. Rivers is regularly labelled a loose 3rd up defender by posters who dont actually understand what he is doing. He has to be accountable for someone rather than mooning loose on the back line. So who is his match up? Particularly if Warnock is in.

Only played 7 games LY. We only saw glimpses of this. This year he has rucked in every game often singlehandedly. His stats are every impressive. Vying AA?...You are not serious?

Hell, I wouldn't. I would take Bate over Miller every time. I agree with rpfc's summary. It would be good to see some evidence of this so called contract.

How valuable is a loose defender? Who does Rivers take then? Particularly if you play Warnock. And its garbage that he can play like an unaccountable unit in defence. No I dont think he is. But I am wondering who he realistically takes. And even more so if you bring Warnock in who do you play Rivers on? If you put Frawley on Franklin, Warnock on Roughie, Garland on Petersen, who is slow enough for Rivers to play on?

Why wouldnt you give the job on Roughy to Rivers?

No GC were more impressed on the weekend with Bates 2 goals than Millers 10 goals, they offered him a contract.

No Change Emerg: Miller, Morton, Warnock

*Cough* Mark Jamar anyone??? Agree with that order of merit. You could add Grimes, Jones, Beamer, Bennell and Watts ....off a low base into the mix.

48225

Agree DD. A few posters could do the same research and not reflect an ignorant view that stereotypes body types.

This is not always the case. Many of the coaches of another team have played together with players from another side or have had some involvement with the player through the AFL. Aside from the fluffy article, its hard to determine what pointers were given. Its feasible the conversation focussed on the shortcoming of younger Suns players. What is more cringeworthy is an assessment like that which is patently not true and if you had watched Casey on the weekend for example you would know that the bolded statement is just carp. I think Miller will realise that his 10 goal haul will not overly influence the Suns. Guy McKenna has been around long enough to know what cuts it at AFL and what cuts it at VFL. He will know the gulf and will know what Miller can deliver. You raise a good point about a farewell game. If it was last year or 2008 I can see it happening. If we are still in the hunt for the finals then I cant see him being granted that opportunity. This is not to say he does not deserve a farewell game. If the club were gratuitous enough to give that mercenary Pickett his 200th game then Miller deserves some proper recognition. Hopefully something is done without all the mindless and ridiculous "dud" or "hack" posts that hit these forums.

Gutsy effort from JoelMac. Took the hard hit and carried on. Came back on after he had recovered. Good effort HT. Good passage of play. I did like Dunn's goal over his shoulder. He won the ball from the contest and under pressure on the boundary line had the resolve and the cool to use it purposefully. A definite step up.

You are generally right. There are a number of things that need to go right in order for a side to win a flag. Form, injuries, tribunal, even events of the day. One of things that you do need is the good fortune that you assists you having better form and less injuries than your opposition. Often they are risk you cant reasonably or foreseeably control (eg freak contact injuries on the field). But you want as few of them as possible if any at all to snare a flag. Good fortune or luck is an ingredient in the mix of success.

Unless we play finals then I cant see Grimes playing AFL before the end of the season. While he is "test", if he does not come up this week then this will be 6 weeks out and he will surely need at least 2 weeks to get some match fitness back.

I have it on good authority that the Coach and the President do not get on and that Kennett's abrasive style has damaged some relations within the Club. He has overseen a period of turnaround and success but there would many who cant wait until his gone.

Can you name them? Honestly branding posters "haters" or "bashers" has all the intellectual sophistication of branding someone a racist. Too much common sense Nasher. (I did not see your post earlier!) There is no doubt Dunn has taken the necessary steps as a footballer to actively compete and perform at this level. This is a different player to 10 to 12 weeks ago. He should be roundly congratulated for his effort to improve. I hope he keeps it up. Deserved a 2 year contract. And if he performs at the level he currently is, MFC would have got a bargain at the contractual rate negotiated.

Ok so because you feel ID brought up a weak rationalisation you criticised his but just offered more. And the debate goes lower than a Joe Hockey explanation on interest rates.....

Absolutely agree. However while I have been a supporter of Miller's in the face of that mindless pap, I do recognise his shortcomings Absolutely agree. But what has changed with Miller. He monstered some kids who were less in experience, height and weight. It was salad days and he did what he did proficiently. Nothing flash. It was a day to cash in at that level. He did. He could have done even more. I am not sure I saw anything on Saturday which showed me a new Miller trait. Over the year, the MFC forward line has improved markedly. Jurrah is back fit. Watts has improved and is the focus of getting further game time into him. Dunn has lifted enormously. The performance bar has been raised. Miller's 10 goals might have got him a certain gig 10 to 12 weeks ago. But as you can see, barring injury, who do you realistically drop to play Miller without weakening some aspect of the side. And next year it gets tougher with marking forward options like Pettard coming back. The Club and Miller know eactly where each other is at. He is a smart guy and he knows that by being given a one year contract at the last moment prolongs his opportunity in AFL. And I glad he made the best shot of it. But if MFC do want to be a serious contender in future years, Miller will struggle. And from my contacts, Miller is realistic to be aware of that. And good on him. But you are right, while a player is on our list he does deserve respect. And at times, Miller has been subjected to some unreasonable (often personal) attacks on Ology and here. This is a good example of it. The "reason" he gives has nothing to do with wy he kicked 10 goals. An unnecessary cheap shot.