Rhino Richards

Any of you strategists thought how who won the midfield yesterday and how we used the ball? Hmmm

No just sympathy...Could see it coming He has shown zip around the ground and less in the ruck. As I mentioned last year in the words of an AFL assistant coach. PJ is the sort of player who tickles your nuts with promise and just does not deliver. You work hard trying to oversell his good games when they have have best been modest. And when he does accumlate possessions they dont impact the game or hurt the opposition. Cant....doesn't....in eight years of AFL football...it says.....wait for it..wait for it... As has been explained, Jamar could ruck and take a mark but he could not get enough of it. Things started turning for Jamar 2 years ago. PJ cant ruck, cant mark and is an ineffectual 200cm rover. When it comes to PJ...I feel vindicated. Jamar has improved dramatically but has always been better then PJ. He was carp last year. At times more embarrassingly so than the team. We even had to stoop to Meesen. He had a golden opportunity to show his wares. He failed and was shown up. Yesterday was more of the same. You have complained of PJ being starved of opportunity. He was given a gift and shown up big time. I wish that was so. They also dropped him at the end of last season. The FD gave him one last chance. He will be out the door at year end. Together with Bell and Miller. Spencer has had an injury interrupted season. There is more value having Spencer learning thec 1st ruck than pitch hitting for Jamar and playing forward. We should persevere with him. He actually rucks, hits packs, makes a contest and clears a path for smaller players. PJ does not do that. I type GAWN as play on his name. I have no preferences either way but he comes credientialled as being able to ruck, mobile and he is tall. He is 18 and I will give him the chance he deserves. If after 5 years he performs like PJ I will be wondering why would persevere with him after 8 years if we are still getting the same crud. Good grief if you think his survival is based on Newts longevity. Ugh. Newton is on the rookie list. Why so we could take GAWN and Fitzpatrick. Why? Shortsge of rovers??? Newton and PJ can hold hands as they leave at year end. PJ wont show much in the last 14 rounds. His survival wont be and should not be dependent on the other 43. If we look at where MFC needs to be in 2011 and beyond. I dont know where PJ fits at all. Any good ruck prospect will be taken with lower picks or rookied like Spencer. We have Jamar, Spencer, GAWN and a rookie. It would be seriously dumb move to hold a proven rucking spud like PJ rather than invest in the junior ruck. They could even rookie a prospect and PJ will still go.

6. Mcdonald (by a country mile) 5. Grimes 4. Frawley 3. Jamar 2. Warnock 1. McKenzie

Re-read and think about that after you clear your mouth. General Custer?? Despite his best efforts, Rivers really struggled out there.

Bruce was one of our best last week. You might have missed that with the 20 posts calling for Sylvia's head. FWIW, Sylvia played a poor game yesterday to back an ordinary game the week before. Often a smarter footballer who recently has been playing cute too often. Some of his decision making was absolutely wooden yesterday

Rivers provides nothing offensively and Rivers as a stopper was beaten on the 1 on 1s. As you admit our backline is heavy with Rivers there but he stays.... Gotcha.

Me thinks the penny is starting to drop DD. But only starting. Two years ago you did state he could not ruck. Today you stated he cat put it together unless its the VFL. Hmmmm. The reality is that when Jolly was cleared MFC under Daniher did not invest in developing ruck stocks. The reality is that when White petered out and Jamar was injured, PJ failed where it counted. He is fortunate he has had an existing contract. Our list ruck stocks have been patchy and PJ has survived without reasonable competition. He wont be getting another contract. His regular periods in the VFL and the fact that Spencer, GAWN and Fitz are around should illustrate that the coaching panel do have some insight into PJ Its been no different to many of the sub par performances he has put in over the past few years without showing any of the basic pre requisites of big man play.

The Dees are looking at their list?? Really. What have they been doing the past 2 to 3 years? Miller getting only a one year contract late last year sends a signal. There are unlikely to cut 5 to 6 players either.

Agree. I have heard that about Keenan. People like the OP need to develop a thicker skin. FWIW, MFC has deserved much of the criticism in the past.

Its and honest and realistic assessment of player who has underwhemed 2 clubs with lack of performance and fitness. When he came to Melbourne from the Crows his performances at VFL level ranged from embarrassing to mediocre. The only positive is that when he was called upon to ruck when all other ruck options were injured he did not embarrass himself. He did not offer much either. He has had six years in the AFL system and his perpetual and chronic state of injuries do not hide that for someone who was pick 8 in the 2004 draft, he has been ordinary. In recognition of his lack of output and the expectation of performance, the MFC footy department moved him with Newton to the rookie list. At time when MFC need good ruckmen its speaks heaps about Meesen. He will be gone at year end and I would not bother playing him above Gawn, Spencer and Fitzpatrick. If he is not in the caqtegory of a spud then I am not sure what is. "Depth" is often a false god of comfort to supporters that gives them a misguided warmth about the state of the team list. The focus should always be on the development of your top six players to be the catalyst for better performance. At the moment, MFC have a number of potential talent which has yet to emerge as quantifiable AFL standard footballers. Regrdless of the outcome this year, there is a heap of game time that must be done for some of these players. As for smugness on "depth", that usually lasts 1 to 2 losses when the perpetual gripes that we lack something/somebody come through.

John Fidge was a highly talented footballer who could have been anything. Unfortunately his attitude did maximise those talents. At times wayward he was on the way down when he left MFC and aside from a couple of cameos at Carrara faded to nothing. His brother Ted was a battler at best. Miller is a completely different player to John Fidge. He will be out of contract at year end and will be off our list. GC will be welcome to him. I am not sure if they will be interested in him. Oh thats right Miller is from Queensland. They will definitely take him them for family repatriation reasons. Did they? I would not have thought a player coming back from 2 years of OP would be top of their shopping list.

There were other bigger issues that cost us the game against both Collingwood and Bulldogs. Its self serving to nitpick an incident as the determinant merely to serve a pre conceived notion. Might you have not notice all the other efforts and possessions that Bartram got to the betterment of the team's position. At the start of this year, I would have agreed with your position. Bartram has been better than that this year. In some cases much better. He may or may not be there in 3 to 5 years. But if he maintains this form or betters it, its going to a crack small backman that replaces. At 22, there is no reason why that cannot be Bartram.

Agree Signing for depth is hardly covering a deficiency. About as likely as they looked at Meesen for their ruck woes last year. Might they not look at Rivers? Hmmmmm.

I would have agreed with you last year. This year it has been different. His decision making and disposal under pressure have been good. Unless a better option does present itself (and Bartram has lifted the bar here) then at 22 he has every opportunity to be around. From a career perspective, the stakes are very high and he has lifted. What's to say he wont get even better? Who would have thought he would have played like he has. Likewise and I have shared it. I note above your point that the stakes are not high on his apparent errors now and you think he is playing well. But you earlier you blamed him for costing us 2 games. Self serving swipe there champ.

MMM was always focussed on the buffoon listener and they have done well recruiting the ultimate buffoon and public menace in Rex Hunt to lead it. I could not stand 3AW when he was there. However since he has gone and Brian Taylor has come in, I really like the synergy with Walls, Caro, Commetti, Richo and Taylor. I am very impressed with the some of the pre match discussion where they cover issues that arise. I still hate the ads though. But overall their commentary is good. I have normally been a long term ABC listener but I find their Sunday midday the week that was segment rather hollow with too much pandering to taped replays of radio commentary of moments in a game. Its about as exciting as Parliamentary question time. They just need to back off the highs and lows segement which I find reptitious of old news and lacking any real analysis. I still like the Saturday commentary team. I really like the Friday night commentary team. I think Parkin and Schwab work well together.

I heard the comments from Parkin. He was put on the spot to clarify comments he had made some weeks ago. He advised that Watts to date had a limited training program in his first year and that his commitments to his school also limited his TAC exposure at his junior level. He said MFC have spent alot of time building up Jack physically and educating him on the need to do the hard yards to succeed at AFL. The inference was that particularly at school football that Jack was never fully tested and his natural ability has allowed he to overcome challenges. He said he is learning at MFC that natural ability is not enough on its own to succeed. I think most of what Parkin recounted is at best 2nd ror enven 3rd or 4th hand. I think some of his references to Watts attitude were inept and inaccurate. His initial statements weeks earlier gave the impression that there some other than what he explained. Good luck to Jack Watts and I hope he as a great game and everyone gets right behind him.

Interesting. Its certainly a consideration. Outside the names you mention, there are no other 2010 expires that I would consider dropping off the list.

For consistency btw years Pick 1-16 = 1st round Pick 17-32 = 2nd round Pick 33-48 = 3rd round. <----Rivers

Agree and I dont argue on the timing just the value. I am sure you're realistic about it. Sometimes others arent.

[ Fair call on that. I am not sure Rivers will buy you more than a 3rd rounder though. Maric is lucky he has a two year contract to 2011. Jetta would want to make sure his game does not fall away. Doh!

The problem is that a player like Scully will be more fatigued with less rotations toward the end of a game. Part of Scully's skill is speed and endurance. Its going to depend upon the way a team's game plan. If their plan has a greater throwing number behind the ball and running hard forward then its a challenge. Under the interchange system now, nearly all players get one or more rotations off. This is regardless of whether you are a burst or endurance player. The key issue is that will less rotations is how does a team cope with player fatgue toward the end of the game. A good example of what less rotations mean in a football match is the game against Adelaide early this year. Adelaide were down to one interchange early in the third quarter. They had no interchange by the start of the last quarter. It was obvious that the remaining 18 players fatigued more than Melbourne. They stopped running. contesting and competing. I also think that having the Fwd line clear then having mobile players running into space may have to be adjusted slightly.

One of the aims of the interchange use these days is to ensure players can run hard towards the end of the game as at the start. I dont think a change necessarily benefits individual player types as to how a coach actually uses the 18 men on the ground at anyone time. It will also impact the ability to get numbers consistently around a contest.

The turnsyle use of the interchange in conjunction with rule changes like speed of point kick ins have increased the pace of the game dramatically. The constant speed of the play driven by the continual rotation has had a profound impact on the game plans, strategies and preferred player types. For a fleet footed team like ours the restriction of the interchange will hamper our capacity to move players behind the ball and gut run for 4 quarters. It will probably mean that slower players or players without the huge fitness tanks will not be as exposed as they are today. Coaches will review and alter the way they move the ball when they have control of it and how they contest and defend when they dont have control of it.

Why cant we draft what few remaining gaps the MFC Footy dept think we have from our draft picks this year? Essentially, the MFC players that other teams would like to have are generally the players we want to keep. I also expect there will be plenty of "trade bait" suggestions from posters who significantly overvalue their "baits", drastically underestimate the intelligence of other clubs and reveal a complete lack of knowledge of the mechanics and nuances of trading. Something along the lines of GC will offer early picks for Miller becuase he came from Queensland. And we should get a 2nd round pick for a mobile ruckman like Meesen and an experienced forward like Newton.

If Bartram plays the way he has recently I cant see why he cant be. He is only 22.