Rhino Richards

If his skills were sub par in the midfield what does he bring to the forwardline? He wont get an easy kick there.

Never let facts nor research get in the way of uninformed speculation......

Exactly. Who they put on the track is their issue? Given our young side and the hell we have been through in the past 3 years why shouldn't we take a win that is there and it should be celebrated? A small step in the bigger scheme of things to a flag in a few years time but a big short term step in young players belief in themselves and their confidence. Worth 8 points. Its going to be a long year for young bodies.

I dont think that was what your brother Flag was saying. I am not sure I would have been keen to retain a forward that was past his use by date and that in the PSD was overlooked by the other 15 clubs. Hmmm.

Good side, Nasher. I think that is about right for Rd 1

Will he take open handpasses in the goal square? If he has the chinks you say then his effectiveness will be limited at FF.

I think his issue is broader around the contested ball. Dunn could go 2 ways with this move. He either takes the oppotunity and makes it happen or.....

Garland will be undercooked fitness wise for rd 1 and will not play. MacDonald is a certainty. Petterd will be fwd 50 without a doubt and Davey will be up the ground. Wonna will also be underdone and will not play. Jones is in. You could play Davey on a HFF and play McKenzie. Not mad on Dunn.

In a straw poll conducted some months ago, the majority of participants had us winning 6 to 8 games for the season. No one likes a bad start to the season but 0 and 4 is not out of the realms of possibility. Given the state of the list, I will be looking behind the scoreboard results for what is actually happening in the games.

I reckon Steve Smith is a gun. I love it when the selectors unearth a player destined for bigger things.

Not sure Martin is impressing in the ruck....

Common sense here. Any chance that Newton actually earn a spot in the team. He is now in his 6th year and has been given more opportunities than his performances deserve. The ball is in his court to justify his spot on the list. In fact its been that way for the past 3 years. Newton just has not worked that out. Even more surprising given we are crying out for a capable forward. I struggle to see what has held him back beyond....Michael Newton.

Lets toss the baby out with the bath water. Why should an injury to Jurrah compromise the development plans for another young player? Nuts. Watts role and development path was never dependent upon the fitness of Jurrah. Its not a matter of hiding Watts at all.

Agree wholeheartedly

I was thinking the same. If Clarke has ambitions of captaining Australia then he needs to straightened out any bingles off the field. She might look good off the arm but she really comes across as a celebrity dipstick. 1. Has an affair with Fevola - Ugh 2. Loses a prestige car stolen which mysteriously turns up in a nearby sidestreet and no police charges are laid. - Perfectly natural. 3. Has a bare shower scene photo released to the public (back to point 1) sells her story to a cheap woman's rag for $200k and then pleads being emotionally wrung out that her fiancee has to come back to Australia.-Puhleease!! Michael Clarke should have the guts and dump the baggage and get real about his future.

A tad precious I think Telling players not to use social forums like Facebook, Dland etc is like telling a duck not to swim in water. Honestly, all players have a choice and they are warned about the impact of choices. Its their choice how they behave and they should be accountable fot it. I think supporter forums provide a wonderful exchange of information which if properly controlled is fine. And I disagree about what is the core of the Club. Players are employees and they can come and go as their contract/careers end. Without paying members/supporters/sponsors what do you have??? They are both important.

If fit, he is a certainty. Who is keeping out thats better?

You will never stop supporters getting on the bandwagon too early and getting beyond themselves. There are already those talking up our Rd 1 chances on the back of a 2pt loss to a weakened Crows outfit. We may not win but if we do all of MFC should celebrate it. The confidence it should give the playing group will be invaluable and hopefully infectious. Over the course of the year we need all of our AFL level senior list to be fit and available. Otherwise we are throwing kids to the wolves and the outcomes may not be that nice.

Given where MFC have been over the past three years and given that this side is young and developmental, how could any win they get this season be hollow? Particularly early on. In Freo we saw how fickle confidence and belief can dissolve in the space of a quarter. As a young side they need all of the belief and confidence they can get. And for long suffering supporters, they deserve it. If there is a win there to be taken then MFC should take it and celebrate for it is. An important step in the side's recovery. I agree with you that some posters have got ahead of themselves underestimating Hawthorn. 2008 Premiers who will want to atone for 2009. Whatever the injuries they have they will still be a hard unit and if we do get a win first up I reckon its worth 8 points for what it brings to the Club, players and supporters. Jamar has been the only competent ruck we have had in the past three years. Its a pity he has had a number of injuries. Until Gawn, Spencer and Fitzpatrick mature, Jamar being fit and competitive at the centre bounces is absolutely critical for us. I wonder how many games we can get out of him this year.

Rookies should only be elevated to the senior list if they are likely to play AFL and not before then unless its Newton where its financial neutral. I wouldnt elevate Newton until he shows he is ready to compete at AFL level.

Clearly it isn't given the state of the list. If it was, we would have sack Bailey last season. Think about it. Its more than spin.

At least I am not the only one who notices this. Its got nothing to do with the statements you made in Post 35. Whether you mentioned "culture" at all is neither here nor there. WYL, I think the issue is that you're appear to be the last one to work out when your comments were wrong notwithstanding another poster has clearly demonstrated the fallacy of your statements. All I have done is challenge your point of view and your assertions. I have provide some evidence to support my position and question yours. As usual, you shuffle, digress and introduce irrelevancies in the vain search for that veneer of credibility that eludes you.You dont like it. Fair enough. But this is right in line with "different views perspectives". I leave it to you to have the final say WYL. I was happy to leave it at that before but deserve the right of reply and clarification in light of your misguided swipe at me.

And another 15 clubs are rueing the fact that they did not draft him.....Hmmmmmm!

That wasnt your original position at all. Shuffle shufle wriggle wriggle. Post #35 was about senior players not performing and not showing form that they will go. You erroneously used Brock and TJ to demonstrate your point. It didn't. The issue of culture never came into your earlier comment. And culture was not an issue in the Brock situation at all. Why repeat an irrelevant point. He got 40 possessions and BOG so his clearance was not based on form. Now you have latched onto culture only after I raised it. It was a silly non sensical comment that has no logic to it. Two players would not have made the Club stagnate and its does not render them not good enough to get a game in our current side when they clearly are required players in teams who are seriously contending for a flag. I have already stated my point quite clearly earlier. Not only do you have trouble following someone's else argument but you have greater trouble constructing and defending your own shifting points of view. I'll leave it at that. The B'land analysis deserves better discussion.

That was not your point. Your issue was form. The issue of keeping senior spots is due the talent level in the list not pushing through. For the past 3 years our "depth" has been as ordinary as some of our seniors. They started wisely with Woey but did not carry it through again until with TJ. Trapper got 3 Blow votes that night so he was not removed because of form. He is still a wanted player in Brisbane's finals push. Sure Brock & TJ could have got a game, but the club would have remained stagnant, so in that respect they were not good enough to get a game.