Rhino Richards

Spot on Graz. How does one performance by TJ elevate him from criticism for a crap year? He has justified the Hun's assessment. There are a few more MFC players knocking on the door.

Good pick up. What a surprise. Performances like last night do not exonerate players nor undermine the criticism of many "star' players this year. They merely put in bold the serious questions about many players contribution throughout the year. I'm with you timD all the way. I'd carry his bags out. I cant believe the chortling white knights of mediocrity champion one game out of a whole season then bleat like cut sheep why we are so inconsistent and go missing so often. Bulldogs had about as much heart for hard work as Paris Hilton for jail. They were inept. We beat little last night. What a joke.

Was the three "t's" in bottom for emphasis?

There is a in correct perception that the last few games are just "play the youth". This is also to test out which of the NQR players should go and who should stay. Nevertheless some of the selections but not all have been mystifying

Fair call QC. However it is not the coach that is going to make him more accountable. Its Yze. I cant see it happening at 30/31 yo. He has spent so many years cheating the one % and team rules by relying on his special talents. Unfortunately, they have been dissolving over the past 3 to 4 years. He struggled at AFL level this year. He will next year.

Jack, I have amended my comment prior to your question as my amendment more aptly captures my thoughts on this. I dont rate Top 10 Bluey finishes for a player with Yze's skills who short cuts on the delivery of that. His laziness and selfishness have wasted his god given talents and its too late to change that. I have been waiting for Yze to make me eat my words since early 2004......You know what he has only confirmed my initial doubts. Its gets worse each year In 2008, beyond fully fit and rested under new coach I would hope the new Coach will educate Yze that he focusses on TEAM and not ME.

Will it be a hard ball get, a contested body on body possession or another easy receive or soft ball get? Its an indictment on this Club's supporters that we eulogise players as champions who are selfish non team orientated downhill skiers.

Good post. A couple of points our ability in the clearances this year has been negatively impacted by the injury and lack of fitness of a number of key players and the disappearance of AFL capability of one of two others. You quite rightly observe that our midfield has been poor this year despite on a couple of occassions White absolutely towelling the opposition rucks. Lets look at our midfield stocks: McLean - Injured this year with little pre season but still has been a major disappointment this year. Could believing the hype and not delivering. Regardless has been a massive disappointment this year. Jones - A lone soldier who at 19 is great in the clinchs and should get better as he matures. Could deal with more assistance. Moloney- Nearly two years out of the system and was a little one dimensional with little defensive capability. Will have to work hard to survive in AFL. Sylvia - Only starting to emerge from OP and has had little time in the midfield. Bruce - Wins alot of the ball but used all over the ground but disposal ineffectual. McDonald - Works hard but is in the twilight of his career. Influence cannot be expected to be significant this year. Johnstone- Skilful but lazy and I thought lacking interest in the contest this year. Cannot handle being tagged Green - Workmanlike with good footskills but lacking influence in a game Bartram - injured and sadly missed. Godfrey has filled his role in absentia. Tries hard but horrendous disposal and lack of vision highlights Godfrey as not AFL standard. Pickett - Pathetic. Enough said In 2008, it will be McLean and Sylvia's fifth year in AFL as top draft picks in 2003 it is time to deliver. Together with Bell in his sixth year, they really need pay back on the investment. MFC needs to really focus on quality hard running, line breaking midfielders with good disposal in the draft.

I'm embarrassed that Yze is called an MFC great. How low can the threshhold be?

No 2, FWIW, I dont think Everitt and Sandilands have had good years. In fact they have been moderate. Sandilands has no mobility around the ground and for all his height advantage, Freo have been crud in the clearances. Why? In addition, when WCE went through their lean patch, Cox was racking stacks of possessions so where was his dominance? Both answers are that despite a dominating ruckman, the lack of an effective midfield cruels the work of a good ruckman. Ruck dominance without the winning midfield is overrated.

I dont see the need to validate Jared's words as whatever he says does not make Bizzell a better footballer than Rivers is. I agree with your assessment that Bizzell is likely to be given an extension albeit providing value at Sandy.

Davey does have loads of pace but just does not get his hands on the ball whether in the midfield or a crumbing forward. Because he is our only small crumbing forward is not a reason not to consider a trade. His performance has been very poor this year and the end of last year

Good point. He is a hard mark up and a good 3rd up forward for some club. For the reasons you give thats why I want to explore ways of getting off our list. We should not be a pension plan for spent self indulgent players.

Thanks but i didn't. That is more damning of Bizzell than I could ever write. I am glad you read my posts.

You trade to improve your list...period. Its not a criteria set by age although age may be a factor to consider. "you dont trade your best players" You do when you believe they will extract a player who better assists our list and at the same time may offer something to someone else. And why do we want to keep and pension alot of "best" players who are AFL rated B- and C graders? Our senior best are pedestrian in output. We wont trade all of them and that is not the intention. However there are some we should definitely look to trade....TJ and Robbo are my two who I believe will offer someone else something in the window of a premiership but they offer little to us with creaking bodies, diminishing skills and a drag on culture. Davey, I had question marks about him at the end of last year. They are now serious doubts about him. He is a physically slight, temperamentally challenged crumber who doesn't do much crumbing. He is restricted to one position and cannot play up the ground, He has a limited ticker and can only run in bursts. His defensive skills are limited due to his slight frame. His inability to win the contested ball when under close pressure make him invisible on the ground. Oppositions know to rotate a hard tag on him and he cant cope with it. His nickname Flash suits him. We have him a long contract that has overvalued his contribution to the team and I think he would do well at a WCE or similar who lack a crumbing forward. I would be looking at trading opportunities for him.

And that makes it four ordinary ruckman with White. Hence my question. Where does White fit it on any tilt at a flag or a back to back? His finals record is not stellar either. 84.....Blake cant kick is that important?

Uninformed, untrue and unfair. If you want to throw buckets have a look at that laissez fair 200 gamer in Pickett! And you want to give him another game.

Its either Brock or Neitz. And Neitz wont be captain in 2008.

Well done on your efforts though I beg to differ with your strategy. Your lists needs to consider your delists as well as trading is much overrated and misunderstood process. FWIW, your deal with Freo is a stinker for them. They give up Warnock (worth a 1st round pick), Farmer (a matchwinner with problems) and their second round pick for Bruce (a 28yo utility who has never delivered on his talent and whose disposal is flaky) CJ (a NQR player who cant cut it in a bottom team and is worthless) and a third round pick. This would outrank the Jonathan hay deal as totally poor value for Freo. Davey is already a problem for MFC with his on field immaturity and underperformance. Why oh why do we want to take on another player whose got core problems and is exactly the profile of person at 30 we dont want. Farmer offers us nothing as a marketing plus. He was heavily and wrongly booed by all in the local derby. We dont want him. Johnson is worth a 2nd round pick to side looking to challenge and lack the finishing polish. Its not Essendon. Is there any reason why Bris Lions would want Miller other than he came from there? Why would Geelong recuit White when they have Ottens, Blake and King? Why is Brad Green any more core than Bruce? Green wont command a price. IMO TJ and Robbo are the two players who might offer something? The dominance of the interstate ruckman. Where???? Last I saw Geelong were clearly on top and it has something to do with the midfield. Ruckman are important but their criticality is overrated.

You are. Appointing Mark Riley as coach would be the easiest most safe and conservative thing to the Club could do at the moment. I dont think appointing a Coach who has just finished 27 years at another Club as an easy nor necessarily the right appointment at all. Anyway why are those stereotyped pre conditions important?

Spot on Jaded. I dont see how a good player crediting his some of his development on another player makes that credited player better than the good player. Rivers by a mile. Rivers may have learnt some things off Bizzell and that's fine. He clearly has not picked up Bizzell's lack of accountability , lack of pace and brain fades under pressure. Bizzell is a fringe defender made to look better by a side that has been deplorable this year. The teams deplorable performance this year makes the absence of a player of Rivers' class even more diabolical.

Persistent injury often saps confidence going for the ball. For a player we have loved and admired, Neitz has always had hard hands and nearly 300 games of AFL have not softened them. It will be up to Neitz if he plays on next year. I hope he will if he is fit. But if he get to 300 this year, its will be a line ball decision

For many Voss was too. I am not sure members/supporters who are not involved with the selection process could accurately suggest that circumstances have changed to abandon the process. Sheedy clearly knows MFC is interested but there are many matters we dont know that are an important part of the recruitment process.

I read this sort of call to action and shortcut the process over the past few weeks to get Voss. Heaven help us if we got a rush of blood and signed a bloke who was not sure if he really wanted the job and a pending legal trial over past misbehaviours

If MFC were a plane we would never be picked up on radar we fly so close to the ground