deanox

Bate was drafted at pick number 13, Newton was drafted 30 spots later at pick 43. Newton and Bate are both 21. Newton turns 22 next weekend, Bate turns 22 next month. Bate has played 48 games for 40 goals, while Newton has played only 16 games for 23 goals. Tall forwards are normally given a few years to establish themselves, and he has shown some ability. Everyone should stop carrying on because he is going to be given oppertunities over the season and if he shows what he showed on Sunday, a contract extension. If not he doesn't deserve it, but there is no explanation for why everyone seems to loath him so.

richo has kicked 799 goals and 549 behinds in his career for an accuracy of 59.2%. Not the best accuracy. But 799 career goals is a fantastic achievement, and he has continued to kick large number of goals over the course of his career. My question to anyone who doesn't rate him a star, is how do they compare him to David Neitz?

bate was BOG last week, or close to it depending on who you spoke with. he wont get dropped for a poor game. i don't think we will make many changes unless they are forced. green ouyt obviously, mcdonald in for him if fit. if not maric is the most likely in. i cant see us dropping anyone else after winning.

im not sure why we did it, but it appeared to be a response to richmonds flooding. we had the ball on the wing and every player on the ground was forward of the ball. thats when we slowed it down. i think te tactic is about trying to drag the opposition players back from the flood. if their forwards push up to defend and our backs stay back, we can pass it back and forth all day theoretically. the problem is when they pushed forward to pressure, or half forwards and mids didn't lead hard enough, or make good enough space so that the ball could be delivered forward instead of continuously backwards. i would like to see the flood beaten by simply pumping it as long down the boundary as possible, and if we cant get a clean possie punching it out. a throw in in our forward 50 is never a bad option, and it gives us time to get our defensive structure right again in case the opposition gets the turnover.

Newtons best game for the club today by a long shot. 12 disposals, 7 contested possessions, 6 marks (3 contested), 4 tackles (5th best in the team), and kicked 2.4., two 1%ers (whatever they are) and 1 goal assist. As well as two inside 50s. Won a free kick by chasing down a player. Chased hard all day, offering very good forward pressure. Anyone who disagrees with that is simply rehashing old grudges. Yes, his kicking was off. But seriously, our only other forward is Brad Miller, and his kicking isnt his strong point either, at least juice has shts at goal. What I was most dissapointed with were some of his leading efforts. I thought he failed to lead hard when heading back towards the square (ie ran hard out, when the player still hadn't kicked the ball he needed to lead just as hard back towards goal). I think he needs to double his workrate when looking for leads.

i have forgotten to do my tips twice in three weeks now... :S

We might have to agree to disagree there :D He will never be our number 1 key forward, but I would love to see him playing with a couple of talls around him. He can use his strength on a half forward flank, and I don't think he is that slow, I think it is his agility (ie very slow turning around) that causes him problems. He seems to me to be reasonably smart, and he is learning to use his body a lot better. Hopefully he keeps improving. I dont disagree here either, he played really well and was on a tough opponent. It wasn't his fault many of the times that motlop scored. Nor was it always warnocks fault RE treadre. Where were his teammates plugging holes? And why was martin on ebert? That has to be a size mismatch doesn't it?

6 Bate 5 Davey 4 Green 3 Bruce 2 Rivers 1 Jones Bate and Davey could have gone either way. Davey perhaps better all day long, and Bate started slowly, But Bate finished with 2.2, 3 goal assists, 3 inside 50's and 17 touches and was probably our most important player forward. For the record Davey had 30 touches, 3 inside 50's 1 goal assist but didn't score. Green got 17 touches and kicked 3 goals, bruce could argue BOG with 29 touches, 2.1 and 4 inside 50s, Rivers had 17 touches, 2 inside 50s, 7 rebounds from 50 and 94% effective disposal, While Jones almost got it by default because he got a lot of the pill (25 touches) and while I read that Cale had alot of it, I sort of didn't notice him throughout the day, and while Bennel did some nice things, I think they are worthy of a mention rather than a vote.

reckon you could maybe keep a record of the crowd at each match (and maybe opponent and venue in brackets also) if you are going to keep a running tally? it could be an interesting look later in the season to see how many we got to games etc...

while i dont think much of CJ, and I particularly don't like carlton, and I agree with all the pro-essendon sentiments in this thread (and was very happy that they got up), I must say that describing CJ as 'unloyal' is a tad strange. Considering we delisted him. He may be an averge player, he may be soft, e may be playing for a bunch of cheaters, but unloyal? Im not sure if we ever tested his loyalty.

thats what i thought. interesting connection for him.

the absolute highlight of that link is julia gilards team which is called 'Rangas Rebels'. Unbelievable. And interesting that Chris Judds team is called the Zebras.

we're on the same page here. and id like to see a replay to see if in the first quarter if the forwards stayed deeper (i think they did). in the second half they all played up the ground, all the time. even after a goal everyone would line up 30 meters out. i wonder if its a damage control mechanism? they try and push players up around the ball to block it up and slow down the opposition? it doesn't work, and i think the best way for us to stem the flow is to kick some goals, and when the forwards aren't deep we turn the ball over in the midfield.

correct, especailly re escorting the loose ball, however there is nothing that says you can't punch a ball through for a rushed behind. there is also nothing stopping anyone from rushing behinds when they are under physical pressure from an opponent. but i dont want to be in a position where the umpires are forced to make a decision

our forwards were lining up at half forward. we didnt play with full forwards after the first quarter. why? im not sure. was it the players ? was it a coaches decision? at times in the last, i even saw us with the ball on center wing and we had 1 player inside the 50, and he was on the 50m line. the mids played alright today, imo, but often once they crossed the center of the field, there was no one ahead of them. i agree with the others who have said that we need someone deep. miller or bate or pj need to start on the goal line and only lead up once the ball is coming into the forward 50.

correct. however: not all clubs will have money when they need it. not all players are happy where they are. not all players will baulk at the money that GC17 will throw at them. some players might want to go home. some players will try to use this as a strategy to push their own price up: if you think i am that good, pay me more for it or i'll go, but if 1/4 of the list asks that there is no way we can pay them all.

KC, any ocmments on where jorie mckenzie is at compared to valenti? both inide mids on the rookie list, and while valenti showed some promise last year to me he seemed depth at afl level. what is mckenzies pace like?

personally i would like to see sylvia and newton get another week at casey. i think both of them need the chance to dominate at that level so they understand that there is more to having a good game than 14 touches and a goal or 2. sylvia should be getting 30 touches at casey and kicking 3-4 goals. newton, has shown as casey in the past, but hasnt shown at melbourne yet. a few weeks at sandy could do him some good too, to learn more that he needs without the pressure and at a slower pace. imo sylvia needs to have the switch flicked, and just crusing at casey doesnt cut it. my changes would see maric come in if there is a spot, because as a youngen i dont think he has to prove as much, and his skills will help the team. bennell would be a the first out for me, not that he did anything wrong, but probably because he didnt stand out.

not a fan y_m?

thats if they choose to sign for GC17 i believe.

regardles of whether they have a great run in the finals, beat geelong and hawthorn or crash out mid season, they are a number of things the bulldogs do that we should look at. developing mids into goal kicking midfielders, and looking at the forward structure they use when they have a short forward line should be priorities for us. even if watts and jurrah come on in the future, if we can have a forward set up that operates without them, and a midfield that pushes forward to score we will be better set, both now and then.

was it blease or jordie mckenzie standing with bell?

during last season, buckley was given a licence to run, attack and play his own game, regardless of the consequences. He did this sucessfully, backing himself, breaklines etc he did get caught a few times, but he had a crack at i and was a shining light at times. DB is now telling buckley you have to learn to be accountable and thus is playing him in more defensive roles. it doesnt matter if we lose, we're not going to win the flag anyway. but if he gets 3-4 games where he has to be accountable, he might slowly get it. he might learn to read the play when it is coming towards him (which he struggled with this week), he might learn how to use his pace to keep close checks on opposition players. if he puts this together with his attacking footy he could be a weapon.

easy way to mane sure you coach the season out - make sure you play collingwood early. maybe malthouse told mcguire his plan to stay in revolved around a couple of early wins that shouldnt be too hard because they have us early...his job isnt safe either

there is a 'red and blue army' section somewhere i believe. it came out of the club forums that were held, that we need a section dedicated to mfc supporters so that we are loud and together. i am not sure exactly, can i suggest calling the club or checking the website? cheer squad areas are normally alright if you can put up with them. or if you know anyone in melbourne who is a premium member you can pay about $15 and sit on level two of the southern stands behind the goals, which is where i sit. fantastic seats and all melbourne.