deanox

i'll put it to you then jaded, does danniher try and turn every good player into a midfielder? bruce, green, davey, all played their first footy in the forward line. while i think bruce is capable of playing all around the round, the other two definetly seem more suited to close to goal for mine. what you think?

based on last weeks form it should be miller. but it wont be. i think we put too much on miller after a few good games a couple of years ago. people were saying 'future captain' etc comparing him to garry lyon, but he needed to find his own spot first. i think he will have a s0olid year. if he plays 20 more games like last week he will go close to being our most important player. i think in a few years, if his on field performances continue, he will be a great leader at the club, and perhaps a vice captain. but none of this means squat if he doesnt play good footy. so brad, dont worry about the other stuff, worry about the pill! and for this week, it will be bruce, but id rather it be rivers. why not carrol, bring some mongrel to the team?

interesting you should say that because in the age today there were stats on interchanges made per quarter and we were much lower than hawthorn...maybe thats because we had less players on the bench than them with injuries... i think you should have your best players on most of the time, and they should come off when they need too...but its not going to happen like that...

i understand what you are saying. he didnt drop his head and stand still. he is out of form but honestly tried to get the pill. it is hard when getting the tag. unforunatly, when we use bruce to cover holes in defence he doesnt need to be tagged, and when mclean is out he isnt tagged, so its tigger who gets held up.

6. Brad Miller - his best game in the ed and blue for quite some time. 17 possies, 8 marks and 3 goals (even one from about 48 out). a couple of fumbles but he was trying. he didnt look to handball first opportunity. 5. Simon Godfrey - the standout midfielder, even though his kicking is not up to the standard. he tried all day, racked up 19 disposals and kicked 2 goals 1 behind. for someone who cant kick a set shot to save his life he found himself in the right position in the forward line an aweful lot. i cant help but think that if he could kick he would be one of our best every week. 4. Nathan Brown - got the pill more than most and tried to take on the lines. tried to be creative and push as forward, rather than go sideways. like godfrey, his disposal isnt top notch but on a day like today that is forgiven when you realise that he got more of the pill and tried harder than his 'elite' teammates'. 3. Cameron Bruce - didnt have the greatest game and his kicking stinks. but then so do the above players and he did get 29 touches and 10 marks. was he best on ground? no. was he thrown around like a spare parts player? yes. found himself in the midfield, in defence and in the forward line at the coaches whim trying to plug holes. he should be one of our chief play makers, and he cant do that in either of the 50's. 2. nathan jones - for a kid he worked hard. 17 disposals shows he went all day. disposal wasnt great when under pressure but in only his 10 match was one of the few players trying to win the hard ball. his 9 tackles (team high) demonstrated his endeavor to win the footy, even if it didnt fall to him first. needs a senior player to stand tall along side him, he is not yet ready to be our number 1 ball winner. 1. Brent Maloney - brent just went today. but he picked up 16 disposals and kicked 2 goals. he didnt stuff too much up and thats what got him the nod ahead of matthew bate (18 possies and 1 goal). brent has a lot of upside. he runs hard, kicks long and doesnt shirk the contest when trying to win the hard ball. coulda-beens: james mcdonald. i didnt notice him. yes he was out there but i really didnt see him pick up his 30 possessions. anyone like to comment on whether he deserved a spot? matthew bate. the kid made too many mistakes to get votes but did some nice things, kicked a good goal and had 18 touches. on a day we played badly he only misses out because he dropped that mark in the goal square. daniel ward. runs hard, tried to break the lines, tried to create. didnt do enough with it. jarred rivers and nathan carrol. its hard to give votes to bckmen when the opposition kicks more than us. they worked and probably broke even. not a spectacular game from either, but both servicable. had we won might have been a different story.

i dont think godfrey was anywhere near our worst today. and it doesnt seem fair to drop him. he got a fair bit of the pill and kicked a couple of goals. i also dont think pickett is ready to come in yet,...another week at sandy before he gets up. i think jamar can play out of the sqaure, but i dont think we can go with jamar and pj as our 2 forward targets...

with neitz and robbo with sore knees, one would assume that neither will play next week. i dont think there is heaps to come in from sandy but i think room needs to be made for sylvia and yze which is going to mean dropping a back (either chris johnson or wheatly) and dropping a midfielder. does holland get a run as a match up for oteens? we will need another tall back if ottens ablett n and hawkins all play. in: holland, PJ, yze or sylvia out: neitz and robbo (inj), wheatly, i think if we lose neitz and robo there is a chance we will bring in another tall, either dunn (if fit) or newton (if judged ready)but im not sure who else to drop. yes players had bad days, but the players who didnt get touches were small backs...bell etc. i dont think bate godfrey green bruce or chunky could be dropped. im not sure if newton or dunn would make an impact so might be avoided. perhaps bate could be played as the other tall forward, but it leaves us without many 'true' forwards.

cheers mate

does someone know a website where we can get match day stats like kicks h/b etc this soon after a game? i use allthestats.com for team related stuff but cant seem to find the match day stats on that site. cheers

i thought godfrey played reasonably well today, had quite a few touches, more than most, put in a good effort all day, kicked a couple of goals. he looked alright when up forward, but his set shot kicking clearly isnt up to it. i dont think anyone can have a go at godfrey today. if we had've won godfreys contribution would have been invaluable and his lack of finesse forgiven. miller played one of his best games at the club for some time. ~20 touches and 3 goals (i think 3 goals is the most he has kicked ina game, can anyone correct me, i know he's done 3 before) is not a bad effort. if he had that impact every week of the year i'd be happy. he made a few handling errors but given how everyone played arouynd him, he can be forgiven. was one of our best.

http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/News...px?newsId=40829 "McLean told radio station SEN he expected to be out of action for four to six games, a more optimistic outlook than he had last week." if its only 4 weeks that means he'll be back in 3. not saying too much atm but fingers crossed, we need him in the centre,

i dont disagree entirely with you occo, and you make some good points, however: he showed good pace at times and is still very quick, even if he isnt as quick as he used to be. and i thought he was one of the few who chased most of the day. didnt they both kick goals? jamar does more up forward, where he can mark and kick for goal, than he does around the ground.

guys i think what neale said about the side show was justified. by getting rid of the record it gives yze a chance to focus on footy, and on the media being able to focus on how he played, rather than the record. its now no longer innuendo that he was only getting picked for the record. yze is a match winner. one of the few players on the mfc list who has the ability to change the game off his own boot in 15 minutes. he can play as a crumber, or as a strong marker. he can get lots of possesions or kick lots of goals. he is versitile. he will play 20 games for the red and blue this year no doubt, but now the pressure is off we might see him enjoy the footy a bit more. we might see him have a few better games, but importantly the way he plays might be percieved to be a little less selfish. after all, he is no longer playing for his record, he is playing for the team.

fwiw i just got my reminder email about tipping so its definetly me duh!

'He came back on Saturday with the intention of playing for Sandringham but unfortunately, the long flight left him with some tightness in his back and hamstring soreness. We're definitely planning to play him on Easter Monday (against Hawthorn)." direct quote from fagan in the age states they are planning on paying him. "It is given the scans he's had show there's no tear there . . . but he's got soreness...Hopefully, he'll get through training this week and resume this weekend." another quote from fagan suggesting he should be right to play "Given Pickett's recent inactivity, he would need one, maybe two, matches at Sandringham before being considered for senior selection." a quote from mark stevens article where he has taked the above information and decided that he wont play because of his history. now im not saying he will play but i am saying that fagan says there is no tear, just tightness from two long plane flights, and they are planning on playing him. not that there is a slight tear and they hope he gets better. very different story. full articles below http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/com...5E19769,00.html http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/fami...5366160437.html

i would love to see newton make it. this kid truely excites me, because he is capable of the freakish, and he does have the skills to do it all day long.

i love reading your comments yze_magic, and that was one of the best lol

i definetly put no credence in the hun. that was a terrible piece of making stuff up...especially when it was conflicted by fagans comments. i get the feeling that byron needs games to get fit...its not nessecarily running speed etc he needs, its getting used to the match pace. if this is the prob, he needs to get match fit in the afl not the vfl as the game is different anyway...

really thats not too bad. although 4 of the top 5 are in our best 22 and james frawley looked the good preseason. i expect that pickett and rivers will come back this week. honestly i cant see why newton cant get a go while dunn is out which means dunn probably wouldnt slot back into our 22 any way... brock is the main one, as long as we keep everyone else on the park til he gets back we can cope...for now.

in all honesty, i cant remember signing up and tipping, not to say that i didnt do it...just wondering if it is me or if someone else is using my monika haha

did he purposely grab his leg to stop him running? how could this be negligent, shouldnt it be deliberate? negligent could only mean that it was not on purpose and he shouldnt have taken more care. ie he had fallen over, was trying to get up and lappin ran over his legs. of course it was deliberate...at least it was reckless (ie he was trying to tackle and missed)...

i disagree melbfc...yze has had too many chances in the past 3 years. he was on his last legs preseason and finally put in at sandy to get his game. he didnt play well so he gets dropped. 2 weeks ago danners threatened to drop him. he played 1 good game for sandy since. why does that get him another chance. i think yze, and therefore melbourne, will better for once we get that stupid record off his back and he can concentrate on playing footy.

pity we lost our counts when the old site went, i'd be well over 1000 now...

i think some of the thereory behind it is like a car. if you drive it until the tank is empty you stuff the fuel pump and have to fix it back in the garage. if you use only some of the fuel and keep it topped up it will be able to keep going for much longer. given the appropraite recovery players can play out the full game. given that we expect them to run flat out on the field they need to come off to recover.

fwiw i once broke an ankle while umpiring a game of footy in the opening minute of the game but ran (or hobbeled) on it for over 10 mins when i couldnt stand it any more...it can be done i spose and a healthy dose of adrenelein can really help you out. was in plaster for 8-9 weeks after that...