Bang Bang Bang

He did kick a good goal from 50m against Sydney. But I agree, it does lack a bit of penetration. He'll probably dob one from 55m on his left foot next week now we've said it.

I live overseas, would love to have been there. I have acknowledged that vandenBerg isn't the most skilled player already. Hasn't stopped him being one of the recruits of the year.

Who has provided better 'bang for their buck' than vandenBerg across the league then? There probably are some, but I said he was 'one of' the best. Dennis Cometti was marveling at him all game and I'd like to think he's seen a few players come and go over the years.

One of the recruits of the year (league-wide). Just a mean looking player that bulldozes his way through the opposition. Not the most skilled player out there but doesn't need to be.

Love him! He's having more impact this season than what Petracca would have had, and we can inject Petracca as a new recruit ala Hogan in 2016. Not saying I'm happy Petracca went down injured when he did, but from a team perspective it hasn't worked out too badly. To pluck someone from the Canberra leagues and see them impact AFL games straight away in this manner is rather impressive recruiting...

Anyone that went and saw him play in the NAB Cup at Etihad, in February 2013, would have known we had a serious player on our hands. But for him to be monstering the best key defender in the game after four games is something else. Who would win? Hogan vs Tommy Mac. Let's hope we never have to find out.

I bet you're a happy camper tonight! Time will tell how good Petracca becomes but if he is anywhere near the Wines/D.Martin hybrid like he's pumped up to be, I CANNOT WAIT to see him in action.

I don't agree with it. Dustin Martin would probably have trouble spelling his own name, yet is one of the best players in the league. He is just one example. I feel like recruiters are trying a bit too hard these days. Could we make their jobs a lot easier by raising the draft age to 20?

We could have easily signed him and gone to the draft with pick 40 (and even pick 52 as well) with better list management.

I would trade pick 2 and 23 for him. That's a bit better than the Lions' offer.

He'd be a pretty good get, IMO he doesn't look an out-and-out star though, more of a very good meat-and-potatoes mid. Sort of like Trengove, but better.

This sounds about right. We rated Salem at 3 (said by JT at function some posters here attended, late last year), and wouldn't have taken Kelly at 2 so that probably reads 1. Boyd, 2. Billings, 3. Salem. So we "sort of" got Tyson for free. Great trading.

Seriously one of the worst football articles that has ever been written. I would place a wager the quotes from the article are completely made up. There's no way any recruiter worth his salt would have watched Tyson in 2011 Championships and seen anything but 'class'. Yep, the quotes and these 'unnamed' recruiters aren't real people. I'm sure of it.

Can't remember the name of the function, but soon after the draft was complete, Jason Taylor apparently told a small group of diehards at said function that they rated Salem at 3. My guess is they had Boyd at 1 and Scharenberg at 2.

His lack of size (173cm, 68kg) would have thrown the recruiters off, I think. What we've learnt from JKH so far is that there's no substitute in this game for class. IMO, it won't be long before these types start getting drafted in the first round again.

At the moment, he reminds me of a poor man's Simon Black, with a touch of Scott Pendlebury. Now I don't expect him to reach the level of either (we are talking about two of the best players this century), but he's playing exactly the way you hope a Top 3 pick would. I'm a big fan.

I think that's a MFCSS outlook on things. Because our early picks in recent years have all flunked, we assume Toumpas will naturally go down the same path. He may, but it's just as likely he will become a gun outside runner like we had originally hoped. Not even one season down, it's far too early to raise the white flag. We all thought our best 2 players in Nathan Jones and Garland were duds once upon a time don't forget.

Ridiculous to think of trading him already. What kind of culture would it create, shipping out teenagers after one season because they aren't tearing the competition to shreds?? That reaks of Mark Neeld-style "ruthlessness" (aka idiocy) to me. The concern I have over Toumpas at the moment is his inconsistency THROUGH a game. Just goes too long without going near that. However unlike others I see plenty to like and think he will justify early-pick status down the track.

A bit harsh. TJ's career was certainly underwhelming but his best footy around 2002 - 2005 was poetry.

Agreed, I'm a Toumpas fan and I think today was his best game. He reminds me a bit of Trapper in that he seems to have a cool head and invariably uses it well by foot.

His disposal and decision making is sublime. Just needs to find a bit of consistency and more of the ball (turn those 15 possession games into 25) but he's young and a good egg, I'm sure it will come. ps. Wines is a beauty but Toumpas was always a better fit for our midfield needs, IMO.

Just something else I was thinking about before... the aftermath of our win over the Bombers. While it was a good win at the time and DB can be forgiven for showing a bit of emotion afterwards... I don't think we'll be seeing a repeat of those antics under Neeld. As I said, it was a great win but I saw the aftermath of it recently and watching us strut around like we had won a GF was kinda cringe worthy in retrospect. Hopefully under Neeld we should expect to win this games and celebrate the victories appropriately. It's these little things that I want to see change in 2012.

I don't normally buy too much into fluff articles quoting coaches over the off season, but this article is REALLY pleasing to read. No more gifted games and skulking around for cheap kicks in 2012 Aaron, if you don't put in the hard yards you don't play. Names and reputations mean nothing to MN. For too long (Bailey and Daniher eras) name players could do as they pleased. Not anymore! Still, it's the players that have to put the ball through the big sticks. I've been super impressed with the coaching team we've assembled, but it doesn't necessarily mean success is imminent. 2012 will be a very interesting year.

Chris Johnson is a nice guy. Likewise Daniel Bell.