Adzman

He was always going to get rubbed out for that kick. Stupid undisciplined move. Knights will give it to him for that.

Essendon Vs Melbourne Free Kicks for Essendon- 18 Free Kicks for Melbourne- 16 Sure they had a heap of 50m penalties against them, but that boils down to a lack of discipline more than the umpires interpretation. They just hate losing. One of those really one eyed clubs.

Cheney has been solid all year at Casey, and unlike McNamara and Maric he has actually cracked the demons squad to add to his games total. Senior list gone: Miller PJ Bell (injuries killed his career) McNamara* *(possibility to be redrafted as a rookie) Maric* *(can see him being offered a rookie contract as the club will want to retain him to see if he comes good) Rookie list gone: Spencer (promoted) McKenzie (promoted) Healey Hughes (unlucky, but gone) Meesen Newton This will allow us to have 3x ND selections, with 4 rookie draft selections (if we get Maric and Tommy on the Rookie list, otherwise there would be 6 selections) Not a big overhaul by any means.

Would not change a thing. Watts and Morton will be solid fixtures next season.

What Bartram doesnt or does do irrelevant. He continues to play in the team because he does what the coaches ask of him, which is make life a living hell for his opponents. He is not in the side to provide run, gather possessions or do anything spectacular. This negator role is popular with all coaches, and someone needs to go and do it without winning praise. Brady Rawlings played for about 10 seasons with the roos and probably was lucky to amass 15 possessions in his career. We had a successful football career in this role. Could Maric fill the role? No- Maric could very well be working at a local Gym in 24 months time if he doesn't pull his finger out. He has sublime foot skills and could very well hurt teams in this role. It is the rest of the role- reading the play, big engine, speed, tackling that lets Maric down. Agree that Bartram is warming this role for someone else,but this point that someone else has not been identified leaving Bartram as our best option. IMO Bartram has been doing a good job this season, and deserves some love.

Bennell being a late bloomer says a lot about his prospects for further development. I get the impression Jamie is only getting started.

I sh$t you not, but I was at a function with Lynch this morning. Very bright kid. I doubt he would leave, as he followed the saints as kid. I have to say I was impressed with his manner, and would be an advocate to bring him across. Spoke with Nic Heyne also, another promising saints kid wanting a game. Both boys will be playing in the VFL this Sunday, and are both dying to crack the saints team. Stanley looked decent against us. Would be keen to pillage the saints roster to help us move forward.

If Jim is on, then I will be watching.

Hmmmmm, Perhaps Luke can show Morton some of his weight room habits...............

Well, looks like the GC17 will have to look elsewhere for talent. I believe the following are out of contract: Bail Bartram Cheney Bate Watts Blease Miller Maric Dunn Bruce Bell PJ Martin Newton* Meesen* Hughes* Healey* Spencer* Spencer will be offered a contract on the seniors, leaving us with a clean slate for the rookie list. The dees will look to re-up Blease, Maric, Dunn, Watts, Batram, Bail and Bruce. I think Cheney might be asked to to a "Jordie" and play on the rookie list next season. This may also be the path for Maric who has much to prove.

LJ and Sylvia back in? Anyone got a tissue.............make that a mop.

Horrible turn of events for the RFC. The mid season revival can be somewhat credited to the way Ben Cousins has led this team of kids. I wish him a speedy recovery, and do hope there is nothing further to read into it.

Spencer is far from ready to play at the top level. That said, PJ, Meesen and bigs such as Newton and Miller are done at the MFC. The truth is, Gawn and Fitzy are still miles away from being able to mix it up. Spencer at present, is our best #2 ruck purely based on potential. What happens next?? Play him every game we can. This spells Jamar, and lets us know whether or not to pursue Spencer next season. My gut feeling is that he will be given a 1-2 year contract on the senior list if he can show any sign of being a good player at the top level. I am not big on him right now, but we really have not other options for this season. PJ and Meesen are clearly two guys that will be off the vets/rookie list next season. 2011 the competition will start for the second ruck spot between Gawn/Fitzy and Spencer.

Geez, is Aussie made out of glass or something? He cannot avoid injury at this point. He plays hard, so injures are easier to find when putting your body on the line. Gotta feel for Strauss. He was "on the bubble" for selection this year after some solid outings. I really felt he would find a way into the team this year at some point. Too early for Blease and Tapscott to move up to the Scorps seniors. They need to get some fitness back before they can line up for a strong Casey team. Maybe 1-2 more in the 2s before an earned call up (if they are feeling right) We might be struggling at AFL as a club, but we have a rich pool of young talent which is starting to find its feet.

Rhino, my source is Chris Connelly! Chris said that they have been talking with Todd about Jack playing for the club. If you bump into Chris ask him, he will confirm this to be true. I do not have a media link as this is something Chris has said during a conversation in May.

I really could not stomach another spoon. We have had to wear it enough over the past few years. If we can't avoid a spoon this year, we have really failed for 2010. Rebuilding requires moving forward, we must at all costs move up the ladder (if only one spot)

Hopefully Grimes gets back in soon. He has been a shining light this season. Given our recent form, the more shining lights the better. Chance for Bail to step in?

From my understanding, Todd is representing Jack's negotiations. I can confirm that Connelly has had formal discussions with Todd about Jacks services via the father son rule. As for an agreement? I do not think anything has been reached at this point- that said, I am pretty sure Todd would like him at Melbourne and Jack would be leaning towards the comfort of playing for a well rebuilt team by the time his number is called.

I was at the game, and have the following to add: Jamar was solid, but failed to dominate. Watts worked hard, and was a target to kick to. He is building some form and is looking good. Dunn is starting to lock down a forward role in this team- he is here to stay. If it was not for Bate's red hair, I would not have known he was playing. He was owned by the saints backline. Spencer is too weak/slow for AFL, and lacks the skills to really warrant selection..........he is still the second best ruckman on our list as at todays date. Will get another contracted offer for 1 year, not sure from there. Jetta goes missing far too often. Can look good when he has it in his hands, but that is rare. Garland and the back six were under siege, he dealt with it head on and came out on top.

Horrific, and very unlucky. You hate to see this as a football fan, regardless of who you follow. I hope Barlow can heal and regain some of this years sterling form for the dockers next season.

How did he finish up?

I can only see the dees using 3 picks this upcoming draft, so I would expect they would be selecting the best available at each spot instead of drafting for a specific need. Talls are always the sought after, but in all honesty I think the emergence of Jamar and the drafting of Gawn/Fitzpatrick may have addressed this issue for the short term. They may select a heap of talls via the rookie draft ala Jake Spencer (who most likely will be retained on the list next season to further address this need), but the other 3 picks in the ND will be the best available talent.

Nice to see the boys getting a run. Still sounds like another 2 weeks in the Casey 2s before pushing for Casey ones based on fitness. We might see some form in the Casey ones in 4-6 weeks time, which will be exciting for us next season.

So we lost a game. Did we lose anything else? Games in the kids- it is part of the plan. Kids are up and down, today they were down and we lost. When these kids become hardened players- they will be much harder to beat. This time will come.

Optimism fading? We are right where we want to be! Where is that you ask?? Putting games into kids, and letting them grow. The win loss column is not the yardstick this year. Staying off the bottom and winning 7-8 games is a nice goal, but the main aim is to get games into the kids and start to be a more competitive club. We have done this so far, and it leads to further optimistic thinking. We are NOT a top 8 side yet, and we are surely not a wooden spooner either. The dees will win enough to keep their bums off the bottom.