xarronn

Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but I saw this on Saintsational. It refers to a Robbo article which describes what he saw and heard at a St. Kilda planning session. A lot of interesting points about how Melbourne plays and strategies the Saints have noted that we have used. http://www.saintsational.net/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=88935&sid=0e14c25383ee5ea71da778b26d82b65e

LU has been debating which regulations the appeal will be heard under and the probability of the appeal being successful, not defending Essendon. As for a fan of another team heading to another forum, many on here will fondly remember Ash, also an Essendon supporter who graced this forum for a while. Many of us found his opinions interesting and had enormous sympathy for a tremendous personal loss he and his wife suffered. No one likes a troll, but LU has not been that. The debate has been civilised and enlightening, far more so than the slanging matches that destroy threads on occasions.

What does it matter who LU supports or even what their motive is. S/He has put forward cogent, coherent opinions based on reading the relevant articles. I have found it interesting to read an alternative view. Furthermore these have been put forward in a respectful and non-abusive manner. Why do you feel the need to disparage LU for doing this? Irrespective of what people want the outcome to be, we all know that none of the views expressed here will influence the final verdict. It will however certainly be interesting to bump this thread in due course.

Grimes is still on the extended bench at this time, so he's not dropped. "Barring injuries Grimes may of have played his last game in a Melbourne jumper" This statement may turn out to be as brave as Robbo's on SEN a couple of weeks ago when he predicted that Watts had played his last game for Melbourne just ten minutes before the teams were announced, and he was named in the team.

Not sure about the first half of that sentence, there are only about 4 months left before trade season, but I think the bolded part has to be really considered by the club. He lost weight this year and that doesn't seem to have worked, maybe it is time that he gained muscle and strength, to both break tackles and to make them stick. A thing that has puzzled me over the years is that he's been called quick by various commentators. He has no burst speed or quick change of direction and without strength I don't understand how he can play midfield. Still a supporter of Jack's, but I think the coaching group are going to have to work something else out unless they have given up on him.

So you reckon, 100 tackles on a weekly basis is achievable? The highest average in all rounds so far is 76.5 by the Bulldogs We are second with 74.1 Fremantle are second last with 54.9 The median for all teams over the 8 rounds is 65.3 On what basis do you calculate that 100 tackles, week in week out is achievable? Or even desirable?

My apologies in that case.

How incredibly inaccurate is that comment: Bunton x 3 Reynolds x 3 Skilton x 3 Stewart x 3 Thompson Blight Hird Judd Ablett Jnr x 2 Robran, Ebert, McIntosh, Michael, Head and Kerley never played in the VFL so couldn't win a Brownlow. I am reasonably sure that the first four probably won the corresponding umpires award in their respective states. Finally, remember the Brownlow is for Fairest and Best, not just Best, hence why many others never won it. If you know that, who is better placed to judge the award than the umpires?

Incredibly it could have been even worse. Both Gold Coast and Richmond were expected to be at least top six teams this year. We could well have been 0 - 7 with a percentage in the 50's. A worse start than last year would have been diabolical. It could still become that. All it will take is a couple more critical injuries.

First of all let me be clear I am not having a go at SWYL, but I've wanted to post on this tanking theory for some time. I've always believed this theory about us tanking and the impact on the club culture was bogus and simply an opportunity to retrospectively fit a cause to an effect and ironically Roos has been the greatest proponent of this theory from his 'On the Couch' days. If my memory serves me well, it all started with Maclean making his statement in 2012 and then Roosy took up the running with his claim that it created the culture which afflicted the club in 2012. The facts are 2009 was the year of the so-called tanking. However in 2010 we inflicted Roos' greatest loss after which he declared Melbourne "the team of the next decade". So one year after the tanking he declares us the team of the future. Until the Geelong debacle in 2011 no-one claimed there was an institutional problem at the club. So suddenly when the team couldn't win in 2012 it was caused by tanking - BS! As I said at the beginning, I have been really disappointed that Roos has never been picked up on these facts. Similarly the guff in the media about no one ever having heard of a player asking to be dropped, (in reference to Watts). It happened 4 weeks ago when Goodes asked to be dropped to the Swans reserves.

I've been a supporter of Spencer because of his willingness to put in and his apparent aggression. In late 2012 I thought he was starting to show the benefits of the clubs patience and perseverance. In a game against Richmond in that year I saw him chase down players, put in second and third efforts to stop a Richmond clearance from a ball up and take a couple of marks. In 2013 I thought he was having his best stretch of games which unfortunately culminated in a three game suspension for an accidental knee into McEvoy's face. Surely 2014 would be the year, following a good preseason. He played the first 5 games until Jamar returned from Injury. Then was pronounced injured and did not play again for the rest of the year. His performances had not been great, but I thought that perhaps he had played injured for a few games whilst Gawn and Jamar were unavailable I thought this possibility was enhanced when the club gave a him a further two year contract later in the year. The one thing I expected he should have been able to do both against Pyke and Ceglar was to get his hands to the ball at ball ups or throw ins. He has been appalling in this respect. Finally, I have given up on him as an AFL standard player. This is his 7th Year at the club, but he's played worse in his last two games than he played in his first two in 2010. WJD, you are right, so many clubs have recruited competent to exceptional ruckmen in the last 3 - 4 years, - Jenkins, Maric, Mumford, McEvoy, Ceglar, Martin, Longer and maybe others. I suppose the priority has been our midfield, but we can no longer afford to ignore this position at years end.

So you made up and posted a load of BS about Toumpas to denigrate and belittle him. What credibility and morals can you possibly have?

Sigil, on 09 May 2015 - 8:22 PM, said: You cant be serious! That's Sigils interpretation of Toumpas's attitude. Unless he's a mind reader it's just another throwaway comment.

Is the bolded part of this statement accurate? 2012 Carlton 11 W v Melb 4 W 2013 Carlton 11 W v Melb 2 W 2014 Carlton 71/2 W v Melb 4 W

Fantastic post. Strongly agree with these comments. I very much accept what Watts brings to the team. He isn't scared, I think he just sees the game in a different way. I have come to the point where I feel really sympathetic to him, he must have a tremendously resilient personality to keep his head up and keep going in the face of all the garbage.

I listened to the interview. I heard little resemblance between Walsh's words and his intent and the text provided by the reporter regarding Vince and Dangerfield, there was no whinging, (or crying), about Vince's tactics. Really poor article where the journalist has put his own spin on the comment.

Are there any reports about Cam Pedersen? I am becoming more and more curious about him. I thought he was pretty good last year. His contested marking and long distance goal accuracy were valuable. Together with Jetta, I considered him to have shown the greatest improvement under Roos last year. He said all the right things about why he had improved and I was hoping that he might get even better this year. However since Merritt broke his nose he has become the invisible man in training despatches, and also in Casey games lately. It is only round 1, but it is starting to bring to mind Mitch Clisby, who made a promising debut in 2013 only to disappear without trace in 2014. Am I missing something or is there a chance that Roos has made up his mind about him, given that this is the last year of his contract? .

I hope so. That was a really strong tune when the team came on to the field. A sense of foreboding for the opposition. Loved it.

If this is happening, (and I am not suggesting it is not, but daisycutter's post bears some thinking about), it is totally unrealistic to believe that it is restricted to Australian rules. It is clear that ice is an epidemic in many communities across Australia. Why would you think that it is a result of whatever the AFL has done or not done. There is a common misconception that the AFL's drug policy is weak. What many people are referring to is the 3 strikes policy on so-called 'recreational' drugs. Often forgotten is that the AFL had to obtain agreement from the players through the AFLPA to enact the policy. This was not going to be forthcoming unless confidentiality was maintained and the focus was on education and treatment rather than punishment. I understand that the AFL is one of the few, (maybe the only), sporting organisations to do testing on 'recreational' drugs. Mick Malthouse has spoken about the fact that he had no idea that Cousins was taking drugs when he was coaching the Eagles, what about Ken Judge and John Worsfold after him? It is an amazing leap of faith to blame the AFL for Cousins, the situation at the West Coast Eagles and that a whole generation of "young kids who should be playing footy for fun are going to be hooked on a nasty, highly addictive substance".

Possibly, but the figures for all clubs on the AFL website show most clubs to be ahead of this time last year. I suspect its mainly those supporters who read 'land who are most aware of the reasons to be optimistic about our club for 2015. Others will have to see performances in the NAB challenge to have their eyes opened, (fingers crossed).

Apologies for doing something which I criticize below, but I needed to start somewhere. This is my first post here, but I have been reading ology or land since at least 2002, (or maybe 2000), I cant remember which site I found first and the exact year. I am sickened by the amount of venom and bile which is generated on this fan site. I read extreme black and white, saintsational, bomberblitz and bigfooty, but 'land takes the prize for this. Not only does it derail the thread, but as another poster has mentioned on another thread, it has many of the earmarks of cyber bullying. If this was happening to your children, who would believe it to be acceptable? (and I know we are not, mostly, children). Do the moderators believe this level of abuse is appropriate? While I'm at it, (hence my apology on the first line), why do the moderators permit the gross derailing of threads. many examples of course, but the most recent one which really shat me off was the potentially very interesting thread on McCartney. Within three posts this had turned into a thread on Burgan. Does the Code of Conduct have any purpose? Perhaps the moderators could start a thread and explain how the Code is interpreted and applied, - just so the boundaries are clearly understood by simpletons like myself. I am a rusted on Melbourne supporter and member, I love the thoughts and information of posters who know much more about matters than I do. Maybe I am out of touch with the realities of civil conduct in the modern day and rather than getting upset, I should stop visiting this site.