joeboy

Whelan - a major loss Carroll - had no idea Holland - backline's only winner Ward - brief forward thrusts Bruce - a wasted talent Bell - loose and unaccountable Johnstone - needed the run Davey - arrogant and ineffective Green - not a whimper Yze - time has elapsed Miller - was totally ineffective Moloney - a welcome return McDonald - not the worst Bate - poor ball handling Neitz - never stopped trying Robertson - brief magical moments McLean - hope for miracles Jamar - has learnt nothing Johnson - showed some class Jones - seemed totally overwhelmed White - gave a contest Bartram - was not ready

Jones has been our standout through pre season and must start on the ground

Bartram - second year comfort Bate - regular clear headedness Bell - needs to arrive Bizzell - providing the steadiness Brown - accurate foot disposal Bruce - attaining superstar status Buckley - Carroll - maintaining the rage Davey - major forward option Dunn - greater physical presence Ferguson - good not evil Frawley - living the hype Garland Godfrey - regular Sandringham player Green - return to accuracy Holland - continue the metamorphosis Jamar - attain more possessions C. Johnson - continued upward spiral P. Johnson - provide physical presence Johnstone - consistent superstar performances Jones - maintaining pre- season form McDonald - more of same McLean - worthy Brownlow winner Miller - major forward option Moloney - vital midfield presence Neitz - whatever he can Neville Newton Petterd Pickett - major physical presence Rivers - more of same Robertson - Robbo of old Sylvia - more game time Ward - dash with care Warnock - becoming a regular Weetra Wheatley - injury free involvement Whelan - exciting backline dashes White - taller than Sandilands Yze - taking an interest # I have made no comments about the new boys because not enough is known

I'm happy to do my little shtick again if there is enough interest . Can I have a show of hands ?

I must be honest and state quite categorically that I am not pumped about the imminent start of the seaon . Perhaps I'm a pessimist , perhaps I'm a realist , but whatever the case , the viagra's not working and I'm just not excited enough to give the opening to the season any more than a 5 out of 10 on an anticipatory level . Where are you on the excitement level ?

I won't / can't mention names , but my son's junior football coach is a recently retired Essendon footballer who told me yesterday that at a post-match get together after an Essendon / Eagles match 3 years ago , lots of 'coloured pills' were ' allegedly 'being distributed freely in the hotel room of a WC player .

Anyone know the parentage of Williamstown's Dullard? His namesake was a talented Demon of the 80's - possibly his father ?

Ironically , our CEO , Steve Harris , was just interviewed on SEN and claimed that all clubs had a moral responsibility to help all their young talents to cope with the rigours and demanding pressures of AFL assimilation .

Many of you may not have heard of him , but Greg Parke was an undersized and slow centre half forward for us who smoked at half time but was unstoppable in the air, and regularly won the competition's marking competition .

Brown has probably been our most consistent player in the pre season matches , and is a certainty IMO.

Apart from Neitz and Robertson , which of our certain first round selections didn't play against Adelaide ?

Sheedy to underperform this year will leave the door open for ND to inevitably return to his roots .

I'm far from an expert on body building , but it seems highly unlikely that someone of Buckley's age and normal body size could develop such an impressive torso without some sort of 'assistance'. Am I wrong ?

I'm pretty confident that Neitz will retain the captaincy , but the suggestion that Bruce may be given the nod may not be all that far from the truth . Prior to the Moorabbin practice match I noticed Cam admonish a group of younger players who had failed to fulfill their pre game stretching / warmup schedule , and they all immediately retreated to the changerooms to oblige .I'm not so sure that this was one of his traits last year , but then again it may be part of his role in the leadership group now.

It's interesting that Daniher is now acknowledging that the priority in the pre seson competition is not to win it but rather to test out the new blood . He said on SEN this evening that he was impressed with the peformance of Frawley , albeit brief , and was confident he would unearth other young tyros like last year's early success with Bartram .

I attended the ground at 2pm with the intent of seeing the boys perform but at 3.30 when I had to leave to pick up my son from school, they were just starting their warmups; the Saints had the first use of the ground and seemed quite content to overstay their welcome. Some casual observations : TJ was seriously tanned , but not kitted up to play, Aaron Davey was not going to play and walked laps of the oval with TJ, Byron was not going to play , and seemed well overweight (as expected), Lynden Dunn, Brock McLean, Nathan Jones and Matthew Bate all seemed to have fined down, the Skipper looks in fantastic shape, Miller moved fluently and obviously has thrived with a proper pre season under his belt, Sylvia did sprints on his own away from the rest of the group and seemed to be unhindered by the shoulder injury that had restricted him . Brad Hodge (former Demon reserves' player, oh yes, and current Australian cricketer) and daughter were keen observers.

Watching seriously since 1965 , my best , in order : 1- Robert Flower ( a wizard when all around were hobbits ) 2- David Schwartz ( would have been # 1 if not cruelly injured ) 3- Gary Lyon ( all class and almost unbeatable ) 4- Brett Lovett ( never beaten ) 5- Jim Stynes ( dominated games consistently , like no other big man ) * honorable mentions to Glenn Lovett , Andrew Obst , and Stephen Tingay

Mention the name GRGIC and the discussion will end .

And if they show Elvis Presley and Ben Stiller movies , they can add rockers and Fokkers to this agenda

No class ruckman , no premiership

As I mentioned elsewhere , I recall this talented young man following up his 8 goals with the Dees by taking 8 wickets a week or two later as an opening bowler with the Melbourne district cricket first eleven.

Kevin Sheehan , described Hayes as a possible " hidden gem " on SEN

Spelling tip for the day : grammar , not grammer

I bet your parents were proud of it though .

Smoker ended his football career with Williamstown 2nds at the end of last season.