stevethemanjordan

A public lynching? Because the majority see it in a way that you refuse to? Righto.

Yes. Looked like he'd been hit by a train five mins into the first quarter. Gave away frustratingly obvious holding free kicks to his man, turned the ball over most times I witnessed him kick it. Even when there were players on. And he waltzed around as if in second gear. Saw no urgency from him whatsoever. For what many would term a 'seasoned and experienced defender', I honestly saw more positive signs from Frost in terms of competitiveness, mindset, willingness and freshness. Someof these guys on our list who have been through the dark era seem absolutely shot.

Couldnt disagree more. His intensity throughout the game at the man with the ball was a great thing to watch. I'm talking about things such as running flat out at an opposition player who's been called to play on. He caused 50/50 contests and turnovers because of things like that and for supporters watching, that can be easily missed. It's the kind of thing Rioli, Puopolo, Ballantyne and Walters do. If Thursday night was any indication, he'll a huge pick up both offensively and defensively for us this year.

The thing is, players who offer more and who have excellent abilities in other areas of their game will be let off. You're right, Tyson did miss a few too many targets tonight. However he also did a lot right and was damaging I other areas. There's a reason the 'same names' are brought up. Do you really believe all supporters just enjoy hanging [censored] on those particular players? Seriously, man. I will not raise my eyebrows at these same players. Im used to it. However, what is exciting is that all of our new recruits showed more and offered more than these 'same names' we've been talking about. Which says to me, our list is again slowly getting better.

Only on Fox footy.

That's as simple as the blokes who are 'OOC' first will be the ones moved on if they're deemed not good enough. Jordie as well as other past Melbourne players are unique in that they have not had the same competition for spots as other teams have. We have had a laughable list for years and in my view there were players on our list who should've never been added but were due to a number of factors. One being our shocking recruitment of top end talent, most of whom are gone now! The evidence is that now, under competent management we're slowly seeing the blokes that should've never been getting games go.

I am completely aware that all footballers make mistakes. That is an irrelevant point. If we had a list full of blokes who gave 100% effort but couldn't execute basic skills on a consistent basis, how far up the ladder do you think we'd go? You are the only poster on this site that responds in a way that is as if someone has abused a family member or something. What does that hint to? People have learnt to accept that your training reports are for the most part a friendly chat to players regularly and a positive spin on training with cameo mentions here and there of who did what well. Why can't you accept that some posters will have opinions about certain players that have been formed from watching them in AFL games over years? If we're serious about our club moving forward and serious about our list management and recruiting, then players who do not perform fundamental skills on a consistent basis and who do not offer enough at AFL level will be moved on. That is a fact. Jordie's contract runs out at the end of this year I believe and unless his kicking, marking and ball handling in general have improved out of sight over the pre-season, the reality is he will be gone. Even blokes who play 'roles' like Nev Jetta has recently consolidated can perform basic skills consistently at AFL level.

Again, posters including myself will give him 'credit' when he performs and contributes in an AFL match. The fact that we are highlighting a 2-meter tall giant taking a mark out and in front of his body and then kicking a goal is far more concerning than encouraging in my eyes. Sometimes I get really disillusioned by the expectations of some of our supporters.

A response like that only confirms your emotional attachments to most players on our list due to the time you spend at training and talking to them. This is a football forum where people, (whether you like it or not) have formed opinions on players based off form during AFL *games*, not training sessions. If you so claim to not having emotional attachments/bias toward players on our list, then why may I ask do you even take the time of day to respond to posts like the one you've responded to which to me clearly looks as if it's offended you?

I don't think I'm alone in saying I want us to be winning all nab challenge games. The significance of this cant be stressed enough if we're wanting to start the season with a bang. It'd bring more supporters to round 1, boost membership and the players would be riding high on confidence which we all know has a monumental effect on the way an individual plays. For the MFC in its current state, NAB challenge wins are exactly what it needs.

Perth time. It's a 7 10 pm start for us Victorians.

Pederson won't be replacing Dawes.

Shuffled out the door by a club lacking forward power? Cloke was winning Colemans in those years and he was arguably the best forward in the competition. Dawes' place in the side was always safe under Malthouse. It was Buckley and a bad year that saw him move clubs for reasons still fairly up in the air and ultimately, the Lynch replacement was a bust. Who knows how Bucks looks back at that decision now.Regardless, that is all secondary in my opinion. We were not nearly as solid as a club back then when Dawes was identified as someone we could realistically bring to our club. We were a club completely bereft of professional AFL quality leaders and standard setters. We had a list of senior players who were not up to the level in so many facets of the game as well as a brigade of young talent that had been subject to the worst development and leadership within the AFL. Dawes was never recruited for his goal kicking ability not his ability to take contested marks. How people continually overlook the context as to why he was brought to our club and why he continues to be a very important player for the MFC at this point in time is amazing. All coaches at the club would be acutely aware of this and the importance of having him in our side regardless of how many 'double-grabs' he has etc. He will be straight back into our side in Round 2. Of course we'd all like to see him improve in the areas he struggles in such as one-on-one marking. But he will not be playing ressies if he doesn't. Attitude, pressure, effort, leadership, direction, contesting and support alone will gift him games as a KPF for the MFC at this point in time and until our club has a strong enough fabric and core group of leaders to make an upgrade.

Some people have no idea about the value of CD to our side. Goals and marks alone are not the reason Chris Dawes was selected in both Grand finals at Collingwood.

Skills all-round aren't great and the supply isn't fantastic either so limited opportunities for him. He's working hard and it's sad to see him playing for them. He'll be a bloody good pickup for them if he stays fit. He looks it.

Yes. It looks like Rocket Eade has really put a strong emphasis on their contested game. They look much stronger and more ferocious at the ball and man. They look very good this early in the pre-season. Round 1 is looking tough.

A seriously overrated player around these parts.

Hype? It's a fantasy footy article..

Was more just a sarcastic comment in relation to your 'humorous' golden ticket post. Whilst there may be some particular posters who believe any interrupted pre-season will translate to a bad year individually, I think it important to note the type of injury and which parts of training the individual is likely to miss. Bernie had shoulder surgery which restricted him only in exercises that involved physical contact to his upper body. Sure he's probably lost some strength over the pre-season, but the most important thing to note was that he wasn't restricted in his running up until he got this hammy issue. I'm confident that he has enough miles in the legs and aerobic conditioning to make it back for round 1 and perform well as long as there are no further hammy hiccups from here. Iin short, he won't be getting a golden ticket. Perhaps a concession card.

In what capacity is he underrated? He gets games because he is clearly rated.. I think most would agree his run and carry is really important for our midfield and that's what we love him for. Which only makes it so frustrating when he doesn't finish that work by hitting targets at times.

He would have needed to get him from when he was drafted. The Bailey days. I've never known a player to be literally 'given' 50 + free games without having to work for them. It was a bad pick and it was worse development. His time at West Coast backs that theory.

Sadly, it's not that hard to invisage.. Two years ago it'd have been even money.

I think the poster was talking about Spencer's dropped marks which can be a feature of his game. There's a difference between hanging [censored] on players at training VS being honest about how they perform in areas of their game that they are both good and bad at. For example, I imagine Matt Jones gut running and ability to break lines and get to many contests is indeed a standout to you. Which is because it's one of his strengths and it's one of the reasons he is playing at this level. However, more interesting is that a different poster chose to see the other side of the coin which is to do with one of his weaknesses. Kicking ability. McKenzie is another who I know you've said has been 'standing out' at training. And again, perhaps that is to do with the fact that Roos has got him training and playing in a more offensive and attacking way. He is now training as a receiver, rather than solely a negator. If that's the case, I can also see why he'd be standing out. Anyway, I don't wish to derail the thread for some. It's good to hear different accounts of training. Everyone has their own things they like to look at which is why we have such contrasting reports at times. Exciting that we have a fitter, deeper and more talented list this year in any case.

Yes. It's called having different opinions.Interesting nonetheless that one supporter will pick up on mis-kicks, mis-handballs, wrong options etc from certain players, whilst another supporter will see something completely different.

Jetta has always had solid footskills.. His turn-around in form was nothing to do with an improvement in footskills..No matter the improvement in our game plan, the increase in option presented, the fitness of the players etc etc, we will still see the same missed targets at times from the same perpetrators. That is a fact. Nobody expects these guys to kick 50-60 metre bullets to receivers without breaking stride.. That's an exaggeration. Few players within the AFL have the ability to consistently hit those kicks and I don't know of one that we have? Dunn on occasions? Our two best kickers in Watts and Vince make errors with their kicking also but most of the time they are players with an ability to seek and hit targets in the open and often. There's an element of inherent skill in that. And that inherent skill cannot be improved upon *much once at AFL level. There were countless times last year I saw Jones miss easy 20-30 metre targets who were open last year. That will happen again this year, even if it's not as many. The point in all of this is that Roos is working with who he has got and I have no doubt all of the things we're working on at training will help improve the overall ball movement of the side. But for some individuals, their skills will never improve to the standard required. For midfielders, it can be an issue for a team to have too many who don't have the required skill level.