stevethemanjordan

Looks like Gilbert has suffered some sort of foot injury and won't be running for six weeks it's reported... Round 1 is seven weeks away so that's another player down for the aints.. The stars are aligning I tells you. Providing we can get two of Hogan, Dawes and Clark up for round 1 and our midfield stocks stay healthy, I'm confident we can pip them. And who knows what a round 1 win will do to the confidence of a team so used to losing...

You're missing the entire point.He's a young kid who's been made to wait before being given a game. I've given you some of what I believe are the reasons. Having a kid who's hungry to play AFL from a professional club like Freo, having learnt off some of the best mids in the comp, being under the tutelage of Ross Lyon for two years, having developed the right habits early on, playing at a consistently high level at WAFL level which has been the only time he's had a free run it... Those things alone are already more valuable and will have more of an influence than someone like Colin Sylvia had, regardless of Michie's output on the field. Look at the bigger picture fcs. It's not that hard. Comparing Tapscott to Michie?! Our midfield, our team and our club has benefitted from having Michie, and that's without him even playing a game. End of story.

Amazing

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace - Dalai Lama

I never called him a racist, nor said his initial remark was racist. I was being straight to the point, which is exactly what I said. Educate yourself. If he would educate himself on some of the surrounding issues it would mean he wouldn't feel the need to post such a snide and sarcastic post on a thread that was started for congratulating an AFL footballer on the meaningful work he is doing within the community. That's all it is. So [censored] simple. Yet there are nuff nuffs who for one reason or another have decided to derail a thread making snide and sarcastic remarks about a player who was recognised for his positive contribution to our society. So with education my friend, an awareness and an understanding of the work Adam Goodes is doing, these twits wouldn't feel the need to post such self-serving, bitter and attention seeking few sentences. If they are indeed impartial to who it was out of the candidates who took home the chocolates, or they think the whole award itself isn't worth the fuss then why not post a well thought out opinion piece on the matter just as others have respectfully done? Arrow has for instance.. I'm not trying to be clever Ron. Far from it. But is absolutely 100% about educating yourself. We wouldn't be dealing with posts like that otherwise.

I hope you educate yourself one day.

You made a sarcastic remark, gesturing that the reason he won his award was because of that incident. Dig a bit deeper Jarka. He, like many throughout the country and including the other candidates are trying to implement positive change in our society. The fact that you even needed to make that remark is what's most confusing. Do you want attention? Yes, I got a bit fiery. However I do feel that the older people are, the stronger their beliefs become about certain issues and therefore the less they'll go searching and less they'll accept to see or view things from another perspective. Not everyone, but many. (Happy birthday to the great man Steve)

What baffles me is why you feel you need to post such sarcasm on a thread that is rightly congratulating a member of the human species who is promoting positive change, understanding and compassion throughout the country we live in.As for the likers of your post, I wouldn't be surprised if you're in the 40+ age bracket. It would explain the level of ignorance that you all possess and lack of awareness that's present. Do you feel you need to be recognised on a larger scale? Are you insecure? What's the deal mate? Goodes has gone beyond just 'going through life' as an AFL footballer, and if you weren't so insecure and had a half a clue, you wouldn't feel the need to post your sarcastic rubbish.

"Ignorance is bliss for the ignorant, but for the rest of us it's a pain in the f%#*ing arse."

I'm with you on that.

Indeed.It will be an interesting few years. I'm quietly confident. I've a feeling we've got a very special player on our hands in Tyson.

Is that an indication that we won't be seeing Michie during the practice games? I can't imagine he'll miss round one if he shows good form throughout the pre-season games... Unless of course this player knows something he didn't share with you about Michie. Perhaps he's injured? Care to share who the player was?

Why do you believe Freo letting Viv leave is 'not a good sign' then?

What, the language of being sarcastic? I think you may need to read up a bit on it old chap.

I can see you're reserving judgement OD.However you do realise the context of the Michie trade vs the context of the proposed Greenwood trade are polar opposite? One couldn't get a game because he is a limited player. The other couldn't get a game because of the reasons I've listed, (in my opinion). Freo not letting him go is not an indication of anything. You need to let go of the idea that it means he 'mustn't be that good.' How many kids do we see leave clubs to go home? Many. Are their clubs happy? Definitely not, but what can they do.

Andddddd we're away....

Injury would be the number one reason. Number two is the quality and depth of Freo's settled and experienced midfield. The third would be Ross Lyon's strong development program for young kids coming through, especially ones who have had barely one pre-season to their name. The fact that he's played one AFL game means very little to me. It's about the environment he's been in for the past three years and the tutelage he's received. He wanted to come home and we snagged him. Freo weren't happy. He is already far more valuable to our side than a lot of our mids who have little ability and have been brought up in a basket-case of an environment under terrible management and next to no leaders. We should be overjoyed that we, the MFC have snagged this youngster.

Yes, he asked a question for a reason. And perhaps you have a different idea of what the reason was.. To me it sounded like OD is questioning Viv's value as a player as he'd only played one game Freo in 3 years. And if he is, he should have a dig around for some info on the guy as he is a Melbourne player now.

Such a naive question OD. Seriously, have a think.

I understand why you are responding the way you are however you still haven't made mention of our new coach.I'd like to throw the following questions your way: It's plain for all to see that Neeld, for various reasons, had a negative impact on our team which directly translated to our game day efforts. Do you agree? If so, what percentage do you believe he contributed to our abysmal game day performances? Paul Roos is now at the helm and some of his right hand men who were just as influential on the Swans 05 team are now coaching the same list with added quality and depth. Let's say we had the same list as last year and this pre-season was still out first under the Roos and co program. How much improvement if any do you think you'd see from the same list but under different management? If you believe there'd be improvement, how much more improvement would there be with the players we acquired over the trade and draft period including Jesse Hogan? I'm interested in where you think the improvement will come from because based on your previous post, you seem to ignore the fact that we are under new management, and that is going to have a massive impact on the way our team works both physically and emotionally. Not to mention the influx of midfielders we have brought in. Jess Hogan alone brings improvement to our forward line.

We have a new midfield, a star 18 year old kid who's spent a year in the VFL and arguably the best coach in the land. Of course we'll get 6 wins. I don't understand your reasoning for us not to improve? If we still had Neeld, the same list and no Jesse Hogan then I might be on your side. But it's not the case, so what's your reasoning?

Do you really think it's most damaging? Last year it was his lack of fitness that really amplified this 'plodding' notion everyone is talking about. Think about him in 2010 though. There was no concern about his running ability, and he certainly wasn't speedy. He was just fit. Of course if he was speedy, we'd be talking about a potential superstar game changer. He has enough going for him to suggest he'll be a great player if he can keep fit. Cross O'keefe Hayes Boyd Black Just a few names who have been huge players for their club and none of them have a burst of speed.

40k is absolutely achievable but it all depends on how we go during the first half of the season and especially the first 5 games. No matter how much they push the advertising on the interwebs, TV, newspapers and other mediums, it's all going to come down to our start to 2014. A stronger pre-season showing will also do wonders.

Not really... You don't have to be fast to be able to run long distances.But I do agree with those who say he's always been on the slow side. Even during the champs he never seemed to have a burst of speed, however he was playing under 18's so his lack of speed wasn't as evident as it is in the faster paced AFL. Still, I think he can be a very effective player for us going forward. Lenny Hayes comes to mind as someone who you could perhaps compare with some of Trengoves attributes. Great kick, great tackler and stoppage player, can kick a goal, smart footballer but one-paced. If Trenners can work on his contested ball winning etc and a few other things, I have no concerns. I know that's stating the bleeding obvious, but the guy is a classy and natural footballer so as long as he can stay fit, he's the least of my concerns.

A delirious fool with everything else you've been saying. Smart footballers can change habits. Dal Santo has never been hard in my eyes. Watts can easily learn how to cope with physical contact and put his body on the line when it's needed. You're writing Watts off far too early, it's ridiculous. Delusional even, to use your word of choice. All we've needed is a glimpse of Watts playing with intensity and urgancy and we've seen it. Against Collingwood last year in the first quarter. He played like a different player and that was enough for me to have faith in him as a player to improve that specific area that will make or break him as a player. All we need is a coach who is renown for being the best player developer there is... Oh that's right, we have him. Paul Roos.