Jarka

One of the reasons why SoO games stopped was because we rarely saw the best players representing their states. Most of the better players picked up an unjury that weekend that made them unavailable for selection, funnily enough though they managed to get up for following weekend.

I really want to see Frawley get a game but what has he done to deserve a spot on the extended bench? Alot of people have been arguing that Newton should earn his spot before given a go, that he should prove himself with consistent performances with Sandy, why doesn't this rule apply to Frawley?

Gouga, you are 100% correct about RR, a leopard will never change its spots. Tim, I understand what you're saying and I agree 100%.

From memory he finished last weeks game with ice strapped to his hammy, not surprising at all imho.

I believe that the real 'dire' situation will be uncovered after the end of the season, and that's our financial position, I'm not sure if this club can survive if our members drop off because or poor performances.

Whelan and Bartram are not contest winning players, don't fall for that trap, they are negating defenders. Moloney and Jones hasn't missed that much footy to explain our 0-8 start to the season. On this topic only McLean has been a significant loss to our midfield, and if what you and RR are saying is true, if our midfield can't cope without McLean in the side then we have far worse problems than any of us realise. It means that we have a whole generation of players that aren't up to it.

Keep trying? You've misquoted me and have managed to dodge questions.

If the reserves do come back I doubt that will mean we see them play before games, from what the article was suggesting the games would be played at 'old' home grounds, presuming they mean Princes Park, Essendon etc.

Bartram is a run with player, not a ball winner, also played alot of his time in defence last year. Whelan is a defender. Jones has missed only two games. McLean is a massive loss because we don't have any players capable of doing what he does. This is not a new issue with us tim. All through our time with Daniher as coach our reputation has been that our midfielders go missing under pressure, that's whythe eagles hit us so hard so early in the game, they realise if you get on top of us we fail.

Where have I said that the injuries we've had have not impacted us this year? Don't misquote me to serve your own argument. How many games did Green miss? 2 Jones 1. Whelan 3, Bartram would have been considered a first round pick except for his poor skills, so him being injured didn't impact us with regards to skill. Moloney is more of an impact player, not a skilled one, ditto for Neitz. Yes McLean was a loss but every team has injuries but part of aiming at a GF is to be able to cover them. Overall the players you've mentioned aren't our classy ball users. Also, missing one or two games isn't a considerable amount. Your original statement that we have lacked skill is a cop out considering the quality of players that have played the majority of the games ie TJ, Green, Jones, Bruce, White, Davey, Brown, McDonald etc. How could these players suddenly lose their skill because Neitz and co miss games?

This isn't correct, Godfrey plays a tagger or run-with role, if you want to be that specific he is most likely replacing Bartram. Regardless one or two players shouldn't make such a huge impact onthe skill of the whole team. And for the record, I have never called for Daniher to be sacked mid season. Before round one I stated on this site that i doubted his abilities but I have always maintained that he should be able to see through to the end of his contract, not sure where you got that from.

But if the AFL makes it more affordable then that won't be a concern. Worthy of discussion imho, getting the best development for our kids is the most important thing, not how many flags Sandy wins.

You just can't help yourself can you RR? The sad thing is that you're actually very intelligent when you're dishing out smartarse personal comments, and by going on the replies it's good to see that the majority of people on this site can see through you. You should take the advice from your fellow mods.

From my dealings with our current players this level of communication has not existed from the coaching staff in the past, if what you're saying is true then hopefully it means they have improved in this area. But if you're not going to discuss it in depth why bring it up in the first place? What were you trying to achieve other than demonstrating your 'inside information'? Your ass and what comes out of it is of no concern to me.

The union has been very successful for Sandringham, no doubt. But has it been successful for Melbourne? That's the main issue for us but unfortunately it's a difficult one to answer easily. We should definitely consider all options.

Oh, I understand. What concerns me about the club is that sometimes they don't communicate their intentions to the players with what their plans are, my source of this is current players. By the sound of it your info is second hand at best. By the way what you've just done is pretty funny. You gave the impression that you knew what was going on within the inner circle then when asked about it you said "I'm not privy to the plan and even if I was, I wouldn't be making that info available to the public." Really, what was the point of posting anything at all if you're not going say anything? Did you just want us to be impressed with your inside knowledge?

Wow, that's a really powerful article with alot of content. Highlights for me were his understanding that he is a role model, compare this to Cousins.... Archer is a top bloke, and TJ showed a bit of leadership. I've always liked Pickett, right from his early days at the Roos and I was wrapped when he came to us, I know he'll turn it around but it helps when you have blokes around like Archer, Wheels and the Burgoyne bros.

What's the plan Finks, what information do you have?

There are arguments for either way. For example, with playing our guys at Sandy they're in a more competitive environment so they have to work harder to win their spot ie Neville or Newton, winning is the priority. But as a reserves team we can play our players wherever we like, with development the main priority.

I agree Jaded, but after a 0-8 start to the season I don't think it will be too difficult a task to find someone whom fits the category.

Fan, seriously, has this ever been any different in any kind of sport anywhere on the globe? However, your post bears a remarkable resemblance to a pm that I sent you earlier this week, I suppose you now understand my frustration with that particular topic and as we both know neither of our concerns are going to change, are they?

Well said, if any other team used this as an excuse they'd be the laughing stock of the competition.

This is a list of players that played on the weekend: Bruce Green Johnstone McDonald Yze Bate Davey Dunn P.Johnson Miller Ferguson White Neitz Brown Ward Carroll etc Do you understand where I'm headed with this? This is our team, and this is what defines Daniher's ten years of work. Now what you're saying is because we're missing McLean, Rivers and couple of others this team is under skilled - What about the rest of them? Why are their skills suddenly diminished because we have a couple of injuries? I sincerely hope we aren't relying on a couple of players for skill because if it's true we're rooted and we need to completely rebuild the squad. Every club has injuries and every club needs to have some sort of depth to be able to win a GF.

Is there enought room for me in that tub This is as bad as it gets, Rivers our only natural key defender, if it's true then I wouldn't risk him for the rest of the year.

Newton isn't going to be an instant star, he's not going to automatically solve our forward woes, but at the moment I believe he is the only one on our list who as the attributes to be able to replace Neitz has a key forward. I just think we should be giving him some game time to get used to AFL level, so he understands how hard he has to work to succeed at that level.