Bay Riffin

was good overall but once againmade errors early on the coast us dearly. one of the key reasons our starts have been poor recently, but today Essendon did not make us pay. did come back against a very undermanned Essendon forward line it must be said.

We play well when he is in, so he deserves his spot no doubt. was crashing into packs on QB. mind you if McDonald and Sylvia come back, then someone like Jordie will go. he is a good kick, pretty good decision maker but does lack that extra pace at the elite level.

looked p1ssweak on the weekend in not putting up a fight when it mattered and now look weaker having a whinge about it.

what impressed me today was Mortons goal. If you replay the 3rd quarter we kicked out from a behind to Jamar who took the mark around 50-55 metres out defensive 50, then played on straight away into the middle. If you look again, Morton is next to Jamar when he marks it, then takes of down the wing to accept the ball moving quickly through the midfield. not many could run that 100 metres like Cale did and nail the goal. He will be something special and finally looks like he won't snap in half

not sure why so many bag him. in the pre-season he was not hopeless as some would say. just not outstanding thats all. Against Essndon he was ok, and Gysberts and Bail looked unimpressive to me. how things can change ?!?! He appears a different cat to me, someone who has that want to do the mercurial, otherwise it can be boring for him. just an impression. a Milne type perhaps. From what I have seen, there is plenty to work with. In the next couple of years, clubs will be pilfering VFL ranks looking deeper for talent than ever before. Maric would be picked up no doubt if he was available, his talent is there. We are better off persisting with him over a year or two and see if he develops. His reports at casey show he is racking up 20 possession games now with a goal or two each week. What are people expecting if that is meant to be a dud? I also remember Bailey mentioning his name as someone who rocked up to pre-season training in terrific shape and showing a great attitude. He is smooth, has great hands and showed a bit when playing for the Dees. He is still young. give him time.

is getting back into it nicely. decent game against Carlton, and expect a real breakthrough game soon to say he is back in form. did you expect BOGs after a serious knee injury ?

I agree with calls he was unlucky to be dropped early on. he was taking lead up marks and using the ball fairly well. He deserves a call up. personally I would have he and Watts (maybe last chance) rotating deep in the forward line. His kicking is quite good and might get some confidence if left in the one position. At least we would have someone with size and grunt on our forward line who can use the ball.

absolutely. round 1 to Melbourne. if Gysberts can out perform Brock in his first year, there will be some embarrassed faces at Carlton over this.

Henderson and Mclean out. that is ridiculously funny. Fev trade working nicely. Warnock out is a blow. wonder why? rivers can consider himself a lucky man. maybe being on the leadership gives you immunity from being dropped. can see this backfiring badly with no second key position down back.

trying to talk us up,using the old coaches trick, he is worried. We have to bring our A game this week and beats these pr1cks. Let's not forget round 22, 2007, the day they secured Kruzer and ultimately Judd. May Jamar put his knee into Kreuzers chest early on and set the tone.

having just watched the replay, Gysbert was probably above average when considering all players, but factor in his first game and he was excellent. very very good considering the pressure he was under.

good article on comparing defences in the AFL. http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/94922/default.aspx Always thought comparing 'goals conceded' as flawed, as opposed to comparing the rate of goals conceded everytime the ball comes down, which is far more valid. We compare favourably to the rest in this regard especially. Only thing to keep in mind is getting numbers back can over-value a side e.g St Kilda, but we probably get numbers back more than the doggies at times. We probably have the most flexibly backline as well, with the only real weakness against teams with more than 1 fast bloke.

Jetta has been playing well, but Wonna is a massive charity selection. Would not be happy to see that happen if I was on the list. Played 2 games for casey seniors and not been in the best. How would Gysberts feel if this rumour is true.

same injury ?

not good news about blease. does anyone knows whats wrong ?

Be ridiculous to play Wonna now, especially after coming back overweight and out of condition this year. make him earn it and get in the best a couple of times. make the bloke put in as hard as everyone else. Gysberts is way ahead at present.

He really has developed in the wrong team, as I think Warnock and Frawley have taken his best position as a key back. Thing is his biggest deficiency is his kicking and you can’t survive in this game being a poor kick. He appears to be v good 1 on 1 in contested marking situations, which is actually needed less and less these days. This is something we have few of, however. An article on Frawley today quoted Wellman as saying Frawley had the athletic ability but also the ‘competitive’ element. He can be a terrior and hard on himself when he makes mistakes. I don’t see this in Martin. He seems soft, and lacking confidence at times when moving into heavy traffic. Also he is a sprinter so is best served on short sharp leads rather than floating around the ground. Sprinting is his strength. I also am beginning to feel he won’t make it. The closest player I could think of would be O’Halpin but he is better because of that mongrel factor in him.

little harsh. We have won 3 games and he was an integral part of them. can hold is head up higher than a lot on our list over the last 3 years. I will be surprised if he doesn't impress at Casey and get back in sooner rather than later. I think Rivers was lucky to take his spot, despite McDonalds poor game last week. He moves the ball on quicker than Rivers does.

and that makes sense. Petterd is a good example of a player getting goals from his defensive side as well as attacking game. I think when watts is called up, Dean will be confident he can do the tackling and chasing part to the standard required. Sounds from the coach he needs to develop this more. Surely if he is so quick, that's the ideal weapon to run someone down. Anyway, as to whether to listen to the Coach's report where everyone is 'good', or some p1ssed blokes on a footy trip on the gold coast, i think I will just see for myself first hand in future.

he got better as the game wore on last week. His couple of contested marks on Anthony were impressive. hope he backs up this week, which we will need against Adelaide.

Well plenty have in the past. The point is arguable about what is the better method. Kreuzer and Natanui were not earning their spots early on performance alone. They were showing glimpses at best. and they were 'talls' expected to take longer. They played heaps of games to get them used to AFL. The rewards came after a while. Natanui early was dreadful but they kept playing him. i don't mind Strauss leaving for Garland but would hate to think we play someone like Bartram, who is not getting better and a woeful kick at times ahead of Strauss. anyway, genrally we are playing the youngsters so that is good overall.

That theory would rule out playing Garland early on, Bennell, Jetta. It does fly in the face of giving young blokes a good 4 or 5 games to show something, hence my point.

from the MFC website "Colin Sylvia will make his return this Sunday from a broken jaw when the Demons take on Adelaide at the MCG. Colin Garland is a chance to return after he missed the majority of the 2009 season due to a foot fracture. " a giveaway there that Sylvia will play and Garland will be an emergency, which wouldn't surprise too many. does show Garland is on the verge of selection though.

Don't know why we dropped Strauss. 2 games isn't really a great look at it, even if he wasn't setting the world on fire. Would have thought you would give him some time to adjust to the pace and his kicking would become a weapon. Guess it answers Leigh Matthews question to see if we dropped Bennell this week. Would have liked to send the message if you don't go when its your turn then don't play. Apparently not the case at the Dees. Garland big in. remarkable turnaround given he didn't play the practice matches.

Found his game against Brisbane was a typical reflection of his last few years at Melbourne. Racked up 20 plus possessions. Half of them decent, quite a few others that missed targets and a few that were woeful turnovers resulting in goals to the opposition. Just watch Ratten slowly take himself down as he justifies his selections of Warnock and Brock by having to play them each week. It will be sooner rather than later they will cost them important games.