RickyBobby

This could well be attributed to a lack of talk out on the field as well, defenders should back themselves to run the ball out of defence as Belly is doing, his teammates should be letting him no if he's in danger of getting tackled. The problem is lack of confidence usually results in little to no talk out on the field.

As do I. Y_M your constant barraging of Cameron Bruce is getting old... as is your undying love for Colin Sylvia.

Dunn's been moved around his whole career, forward then back then midfield then forward then midfield sandy then seniors then sandy and so on for the past 2-3 years no harm in leaving him in the seniors all year IMO he'll come good otherwise he could be out the door at years end. Has the makings of a quality footballer just needs to make a position his own.

Problem is besides Valenti and maybe Buckley no one at Sandy has really put there hands up for selection, I watched the Sandy game at the weekend and againt fairly weak opposition no one really shined besides the two mentioned. Having said that I'd give Stef Martin a run ahead of Warnock, would like to see how he copes at AFL level I reckon he could be a regular in the seniors this time next year.

I'm "Dee Division" the current league leader (just)...

FWIW my thoughts Paul Wheatley: like him but has been an underachiever to date I think. Will be an important player to us over the next couple of years as we go through the re-building stage, could have been an absolute gun. Russell Robertson: soft, uninterested, selfish, frustrating to watch and on the very odd occasion a game winner the bad far outweighs the good with Robbo Jeff White: Think Jeff does enough to warrant his selection each week has been a good loyal servant but it is time to start handing over the reigns Paul Johnson: Always liked the guy when comparing to Jamar anyway, super impressed with his start to the year looks like he wants to be out there, committed, strong and starting to show he can really play Chris Johnson: won't make it! Jace Bode: haven't seen enough of him to comment Lynden Dunn: seems a bit behind in his development like alot of Melbourne players... will become a player Daniel Bell: needs to take the step up from hardworking defender to elite defender and think he will, needs some support but he'll be right Colin Sylvia: trade bait Colin Garland: boourns I don't like to be overly critical of young guys but seriously... boo Matthew Bate: will be a star Jared Rivers: Will once again establish himself as one of the key backs in the comp Cale Morton: Natural, looking forward to see what the future has in store for Cale. He'll be good, how good though is is up to him.

hell yeah he did a shocking start to the season for Robbo should be dropped and if he's not there's something wrong. Garland should also go and not play again till he's ready to have a crack. Uninterested is the word i'd use to sum up them two we don't need that. Add Sylvia to that list I just hope he has a few good games come year end so we get a bit of value come trade time. That's my gripe for the day, on a positive note Morton is a natural footballer always seems to have time and uses the ball well, PJ continued his great form, Aussie looked threatening. Without dominating our backline looks alot more solid with Rivers and Bartram get Whelan in there and where starting to look alright in defence but as i alluded to in a previous thread our forward line is our major weakness atm.

Starting to look like a decent team - on paper anyways. I to hope Garland doesn't play!

I have no doubt if we have a slot available he will get his chance, he won't do any worse than alot of other players out there that's for sure.

Franklin is a great talent, i'd give anything to have a player like that at Melbourne someone you pay to go watch, I was at the game on the weekend and found myself just watching Franklin whenever the ball went down to the hawks forward line he's fantastic to watch. I don't see anything wrong with a little bit of arrogance in a player and showmanship, Farmer had it, Jackovich had it and it's what made them the players they were, a joy to watch. Football needs more players and charachters like this.

I know there is alot of concern on here around where our list is at but the bleakest part for me after last weeks game and the couple of pre-season games I watched is I have real concern for where we are going to get our goals from this year. Below is a summary of our forward options this year and what they are likely to contribute: Neitz - No longer capable of kicking big bags of goals. Will chip in with 3 or 4 at very best but more likely 1-2. Miller - Will probably be used more down back, regardless not capable of contributing more than 2 goals a game at his very best. Weetra - Raw... very raw might kick a couple hear and there but unlikely to contribute regularly and consistently at this stage. Garland - As above Dunn - questions of where he will be played still but is one player who is handy around goals but hasn't established himself as a key forward option capapble of kicking a bag yet. Bate - As above Robertson - Soft, chips in with cheap goals when the games are well and truly over. Newton - Has some talent but yet to prove he can hold down a key position in the forward line will get opportunity this year but needs to assert himself on the game more, attack the footy, hold his marks and capitalise with goals. Green - Was once a promising forward no longer used there but is one player I think is capable of kicking a bag of goals... least he used to look like he could. I still see him as playing a Brad Johnson type role up forward, similar build and a great kick for goal. Maric - Exciting young forward with promise will get a chance this year but to early to tell what he will bring to the forward line. Yze - Should be at a stage where he can play out of a forward pocket and chip in with 2-3 goals, week in week out unfortunately he isn't, his once sublime skills and ability to do the impossible seem all but gone Davey - Used more in the midfield these days but if forward is one player who we could rely on to kick a few and possibly turn a match on it's head or break a game apart but looks unlikely to be used in this way this year. Holland - Seems to have made his place in the seniors (when he plays) as a back on the gorilla forwards. Shown at Sandy he can play forward and kick 4-5 but that's Sandy. Sylvia - Who knows? Looked primed for a big year before his suspension still have hopes he will have that breakthrough year this year but will he play forward or midfield? Regardless is one we should be able to rely on to chip in consistently with 2 or 3 goals if playing forward. Wonaeamirri - Rookie, not sure if he'll get a go has pace to cause a bit of excitement and pressure in the forward half but one for the future. Is anyone else concerned about this and our future in this area, I think the above paints a pretty bleak picture. We are in desperate need of a key forward who can be a matchwinner or break a game apart i'm not sold on Newton being the answer yet and unless Bate or Dunn step up and really dominate up forward I just can't see where we are going to get our goals from. Thoughts?

It's all well and good roughing em up before the bounce but it means nothing if you don't have a crack when the footy's there to be won. IMO the only players that showed a bit of ticker yesterday were P.J and Jones. Carrol looked like a scared boy every time the ball got near Franklin and co... our lack of pressure was scary as well.

It's a terrible, terrible site and strangely enough it's built on an open source platform Dot Net Nuke which explains the 15 yo work experience comment earlier in this thread. Just forget about it and go to the herald sun's footy site.

I have this same concern with Newton really needs to harden up and work on his second efforts it's bad enough having robbo in our forward line jumping around everywhere, dropping marks everywhere, chipping in for cheap easy goals and not working hard and presenting but with another forward i.e. Newton doing the same thing it makes for infuriating football to watch... just have a crack.

The afl websites are all poorly developed, being the nations number one sport it amazes me that they (the AFL) have persisted with such mediocre websites each year take a look at nfl.com or nba.com and see how much they put into there online technologies. Whilst Bigpond have ownership over the sites it's my understanding all the development of the sites is done by a third party vendor based in Sydney and they do a pretty awful job to be honest, I wonder how much input the AFL actually have into the websites and how much they care. Last years site was bad in terms of page loading time and it always going down but this year it looks terrible and the same issues seem to still be there.

My observations from the game... i'll try to throw in a few positives. Newton is not the answer doesn't present at all at full forward needs to develop... and quickly. Our forward line is going to struggle big time this year I don't know what the answer is maybe Green up forward I just can't seeing us kicking a winning score unless something changes. Our movement of the ball was frustrating to watch to many handballs and playing sideways maybe it's cause we have no one presenting in the forward line but why not just kick the footy. Sylvia tried hard all day and showed some real glimpses of brilliance not being a big Sylvia fan I was really impressed with his game today, good to see Beamer out there getting a bit of the footy. Thought Carroll was quite good down back but didn't have much support, Bell was probably our best down back. P.Johnson was crashing packs and playing like he wanted to be out there, cemented his spot for round 1 i'd say. Robbo's soft, chipped in for a few cheap goals at the end but generally looked disinterested. Saw the first quarter of the sandy game fantstic to see Wheels and Rivers out there and dutchy was looking dangerous up forward not sure how he finished up? Some dude hanging over the fence giving Neitz a serve after the game would have to get the award for being the biggest toss of the day the worst part was he was a dees fan - it was a practice match ffs.

Does anyone know if there is an entry price for this game? If so how much? Also can you BYO beers and park round the oval like classic country and suburban footy.

The parallel i see between Valenti and Godfrey isn't so much about their ball skills as such but more the way they go about there footy, without seeing alot of Valenti I just think he seems to have that same determination and work ethic that Godfrey had to make the most of the skills he has. You would never claim Godfrey was a naturally talented footballer but he had a crack and worked bloody hard to earn every game he played in the red and blue which is more than you can say about some of our more naturally skilled players of the past. Valenti will do the same work hard and earn his spot in our team - by years end i'm tipping.

Agree Valenti has shown already that he knows how to find the footy is built for the rigours of AFL and looks like a goer Simon Godfrey like but with a touch of class.

I get the feeliing it might be awhile before we see wheels play which is unfortunate. Warnock should enjoy these practice games as based on pre-season and last years performances he would be unlikely to pull on the red and blue once the real stuff begins, hope he proves me wrong but i'd much rather have Valenti, Aussie or maybe even Zomer on the senior list ahead of Warnock if only you could demote a player based on performances... A little harsh? perhaps?

Earlier in the week I heard mention of Bartram possibly getting a game this week but unfortunately he's not named in the 29 man squad. Good to see Buckley back in again and McLean and Neitz getting a run. Be great if Carroll could do a Steve Johnson type turnaround and have a blinder of a season after his team-imposed suspension. Melbourne Squad Simon Buckley Nathan Jones Ben Holland Brock McLean Matthew Bate Brad Miller James Frawley David Neitz Cale Morton Paul Johnson Colin Sylvia Adem Yze Ricky Petterd Addam Maric Colin Garland Daniel Bell Brent Moloney Russell Robertson Kyle Cheney John Meesen Isaac Weetra Tom McNamara Jeff White Aaron Davey Matthew Warnock Mark Jamar Nathan Carroll Jace Bode Shane Valenti

Thanks to everyone involved in making this happen again was great to get out there and have a bit of a run even if I didn't get much of the footy. Wise was an inspirational leader, blessed_hands dominated in a great team effort and the coaches did a top job rotating and given everyone a good run. Look forward to the next hit-out.

Snake will be there, he's coming with me so count him in as well!

Well we're slowly creeping into the time when footy is back and conversation is starting to pick up on Demonland again For a bit of fun thought it would be timely to get people's thoughts/tips on who they think will be the recipients of the key awards for 2008... I know it's early to make a call but for the sake of passing some time I've had a crack at who I think below. MFC Best and Fairest: Brock McLean MFC best team player: Nathan Jones MFC best clubman: Daniel Bell MFC most improved: Simon Buckley MFC Most Consistent: Brock McLean MFC Best First Year player: Addam Maric MFC Leading Goalkicker: Russell Robertson Most votes in Sandringham’s best and fairest by a Melbourne player: Chris Johnson

Heard Buckley's name mentioned in a few of these off-season reports as one who has been impressing. Let's hope he can take a step up this season and cement his place in the 22 and give us a bit of pace and run through the midfield. Garland is an interesting one can't say I was overly impressed with anything I saw last season but that's to be expected I guess as he gets a feel for it at the highest level, I to would like to see him played up forward rather than down back this year.