Dante

It looks like pick one in the 2008 draft has finally paid off.

Passages of play like that can seem simple when looked at and analysed later, it's have the presence of mind at the time that it important and you can't analyse that in the split second you have to do it.

One of the problems with increased depth is the loss of soldiers who were there when we were really bad, I feel for Dom and that photo of him behind the team last Sunday says it all. I think you're right and Dom will have to reinvent himself if he is to continue as a regular, I don't know if he can do that but I hope he can.

I've always been a fan, he's hard at the ball takes a good mark and is quite quick, his game against GWS at Etihad in there last round of the season a few years ago showed he could play. His in and under work against Carlton was excellent I cracked it with him in a game earlier this season as he was terrible but so was the rest of the side. He's in the category of player that always gets mentioned as trade bait but I doubt the club would me of that mind, he's a lifelong Dees supporter so that's the added bonus for him and us.

Lever makes very good decisions with the ball, and like all good players seems to have all the time in the World to make them, his composure is remarkable Yeah he got out marked by Cripps, big deal, very few players win every contest they enter but we seem to think they should. I hadn’t seen much of him before he came to Melbourne, now I have, I can see why we went after him, he’s a 10 year player and will get better as he goes along.

Carlton will never get back on track until they confront their demons and admit they tanked, the beacon of their tanking is Kruze. They've also taken all the scraps that GWS were throwing out hoping that they would get back quickly, well that didn't work. We have four ex GWS players and none of them played on the weekend. I remember once that their then President John Elliot said "Carlton don't rebuild", he got that right.

It's not fair for Essendon to have to play us at the MCG as an away game, so they don't.

Hunt isn't getting a game at the moment because of form, it's got nothin to do with Bernie.

Hopefully it’s Collingwood.

My issue with this is that it’s ok to criticise a player, but running a monotonous campaign is boring. You form an opinion, you let everyone know what it and leave it at that, it’s ok to throw a few punches every now and then, if it gets worse, but to harp on and on about it is just tedious. We are seeing the same now with Tyson and Weideman, ok you don’t think Tyson can kick and you don’t think Weid can play, ok, opinion noted. Maybe there’s a player that’s doing everything right, let’s talk about him for a while.

Yeah, as soon as Bernie or Jordie want a week off and clock someone. Serously Joel Smith seems to have dropped off the radar a bit, I know he was injured but has his form been ordinary?

Used to be known as Reservoir Parkside when I played in that comp. Len Fellows was their most well known player, all 6'7" of him. We played them once on a ground that had a slope and had a gravel area in the middle. That was in the junior comp, not the Metropolitan league. Preston, Reservoir area was as tough as in those days, the Preston Town Hall dance on a Saturday night was like Festival Hall, there were so many fights and you would have to be crazy to go near the railway station after the dance.

1. Yes it is 2. Yes they will

Gee, not so long back there were (quite) a few on here that didn’t want to see him get another game, let alone another contract. Some pounded him mercilessly, you there, Picket and then say they got it wrong, yes you did.

I was at a function some time ago now and PJ said he would always be a Melbourne supporter and he would be at the games in the outer, barracking along with the rest of us, well done Peter, words can't describe the job you've done for the club i love.

I thought that Weideman was quite serviceable last night and he will be ok.He competes in the air, his ruck work was much better than I expected and he can find the football, he's raw and needs a bit of development and a bit more size but I think we've got a player there.

Not only is Max not included he, more or less, has Jarrod Witts as the one pushing to get in to the top 8. Then he goes on to say that the reason Martin was so good was the absence of Ryder and the reason Nik Nat was so good was the fact he played mainly against Blicsavs who rarely plays in the ruck now. Max had great figures on the weekend against a very good and former AA ruckman in Goldy, the others were playing against part timers and Max would have had 100 taps against that opposition, provided there were that many contests, of course. It won't take our words to show the football World he is an idiot, his own words condemn him to that.

If we are as good as we are supposed to be, we should have beaten them easily. They didn't have a great side in on Saturday and it was there smarter play and skill that beat us. Smarter, they moved the ball better with better options and their midfield was too skilful for ours.

That's the problem, they waltzed in, under no pressure, they are a skilled side and our game plan just doesn't stand up to that sort of play, our players lack skill, we are hard at the ball but not skillful enough when we get it. They were organised, we were not. In no particular order we have, Tyson, Wagner, Harmes, Hunt, Bugg, Maynard, Jones, Pederson who all put in and are hard at it, but just lack the skill and finesse to compete with the better sides, better players. We have too many players on the list that lack composure. If I was a Cats supporter, I would have loved the way they passed the ball around with precision and how they drew 2 or 3 of our players in to the tackle and then hand passed the ball to a free player who's man had left him.

Not just the forward line, we hardly touched the ball in the second quarter, there was no on field leadership to steady the ship, we've lacked that for years. Watching the game you could see Geelong passing the ball from side to side in the backline and then they would strike and we seemed powerless to stop them. Our brand of football looked poor by comparison and we had no one in the forward line ready to offer a lead, isn't that what the small to medium forwards are there for? We lack skilled players.

The kicking in to the forward line today was terrible, we bombed it in all day. Maynard made some shocking disposal errors today and having two really inexperienced players in, Fritsch as well probably cost us the game. Tyson for Maynard and we would have been a much more balanced side, you can't just be a stopper in today's game and he didn't do that very well. We needed to have our best side out on the park today and didn't.

I'm leaving shortly but I'm not sure about today, not really convinced this is our best available team. Anyway, I've seen us lose before when everyone thought we'd win, so it won't come as a shock if we lose again.

No, I think you are missing the point, that's exactly what has happened, perhaps you should read through this thread again. He was 19 last year and didn't dominate, well howdy doody, what did you expect, he's had a taste of what's required and now he knows what to do when he gets back in the side. Get off his back and just learn to be happy that we have a team that's good enough to allow him to develop before he gets thrown to the wolves.

Exactly, he's 20 and hasn't shown the talent yet to win a game off his own boot. Who cares about all his injuries and interrupted pre seasons, we want stars, nothing less will do. The season, for us, hasn't started yet and we have a side that appears capable of playing finals football this year but who cares about that, let's rip in to a kid who hasn't been given the chance to prove himself. Unbelievable.

We're a strange bunch at Demonland, we would rather tear a kid apart, Weideman, because he hasn't become a star of the competition than recognise the talents and the loyalty shown by a kid the same age who has shown talent and maturity beyond his years. The news that he has re signed for a further 2 years is fantastic, we have, obviously, got a united and dedicated group of players all keen to remain with the club and win a flag for themselves and us supporters. Good on you Clarrie, great to see you believe in the club. Thanks to the recruiters and the Coach for recognising the talent and character he has.