Dante

Just reading Justin Plapp's report on the website, I'd say they are the obvious inclusions. He said of Kent, "He’s still got a few things he’s working on defensively" so I'd say he will not be in for at least another week or two. They are the obvious inclusions, I'm a fan of Harmes and I'd be happy to see him get a go this week, I know some criticise his disposal but he's got pace, can find the ball and has a bit of mongrel.

We will win and win easily, but it won't just be Big Max and the midfield that will do the job for us it will be like last week, a full team effort. This is a different Melbourne and one I haven't seen for many years, they have self belief and ability, together with a game plan equipped to handle the current day's style of play. We handled them in the JLT and they had most of their top players in at the time, so I can'r see any reason why we shouldn't do the job again. What happened last year and previous years has nothing to do with what will happen from here on in, we are a different club and it will take a god side to beat us, Carlton aren't a good side.

Got a call from a D supporter and he said that the Saints on BigFooty are blaming the loss on 1 The Umpires 2 That the Saints went to sleep 3 If Weller had kicked the goal, they would have won 4 The fact that we have so many first round picks, they even included Lewis in that (Roo, McCartin,Billings and I'm sure they have some more.) 5 if Roo hadn't gone down they still would have beaten us.

No problems, 22 games a year and 3 finals over 4 years = 100 games = Father and son.

I've watched the replay twice now after seeing it live and I'd have to say that Oscar was a lot better than given credit for, he did some really smart things and is a real thinking footballer, he may just be a little undersized and inexperienced now. He will be ok and will improve every game. Weideman also impressed me, he will be a very good player and once he starts to clunk a few marks he will figure in amongst the goals. Some of the foot soldiers were also very good and the more you see of Billy and ANB the more you appreciate their game. Good signs and it wasn't just the older players that did the job, even player contributed.

Yes and when he hammered Dangerfield throughout THAT match, some of the ones on here criticising him, were applauding him for that effort.

That's the way Bernie plays, agree with it or not, he won't change. He plays it hard and goes out side the lines but he lets the opposition know he's around.

It would appear that Goodwin doesn't read Demonland, if he did he'd change his opinion quick smart and drop Oscar and ANB next week, never to return. TCHD

ANB will not be dropped, the coach was glowing in his praise for him and it would be extraordinary for him to then drop him a week later, he cops a lot on here but he is a good player and fits in with the style of game we are playing.

Yes, especially when you have players rotating through the back and forward lines. Milkshake will play, I thought he was ok and as has been said he's an, in your face player, the kind Goodwin likes and I guess that's why he went after him.

When Max went off for 10 minutes Jack proved to be invaluable and I doubt they will leave him out of the side, the rest of his game was solid and apart from a couple of grabs he should have taken, in packs, he was good. Jack does a lot of little things that lead to scores because he doesn't panic when he has the ball and as Roos said in the commentary, he has "elite decision making".

Spot on Old, we are a different side this year and they will not throw next weeks game away, St Kilda thought we were the same team and we taught them a lesson. There are a few sides who have performed better than expected in the first round but Carlton wasn't one of them.

I'd like to see Oscar play a few games in the forward line, it sometimes helps players understand a bit more about defence if they know how a forward thinks. I think they did it with Frost and in m opinion it made him a better player. He is a bit too easily beaten by smaller forwards when the ball hits the ground, but he will learn as he gets more game time.

At one point during the game, all the players were in the forward pocket up the end where the Saints come out, it was strange to see all 36 players in 25% of the ground. There were many times when there was no one in our forward half of the ground and I remarked at one point, we better be prepared to run if we clear it out of our backline.

I thought that Jones hauled is back in to the game in the second when he did a couple of bursts through the centre and drilled it in to the forward line. I think the Saints tried to rough us up a bit in the first and that set us back a bit, we came back at them after that and rattled them. Loved Hogans game today, good on the air and on the ground, the real package. Jetta was great all day, as were Lewis, Vince and Clarrie, anyone that thinks Vince isn't up to it anymore should watch the replay. Big Max, think that makes up for last year. ANB could very easily kicked 4 today, Hannan was sensational for a first gamer, I can understand why they picked him. God it was hot and steamy there today, the lighting is terrible and my eyes were stinging from the badly ventilated stadium, it was almost impossible to see what was happening up the other end. Great game by the boys today, I thought they'd win and they did, we are not last years team and I think the Saints thought we were. How good will Hunt be, he's got the strut sure enough, but as long as he keeps playing like he does, good on him, Trac has a bit of that too. Can hardly wait for next week's game.

I've noticed in a couple of games that Max moves aside or back and doesn't allow the opposition ruck to jump in to him, perhaps this will counter the Hickey tactic, Max has the height and if still on the ground the balance.

I remember the same thing being said about the GWS players, they were sledging the opposition even when they were being caned on the field, I guess they knew where they were heading and I'm not concerned if our players are going out supremely confident they can win. It's a bit better than the last 10 years where they look like they are defeated before the siren sounds. Any you're right they probably have coffee at the same Brighton cafes.

ANB seems to get on the end of some gimmes, he seems to have a knack for that, and if he can do that tomorrow and kick two or three goals and lay half a dozen tackles I reckon he will have justified his selection. Hopefully he will and hopefully he will do even better.

Just had a look at the selected side and it's altered from the originally published one. Salem, Watts and Jetta in the starting side and Smith, Oliver and ANB on the bench. Not unhappy with that side and it's good to see the two new ones on the bench until a bit of the heat goes out of the game. Back in 2007 we were expected to do well, but I looked at the team and remarked at the time we hadn't changed much, if any at all and we were knocked out early in the finals the previous year, at that time I wasn't confident about 2007. This year we have new faces, we have fresh talent and we have natural improvement in some of the very highly rated youngsters, I think we will do well and expect to win. We have a couple of auto select players out, but that just makes it more interesting and will put pressure on those that are in to stay and they will have to perform to do so.

i hope we are not expecting too much from this kid, he is playing his first game and if he puts in a solid performance I'll be happy.

I can't see the value in playing out club issues in public, I'm sure Goodwin would have known that allowing players to answer questions about Watts ommision was going to cause a stir. If he wants to put pressure on Jack he should do it on the track, not in the HUN. If he wanted to get a three time B&F captain off side, the best way to do it is to tell him over a golf game that he was no longer sole Captain. The question is, why? Jack V was going nowhere, he should have been told he would be captain in due course, this just doesn't make sense. The Trenners no play appeared to be an insult and even if it wasn't, perceptions are everything, they played 23 so it wasn't as if they wanted strict match day conditions. He may be a good coach, I hope so and I desperately want him to succeed, but I'm not impressed with his handling of these issues so far. He may have his reasons but I don't have to agree with them.

And the AFL swept the drug abuse culture of West Coast under the rug for 10 years, if Brock had proffered his opinion they may have taken the claims seriously. West Coast won flags and brownlows all the time this was going on.

I expressed concerns about a couple of things that Goodwin has done, some of the ones you've expressed above and was accused of talking drivel, now we have the Jones captaincy issue which is disrespectful of Jones, imo. McCartney said he lost the players by changing his methods when he became senior coach, hope Goody doesn't fall in to the same trap.

I think you're right, we will win and it will be a famous victory, one that will set us up for the rest of the year. Mind you, if we've got a big contingent of Dees supporters there, it will make it that much more satisfying.

This is the second serious injury for Col and he fought back from the first one, a foot injury that kept him out for 2 years, so he's a fighter and may still be able to come back from this. I'd say he will give it his all and if that's good enough then great, if not then he can look back on a very solid AFL career. If Bly he'd started his career now and not in the, Dark Times.