Wiseblood

All I get from this is, as you say, the vindication that the club made the right decision. Even in a new environment, in a new state, he is still doing the same things that frustrated us for so many years. There have been flashes of brilliance but too much of the inconsistency that has plagued his career. It also means he may not be playing the following Friday night against us.

There's nothing 'apparently' about it. His leadership at the club, from what I've heard, has been excellent since the day he arrived. He's never been quick so why we're all up in arms about him being slow is baffling. He hits way way way more targets than he misses (and plenty at our club are prone to horrible turnovers) and his discipline this season has been good. DS has just decided yesterday that he needs someone to sink the boots into. Lewis seems to be his man. He's done this before though where he huffs and puffs and stomps his feet (Tom McDonald) and has been made to look silly, so there's no reason why it won't happen again.

Don't argue it. Just be thankful that Tom McDonald hadn't had enough of us.

We have seen how we go with these two, and it hasn't been any better. Hunt has more upside and better games in the bank, but he's hardly banging the door down at Casey.

Perhaps said poster has learned from his lessons and has decided to just pot older blokes who are closer to the end, thus leaving him less room to look a little silly?

I was waiting to see who would drop their bundle the hardest. Well done, DeeSpencer. You've won by the length of the Flemington Straight.

Paging @stevethemanjordan The bloke is definitely in a rut. Hasn't been the same player since his finger injury. He should be past that by now, though. I know for a fact that McCartney loves him, but also acknowledges that he frustrates the coaches because he doesn't do the hard things often enough. Will do the flashy thing, but sometimes won't run hard enough to get to position or run hard defensively. He needs to build his tank and improve this if he wants to be a midfielder.

He's soft, but he's also someone who I believe they have totally misused this season. He could be a weapon for them through the midfield, but either through poor fitness or an unwillingness to play him there, he's languishing in their dysfunctional forward line. I don't think I'd be interested in him, but he's just the sort of player who could leave and dominate elsewhere.

I also think players would be actively seeking us out as a club to join as well. Why go to Norf, Carltank, the Druggies or the dodgy pricks from Moorabbin when you could join a gun team on the rise? The choice is easy.

Does anyone know if the bloke is any good? I've heard of him but have no idea if he can play or not.

If you were to go purely on their ruck work, then Gawn wins. He leads the comp in hitouts and hitouts to advantage (and another one they mentioned today, but I can't remember what that was.) Grundy has more influence around the ground, but to me, the AA ruck should play the rucking role better than anyone else. To me, that puts Gawn in the box seat.

I believe Harmes was the one to do that, although with how well he runs the wings Fritsch was able to give some support down there as well.

The only thing against him at the moment might be his slow start to the season, although his last month has been sensational.

I'd have just the three - Gawn, Oliver and Hogan. Why 3? It's the even spread of contributions from everyone in the side at the moment. The above 3 are the consistent standouts for me.

True, but a golden injury run can force players to look elsewhere. Dom may see the writing on the wall and ask for a trade if an attractive offer comes his way. He is signed until the end of next year so he will probably see his contract out, but while he is very good for our depth we can't expect a bloke with plenty of footy left in him to hang around waiting for a chance.

That's great. Some would agree, others would call him a troll. I fall in the latter. And him 'bleeding red & blue' might make him a better supporter than you, but it doesn't make him better than the rest.

No one is a better supporter than anyone else. We all contribute in our own ways, whether that be through attendance, membership, posting here or wearing your gear into work on a Monday win, lose or draw. While I don't agree with some posters on here, that doesn't mean I would consider them any less of a supporter than me or anyone else.

The comments in this thread, as well as the Goodwin thread, show how scarred some fans are. It annoys me, but at the same time I slightly understand where they are coming from. The last month shows how we need to be patient - a couple of bad losses and we had some supporters, who now look rather stupid, questioning everything as if the club was caving in. Now look at us. Just goes to show that we don't need to be negative about every decision made and be able to see the long term view, not just the short term.

Kind of reaffirms my stance on his article - Jay Clark is connecting dots that simply aren't there yet. All the chatter has been about us having the room and that we've looked long term for some time now to ensure we have the space to sign our players and add others. Seems like he's seen one Brayshaw at the Eagles, looked at the potential of Gaff leaving with Melbourne being interested and gone from there. Nothing in it.

Yep. The link they make with the Eagles is the fact one of his brothers plays there. It's thin at best.

For those that might not be able to read it - that article is a joke. Nowhere does it actually say that the Eagles are interested in Gus, more that it wonders if the Eagles will chase him as 'revenge' for us chasing Gaff. There is absolutely nothing to suggest he wants out, no quotes from managers or coaches or anything resembling something new. It's a headline purely for there for clicks.

Agree with all of that, LH. Others who we need to re-sign include: James Harmes, who has had a great year to date. Tim Smith, whose last 2 games show that he can be a really handy player for us going forward. They will make a call on it later in the year, but I reckon Bernie deserves one more year at the moment. Harley Balic is probably in line for another year as, from all reports, he's doing pretty well at Casey. Beyond those above and the players you mentioned (Gus, T Mac, Oscar, Jetta), I'll be interested to see who else we re-sign. Does Buggy get another year? Do we give Pedo another year as well, or do we have enough tall cover now?

I don't think we'll ever know the reasons behind it unless Goodwin, or McCartney himself, come forward with it. We could speculate all day - perhaps they moved him there as an extra voice on the bench to encourage, support and teach the players through the game, something he has always been really good at? Either way it's been a positive move and further proof that Goodwin is happy to make changes when required.

I'd do the same thing... if I had any semblance of a rig...

Here is the article: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/melbourne/melbournes-jake-melksham-has-become-the-afls-oneonone-king-inside-forward-50/news-story/dab7157a6984a8090831b8205849f9d3 For those that cannot get past the paywall, the crux of the article is this: Jake has won more one on one contests inside 50 (9 out of 14) than any other player in the competition. Since Round 6 we have also retained possession of the ball a ridiculous 93.3% of the time when Melksham kicks the ball inside 50. That's 20% better than anyone else. This bloke is having a stellar year and is a big reason why we've been so good since the Richmond game (where he kicked 4 goals and have Rance an absolute bath). He is continuing to prove that he is a fantastic pick up for the side and, at only 26 years of age, still has plenty to offer in the years to come.