Wiseblood

It's the players Top 50 players that will be coming out, not 50 breakout players. Having said that, I'm in the 'just chill' category with this one. Just because players aren't thought of at the beginning of the season doesn't mean they can't go out there and prove them wrong. I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices this.

I'm pumped before every season. This one feels a little different to the previous ones, but then I could probably have said that about the last few since Roos first took over. The Neeld years had me pumped but totally detached from the emotional side of things - I went in to every game expecting a belting to soften the blow. Now, I got into every game expecting us to either win or come darn close to it. So the feelings of excitement are certainly different to those, say, 5 years ago.

Exactly. Another player shows faith in the club and the direction it is heading in. Great stuff.

Nothing too surprising about the selections. Lewis and ANB were always going to miss, while getting Garlett, Jetta and Tyson back into the side is a big positive. Viney would have been great but I think not taking a risk with him is a good idea. The Saints look like they are going in at pretty much full strength so I think that's a positive as well.

He's named on the bench.

If only Foxtel was free to air...

Has he? First I've heard of it. I know he's had a niggle at training but there has been no suggestion of him 'doing his groin'.

The squads are released for this game later today, so I thought a thread for the game itself wouldn't hurt. Who do we expect to play this weekend? Apart from someone like Lewis who may be rested with his calf injury, you would assume we would be fielding close to what our best 22 will look like for Round 1. I'm excited to see us put the Saints away and complete the perfect preparation for Round 1! UPDATE: Melbourne v St Kilda at Casey Fields, 7.05pm AEDT MELBOURNE B: J.Wagner, O.McDonald, M.Hibberd HB: J.Hunt, J.Lever, N.Jetta C: C.Salem, C.Petracca, B.Stretch HF: J.Garlett, C.Pedersen, J.Melksham F: B.Fritsch, J.Hogan, M.Hannan Foll: M.Gawn, C.Oliver, N.Jones I/C: J.Harmes, A.Brayshaw, D.Tyson, S.Frost, C.Maynard, B.Vince, T.McDonald, T.Bugg Emerg: C.Spargo, D.Kent, J.Kennedy Harris, D.Keilty In: N.Jetta, J.Garlett, D.Tyson, S.Frost Out: J.Lewis (Injured), A.Neal-Bullen (rested) Notable absentees: Jack Viney, Jordan Lewis, Alex Neal-Bullen, Note that Melbourne is listed as four ins/two outs as 24 players took the field in its last JLT match v North Melbourne. ST KILDA B: J.Geary, N.Brown, D.Roberton HB: J.Webster, J.Carlisle, S.Savage C: J.Newnes, D.Armitage, J.Sinclair HF: J.Billings, P.McCartin, J.Steele F: J.Gresham, T.Membrey, J.Bruce Foll: T.Hickey, S.Ross, J.Steven I/C: L.Dunstan, B.Acres, K.Stevens, M.Weller, S.Gilbert, N.Coffield, H.Clark, R.Marshall Emerg: J.Lonie, N.Wright, B.White, L.Austin In: J.Billings, J.Bruce, T.Hickey, K.Stevens Out: B.Long, B.Longer (injured), J.Lonie, N.Wright Notable absentees: Billy Longer, Jack Lonie, Josh Battle, Hugh Goddard

I'm not reading anything in to today's game at all - the Cats are resting some of their best players today and, outside of a few veterans, have a pretty inexperienced side up there. Their second JLT game will be more of an indication of how they're really shaping up for Round 1.

As Redleg said, that horse may have bolted. He's been at Casey for a few years and has spent most of that in the development league. I don't think he'll be making it from here.

All I got from this was that Champion Data's love affair with Collingwood continues.

The other one is dead to me, so it's 1 really...

One of those players is not like the others.

On the face of it, Pies fans will say they were missing some important players. Deep down though, they'll be worried. It's the same old game play with the same old players. Bucks is too stubborn to change.

It's the classic pre-season game really. Both teams missing plenty of their best 22 which doesn't help.

Conditions weren't real flash tonight, but the Saints seemed to lack a bit of polish while the Blues seemed to want it more. Having said that, Bolton will want to take any win he can so no doubt he pushed his players a bit more than Richo might have. McCartin kicked a couple but he looks like an uncoordinated 13 year old who doesn't know what to do with a body that's larger than most.

I'm guessing you're a Jesse Hogan fan, yeah?

Of the 3 selections, I went with ANB. Gawny looks in terrific nick and Fritsch jagged 3 goals in a really good first up performance, but the continual improvement from ANB has been great to watch. I was also impressed with Melksham's game and what he brings to the side at the moment.

Irony, thy name is Saty.

True, but they'll send someone just to get under his skin if they see him losing his temper when he's tagged. But yes, hopefully a tag means little and they give up on it once they realise he still has a big influence on the game regardless.

He's going to have to be careful in the future - these hard tags will come his way more and more and he'll need to learn to keep his temper in check and not get himself in to trouble. He's too valuable to the team to be doing that.

I haven't seen, especially from the North game, that there is any reason why we need to make that change.

I don't know why people take this view. We played our strongest side on the weekend, minus the injuries, and Frost didn't get a look in. Oscar more than held his own, looked composed and defended well. What more do you want? We won't play three talls down back, so I'd say Lever and Oscar will be the two starting there in Round 1.

Love this bloke. I said a few days ago that he has been our most improved player over the last 18 months, and he is a prime example of the type of players we now have on our list - hard working, willing to learn and they always give 100% out on the field.

Even if he isn't 100% fit, they can still stick him in the goal square where he can cause plenty of problems for us. I'll believe it when he isn't named in a months time.