Wiseblood

Joe Daniher made Jake Lever look distinctly average in that term.

I'm a fan of the kid as you know OD, however, I also see where you're coming from and I do think the club has handled his situation quite well this season. Earlier in the year he was clearly off the pace, and he's spent a large chunk of the year back at Casey. Over the last month in particular we've seen him improve and I think he deserves a second crack at it. For our sake, and for his, let's hope he makes a positive contribution tomorrow. God only knows we need it!

I'm with you on this one, BBO - Jones is still averaging 9 contested possessions a game, and that includes the Dogs game where he got injured, so it may well be closer to 10 without that one. He is only averaging around 3 clearances a game which is a little down but also reflective on a far stronger midfield. To suggest he get lots of cheapies out the back is quite disrespectful to the great man. Edit - Jones averaged on half a contested possie more last season compared to this one, but he is down from averaging 5 clearances a game last season. Again, I'd put that down to a stronger midfield, not that he isn't looking for the harder ball.

He's been reported and has had an up and down year, so we instantly stick him on the trade block. Don't you know how WYL's mind works?

Yep. Totally.

This has escalated quickly.

This is all well and good, but it's pretty clear that both players have not been working hard enough to get themselves in a position to be the 'finisher'. I don't expect either to rack up by contested possession numbers, and I don't think Goody does either - he just expects them to work their backsides off and play their role. Both Salem and Watts have failed to do that and have been dropped. It's that simple. We can't be seen to be rewarding blokes who aren't playing their role properly within our team.

Nothing in it I reckon. He is just going off internet rumours, some of which were started by some on here.

GWS better do the business tonight.

There is clearly some merit in the gameplan, though. At times this year we have overwhelmed sides and looked absolutely terrific. This is down to the gameplan. As someone mentioned earlier it's far more offensive than defensive, and we probably need to get the balance right for it to become consistently effective.

Has had a tough couple of years, but in his time at the club he has shown enough to be given another year on the list to see if he can get his body right and be a positive contributor on field again.

It's been a large part of our 10 wins this season, so I would hardly call it 'dumb'. Not to mention the fact that ANB has been one of our most improved players because of it.

Where was he over the last fortnight? I'm a Watts fan, but you could hardly make a case that meant he stayed in the side. If you aren't playing up to scratch then you get dropped. Simple. I agree re: Maynard, but it may be part of a correction from last weekend when we probably went in with one too many inside mids. Adding Brayshaw, who is another who can play that role, means he has to miss out.

Gibbs to Adelaide, Lever to Melbourne, our first rounder this year and a second rounder next year to the Blues. They won't be interested in any of our players, and we won't offer the ones they will have interest in. Maybe the Crows chuck in a second rounder of some sort as well to go to the Blues. Carlton wanted two first rounders last year, so one first rounder and two seconds might get the job done.

I feel like we've played our best footy when we have to lower our eyes - with a smaller forward line we will have no option but to do this. I'm confident we can kick a winning score with the players we have. On Watts - he is no different to Frost or Salem. If you don't bring the intensity required, then you miss out. Simple. I know Salem and Watts are two of our best users of the footy, but they can't do much for us if they aren't getting their hands on it enough. I like the message Goodwin is sending.

I really like Goodwin's innovation with this tactic, but the discussion around how often we use it is a valid one. Is it something we use at the start of every quarter? Do we just use it when we need to push for a few extra goals to get back into or kill a contest? I don't think the tactic has been 'found out' as such, as there are still times where it works well, I just think we need to be smarter with how we use it. It wouldn't hurt to have a few tweaks to it that we can implement on the fly when the situation requires it. I do think it's a tactic we can build off, though, and this year will have allowed our coaching team to assess and hopefully make the changes required so that it works more often than it doesn't.

If Watts is dropped, and it's still an if at this stage, it will be because he hasn't been hitting enough of the KPI's that have been set for him. I would rather see him dropped and Goodwin reward others while also continuing to set the tone for what is expected when you play for the Melbourne Football Club. If Watts isn't doing this, and you could argue that he isn't, then he needs to be treated like anyone else, regardless of the 'class' he may bring to the side.

Has it been confirmed that Wagner is selected in the 22 this week?

Me too. T Mac has been handy up forward but Bruce and Membrey have the capability of kicking multiple goals, and dropping Frost and adding Weideman suggests that T Mac may well head to the backline this weekend. I think they'll continue to use Pedersen as a chop our for Gawn, which keeps him in the forward half of the ground.

Amen to that, Wrecker. It's very easy to forget what a fantastic player he is. Clearly he feels he is ready for a call up, as you would assume they left that decision to him. I'm not certain he will play this week, but he is at least gaining confidence by the week and not far away from once again becoming a key cog in our side.

With Frost out, it certainly wouldn't surprise to see T Mac go back with his brother to play on Bruce and Membrey. I think Watts survives as Goodwin has shown a preference for 3 talls in the forward line, so I can see him going with the mix of Watts, Pedo and Weideman down there. Make no mistake, we are a big chance this weekend to turn our season around. We've had a very disappointing two weeks, but we've hopefully gotten those two weeks out of the way before the season is a total disaster.

So if a Clayton Oliver or Jack Viney left, you would feel nothing? I don't know about you but I'd care a whole lot if we lost some key players.

Was he 'staring' at the opposition to intimidate them? Boom, tish!

Edited for accuracy. Clearly you never watched him live.

Didn't work in Round 1. Maxy has worked it out. Nervous as all hell about this one. Lose it and we will be super, super lucky to sneak into the 8. Win it and we're back on track. Please win it.