titan_uranus

No it's not.

Of that bench I'd hope for Salem, Barry, Riley and Bail. Grimes replaces M Jones, Salem replaces JKH. Absolutely no reason to play McKenzie (except for that one big reason).

If we retain Terlich, it's not because he's better than any of those players. It's because we can't get rid of everyone at once and the others have had a longer shot at it than Terlich.

What about culture? A show of confidence? Age? Familiarity with the system, team, and other players? It's not just 'unrealised talent' vs 'potential future talent'. It's much more than that.

I don't think it's a case of if he's delisted, but when. I'd be very surprised if a sixth-year player who has not been good enough to play a game in the seniors all year gets another contract on the senior list. Whether he gets re-rookied remains to be seen; I wouldn't have thought there's much point as we just haven't seen anywhere near enough from him over the years (including this one) to suggest there is a future there.

We need players who can play in the back half of the ground (i.e. defend) and can kick. To me that's number one. We won't go anywhere whilst we keep turning it over as we try to generate scoring chains from the back half of the ground. We also need more midfielders. A core of 5, one of whom is over 30, is not enough. We have Trengove, Toumpas, Michie, Salem and JKH to inject in there, but we still need more depth. I'm not too fussed by the tall forward situation. We have Hogan to add to Dawes, and we're starting to see Gawn develop his forward play. Resting Gawn there when he's not rucking, along with Hogan, Dawes and Pedersen, doesn't have me anywhere near as concerned as our midfield or half-back line.

Great news. Probably my favourite player right now. Doing everything right.

Unfortunately, yes it was. He looked like he didn't care a lot on the weekend. Disinterestedness was plastered across his face unless he was able to get out in space and present. There's more to AFL than that, especially when you're playing against the best of the best. I'm not advocating dropping him as I think (hope?) it was an aberration and that, usually, he makes us a better side.

I don't rate a lot of what he did off the field, but he always gave his all on the field, and did his best work at a time where playing well at Melbourne wasn't easy. Good on him for that.

Saw this story today: http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/liam-jurrah-kicks-14-goals-in-first-game-since-being-released-from-prison/story-e6frf3e3-1227019572975 Jurrah returned to football, played half-back, and kicked 14.2.

Oh yes, I'm sure Roos was asking Barry to perform like Crowley or Macaffer in his third AFL game. He's physically way underdeveloped, he's only been tagging for a few months, but despite both those things he put in 100% yesterday. His tagging wasn't great, but that was partly because he faded at the end of the first half and allowed Hill to get away from him. He also had more 'damaging possessions' than probably 10 other MFC players.

Belies the lack of confidence Roos mentioned post-match.

6 - Jetta 5 - Gawn 4 - Tyson 3 - Jamar 2 - Cross 1 - Howe

Part of it is because we rack up a stack of backwards/sideways kicks and handpasses. Part of it is because the statistic isn't worth the paper it's written on. Hawthorn's kicking yesterday was sublime. McDonald would regularly be right next to Roughead and close him down on the lead, but because of the kicks coming in, McDonald couldn't stop Roughy from getting his hands out to mark it. Perfect kicking, and completely the opposite of how we deliver it to Dawes.

A lot to like with Barry. He can kick, which is a huge positive, and he has pace too. His fitness is the number one thing holding him back right now, but I was quietly excited with what I saw yesterday. As for Michie, a significant improvement on his first couple of games with us, with a much better presence in the clearances. Roos seemed to give him plenty of chances at stoppages, and he did some good work up against Mitchell, Lewis, Hodge and co..

Happy to say he's tiring, but Dom Barry was spent halfway through the second quarter but continued to put in 100%. I'd rather be giving games to JKH than Blease/Tapscott/McKenzie/Strauss/Terlich, but I want to see JKH at least look like he wants to be out there.

It's not about whether he's a spud. It's about the fact that he's not a star, and so the obvious negatives of bringing in a sh*t bloke on our culture far, far, far outweigh bringing in a player who is average (i.e. not terrible, but not great either).

Hope the AFL was watching too. Carlton v Gold Coast at 2.10pm drew 28,000-odd. Hawthorn v Melbourne at 4.40pm drew 37,000-odd.

Additionally, if you needed further evidence that the disposal efficiency statistic is a complete waste of space, look no further than this game. Melbourne 77%, Hawthorn 75%.

Another standard MFC 2014 performance. Very good inside, clearances and contested possessions either in our favour or close enough, and manful work all day from the stronger bodied types. However, far too slow with ball in hand, way too many errors, and passengers all afternoon. Jetta was amazing. Simply amazing. I'm proud to have an AA-level small defender in our side, one who has done it tough (being re-rookied) and has made it work. Very, very pleased to see Gawn bring his VFL form to the AFL. He's clearly worked on his marking and his body-work in the forward line and it paid off. He had his defenders beaten so many times yesterday. He knows where to lead, too. Kicking at goal needs work, but with another pre-season and more fitness, we may have found a quality weapon. Cross added so much to our midfield. Tyson was great again in the clearances. N Jones was good, but he can do better. Recently I've felt he's been trying to get the dinky out the back kick/handpass too much and running himself into trouble a bit more. Barry showed enough to suggest he can be a long-term player. Michie also played a lot better than we've seen. At the other end of the spectrum, JKH was terrible - didn't look interested at any point in the day. Pathetic display from him. M Jones was also rubbish.

Unfortunately we're still making abysmal mistakes. JKH at one point literally stood still and watched his man run past him for the handball receive. Very lazy. Before the game Roos took Howe and Watts aside and said something to them. Whatever it was, ome has responded nicely and one is turning in an all-too-familiar regressive performance. Hill toyed with Barry that quarter but Barry's shown a lot so far. Another pre-season will do him wonders. Jamar's been immense, Gawn great as a forward. When Gawn rucks though we get beaten up.

This is ome of the most disgusting things I've ever seen posted here. You're an absolute f*ckwit.

M Jones' kick broke the resistance. We had been pretty bravw till then. I fear the worst from here.

Disgraceful from M Jones. Jetta didn't even ask for the ball.

Riley just announced as the sub. Hartung their sub. No late changes to either side.