titan_uranus

I don't think we were the only ones to have our logo on there. Collingwood had theirs on their jumper in their premiership year, took it off last year I think. Maybe we're just behind the times.

Arrow's covered it, pretty much. This analysis on the NFL website also goes through the problems. Essentially, if you take the read out, he has to revert back to more 'conventional' QB play and he isn't that good at being an in-the-pocket QB. The NFL article shows how defences are taking out the read, and it leaves him with very few options, the less so if either Davis gets shut down when he gets on a downfield route. Boldin's been inconsistent this year, and until this week we've lacked both Manningham and Crabtree (who is Kaepernick's best friend on that offence). NFL defences play us better than they did last year which is messing with his formula. He's one of those players, when he's on he's unstoppable but when he's off he's toothless. Manningham and Crabtree will give him more options down the field which hopefully gets him more confident in his throwing, which I think is a key.

I think that's exactly what DeeZee was saying. His running is keeping him on the list - he doesn't just have pace, he also has a big tank and runs all day, offensively and defensively. If he's to make it at AFL level though, he can't just run around.

Roos has said a few times in his media grabs the last fortnight that one of the things he's really working hard to improve is our two-way running. Nicholson has this. Jetta doesn't. That might have sealed the deal.

So long as it's the proper red and blue, that's all that's truly important. Whilst I consider the collars and the stars 'classic Schwab', I couldn't have cared less if we'd kept them or scrapped them. So long as the red and blue are OK.

For those who are interested, MFC is running a 'Predict the Pick' Competition. If you guess who we take at pick 9 correctly, you go in the draw to win an MFC guernsey signed by that player. Competition here: http://www.formstack.com/forms/melbournefc-draft_competition More information here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152130617562317&set=a.414317157316.209227.285839797316&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

The NFC WC battle is heating up. Our loss to Carolina hurts us; that head-to-head result means the Panthers get in over us should we end the year on the same W-L record. But now we have to add Arizona to the list - SF, Carolina, Detroit/Chicago/GB, and now Arizona too. Technically, with Philadelphia and Dallas on 5 wins, they're somewhat around the mark too, but I can't see an NFC East team making the playoffs outside of winning that division.

rpfc's list includes Clisby as an 'addition'. Take that out and you have the third spot (which we use to pick Clisby in the draft). We do not need to delist anyone else. ND9 = one player, ND40 = second player, ND58 = Clisby (who rpfc has already counted in the additions). That's the three picks at the ND.

I think the rule is that you have to use three picks. Using them to uprgrade rookies counts.

Kap had one of his Kap days. Awful passing. 11/22 for 91 yards, and the INT late in the fourth sealed the game. Carolina deserves to be considered legit. If the Saints lose to the Cowboys, they'll be leading NFC South I think. Green Bay won't make the playoffs this year without Rodgers. Detroit for NFC North? Indy got very lucky this week, with Tennessee losing Jake Locker and thus losing to Jacksonville (which shouldn't have happened even without Locker). That loss to St Louis shows the hole in the offence Reggie Wayne's injury has left. Ravens and Steelers close the gap in the AFC North. Bengals not playing well enough to close that division out. Pittsburgh is awful but they're only three back. Same deal with the Giants, who will only be two back in the NFC East if Dallas loses. Denver did what it had to do, with the Chargers cooked in the AFC I think. Now having to deal with Baltimore for that wild card as well as the Jets and the Titans.

I don't mean to be rude, as I think it's great that you keep supporting the club, but why do you feel a need to have the latest sponsor on your jumpers? My jumper is a cherished possession to me; it has Hankook and Kaspersky on it. I don't feel like I need to change to the latest one. I'm just interested in what makes you want the latest.

Agreed, it's a huge week. Denver are the big favourites against SD, but if you look closer, of SD's four losses, three have been right at the death, meaning they've pushed all their opponents, and have beaten the Colts. Rivers is putting up elite numbers too. Denver's only win over a team with a winning record is Dallas, and their defence has let a fair amount of points through (I mean, they conceded 19 points to Jacksonville). The offence usually gets the job done, but the last few weeks Peyton hasn't been at the same level. Denver still should win it, but I don't think it's a fait accompli. Baltimore have to win, but I don't think they will. Same for Atlanta. I think this week is the end of the road for those two sides. The last thing SF needs is a loss to Carolina. That would put us on the same win-loss ratio battling for the same wild card position. Beating them puts us two in front, helping us push for the first wild card on our own. I think we'll be right, our team's just coming together and our offence is really starting to click (Manningham, Crabtree coming back), plus Aldon Smith is due back some time on defence (hopefully).

If he can't make it back, then you absolutely have to win the next three. Get those on the board, move to 8-3, and then try your best to win one of those last three road games to help push you up. Assuming Wallace is good enough to beat Philly, NYG and Minnesota (questionable, but we'll assume it), the game at Detroit is season-defining (for both sides).

Australia A finally batting down in Hobart. Doolan 31 off 35, poor guy didn't get a proper chance to do anything of merit. Khawaja just 3, rule a line through him. Shaun Marsh currently 26 off 58, but there isn't enough time in the match for him to make a proper innings to push his case. Good to see Rogers make 88 and 117 in the Shield. White's good form continues, backing up his 48 with a 70*. Ahmed struggled again, whilst Nathan Lyon didn't do too much (got Rogers out both times though), but had good economy (another reason to take Lyon over Ahmed). Bailey only made 41 in the second dig in Queensland, not ideal from him. Chris Lynn might be one to watch though, with an 81 and 72*. None at all. He's been around the Aussie team though, hasn't he? I'm sure we'll hear his name during the summer.

Wallace is going to have to play a lot better if you're going to make it from here. You have to bank the wins against Philly, NYG and Minnesota in the next three weeks. Can't afford to drop those. The last five games include road trips to Detroit, Dallas and Chicago, alternating with what appear easier games against Pittsburgh and Atlanta at home. Bank the upcoming three with Wallace, then go 2-3 in the final five and you'll end up 10-6. Probably won't be enough for the division the way it's heading, nor for a wild card I don't think. So you have to convert at least one of those three tough road games. No Rodgers = no chance. If Rodgers makes it back in time for the Detroit game, and helps you pull our one or two of those three road games, you should be right. Sweeping Detroit will help you too.

Nice win by your boys in prime time! Interesting move though, when Ponder went down you went to Cassel and not Freeman. I wonder how that will affect the rest of your year, given you seem to have banked on Ponder. Washington is such a shadow of 2012. They're in a weak division, sure, but if the Cowboys beat the Saints they're three games back with 7 to play which is dangerous territory. They were 3-6 last year though, and rounded out the year with 7-0, so I guess it's possible.

With all due respect, you're not exactly the champion of optimism. If there's ever a chance to get a win at Etihad, it's when we don't have a losing record (yet), we have an opponent who ranks near us in terms of awfulness, we have a new coach and unbridled optimism, and any 'surprise' element we have with Hogan is still under wraps.

What I meant was that if you want to see how Jamar stacks up against ruckmen, you would want to see what the best are doing first; Jamar's going at half the rate of the best. That's not definitive of anything on its own, but it does show that there is a lot of room to improve in terms of his involvement in general play. Just like you can't compare him to the worst ruckmen going around, neither can you compare him to the best, but for a former AA ruckman, noting that he's a fair way back off the best going around indicates there is significant scope for him to lift his game.

Well that's not fair to take off Cox and Minson. There are two of the best ruckmen in the game, and their disposal average is double Jamar's. At any rate, Jamar's the worst on your list. He averages around two fewer disposals than every ruckman you've got there except Bailey. So he's at the bottom of that pile and could improve that area of his game. The stats rpfc showed indicate a strong correlation between hit outs and clearances, but breaking that down into centre clearances, the correlation weakens significantly (GWS, Essendon and Hawthorn are top 5 in centre clearances despite not being 7th, 9th and 13th in hit outs). This suggests to me that there is a lot more to winning centre clearances than simply the ruckman getting the hit out. This then suggests to me that ruckmen are not the be all and end all of the centre clearance game, which means I want more from my ruckman than simply hit outs. Yes, the statistics indicate that Jamar ranks comparably with the others, and that's mainly because he's not as bad as some on here suggest. However, statistics only ever tell part of the tale - the hit outs stat doesn't tell us where the hit out was on the ground (e.g. centre v not centre), which opponents they were against (e.g. Jamar only played a few games, one of which would have been against GWS) and so on. From having seen games, Jamar offers us little other than his tap work in centre clearances, so I'd like to see him get more involved in the centre square.

Agreed. We'll have a top 10 pick next year, because, quite simply, we won't be good enough to get out of the bottom 10. The list is also not complete. A list with Dunn, Strauss, Blease, Jetta, Nicholson, Pedersen, Byrnes and Tapscott on it is not complete.

Siddle, Harris, Johnson and Hilfenhaus are all being rested from next week's Shield games in preparation for the first Test. http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/pacemen-put-on-ice-for-ashes-20131107-2x499.html If we have to resort to Hilfenhaus this series, then we're stuffed.

Bailey out for 34, didn't add to his overnight score. Disappointing. Meanwhile Cowan continues, now on 75. Warner's up to 60 off 52. Rain in Hobart preventing Doolan from getting out there and having another shot at the Test side.

Warner showing his 'grit' with 28* off 21 and 6 fours. I suspect he's a given for the first Test, though I would prefer him never to play Test cricket again, so it probably doesn't matter. Siddle with the early wicket of Maddinson is a good sign; he's been a bit out of form so far this season, and we're no chance in the Ashes if he's not taking wickets. If Cowan goes on to make a century, I wonder whether that will change the selectors' minds? I doubt it, I feel like he'd need to make successive big scores because his cards appear stamped, but at least he'll be in form if we need back up.

He's in the side because he has talent, there aren't many decent batsmen going around in Australia at the moment, and CA is desperate for Australian cricket to have 'stars' to attract kids and the like. Grit isn't everything, which is why Cowan's Test days look numbered. But Warner doesn't have it. He's not the kind of batsman to just bunker down in the face of strong bowling, he doesn't have that lion-hearted fighting spirit. That's not him. His runs come from big shots and dominating bowlers.

Indy has its flaws, absolutely, but they're going to make the playoffs and when it comes down to it, you have to be able to beat the best. Indy has shown it can lift its game when required to match the best. Of course, KC and Denver will get their turns when they play each other, and KC will get Indy later too, so we'll be able to make better comparisons then.