titan_uranus

Byrnes, Sellar, Gillies and Toumpas haven't touched it yet.

A clearance now! Makes a huge difference! Sellar then drops a chest mark. Great. And Howe then misses a shot he should have made.

Viney is clearly the only thing we've got going for us. Sounds like he's absolutely starring, which is nice. 5 contested possessions, 2 inside 50s, both of which were marked. Clark kicks a goal! What a kick! From outside 50!

58 disposals to 24. 9 clearances to 2. 9 inside 50s to 2. 30 contested possessions to 14.

Clearances now 7-1. Free kicks 7-2 in favour of Port. We gave away the second most free kicks last year. Sounds like a few of them have been the result of Port players getting to the ball first.

So far, this is abysmal. Every single time there's a clearance, Port wins it. 5-0 so far. 5 inside 50s to 0. 30 disposals to 6. Not sure we could have started any worse, to be honest.

Any update on what the crowd looks like?

My question was whether it's new in 2013 or not.

It's also here: https://shopdesq.imgstg.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Product&ProductID=30635&OrgID=1749#Description The description at the bottom says 'MFC watermark across the chest of the guernsey'.

You know what? Good call.

Thought it was clear enough, but if not, check out the picture of Grimes on the left in this article: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2013-03-28/i-cant-wait-for-game-day-neeld

????????

I want to see improvement. I want to walk away from the game on Sunday and feel like we're going somewhere. That can be achieved in a few ways - winning isn't necessarily one of them.

This isn't really the best place to ask this question, but I can't find another thread on the 2013 jumper (there probably is one, so sorry about this). I see on our home jumper for this year that the MFC insignia is faintly drawn into the blue. You can see it in this photo from the store: https://shopdesq.imgstg.com/assets/shopdesq/products/images/thumbnail/Guernsey%20ATH%20MFC.jpg Is that new? Or was that there last year?

I can't believe how much pessimism surrounds our chances. We're going to struggle against most teams due to our weak midfield. However, if there is ever a situation where the difference between our mids and another side's mids is nullified, or even out-weighed, surely it's when Port Adelaide visits the MCG? Which of their defenders takes Clark? Or Howe? Which of their forwards is renowned for their defensive pressure? How strong is their bottom 6? One may be able to reel off some names like Boak, Cornes, Hartlett, Gray, Schulz and Cassisi, but beyond that, Port is weaker than we are, at a ground they do not like, nor play at very frequently. None of this means we're going to win, of course, but the amount of negativity surrounding this match is unwarranted. There will be plenty of games this year where we will clearly be a worse side and our chances will fairly be toned down. This ought not be one of them.

Clark, Toumpas, Viney. We're already 50% better than the second half of last year, and that's ignoring fitness, game plan, the loss of the deadwood, and the other additions.

Take the Indian squad: Warner, Cowan, Hughes, Clarke, Watson, Smith, Khawaja, Wade, Haddin, Henriques, Maxwell, Doherty, Lyon, Siddle, Starc, Pattinson, Johnson. I cut from that squad Khawaja, Watson, Haddin, Henriques, Maxwell, Doherty and Johnson. Henriques, Maxwell and Doherty drop themselves. Khawaja isn't good enough, and I don't think ever will be good enough. He struggled against swing bowling when he last played Test cricket, continually pushing outside off without covering the line, so I can't see how England will suit him. Watson doesn't add to the side. He doesn't score enough runs to hold his spot as a batsman, and even if he bowls, he still doesn't score enough runs to be in the top 6. Time to cut our losses, find a real batsman, and move on. Johnson is just too far back in the queue for a fast-bowling spot (provided we have a full choice of players). His form in England also requires him to be injury-cover at best. Haddin didn't do anything to disgrace himself, but I feel we need to move on with our keepers. To that squad, then, I add Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Shaun Marsh, George Bailey, Chris Rogers, Tim Paine and Fawad Ahmed/Jon Holland. Bird, for mine, starts the first Test in the Ashes as the third pace option behind Siddle and Pattinson. Starc is inconsistent and doesn't swing it as regularly as Bird does. It's line ball though, but Bird's on the plane regardless. Cummins also heads over as a back-up paceman, but to me he needs to show form for Australia A in the lead-up series before he edges into the top three pacemen. Handy back-up, though. In terms of batsmen, Shaun Marsh is more than good enough to be a Test cricketer. He was in a terrible mental state in 2011/2012, which saw him capitulate over our summer. He's been reprimanded and disciplined for being a loose cannon, but since he's returned, his form has been great, and much better than his 'rivals' for the batting spots. Mainly, though, he's actually a batsman, unlike the attempted all-rounders we've been trying to use. Bailey can't do much more before getting selected, and it's a good idea to get someone in there who can lead if Clarke can't be on the field (especially with Watson and Haddin staying in Australia). Chris Rogers has a proven record in England, averaged 50 this Shield season with three 100s, and deserves to be back-up. Tim Paine is a better batsman than Haddin, and would have been our first-choice keeper if it wasn't for his hand injury. He deserves to be around the squad and learning, rather than wasting away in Australia. Fawad Ahmed gets to be the back-up spinner, but doesn't play unless Lyon gets injured (can't imagine any pitch in England warranting two spinners). If he is ineligible, Jon Holland hopefully has healed by then, and gets the spot. Stay away from Doherty and Maxwell. If Cummins and Bird aren't fit, Ryan Harris is next, and then it's a toss up between reinstating Johnson, or Ben Hilfenhaus. Or Josh Hazlewood. Warner stays, but with Rogers in the squad, he has to make runs early. We shouldn't persist with him if his tendency to flash outside off with no technique continues to reap him sub-20 scores. Hughes stays, but moves down the order, to take the pressure off him batting at 3. Smith also stays, to my chagrin, because we need to reward players who perform and show application, and, as much as it pains me to say it, he did this in India. He doesn't bowl as anything other than a part-timer, though. My XI for the first Test: Cowan Warner Marsh Clarke Hughes Smith Wade Pattinson Siddle Bird Lyon

Pity we're frittering away our bowlers' good work with more insipid batting. Opening with Maxwell = attempt to prevent backlash for picking him in the first place. He's crap. Shouldn't play for us again in the near future. Watson and Warner are living on credits long, long used up. I don't want to see them in the first Ashes Test (I know they'll be there, but undeservedly). Our bowlers haven't been great this series, but our batting has been worse (as per usual). We need refreshment of the top 6 for England. Marsh, Doolan, Rogers, Burns, Maddinson, White, McDonald, I don't care who. We can't keep playing Warner, Watson, Hughes and Smith as four of our top 6/7. Edit: Heard an interesting fact today. Apparently, from three Tests each, Nathan Lyon has faced more balls batting than Shane Watson. Don't know what the actual figures are though.

Really? I disagree completely - after how we've played the first three Tests, to turn it around and get some competitiveness, and/or a win, would be great for the players, as well as the coaches, and will help curb the Indian team's arrogance. No one would have thought we'd be close to them this match, so to prove them wrong and to get a bit of confidence/form would be good. Hilfenhaus has to be about 4 places back. Surely he's behind Pattinson, Siddle, Starc, probably Bird, Johnson and Cummins too.

Finally something of a contest in this series. Lyon is bowling his heart out, has 3 and should have 4 (Tendulkar was pretty adjacent on a missed sweep earlier). Siddle also bowling well (as per usual). I really hope Lyon can get a bag of wickets, to make the haters shut up, to give him more confidence, and to show that we do have a spinner who can get it done if we just let him try. Edit: Next over, Lyon has Dhoni dropped, but then gets Tendulkar LBW. Good stuff. They're 5/180, a very different look to their score compared to recent Tests. Their lower order finally to be tested properly; Jadeja, Ashwin and Kumar can all bat, but they're all flakey.

Agree, especially re: Lyon. He cops a lot (even getting dropped) for not taking wickets when people expect them on India's turners, but India's pitches are so much drier than ours, it's a different type of spin that gets wickets. Lyon's a better bowler in Australia (and South Africa, even), where the pitches bounce more. His best bowling is when he gets bounce, not when he gets ripping turn.

How much longer can we keep carrying Warner? His irresponsible batting is getting beyond control. Cowan becomes the third (at least) Australian to get out sweeping. That's really dumb. Watson's not in good enough form to be in the side, let alone captain. The decision to give Wade out looked a shocker.

Losing a Test after making 400 in the first innings is bad. Losing that Test in 4 days is pathetic. Our fight to the end masks that. David Warner's series has been terrible. The manner in which he has gotten out belies his bad attitude and inability to change his game to the conditions. Swiping at a half-volley without moving his feet in the opening over was just despicable; in previous Tests he's gotten out sweeping hastily, too. I know he's made a couple of half centuries, but these batting tracks are roads and we should be getting runs out of everyone. His attitude is a problem. Hughes got a rough deal, but I doubt he'd have gone much further with that innings, he looked bogged down against spin. He's still a problem. Henriques is terrible, shouldn't be playing. He's riding on credits earned from his batting in the first Test, but that's not fair. He has to be able to bat in the top 6 or be a frontline bowler. He's neither. Get him out of there. Smith did his best, but Smith showed how bad his bowling is, meaning he has to be a top batsman to hold his spot. His 92 was good, but if he holds his spot, he needs to lift his average and score runs heavily, as he's not close to an all-rounder. If he can't average 40+, he can't stay. I don't hold high hopes for him doing this. I thought Siddle's effort was fantastic; Starc bowls well at times, but goes missing for far too long. Doherty is pathetic, Lyon tried much harder but just isn't good enough to get Indians out in India. We will be able to take 20 wickets in England. Pattinson, Siddle, Starc, Johnson, Bird, Hilfenhaus, Cummins, Hazlewood, Harris. Lyon will also bowl better with the bounce he should get from English pitches. I'm confident we can bowl them out, we just need to be able to score more than them (highly unlikely, at this stage). To me, Clarke and Siddle are the only two members of the current XI who are certainties for the first Ashes Test.

I've been pretty happy with Cheteshwar Pujara this series. Brad Haddin's batting in Mohali wasn't as disgraceful as usual, which also helped my cause.

Really? It was 27 and humid. Rotations would kinda be relevant in those conditions. I also don't read that as 'hey, we would have won if we'd had a full bench!'. I read it as 'look, we struggled today, and part of the reason for that was because we couldn't rotate our players through the terrible AFL conditions'.