titan_uranus

Haven't been here in a while, so missed out on the chance to rant about 47 and then Ponting, Haddin and Johnson. Amazing Test match that one. A very good line in Brydon Coverdale's article on Cricinfo today: "In two years' time few people will recall, or care, who won the T20s and ODIs played in South Africa over the past six weeks. But the Tests, what with 47 all out, 23 wickets in a day, Australia's Wanderers chase,and the emergence of Pat Cummins and Vernon Philander, will be remembered. And fans will wonder how on earth it was only a two-Test series." T20s should be removed from the International cricket landscape. They won't, of course, for financial reasons, but to me T20 is a club format. Countries should stick to playing Tests and ODIs. Anyway, onto the cricket. Ponting's innings changes little. A half century it was, and a good one too, but the fact that we care that he made 50 says a lot about his form. I doubt he'll be dropped, and with the injuries to Marsh and Watson I don't think now is the right time, but that time is coming. We tour the West Indies after our home summer: that may be a good opportunity to blood someone. Haddin must go. His innings was full of poor and rash strokes. Yes he made 50. No that's not enough. Wade is in form, is younger, and is far more responsible with his strokemaking. Plus he's better withe gloves. Paine is better than Wade but he's injured, so Wade it is, and now is the time. Use the NZ series as 'practice' for the Indian series. Johnson's innings better not overshadow his total impotence with the ball. He should be dropped. A spot in the XI is not the place to be working on technique. He should go back to the nets and to WA and work on his bowling there, not in the middle of a Test match. There are too many promising youngsters being kept out at the moment that it's becoming impossible to keep him in the side. Siddle is in a similar boat. He's a good bowler when part of a unit, and has shown he has what it takes, but he lacks weaponry and he didn't bowl well in Johannesburg. I'd rather drop Johnson and keep Siddle, but Siddle's spot is tenuous too. Cummins is going to be a star, and with Pattinson, Starc, Hazlewood and Cutting all up and coming bowlers, it's hard to mount an argument for playing Johnson or Siddle. Should neither Watson nor Marsh be fit for Brisbane, we're going to need to find another batsman, and the reports all seem to suggest that Warner will be that batsman. Kinda freaks me out that David Warner is considered the next in line, but his numbers seem to suggest he's capable, so who knows.

That is the most optimistic analysis of a player I have ever seen. It would be akin to saying 'If we moved Lynden Dunn on, he could be the next Brendon Goddard'. Ridiculous.

Dees delist Austin Wonaeamirri It's definitely sad. It's how list management goes. But in saying that, I can't say I'm happy with the fact that Spencer, Dunn, Bate and Newton will all be on our list (whether it be senior or rookie), but we have no place for Wonaeamirri. If I had to pick one of those five to be on our list, it would be Austin.

To be perfectly honest, he's wasting a spot on the list. Will not be here in 2013, unless something unbelievably ridiculous happens, and I do not see that happening.

I hate and love this simultaneously. I love that we've done the right thing and suspended him. He needs to pull his damn head in. I hate that we're going to run out in Round 1 with a (hopefully) fully fit Sylvia in the stands. Right decision though.

It's not that bad overall. Rounds 5-11 are painful, but after the bye it's quite peaceful. Only two games at Etihad is a win (why is St Kilda hosting us at the MCG? I don't get that). No AAMI is also good, but Perth twice sucks. Also having to travel in the final round for the second year in a row is a bit annoying (also since its Perth). Glad we got GWS at the G instead of Etihad. I hope the MCC is packed. Can't really complain about the lack of Friday nights. Need to win some games to make the AFL want to put us in them. A decent year this year and 2013 will see us benefit financially. As it stands, we have to hope the G is packed for the Richmond, Hawthorn, Collingwood and St Kilda games.

The five players I would start with are Clark, Jurrah, Watts, Howe and Green. Clarke to play FF (permanently), Jurrah and Howe to play as higher marking options, Green and Watts to float in and out, pushing up onto a wing as required. Martin/Jamar, as the resting ruckman, would also provide a big-bodied presence down there. We would also need a small forward, along the lines of Wonna, Jetta, Bennell, even Davey, or maybe Tapscott in the future. Someone to crumb.

Agree with that. I actually saw something in TMac. Hope some other club picks him up. It will be a travesty if Newton stays.

Way to go early on that one. What he's shown in his time in the side has been exceptional (some iffy kicking aside). This is such a ridiculous post. Maric may have been a decent kick before he came to the MFC. He never, not once, showed that, in any AFL game. Never. I will never back down from that. He was never a good kick when he was in the MFC side. He was given his opportunities, and he didn't take them. Too often he looked listless, didn't run hard enough, didn't man up, didn't zone, didn't chase, didn't tackle, or didn't look like he knew what he was doing. He didn't get enough of the ball, didn't do anything special with it, and didn't possess any reasonably decent skills that made you say 'Maric is good at x'. Your last comment about Judd etc. is stupid. Not only does it ignore the fact that Maric played not just as a FP, but also as a HFF and a midfielder, where it doesn't matter how good the midfield is at disposing the ball, but it implies that decent small forwards can only be bred in clubs with good midfields. Which is just wrong. Todd Banfield, Brandon Matera, Hayden Ballantyne are all examples of players who look the part, or better, as a small forward, in clubs without superstar midfields. Maric was no good. His loss is no surprise, and he didn't deserve a spot on the list in 2012. Now all we need to do is move Newton on.

I would be annoyed if we refused to move Bate on for pick 39, then moved Wonna on so we can draft with pick 54. What's the status of Spencer's contract? Surely he's OOC? He must be on the chopping block too, right? I mean, we've got Jamar, Martin and Gawn, with Clark as well. Not entirely sure if Spencer is worth too much to us anymore. And I see far more value on Wonna than in Spencer. Dunn's contracted I'm guessing, otherwise he should go.

Well that's disappointing. Would have liked for us to move him on. Hopefully Neeld has some sort of grand plan, because right now I can't see Bate being even close to in our best 22.

I really don't care if we up the price Essendon has to pay. I want him for us.

A lot. For one, the player we take at pick 39 might be able to play AFL. Harsh? Yes. But still, Bate is crap and is not worth pick 79, let alone 39. We should shut up, take it, and move on. He isn't good enough to hold a spot, he isn't the type of player we need, with Clark in our forward line that's another player taking a spot from him. Trade him and move on.

Good luck to him on the GC. Honest trier who will play a role for them and help Bock out down back.

It's not as stupid as most threads about drafting 30 year olds, because Black is a proven legend of the game. One of the all time greats. That said, he's at the stage where his body is on the way down. Moreover, I can't imagine, at his stage of his career, he'd want to leave and lose the lustre of being a one club player. I think we have enough talent on our list to develop without needing him. He wouldn't detract from our list, but he wouldn't add too much either.

Can't see him being on our list next year. It's either a trade or, more likely, a delisting. His value is low, whoever wants him would probably rate their chance in the ND or PSD, so we'd have to make do with a crap deal or no offer at all.

I'm loving this so much. Also, to those who think that this means bad news for Martin, think again. Jamar is our no. 1 ruck. Martin is no. 2. Clark is our FF. He doesn't have to ruck, which I would guess excites him, as he never, to me, seemed as good in the ruck as he did at FF. Clark plays FF for us. We leave him there to play the role that no one has played properly for us in years. Now Watts, Green and Jurrah have someone big and strong to take the pressure off them, whilst Martin can float around there if need be as he rucks. This is a big move for this club, it fills a positional hole that we have had gaping for years. And at a reasonable price. Win, MFC, win.

I just got home...and read this. Such surprising news. In a pleasant way, of course. This is great news for this club. Clark gives us what we have needed for a while now, at an age that is perfect for our list. I welcome this addition to the club wholeheartedly, and I hope that it works out like it has the potential to do.

Apologies if this is being discussed somewhere else, but I can't find it... Feel free to delete/merge this thread. So...are we insane? Pick 39 for Bate, to me, is perfect, and I can't see any basis for us demanding a higher pick. Ridiculous, really.

No way at all we're letting Martin go. Ridiculous suggestion.

I think you're over-valuing him a bit too much. I agree that he is a player that fills a role, and could be a great player, but from what I've seen, I'm not as convinced as you that pick 12 is right. I'm utterly convinced that he's not a top 10 player, which you're intimating. Look, if we end up swapping Pick 12 for Clark, I won't lose any sleep, and we may well end up a better team for it. But I wouldn't jump at it.

Agreed. I honestly cannot believe another club is interested. Good on him for faking to the other clubs that he can play.

I'd take him at the right price, but Brisbane wants a first round pick, and he's not worth that. Maybe our compo pick, but that's as far as I'd go. He's good, and fills a role, but he's not that good. And there's the seemingly burning issue of him wanting to go back to WA.

Bate is crap. Comparing him to Dunn serves no purpose. Sorry to be so blunt and negative, but they've both had plenty of time, and neither is good enough. We have other options to develop, I'm sick of wasting time on Bate, who just can't create enough contests due to his speed (or lack thereof) and turning circle. His marking isn't good enough either, his kicking is long but generally not effective. His effort is usually OK, but in saying that, he's not the hardest chaser off the ball. I'm all for moving him on.

Agree with all that. Even the keeping Bate bit. Even though I hate Bate too.