titan_uranus

A forward line of Tippett, Porplyzia, Dangerfield, Burton, Knights and others is much, much better than anything we'll have this year. And it worked for them last year. It's been said already, but that's a ridiculous post.

We will get belted by Collingwood. We could well get belted by Adelaide. Of the remaining 4, we can, and I'm thinking will, beat Richmond and North Melbourne. Which leaves Hawthorn and Brisbane, two which IMO could go either way. Most likely a loss to Hawthorn and a close game vs Brisbane, but both teams could thrash us, yet I think at our best we could beat both of them. So I'm guessing we'll be 2-4, maybe 3-3. 0-6 would be a very disappointing outcome, andd 1-5 would depend on how we're playing (i.e. if we're getting smashed then not good obviously, but if we're getting close or playing decent football then excusable).

What a T20! First there was McCullum's 116*, second highest score ever and only the second century in T20s. Some of those 'Dilscoops' he played were phenomenal, some came of Tait bowling at 155km/h! Then we had White hit 64* off just 26, as we chased down 214. And then we had Southee bowl yorker after yorker, first in the regular game, then in the super-over.

Most important 6: Jamar - we will struggle to have any impact in games where he doesn't play Frawley - needs to keep matching it with high-class opposition forwards Sylvia - he can change games when he turns it on, but goes missing far too often Moloney - I see him as the leader of our midfield, needs to attack clearances Grimes - will be a star, but this year will influence plenty of games provided he stays fit Bate - must, absolutely must, kick regular goals.

I think they're scrapping it altogether to accommodate the change in season length next year with the Gold Coast. But it might be happening in 2 years, not 1, when Western Sydney come in.

Best team I can think of: B: Cheney Warnock Rivers HB: MacDonald Frawley Garland C: Morton Bruce Davey HF: Green Watts Bate F: Petterd Jurrah Sylvia R: Jamar Grimes Moloney I: Spencer Trengove Wonaeamirri McDonald E: Jetta Jones Bennell

The club has confirmed it's a PCL: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/90012/default.aspx No length of time out given yet.

Well here's your first mistake. Essendon will not be bottom 4 this year. They are in with a strong chance to make finals again. So I'm not terribly fussed about losing to a much better team who had 2 weeks off compared to our 5 days, and who played a near full strength team compared to our half strength one. Yesterday was nowhere near as bad as last week. Not even close.

Check out the 'best' according to The Age: Melbourne: J Grimes J Trengove R Petterd C Sylvia B Miller M Bate L Jurrah J Frawley J Bennell. Who the hell wrote this? Bate didn't even play. I didn't think he was playing. I definitely hope he did.

Both pleasing and disappointing to hear. Pleasing that we looked better and faster, disappointing that we still had numbers pushing behind the ball.

Well whatever happened, I'm pretty sure that last week our forwards pushed up the ground, and then when we took possession our forwards ended up outnumbered.

I think it's more to do with the fact that we won only 8 first quarters last year. Hence in 14 matches we were playing catch up from quarter time onwards. We (as most teams do) play better in front than behind. Confidence goes out the window once your 5 goals down at quarter time, so, while finishing well is also important, I really want to see us get some first quarter wins under our belts this year. Edit: And all four of our wins last year came when we won the first quarter.

Yes, but teams don't play man on man much any more, so opposition defenders aren't following our forwards all the way down the ground. They hang back a bit. So invariably Jurrah or whoever is closest to goal is outnumbered. Mind you, Jurrah's going to be good enough to take on 3 or 4 defenders one day...

Sigh... I guess that means he played OK. Who else rucked, Martin? That's not good. Hopefully nothing serious.

Sounds like an improved performance on last week, which, to be honest, was to be expected. Inaccuracy in front of goal is a bummer but we've been OK since quarter time. Keep the reports coming people, any info's good info! Edit: Currently, 227 people are viewing this thread. That's got to be a pre-season record!

Where the puck is Tom McNamara? Not in the squad, not on the injury list. Weird. Should be playing IMO. Especially since players like Bartram, Bell and Newton make the squad. Looking forward to seeing what Rohan Bail's got. The only time I've seen him was in his debut vs North, where he played not much more than 5 minutes.

This post comes across to me as patronising, towards those on Demonland who didn't like the tactics employed on Sunday. Sure, most (me included) over-use the word 'gameplan', but I still believe that putting 17-18 men behind the ball isn't a good move, regardless of whether it's flooding, or the coach's best idea of how to win a game, or whether it's just the players reacting to a game situation. And I think you should respect other people's views.

Based on what we've seen so far, Jetta is a better player than Maric, and I'd play Jetta first given the choice. But Wonna's better than both.

I'll ask the same question, but about Tom McNamara. Where's he at?

Yes, agree with that. Seems utterly perfect for the role.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/history-awaits-aaron-davey/story-e6frf9jf-1225834554901 "Davey, Moloney and Rivers are probably three from an age point of view that have shown some exceptional leadership," Bailey said. Shows where Rivers is held in the eyes of the FD. I think one of these three will be captain next year.

Dear God... Newton has never once shown that he is capable at AFL level. Never once. I don't care that he's never really had an extended run in the team, he's never deserved one. His time is gone, and that is why he is sitting on the rookie list. Martin, Miller or Morton could do the job better than Newton. So could Garland, but I feel he's best suited to defence.

http://www.sportsentral.com/pro/main/Podcasts.aspx It's the Run Home program.

Points Table: Victoria 8 4 1 0 3 0 30 Queensland 8 4 1 0 3 0 26 Tasmania 8 2 2 0 4 0 17 South Australia 8 2 3 0 3 0 16 New South Wales 8 2 3 0 3 0 14 1 Western Australia 8 1 5 0 2 0 12 So whilst we're already guaranteed to make the final (Tasmania can only get 12 points max from their last 2 games), we could well end up second, and thus playing the final in Brisbane. Last 2 games are vs Western Australia at the WACA and Tasmania at the MCG. We're going to be down on numbers for both matches, but you'd still back us in to win both. Edit: This is our first loss in a 4-day game since the 3-6 March 2008 vs Western Australia.

Sorry to ruin it for you 45. You following on Cricinfo? For some reason they don't do Shield matches, so they take scores off cricket.com.au