titan_uranus

KB admitted after the match that he wouldn't be able to continue to say teams don't tank.

Absolutely spot on. Newton was shocking again today. He showed that he doesn't understand how to position himself, he can't kick, he can't or won't chase, he doesn't man up, he has no mobility, and he doesn't understand how to kick the ball over the player in front of him.

Maybe that should read 'The Umpire' - is it true that the siren went before McMahon marked it? That's what I heard a lot of people saying after the game.

Barring injuries, why not just leave the team unchanged and employ the same tactics next week as we did today? Mind you, I think North will beat us even if we try to win, so with that in mind, I'd like to see the following: In: Sylvia, Moloney Out: Johnson, Newton

No it wasn't, because there was only 1 team trying to win a game (and by that I don't mean the players weren't trying, because they were. I mean that the MFC was not trying to beat Richmond).

6 - Petterd 5 - McDonald 4 - Grimes 3 - Bate 2 - Davey 1 - Dunn Newton was abysmal again.

Of course I did. But that's not to say I enjoyed it. As one very observant caller to SEN said, whatever Demetriou's position on tanking, if supporters are going to matches hoping their team loses, there's something wrong.

We tanked. If anyone thinks otherwise, pull your head out of the sand. Bailey and the rest of the coaches did not want to win. Warnock, Frawley and Whelan all playing forward. Newton playing defence. Miller rucking, when we're playing Spencer, Johnson and Martin. Cheney, Dunn, Bate and Whelan contesting centre bounces. Johnson being left to run around and do what he wants. Cheney playing on Hislop (looked to me like he was giving up quite a few centimetres). I was sitting right in front of the coaches box, and when we hit the front, I looked at Bailey and he sure didn't look happy. I heard someone say that's what SEN said (something like 'Rawlings looks sick, Bailey looks worse'). This display has turned Kevin Bartlett, who until now has been a staunch sceptic of tanking. It just goes to show how incredibly inept Richmond are.

If Moloney is truly injured (which I doubt), then that's a very bad thing. A recurrance of his groin injury is the last thing we need. But I'd say he's either a little bit sore, or he's just being rested. Maybe we're doing some kind of rotation policy.

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As Enforcer said, if both clubs qualify for the PP, the one which finishes below the other gets pick 1. So in your scenario, West Coast gets pick 1, we get 2, then they get 3, we get 4. (I reckon there's a strong chance that this will be the final outcome, which means percentage will play a major factor) I wish the PP would be abolished, if only for the reason that I'm totally done with discussing scenarios and possible outcomes. If there were no PPs, it would be so much easier to work out who gets what.

The interesting thing will be to watch next year and see if the same things start to happen at Melbourne. We'll have the top draft picks, but will we gel together like St Kilda has? I hate how there are so many journalists/commentators who don't do enough research and who don't know enough about all 16 teams. If you're going to be a commentator then you should be able to provide accurate assessments of all 16 clubs, not just the better ones or your favourites. Agree. Essendon has the same story in 1999, losing the Prelim to Carlton by 1 point when they felt that they were the better team. If we were premiership material in 1998, we should have beaten North Melbourne. We didn't, so we weren't.

Nor can anyone continue to use the term 'Carltank'. As for Sylvia, well, I'd prefer to see him playing. I don't think it will make too much of a difference anyway.

Any survey in which Ling is voted the sexiest player and BT is voted the best commentator surely cannot be taken seriously? Edit: To further perpetuate the case: 48. Do you play fantasy football? Yes: 60.2% No 39.8% 49. If not, why not? Too time consuming 14.1% Too difficult to understand 4% No interest 22.2% I play fantasy football: 59.7%

Disappointed that Jurrah and McKenzie are out. From that bench, you would assume that Moloney, Morton and Sylvia would all play. Of the rest, I'm tipping Jetta to play over Whelan, Spencer and Valenti. Well, that's what I would prefer, anyway.

Melbourne Squad Backs: J.Frawley, M.Warnock, K.Cheney Half backs: J.Grimes, J.Rivers, C.Bruce Centreline: C.Bartram, J.McDonald, A.Davey Half forwards: J.Bennell, M.Newton, L.Dunn Forwards: B.Miller, M. Bate, S.Martin Followers: P.Johnson, R.Petterd, N.Jones I/C From: J.Spencer, M.Whelan, B.Moloney, S.Valenti, N.Jetta, C.Morton, C.Sylvia, Team changes In: Frawley, Spencer, Grimes, Jetta, Sylvia Out: McKenzie (Calf), Jurrah (Ankle)

If Fremantle finishes on 16 premiership points or less, they will qualify for an end of first round/start of second round PP, meaning that they will get the pick after the premier (whether that be 17, 18 or 19), with the following pick, and all subsequent picks, determined by ladder position. If Fremantle finishes on more than 16 premiership points, they get no PP of any sort. As others have said, it's to remove confusion. There's no way a team can get 0.5 points. There might possibly be a rule whereby a team loses 1 premiership point as punishment for something (I have no idea what), which might be one reason why they didn't choose 17.

Like I said, tackling is good for a big fella, but I'd prefer him to be kicking goals. The occasional pack mark isn't enough to sustain an AFL career as a full forward. I agree that it's not always easy being a forward in a team like ours where the delivery is terrible, but on the whole, Newton's impotence up forward is his doing, not the midfield's.

Here are the possible scenarios: 1. Melbourne finishes the season with 16 premiership points or less. West Coast finishes with 16 premiership points or less. Melbourne gets pick 1. West Coast gets pick 2. Pick 3 onwards is determined by ladder position, with 16th getting pick 3, 15th getting 4 and so on. This is assuming Melbourne finishes below West Coast. If West Coast finishes below Melbourne then West Coast gets pick 1. 2. Melbourne finishes with 16 premiership points or less. West Coast finishes with more than 16 premiership points. Melbourne gets pick 1. Pick 2 onwards is determined by ladder position. 3. Melbourne finishes with more than 16. West Coast finishes with 16 or less. West Coast gets pick 1. Pick 2 onwards determined by ladder position. 4. Melbourne finishes with more than 16. West Coast finishes with more than 16. Pick 1 goes to the team that finishes on the bottom. Pick 2 goes to 15th, etc. Currently, Melbourne has 12 premiership points, West Coast has 16 premiership points. Note that Fremantle can earn a PP at the end of the first round/beginning of the second round if they finish the year with 16 premiership points or less. If this happens, every team's second round pick (and subsequent picks) will be bumped back by 1 (i.e. from 18 to 19). Richmond and North Melbourne are both on 18 premiership points. This means they no longer qualify for the PP at the end of the first round/start of the second round.

I said most of this in the Votes thread, but Newton is an average VFL player who just isn't good enough at AFL level. He doesn't have any of the required talents to be a full forward. I see no chance of Newton 'making it'.

I side with Hannibal/Hannabal (when did that happen?) on this one. A football club exists to win a premiership. That's why it has members and supporters. They support the club, they want to see it win games, which leads to winning a flag. Edit: Actually, a football club exists to win premierships (in the plural).

Me too. If there was a thread for 'Biggest surprise of 2009' he'd be at the top. I liked what I saw. In 4 or so games I saw more potential in Meesen than anything I've seen in Johnson. This is true. Unfortunate, disappointing, sickening, but true. The problem wasn't that we lost (twice), but that we didn't give a yelp on QB. QB's supposed to be Melbourne's Grand Final. Our biggest match for the year. And we played some of the worst football for the year that day. That's why it was so disappointing.

Good on you for sticking up for him. But I disagree with you. I thought he did nothing other than show the football world that he is nothing better than an average VFL player. He still doesn't impose himself, he can't kick (which seems like a fundamental problem with his game that he mightn't be able to fix), he doesn't get enough of the ball, he doesn't move well, he doesn't have good body language, and he doesn't look like a forward even though he is one. If I had to find a positive it would be his tackle count, but really, I'd prefer him to lay 0 tackles and kick 4 goals.

That team would be more than competitive at AFL level. Better than the actual one.

You're both right and wrong. Morton was played in a different position to usual, not a wrong position, and did well in it. It showed me that Morton has the ability to play more than one end of the ground. It also showed me that Bailey is willing to move players around the ground at the expense of winning the game. The game did lack passion, though.