titan_uranus

True, but that's also most likely the reason why Mission switched. Our deal was $2 million a year, the Dogs deal was $1.5 million.

I agree. It's pretty clear that we haven't got anyone in the team at the moment who is capable of kicking goals week in, week out. Robertson can. Having said that, he isn't going to be around for the first 6 weeks at least, so we need to see if Bate, Miller or Newton are capable of providing a focal point. I don't think any of them are.

Is that a final score? Certainly this is a much better pre season than 2008. But to have three weeks where we were competitive and the margin was close all game, then to finish it off with this effort, I get the feeling that the players will have this match as a lasting image over the previous three. It would have been better to have had this result first, then the three better games as the lead up to Round 1.

Hmm, having played so well for 3 weeks, this last quarter could undo a lot of our good work.

232 users reading this topic! Any update on the score?

I would be satisfied with 5 wins, no more than 2 losses by 60 or more (accounting for 2 matches v Geelong and 1 v Hawthorn), not being 16th, seeing clear development from Morton, Grimes, Petterd, Garland, Martin and Frawley, and playing a style of football that doesn't make you want to look away whenever we've got the ball.

PP, you need to look harder. The second page from the back in yesterday's HUN sport section (i.e. the one next to the TV Guide) had an article entitled Demons to sport Hankook logo in $2.1 million sponsorship deal. You should know that The Age is our shorts sponsor, so there's no surprise that they're providing more positive MFC news. Also, in today's Age, there's a big advertisement from the club (with the same banner we get in member's emails) with the statement about Hankook. It's not in the HUN.

Should be interesting to see how Meesen and Spencer go, up against Hudson and whoever else the Dogs use in the ruck.

That's the official order as per http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com/rankings/rankings.html (as of 6th March). It's how I would see it as well. The top 3 are clearly the best 3 in the world. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have the players to make a contest against those three teams (but get unfairly underscheduled by the ICC). England can't seem to improve, West Indies might finally be on the up, and New Zealand is terrible (can't bat, can hardly bowl either). And whilst we're speaking of rankings, in the player rankings, Mitchell Johnson is now equal with Dale Steyn as the best fastbowler and the no. 2 bowler overall (behind Muralitharan): http://www.icc-cricketrankings.com/

I think the press conference has been and gone, because there's a report on the MFC website: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsart...15/default.aspx It clearly states that there will be another sponsor, but that sponsor has not been named yet. Maybe the other major sponsor will be announced on the footy show tonight?

Happy, happy days! Yes, Mr De La Rue was integral in securing this deal (Caro's article says so). I heard on SEN that there's going to be a press conference sometime today where the Hankook (and possibly the other co-sponsor) deals will be formally announced by the club.

This may well be the end of Jamar, if Spencer can hold his own when he has his chance in the team. And the best bit is, we won't have to play Meesen. I guess that some sort of doctor's analysis would be necessary.

Agree re: Haddin. His batting is improving rapidly, which will ease the pressure and allow the selectors to play McGain, batting Johnson at 8. Johnson will soon overtake Steyn as the no. 1 paceman. And Siddle won't be too far behind. Now that South Africa's lost their first series since 2006, their side's being changed like ours has been: http://content.cricinfo.com/rsavaus2009/co...ory/394673.html McKenzie, Morkel dropped. Prince not only returns, but opens, and will be captain. And to top it all off, the Windies held off England again for another draw, meaning they've won the series 1-0!

Well, 2 early strikes should be enough to prevent a loss now. Duminy's the one we need now, and he was just dropped (though it was a very tough chance) by Haddin.

I'm taking a pessimistic outlook, I know, but the South Africans really are top class cricketers, and I wouldn't put it past them, particularly considering the physical state of our bowlers.

It's not just the HUN. A few weeks back The Age reported that Daniel Blennel was playing for us.

Heard on the rumour file this morning that we're going to announce our sponsor(s) on The Footy Show on Thursday.

The outlook for this test would be so different if North had held on to Kallis first ball. Instead, we're in trouble of not winning a test that hasn't been in question since early on day 2. I said this before the 5th day of the first test, where the situation was similar, and we ended up knocking them over pretty easily, but I can see a South African win here, but if Kallis and de Villiers survive the first session, we're in a lot of trouble.

I agree.

That's a nice way of looking at it. Not having an LTI by round 4 would definitely be nice. But I see it more like this: Agreed. I like mo's solution: Definitely an idea that will be considered. But, if Martin does ruck, what happens if/when Spencer is ready to play? Do we go with PJ and Spencer, which leaves us with the plethora of defenders? Or do we not play PJ?

The referral system is a joke. It takes far too long, and doesn't always make the correct decision. As for the match, it's not often you can lose 5/4 yet end the day in control. But I'm sure the Melbourne Test will be in the back of the Aussies' minds at the moment. Credit to McDonald for bowling so well.

Don't know about being a darkhorse, but we're definitely a better team with those two in it.

Getting Collingwood in Round 2, even though it's an away match, is a huge bonus to the MFC. I agree that the MFC store is not in the best of locations during the week, but I think it's in a great spot for match days. I've been there a few times when Melbourne's been playing at the G and it's been packed out. Plus, having the store at the MCG shows where we want our home to be.

Hmm. I agree with the whole Collingwood media saturation stuff. But Essendon v Collingwood is always going to take precedence over a practice match between Brisbane and Melbourne. As for the draw, you're right, they've had it easy. But who cares? We should have beaten Hawthorn. Good point: the last time we won an interstate match was Round 14, 2006, when we beat Brisbane at the Gabba by 8 points (that doesn't include the 2007 NAB Cup/Challenge). Brisbane's back half isn't that bad. I'd say West Coast's is worse. Fremantle's too.

4/303 at stumps. Brilliant start, didn't quite go on with it as we were 0/184 at the second drinks break. But overall a good day's play. Hughes is a very exciting prospect, at 20 years old. Had the guts to go for consecutive sixes to race through the 90s. First time we've gone into a test match with an unchanged line up since the SCG test of 2008. Let's hope Siddle and Hilfenhaus are actually fit.