titan_uranus

I've seen quite a bit of Essendon this year and I have to say I think their success is wholly dependent on their ability to find replacements for Lloyd, Lucas, Fletcher and Michael. 4 key position players aren't easy to find. Neagle might be one, Ryder another, but they still need another forward and another defender. Having said that, they have a lot of good young players: Houli, Nash, Lovett, Jetta (I think will get there), Davey, Gumbleton (if he ever gets on the park), Neagle (questionable), Ryder (maybe), Reimers (best of the lot), Monfries (I thought not until the last few weeks), Myers, Pears, Winderlich, Dempsey. At the moment I would say that Essendon has a brighter short-term future than Melbourne, but in the long run, unless they pull some KPP gems out of the draft, Melbourne's youth may be better.

Win. I don't think it will matter whether we finish 16th, 15th or 14th. I still think we will take Watts no matter what. The only problem with winning is the possibility that we could get another 2 and then lose the PP, but I wouldn't worry about it.

Good to see him get a stable spot in the team.

Can I ask, how is Jake Spencer doing? I would guess that he's doing alright because he's been named in the seniors but I don't really know much about him.

I'm not looking forward to Newton's return. I get the feeling he won't get close to what is expected of him. Would love him to, though. Goodbye Jace.

Exactly. Think of the cost of the raffle ticket as a donation to the club, only there's a possible prize for donating. A raffle has, and always will be, a method of making money. It gets people to make 'donations' that they might otherwise not make.

I for one don't want to see White come back in. We did fine without him last week. Maybe White could play as a midfielder/wingman, but I'd prefer to let Jamar and PJ take responsibility. I'm expecting Bell to make the team because of the Dogs' smallish forward line.

Out: Davey, McLean In: McDonald, Frawley I hope Martin gets another game, though I can't think of an immediate match up for him. I heard Frawley played well for Sandy on the weekend so he gets a go on one of the Dog's numerous midsized forwards.

He's gotta be in with a chance. Cyril's fading badly, so if Aussie can finish the season well, the judges might have his good form at the front of their minds when they vote.

Watts. I'm more certain of it with each day.

9. Yay, Gold next year!

Garland, from Miller and PJ. Dunn's making a late-season run at it though.

I tend to agree, except in our situation I don't think it really matters. What's more important is that a message is sent not just to Aaron but to the whole group that whatever Davey did is unacceptable, so that when we need players in the team and not serving suspension for discipline it doesn't happen.

I want Watts, which is good because I also have a feeling we'll take him.

I concur. 2 x Rivers means 1 x Rivers playing each week.

Well it's not just dependent on our progess but also other teams (obviously). If the Bulldogs turn into the next Geelong then a premiership may be out of the question until 2012 or something like that. But I reckon we'll be up there challenging in 4 years. Finals in 2.

We will finish 14th, Freo 15th, West Coast 16th. W.C. will take Naitanui with pick 1 to provide an able back up to Cox. Freo will take Rich with pick 2 because they could use another midfielder. So we, with pick 3, will take Watts. Which I would be happy with.

Yeh almost 29,000 now.

I just wish there were more people there to witness it.

He went to Mitch Clark when he was forward, but he seemed to move further up the ground later in the game. Seems to be very mobile for someone 198cm and 100kg or thereabouts. A defence with Warnock, Garland, Martin and Rivers sounds good to me.

Loved seeing Wonna's dad there. Stynes ought to go to as many matches as is possible.

Definitely his best game so far, and was one of our best, but his kicking still leaves a lot to be desired I reckon. I thought a few times he missed the target when he shouldn't have. Consistency is definitely what we need from CJ now.

6 - Green 5 - Miller 4 - Sylvia 3 - CJ 2 - Wheatley 1 - PJ Special mention to Dunn for collecting a second scalp (Black was ineffectual compared to his usual).

Sylvia's best game for the MFC IMO.

That was so symbolic of the difference in determination between PJ and Sherman. It was something that 3AW mentioned quite a bit after the game. Loved the way us in the crowd cheered it like he'd kicked a goal.