titan_uranus

That would be 4th pick.

1........Carlton (PP) Kreuzer

2........Richmond Cotchin (damn, i really wanted him)

3........Carlton Morton

4........Melbourne Hopefully Brad Ebert

Melbourne really need pace and class in the mid-field. With that in mind, and with Cotchin gone no doubt before our pick, we should go after Brad Ebert. Why??? Because he runs hard, has got a big tank, has a big body, has a big kick, shows great leadership, has class and skill and he has some dash about him too.

Whilst Cotchin may be more silky and ooze class, Ebert goes in a bit harder and is a bit quicker i think (but trials will tell all). If we are able to off-load a big name (ala Trav, Bruce, etc) during trade week and gain another top 10 pick (unlikely i know) it will lessen the effect of not having a higher pick if we lose to Carlton.

Good point, and I agree with Ebert being our pick.

Are you going? Yes

Crowd? 19,928

Who will win? Melbourne by 18

Which camp are you in - Winning --> 3rd pick will still be a good one

There are however, a number of Demon fans who would shudder at the thought of a win for their team. This is the group who think that a priority pick at the beginning of the second round of the draft is worth the trouble of losing on a regular basis. To them, a Melbourne victory would be a waste. To others, it would make attending the following week's game against Carlton more worthwhile because the team could go all out for a fair dinkum win. And that, after all, is what footy is all about, week in, week out!

Spot on - go Dees!

Captain : Neitz

Vice captain: McLean

Coach: Sheedy (don't want him though)

Delisted players: Warnock, Ward, Neville

Retired players: Bizzell, Brown

First draft pick: # 4 (we're gonna beat Carlton), hopefully its KPP or someone fast

Football manager: Riley?

07 Bluey: McDonald or Jones

My mail is the club is keen on Bond and they have gone off Sheedy

I hope so - we need something new

Brown - continued his reformation

Carroll - solid under fire

Holland - outstanding until injured

Bell - loose until injured

Ferguson - was surprisingly composed

Johnstone - played without passion

McDonald - inspired by occasion

Bate - disappointing yet again

Davey - continued poor season

Robertson - had little influence

Pickett - aggressive but unfit

Neitz - truly captain's game

Jamar - better second half

Sylvia - penny finally dropped

Dunn - some exciting moments

White - disappointed when needed

Jones - superlatives keep coming

Green - showed his class

Newton - showing his versatility

Wheatley - always under pressure

Bode - played his part

McLean - needed more involvement

Robbo - poor coaching. Needed to go deep forward when we were being slaughtered to give us another option so we weren't Neitz-centric. And then when he got injured he could hardly move, Thomas got a goal becuase he couldnt move to take a mark. He had to be put at FF or benched

White & Newton - completely agree

Bode - what part is that? had no influence at all really, but not his fault its only his second game

6 - Green

5 - Neitz

4 - Ferguson

3 - Johnstone

2 - Jones

1 - Dunn (can now play forward, midfield or defence with ability)

Geelong for me - 14 in a row is indicative of their dominance this year. If not, then Kangas or Eagles. In fact, anyone but Sydney, Port or Collingwood.

i thought jamar was quite good last nite.. nearly brought the house down with that screamer he nearly took. should take first ruck next week

I thought Jamar was pretty good last week as well, but then he had no opposition. I agree - should be first ruck next week. I've been thinking, with White's athleticism, maybe we could use him as a 'ruck-rover' kind of thing, not doing the major ruck work but gathering possessions up forward or down back or something. Kind of like Goodes or Blake at St Kilda. Then ruck Jamar and PJ?

And by the way, that screamer was a mark

Viney or Lyon

Since that won't happen, Viney or Sheedy

I think that we should offer Geelong something for Wojcinski - would add much needed pace and skill to the midfield/half back flank. I also think a draft pick to Fremantle for Murphy would be good.

Adelaide - Ben Rutten

Brisbane - Jonathan Brown

Carlton - Marc Murphy

Collingwood - Dale Thomas

Essendon - Matthew LLoyd

Fremantle - Matthew Pavlich

Geelong - Jimmy Bartel

Hawthorn - Lance Franklin

Kangaroos - Nathan Thompson

Port Adelaide - Chad Cornes

Richmond - Nathan Foley (a gun)

St. Kilda - Nick Riewoldt

Sydney - Adam Goodes

West Coast - Chris Judd

Western Bulldogs - Lindsay Gilbee

I still hold a candle to the Miller of old.

Im hoping a new coach will bring back his bite.

I've lost hope. He couldn't kick a goal up forward, now he can't hold a second or third tall down back. All he can do is mark, which is nice, but he needs to work on kicking. Can't see him becoming a quality CHB or CHF (which is what we need).

We need a big 195cm+ key defender more than a KP forward.

At least Newton gives us some hope and Bater isn't 195cm but he is doing a damn fine job for a 3rd year player playing CHF. We have no defender over 194cm (Not including Dutchy he won't be at the club next year).

Completely agree. Another defender will take the pressure off Rivers so he doesn't get tied down or beaten by a strong forward.

What, no Carroll? Injured? And Jamar instead of PJ!?!? I think you may be right...

Good to see Bell back though, but Ward should've gone

B: Carroll, Warnock, Whelan

HB: Bell, Frawley, Rivers

As long as Frawley and Warnock develop quickly this backline installs some hope. Carroll could play on the third tall and Rivers could just be 'the general'.

I never thought of Warnock as a full back - are you thinking of more of a Harry O'Brien thing, because I always thought of Warnock as a running type. I agree with Rivers being a 'general'

With all the injuries we seem to forget what a Melbourne team would look like with everyone available. So I put it to you - with our current list, what would our best 22 look like? And how would we stack up against Geelong/West Coast?

My team

B: Whelan Carroll Bartram

HB: Wheatley Rivers Bell

C: Johnstone Moloney McDonald

HF: Davey Bate Bruce

FF: Robertson Neitz Sylvia

Foll.: White Jones McLean

Int: P. Johnson Newton Green Petterd

Emergencies: Pickett Yze Dunn

While better than what we fielded yesterday, I don't think we are close to a full Geelong or West Coast. White as No. 1 ruckman is beginning to become a worry as teams rely more on tap work to get clearances (something we suck at this year).

-Is everybody over this season?

Yes, but I'm looking forward to seeing Newton, Buckley, Petterd, Frawley etc. develop this year for a crack next year

-Does anybody care if we lose this Sunday?

Of course, they're the Blues (still fuming from last year)

-Do people actually want us to lose to get the best draft picks possible?

No- even though some good young players would be nice I want us to finish above Carlton on the ladder, which means more than 4 wins

-Will you be upset if we lose?

Yes, see above

-Are you going?

Yes

-Crowd?

25,000 if bad weather, 30,000 if good

how much of the game was bell actually played on brown?

Just the first quarter, in which Brown kicked a few goals, set others up and had 7 possessions... for the rest of the game he only got about 6 more

Caroll to do the job on Lloyd like he has in the past, (ie rd 22 2005) and Bell to do a Harry O'Brien on Lucas. Really isn't that difficult. Did you want Holland or Frawley on Lucas? Lucas gets all the majority of marks on the lead. Holland would have been too slow and Frawley not smart enough yet.

Yeah, Holland has no correct match-up in the Ess team. I don't think he had one against Richmond either, he only stayed because it would have been considered 'unfair' to drop him after the towelling he gave Rocca.

Carroll is the obvious one for Lloyd, but I think Bizz could take either him or Lucas, freeing up Bell, which I think is better for both him (destroyed by Brown last week) and the team (he can run off half-back).

Sorry to see Frawley go, but he hasn't set the world on fire. Glad to see Newton.

God forbid we get Connolley. Would rather us keep Daniher than get him.

I completely agree. Connolly has done close to nothing for Fremantle, and I would not like his coaching style here. However, I'm not sure Voss would be ready for an AFL head coaching position, considering his proximity in age to players such as Neitz. They may see him as a 'peer' rather than a 'coach'.

Godfrey shouldnt be touched

I agree, that's what I meant.

Hey - if you've never heard of me it coz i'm new. I say trade one of Jamar, Ferguson (though probably no one would want him) or Miller. Probs Jamar coz ruckman are a premium in some places (e.g. Carlton). Trade Warnock since we never play him. I wanna say delist Godfrey and Holland but at least they try. Must keep Davey because he has the potential to change games (just wish they played him as a crumbing forward). Don't think we should get rid of Dunn just yet - I see talent there.

My burning question: If a club actually did want any of the aforementioned players, who should Melbourne be looking for?