titan_uranus

I don't think his career is necessarily over, but he will never be the same again. And to think how different things may have been if he'd been rested this week to freshen him up for Queen's Birthday (which I thoght might happen as he kicked a bag last year)

Bell - time to go

I watched Channel Seven's awful coverage, and Commetti made a good point. He noticed that at most of the clearances, especially in the 2nd quarter, our players were all too focused on their opponents and not on actually getting a clearance. Doesn't help when our ruck division is thrashed. We can't blame Bailey (yet) because, as has been stated, when the players commit, the game plan works (vs Geelong, Fremantle 2nd half, Hawthorn). Blame should be directed to the more experienced players such as White, Yze, Bruce, and maybe also to the selectors. 5 changes to a team that clearly played its best game of the year, of which 1 was forced (though Morton probably needed a rest).

Hmm, I can see where you're coming from but I don't think Aussie was one of our best today. I didn't really see much in the way of defensive pressure from anyone, let alone Aussie. My votes: 6. McDonald 5. Warnock 4. Bate 3. Sylvia 2. Garland 1. PJ

You're right, these two constantly get caught trying to break tackles. Whether or not they can be 'taught' how to do this to greater effect I don't know because at the moment both of them make the wrong decision in trying to get past a 3rd or 4th player.

Yep, yesterday was the worst of them all, especially considering that the first two were against now top-3 teams. Maybe TD had something to do with it...

Last chance for Newton, and Dunn too I reckon. If neither of them can settle into the forward line for the remainder of the year I don't know why we would want to keep them.

I totally agree re: Bell and Bartram. Time for Bell to go IMO, I see no value in him at all. Hasn't improved much but is regularly played. Bartram at least puts his body on the line and tries to win some of the contested ball. Disagree re: Miller. He isn't helped by shocking disposal inside 50 (or the sunlight)

Rohan Connolly is Essendon

Thanks for that Mikey.

Can you run through what the MFC was asking for in this survey for those who didn't get to have their say...

I agree, good form at Sandy warrants selection in the seniors IMO. A win this week would do wonders for our players' confidence leading into Queen's Birthday, a game that all Melbourne supporters want to see us win, so it's important DB looks for a team that can win for us over the next couple of weeks.

If Holland's injured I would doubt he would be an emergency; I don't recall seeing (shoulder) after his name in the paper either, which makes me think he may well be a late inclusion for Robbo.

Same thing happened here. I guess the MFC just doesn't appreciate the input of Concession members.

I too had this thought until I remembered in the pre-season there was talk that we wouldn't play him this year due to him being in Year 12 and completing his VCE. Don't like seeing Bode, CJ and Bell all getting named over Valenti, against a slow midfield too. No mention of Robbo's injury last night on the footy show and he seemed to walk alright.

I like the idea of Warnock coming here but as others have mentioned it probbably can't happen due to the number of ruckmen we've already got, which is disappointing because I think Warnock will better than Jamar and Meesen. However if Holland retires (which is likely) then PJ may be groomed as a forward or defender rather than a ruckman.

I think Yze or Sylvia could cover for Robbo. Add Bate and Miller one or both of whom could go deeper, and a resting ruckman and there's no need to play Newton. However I don't know much about St Kilda's defence, maybe playing Newton will stretch their defenders.

I agree: I've loved Bate his whole career, and he's now beginning to develop into a star player of the AFL. Lovely kicking action too... Jaded's right about FF though, we've no real prospects here unless Zomer comes through. I doubt Newton will make it. Hope he does though, for his sake and Melbourne's.

Oh yeah, my mistake.

That's a good point: for some getting to the ground can be expensive and difficult. Like the idea of cheaper Saturday tickets. I'm just glad we got recognised by the AFL.

Let's not forget that Hawthorn plays a specific zoning tactic whereby we're forced more often than not into going to the boundary first up. Still, Bell sholdn't be taking kick ins.

I remember his debut game vs Richmond, he played up forward and I remember thinking that we'd got onto a goal-kicking prospect. I think he needs to be tried as a forward.

It's amazing how things can change so quickly: now it seems as though its the forward line that is worse than the backline. I dunno about drafting Hurley as a forward when he's played in defence in his youth and he's getting such high appraisal down there. PJ could maybe play forward, more so if Meesen or Spencer develop into a proper ruckman, however I don't think that would be such a good idea.

I had the same thought: isn't it sometimes more important to be the better player when the team sucks? I mean, standing out when you lose is generally better than playing well when the team plays well. Sometimes we criticise players who only play well when everyone else plays well.

Garry Lyon has brought up the issue of Melbourne playing the majority of football this year on a Sunday. Every match from round 5 until round 18 is on a Sunday save for Queen's Birthday. Add to that rounds 1, 3 and 22, and we have a total of 15 Sunday matches. Also, of our 11 home matches, 7 are on a Sunday. What do you prefer? (Also only one night match this year (Round 19 vs Geelong), but that I guess stems from our performance last year)