Jumping Jack Clennett

Today against Sydney it was blatantly obvious that our kick-in strategy was ineffective. Even more obvious was that our defence of Sydney's kick-ins was non-existant. In my opinion , it was clear today that the deficiency was not in the skills of the players involved, but in the tactics employed by the coaching staff. Our ineptitude in this basic, and highly important facet of play will hold us back however well we recruit, however hard we train, however hard we try. We should watch what Sydney did today, and try hard to copy it. Do other posters think I'm foolishly obsessed with this aspect of our game, or am I correct that something radical needs to be done?

Dunn did a fantastic stopping job today, and should be highly commended for it. However on two occasions he failed to act when it was required of him, resulting directly in goals to Sydney. Each of these transgressions was worthy of a place in Sandringham next week. What should we do? I think I know.

Great research, Hannabal.

Good work, Deanox. But are you sure that despite losing 5 guys aged about 30, and replacing them with guys aged 18, the average age only drops by 0.4??? Surely that would result in an approx. 1.5 year drop. Quite significant, and probably making ours the youngest list in the AFL.

I remember agreeing with our Footy dept when they dumped Simmonds. To me he just didn't have a footy brain. How wrong I was. Ditto with Jolly. I felt he just didn't have the heart. Wrong again. Let's give Meesen a bit more time.

Are there 4th and 5th Morton brothers? (No doubt aged 15 and 17.)

I'm not sure, but I think he was kicked out of the Hawks for his bad character, and they got nothing in return. The Tassie-Waverley Hawks have learnt their lesson and tolerate misdemeanours from stars now.

[quote name='Dappa Dan' date='Jun 21 2008, 09:45 PM' post='157615' "Apparently we hold the record at 190 points." The next match after that dark day in the late 70's when Fitzroy slaughtered us, we beat Essendon by 6 goals! Dammit.....it looks like the Eagles really want Naita.

I couldn't help but barrack for North today, against the Tassie- Waverley Hawks, though I feel it's to Melbourne's advantage for North to falter.

I agree with your sentiments, Jack. They're sickening in their arrogance, which has developed as a result of the use of dirty money. I can't help but feel that evil will not prevail, and they'll be struck down as punishment for their sins. Who did you barrack for last week when they played Collingwood? I found myself nearly supporting the hated enemy(can't get '58 out of my mind!).

Get 'em while there young! Yes, but perhaps wealthy yuppies might be a better financial prospect than the offspring of dysfunctional, and possibly itinerant, families.

One aspect that I haven't noticed being debated is this.......the trend toward inner city living. How many people are moving to the Docklands precinct, and the inner Melbourne luxury high-rise appartments. These people have money. These people live within walking distance of the MCG. These people live in "Melbourne". Perhaps the local zone that Essendon, Richmond and Hawthorn have had for years, is developing in inner Melbourne! Is it possible that a more logical step than going to Gippsland would be to concentrate on inner Melbourne, where no-one USED to live, but now do, in ever increasing numbers? I hope our planners haven't overlooked this consideration.

I hate us having to play away from the MCG because of financial necessity. BUT........this season's GONE!!!! Any chance we can sell any games THIS season? This would help us in two ways...(1) We might earn significant money, to reduce our debt , and get Vlad off our backs. (2) It will reduce our chances of an upset-win, which could compromise our chance of a no. 1 draft pick. If we could sell the games this season, instead of next, it would be far preferable. I guess it's too late. By the way, the Manuka scoreboard is from the MCG in our glory days....perhaps it would look kindly down on our boys.

I wouldn't have blamed them for being upset with the umps.......we got EVERYTHING!!

Well Said, "Before2long". PG did his best to help the Club we love. It's been a dignified, unselfish exit by him and his Board, whom I think, have faced unjustified criticism. The absence of a political stoush is evidence of his desire for the welfare of the MFC.

From where I sat, Aaron's big grab over Richo looked pretty spectacular, and , I thought, a contender for "mark of the year". Unfortunately, it seems the photographers didn't capture it well, since there's nothing in the "AGE", and a small, ordinary shot in the "H-Sun". I hope this doesn't count against his chances of the prize. It was great, too, that he kicked accurately for an important goal, since often players miss after a "speccy."

I've always had a soft spot for North, and they're the team I like to see win the flag if we don't. BUT......We Demon faithfuls have to hope another Melb side falls over , to take the heat off us. They're the most likely to disintegrate(after us, un -fortunately).Somehow they've managed to be a strong team over the last 30 years despite all their disadvantages. I think this has been largely due to their being fortunate in securing a few champion players in this time. Without Carey, Archer, Stevens, etc, they'd have been down the bottom repeatedly, and would have moved interstate by now. Their form's pretty ordinary at present, and they'll really miss the injured McIntosh. Keep this up, and they'll struggle to raise 30,000 members,and such good sponsorship next year. Ditto with the Saints, but they have a better home base.Footscray look like they'll be strong for a few years, and Richmond seem to have a huge following despite consistent bad performances(to which we can significantly add tomorrow). So North is the only side that can take the heat off us.(plus it wouldn't do any harm for us to win a few games!)

Apparently Jack's younger brother is 10cm. taller, and equally talented. Also barracks for the Demons! I don't think he's old enough for next year's draft, so we can't copy Perth and Adel. teams and keep Jack under wraps. It'll be interesting to see how they turn out.

'Jack7' Shouldn't this post be merged with my "point kick-ins" post? By the way, I agree you've added a significant contribution to the topic, Jack.

Good one, Nightmare!

WE STILL CAN'T DO IT!!!! Today against Collingwood, it was point kicking-in that was the difference between the teams. After their points, we were in desperate defence. After ours, they'd end up quickly in their attacking 50. They rushed behinds almost as an attacking move. We'd never do that, since we know we have trouble clearing it from the backline. No wonder Belly did a Clanger in Q4.....there were no options upfield. Once Wheatley bombed long to White near the centre circle. The result? GOAL. If the kicker-in must kick to a contest, make it 65m. out near the boundary. But a better tactic would have been to try to copy whatever tactic Collingwood used.(both in defence of our kick-ins, and on their own kick-ins.) Is it correct that the"huddle" results when the opposition "man-up"? If that's the case the side kicking in cannot choose when to huddle. It's a response to an opposition tactic. It's the one thing we've done well at, in the past ,with respect to kick-ins. But today, it didn't work.

[quote name='mousey' date='Jun 6 "Look at the dreamtime fixture between Richmond and Essendon compared to QB 2007 DT = 61,000 QB = 70,000 2006 DT = 58,000 QB = 78,000" And if I remember correctly, rain has been predicted, and usually fallen, on QB the last few years, which has a significant neg. effect on attendance numbers. Demetriou might be using a ploy to try to bump the crowd up, but I think it's likely to be detrimental(make that "Demetri-ental") to our Club, which is an easy target at present. As I remember, Collingwood's been favourite in this game usually in recent years, but we usually win! If Kennett's insults fired us up v. The Tassie/Waverley Hawks, lets hope Demetriou stirs our guys up for this game. Wouldn't it be great to beat the cocky Mudpies! I don't know who's going to kick our goals?????Garland up forward?