Jumping Jack Clennett

'Cranky Franky' One reason for the lack of forward options is because we keep on playing Miller back(on star forwards), then drop him to the seconds, where he does well forward , then promote him and play him back. He leads and provides a target very well, similarly to Hansen and Richo. We miss him when he's down back. This talented player has been mis-handled by Danners and his disciple, Bomber. (very much like Thompson, Jolly and Snake were mishandled).

I posted this topic on 5th Aug, long before "Distance Demon" and "Ash 30" posted on the same topic, and which I feel strongly their posts should have been merged with mine. I re-iterate my contention (in which few Demonlanders showed interest)... WHICHEVER SIDE WINS ROUND 22 BETWEEN MELB AND CARLTON HAS THE WEAKER(OR MOST NAIVE) CLUB LEADERSHIP!!!!!!!

['Ash 30' This "new" topic should be merged under the title of my Aug 5th post entitled "Match of the Century".

See my Topic thread on "MATCH OF THE CENTURY", which was considered barely worth a comment by most Demonlanders, and ridiculed by a few.

We still haven't got the knack of point kick-ins. Nearly every time Collingwood kicked in, they'd find a string of loose men and go into attack. When we kicked in, there were no options, so we went short and ended up in desperate defence. When are we going to learn that point kick-ins MUST be taken quickly????? If we'd kicked in half as well as they did, we'd have won by 3 goals. This is an important part of coaching which I hope will be addressed by our new coach.

A great example of why the torpedo should be practised and encouraged in specific situations was Jason Gram's torp in the dying moments of last Fri's` game v the Dogs. No time left, 1 point down, and the ball in the back line. Best tactic?? Longest kick possible...a torp, hoping for a forward to mark. Sure enough, Reiwoldt marked, and fell short with his goalshot by an inch. Logical thinking nearly won the match.. A flat ban on torps, and they would have lost instead of drawing......season over! Perhaps Reiwoldt should have torped............

Sorry, Beelzebub, I wasn't having a go at you,I know it wasn't you that raised the topic of the "Spoon". I just wanted to re-direct the conversation to the likely vital importance of not beating Carlton in round 22. It seems some of the respondents on this thread under-estimate it!

This discussion has nothing to do with the "spoon". The Tigers have that all parcelled up. The crucial thing is, that Carlton MUST win another game! We can win ONE game, IF they win one. This is very important to our chances of future success.

I thought this somewhat provocative statement would draw some comment. Whenever I discuss rnd 22 with Carlton supporters they smugly, and confidently, inform me that there's no chance they'll win it. I'd like to be so confident that my Club is so realistic.

Does a lack of fitness make a player repeatedly drop chest marks? I remember playing B grade amateurs and feeling aggrieved after doing a good pass which resulted in a dropped chest mark. He does it over and over again and it makes me GRIND MY TEETH!!!!

Poor old Miller, Joe-boy. To say he played without passion seems heartless to me. I thought he gave his guts, and wasn't ineffective, when finally played in his correct position.(leading forward).

The players will always try (despite what many posters suggest), but this can be well over-ridden by the selectors and the footy dept (with unfavourable rotations on match day. Looking at Ess last year, Haw, Coll, and Carl in previous years and many others (including us in ?2003), it's naive to suggest that Clubs ("Clubs", not players) go flat out when draft picks are at stake. Whether or not the players are trying is not the point. If they know it's in the best interest of the Club to lose,it's impossible to play with the same endeavour as when the reverse is the case. Tell me how hard Carlton Footy Club tried after you've watched round 22.

I re-iterate my contention from another thread that whoever wins Round 22 Melbourne v Carlton has either the most naive footy department or the most undisciplined players. Consider the consequences of winning that game! There's only one hope left to avoid this disaster match....Carlton COULD beat Essendon the week after next. But no doubt Fev's thigh will play up with the scores level and 5 minutes to play. At last he's doing what he's told!

What the Hell is Travis doing playing in the VFL???? He should either be resting ,getting his injury right, or in the firsts. Or has the footy dept realised that if there's one player on our list who could wreck our draft chances by winning a game off his own boot, it's "Tigger"?

I notice that Mike Sheahan and Garry Lyon discuss this matter in the H-Sun today. Either side would be MAD to win rnd 22. BUT.......someone's going to have to! Why could the AFL not realise such a farcical match was a possibility when it created its priority draft system?Surely the Blues won't succumb to a shell-shocked Collingwood! If only they beat them, then we can have a real crack too,in round 21, and stuff up their finals chances!

It's been pretty reliable in recent years, compared to the early years of the draft system.

Same here. But we MUST NOT win that last game!

I think it's a serious problem. Surely no-one condones deliberately losing, but in the case of round 22,Melb/Carlton, winning the game would be a display of leadership incompetence and naivety. How do you tell the players not to go flat out? Either Melb or Carlton will solve the problem better than the other.

This topic is about THIS year's problem , not future years. Somehow the AFL has to fix up the problem it's created for itself.

Rhino, the Ess/Carl match was in round 16 last year,not round 22, so a lot of water had to flow under the bridge AFTER that match. Also, both sides ended up with 3 wins, so even in round 22 they had a win up their sleeve with respect to priority picks. So this year's potential farce in round 22 is DEFINITELY more of a problem for the AFL. (that's if you accept my contention that it's silly to play a game where the winner seriously damages its future.) Do you accept these facts Rhino? Another way the AFL could circumvent this situation is to make some secret financial or other incentive to Melb or Carl to reach 20 prem. points before round 22.

There was less hanging on the "Bryce Gibbs"match....both sides were going to get a top 2 draft pick, whatever the outcome. Also, there was a rumour at the time that Ess and Carl had come to an agreement before the match. Carl wanted Gibbs. Ess wanted Gumbleton. With respect to our victory against Carlton this year, we only won because we kicked straight, and they were very inaccurate. Also, we got an armchair ride from the umps, for a change.

The more I think about round 22, the more I think the AFL CAN'T let the farcical Melb/Carl match occur.