Rangie HSE

Pig Hibberd! All pork. All CLASS! Well done mate!!

Interesting thoughts. Nevertheless Howe wanted out & made it blatantly obvious. We don't want players like that. I would have neither Howe (given he pretty much walked out on the club) nor Watts for that matter. Neeld was bipartisan to an average list. You could not realistically expect him to be solely responsible for what he inherited. Tyson is copping it but hindsight is easy. He is still only 24 and maturing. Same with Petracca but only younger Clearly we have some work to do to make the finals. I don't think Lewis was recruited solely for that purpose.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Coach has spoken! Axe wielded! Yet the usual soft cork suspects on here continue make excuses for Britney. Unfathomable denial. Get over it ladies. Go Dees!

Not so much this As previous years . How about we call time on making excuses. We'll lose if we're not good enough Gonzo.

Mathematically then, that means he had one contested mark for the whole afternoon for 2.2. Receivers stats.

I concede one was simply the result of better judgement given it just barely flew over the fingertips of the freo bloke. Ill pay it.....but hardly contested.

A remarkable neck out statement filled with the insight of a seagull stricken on a barren landscape. Insightful Pro. Well done.

So was Bulls. Watts is no Gawn and he, for the sake of the side, is of more use this season as a non contesting floating forward/back given our D issues. Hibberd will add much needed class of half back .The only role I can see for Watts in this side moving forward is as a bruise free soft wingman, ala Riewoldt.

It struck me as impossible to envisage that by Round 7 we may only boast 2 wins. Unlike Roos, Goodwin doesn't have, at this stage, the maturity to project the kind of self belief Roos had ( and still has) . Therefore I can see why he (Goodwin) chose not to drop Watts, despite the noise. However, Watts output remains brittle and he is soft (as he is soft). An outside receiver at best and should have been traded when we had the opportunity.. Hogan should not be a walk up start next week . That Goodwin will rubber stamp his recall rings alarm bells. I prefer he straightens/drys out for 2 weeks at Casey . See if he sulks. This ultra attacking brand of Goodwin's has its upside, That said, he is a rookie at best and has a rookies game plan that's got holes the size of a Mack truck in defence. For the dull edged, lets just say not even having Chip Frawley back could stem the bleed we have seen over the last 2 weeks. Leg speed? Frost is not the answer either. Cant kick to save himself. Belief in a game plan or system will only take a young club so far. Neither having Lewis or Hogan could have saved us the last 2 weeks. I hope that Goodwin lives up to his tag. For mine, I have seen nothing to suggest that at this stage he is capable of adapting in game to any side with nous. Nasher, Thanks for the sentiment. No offence intended mate.

How long will this last? A 50 % win rate headed into Round 5. Its as if the crystal balls of the AFL knew all along that Melbourne were nothing but a mist for 2017 and the ANZAC clash with Richmond would all but seal our fate for this season. I for one would have sincerely hoped that the perennial die hard optiMUSTS such as Taz chromzoneloss Nasher would be waxing lyrical with a newfound hope by now. Alas is not to be; however a good yarn on C7 on whether HD or SD is what it takes seems to alleviate the numbness of its despair. Old will no doubt raise one ugly burp of discontent about this post; but it sure as hell wont win us a flag anytime soon. Any suggestions lads...other than the tender confusion of expression of a clueless brood? Daz 36 and a few others (alas a few) seem to know what's going on. Just not good enough MFC!!!

Hi Skuit, Thanks for your judgements. Your otherwise highly agreeable and submissive posts over your 1345 Demonland career would make your post regarding me pretty unfamiliar territory & new ground for you. A much needed first for you. High five!

Very astute Rogue . A very inspired move by Armstrong indeed. Dante nailed it. Makes you wonder why Col hung around for so long. Was bound to end in tragedy.

Hi Moonshadow, no it's not Range Rover here. Im a completely new entity. No relation. My sarcasm on my previous post failed to drip. Scribing needs work.

Yes, good point. Maybe Col never really reached his full potential at Melbourne. A bit like Stevie Armstrong. Looked pedestrian at Melbourne with their list and all, but Moved to WCE and won a premiership medallion! On on another note, wish you well Col. Fight the good fight mate!

Fair enough. ? Let me put it this way. Casey owned Port from the opening bounce and we should have gone on to finish the job but we didn't. This was particularly disappointing given the overrepresentation of Melbourne listed players today , particularly those with significant AFL experience. I don't believe we were switched on at all and regrettably I was able to see that first hand. The fact that is took a few of the Casey listed boys to get us back in the game says it all. Early, you raised a good question and provided insight. Plapp was rotating in blocks of 4 today but there was some considerable confusion as could be expected given the number of MFC listed players. Tyson (and Watts) were rested for long periods in the 2nd qtr, and I think Kennedy and Garlett were at some stage rotated. re: Watts - was receiving plenty of instruction and may have been playing it to the letter. If so, he was playing very,much outside which didn't seem to work. Almost bruise free footy. I cant speak so much regarding the third qtr. as I was on the other side of the ground. Goodwin was there and hovered during the breaks. He spent time with Watts so make of that what you will. Regarding my comments on Watts Blood, he is a fine young man and despite him having a pretty ordinary day out (by his standards) still humbly agreed to pose for pics with fans and their kids on the ground. I applaud that. He is a good team man but it doesn't mean he is any different to any other player & therefore should not be treated any differently? He is clearly a talented footballer who is struggling at present. I hope he has the mental strength to get through this period. If he does I believe he will be an even better footballer than what we saw in 2016.Were you there today? Nb: I apologise if I have offended anyone with my take on todays game.

I was also at the game but left the ground with a slightly different perspective. Whilst it was a good hit out for both clubs today in pretty much perfect conditions, in the end the score line flattered Casey, particularly given the insipid effort in the second quarter and junk time goals in last. What appeared to be a dominant display to begin with was overshadowed by a lack of run in Q2 matched only by the Casey's inability to match the hunger and cohesiveness that had engineered a well earned 43point lead & keeping the opposition scoreless. The third quarter was inexplicably a mirror of the 2nd, allowing Port to gain the ascendancy and the majority of the momentum, until ultimately fading by the 10min mark of the last qtr. From the Melbourne listed players, I thought Tyson and Smith were the two standouts, and a special mention to Bull who presented well and stuck to his task. Despite his 2 goals, Garlett was going through the motions. Kent was good. Trengove did his job but was one paced and like a number of his performances on his comeback, was vanilla at best. Spencer didn't play & looked on from the stands with Viney, Hogan & co. Pedersen did his job, Jetta is out of form. Despite the media saying otherwise, I thought Watts game (by his own standards) was poor. He spent some time pinch hitting in the ruck and then floating through the corridor between full forward and full back. His decision making at times was extremely poor. Because of this he was caught out on more than a number of occasions and gifting the opposition the ball. He also lacked a physicality and was too often pushed out of the contest by the opposition. Was not on his game today and if I was a selector I would be hesitant to include him for Round 1.

heres anothe prediction... so so so much BS on this thread...don't mean to dumb it down but sorry to single you out Skuit/ Sue! WTF! Pount 1: at present, He is not good enough to make the 1st XV111. For a player of his status is an indictment . Question: ( To Prodee at the Crèche ) who makes the final call on the playing list? I love my footy club too but it's not the BTW....Go MHSOBFC!!!

Good question. McCartney? Then you can follow-up by asking Peter if Kent will start against the Saints?

I happened to get to a training session just before the Dec/Jan break and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of attention and empahsis reinforced by the coaching staff upon the playing group with regard to prolonged mental hardness and focus, particularly under sustained duress. The conditions were very trying and the sheer intensity impressed upon the playing group by the coaching staff was deliberate and without compromise. One player who particularly was singled out after the session for praise was Clayton Oliver. I wont go into the reasons as to why other than to suggest they were extremely positive and resonated well with Goodwin, Mooney & McCartney. (care to comment Saty??) Furthermore, during the session he completely toweled Nev and ln a number of competitive sessions. Jetta was completely exposed and for the remainder of the session was damaged (& acting damaged) and needing reassurance from all & sundry. Nev was exposed and I had not expected to ever see this. Perhaps the back 6 is not quite as settled for reason?

Watts output will be interesting. His presence at Subiaco was not as convincing as hoped. I am unsure of what has got into him. I would have thought 2017 would have been his opportunity to put forward a message to the league i.e that he is worth his billing as an elite talent. What other motivations does he need?? Hogan has resigned and we have a committed core pf die hards. Nothing like we have seen over the past 20 yrs. Jack Watts: Despite our clubs unwavering support of his presumed (and flashes) of brilliance, the only consistent in Watts' portfolio is his consistent failure to uphold his promise. Even McCartney (who has an enviable track record for grooming elite talent - think Ocean Grove/Geelong FC/Dogs) seems to have failed. His influence on other players rebukes this anomaly with regard to the emergence of Brayshaw, Oliver, Hunt. Trak, Weed. Smith, Hogan and O Mac. (honorable mentions to JKH, ANB, Hulett and Maynard).I am sure there will be more to add to this imnpressive list of emerging talent. I for one hope he does a 180. That said, there is not much room for sentimentality in war. He has shown he doesnt have what it takes to be a leasder of this club. Others have overtaken him in the pecking order. His mates Wil (old McDonald) stick up for him. Counts for little thou with a new coach; a credible one at that given he can be tough enough to see through all the crap, including ego.

And on that note..... It belies belief how anyone who bleeds the MFC could use Greg Wells as their username. Simply goes against the grain.

Lol! Deep dive. Wells wanted to play finals. Melb couldn't offer that so he left. smug grub. For HIM it was the scum or North. He gives back today to the club today but not when it really counts so much. Back to the great Jakovich please, if you don't mind.

I guess that explains why you shafted us for Carlton.

Probably the best forward we have seen since ??? Shades Watts without a sweat. Will Hogan be as good? Dare to dream?