Ollie fan

Can anyone tell me when preseason training starts? I can't wait for it to begin, so that we can move out of this horrible couple of months that we have had.

Well, I really like it. It is a winnable game, it gets one away game out of our system, we get the huge publicity of being the open game, and as it is on a Thursday we will probably get an 8 day break after it. Now we just have to win it.

Always liked him. Despite everything, as a player he oozed class. If he were starting with us now, with our excellent player development, he would become a champion if he committed himself.

Unfortunately that's true. I will never understand why Lever didn't kick sideways to Rivers who was on his own and burn up another 10-20 seconds with a bit of waxing it.

I absolutely love your optimism, but here and on other threads.

I suspect I am part of that groundswell. The thing is: I support Melbourne and its players. I have no desire to bring them down, abuse them, or to make ill-founded allegations.

I have no idea how channel 9 came to be there but a guess would be: someone saw them all, recognised them, and notified the media, probably earning a dollar in the process. Do you have any better info?

Binman, I normally have a great deal of time for your posts but you are in the chorus of critics here, and i think it is all wrong. As you say yourself, he does no promotional stuff - in other words, he is NOT media-savvy. He was caught on a golf course in an unguarded moment and after all, what he said was, he is happy to play for the Dees! He is a young man from the absolute back blocks of South Australia, not used to picking his words or to having his words picked over. One thing is for sure: if he is foolish enough to read the vitriol being poured on him here, he will be out the door ASAP. I say: support him, make him feel valued and welcomed, and he may well end up a great ten-year player for us.

This thread is so hard on him for some unguarded comments in an unplanned interview. In which he said he was staying at Melbourne. He was on the golf course!! He is a young bloke and not someone who is regularly interviewed. He said he is staying and I believe he meant it. Give him a break. Let's just hope he comes out fit and firing and adds the final piece to our forward line!

Can't Melksham play that role?

Stewart Loewe was a shocking kick for goal but after years of dreadful kicking, he really worked on it and became accurate although lacking distance.

Well, it should. JVR was tremendous for a player in his first AFL season. He wasn't even intimidated by being asked to do some ruck work. He reminded me of a young Dermie, with a bit of swagger and a lot of ability. And Petty is tall, can take a one-grabber, is an accurate kick and understands forwards play from the other side of The fence. Add in Fritta and Kossie, and our defensive forwards - it should frighten the opposition.

Thanks for the info

BTW WCW, how is Fritta going. Is he completely in the clear now?

Then that is my bad. But Petty is still better than Gunston who couldn't get a game at the end of the year.

Cornes' analysis falls down badly at one point. He says Gunston is a better forward than Petty. Wrong. Gunston's days of kicking six goals in a game are long gone.

This is terrible to read. If DD is saying that Gus was showing signs of brain damage, it is just awful - it would be awful for anyone, but here we are talking of a highly intelligent young man with his life ahead of him, but with that now damaged. The other way to read what DD says is that Gus was depressed about having to retire, but (I hope) with his faculties intact. I hope that is what was meant, difficult as that situation may be for Gus.

It's a very good question. I suspect we all see it from the Demon perspective, in which we saw some ARC howlers and some terrible advantage calls - we always seemed to have the reverse of the GF blunder: playing on with a clear advantage only to have the ball called back while the opposition set up their defence. But the 6-6-6 rule is excellent; the 4 umpires is a waste of time and money and clogs up the field, and the idea above of an umpires' academy is an excellent one. Oh, and thinking of academies, the draft system is totally compromised -and also the MRO - not to mention the tribunal.......

That is really interesting footage. Everyone in suits/best dresses, and hats!! And the speed of the game seems to be not much different to now, because it is so open. And I love to see a drop kick! Was Barassi Snr playing?

Agree

We can beat them -we did once and almost did the second time - they hold no fear for us.

I thought it was quite obvious - Petty and JVR. Unfortunately, Brown's injury worsened, TMac got worse/new injury (as I recall it), Petty got injured, and JVR was asked to do too much as a result, although to give him credit, he did as good a job as it was possible to do. Did people expect the club to have yet another reliable quality KPF, prepared to play at Casey for perhaps the whole season unless injuries happened? Precisely which player in the league would have signed up for that? PS not to mention getting in Schache, who turned out to be a huge disappointment, and drafting Jefferson for the future.

I was being much more polite

Just BTW, why does Alysse Bannon wear a different jumper , with a diamond front and not a yoke?

Barassi and Blight are certainly exceptions. Voss might become one, although he has been given an extraordinary list to work with. Northey isn't; if you look back at what is said about him it is that he was a tremendous tackler.