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It sure does. And we are at the bottom point of the J curve here (or in Novemember we will be). The coach of the MFC will need time to get us back into the finals, if the club still has faith in Bailey give him another year this October. I, personally, don't see Bailey as the sort of bloke to try and save his job at the expense of the LT future. But for the sake of his hair follicles - give him another year.

To a certain extent it would. 2008 and 2009 have been nothing years in terms of win/loss, it has been 'list management' since Rd 1 2008 - when Isaac Weetra and Colin Garland played ahead of more seasoned players. One developed into a beauty, the other...err, did not. My advice would be that people can criticise the gameplan, development of players, and selection if you want to, but don't come back on here and say half way through next year "This bloke won only 7 of his first 44 games." I've posted this a few times, and got the ire of DWNo25 I believe; we have been 'tanking' since halfway through 2007, and stepped it up when Bailey came to the club. The players we tried, the players we retired, the season ending surgeries, etc.

Cameron the Bruce will be up with Beamer and the Flash. That I can promise you.

He's 20. How were the others going in the 4th game? Winning matches with 4 goals, 4 assists, and 4 contested marks? They weren't? Oh, I feel sorry for those guys - I guess they won't amount to much. And of course he is no Riewoldt - Jack Watts is our Riewoldt... Some people...

And so is the integrity of the Priority Pick system; this weekend will see our 50th loss since 2007, if we win 5 games this year we would be going out of our way to flout the AFL's equalisation methods to help a team as bad as us. And I don't want that on my conscious, sir. It's about the integrity of the system...

1. Jack Watts 2. Cale Morton 3. Aaron Davey 4. Liam Jurrah 5. Jack Grimes The first two have the ability to be Nick Riewoldt/Matthew Richardson type players in both their performances and their ability to draw the eye to this footy club. They could be giants of the AFL. Aaron Davey has the opportunity to be one of the greatest midfielders that ever played for the club over the next 5 years, and should correlate with a rise up the ladder. LJ could excite fans and convert kids for a decade. And Jack Grimes could mould the midfield for the next decade with his leadership and professionalism.

Thankyou. Some people think a pat on the head is patronising... I am not one of those people...

Which is why we should be as young as we can be. NM at the worst stadium in the world should be able to account for us. IF they are switched on. Richmond on August 2nd is the biggest game the MFC has played since Freo 2006. And Freo... Well we, hopefully, will play a switched on Richmond and NM.

Where are the mods? How dare you insinuate I made any sort of an effort with that last post... Shame on you, 45H.

For a us to win a game, no offence to the boys down at the Junction, the other team would have to be awful and/or 'cruising' as WC were and certainly PA were: a great quote from Cometti during the PA game when the TV showed Williams in the box - "There is Mark Williams looking tranquil, and his team looking tranquilised." The Swans will beat us, or they will 'cruise' and lose... That rhymed, I didn't mean for that to ryhme...

I'd give him the three weeks after the Swans game: all in Melbourne and he might play in A win. Hopefully he puts in a good effort this week.

Joeboy - Have good time Sorry, thought that was clever... No? Not clever? Damn.

TBH I didn't think we deserved to qualify in 2007, we had 5 or 6 finishes under 10 points and had a sh!tload of injuries. So I wasn't angry when we won that game, was a strange game though. Was like going done to the local park and sitting down and feeding the ducks - very relaxed, everyone chatting away, with no atmosphere whatsoever. It certainly was a walk in the park for TJ. Besides, we were giving farewells to Bizz, Browny, and Pickett (and Matty Lappin retired after Rd 21 - how's that for tanking), so we were never going to lose. With that said - we certainly 'deserve' that PP in 2009. This weekend will see our 50th loss since the start of 2007, and we should do all we reasonably can to get the 54th loss against St Kilda in Rd 22.

I missed the point of the thread didn't I? Davey and Frawley have taken huge strides - but it would be difficult to go past Sylvia. He is coming off a low base though...

Good thread, Jarka. Before mentioning players, and a lot have already been mentioned, I will say the biggest improvement has been handballing across the board. I know we still are not great, and our gameplan demands almost flawless distribution by hand, but handballing last year was a debacle. Davey, Moloney, Warnock, and Rivers have been everpresent which is fantastic. Davey would be on AA radar if we would have won a few more games. And Beamer would be firming for next years captaincy by the week. Frawley, Bate, Sylvia, and Jones have also improved and been more consistent. It's amazing to think that a few months ago posters thought Bate should be dropped. He's kicked 17 goals in his last eight games. And then there are those that have come out of nowhere to impress - Grimes, Jurrah, Jetta, Bennell, and Cheney. Morton and Petterd have, this year, played their best games and their worst games of their short careers but their talent is there to see and, hopefully, these two stay at Melbourne as both will be heavily courted by GC17. It's unfortunate that the worth of a season can revolve around one win, but that is where my head is at the moment. But, we have seen some great signs this season regardless of what we get in November.

To a certain extent, but I think the week after will give more of an indication. Sydney at Manuka is completely different to Richmond at the G.

Completely agree, and will play in ONE win against Freo.

I really think footy in growing markets should concentrate on the spectacle rather than the results. The Swans play this awful, dour, slow game-plan and have had a decent following in recent years because of the flag they won and the finals they played in. But they haven't converted people to following AFL, they have converted them to following success. And that's not a winning strategy for hearts and minds. They have to go to the footy because they want to see what kids want to see: fast pace, dare, boldness, high-flying marks, and plenty of goals. And I really think it comes down to this - the SCG is too small and has cramped the Swans into playing the way they do. WS18 have to make sure their arena is conducive to those things I previously mentioned - and show those in NSW what footy is really about.

Except families out Casey way...

I'll have a go. If McLean, Moloney, Rivers, or Jamar are carrying anything they should be wrapped in cotton wool. Same goes for the rest of the players but especially those 4. Player protection - McLean, coming off a low PS base, rested for a few weeks or the rest of the season. If he gets injured, and he has hobbled off more than once in the past two months, in these pointless games that would be an indictment on the club's management of an important player that is injury prone. Player development - Jurrah to HFF, Bate to FF, Grimes to RR, Jetta to HBF, Bennell to FP, Morton to CHF, Petterd to a wing, Jones remains as tagger, and, maybe, Watts to the other wing. Bring in Watts and Cheney for, possibly, Dunn and Batram. List management - Newton for Robbo, Wheatley stays out for Bennell, Whelan stays out for Grimes, and Miller stays out for Dunn or Watts. Sylvia serves penance for a week or two for his roundhouse. And, possibly, McLean for McKenzie or Valenti. Against Richmond I would like to see us line up like this FB: Cheney Warnock Bruce HB: Rivers Frawley Jetta C: Petterd Moloney Watts HF: Jurrah Morton Davey FF: Green Bate Bennell R: Jamar, Jones, Grimes I: McKenzie, Martin, Newton, McDonald This team will have 14 players 22 or younger. Even Rivers could be wrapped in cotton wool for McNamara but it is still very young and experimental - it serves the future. And if they still beat the Tigers or NM (they won't lose to Freo) then that's how fate will have it.

Spot on, 45H. Freak has got the worst ratio on D'Land when it comes to judging players. I mean, Grimes is 20 and taking the kick outs, but he has a "fundamentally flawed" kicking action?! Watts will be fine, bring him back in for the Tigers, NM and Freo games.

I don't know why I bother, but... PA lost that game because they thought it would be a easy win. They're an arrogant bunch of tossbags, and I have no idea why they are resigning Williams, they should get Hardwick or Viney in and smash that arrogance that permeates that team like a disease. Anyway, they didn't turn up on the day and we might suffer for it. But to blame anyone at the MFC for that is ludicrous. With that said - I want to see players rested, played in new positions, and more youth against Richmond and NM. If they do those things I want to see and we still win two more games... That is the way it is, and ever shall be...

I don't believe 2008 was 'mediocre' but I do agree that next year is crucial to Bailey, McLean, and the club. Get him started for next year, don't run him into the ground and give him a rest for the remainder of the year. The club should not select him and force his preparation for next year. All players want to do is play, but I don't think Brock playing now is going to help him in 2010.

I heard the AFL is toying with the idea of making Free Agency available to Rookies, but they have to be placed on the list of their new club. Might come in at the end of the year. I think it is the AFL trialling FA to see for potential, and avoidable, problems when the league has FA in a few years time.

Agree. Rewind to after the Lions game and there was nothing but handwringing and prophecies of doom. Some said we haven't progressed at all, and anyone would know that was utter nonsense if they went to the footy regularly last year (we lost 7 games by 10 goals or more). It's amazing what a few decent performances can do. Now let's play the kids, put in a few more decent performances, and get ready for next year.