rpfc

I think Watts will spend more time outside the 50 than in, however: Watts Miller Bate Maric Robertson PJ

TBH, I got the stats straight from AFL.allthestats.com. We start and finish games well, but have trouble with the middle part.

Good write up but... Collingwood have to win this game, there is a top 4 spot up for grabs with Geel, St K, and the WB. Malthouse will have them going, I really want to see JW do something but we are so young and down on confidence. We will be thereabouts at HT and then our obligatory 3rd quarter 'seize' will come into effect and we will lose by 3 or 4 goals. I don't want it to happen, and I am really happy with the other three quarters this year, but the third kills us and it will again on Monday. Some quick stats - we get outscored (on average) by 14.7 points accumatively in the 1st (3.5), 2nd (9.6), and 4th (1.6) quarters, and we get outscored by 12.3 points in the 3rd alone.

I think he is refering to the "Average players that are destined for mediocrity." Players such as Jones, Meesen, Petterd, Buckley, and Batram (according to Sylvinator, who, funnily enough has Sylvia in the B category that could be A and see us become a top 4 team). IMO Buckley could be a very good (and quick) wingman, Petterd could be a fantastic inside-outside midfielder, Jones could be what he was in 2006, Meesen could be a good tap ruckman, and Batram could be the Ling or Baker of our tilt. Oh, and BTW, they would all be playing in positions more important than a HFF, where Sylvia would be relying on their good work to kick his three or four. I think placing players in categories is hard work but we have only one 'star performer' in Davey. We have a lot of improvers, we have a few who have stagnated, and we have a few that have question marks. Its pointless placing everyone in groups while we are such a poor, and young, team. For example, Maric would be a C+ at the moment but I THINK he might become an A+. So where do I put him? How do I justify him as an A?

Jamar was BOG against the Saints. He will play out the year.

Ummm, 45, I don't want you to take this the wrong way but... You wouldn't make a very good editor... It's not everyone's cup-oh-T, and you're drinking coffee there with that one... Just a guy's name! Where's the pun? Where's the pun, dammit?!

I'm trying to be Mr Cool... Wait, that's not cool - to try and be cool... I guess I'm still giddy like the rest of you freaks... And 45, maybe I am being crazy or maybe, just maybe, I'm pointing out the truth. Nah, I'm being crazy (giddy freak crazy), apologies. Not usually like this, but we don't usually have players like Watts...

Umm, very clever. Just one thing - what the hell is Colin doing in it? I know you mean well but... Some people are easily satisfied.

Stop it! They're awful, especially that rip-off of an Oasis classic. The giddyness around here is refreshing but quickly becoming annoying. I know, Jack Watts is playing but keep your cool. We should be non-plussed - "Yeah, Jack Watts is playing, and yeah, he will have a decade of Grimes, Maric, Bennell, and Morton kicking him the footy. What of it?" (BTW, he will be on a wing and 15 touches and a couple of assists is all I can ask.)

The vulnerable players are: PJ - If Jamar and Martin ruck. Martin - If Jamar and PJ ruck, and there is no match-up in defence (I don't think there is) Jones - Indiscriminate kicking may be grating on the coaching staff. Miller - Has been down all year with a couple of exceptions. Macca - If injured. Bell - Harsh, but that's footy. IMO, Watts and Robertson for Martin and Miller.

If we lose, and he doesn't see much of it... "Watts the big deal?" Sorry, to ruin the love-in. I'll do a positive one... "Watts the story, monday glory" I just threw up a little, I hate headline humour. It's too easy.

In the last month Bate has averaged 5 more kicks than the previous three weeks, 1 more handball, 6 more marks, nearly 2 more goals, 1 more contested possession, nearly 2 more contested marks, and 2 more Inside 50s. The previous three weeks were the time when his critics had a reason to see him dropped, but that ship has sailed. He has responded very well in the last month. I still have hope of him becoming a very damaging HFF.

So you want to drop Bate twice? IN: Jurrah and Watts OUT: Bate and Bate You know, I thought Matty was getting better these last three weeks, but for two people his output just isn't there. Send him back to Casey and tell him to stop trying to be two different people...

Maybe, but I'm fence sitting aren't I... Miller might be in trouble, Bell did little, and Martin is struggling to find a place at the minute. Two of those might make way. Really want to see more of Cheney.

Would be good to debut someone on QB but if they aint ready... This team won't be picked until Sat so extended bench of Cheney, Newton, and Robertson is my guess.

Like Hannabal, I'm in the middle on this: Those that think he would be THE difference to our forward line are kidding themselves (he will play a high HFF/wing in 2009/10). And those that say we should wait until next year to let him play are coddling him. They should play him when they think his form is good enough, when a HFF/mid is injured/out of form, and his fitness will allow him to play for 60 to 70 minutes. In an ideal world his first two games would be R14 (WCE) and R15 (PA), but that is only because his presence would be the difference between us writing a check and breaking even.

For the youngsters it might be fitness but the 21 and over brigade, and we have had teams full of those, it is mental. They do not want to lose the game by leaving their man and trying to win the game so they sit back and lose the game anyway. They seize up, it is understandable but I want Bailey at half time to come in and not talk about the opposition and just tell them to go and get the pill, and work hard to get the footy, and themselves, forward as often as possible. They all expect Aaron to get them going and it's wearing thin with me and, I suspect, with Aaron. He needs help and we need to get it in the corridor, move it quickly, have runners alongside whoever is running through the corridor, and have players blocking or shepparding to aide the movement and we can stop looking at paltry Inside 50 counts (33 against the Saints).

He looked awful and should make way for Robbo if he plays well, but... I hate putting lines through forwards when they only get 33 Inside 50s to score goals from. Bate is becoming more consistent after a down month and now Miller might need some faith. But there might be benefit in playing at Casey and taking some marks, and kicking some goals.

For McLean it might be, but our midfield suffer from a debilitating dread in the Premiership Qtr (the third), where the game is won or lost, that they might be the one to lose it and so they go into their shell and forget what made them competitive in the first place: their run, their ridiculous handballs, their testicular fortitude to take the game, and their opponent on, and with that mindset they give the upper hand to the opposition. It might be youth, but I think it's a lack of belief. They put up a good front, but I reckon if Dr Lightman (off Lie To Me - great show) had a chat to them he would see a group of fellas who don't think they are good enough to win games of footy.

Nah, he'll be there. He needs to do some work, but there is a lot to work with.

We had 14 Inside 50s in the first qtr. And we kicked 4.5. And we kicked well, or the right side of contests. 50 I50s a game is about the average for a decent side - 33 is pathetic. The problem our midfield has had all season long is putting it on someones head instead to the side of the contest that would help their teammate benefit the most. I'm under no illusions, our forward line is a work in progress, but Nick Riewoldt wouldn't have got a kick at goal in our forward line after qtr time. It wasn't delivered well, or often enough.

We had 33 Inside 50s and of those, many were delivered poorly. And yet we are complaining about the forward line? It never got there. The problem in the second half was that the entire team seized up and decided they would much prefer stopping their direct opponent from getting a touch rather than work into space or help Whelan, Grimes, Morton, Frawley, and Bennell get something started off half back. Our midfield works manfully when the other team has it, they fight it out in close and tackle ferociously, but when we have it they expect someone else to run into space, or be a link in a switch of play, or meet the ball forward and kick a goal. Davey has been in AA form for doing these things (except the getting forward and kicking goals part) but the last two weeks has been tagged and the midfield hasn't adjusted. He needs help and right now there isn't many putting their hand up. Always remember that old axiom: It's the midfield, stupid...

See now, this will be a problem for 2010 and, probably, 2011. Fans will expect him to do things his body won't let him do. He will play wing/HFF for an extended period for the Dees, and for Casey. He would get monstered in the forward line and wouldn't get near it. He needs touches to develop. MFC fans - Get used to him on the wing for the foreseeable future is all i'll say...

He's not dead, mate. Just dropped. Your sig, in very large letters, espouses the ease and importance of having a 'good attitude,' and yet the player with the worst attitude in our team on the weekend is the one you are now defending. He'll be back, and his teammates will realise that they should learn from his passion and not his antics. Everybody wins... BTW, as my earlier post this week outlines - I didn't think he should be dropped, but I realise I was giving him latitude I wouldn't give anyone else on the list, and that is pathetic. He's 30, played 200 games, is a MFC star, and he gets to act the way he does? Under Bailey, I guess he doesn't. This Bailey fella will suprise you... Good on him.

Leaks happen. Deegirl offers benign knowledge, the early release of which is hardly damaging to the club. Deegirl isn't equivalent to the 'person' who is leaking at Richmond. I say 'person' because there are a plethora of leakers down at Richmond which is why Hutchison can be so forthright with his announcements - he has many people saying the same things. The lesson isn't: don't tell anyone when you screw up and deal with it quietly and in-house. Something incredibly difficult to do, the very thing that make others complicit in the screw up. The lesson is: try not to screw up, and if you do, setting the record straight is the best course of action. A neutralised journalist is one with no more questions to ask.