rpfc

He doesn't have the skills to rebound.

McLean, Moloney, and Jones are tough, clearance players that I want to form the heart of our midfield. But they are one paced and throwing Bate in there doesn't help. Bate should be a HFF/CHF, frankly I don't think Miller can be a CHF but maybe they can split the duties like they are doing now. Getting some pace in midfield is what we need - Davey has to stay on a wing and Buckley must be groomed for that otherwise the next draft should be skimmed for quick players with good hands and feet.

He's 19 and trying to take Carroll's spot at FB. He's doing fine, but like Garland up until this year, he is low on confidence. He should continue to keep Carroll out of the team as this is a developement year and he shows promise as a 192cm agile bloke-stopper. Doesn't help as much as he should but Garland, Warnock, Bell, and Rivers do enough of that so he has time.

Yze and Bruce in the a similar place right now, as they are getting older their kicking skills are going and they have to know their limitations going forward (especially bruce as i believe he is contracted till 2010). That said, Yze was great on Monday and was wrecked by 3qtr time. Those no-look shots in the last were awful but that's what a lack of confidence does - it rushes everything you do.

But they can't ensure the sound plan because the AFL want it to be bloodless, so the board is folding. I don't like the way they are doing this, and I really don't like the fact that members have not been finalised yet and neither has a plan been put forward. I'll get behind Jimmy but we need some transparency and clarity.

Yeah, you really cannot judge a team that is rebuilding until they show you what you have built. With TJ, Neitz, Robbo (struggling with injury before he did his achilles), Bruce (no preseason), Rivers, Yze (you may say he didn't have an impact last year either and I would agree and point out that we lost 17 games), and Whelan gone or having far less of an impact, he has to be given some time before judgements. Fwdline is a mix and match at the moment, seems to be potent but will be less so when teams figure out what we're doing. Midfield is tough and uncompromising, with a propensity for something that MFC hasn't seen since Woey and Powell - they get regular clearances (McLean, Moloney, Jones)...at times...at other times their youth shows and their lack of concentration is a particular worry. Backline is where we are beating expectations. Garland, Warnock, Frawley (admittedly not as impressive as the first two but needs time and confidence), Batram (out for 12 months and is a very comitted tagger, his clangers come from his boldness and i'll take that from a 20 yr old anyday), and Buckley have all shown a lot. And their ages are 20, 24, 19, 20, and 21. Two of which command a place in the starting back 6.

Thinking about what I just wrote... He reminds me I the last bloke to wear his number for the MFC. I always wondered why ND and the club gave Garland '20'... I guess they saw something in him that we are getting to see now.

Well I am one of the many that didn't, BUT I retracted before the Hawks game so I take some solace from that. Fragile ego... He plays like a bloke that doesn't just want to beat his bloke, but someone willing to create and help which is new. Carroll, Nicho, Lamb were pure bloke-stoppers, Rivers, Warnock can stop their bloke and help out teammates but cannot create. Garland, if he progresses, will be a rare breed of talent. Warnock is 24, so the heat is on him to deliver every week, but he has. Every game he has played he has been in the top 5 or 6 in my opinion. As for Martin, he should come in for Rivers and play on Richo on a wing... Just a thought...

I am, and probably everyone else is, going to hold off judgement until we have some concrete notion of what he is going to do, whether he has a plan, and who is coming onto the board. But it does make me uneasy that these things will be known after Jim takes over, usually it's the reverse. This is a coup. Let's hope they know what they are doing.

I'm sold. You're wrong H.

Nah, he's sh!t.

I think it's fair to say that Daniel Bell will be rather committed on Monday...

Almost as absurd as judging a coach on a handful of games...

Yea, the Hawks have no ultra-athlete with agility and limitless marketing ability... And they are just happy to be normal...

I don't want to question your motives about starting a thread titled "Where's Garry?" but this is of continual annoyance to many Demon fans who realise that Garry is a good media performer but has no experience in the areas you mentioned. How could he help us secure a 'home'? - he isn't trained as a contractor to the best of my knowledge. How could he help us develop a 'sound list'? - he has no experience in recruitment. And, apart from pleading on his varying media commitments that you want him to cut back from, how would he go about getting more members signed up? No wonder Garry gets fed up with MFC supporters who question his allegiance - you are asking things of him he cannot deliver. There is no messiah, or quick panacea, to cure what ails this club. Garry will do the small amount that he can, but threads like this are pointless attacks on him and disingenuous to the serious plight of the club.

He's 198cm with the agility of a midfielder...and agile midfielder. Think Franklin, Goodes, and Brisbane didn't need anyone - they had stars all over the place. He should do the centre bounce and then play as a mid.

Guide the younger players?! They have been an integral part of a leadership group that has been entrencehed in the top 4 deep into 2004, 2005, and 2006 and floundered to zero top 4 finishes and only one final win. BUT we should retain them because of their guidance and leadership? Give me a break, if they are still here next year it is because we couldn't get a suitable deal done and nothing else.

Depressing? I can see the reality of the situation and it tells me that Bruce and Green will not be football players when we are pushing for a flag in 5 years time. They may be on a wing or a pocket as we finish 6th in three years time but who cares about that? Finals are great fun, but you have to finish top 4 to have any chance - that means 16 wins. We will not be a 16 win team for 5 years. We have won 6 of our last 33 and it is going to take a while to get to 16 out of 22 in one year. With that in mind, let us prepare for that time in the best way we can by looking at our list and asking ourselves who will be around playing good footy at that stage. Bruce, Green won't be. Rivers, with his body and the way he plays, might not be either. It kills me to say it. But, again, I don't care about careers, I care about winning a flag.

I understand what you mean. I want Jim to give us a list of things, concrete things, to do to save the club and allow it to thrive. Caro's piece left me with the impression that he is the only one lined up at this stage to come onto the board - that no-one has definitely been enlisted by Jimmy. I guess Sat night will be interesting, as will Monday afternoon, and knowing Caro - Monday night.

We have been far too protective of careers. If a club comes to us with a top 20 pick for Bruce or Green (Robbo has 1 year left, and White may not have any) we take it. Otherwise we will enjoy their careers peetering out as we languish and wait for our next window; as that future is weakened by the fact that we didn't make the tough decisions... We are 6 wins from our last 32 and I expect us to be 9 from our last 45 by the end of the year. No-one is, or at least should be, expendable from the desire to build for a flag in 5 years time. Considering Green and Bruce will not be around in 5 years - they should be first shopped around. Again I say, if they do stay, I will cheer them on but I will take a flag over a tearful MCG shoulder-carry for a 32 yr old who played 250 games for the club.

The only numbers I have seen were from 2006 and we were at around 100%. Since then we have seen Bizzell, Brown, Pickett, and half of TJ off the salary cap (around $900k). And next season we will have the other half of TJ, Holland, half of Neitz (vet outside), Yze, Whelan, and possibly White (vet inside) off the salary cap (around $1.3m). We have added kids since then and our re-signings wouldn't get near what we have cleared from the cap.

If Rivers is traded it is after Bruce and Green have also been traded. The value of Rivers is his footy IQ in the backline, not a true KPP in the strictest sense, but his value is his leadership of the backline and his courage to provide his body to help his teammates. Frankly I think he has 5 years left in the game, considering the way he plays. Will we be threat inside that? I don't know... I hope so... Anyway, no club is going to give what we expect in trade week, due to his injury concerns.

Agree with Dunn as CHF/HFF and Garland to stay as an attacking backman. Dunn isn't quick enough to be a tagger but he leads well and can mark. Fatten him up and make him a forward, really don't understand why this hasn't been tried. Because there wasn't room in the fwd line with Neita and Robbo? Great forward planning... FWD LINE: Bate, Miller, Wonaeamirri, Dunn, Holland, and Green. Other options: Newton (hopefully takes Holland's spot shortly), Maric, Valenti, and Yze (FORM permitting, last week's 3 goals was not good form). Sylvia has got to play up the park for his own development. Davey is past development into a wingman, he is a wingman. And is required up the ground.

I believe that those numbers were from 2006 and sice then we have moved on half of TJ, Pickett, Bizz, Brown, etc. And now half of TJ ($200 000), half of Neita (veterans list - $200 000), White ($400 000), Yze ($300 000), Holland ($150 000), Whelan ($150 000). I think they are pretty conservative numbers, and they total more than $1.4 million.

I want Moloney to stay. There would be no value during trade week and his kick will be valuable when we get this run and carry business right. He also gets his fair share of clearances and tackles. But more than that, his attitude around the club is great. Notably well received whenever representing the club off the field and fiercely proud on the field. Anyone watching him get frustrated Neita-like when we are losing can attest to that. And, lastly, his first year at the club was brilliant. He come 4th in the Bluey and showed that when he gets some footy under his belt after a couple of injury plagued seasons he will be a good player for the Melbourne footy club.