Chook

It's a shame he can't continue his development, but he's definitely not in our current best 22, and that's saying something.

I seem to recall Clint Bartram absolutely cutting up the West Coast Eagles last time we played them. I think he shutdown Kerr and kicked three behinds. After the game, we moaned about his disposal, but if he had gotten those shots at goal right, we would have been lauding him as BOG. I wonder if he'll remain in the side, and if he does, will he perform as well or better this time?

I posted this on the other thread: Players have no right to dictate terms to a new coach. Perhaps after four or five years of abject failure or the staleing of a message, but not when the new coach has just come into the club.

It also falls in line with the perception that Moloney is sooking about the coach. He spoke quietly (unusual for Beamer) and he said that he "hopes" Aaron Davey and Brad Green get a game. The correct response to that question is "They'll get a game if Neeldy and the coaching group thinks they deserve one - and the same goes for every player, including me." "Hoping" your mates get a game is the wrong approach to take.

What do you expect? She's Jaded :/

What if they'd interviewed Dustin Martin and gone "Whoa! I love this guy's passion. He has his head screwed on right and is intensely loyal. I know we said we'd draft Scully at number one to keep the spotlight of our real first pick Jack Trengove, but maybe we should pick up Martin instead. Boy am I glad we decided to interview him." BANG! We have two absolute stars in the midfield and with Jack Viney coming through, our prospects would be looking even better.

Let's hope we don't.

He didn't have a bad game out of the blue; he had one due to poor fitness and poor work-ethic. A player with these qualities is hard to carry into a game on the vast expanses of Subiaco oval.

He's not all talk. Our contested possession is the highest in the leage, up from the lowest in the league. Our defensive structures are already better than last year and we're only one game in. We're a damn sight off "the hardest team to play against," but we're already better than we were under Dean Bailey.

Uh oh. Biff agreed with my team selections. Does that mean I'm unrealistic too?

He is a scary guy, but if I were playing for him, I'd love him to death. I have no time for pussyfooting around. I need motivation and brutal honesty from time to time, and I bet I'd get from him. But most people aren't like me, in that they can't see the intent of criticism if it's not delivered "just so." I hope there are enough guys on our list who "get" Mark Neeld and what he's all about. If not, they won't be on our list for long. To borrow a Beamerism, "We're on a straight line, and if you aren't on that line, you can [censored] of to Carlton" - or Essendon and GWS, if the rumours are true.

Another positive is that in comparing Mark Neeld's coaching career with Dean Bailey's at the same point, we're 1.5 NAB cup wins and about 65 points ahead compared to where we were one game in to Bailey's tenure. Is that enough? Hardly, but it's optimism, which is what this thread's all about.

I originally had Macdonald out too, but I'm concerned about our ability to handle all the WCE forwards. I wouldn't be too displeased to see him dropped though. I've been one of his biggest supporters on this forum, so if his form is so bad that I'm considering dropping him, that's saying something. Also, apparently Tom McDonald had a good game in the VFL, so maybe he could come in for one of our other 15 underperforming players.

1 Mark Neeld's press conferences will be worth bringing out the popcorn for 2 Jack Watts is our best outside midfielder 3 James Magner is our best inside midfielder 4 Brad Green and Aaron Davey are finished 5 Brent Moloney is only in our side because we have the worst midfield in the competition.

OUT: Green, Davey, Blease, Bartram IN: Petterd, Morton, Couch, Sellar Green is too slow, Davey too soft, Blease too unfit, Bartram too unskilled. All are Maxy (as in GAWN!) Petterd is versatile and has a mad-dog attitude Morton is an outside player who is soft like Davey but young enough to change Couch is a little unknown for me but I've heard he's tough and hard Sellar is tall enough to tackle the monster Eagles forwards For the reasons RalphiusMaximus has said, Rivers can only stay in the side if we commit to playing a spare man back all game. Otherwise the Eagles will simply isolate whoever he's on and cut us up all night, Markovic-style. Bringing in Strauss is an option, but he might not have the match-fitness to run out the whole game.

The only one which didn't show a stoppage (where you would expect to see Jones) had the apparently "close-checking" Clint Bartram drawn to the ball (and away from his opponent) like a block of iron drawn to a magnet. Cue that very same opponent becoming freed up, receiving the ball and kicking it straight down a team-mate's throat.

I get the feeling he wishes he hadn't said what he said in the press conference, but that he still 100% believes it. No Davey, no Green on the weekend. You can put your house on that. I hope he keeps an honest dialogue with the supporters, because I really appreciate it. Regardless of how we went on the weekend, there's not one coach in the league I would prefer over Neeldy. Absolute gun. Just you wait and see.

Garry Lyon should absolutely belt Thommo on Footy Classified tonight. It is one thing to get your facts wrong as a journo, but it's another thing entirely to make accusations of racism in the wake of an already explosive climate of race-related issues. Dog act by Grant Thomas, who now has absolutely no credibility whatsoever.

I think a lot of people who "dislike" us are simply realistic about how pathetic this club has been for 50 years. Pity, rather than dislike, is the dominant factor at play for most commentators talking about Melbourne.

Good news for Dreamteamers all over Australia. Not to mention Melbourne supporters.

A friend of mine was in labor for thirty-six hours. She told me it was a terrible experience for her, so I said "Maybe politics isn't for you."

Most people charged with such a serious crime would ask around, interview people and do their utmost to get the best people to represent them in the case. BP would probably not even interview the best lawyer in the land because he didn't like his haircut.

Tom McKenzie, eh? Good report otherwise. I wonder who'll be in the team next week.

Last year, Bailey didn't require chasing and tackling from Davey - at least not explicitly. This year, it is Davey's number one role. Rather than being a part of a "power struggle," I believe he's simply not willing to do what the coach tells him to do. It amounts to the same thing. Whether through outright rebellion or unwillingness to fulfil his role, Aaron Davey is nowhere near in line with the Neeld ethos, which as a senior player and likely our second highest earner, he damn well should be.

Happy birthday Chook?