Chook

Instead of thinking of him as s small forward, think of him as an attacking, goal kicking midfielder who can break the lines. And that's something that we definitely need.

I'd definitely consider trading Sylvia for Davey. As good as a balanced team can be, there's something to be said for really developing a strength. If you can play to that strength, it may stretch other teams and end up winning you a lot of games because of it. Aussie in the forward pocket with Aaron and Alwyn Davey rotating through the forward line and midfield. There wouldn't be many teams that could stop all three every game. One of them would be bound to cut loose every game. Add to that our developing top draft picks and a strong leading Centre Half Forward/Full Forward in Brad Miller to straighten us up and we could cause some real damage. And we all know that forwardline pressure is what it's all about nowadays. Keep it in there and you're bound to score. I think it would be good, even though I do like what Sylvia could become.

Would you say the same thing about Brett Burton? But you're right, the next step is obvious, but whereas some believe it's obvious we should cull or trade him, I think the obvious step is to do the things necessary to get his body right. Once we do that, I'm sure we'll have two of the top three players drafted in 2004 in our side.

I would have agreed with you a month ago, but after what happened with Boomer Harvey and Lynden Dunn, I'm not much of a North fan anymore.

You should both be punished for such terrible jokes.

It's actually all part of an elaborate conspiracy to prevent Richmond from ever winning a Premiership. See, if 9th place got the number 1 pick, Richmond would have a team full of top 3 draft picks and would power to the flag. But you're right, the system needs to be changed.

It's not that bad. For a footballer, he can sing pretty well. Just keep him away from the National Anthem.

Of course the Cats'll win it, but this poll isn't about that. I personally hate St. Kilda but reckon Robert Harvey is such a champ that he deserves to win a Premiership after 22 years of crap. I also like Brisbane, so would like to see them win it, even though it seems pretty unlikely. Seeing the Doggies win it would also be pretty good. What does everybody else think?

We lost by only 16 points but never looked like winning. Little Matera kicked 5 or 6. How embarrassing . . .

What is it? The longer an argument lasts, the greater the chance somebody will make a reference to Hitler, right?

What would you define a tough player? List some from other clubs that are.

Yeah, we were absolutely going off. For a long time, it looked like we could go the entire game without scoring.

The great thing about that goal was the fact that regardless of how special it was, Paul Johnson didn't do a Jeff Farmer and blow his load over it. That just shows that our team realizes that individual brilliance isn't important. I was happier that High Tower didn't celebrate than I was that he kicked it at all.

I actually thought it was good. There were only two complaints. I thought Gary Ablett was given an eternity to dispose of the ball, and there was an 'in the back" not paid to Valenti when the other guy just fell right on top of him in the 3rd quarter. But other than that I thought it wasn't too bad.

No excuses! At least the weather there can be worse than it was here tonight. There's nothing that says "bottom of the ladder" more than a 100 point drubbing on a cold, rainy night.

I'm fairly certain there's at least a thousand threads like this. Having said that, Sylvia's light at the end of the tunnel is getting dimmer . . .

6 S Valenti 5 M Whelan 4 J McDonald 3 B Green 2 P Johnson 1 M Warnock

I think it would be fantastic for the Club to, on our 150th birthday, go all out for a victory against the top-of-the-ladder Cats in our only Night game of the year. Bring in Adem Yze, Ben Holland and Jeff White and possibly Nathan Carroll for their last ever games for the Melbourne Football Club. This should be their send-off. Bring in Nathan Jones only if he's played well this week at Sandringham. OUT A. Davey (Ankle) C. Garland (Hamstring) D. Bell (Omitted) S. Martin (Omitted) IN J. White A. Yze B. Holland N. Carroll That's in order of who I'd like to see play. It would be a good marketing tactic to get supporters along to one of our only blockbuster games this year. And their inclusion may give us some chance of a win, something that would give the younger guys a great boost. I'd go with three ruckmen in order to stretch Geelong's comparitively weak ruck division, while the inclusion of Yze and Holland will give us more forward firepower, something we'll need against such a fantastic back-line. Finally, Martin's been in the side for a number of weeks now and after a relatively poor week, should return to Sandringham to consolidate what he's learned. This opens up a spot for the in-form Nathan Carroll. However, I could see Bailey neglecting to include Carroll in favour of adding to our midfield depth with the inclusion of Nathan Jones. If Aaron Davey pulls up alright, as some have suggested he may, I'd consider dropping Clint Bartram and playing Brad Green loose in the backline.

Even though I think that, besides Collingwood, we match up on the Cats the best, there's almost no chance we'll win. I'm tipping the Cats by 35.

I think Colin Sylvia is only selfish because of the intense pressure he feels to live up to an arbitrary number. So what if he was a number 3 draft pick? He doesn't need to have 35 touches or 6 goals. The guy kicked 3 ripper goals, worked hard all day despite being obviously not right, and turned the ball over as much as he did only because he knew that we wouldn't win without taking risks.

Actually, I thought that one was totally right. Lynden Dunn manhandled Watson a little too much, particularly given that Wona was definitely going to get the ball.

I've decided he'll make it. One of our better players today, and when he had that set shot to put us in front, I said to myself "if he kicks it, he'll be a good player. If he doesn't then he won't." I just had that feeling about him.

Nathan Carroll - October 2009

We will smash Essendon. I cannot believe their backline - Mal Michael and Dustin Fletcher will be in a world of trouble against our smaller forwards. On top of this, the loss of Lucas (who I rate extremely highly) for the Dons will spell disaster for their forward line. I think that Jones was dropped because of his lack of pace, which could have been exploited by the Dons' speedy midfield if he'd been kept in the side. Miller's loss is pretty big, but his role can be covered well by Matthew Bate, so it should not pose a huge problem. Demons by 45 points. Colin Sylvia to kick 4 Matthew Bate to kick 3 Austin Wonaeamirri to kick 4

This is yet another reason why I have so much faith in Dean Bailey. His ability to make tough decisions is sure to set us on the right path. Cameron Bruce is now the only player in the team to have played every game this year. The fact that Jones has been dropped gives me faith that Bruce won't be given games just because of his name. I firmly believe that Bruce will also be dropped in coming weeks - and that will be good for the team. By the way, Jones got his highest ever possession count last week and was still dropped. It just goes to show that possessions mean nothing in the modern game.