old55

If it's so obvious Clint, then please explain this: Melbourne 2007 season: Long Kicks = 589, Total Disposals = 3458, % Long Kicks = 17.0% Mellbourne vs Adelaide: Long Kicks = 60, Total Disposals = 368, % Long Kicks = 16.3% (stats from Pro-Stats)

I may be the only one, but I haven't given up on Jamar. I think he offers physicality and a contested marking threat that White and PJ don't have and therefore complements them. He's still only 23 and has time and scope for improvement. Clark Keating virtually never got a kick but is a triple premiership #1 ruckman who played a big part in those flags.

Big match against the Crows at the MCG - Robbo at CHF and Bizzell at CHB - sounds vaguely familiar but I can't put my finger on it ...

What recent history at Hawthorn exactly? Which players injured, what injuries, which years, which matches missed? I've asked for this evidence before but no-one seems to have it. Just some BigFooty and HawkHeadquarters hearsay.

Neitz is playing on one leg, his knee is clearly giving him trouble. He just couldn't kick thru the ball early yesterday and it was a truly heroic effort in the last quarter. The other point worth making is that it was Brad Green's great tackle on Smith that started our run on. That after he was well beaten by Grant.

Neitz is playing on one leg, his knee is clearly giving him trouble. He just couldn't kick thru the ball early yesterday and it was a truly heroic effort in the last quarter. IMO the reason he handballed to Petterd was because he knew he couldn't make the distance from outside 50.

and another great win by the mighty Zebras! Amusing to see in the arguments for ressurection of AFL Reserves teams that one was: VFL affiliates fortunes are closely linked to AFL injury lists. Sure - MFC with the longest injury list - Sandy undefeated! There are pluses and minuses of the alliance but for me the plus of Sandy's winning culture outweighs any minuses.

This season's results are definitely depressing but the big picture is not dire, the new stadium deal has just been done (compare to North) and we still have a decent list (compare to Richmond). No they didn't, the most they said and that anyone can ever say is that we were in a position to challenge for the premiership, there's a subtle but significant difference. No-one promised anyone a flag, ever, posters carry on here like they did. With luck we could have challenged for this year's premiership, as it is we've had nothing but bad luck.

Great post KD and for me Graz is spot on. To take the next step something needed to change, otherwise we would have been perennially 5th-8th. Our record at AAMI is deplorable, we've lost 9 in a row there and the one prior to that that we won was in the wet with the Schwarz-Leoncelli miracle. At Subi we're not much better - 6 losses in a row back to, you guessed it, the Vardy miracle in the wet again. We were never going to win the flag on this basis. Perhaps we should just have prayed for rain. As Graz says the plan has horribly backfired, if KD is correct who was to know that we would sacrifice our strengths by implementing the plan. I'm sure ND and the FD saw it adding to our armoury, not changing it. The plan in itself is not a bad plan. WC were magnificent with run and carry AND strength at the contest on Sunday. The fact is that our coaching department and players have been unable to implement it. Everyone here knows I have been a strong supporter of ND and the ADDITION of run and carry to our strategies. It has failed but I understand why we have been trying to do.

I'm not ready to hang him yet, if he does the right thing for the rest of this season, then low base and match payments next year for a match winner would be worth considering. Sure he may be a mercenary, but when he goes about his work it is top quality. It's not like we're going to need to axe him to have enough picks ...

Daniher wouldn't take an offer like that in a month of Sundays and rightly so.

Ferg to show WC his stuff. Straight trade for Chris Judd at the end of the year.

It's hard to believe you find it hard to believe.

Agreed, The fifth player has to be a key back and with both Hudghton and Maguire out they have been hit hard. I must admit a growing affection for the Saints, I was openly barracking for them against the Swans and very disappointed when Goddard got injured - could not believe something so innocuous could be an ACL.

Our season has been ruined by injuries to our top players. Here was my MFC top 5 at the start of the year: Bruce 7/7 McLean 1/7 Neitz 4/7 Johnstone 6/7 Rivers 3/7 Total 21/35 Compare that with the top 5 at Adelaide: McLeod 7/7 Goodwin 7/7 Rutten 7/7 Edwards 7/7 Riccuito 0/7 Total 28/35 There's a huge difference.

It sounds like a fair and strong decision by the club to me. Byron has the opportunity to show that he really wants it. There's a fair incentive even if it is just the $s - where else is he going to make ~$300K/year? assistant coaches don't make that much ... If he shows commitment he's an important player for us.

Yes Neitz pushed Wakelin in the back which again resulted in a turnover, thanks - another good example Hards Yes and provide your opposition with more opportunities to score also. I don't want more goals I just want more goals than the opposition.

Indeed, oppositions flood back and outnumber your forwards, sometimes the only options in long kicking range are options where you are outnumbered, in these cases kicking long loses you the match. You have to do something else. I have never said never kick long, I have only said it's not the right option all the time and you need other strategies. Kicking long can be mucked up when used at the wrong time or executed poorly just like kicking short and run and carry.

Cameron Bruce's and Matthew Warnock's long kicks into the forward line in the last quarter resulted in turnovers and Port's winning goal.

Careful Maurie, making sense is uncommon around here. Go Caro!

Richie Vandenberg. Godfrey's kicking is not a major problem, his kicks float a bit and he's not great in front of goal. But he hit a lovely pass to Neitz in the last quarter yesterday, and he's done it a number of time this year. He's a slow decision make and can get run down and nothing looks worse - ask Daniel Bell, but that's for a different reason. However there are plenty of worse kicks at MFC. He'll play his 100th this year and he should be retained for 2008 - good on him.

That's definitely one way. You must have stats that show WC and Sydney kick the ball long more than other teams - keen to see them ...

Stop Press: One-trick contested marking forward with questionable defensive skills says kick it long to a contest. Favourite pastimes: 1. counting my MOTY nominations 2. checking the brand of opposition player's boots from prone position as they run the ball out of defence.

You're in for a busy time here then ...

And how do you describe Jeff White?