sylvinator

Being the last game before round 1, we are clearly attempting to play our best possible line-up. of those not playing, Bartram, Whelan, Wheatley and Rivers are having hit outs with sandy coming back from injuries (which is great!) all the rest are first year players, rookies or fringe players. (Valenti cannot play round 1 bc he's a rookie even though he probably deserves to). cameron bruce is still 1 week away from fitness. all i can say is that not being picked this week if you're fringe would be very worrying: Ben Holland Mark Jamar John Meesan Matthew Warnock these 4 guyz are clearly on the outer. i imagine all 4 will be used at stages throughout the year due to poor form and injury, but they are not in our starting 22

Yze_magic... even if we win less than 5 games this year (which we realistically might), our priority pick will only be AFTER the first round (i.e. picks 1, 17, 18)... you only get a priority pick before the first round (i.e. 1,2,17) if you have less than 5 wins 2 years in a row... that carlton game in round 22 which we won could have more consequences than first imagined

If you look at our list seriously we have mostly 2 types of players... 1) players who are up-n-coming, however there best footy is still 2 years away...i speak of Pettard, Frawley, Morton, Grimes, Mclean, Sylvia, Jones, Bate, Buckley, Weetra, Newton etc... 2) players who are extremely experienced, however are atleast 2 seasons past there best...i speak of Yze, White, Neitz, McDonald, Holland, Robertson etc... in fact, the only players who are 'supposedly' in the prime are bruce, green, Miller and Carrol...who have all proven huge dissapointments and have not lived up to their potential. it is for this reason i can't see us getting out of the bottom 4 this year. our hope is that our players who are 2 seasons away from their best will live up to expectations...

yze has been playing the entire preseason with the defenders and has been quoted a week ago for saying he'll play mostly halfback /wing... queries over whether Rivers, Whelan, Dunn, Frawley, wheatley or Bartram will be ready for round 1. i assume not, however all these guyz are in our best 25 players...

the question is Bate too small for CHF... Matthew Bate= 192cm Matthew Pavlich=191cm Matthew Lloyd=191cm Saun Rusling=190cm David Neitz=193cm Conclusion= its a centremeter here n there...if he doesn't make it as a CHF it has nothing to do with height, it has all to do with talent. BATE FOR CHF

can anybody give a list of ins and outs from last week, and also a list of players still not playing bc of injury. from my count on what i am led to believe: Rivers- training with the main group at 100% but will be eased into match praccy Bartram- training with the main group but will be eased into match praccy Newton- sore neck is fine Bruce- within a week or two of 100% fitness. medial ligament a while ago so should be fine for round1 Dunn???- surely not too far away? Wheatley??? Whelan??? So if my guesses are correct, we are only down a couple of players which is pretty good seeing as both players are extreme fringe due to inconsistency (Wheatley) or constant injury (Whelan)

it may not necessarily answer the question exacting as it was asked... but the best used draft pick if the last 10 years is without a doubt Brock Mclean. He was pick 5, when most predicted pre-draft for him to be pick 12-20 (i followed that draft very closely). Critisized at the time, yet 3-4 yrs later he is the best player drafted that year imo. sure he had a mediocre season last year with injuries, but at 21 he is a genuine star and with his leadership and workethic will no doubt captain the club within 2 years

Best22 when fully fit: Whelan Carrol Frawley Bell Rivers Pettard Sylvia Mclean Bruce Green Newton Bate Robertson Neitz Davey White Jones McDonald Int: Meesan, Moloney, Miller, Yze, Dunn, Holland, Bartram Depth: Warnock (key position depth), P.J and Jamar (Ruck depth), C.Johnson (flanker depth)- these guyz only play when injuries arise in their position. Developing (in order from closest to playing afl to furthest away)- Bode, Garland, Buckley, Weetra, Cheney, Morton, McNamara, S.Martin, C.Morton, J.Grimes, A.Maric Rookies: Zomer, Winnimewera, Valenti and Spensor... That is our full list. Looking at that list it is clear why we will struggle to come top8 this year, yet we have a promising future for 2-3 seasons time. We have 11 players who are in early stages of development! in our starting 18 we have a rediculous 8 players who are in their first 4 yrs of their careers (Jones, Mclean, Sylvia, Bate, Davey, Frawley, Pettard, Newton)[/b] In our best 25 i have included 4 players who have serious injury problems (Rivers, Moloney, Bartram, Whelan) as well as 6 players who are literally on their last legs (Neitz, White, McDonald, Yze, Holland and Whelan will all retire in the next 1-2 yrs)... If we have any kind of injuries this year we will be forced to play kidz who are simply not up to afl yet. unfortunately that means we will struggle for much of this year unless we get no injuries. The positive side is that our developing players are highly talented and highly rated kidz- Morton, Grimes, Maric, Buckley and Garland all look like future 200 gamers! add that to our current youngsters in the starting 18 and you have a seriously good side in 2 yrs time.

If Dunn bulked up a bit, he could easily become a mobile KPP rather than a flanker. if he could be developed into a defender, CHB would be a great option. he reads the play well, is skillful, and has elite endurance

Miller played defense in praccy match so guessing he'll slot in. Frawley and Bell will play all year in the defense. Garland appaz has been good this preseason, as has Morton... Bell Frawley Miller Morton Garland Green????

So Miller playing FB surely indicates what Bailey will do with him this year...maybe 3rd tall defender? have sylvia and Bate moved into the midfield over the summer?

this is my prefered team to play first game of the NAB cup. this is based on not playing any players who aren't ready due to restricted preseasons, giving the youngsters a go, as well as resting the veterans... i also think it is crucial to play players in the NAB cup in the same position they will play during the real season. this is supposed to be preperation for the real season, so may as well make the most of it. Bell Frawley Garland Morton Rivers Pettard Sylvia Mclean Bate Buckley Miller Moloney Weetra Newton Davey Meesan Jones Green int: Stephan Martin, Winnemawera, Maric, Bode, Valenti, P.Johnson I would choose to rest veterans in Neitz, Robbo, White, Yze and Holland (even tho Yze had apparently ripped up this preseason). i would play Miller at CHF. Give Bate and Sylvia time in the midfield bc apparently they both are moving there for 2008. youngsters in Weetra, Martin, Maric, Morton, Valenti and Winnemawera all should be given a taste. Frawley to play of the best forward!!! Garland apprently had a super pre-season and has gotten much public praise from Bailey, and should be given real game time

we can go on and on about how good our under 23s are...but are they really any better than any other developing teams in the afl? we can go on and on about how getting judd would disrupt our development by forcing us the give up draft picks...but are we really are closer to a premiership now than we were any time during the last 40 years? at the end of the day, melbourne havnt had a player in the top 5 players in the afl for the last 15 yrs (pretty much as long as iv been a MFC supporter). if fact, we really havnt had a truely elite player since robbie flower. if we had an opportunity to get the best player in the afl it would be pretty much a chance to rejuvinate our club, give us a real shot at a premiership, as well as turn around our frail culture. we would have been silly not to go all out for judd had he chosen us as his desired choice. in the end it's a moot point bc he's at carlton now. as i can say is that i have alot of envy for the blues for getting him

agree 100%. despite my personal beliefs and those of other demonlanders there are certain players who i think will be regular starting 22 players for atleast the first 10 weeks of the 2008 season. they include: Brad Miller Adem Yze Simon Buckley

i dont think we'll make the 8 next year, but this doesn't really worry me too much. sure, i know this means another year of pain, but looking 2-3 years ahead (when we might actually have a realistic shot and top4 and premiership), i dont think its such a bad thing to spend another yr out of the 8. anyone who followed 2007 season closely would surely know well that despite our injuries, 2007 proved that our senior players just aren't good enough, in terms of playing ability and leadership. we made 3 finals series in a row, 2004-2006 and this gave us false hope going into 2007. it is painfully obvious after last yr, that with Green, Bruce, Carrol, Robbo and White as our senior players we will not seriously push for top4 and premierships. sure, we may come 5-8th, but no closer. that isn't to say i love these players, because i do. but premierships are won with great senior ability and leadership. for that reason, i think we will probably come 9-11th. we simply have too much talent in our team to come bottom 4 with our best team on the park, but there is no doubt we are in a transitional stage at the moment. it is not until Mclean, jones, Bell, Rivers, Sylvia and Bate are our senior leading players that the transitional phase will be completed. hopefully that will be in 2009 or 2010. next yr these players i mentioned are still relatively inconsistent and youngsters, and while this is the case we will not be strong premiership contenders. i see huge promise and positives on our current list. Dean Bailey is a positive, as are our players under 24 yrs old... if next season we come 11th, but see real improvement and development from Frawley, Pettard, Mclean, Sylvia, Bate, Rivers, Morton and Grimes as they push to take a strangle hold on starting 18 positions, then i will not be totally disappointed. next yrs pain could be gain in 2-3 years. because imo there's one thing for certain... we are not premiership contenders next season, and we won't be with our current senior players. we learnt this lesson well in 2007. next year should be our transition and development. coming 6th, while not being real contenders is pretty pointless imo i love seeing the demons win more than anything. i know it could mean much pain for me next year. but still, that's my realistic predicction

firstly i think u underrate the footy smarts of the best fullbacks... darren glass and Mal Michael are both terrific readers of the play. they are very good at anticipating where the ball in going and when and where the forwards are going to lead. If i fullback is purely reactive he will be slaughtered, no matter how athletic. (for those who followed the draft, this is precisely the reason Chris Kangars was only picked up pick 40something in the rookie draft). I don't see Miller becoming a fullback, bc he is not a natural defender. they have tried a number of times to teach him to become a defender, however he has failed dismally... people refer to when Miller beat Hall in one match back in 2006 or something. Anyone who watched Sydney vs Melbourne last season, and saw how Hall absolutely ripped him a new one marking, goaling and assisting would realize that he just isn't a defender. play him at CHF like he did in 2005 season when he took 10 marks a game around 70m out from goal. this was a really fantastic role even if he wasn't kicking goals. Miller is a forward and a pretty good one at his best.

would love to see Rivers slot in to CHB. the bulked up version of rivers should have no trouble filling this spot. however re Miller. Bailey mentioned that he thought this season there were some melbourne players being played out of position. imo he was specifically reffering to Miller playing in the backline. Miller has always played his best footy as a leading CHF. he is a clueless defender unfortunately. if given confidence and if he learns what to do with the footy once its in his hands then i still think he can be a successful leading CHF. no point playing miller back and forward switching. give him one job and stick with it. Miller at his best gives us 10 marks a game around 80m out from goal. this would be a great result.

the one positive is that he's had plenty of time to work on his upper body over the last couple of years. if he gets back on the park this will be really useful. he was quite scrawney in 2004. if he can take some power CHFs next yr itd be great

firstly, sandy have won 3 premierships and were close last season in the last 4 yrs, so it doesnt seem to be a problem. secondly, why would any demons supporter prefer to see an x-afl player play for sandy, taking the place of youngsters who could be developing at vfl senior level? imho id prefer to see as few non-listed players playing for sandy as possible. what is the advantage for us when sautner kicks 6 each week, and we cant develop a future fullforward bc he sits in the goal square and leads out.

found this on bigfooty for those who want to know moer http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=361658

In a word, NO! I posted this somewhere else, but Essendon had come to spy on Melbourne training a number of times during this week for the sole purpose of getting a look at Stefan Martin. He was to be picked up by them at psd pick 8. for some a late comer to the game of afl, he is developing outstandingly well. hopefully he continues his improvement, bc if he does, itll be scary how good he could be.

i have heard reliably that Essendon were regularly attending/spying on Melbourne's training sessions in the last 2 weeks for the sole purpose of getting a look at Stefan Martin. they wouldv picked him up at PSD pick 8, but since he was gone they went for a different ruckman in Bellchambers. Martin has huge potential being new to the game of afl. hopefully he continues to develop. just thought ppl would like to know that theres a reason we picked him up in the psd and didn't wait till the rookie draft.

we drafted exactly as i expected in that i didn't expect to know much about any of the players we picked (if that made any sense). in the national draft we picked up players who had proven themselves as quality up-n-coming youngsters. the rookie draft is perfect to pick up players who are raw, but have huge amounts of potential and ability. it's a chance to take a low-risk punt on a youngster who might not make it, but also might become an absolute gem. Stefan Martin is quite raw but i liked what i saw from watching him at sandy. only started playing footy mid 2006 so is still developing/ learning the game. Spensor is certainly a speculative pick. maybe he becomes nothing, but maybe he develops into the next Dean Cox...only time will tell. Winomera is another indigeous player in our 2 year long search for another small forward (Hayes, Weetra and now this guy). Zomer has huge potential but is raw atm. we drafted on potential and raw ability...which is pretty much what you should be doing in the rookie draft. no point playing it safe with pick50 in the rookie draft on some guy who played pretty well in under18s but doesn't have an X-factor to lift him above other similar youngsters. good on Valenti for getting drafted. he will be depth midfield for now, but maybe we'v got the next sammy mitchel?!

our average player age must have decreased significantly since the draft. this was crucial because this season our list was simply too old. with White, Neitz, Yze, Holland and Whelan all to retire within 2 years, in 3 years time we are sure to have one of the youngest developing lists going around

for a couple of season now we have really tried to focus on adding another small forward to help out davey and release davey into the midfield. last year we picked up Weetra and Hayes but unfortunately Hayes has been delisted, and Weetra has been groomed as a small defender at sandy reserves, and doesn't look too promising imo. this year we've picked up Wonaemirri and Maric. i reckon both these guyz could become great small forwards and davey can move up the ground in a year or 2.