sylvinator

Valenti is a go for a rookie spot. pickett did well enough to suggest he will get his 200th game that riley promised him if he played decent form for sandy

just about the point of tanking, i tihnk demetriou made a good point... y would any team intentionally lose. i mean they might get an extra draft pick, but at the end of the day, the players are playing for their jobs, their livelihood. as we'v seen this season, the coaches are also playing for their jobs and they simply cant afford to consistently lose. note how that worked for pagan... it just doesnt make sense that players and coaches would sacrifise their livelihoods so that maybe they get an extra kid in the draft next year... Also, it also does nothing for the culture of the club. creating a losing culture means that no matter what kind of list you put together you wont get premiership success... just look at stkilda. their culture needs a real shake up no matter how many number 1 draft picks they have. in the last decade, permiership teams have been Sydney, WestCoast, Brisbane, Essendon and PortAdelaide. None of these teams have consistently bottomed out to get to premiership success. it's unprecedented that donig so will get you sucess. geelong have built their list out of 2nd n 3rd round draft picks. I just dont get why everyone is obsessed with losing on purpose in order to get better picks. i'd prefer a winning culture and our youngsters showing that they can beat their opponents.

how jealous am i on west coach. honestly, every one of these midfielders would be our best midfielder. and they keep coming up with these terrific youngsters. LeCras is a gem

Bate will become (already is imo) a fine CHF. similar to miller he is terrific at those long searching leads and he continuisly presents and marks the ball around 80m from goal. The problem with miller was that he has no football brain and even worse skills so he wastes the ball when he gets it 80m out. however bate is a genuine footballer, he has a long powerful kick and a great footy brain. that is what sets him apart his contested marking is very good, he has sticky hands, and more importantly he has a good goal sense. he knows how to kick 2-3 goals in a game, even if he is spending most of his time roaming half forward. i rate Bate very highly and see him as one of 3 youngsters on our list really capable of being A-graders. (others being mclean and sylvia). he will be a star i have no doubt. (Dunn on the other hand will hopefuly develop into a solid wingman and will play many games for us. i like him but he wont be in the same class as bate.)

i hate to break it to you buddy, but playing ferguson and holland does not smell like the desire to win. These two players are so average it's actually redilcous. they really shouldnt be on an afl list next season. carrol is far better than both. playing ferguson is simply giving him a last opportunity to prove to a next coach whether he should be on MFC's list next year.

I actually think with Newton, Bate, Frawley, Rivers and McLean that the spine is coming together quite well with a fair bit of promise.

Newton will 100% learn more and develop more playing 90 minutes at afl level rather than 110 minutes at vfl level. you learn the pace of the game, how to make space inside the forward 50 and the intesity required at the top level. why the fark would u actually prefer he play at a substandard level? makes absolutely no sense to me. the only reason to give him a run in the vfl is if he is only getting 40 minutes gametime and not actually on the park. however this is not the case

You'd think Sandy's success would take a back foot to MFC's development

It is better to trade players while they are contracted. If they are uncontracted then they can threaten to quit and go into the PSD for nothing. If the player has a contract then sometimes the old club must pay some of the contract for the players new contract...(ala woewoden)

I count 6 players in that team who won't be on our list next season. Ferguson, Holland, Miller, Jamar, Ward, Brown. these players should be in the vfl and players like Dunn, Buckley, CJ, PJ, Carrol and Garland should be in the starting 18 for the rest of the season. clearly riley isnt looking forward, simple as that. what part of the structure of this team will improve us for next season? is he trying someone promising at FB, is he taking a punt on Newton or PJ at FF? is he giving guyz like CJ, Dunn and Bukley a chance to solidify their place at afl level so that they can be ready to make an impact next season? i just dont see any positive initiatives?!

i wouldnt worry about Kruiser, Richmond aren't about to be winning anytime soon either. Riley u disgrace. How can Dunn, Garland and Buckley not all be playing. if you look at the extended bench, given that Moloney, Newton and Jamar are definites for the bench, it seems that 2 of these boys will be wasting away in the ressies.

on a positive note, our team against Carlton in round 22 should look something like this...maybe Riley is getting ready. this side is the most obvious sign on a coach tanking that i've seen. dropping carrol to try Ferguson (who is 100% not going to be on our list next season)! lol

CB that might be the worst team MFC has ever put out on the park.

Riley has 2 ways to go when he came into the job 1) play youth no matter what and try to develop them for next season 2) play a mixture of youth and experience, giving every player a chance to show why they deserve to be on the list next season. clearly, riley has chosen (2). It farkin pisses me off. i dont mind giving guys like Miller 9 weeks to show his worth as a key defender, or Jamar given another go as 2nd ruckman, BUT HONESTLY, BROWN, WARD AND FERGUSON ARENT GOING TO BE ON THE LIST NEXT SEASON AND THEY ARENT TRADABLE!!! SO WHY PLAY THEM???!!! looks like Dunn and Buckley might not get picked this week. if that occurs, then riley is a selfish man! Them playing seniors will hlp their development for the future and will help the MFC. he must not be coach next season

If it means getting Ward, Brown and Bizzel out of the side, and sees our more youthful players (dunn, garland, Warnock) getting senior games, then i like that idea

Frawley (193cm), Rivers (192cm) and carrol (189cm) will make a quality group of key defenders in years to come. Unforunately none of them are capable of taking the monster forwards of the afl. how can these guyz really be expected to compete with J.Brown, Rocca, Gherig, Reiwold who are all around 198cm and 103kg. We definitely need to find a 197cm key defender who can take these guyz. With holland nearing the end of his career the only other player who could fill that role is Miller. If he can't get his head around player as a big-bodied defender then unfortunately we'll probably have to waste 2-3 draft picks on 198cm defenders hoping one of them will succeed. God i hope miller can make it as a defender. imagine a defense (assuming miller improved his defensive skills enourmously over the summer.) Whelan, Carrol, Miller Wheatley, Rivers, Bell with Bartram, Pettard and Frawley rotating through the flank positions. As for our forwards post Neitz... Newton, Bate and Dunn are mobile 192cm forwards to get genuinely excited about. However we have noone on our list who could develop into a power, strong marking forward (ala Neitz). We should try to draft one, or otherwise trade for a guy like Ryan Murphey from Freo.

any play 30 years and older who isnt integral to our team should be seriously considered to be delisted at years end. Even if they still have the ability to contribute, the fact that these guyz wont be around in 2 years time means that younger players should be given preference! - Ward, Brown, Pickett, Bizzel, Holland and Yze are the group of depth +30 players. of that group 4 should be delisted at least. - Ferguson and Neville are the other 2 players obviously to be delisted. this will free up 6 spots to use of draftees. - Others to go if we need more spots for draftees come from the group that includes Miller, Jamar, Warnock and C.Johnson however our first group of players to be culled for next year must be the +30 group. i see pickett as the first player our new coach will see out of that group. He is an obvious delisting

anyone who thinks we wont get a 1st rounder for bruce if he's traded has obviously never followed a trading week before. rediculous

Ward will be on the list next season. his pace and improved accountability have meant he prob will be top 10 in our best n fairest this year. brown i think is gawn

We need a forward pocket specialist! if he's willing to put in the hard yards then i'd consider him. at his best would be definite starting 18. difference between him and picket...sampi is 23

neitz must play next few weeks so that he doesnt play his 300th against carlton. as weird as it sounds that is a must lose game. it means carlton lose a top 3 pick and we will most likely gain an extra first rounder. if its neitz's 300th then we'll be forced to try to win for him

trade one of bruce or green. Not because they are bad players, but because they will command a mid first round pick (hopefully around pick10) which will mean this draft will set us up for years to come. Neither bruce or green are seriously crucial to our team structure because they dont play key position or in the guts. i would prefer for the new coach to take a realistic look at our list and admit that we wont be contenders for the premiership next year. If we're just gonna scrape into finals next year and not really contend to go all the way then what's the point. better off basing our new team around the last 4 years of drafting and getting 4 top 20 picks (3,10,18,20) for this years draft ala hawthorn last fwe years.

i agree we need a 195cm strong elite power forward. we should try to draft one, but if not then drafting a player like Ryan Murphey (freo) or beau Dowler (hawthorn) could be very astute trades because both are big, young, talented and are not required players for their club. Bate, Dunn and Newton will all be good tall forward. But they are mobile, tall forwards...not power marking forwards like Neitz. Rivers, Garland, Frawley and even Carrol will be good defensive unit, but they are all mobile defenders and we do not have a defender who can contain a power marking foward. These 2 positions must be filled soon. I how i hope miller can fill the defensive one.

i like this team. however by some time next season i hope/expect Dunn, Frawley and Buckley to become starting 22 players. Also, while it is extremely sad and unfortunate, Bizzel, Godfrey, Ward and Yze are probably in our best 22 playersn atm. I sincerely hope that none of these players are in our starting 22 by midseason next year. our entire depth in aged 30 yrs and older (bizzel,ward,brown,holland,pickett,yze)...this must change! i just hope the new coach has the balls to make hard decisions and delist most of these. I realize that not having these players as depth means we will struggle next season when injuries occur and that our youngsters (prime example Frawley) may cop a few hard lessons. but in the long run it means our players of the future will be getting more game-time to fast track their development. none of our 30+ players will be around in 2 years, Frawley, dunn, buckley and Garland will be. next year they should be developing and improving in the seniors, and NOT have their spots taken by guyz who be around it 2 years.

the latest word from gardner was that we'd probably make a 300,000 loss, but with the million we'd make a $700,000 profit. we are clearly still in a bit of financial strife. we will continue to need assistence until we can consistently break even without the help of the million