Whispering_Jack

If you want to be un-Melbournelike then perhaps you need to invent a time machine and go back to Sunday 24 May, 2015 or Sunday 21 June, 2015 and discover what it was about the team that led it to produce such diametrically opposite outcomes to those of the past two weeks instead of contemplating on the attitude of supporters or perceptions about the culture of the club. It's only two or three years ago that Richmond supporters were consigning their memberships to the microwave but that sort of thing has nothing to do with improving player fitness, skills, mental approach and team strategies. Concentrate on those things and not the BS we've been hearing lately in the media. Teach the players how to perform and do it consistently, that's all.

The TAC Cup Future Stars top 20 from last Sunday- 1. Carlton - Jacob Weitering 2. Brisbane - Joshua Schache 3. Sydney* - Callum Mills 4. Gold Coast - Aaron Francis 5. GWS* - Jacob Hopper 6. Essendon - Darcy Parish 7. Melbourne - Charlie Curnow 8. St. Kilda - Rhys Mathieson 9. Collingwood - Darcy Tucker 10. Brisbane* - Ben Keays 11. GWS* - Matthew Kennedy 12. Port Adelaide - Ryan Burton 13. Geelong - Callum Ah Chee 14. North Melbourne - Harley Balic 15. Adelaide - Sam Weideman 16. Richmond - Riley Bonner 17. Western Bulldogs - Harry McKay 18. Hawthorn - Kieran Lovell 19. West Coast - Kieran Collins 20. Brisbane* - Eric Hipwood * Academy bid

Mystery non-injury of the week!!!

"Let's stick it up 'em" - EJ Whitten (some time in the distant past)

I's OK Old Dee. That's what a lifetime of supporting this club does to people.

I can't believe it. Old Dee with a positive outlook for once. Things must be looking up for the old red and blue.

You did. The club later said it was concussion.

I'm really hoping that Adelaide wins that Round 23 game v Geelong which would make the fact that their earlier game was cancelled totally irrelevant as far as the makeup of the final eight is concerned.I also would like us to win today to go ahead of St. Kilda on the ladder and stay that way. The commentariat are speaking of St. Kilda almost in tones of this being a breakout year and how brilliant their future will be with all their young players. Sure, they're doing well and they have some good kids but they are doing it off the back of a solid core of veterans like Riewoldt and Fisher (10 marks each last night), Gilbert, Montagna etc who will all have to be replaced very soon. They are not in fact a very young side at all.

Concussed in last week's game after kicking four goals in the first half. Relax. He played but it was apparently a minor role. See below:- KC's match report will be posted during the day. As he told me last night, "it's a long bloody drive home from Coburg to Cranny, especially when you run into the MCG traffic full of emotionally charged Tiger and Magpie fans." :lo:

The Demons step out onto the MCG for the final time this year in the eight anniversary commemoration of the infamous Kreuzer Cup game from 2007. Fittingly, Matt Kreuzer will be on hand to play in ruck for the Blues after what has so far been an injury ravaged career and Chris Judd who was another Carlton prize from its tanking spree will be parading around in a motorcade to celebrate those many years in the wilderness his club went through and millions spent after they secured him in the farcical selection drama they set up at the time. Given that Juddy was paid a fortune to promote the environmental friendliness of an organisation that was once fined $36m over price fixing, one hopes that the vehicle carting him around the ground will be an electric model but I wouldn't put my house on that. As for the game itself - meh. The result will probably be the same as it was eight years ago although it wouldn't surprise me if Levi Casboult suddenly discovered his kicking boots and scored seven or eight straight (unlike Lance Whitnall who did such a fantastic job shanking shots at goal from 15 meters out). I hope somebody had the foresight to invite Travis Johnstone to join the motorcade as well to celebrate his 42 uncontested possessions from that very memorable day/night occasion.

Couldn't resist. When someone kicks 12 goals in a TAC Cup game, he must be worthy of some consideration. 2015 Draft Profile: Blake Hardwick While there's no comparison physically, I remember lots of people writing off Eddie Betts as a draft prospect because they regarded him as a small forward who couldn't play anywhere else. They did that even though he was a proven goal kicker at TAC Cup level. I don't know much about Hardwick so it will be interesting to see how things pan out with him at draft time.

Wondering if Collingwood is ahead of the game in the quest to bolster its midfield ~ Collingwood to trade future picks in bid to secure Treloar and Aish

Caught up with Plough's TAC Cup Future Stars Top 10 from last week including vision of the top prospects:- 1. Jacob Weitering - Carlton 2. Josh Schache - Brisbane 3. Callum Mills - Sydney Swans * 4. Aaron Francis - Gold Coast 5. Jacob Hopper - GWS * 6. Darcy Parish - Essendon 7. Darcy Tucker - Melbourne 8. Rhys Mathieson - St. Kilda 9. Ben Keays - Brisbane * 10. Curnow - Port Adelaide * Academy Selection https://www.facebook.com/FutureStarsTV/videos/1154362464581004/

A month or so ago when the MFC injury list was dwindling and Casey was playing up to 15-16 Demons in their side, they were winning games. It's quite likely that today they will be down to 9 or 10 and, if he plays, I don't see Dean Kent having a big role in the outcome because of his lack of match fitness. That doesn't augur well for Casey's finals prospects because next week they take on top four team Sandringham at the Beach Oval. And for those who will miss big Jack ~

As a young kid Peter Marquis was one of my favourite players in that very strong Melbourne side of the 50s. It would be a pity if his grandson turns out to be a great footballer and plays for anyone other than the MFC but it seems we don't have much interest in this left of centre type of recruiting.

I think Nathan Foley's gorn too (retired)

If we lose this week, the sky will fall.

Jared Rivers played his best football in the year he won the Rising Star award. From there it went downhill a bit and plateaued. I believe that he never reached the heights he was capable of and in the end, even before the Bailey bust-up which obviously soured his relationship (and those of other senior players) with the club, he had lost the enthusiasm he had for the game in his early years.

Ask him about the game at Waverley against Fitzroy in 1979.

TAC Cup Wrap: Round 16 Review Who's this Hardwick? A small forward capable of kicking 12 goals in a TAC Cup game.

Sam Frost?

Looking at the exchange between Robbo and James Magner, I can only conclude that Robbo is a grubby journalist of the worst kind: the type we see in too many places who run a particular agenda and do so under the guise of professional journalism. Yes, it's his job but by and large his newspaper has done the bidding of the Essendon Football Club propaganda machine and his recent attempts at muckraking against both Geelong and Melbourne when both have been fully investigated and cleared is nothing short of a disgrace. Full marks to James Magner for calling him out and exposing him for what he is, knowing that it's unlikely that the Herald Sun will write any fairy floss feel good stories about him while Robbo remains football editor.

The Oracle's post from the Pre Match and Team Discussion thread:- HISTORY TALKS ... by The Oracle History says that Melbourne has no chance whatsoever of beating the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening. This is despite the fact that when the two clubs locked horns about 12 weeks ago, the Demons had an emphatic 39 point win. However, that result came at the end of the Doggies' three game losing streak - their lowest ebb for the year to date - and the landscape has changed dramatically since then. In fact, the Western Bulldogs have rewritten their history in that short space of time. Today it's unanimous among most pundits that the Dishlickers under Luke Beveridge are the feel good story of the season having recently pushed aside the Tigers from that mantle before sneaking ahead of the Swans to snatch a place in the top four. There's also the matter of the venue for this meeting. The Westen Bulldogs have a sensational record against Melbourne at Etihad Stadium with eight wins from nine games while the place is a "bogey" ground for the Demons whose only win over the Dogs there was in in round 19, 2007 - a game that marks the historic (or should I say prehistoric?) occasion of their last win at the Docklands. Since then, Melbourne has been involved in the AFL's biggest venue hoodoo losing 21 games in a row at Etihad. Their last trip there would still be causing them nightmares after conceding a hard fought lead in the last twenty seconds against St. Kilda to go down in embarrassing fashion by 2 points. What this means is that a Demon win will not only defy history; it will be a major upset and in order to achieve that, it will require a supreme effort from the team leaders and the younger brigade like Jesse Hogan, James Brayshaw and up and comers in Max Gawn and Jack Viney. And even then ... THE GAME Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium Sunday 16 August 2015 at 3.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall: Western Bulldogs 74 wins Melbourne 85 wins 1 draw At Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 8 wins Melbourne 6 wins Last Five Meetings: Western Bulldogs 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches: Beveridge 0 wins Roos 1 win MEDIA TV - Channel 7 Fox Sports 3 @ 3.00pm (live) Radio - Triple M 3AW THE BETTING Western Bulldogs $1.22 to win Melbourne $4.25 to win LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 15.13.103 defeated Western Bulldogs 9.10.64 at the MCG in Round 8, 2015 After a slow start the Demons took control and made a statement to the rest of the football world that they wouldn't be pushed around any more. They led at every change to win by 39 points with key positions Jesse Hogan and Cam Pedersen kicking three goals each. TEAMS WESTERN BULLDOGS B: Dale Morris, Michael Talia, Matthew Boyd HB: Robert Murphy, Joel Hamling, Easton Wood C: Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae, Shane Biggs HF: Luke Dahlhaus, Tory Dickson, Stewart Crameri F: Lachie Hunter, Jack Redpath, Jake Stringer FOLL: Tom Campbell, Mitch Wallis, Liam Picken I/C: Caleb Daniel, Sam Darley, Jarrad Grant, Lin Jong EMG: Tom Boyd, Daniel Pearce, Josh Prudden IN: Robert Murphy OUT: Bailey Dale (omitted) MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Jeremy Howe C: Jack Grimes, Angus Brayshaw, Heritier Lumumba HF: Matt Jones, Chris Dawes, Bernie Vince F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney I/C: Rohan Bail, James Harmes, Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen, Christian Salem EMG: Mark Jamar, Aidan Riley, Billy Stretch IN: Rohan Bail OUT: Dom Tyson (hamstring) One of these sides is fighting for a top four spot while the other is firmly entrenched in the bottom six but their immediate fate and the outcome of this game might well be determined by a couple of key forwards who have taken their time to establish places in their respective teams and have had very different pathways into the AFL. Melbourne's Jesse Hogan was drafted by the Demons as a 17 year old from Western Australia in October 2012 when he was taken as a pre-listed selection in the AFL's mini draft. We had a glimpse of him in the 2013 NAB Cup but he could not play AFL for Melbourne in his first season and he spent the year playing with the Casey Scorpions where he won that club's best and fairest and kicked 39 goals in 15 games. A knee injury late against Bendigo late in the year put a premature end to his season (he missed the VFL finals) but worse was to come when he injured his back in a 2014 pre season game which ruled him out for all but one game with the Casey Scorpions. He finally made his AFL debut in this year's season opener on 4 April 2015 against the Gold Coast kicking two goals and taking seven marks. His goal tally is now up to 36; he leads the competition in contested marks and is favourite for the AFL Rising Star. He already has a bag of five goals against St. Kilda at Etihad and last week, he booted four goals and was his team's best in their defeat at the hands of North Melbourne. The Bulldogs' Jack Redpath (194cm, 104kg) from Kyneton was selected with pick 62 in the 2012 Rookie Draft. The tall forward was already 21 years of age when drafted and like Hogan made his preseason debut in the first round of the 2013 NAB Cup. However, he spent two seasons in the VFL with Williamstown and then most of last year with Footscray before making his AFL debut in Round 16 of 2014. He was the Bulldogs' leading goal kicker in their VFL premiership team and is now beginning to establish himself at full forward ahead of high priced young recruit Tom Boyd from the Giants. His career games total is 10 and he has kicked a modest total of 12 goals but against Port Adelaide last week he kicked four goals. Although not directly opposed to each other, if one of these power forwards can fire and boot a bag of goals, his team's winning chances will soar. The same can be said of the ruck duels. The Demon midfield is improving steadily and the Doggies on ball division has also come on in leaps and bounds under the tutelage of coach Luke Beveridge. The ruck is where I expect Melbourne to press home the advantage of an in form 208cm Max Gawn who is one of the top four ruckmen in the competition in terms of hit outs and contested marks and who was an emergency when these teams last met. Newly re-signed on a three year contract, Gawn has been a revelation since he broke into the side in mid season after a heartbreaking run with injuries. He keeps getting better and if he's on song this week against the Western Bulldogs, we could see Melbourne rewrite some more of its history and break yet another hoodoo in 2015.

As dawn brings the first rays of light, it's clear that we're in for one of the better days of a cold, harsh winter. A sunny day with light winds and a top of 17 degrees is expected - no better day to break your hoodoo in a stadium where they usually close the roof I'm feeling confident, anyway.

I commented on Essendon's dilemma on the WADA saga thread this morning. The Bombers are trapped by the James Hird catastrophe. The cost of sacking him at the end of the season and before his lucrative contract expires is substantial but I can't see a rebuild or any chance of a revival while he remains at the club. It's a train wreck. Paige Cardona tweeted this after the game and I think she's probably on the money: "@paigecardona: If James Hird loves the Essendon Football Club as much as he says he does, then he will step away and allow a very proud club to rebuild."