paddo

Dee tention, didn't we just sign Newton to a 2 year deal?? The coaching staff obviously see something in him. We have to give him a go otherwise it's just a waste. I don't think Juice has been given a decent run at it yet.

I admit that I have been a staunch defender of Juice for some time, but I concede his days are numbered. However, footy is 90 per cent above the shoulders and I believe that Bailey needs to back him in for the first 5 or 6 rounds; give him an extended run at FF regardless of performance. The man has talent, but I think he is suffering from the burden of expectation which I'm sure we have all experienced at any level of sport. On the other hand, Col Sylvia seems far too comfortable in the senior team. He played most games last year on the back of a number of substandard performances. He needs to be dropped to the VFL for the first few rounds of the home and away season. Hopefully these very different measures will be the catalyst for these two unfulfilled talents.

Too top heavy (take out Dunn who is better suited as wingman/tagger), and how do you reason putting Martin in the forward line when he did so well down back and we clearly need a big body on the last line?

Jamar has had a very solid year. He is a very nice tap ruckman, and with White seemingly gone and Meesen showing nothing there is definitely a place for him on the list. Even if we pick up Warnock, every club needs at least three ruckmen. And, hypothetically, if we were to pick up Naitanui I doubt if he would play in the ruck all that much in his first 1-2 years because it's a very physically demanding position. We had the chance to trade/delist Jamar at the end of last year, but we didn't. DB and myself obviously see something most others don't.

If it's not broken don't fix it. Martin has been very solid at full back. Why would we take him out of a position that we are in desperate need of settling? Also, what's the point of giving Newton a 2 year contract if we are going to give another guy his position. Further, with Miller having a much improved year and the likelihood that Watts will be in the red and blue next year, I really don't see any point whatsoever in playing Martin forward. The only reason I can find for playing Martin at FF for a few weeks would be to educate him, but I've never been a big believer of teaching backmen by playing them forward.

Personally, I would be very reluctant to part with our 1st pick in the draft. However, David Parkin made a very good point on Fox Sport's AFL Teams last night. He said that he was concerned about the development of our young players because there isn't enough talent/leadership around them. He said that Melbourne's best players are B-graders at best, and it's hard to argue otherwise. As part of this exercise, I have listed the best player (as viewed from the outside) of each AFL club: Adelaide: Andrew McLeod Brisbane: Jonathon Brown Carlton: Chris Judd Collingwood: Dale Thomas Essendon: Matthew Lloyd Fremantle: Matthew Pavlich Geelong: Jimmy Bartel Hawthorn: Lance Franklin Melbourne: Cameron Bruce Nth Melbourne: Brent Harvey Port Adelaide: Chad Cornes Richmond: Matthew Richardson Sydney: Adam Goodes St Kilda: Nick Riewoldt Western Bulldogs: Brad Johnson West Coast: Daniel Kerr This list is loaded with talent/leadership. There are premierships, All-Australians, B&Fs, Coleman medals, rising stars etc etc. But Bruce is definitely the odd one out. No premierships, no All-Australians, no B&Fs (best finish 2nd twice in 2002 and 2006). The same could be said about Collingwood. Dale Thomas is arguably their best player, at least that is the perception from outside the club supporter base. But he is young, and hasn't really achieved anything yet. So it's no surprise that Melbourne and Collingwood have been linked with J. Brown. I'm of the opinion that we have some of the most exciting youngsters in the land. Morton, Grimes, Maric, McLean, Dunn, Bate, Bartram, Garland, Martin, Frawley, Petterd are all very promising. Will their growth be impeded due to a lack of "A-grade" presence on our list? Or is the physical and mental attitude of our B-graders, such as Brad Miller, sufficient in guiding our younger players? Should we make a bid for Brown/Kerr if the opportunity arises? The long-term impact of the presence of one of these guys on ALL our kids could outweigh the impact of gaining ONE gun kid in the draft. This is just a hypothetical, but it's essential that we look at the big picture.

From all reports he's hardly been carving it up at VFL level either. The problem with Tomahawk is that he still appears to be too big - agility and endurance are more important than size if you are a forward in today's game. No disrespect to Tom Lonergan, but you would have thought that a guy with the wraps like Hawkins would have played more games.

True. And that's why I said "prospective" trade only. But what I was trying to demonstrate is that you have to give something to gain something.

We don't need Alwyn at MFC. Simple. We have enough small forwards. We must take a hard stance in this year's trade period in order to secure as many early picks as we can. This may mean trading some of our best players. The prospective trade I have proposed below is just an idea, but we should be looking to adopt an aggressive approach in the upcoming trade period. Jared Rivers and Pick 18 to Port Adelaide for Pick 3 (?): Jared has not fired a shot for two years due to injury. He has been linked with Adelaide clubs in the past as he is a South Australian boy (his younger brother Jessie is a very good player in local competition in Adelaide). The development of Garland, Warnock, Martin and Frawley this year makes for a promising back 6 in the years to come. Jared has a very similar physique to Garland and Frawley so it is questionable whether we would want three lightly-framed KP backs in our side. Ideally, we would want two of those and one bigger guy to play on the "monsters" (i.e. Warnock or Martin). At his best, Rivers alone would command a top 15 pick but his injuries would deter many clubs so it is likely we would need to throw in Pick 18 as well.

Scarlett will have a field day if he plays on Sylvia - his lack of accountability would suit Scarlett to a tee. If that match-up does eventuate, then Col may have to drag Scarlett into the midfield. I'm really looking forward to the Dunn/Bartel match-up - we will really get to see how far Dunny has come in his new role.

I feel a little sorry for Heath Shaw - he's a young player with plenty of upside and he seems pretty remorseful for what he did. For Didak, on the other hand, I have no sympathy whatsoever - the guy is a fool. I know of some one-eyed Pies supporters who would usually stick up for their players no matter what, but even they would be quite happy to see the back of Didak now.

Not a chance in hell. Carlton would LOL at us if we dished that up. A rising 30-year-old and an unproven ruckman for a top 10 pick just prior to the draft concessions for GC17 - won't happen. I'm very keen on sticking with the Jamar/PJ combo. Whilst they have their flaws, I think they've performed very well over the past 6 weeks and I'm not convinced that R. Warnock is the answer. Alwyn would be a nice inclusion, but he is injury-prone and I wouldn't want to give up too much for him.

LOL. Nothing pleases me more than to see the filth get rolled!! Buddy almost kicking Colling%#$&'s score tops it off. You should hear their supporters rant about how good O'Brien and Brown are - well they got licked last night!!

It does make you wonder, doesn't it. I'm really pleased to see that Bails has pledged his faith in Juice. He's been much maligned and has not delivered to anywhere near his natural abilities. However, given an uninterrupted preseason and some good delivery next year I think he will be good for us. And I'm rapt to see Petterd given another two years. I wish it were three....

Juice is a key forward and we all know they take time. He continues to show positive signs and he has shown in the past that he has plenty of natural talent. What he needs is game time remembering that he is coming back from a fairly serious knee injury. To all those Juice-bashers, give the guy a break. Keep in mind that it is not easy playing in our forward line atm. I am confident he WILL come good.

He has a career high of 7 goals in a game (vs Carlton 2004). He kicked 6 against North Melbourne in 2004 or 2005. He has also kicked 5 on a few occasions. If we retain Bruce next season, perhaps a return to the forward line would be a good idea although he would have to improve his shonky kicking for goal.

C: Bate Jones Morton R: P. Johnson McLean Petterd - Junior to retire - Apologies to Moloney - last position between him and Petterd - Did not include Grimes or Maric as we have not seen them yet - If we pick up D. Rich (unlikely) in the draft then he is straight in there - Green to play off half back - Bate to play more across half forward/wing - Bruce. Trade bait?? Perhaps a return to the forward line

I rate Bucks as well....but he ain't little. I think he's around 190cm which would have been tall enough for a KP ten years ago.

He had a brilliant year in 2006. If he could recapture that form then a definite yes.

HF: Davey Miller Sylvia FF: Wonaeamirri Newton Robertson Bate to midfield. Robbo to play for another 1-2 years to develop young forwards.

B: Warnock Martin Bartram HB: C. Johnson Garland Rivers Garland forward?? If it's not broken why fix it?? Interesting point is the height of this defence. Bartram is about 181cm and next tallest is CJ at 189cm. I like the fact that we are developing a backline based on tall, athletic players who are capable of playing tall and small. I would consider Petterd for a role across half-back, but I think he could develop into a midfielder.

Forgive me if I'm wrong but wasn't Warnock on Johnson for most of the day?? Notwithstanding that, I don't think Bell should get a run this week. I'd prefer Petterd.

OUT: Green (inj), Morton IN: Davey, Petterd

Agree with all except for Morton who I thought was pretty ordinary all day.

Ditto