Deeoldfart

Seconded!

I feel certain that we would not be picking three or four players to cover perceived weaknesses in our list (which is what you are asking me to do). IMO the first couple of picks (at least) should go to the 'best available' players. If two potential draftees are rated equally, and one of them happens to be a rangey midfield / KPP type in the mould of Adam Goodes or Cale Morton, then that's the way I would go. You cant have too many quality players of this ilk IMO ...... but I acknowledge that they are hard to come by.

Wow! I reckon we might just knock off a couple of better teams sometime this year (we came within a whisker against C'wood remember)and there's a very slim hope that it could even be Brisbane on Saturday night. However, I think your travel plans are fairly safe in 2010. You will need to be prudent in making bookings for 2011 onwards though.

I don't want to steal RR's thunder on this, he will undoubtedly have his own views ........ but IMO we currently have most if not all bases reasonably covered with 'known quality' players or 'good potential' players. Obviously its too early for us to be making judgements about how well a lot of the 'potential' will turn out, but we should have a much better idea in a few months. Based on what we know right now, my view would be to stick with the old adage of 'best available' ...... but if I was forced into a corner, I would say a quality utility (eg. Goodes) would be fantastic, but who's to say Cale Morton won't end up filling that type of role with distinction?

Agree with all that Rhino. Re your third point, we need to add Fitzpatrick to the list of talls who might potentially play forward or in the ruck.

That may or may not be a good thing IMO. I love Benny's pace and run out of defence, but for mine he will need to become more accountable for his opponent, and make fewer errors under pressure, before I would rate him as a strong half back candidate. There's a fair chance he will get there with experience, but on form this year, he offers much more as a forward than a defender.

Goodonya wyl. I totally agree, and will now try to ignore this thread.

Colin Sylvia on the MFC site said he can see 2008 No.1 NAB AFL Draft pick Jack Watts, who played three matches last year, returning to the AFL in the next few weeks. "Jack's starting to find some pretty good form. He's had a lot of trouble with his body and getting things right," he said. "We've all got faith in Jack and he's a developing player and he needs a little bit of time, so hopefully he can come on and string a few games together this year and catch up to the Tom Scullys and Jack Trengoves."

Good .... justice served!

Not sure I agree with that. He flew for pack marks, put his head over the ball, tackled hard and didn't shirk a contest ....... all in his first game for the season after a broken jaw. Hard to imagine that being easy!

Agreed .... even though it was advertised.

Sheedy = drop kick = no longer relevant to our game.

6. James McDonald: Best game for quite some time. Outstanding leadership and work ethic. I can't remember him making a mistake. 5. Colin Sylvia: Great return from injury. Never shirked an issue and always a threat on the forward line. 4. Brent Moloney: Worked tirelessly all day in the clinches. Racked up a load of posessions and generally used it to advantage. 3. Mark Jamar: Didn't have a lot to beat but did it with aplomb. Gave our on-ballers first use of the ball at 90% of stoppages. 2. Brad Green: Another very strong game. Provided an excellent target up forward, but missed a couple that he would normally gobble up. 1. Joel MacDonald: Reliable, and provided excellent run out of defence. Several unlucky, including Bail, Jones, Bate, and Scully who showed promise of things to come.

Maybe a coach sometime down the track?

That makes a fair bit of sense LH. Spencer was good for Casey last weekend.

Great article, great club, great man! It's an absolute priviledge to support the Melbourne Footy Club.

Beautifully summarised 'deb.

I've gone with Jack Grimes, but only because IMO he has the early runs on the board. Isn't it great to have so much potential on our list? I also think Jordie McKenzie will be a very, very good player for the MFC, and he didn't even make the shortlist!

Another great read. Thanks Jack.

Excellent work dandeeman. You have put into some fine words, what most of us believe but didn't articulate. There was a time very recently where it might have taken a bit of 'courage' for some Melbourne supporters to freely admit their allegiance to the struggling club. I believe those days are now behind us. The future is rosy!

Scully was a keen Richmond fan before we drafted him ... not that this has any relevance whatsoever to his selection / non selection on the weekend. My gut feeling is that he will play, and that there might be a late withdrawal to free up another spot in the final 22.

I remember watching Athol Webb Rhino. Definitely capable: quick and elusive and averaged a couple of goals per game while being an excellent foil for the likes of 'Big' Bob Johnson and 'Tiger' Ridley. Small and slight for a KPF, about the size of a medium midfielder in today's game. Obvious answers to your two questions: 'No' and 'very little indeed!'

We havn't seen enough of Ricky's top form to describe him as 'one of our best' at this stage Dappa, but like a lot of others on our young playing list, he has the potential to be one of our best. I certainly have a very strong preference for him to remain at Melbourne, and hopefully the comraderie which we are seeking to build amongst the players, and the fact that our 'star is clearly on the rise', will sway him in that direction.

A long time ago, and a totally different game nowadays, but Melbourne's golden era in the 1950s and 60's was built around a forward structure containing decoy full forwards, and rovers, flankers and pocket players who all kicked goals.

Have really appreciated these reports from the VFL coach over the last few seasons, and glad to see that Brad Gotch is continuing the good work. Agree that our depth is improving, and with it the implied pressure on the senior team to 'continue to perform or I will most likely find myself back at Casey'. And of course, this pressure will only increase as players returning from injury demand a senior spot. As you suggest poseidon, it's already difficult for most of us to decide who might make way for the return of a couple of well credentialled senior players. So much so that I'm not convinced that Rivers should be an automatic selection against Richmond, assuming, of course, that he is fit.