Deeoldfart

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.

Great call!!

Looks like we might have un-earthed a nice player with a punt on a late draft pick. Well done to our recruiting staff. A month ago I was thinking that Rohan would probably be one make way for a new recruit at the end of the season, but if he continues to play like he has in the last two weeks, there's no way that will happen. Seems like he thrives on hard work and his football 'maturity' shows when compared to many of the draftees out of the u18 competition.

I hope that by the time the next draft comes around, we will have forgotten that Lynch ever existed, and we will have seen enough development in Martin and Watts, and possibly Fitz and Gawn, to get us even more excited about the future.

And another from me. It's early days, but in the last two weeks he has seemed to get caught less often in tight situations, and his disposal has definetely lifted a notch or two.

6. Frawley 5. Grimes 4. Jamar 3. James McDonald 2. Green 1. Davey

I reckon they will manage Sam very conservatively. If he is fit I suspect he might play a half or a bit more with Casey ressies.

I know it's a while back and the game has changed a bit in the interim, but Gerard Healy and Jeff Farmer both managed it for the Dees.

You should be banned from Demonland for that post Nostra. My sides hurt and my eyes are watering from laughing, and my other half thinks I should be locked in a padded room.

Go back 12 months you will find that a number of Demonlanders were calling for Bate to be dropped. I'm not sure if that was after a limited pre-season, but it certainly took quite a few matches for him to work into the form that eventually took him to 4th place in the Bluey. I guess the question that some are asking now, is whether he should be given time at Casey to find that form? I don't see the point in this, especially as there are no ready made replacements who warrant senior selection. Others have said that Bater does not have the attributes to be a KPP, and will be a stronger contributor playing off a flank with a couple of strong marking talls around him. I agree. I think it's more than coincidence that Bate's improved form last year coincided with the emergence of LJ and Robbo's return from injury.

I can see what your theory is based on Ralphius. But on a less conservative note, if we can roll the Crows it might be an indication that our young group has a bit more 'maturity' than most of us give them credit for.

Many thanks for the summary Chook. Reports like these provide the midweek 'footy life-blood' for interstate supporters.