Deeoldfart

6. Jones - Led from the front and turned the game. 5. Garlett - Excellent small forward game with goals and pressure. Probably best game for the Dees. 4. Hibberd - Has become a mainstay of our defence. 3. Oliver - Another top-notch performance. Not far off being the clearance king of the comp. 2. Frost - Held (arguably) the best KPF in the game and is becoming a weapon off HB. 1. Hannan - X factor and growing in confidence each week. Another tick for our recruitment team. Apologies: Lewis, Melksham, Harmes, Tyson

I generally like your work Wise, but I reckon you are being very generous to Dean on this one. He's teased with the odd cameo, but I can't remember a decent contribution from him when we've been down. The weekend's game was the last straw for me. It will take a string of very good games for me to climb back on his bandwagon, and I don't think he's got that in him.

I once had high hopes for Kent, based on a few cameos and what I perceived as a fair bit of upside and potential. Not anymore! He completely lost me against Norf, with his miserable work rate, and blatent 'softness' when the team needed him to put his body on the line. Missing a chunk of the pre season is not an alibi for having no desire.

I had almost gotten yesterday, and the role the umpires played, out of my system ......... and now we cop this crap! The glaring inconsistencies, with our team seemingly always on the wrong side of the ledger, makes my blood boil (last bit rephrased to avoid a Demonland sanction). Eff'n disgrace!

I'm not in the habit of potting players, but Kent has to go, and won't be welcome back while he shirks the contest. Very, very disappointing!

6. Hibberd 5. Hannan 4. Viney 3. Tyson 2. Pedersen 1. Frost

It irks me to say it but we were out-gunned. There are excuses galore (no Gawn, no Hogan, crap umpiring etc. etc) and they are valid points, but the bottom line is they played today, like we did last week. They wanted it more, nullified our strengths and exploited our weaknesses for probably 65% of the game, and you can't win with that differential. Very, very disappointing, and even more so against that mob.

Thanks Wise, nice article tells a bit about the man. This is another bit that I really liked: "Petracca, recruited as an explosive forward-midfielder, has set his mind on improving his endurance to become a more regular onballer in the form of Richmond’s Dustin Martin and Port Adelaide’s Robbie Gray. The 21-year-old Demon has slashed more than 40 seconds off his 3km personal best — now 10min 29 sec — since arriving at the club".

I'm sick to death of being beaten year after year by the whinging Scott brother's marsupials. Time to put another hoodoo to bed. Make 'roadkill' of 'em Dees!

Two scenarios for me: If we play like we did against the Crows, we win comfortably ..... full stop!. If we have a 'Melbourne off-day', I'm very confident that we will be competitive for at least 3 quarters. The big question here is 'will this be enough?' I lean towards scenario 1, but I'm uneasy that scenario 2 may raise it's ugly head.

Not only does the poster grossly underestimate what Viney and Oliver bring to the table, but he /she doesn't know their own team. Last time I looked Preuss wasn't even in their squad, or is he one of the deck chairs?

Excellent thread. Got me thinking where does Jeffy currently sit in the Demonland POTY voting?. This is the current top 10: 92. Clayton Oliver57. Jack Watts52. Nathan Jones39. Jack Viney33. Jayden Hunt28. Michael Hibberd24. Jeff Garlett23. Christian Petracca22. Jordan Lewis17. Christian Salem I thought he might have a few more votes than that, but he's surrounded by strong contributors in a team on the rise. Keep up the great work Jeffy.

I agree with all that except for the first sentence P-man. I found the Hawks loss soul destroying, and pretty much 'tuned out' of football until the middle of the following week.

I know it seems like forever ago, but it's not much more than a week since we were all wallowing in deep grief following the loss to Hawthorn.

Settle down a bit guys. This thread is getting me all excited, and at my age I'm not sure it's good for my longevity.

Would the knockers prefer Jack Steven, Dustin Martin or Dangerfield to Dom? Of course they would, even with their higher 'clanger count'. Few would argue that Hibberd's disposal off HB has been a revelation for Melbourne this year ........ but he's ranked #15 in the AFL for clangers! And where is TMac ranked? Isn't he our our worst turnover merchant? This stat, when taken in isolation, is utter rubbish. In any event, Melbourne's game style is one of high risk and high reward. Reduce the risk, reduce the clangers, reduce the reward.

It's time to make a statement boys!. Four quarters of what we delivered last weekend will see us romp it in. Anything less will be a disappointment.

He actually reminds me of @ProDee when he does that.

I agree with the sentiment steve, but the question for me is 'can we afford bona fide stars anyway?'. List management decisions and Salary Cap constraints will become more and more critical over the next few years, as key players (eg. Petracca, Gawn, Hunt, Oliver, Hogan et al), come out of contract, and our first priority must be to satisfy our current and emerging stars to keep them together. I expect that our approach to trading will be to go after proven B graders, to fill specific needs, Hibberd is a good example of this. He's slotted in beautifully and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

I agree with all the positives about Sam. The thing that excites me most is the speed of his recent development. I always had the view that while he had some good attributes, his 'clumsiness' and often 'wonky' decision making and disposal, would restrict him to being a somewhat risky kpd. I'm pleased to say that he's really proved me wrong over the last month. He seems to have tidied up the rough edges of his game and is becoming a 'weapon' off half back. Based on his present form, it won't be long before we are including him in conversations about the 'young guns' who are a critical part of our future success. Sam has come a long way in a very short time, and I reckon there's still a fair bit to go.

I agree with all of that pineapple, with the exception of the bolded words. I have absolutely no doubt that we are on a path to success (and hopefully the ultimate success that we all crave), but I'm not overly optimistic about the upcoming games or even the remainder of 2017. However, I am very optimistic that the next few years will see the wilted fuchsia bloom.

I've now seen all of today's pressers, and a number of media commentaries about Jesse's situation. They reinforce what we already knew, and that is that we support a great football club. Their professionalism in handling the situation has been of the highest order, and we know that their support for Jesse and his family will be unstinting. I'm very, very proud to be a tiny part of the 'family'. Get well quick Jesse!

So it's get on Clarrie for the Charlie then.

I wrote this in this week's Player of the Year thread, and thought it was worth repeating here: "Neville is our 'Mr Consistency' and plays his role as well as anyone. In our top 6 to 8 players week-in / week-out. No frills, just very, very reliable and nullifies the impact of the most dangerous small forwards in the opposition. A rock!"

Get well soon Jessie. The Melbourne Football Club family, and the rest of the AFL community are in your corner. You should be able to feel the vibe.