Hards

Heard on 3AW in the car on the way home that he had 10 1%ers, amazing effort. He was clearly 2nd BOG today behind Green, they both were excellent. That decision making process of his that appeared questionable early on in his career appears to be very much on the improve - his timing and his reading of the play have also come on massively this year.

Hey Rhino, I'd like to apologise on behalf of the players for their 2nd and 3rd quarter when they went against your run and carry and played direct attacking fast moving footy , the 2006 way. I'm sorry that the two quarters where we played the stuff around with the handball quassi attempted run and carry were the two quarters when we kicked two goals and one goal respectively. I'm sorry that we blew a team away that we've had constant dramas with despite coming off the worst form since 1997 by abandoning run and carry in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. I'm sorry that the 2nd and 3rd quarters contained exactly one passage of play of more than 5 consecutive handballs whereas the first and last quarters contained 8 of such passages (at least I lost count at 8, could have been more). I'm sorry that despite still not having Rivers, Whelan, Pickett, Moloney and a still barely half fit McLean we were able to execute for two quarters the game plan that many have been calling to see since Round 1. I'm sorry. (more than happy to acknowledge that I sound like an [censored], but seriously, you cannot say that those middle two quarters are exactly how we shouldn't be playing - they delivered us our first win of the year, and would have delivered at least three more if that style game plan had been in place all year)

I would like to have left Dunn in and run him and Bate as dual CHFs for some variety. It seems hard for him and Miller to exist in the same forwardline. Still, not unhappy overall.

35+ goal seasons: Q. Lynch - 1 (06) Ash Hansen - 0 David Neitz - 8 Russell Robertson - 5 I must have been sleeping during those years that Lynch and Hansen were dominating the air and the Eagles were getting no goals from midfield/half forwards like Judd (29 in 2006/15 in 2005), Cousins (20/24), Embley (31/24), Staker (24/13), Sampi (12/20), Phil Matera (ret/38) etc. The style of football they play now was developed under a forward structure that was based around Phil Matera and Ashley Sampi. Matera who led their goalkicking for 5 out of 6 seasons from 2000-2005, and Sampi who kicked 85 goals between 02-05. They've only in the lasat 12 months got anything out of Lynch - last time I checked Adam Hunter was fill in FF in the 05 GF, hardly a dominant marking forward. They play to their strengths. They didn't have marking forwards, so they developed a running game that a. suited their players and b. suited the ground they play on. Sydney are the same - they play contested footy on a ridiculously small ground, they don't have many guys with WC style breakaway pace because its useless at the SCG. They get their runners off half back instead of out of the middle and leave the forward line open for their two key forwards (Hall and Micky O) to operate. If they tried to execute "run and carry" they'd go nowhere because they don't have the players or the space to execute it in. Your wonderful gameplan has us losing games now at home AND on the road, I wouldn't be pointing to losses last year in WA and SA and justification for how well its working this year. We've lost three winable games in the last four weeks where we've played one quarter of footy the 2006 way. The evidence doesn't lie - the players know it, the media knows it, we know it - hopefully the coaching staff now recognise it.

There's nothing wrong with a run and carry gameplan, except that it requires the right type of players to use it. WC use it (which is the most recent Premiership side we've stolen a gameplan from) because they lack dominant key forwards and have break away ball winners like Cousins, Judd and Kerr, not to mention quality runners in every line that they can get the ball to to use it properly. We don't this. We can have four strong marking forwards and the best defensive forward in the game. Move it quick and give them a chance. That's called playing to OUR strengths, not trying to emulate another team whose strengths rest in completely different areas. Playing one quarter of footy the "2006 way" for three of the last four weeks has gotten us within a goal of three victories. The players saying at the end of each game that that's what they want to see from us next week is evidence that they are unhappy with the "2007 way" of playing. Injuries or not it would have hurt us this year because its such a fundamental departure from playing to our strengths. You'd have to have your head in the sand or placed firmly up somewhere else if you can't see that.

Hopefully the last few lines of that article are the truth, and not just a smokescreen.

In regards to Melbourne merging or moving, the one ace we have is that there'll always be a team named Melbourne, so we won't ever be relocated. We also have probably the largest dormant supporter base, even if it has been eroded somewhat by decades of failure. The goal can't just be survival though, it has to be to thrive, and that takes success on and off field. Remember, of the top 10 crowds last year, Melbourne were involved with two - vs Collingwood and vs Richmond, the Richmond game being the only non-Collingwood game in the top 10 in 06. Our woodwork is full to the brim, and the bandwagon gets to be standing room only very quickly when we're rolling. I wouldn't get too despondant in this bad year that we are having.

Na we drafted Darren but he didn't come over. The Mad Monk is apparently coaching quite well in the SANFL, instructing his players to run run run, doing a good job I hear. Wouldn't have picked him as one to go into coaching.

I'll be running past for the handball with the rolled up Yze sleeves as always :D

Yeah I'm happy to help organise it, but if its a Sunday I may struggle as I work 4pm-midnight. Also would hope that those who nominate to play actually turn up this time.....

You seen Rounds 1 through 8 Nash? Clear as night and day change in the gameplan from previous years, spoken about pre-season, hasn't worked. Masked by injuries, but funny how that gameplan went out the window in the last quarter and we had our best quarter for the year. Interested to see Cam Bruce's comments on it in the HS today - "In those first three quarters we weren't attacking the game. We know that's the way we play best: get the shackles off and take the game on. We know we can't play in that negative frame of mind. Stop start footy is not our go." He's spot on - and before any nuff nuff says that he's saying we should play any defensive footy - he's saying that we play our best when we play open and get the game moving, not that we shouldn't be hard at contests and tackle hard and all that. Not the first time a senior player has said something along those lines this year...

Yze Magic: I will personally delete any thread you make declaring this week OUR WEEK TO WIN. Ok? :D

The disallowed winning goal to Davey came from a long kick and a crumb. Also IIRC we had 8 set shots that we missed during the afternoon, suggesting that getting the ball forward quick rather than stuffing around with short handballs presented us with more opportunities. Yes you'll get turnovers when you go long, but you'll also get far more opportunities to score. The good outweighs the bad, as long as your forwards convert their chances. I'll back our blokes to do that 9 times out of 10, especially when they are fit and in form. A lot of those first quarter turnovers didn't come from kicking to a 3 on 1, they came from miskicks that went straight to Port defenders. I think we had six or seven straight inside 50s that were poor disposals coming forward. The method was perfectly correct for the first time all year, only the execution was off.

Will Felix be ready to play for MFC by Round 8? The way our injuries go he might not be that far off Congrats.

You guys are kidding if you think Robbo's pointed comment was not a thinly disguised hint at our own game plan issues. Stop press! Key forward demands ball get delivered before 6 defenders drop back and clog up the space!

I really like PG, I like the way he goes about it and I like that he's a bigger picture sort of guy. That said, his comments about Cousins were way off the mark. Let's focus on us before we starting worrying about Ben Cousins.

In that 02 SF, the roar when Yze goaled from the forward pocket, 60s after Vardy had done from the same spot, and the standing ovation Clint Bizzell got for his spoil on Mark Stevens, soccer off the ground, chase and dive at the loose ball and then diving tackle on Stenglein, creating the loose ball for Armstrong and then Yze.

There'll be a defening silence from a lot of people on here about Yze's game today. He tackled, he chased, he used some footy smarts at times and he played a solid consistant game. The knockers will say that's his first for a few years - hey... at least he's got one more than a number of other blokes on the list

I haven't seen the final stats but at one point in the 3rd quarter the clearances were 27-11 our way.

Travis' kicking accuracy is as bad as it was last year, which suggests the broken toe isn't having any influence. If he can run and play then he should be able to a) get the ball or B) chasing and tackle. Neither of which is currently happening.

Raise it on every radio station you can - this question needs all the exposure it can get because its spot on. Hopefully some of the TV and print journos take it up because its blatantly obvious to the rest of us what is going on.

Merged your thread in with this one Graz/Tess. I take the point about no match up for Holland, but stick him up forward instead of or alongside Miller. At least Holland's actually in form, unlikely abnout 15 of his teammates. Another defensive decision from the mastercoach.

Messers Johnstone, Bruce, Green, Yze and Miller underperform (routinely in some cases) and get saved. B.Holland has 20-something and 10 marks against an avalanche of ball coming into the forward line and gets dropped. Je ne comprehende pas.

Does anyone want to point out the obivous here. How can Ben Holland who was our BEST player vs St.Kilda get dropped? Holland's in better form as a CHF than Miller and he hasn't played there for 12 months. I'm vexed by this decision.

Lucas Neill? Will work anywhere for the right amount of cash.... MFC has to be better than West Ham!