Damo

Really pleased to come across this thread, SydneyDemon as Im suddenly committed to fly into Sydney to see the new bay-bee. Having kissed the missus' relos and handed out the cigar,I will be looking for a pub and a fellow demon fan on/near Glebe pt Rd. If there are any suggestions please give me the drum. Unfortunately Alexandria is too far. cheers (go Danny Hughes!)

Cale Morton

I find myself on the point of tipping us to win this week. a paradigm shift.

One of the weekend Papers had Paul Johnson as the best for the Scorpions, which apparently was wrong. This had excited me as I believe that if Dunn, Jamar and Bartram can come from a long way back, so too can PJ. I thought Martins' was the most encouraging game I had witnessed from him, but I reckon PJ has something still left to reveal. A good mate who follows Sydney closely reckons he is the exact type Sydney look for in a tall. He does believe that Roos can get water from a stone, though I hope he gets another chance, but then I picked Maric for Most Improved this year...

He cant play tall. So he needs to kick more accurately and to chase much harder.

i agree on all points. Newton and Miller at least can be mistaken as footballers. Martin sadly cant.

so that means that it was a total surprise that Cam Bruce cant handball? Miller cant mark? Rivers fumbles... We knew this last year. I think it is total arrogance to coat established capable professional footballers in [censored] by declaring they are not for us because they are over 23. To not entertain paying late picks for Ball who may show you how the game is played, is simply stunning. Who knows who else was available? Look at Rhan Hooper, Fev, Hall, brock... not for whether they would get a game, but how they show onfield, why they were dealt for. They present as people wanting to prove themselves. We have only a few who feel that need. Bailey is not living in the present and I dont believe his vision of the future is even close to real. I have played football with people who dont want to play and i have played with kids busting a gut to be in the ones. because they get to play with good footballers. Melbourne have no incentive to try. We are destroying hope. And now we demonlanders are supposed to suck it up once more and succumb to crumbs of hope because someone invents a silver lining? Not this little black duck. Not no more. Not "spot on" for me.

I totally agree. Ive never said it before BTW.

welcome choppergreat first post. Theres room for your daughter on the MFC coaching panel.

Adam Cooney also at $34 without another teammate higher than Boyd at $51 is better odds than Goddard. Sure like Goddard though.

Not everyone thinks Jamar had a beauty. He got a few hitouts, he took a few marks. But his ability to dispose of the football is as bad as it ever was. He either handballed to someone who was in no position to receive or he kicked to a contest, seemingly every time. His direct opponent was rated as one the best on the ground by both papers. I hadnt commented as many on here believed he played OK, but now that his game is being extolled as a beauty, I must stick my hand up and say i expected better. Compared to Steph Martin, though he is gold...

+1 on McKenzie for me but no one was faster getting back into the pack on their knees than Bulldog Murray

With the other practise match results going the way they have been, and with watching yesterday and last Sunday..anything above bottom two would be a happy surprise. But Its possible Ive followed Melbourne for so long Im comfortable with a bleak outlook.

Trengove for me. We blue sky mined the year before with Watts who will be great in 4 years time, elite hopefully soon after. JT will be great from day IMO. If we look at their progress over 5 years, I would have them equal at the age of 23. Obviously I dont know, but am intrigued because I have been asking myself this question lately. Then hopefully it is Ablett jr and Buckley.

More Graham Yeats IMO

My position is coloured by the fact I believe the best player before each match should be picked in the 1sts. I have been squeezed out of sides before "for the greater good". Minor footy but so unkind. I am still a bit Derek Kickett about that particular match committee 20 years on. If Brad Miller will win us a match against West Coast I want him to be picked at Full Forward to kick 2-3 goals as opposed to 1-2 goals from Jack Watts. Children really annoy me. So while I want both Watts and Bailey to succeed, I would rather the acid be kept on. I believe Dean Bailey will be good enough to get further extensions and by early/mid 2011 we will know.

I see a larger upside in keeping Bailey. He has not had much to work with and I think he may now have a decent list. I watched a Hawks/Dons game from last year and the coaches both had a win or die attitude that ended up in a great football match. There were many injuries but both Clarkson and Knights are terrific coaches in my view. I would like Bailey to have a little of Northey or Hafey's fire and brimstone. If Garry Lyon was talking himself up he would say how much better a match day coach he is than Bailey. he could be right but that is only part of it. Having been approached by Bailey a couple of times at training to have my views aired, I really like him. I think he should play at all costs for wins this year to the detriment of getting games into youngsters. They have to earn their spots. In my opinion his bell lap starts now. One year.

What do you think fatty? Would you give him 2 years?one?

I think the Saints may stumble a little as a result of a bad trade, otherwise I would have them in the GF. Geelong to be not quite as desperate as the Bulldogs. Tigers to surprise a few. Hawthorn Western Bulldogs Geelong StKilda Collingwood Adelaide Richmond Carlton Sydney Essendon West Coast Brisbane Melbourne Freo Port North

Good point. There are some wondering if too much onus is being put on young players to muscle up and take on a challenge in the forward line that should be at least a year or two away. They worry about both direction and their young mates.

Its arguable there has been NO history with 31 for over 40 years. I think JT would fill it out in all its original "Death or Glory" persona from those ancient times, in better fashion. He seems to have that little bit of [censored] in big games that go hand in glove. There is no other number I embrace at Melbourne. Just an age thing i guess. The fear of a jinx with that particular number is my personal superstition.

Ball wants to play on the MCG I believe. Both for the softer surface and for the fact some games are wet(easy on his groin) and he will not be any slower in the mud. I cant see him wanting to play at Docklands for Essendon. He will end up too sore. I reckon thats why he has avoided their Physical Examination, if as reported, he has. He wants Collingwood as no one plays on the G more than them and he may have been promised to be rested one out of three games.(Im guessing). His dismissal of playing with the Demons is puzzling to me, as we have nearly as many games both on the 'G and outside. Which I suppose exposes my theory...

McPhee just will not go in to a pack to get the ball. He is Ok on his own but most Bomber supporters are very happy to see him go. Why then he wants to play under Mark Harvey is a bit baffling.

Ball can hit targets but not anything over 40 metres. He is slow as well. If Tony Shaw had polish and a few might think so, Luke Ball has a tonne of it. His career was shortened similarly to Woewodin's when he was fashioned into more of an inside mid-fielder as opposed to a running mid. Thats just my opinion but Im more cheesed off about what is on offer, than about Luke Ball. Im hoping there will be more chalk than cheese as we get closer to the PSD. Or should I be hoping for Cheese? Must write to Can We help about that one.

I agree. I believe Cam Bruce or Brad Green will play more games next year than Luke Ball. I also think that Cam Bruce would be more valuable any way you want to look at it. Leadership included. I cant believe so many are dishing crap out to these two by wanting a has-been to come in and take over. Many Saints fans I know think he will struggle to play 10 games next year even if Grant Thomas was coach. I hope we dont get him.