Damo

Am I wrong or did he have a couple of operations on his legs over summer?

I think this should be the year where he really has to show he is our best kick as he once was touted.

At 27(?) Im tipping he will have a really good year. Im a fan.

But on the other side he strikes me as a player who has to play in winning sides to do well on his own game.

Robbo is another IMO, who always plays better when the team is performing.

Green softt? Umm, no. Did you see the marks he took running with the flight of the ball last year? Gutsy. He had a very good 2007. And his footskills are needed, as is his ability to play forward, in the middle or off the back flank

As for Cameron bruce - yes, this could be his last year as a Demon if he doesnt pull his finger out. Lazy, soft and the worst kick in the comp

So I assume thats who you were talking about

That was two years ago now.

Green plays within himself now.

He needs to put his body on the line a bit more. I think Bruce and Yze will need to this year as well.

Im a wrap for Greeny but our experienced players need to show some desperation when the real thing starts.

Execution is very much part of skills.

I dont agree. Hitting targets can be worked on and some players have great skills in this area.

Handballing to stationary teammates, calling for the ball when you are not in a better position and not being aware enough to realise your mate is actually in a worse position are all awareness problems.

They can be practised and theorys may be workshopped but they are not the same.

FWIW Richmond are much worse than us in this area and that is our best hope of beating them on the weekend.

Umm thats if we want to win on the weekend. I keep forgetting the secret plan of "getting under the radar".

A definite loss with probable loss.

Thats very funny.

We are in the collective sh!T but the cockeyed optimism as expected from some quarters mixed with the Hanrahans(we'll all be doomed), has thrown up some funny one liners.

It certainly seems a long way to the top ATM.

Sure, but what's the alternative - rush their rehab? From what I saw in Canberra and considering they played the practice match the following are ready to play now: Carroll, Moloney, Davey, Miller and Frawley. That they didn't is because the club is being conservative - Bailey wanted to look at the players he hasn't seen before and that's fair enough. In the Age the other day he said Riv would probably be 100% by this coming weekend and in Canberra said that if Morton does everything right then he's in line to play about week 3 or 4. The only players I have doubts as to their ability to recover for the season are Whelan and Grimes. Neita will be fine and they are just rapping him in cotton wool, Brock and Ricky will be fine for rd 1 and so will Bruce probably. Bartram is pretty much training at 75-85 % now. CJ trained strongly in Canberra and had a bandage on the next day so I'm assuming it's nothing more than a precautionary measure for a slight niggle as he's moving freely. The only players I'm unsure of in terms of injury are Dunn and Wheaters.

Sorry Graz, I dont believe that Dean Bailey would have sent those young blokes out on such a forlorn mission if Moloney, Davey, Miller and Frawley were available.

If these players(or any other senior players) could play and he didnt play them, it stinks.

As KB said today it was over within 60 seconds. It is unbelievable to me that we would have TRIED to put that team on the park.

If that is genuine though, then I wonder if the strategy "we will sneak under the guard of a few clubs this year" is something that is being considered. Im pretty sad either way but i would prefer to believe our injuries are to blame.

Thanks Goodoil.

I hope you make this a regular.

How I saw it from the Barwon Heads Hotel where I was constantly asked how we managed to hide Dean Bailey from 15 other clubs.

1. Its no use saying how many players we have got to come back, they werent fit to play so we played our best team. Why talk about who isnt fit?

3.Yesterdays team(our current best )is the bleakest outlook in (fill it in yourself) years.

3. Geelong took their foot off the pedal in the second half. Thompson didnt want them to get big heads.

4.We have no leaders.This is our major battle. Those in the leadership group yesterday were pantsed by Jones. Macca is a good ordinary player and NO leader. Green and White lived up to there teammates expectations.

if we cant get some senior players back we wont beat Richmond next week.

It is just the way it is.

Does anyone here still feel sorry for themselves?

Im not Sorry (for myself)

But without having facts on hand, I believe most of the past 10 years can be characterised by our fitness at this time of the year.

When we have a fair few out, we get off on a bad start and go downhill.

If all are fit, even if we dont go well in the NAB cup, internal competition to get into the ones sees plenty of good performances.

This year our outs are very significant and to add insult to injury, it seems that some of the outs are being carefully managed.i.e Rivers, Sylvia and Brock.

The club seems to be telling the fans most of our injured are just niggles.

This rings large bells in my empty head. The club has a history of playing down bad pre-seasons.

To be as generous as I can be, Im tipping a rebuilding year.

I will be pleasantly surprised if I got it wrong...

Carroll - vital key defender

At least someone(else) thinks so.

As I did say "maybe crisis is not the right word......" but it is not that far away.

Our financial position is not sustainable in the medium to long term if MFC is to survive within its current form and we do not have many more roles of the dice to correct this.

Sacking a CEO days before season start, (while necessary) is not a sign of a Club travelling well.

I think that we should think about what Rhino says here.

He is more likely to write something that is supportive of the club than write something negative.

For him to express these concerns tells me we really need to try to urge our mates/family to get on board with memberships and show up at games.

The best thing about that article was that it sounded like Paul gardner was actually in Melbourne.

Not New York, Mt.Everest, The Steve Irwin, Kokoda Track, etc.etc..

I didn't realise that was the case with Morton. He seems like the sort of skilled player that would stand out in an award like this, but if he isn't going to play enough games, I'll save my money for Gumbleton.

It would seem to me that Leuenberger and Gumbleton are good value bets.

I happened to hear a snippet of Greg Denham on KB's show yesterday.

He said that a side issue of Harris' departure was Paul Gardners idea to remove the Demons logo by way of the supposed china link but was more correctly due to being proactive in getting ready for a merger. He said that it was clever thinking by PG.

He then immediatley said it was a large topic for another day. KB let it go with that. They then went to talkback about the Harris departure and I had to turn off.

Im surprised no-one else has brought it up or else they have and I missed that topic

Harris sacked as reported in "Breaking News".

Strong word that CC's little mate is coming back.

Harris forced lots of people out who worked in the office. 75% turnover.

With a bad result, he has been pushed out by PG who flew back from NY (does this guy spend any time in Melbourne?). I'm not a fan of Cameron Schwab and thought CC would find a path for him to return. I bet it was a done deal 6 months ago.

This is not good news IMO

And at $13 return per ticket is about one third of the price per person of a full 25 seater bus.

No one who calls them selves a good sport should let Carlton off the hook.

Im still dirty that we didnt undertake the due diligence with Kelvin templeton 28 years ago. (build a bridge...)

We were a laughing stock for taking his word that he was fit.

Many reckon he is a good bloke and forget we had a titan at CHF who couldnt move 20 metres to mark the thing.

We were so desperate we kept playing him.

I do not wish the Blues good luck with Judd.

Their complete lack of even a veil of morality and sportsmanship should bring them the bad Karma they deserve. Even Brett Rattan whom I thought was fair has sniggered at losing the match with us that secured Kreuzer.

I have much more respect for the Magpies these days than those cheats.

Sensational report and photos!

So I guess Davey, Whelan and Bartram are the only blokes that will certainly miss the NAB CUP early weeks.

Exactly what I was going to ask BBP.

If anyone knows:

Other than those three, are all the other boys eg Rivers Neiter Wheatley Mclean Colin and Greeny all considered to be in the main group?

Who is supposed to be OK to go but is in "Cotton Wool" (which I read as Rehab).

It is getting near February when we look to see who is really going OK.

It is absolute madness that in the hottest matches where the players are still working to full fitness, the AFL would allow an extended bench but then restrict interchange. The NAB Cup is a joke competition anyway, but these rules deserve the criticism they are getting. Still, not surprising for the same league that implemented the technical and rubbish hands-in-the-back rule.

I think 64 changes a game is plenty. It is a Pro-active step that tries to get around coaches looking for ways to avoid rules.

It cant be that restricting and I for one think the hands in the back rule had to come in and just needs to be enforced correctly.

It is difficult for umpires but it is way better than the blatant push outs that coaches were training backs(and forwards) to engineer.

Each time a rule is tried or changed seems to be because coaching staff are on the lookout for ways to get around the spirit of the game, in an effort to gain an edge.

i think (and hope) wheatley runs in the midfield not off the backline, with bell taking the medium forwards...

Why do so many think Wheatley is going to suddenly become a player that has earnt his spot? He plays 2 or 3 decent games each year and you hear he has finally made it. I rate him with C.Johnson. Please dont tell me about NAB nine pointers, How many has he kicked? 2? or 3? He has been there 8 years.

Green(for example) is much more important but is regularly dismissed as soft.

I think that this is solely because he has a face full of expression in tight spots(um, yes he looks scared!)

Miller is castigated but puts pressure on the opposition.

The disparaging of Nathan Carroll annoys and confounds me. Even if rivers has a stellar year, and that would be after a sh!t pre-season, we need Carroll.

Paul Wheatley doesnt effect any pressure at all. Skill alone is not enough.

Other sides that have been down like Richmond and Carlton are finally getting better because they have delisted players that dont just promise. The tigers adding Newman to the leadership is a change for the better for them.

If Wheatley and Chris Johnson get regular games we are not going to get far.

I would rather play someone who shows a bit, no matter how raw. And raw we now have plenty of.

For these conflicting reasons, I dont think the love currently being shown for Dean Bailey is going to last past April.

I hope he enjoys his Honeymoon.

The age is home delivered. Front page, Sport - look for Football news. Quiz. markets.

herald-Sun Online, AFL news.

Demonland.

Once a week see what Ology is about. I feel more distant from them now than I have ever felt before.

Neiter is well past his best and well may be appointed captain because there isnt an obvious option.

If he is captain it is a choice he will make for the club more than for himself, Bailey has let him decide.

It is a shame we dont have someone in the wings, but it isnt Neiters fault.

We arent the only club with this dilemma.

Ive been told there is no one at the Bulldogs willing to Captain. Is this better or worse than our position?

The Bullies are not happy to even play for Eade, much less be his Captain, but Johnno gets the job, because he is a clubman.

I dont see its necessary for so many to come down so hard on a first time poster who didnt express himself very well.

The author is the songwriter and singer Paul Kelly.

this is from the preface to "Footy Almanac 2007" by John Harms. I think it is in bookshops now.

Paul, plus 10 or 15 others and I have been doing circle work for 10 years.

He is 50 and still goes alright, here is his left foot.

I have a blunt brain and absolutely no desire to analyse.

This has been a terrific discussion. Im sorry I didnt contribute.

Fatty you are a gem.

Craig,

Thanks very much for your work and for taking the time to come on board.

I hope you have good luck.

But I cant wish the same for the Tigers

cheers

Valenti. Its taken a while.

I would think the only rookie to get a game at the Demons next year will be Shane Valenti especially If Jones is out for any reason.