flamindees

The more I read about Jack Darling and Billie Smedts, the convinced i am that if both are available to us at pick 12, that Smedts is the best option. His Draft camp numbers i think were out standing; 1st in agility, 7th in kicking assessment- 63%, 9th in 20m sprint and, 10th in Standing vertical jump I'd be interested to know which, if any other players finished in the top 10 of four or more categories at the draft camp. Added to this is his ability to be able to know when to leave his man to attack- he appears to be a great attacking defender and if Stauss as hoped, then it should mean that Grimes, Davey and Green need not be needed there, therefore allowing DB the luxury of playing them in more attacking roles. With Darling, I think he'd make a great addition to the forward line as the 3rd tall as well as small stints in the midfield and relief ruckman but I also feel that he has the chance of sliding quite a considerable way- all the way to 32 is unlikely but with his off season head injury and reported attitude issues, you never know. Who would have predicted that Matthew Panos would slide all the way to the Rookie Draft last year? I don't think we'll have such a good defensive option such as Smedts available at pick 32, but i do think there'll be a third tall option, maybe even Darlin available at 32!

Nice to see Nathan Jones making it to the event tonite after suffering such a serious and painful injury on Sunday- great effort!!!!

With Melbourne more than likely to use only three picks in the upcomingng draft, i'd like to see them use a mix of Good, slightly above average yet surplus players, a youngster who's had a couple of years on the list but for whatever reasons, is unable to even a get a regular game, let alone own a spot in the seniors and early to mid-round draft picks to win earlier draft picks. Warnock is still a very good player but has slid down the pecking order this year- he could easliy slot straight in as Gold Coast's fullback Matthew Bate has also slid down the pecking order and with the return of Petterd and the emergance of Tapscott, will slide even further- he would also make Gold Coast best 22, if not starting 18. And Adam Maric looks further away than ever from being a regular in Melbourne's seniors, maybe a achange of scenery and a fresh start at a new club is what he needs to improve and possibly live up to his potential as a #21 draft pick- he could still be an attractive option to a club building there list from scratch. A possible trade scenario that i'd like to see is; Gold Coast get Bate,Maric,Warnock,plus our second and third round picks- they'll still be picking players after pick fifty, so having extra picks below that point should be an attractive option to them. In exchange, Melbourne gets picks 13 and 27. On face value, it may appear that we are getting stiffed on a deal like this, but reality is you gotta give something good to get something good and I think at the very least we will break even, if not outright win on this deal Picks 12, 13 and 27 should all be very good picks and the kind of players I'd like to get are; 12- KPF the physical Johnathon Brown Kind 13 KPD another Chip and 27 A small, highly skilled and mean defender

I think the more one on ones Liam has within 40 metres from goal, the better, he's also extremely dangerous as a winger/ half forward flank. I'd like to see him spend around 75% of his ground time leading out of the goalsquare and the rest closer to midfield alternating positions with the likes of Green, Pettard and Sylvia. with Watts playing the traditional CHF position with maybe 15-20% of his ground time in the goalsquare. I'd also look for Trengove resting in the goalsquare a bit more too- a role he was quite effective at in SANFL

Jack Darling has also played a fair bit of senior football with West Perth this year and although a few centimetres shorter than a traditional forward/ruckman, appears to be highly skilled in a number of areas, is versatile, has very good endurance seeing as he's been used in a midfield role and he can also take centre ruck contests- i'd be interested to see how he goes at the vertical leap at draft camp. Not to mention that he seems to enjoy and welcome a physical contest- if he's willing to do this when he's only 18- I can't wait to see him doing it at 22 when our premiership window will be wide open.

These guys are fringe players at the worst club in the league- the eagles are gonna have as much difficulty in off-loading these guys as we did in 07-09. Lynch was uninjured this year yet could only manage 8 goals in 13 games so why would we want to pick up a guy who is older and less productive than Matthew Bate- a player many posters here consider tradable- toatally defies logic!!! Mitch Brown, due to his age and the fact his 08 season was ruined by a torn ACL, appear to be the only attractive player out of those mention- there does appear to be some upside with him

Darling has been used quite a bit in West Perth's midfield this season- he's kinda like a young Brad Green but slightly taller and more physical- if he slides in the draft and attitude issues are minor or unfounded, then he's definately worth looking at

If Garland is used in a more attaking role and I think he will be, particularly if he's able to complete a full, uninterrupted preseason, then there is a place for MacNamara in defense if his form warrants it.

Warnocks best days are behind him. Rivers and Garland's history of injury will always be in the back of everybody's mind. Plus, hopefully Garland will have a full preseason and be at peak fitness- he may be used up forward a lot more. Hopefully the likes of Jack fitzpatrick will follow Scully's examples he sets over summer and fasttracks his development somewhat- i'd certainly like to see him given a shot or two in the forward line during the pre-season comp and maybay an early home and away game or two! Another key backman just starting to find his way in his 3rd season in 2013 is extactly what we will need- there should be a good number of options available at pick 12- unless there is a KPF who for whatever reason slides to us at 12 and is the best player available then obviously we take him. Who knows, maybe we show MacNamara a little faith and he finally comes good. other than that happening, we should go defense first this draft.

I think Trengove and Scully were best 22 after round 1. Scary to think what Scully's gonna do next year after having a full pre-season and given the competativeness between Scully And Trengove, expect Jack to lift his game considerably too- be interesting to see if the other youngsters follow their examples.

Definately not!!! To be dropped four times in one season by this years, wooden spooners pretty much says it all. Our forward line is going to improve from within- I like our forward setup- it just needs physical maturation, to play more games together and for the ball to be delivered into the forward line more often- the scoring shots to inside 50s ratio is actually pretty good. We need to find some more depth in defense, particularly another Chip like key defender because if he goes down for an extended period of time, there really isn't a suitable back up for him. With our first pick being somewhere between 12-17, there should still be one or two suitable players available.

I think the big Q's best football is well and truly behind him, to be dropped four times in one season by the league's worst team is a pretty damming stastic. One player who I think may be worth considering is Chris Tarrant. According to the WA media, he and is wife want to return to Victoria and he is someone who can fulfill a need down back, at least in the shortterm. He was a very good forward, both at the filth and the first part of his career as a focker, but since he has re-invented himself as a key defender, he has moved onto the elite status. We have a very good back six but as far as key defenders go, there really isn't much backup. The game seems to be passing Matthew Warnock by at a rapid rate and to put it kindly, the jury is still out on Martin and MacNamara. Who replaces Chip if he goes down for an extended period of time? In the past we've robbed Peter to pay Paul by using the likes of Dunn, Bruce and Morton to plug holes down back, can we afford to keep doing this moving forward? In my opinion, we can't so I think this is an issue that needs to be resolved quickly, what is now our strength can quickly become our weakness if we don't address this. I think we need another mobile gorilla down back who is ready to go now, as well as I think we should use our first draft pick on the best available key defender, who will be ready to go by 2013/14 when we're gonna be pushing for the top4 and a possible grand final birth. The only question mark surrounding Tarrant is that he turns 30 next year, but if he can keep his body together for 3 or 4 more years, is he worth the gamble?? I don't think we should look at trading for a key forward this year as I think the building blocks are already pretty much in place, physical matuaration and the return of Petterd will make them better, they're already quite efficient at converting inside 5o's into scoring shots, the mid-field just needs to it in there more often. The midfield with the return of primemovers like Grimes and the physical maturation of the younsters, will also improve this unit greatly, therefore our inside 50's will vastly increase.

Totally agree with that- we actually convert a very healthy percentage of inside 50's into scoring shots, unfortunately in most games- even the ones we win, the opposition seem to still have considerably more inside 50's than we do. Hopefully, with full seasons from the likes of Morton, Jurrah,Garland(who will become our swingman next year once he's had a preseason and is fully fit again) Grimes and Sylvia- the introduction into the seniors of Blease and Tapscott and the physical maturation of our young midfielders allowing them to win more contested ball in the middle, should go a long way to rectifying this disparity. I really don't think we need to trade for a Leigh Brown type forward, or anybody for that matter, not until we're a top 4 contender and we actually have players who represent good trade value- the only veterans we have that fit the bill i think are Sylvia,Jamar, Green and Davey and none of them are going anywhere! Rivers, Garland and Moloney all have histories of long term injuries and would represent too much of a risk for any team wanting to recruit them although Carlton's recruiters appear to be pretty gullible! Our young guns aren't for sale, all that really leaves i think are Dunn, Bate And Warnock- although the game appears to be passing Warnock by rapidly- i think this is probably the only chance we'll get to offload him for something worthwhile in return- maybe send him to Adelaide as part of a package deal to get Chris Knights to Melbourne- the only trade i consider worthwhile for the Dees this year Then hopefully we can use our 1st round pick on a key defender, preferably in the Chip mould, as I believe this is actually our most glaring need moving forward!!!

In- Sylvia, MacDonald, Miller( deserves a farewell game!) Out- Newton, Warnock, Bail

Being our home game, you'd like to think we could get a turnout of 35-40000 depending on the weather and really, who's gonna show up if we put a B grade team out on the ground so they can get smashed by North. We need our best side possible out there in order to get over the line and i'm sure the youngsters will be able to suck it up for one more week. The players are gonna be pretty embarrassed by their efforts today and i'm sure they'll be desparate to make amends in Junior's farewell match- the off season lasts a long time and one more game isn't gonna hurt them- i wish i could get over there for the game!!!

I don't think there's anything wrong with critisising Jack when it's warranted, he has made a number of mistakes in pretty much every game that he's played, but at the same time the only people who can't see the improvement in Jack's game every time he takes the field are the one's who aren't looking for it!!! Jack is the kind of player who in order to grow as a footballer, needs to play against the best- what's he gonna learn in the VFL?? How to play the game at half pace?? He'll stagnate there very quickly. These kids are growing together and need to play together as much as possible to form a cohesive unit where they trust each other and can anticipate what each other will do on the field and when one of them is going through a form slump they should work through it in the seniors rather than going back to a minor league- it will not improve their game much if at all. I think Jack's a competitive animal who thrives on the best competition,adversity and being told that he can't do something, in the last 18 months he has been brutalised both on the field and in the press sometimes failry, most often not, but through it all he hasn't shied away for a second, hasn't given up- if there's a 19 year old in the league who's metally tougher than Jack can someone point him out to me- Intestinal fortitude isn't a stat that can be measured but it seems to me that Jack oozes it!! Stay tuned people- we are witnessing a star being born!!!!!

For one thing, these kids are a highly professional and competitive group- i doubt if any of them will be putting there hands up to finish two weeks early regardless of how tired they're feeling, if anyone deserves a rest, it's Jamar and i don't think he'd wanna stop now either.Another thing is Junior's 250th game this week followed by his possible farewell game against North- not to mention the fact that they are still mathematically alive in the finals race!! I think anyones who's still physically able to play will be making sure they do everything they can to be a part of the 22 these last two weeks. I've supported Melbourne for 33 years( No mean feat considering i grew up in the Pilbara region of WA- you wouldn't believe the shyte i've copped on the dees befalf over the years!!)and this young group of players that's been assembled has given me more hope in 18 months than any other Melbourne team has ever given and it's not just because of their natural ability- it's that there's no quit in them- through all the many mistakes Jack Watts has made in his dozen or so senior games- and lets face it- he's made a lot so far, but he has never dropped his head and said "please Mr Bailey, put me back in the reserves so that i can dominate in an easier competition" has hasn't sulked, hasn't gone back into his shell and hasn't run away- none of these kids have- they get back up, dust themselves off and throw themselves into the next contest- these kids are made of the right stuff!! Watching the likes of Watts, MacKenzie,Scully and Trengove these past 18 months remainds me of the Dallas Cowboys Football club in 1990- the year they Drafted Troy Aikman,Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin and threw them to the wolves playing them in the 3 most important offensive positions from day one, where they were hammered, both on the field and in the media- the team finished with a 1-15 win/loss record and Aikman as quarterback, was sacked by opposition defenses a record amount of times but these guys and their coaching staff stood firm, they fought and persisted and fast forward to 1996 and they're celebrating their third Superbowl title in the space of four years. I think our kids our made of the same stuff that the Dallas Cowboys were made of- all that's missing at the moment is physical strength and big game experience (hopefully the Cowboys drug, gun and hooker culture will be missing too!!!)- the strength will be attained when they hit the gym these next few summers and make no mistake about it, these final two(and still possibly more)games are huge for the Melbourne Football Club- even though both games will be lucky to attract a combined crowd of 45000, i find it hard to believe that any of these kids will want to voluntarily miss playing in their captains 250th, his possible final match and maybe even a final or two!! A lot of the losses we've had this year- if they'd occured in the previous two seasons would have been cosiderably greater- possibly in the triple didget figures. It's no accident that our biggest losing margin this year is only 56 points- hardly a blowout- the team really seems to have embraced a never say die culture this year- something that's gonna hold them in very good stead in future seasons when they're perennial finalists and that is why- to cut a long story short- our kids won't be put on ice two week early- a thoroughly ridiculous suggestion in fact. Phew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think MacNamara does deserve another year, if not on the senior list, then definately as a rookie- he may not have set the world on fire but he hasn't stunk either. We've been lucky this year in that none of our tall defenders have missed an extended period of time through injury but the fact is Rivers and Garland have both missed a lot of football through serious injury- if we lose them both at the same time next year and we'd delisted MacNamara and possibly traded Warnock as one or two people here have suggested then we're suddenly in a lot of trouble down back. I think we do have a very good back six when fit but not enough depth there and i would hope that we would use at least one of our draft picks on a key defender. As for the other five players you mentioned, Meeson,Newton and Healey aren't on the Senior list and are irrelevant to this discussion and i think it's obvious to everyone that the other two, Bell and Miller are gone So that's two senior players you advocate delisting which amounts to the minimal list turnover that i Suggested so i'm no sure what you're disagreeing with me about. What i'm hoping that Bailer and Barry Pendergast don't go looking for any shortcuts during trade week- in fact, i'd be happy if they didn't attend at all- the seem to be pretty good at growing there own at the moment and i see no need for them to do anything differently this off-season.

B plus, the positives this year have been enormous- all of our youngsters have played well when given the oppotunity We havent been blown out by 10plus goals in any games Beating a top 8 side in Sydney by 12 goals Creditable performances against and Dogs Winning more than double the amount of games won last year having three possible All- australian nominations and at least three rising star nominations Only negatives i can think of are the unexpected losses to West coke and North and the stinkers in Round 1 against Hawthorn, then the Carlton and Adelaide games- like i said thought the positives far outweigh the negatives Can't wait for next year!!!!!

No trading this year- we need to keep stock-piling young talent, i think we've done such a good job with drafting the past couple years i think we should be looking for a minimal list turnover this year.

How good was that pick-up off the ground and goal against i think Tasmania?? His ball-handling skills below his knees are phenomenal for a player of his hight- his pickup and hanball to Miller in the Darwin game is another great example of this. I'm absolutely certain all that remains for him to become the complete package is 15kg and a bit of self confidence- i have no doubt we made the right choice in drafting him- he's gonna make it, just be patient!!

One point about Jack Darling that seems to have been missed is that he's played the majority of his junior football as a midfielder. Don't know about anybody here but I think that if other clubs are dumb enough to let a midfielder who is more than handy as a key position forward fall to us , than they're had better be a bloody good player that we take instead!! Don't forget that at 17, he's 189cm, 93kg and i'd imagine he probably still has a little bit more growth in him too!! We'd be crazy to discount him due to a percieved lack of height especially if he so many other thinngs going for him such as competitivness,awareness,ball winning ability goal scoring ability, ability to apply defensive pressure mental attitude and footy smarts!! I'd also be interested to see how impressive his vertical leap and beep test is- so looking forward to his draft camp performance if he looks the goods and he's available, then i'd definately want BP to consider drafting him!! Go Dees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got my ticket for the game- can't wait- saw him live a few weeks ago when Sturt mauled West Adelaide and he was close to best on ground- he's such a smart player, does a lot of good things that the tv cameras don't pick up- never stops running, doesn't get in the way of teamates, doesn't clog up space in the forward line and can lay a pretty brutal tackle when he gets a hold of someone, his disposal and composure under pressure is excellent- gonna be so disappointed if we don't draft him!!! Given that he's adjusted to playing against men with such apparent ease, i definately think that there a case for taking him #1

Steven Stretch was an excellent servant of the Melbourne Football Club- A best and fairest and All Australian- at a time when Melbourne finally became a decent team after so many years of [censored]!!i've noticed on here a number of posts about him have questioned his courage- what a crock- he deserves so much better from so called Melbourne supporters who want to trash his reputation because of the 88 grand final disaster- wasn't just his fault there were 19 other players out there that day!! How can we expect ex players to continue to publicly embrace the club when so many of our "supporters" disown them once they're gone and try to minimise their contribution to the club- once a Demon always a Demon- have a bit of respect for anyone who wore our jumper, no matter how good or bad they are/were!!!

No coverage of the game here in SA- Sounds like another disappointing fade out! Better players? Any injuries??