Redleg

If you think Cook with his displays at Casey has shown as much as Butcher in the worst side in the AFL kicking 6 goals, then we are on a completely different page. That is not to say that Cook won't improve but at the moment he has shown nothing IMO. In fact at Skilled Stadium I saw him pull out twice and then he was dropped to the reserves. Butcher is a year older also and could turn out to be a top player. As for the forward line I said that Watts at the moment was the only tall forward we have, but that others might come on. If Butcher came to us we would have two good talls right away plus any others that come on. Pretty simple really.

Butcher was the meat, Salopek could be a spud.

Read my post number 498 and think of meat.

Agree our defence is our bright spot. As you say we need a hard bodied mid or two to turn things around. Oh how I wish we had been harder on Ferguson and virtually forced his move to the Hawks. Then we would be far better off with Sewell in our mid field instead of the 1 extra nothing year we got from Ryan. On another note and this will bring howls I am sure. I would consider trading Jamar home to Port for Butcher and even another lesser player like Maric, Bate to get the deal done. That would give us the big players we need up forward with Cook, McDonald and Fitzy to come. Rationale is Jamar is getting towards 30 and we have Martin, Gawn, Spencer, Fitzpatrick, the shorter McDonald who has rucked and Campbell rookied. The younger ones need developing and we are not a flag contender for at least a couple of years. The first 4 are genuine rucks and not all can play there or in the same team. It is an area that hopefully we will be ok in. Also Jamar often seems to be injured and has a foot problem, that won't go away. A forward line of Watts and maybe no one else as a tall forward is not a winning combination. Butcher, Watts, Jurrah and one of the rucks resting forward with Howe, Petterd, Sylvia etc is a good forward line. That would leave only the mid field for improvement. OK everyone start screaming.

I think I have managed my expectations, they have just proved to be wrong. I thought we would be more competitive when losing, wrong. I thought we would develop a modern gameplan, wrong. I thought more individual players would improve than have improved, for example Gysberts, Grimes, Scully, Petterd, Dunn, Jurrah, Aussie, Bennell, etc, wrong. I know Watts and Martin have been improvers but they are in general in the minority. I also know Grimes was injured but he wasn't playing that well before he got injured, especially in regards to his disposal. I thought Cook would do better at Casey than he has and yes I know he is skinny and young but I wasn't expecting Carey, wrong. I thought we would go into a game against the Suns on the G as absolute certainties, wrong. I thought things were going well off the field and that everyone was focussed and pulling together, wrong. I thought we would finish just inside or outside the eight, wrong. I thought a couple of weeks ago that we would finish with 10.5 wins, wrong. Heaven forbid it could be 7.5 wins and that wouldn't shock me. I didn't think I would ever go to Skilled stadium again and I did and I sat through every second of the game and aslo half the Casey game and I won't ever go back, wrong. I thought we would end the season with me feeling optimistic and I don't at the moment, wrong. I never thought that I would be watching the season be hindered by the possible loss of our priority draft pick, who we suffered so much to get and then end up not caring either way as a cracked patella surfaced, wrong. I never thought that the whole football community would condemn our leadership group and rightly so, wrong. I will stop there as I could go on a lot longer. I understand that one needs to be realistic with an assessment of where we are at but I look at Carlton and note they were last in 2007 yet this will be their third finals in a row, West Coast were last in 2010 and look at them and Essendon who are not great and have a stack of injuries will play finals. Yes you can say that at West Coast the leaders stood up but it is more than that, they play as a disciplined team to a game plan. I understand the need for patience and you know Fan that I have been patient, but after 47 years it is wearing thin. Still as they say in the classics, there is always next year and the next.

Interesting to look at the players featured on the Demonland banner. Three are not playing, three are in poor form and only Chip is going well. Maybe that goes part of the way to explaining our current situation.

I was really hoping that Fitzy would get a game sunday just to see how he went and to give him a feel for it. I have always thought that a player who has had a senior game is more enthusiastic and confident the following pre season. After a senior game they have a sense of belonging and also belief that they can go on with it. Hopefully he gets a chance next week and maybe another along with him. Hope Tom McDonald has a good game.

Glad to hear that. I was still disappointed though I know he is not a sprinter and not all horses handle the synthetic track. Hopefully toady will be better. On another note, I actually have disliked this season far worse than 2008 and 2009. Those seasons had a purpose, this one to me was a train wreck. Can't wait for it to end.

Needs more ground, he is being trained to stay. Hopefully Le Beau Cheval does better saturday.

A good game by Fitzy at Casey might see him debut in the last round.

Really good you tube.

He seems a bit slow for a mid. Certainly can take a mark, can play forward, but doesn't seem a true mid.

First the diet. No good, I have as much application as our forwards do with the forward press. Doesn't help that WJ and Mrs. WJ keep asking Mrs. Redleg out for dinner which means I get dragged along kicking and screaming. I am going to have to apply myself and show some guts and determination. By the way WJ has become a grandfather again with his 5th, Alexis Poppy. Mother and father (Demonland Andy) all thrilled with new Demon. Interesting you pin hope on Grimes and some poster on Demonology suggests trading him. Can't believe it. Would have thought he is one of our brightest hopes. As for the midfield I would have thought we have a couple of big bodied boys in Beamer and Jones and that a few others could put on some more muscle. Not sure JT is a midfielder but he is not small. Wonder if Tapscott could play some mid field. Yes it may be another hard year but we seemed to be improving last year and then slipped back this year. Maybe next year can see some dramatic improvement. We will also find out the answer to "is he going or staying" soon.

Scratched friday running saturday.

Eddie is now bleating about another big name player going to GWS. We can eliminate Pies players so it will be interesting to see what eventuates. Hear from Carlton supporters that Jordan Russell is off to GWS and that is why they are not playing him.

That is very telling.

Le Beau Cheval friday at Bathurst 1.55 PM. Might now be Saturday Newcastle at 3.02 PM.

Love your enthusiasm. Not based on past performances though.

That to me is his only possibility of remaining with the MFC.

Hope it doesn't affect the rumoured sponsorship. Might be a face saving exercise to allow someone to seek alternative employment not due to a termination.

Hey, what about me. I am an AFL level 2 Coach. As well as junior coaching I am an undefeated coach of the Demonland team. Seriously, there appears to be no one on the Sub Committee with Coaching experience in the AFL. Surely that would have been helpful.

Agree. Have watched the incident about 10 times and you are totally correct. There was no free and then Martin played on handballing to Cotchin and Bartram chased Cotchin. No one except McBurney knew what was happening. I have also noticed that McBurney in the games he has umpired against us has nearly every time paid the other side a free within 30 seconds of the start and often a 50 as well. In the game against the Eagles last week he incorrectly paid a free for running into the square at a bounce when we in fact only had 3 in the square at the time. Then a few minutes later in what appeared a square up he paid a dubious mark to us close to goal. Makes a lot of mistakes.

More change at the club with the CEO CS to go once he finds another job. Reported tonight on 10 News.

Chaplin at Geelong friday is the next runner.

Might run next week.