Redleg

I was very impressed with Buckley's disposal by hand in close. He was often in heavy traffic but set up several plays with a smart handball. This was in stark contrast to a game a few weeks ago at Sandy where he continually tried to beat the field and looked ordinary. He has height, speed, good vision and good disposal. He is a chance with improvement and confidence to become a regular.

I think there are two types of premiership players. There are the ones that actually win you a flag because of the way they play and there are the others who were lucky enough to get in the side on the day. Every club has plenty of the second group. It is the first group that are the standard of what a real premiership player should be. Nevertheless all of them are called "premiership players".

Can you please explain to me how he has gone back on his word? Was Daniher sacked or did he resign? What is wrong with having a review during the season and coming to a conclusion that can be implemented as soon as the season ends? Would you prefer to wait until the end of the season then have a review and then if the conclusion was to seek a new coach start looking for one in January? All clubs and businesses continually review performance throughout the year, to not do so would be negligent. What you are appearing to be suggesting is that as soon as the word "review" was mentioned Daniher was "sacked" and we all know that is not true. Neale chose to not seek another contract probably because he suspected his contract would not be renewed. The President has NOT broken his promise and to suggest otherwise is to distort the truth. PS. Thanks Neale for the effort you have put into the MFC and good luck in the future.

Mrs. Redleg and I attended all Victorian games this year to round 9 and then left for overseas where we are now. Guess what 9 losses. As soon as we left two wins. Send money and we will stay away until the end of the footy season. We are thrilled with the wins and we are proudly wearing our Melbourne gear in Sweden. Go Dees.

Correct. Its like not buying a shirt until it goes on sale when the season is nearly over. The difference here is the money goes to keep your club around. Also I think there were some freebies like scarves that may not still be on offer now anyway.

Amen.

Who was that old lady who barged through our off the field huddle at TBO yesterday ? Reminded me of Dermie.

Fair enough. I saw both boys play yesterday and was impressed. Frawley for his first game back was methodical, safe, quick and effective. He has height, pace and reads the game. With natural improvement and body development he is a real chance to be a long term player. Newton is different. He is an excitement player. The huge leap. The pick up off the ground at full pace. The long bomb. The mercurial snap. The chase down from meters behind the ball carrier. This boy to me shows real talent. Could have kicked 7 instead of 2.5 yesterday. If things go alright for this kid with his talent and big body, which will get stronger, we could have our next key forward. Incidentally, Neaves is bigger and stronger than last year and is shaping as our next ruckman. He managed to get many possessions around the ground and with some improvement is also a chance to play for the Dees.

My defence worked. He got off because he said he couldn't see properly because of the blood dripping into his eyes.

How will we fit them into the side?

Calm down Jaded, you are forgetting how hot it was on Sunday. Godfrey fainted. West was jogging away from him to get him a glass of water. Also on the Dutchy case his defence is either the blood dripping into his eyes from the head butt he didn't get from Johnson disoriented him, ( he couldn't see what he was grabbing ), or the disgusting sledge he got from Johnson. We know that gets you off.

Anyone looking at why Godfrey fainted on the wing, with West leaving the scene?

I forgot about that one. I wish someone would tell/show the boys that the way to pass, is to kick the ball low, allowing the receiver to meet the ball, not kick it over his head or up in the air. It is silly that I have to even mention it, as it is the most basic skill a footballer learns as a kid. End to end drills are based on the pass.

Is there a worse kicking side in the league? Three examples on Sunday, all with no pressure. 1. Carroll 40 out and on the full. 2. White 40 out and on the full. 3. Miller 45 out and falls shots by 15 meters. Oh boy !

Agreed.

I hate to umpire bash but they hace contributed heavily to our last two losses. Some points : 1. Cooney acknowledged the ball was out and threw it back to Carroll and went onto the mark. Why didn't the umpires accept this admission. If it was cricket the player would be being called back when he has walked and admitted he was out. That is nonsense. 2. Whether Junior got Cross in the back I will leave to others, but in the last quarter right near umpire McLaren, West fell onto Juniors back and lay on top of him, as the ball went into our goalsquare and then was rebounded for a Dogs goal. It was shown clearly on the replay and should have been a free kick in our goal square. 3. 5 frees to Dogs none to us in the last quarter. 4. Umpire Mclaren standing meters from Davey at half forward in the last quarter when he was dragged to the ground with the ball meters away. You guessed it play on and another Dogs goal. 5. A soft touch on the shoulder by Warnock in the first quarter to Giansiracusa a free and goal 10 meters out and the comment from Tim Watson, soft but technically correct, yet Miller, Neitz and Sylvia in bear hugs not allowed to go for the ball, play on. Need I go on. I am not blaming the umpires alone but we seem to cop this more than our fair share. How many frees does Neita get a year? The answer is very few and on last years stats he was the lowest free kick received full forward in the AFL yet one of the highest against. maybe we should be more dramatic and go to ground a-la Lloyd and milk some. PS. Back Scott West to have no case to answer for Godfrey " fainting " om the wing and being in the hands of trainers for a few minutes as West jogged away from him as he lay on the ground.

I actually thought one bloke killed us and cost us the game. He wore number 11 and was in a yellow top.

Who said Newton would have to play at Full Forward on Harris? He has played half forward and wing for Sandy. I will quote Malthouse ( 5 wins ) " I will keep bringing in the young boys they are the future of the club".

Great effort by the membership department. Shows the gulf we have to deal with when Freo is at 43000.

After a hard tiring day at the office you have brought a smile to my face.

Agree Maurie. I think we also lack genuine pace in the midfield. Even our injured midfielders are not quick. This lack of pace when combined with poor skill, sees us continually fail to gain the ball in the contest area.

Rhino, I am not buying into the discussion on Neale playing youngsters. I am happy to hear you say that you think Newton and Buckley are close after their games today. Unfortunately I couldn't make it to see the Zebras today but from what I have read and been told both boys played well. I think everyone naturally gets excited at the prospect of the new boys playing as we finally get a chance to see them. It is probably more important in the current climate while we are losing and all feeling low. Seeing a new boy make his debut adds excitement to a game that otherwise may be somewhat flat the way we are performing. The fact that a boy like Petterd does well is a real bonus. It heralds the start of a new career. I personally am not too upset if a debutant doesn't play well, as in the case of Garland, as the upside of a game under the belt is beyond estimation. That said I hope Newton gets a game very soon and that Buckley is not far behind him.

See my post on the Who is Responsible thread.

Had lunch today with Beach Road Barry and he couldn't believe we rookied Hayes who has disappeared, instead of Shane Valenti from Sandy. Shane is in great form and Hayes was a kid with who had baggage. This post is not a knock of our recruiting department but rather seeking an understanding of why some decisions were made.

I have just watched the first half of the Anzac Day match and Davey has 3 goals plus is assisting with others. He trained with us for a whole pre-season. How is it possible that we didn't even rookie him, given that we saw him close up for that long?