The Great Pretender

It’s all a bit strange to me. Firstly, the blokes on the MFC list who didn’t play in the JLT game like Declan Keilty, Dion Johnstone etc. aren’t getting real match time into their legs with the season just a few weeks away. Secondly, why would Casey need to have a VFL list of 30 players if there are no ressies?

If Ling's any good and he plays for the Falcons then you can be sure the Cats will know all about him and because they have a few picks ahead of 29, they'll strike first.

Minor disappointment that we weren't able to (or didn't want to) trade up to get an early second round pick which might have opened up a chance to draft a better player of the type we need. Perhaps, the FD think that our list is pretty good to run with and the next induction of draftees will be developed over time.

I don't understand why the club doesn't retain Corey Maynard as a Category B rookie for another year to enable it to have room if required for a pick in the rookie draft?

6. Nathan Jones 5. Cam Pedersen 4. Clayton Oliver 3. James Harmes 2. Angus Brayshaw 1. Jordan Lewis

My guess is the reason why we would pay for him would be to play some good footy.

This bloke looks the part U18: No.1 pick fancy guides Vic Country home Even has a hyphenated name so should fit in well with ANB and JKH.

Yesterday I came across a copy of the preseason game v Bulldogs which I kept for some reason. Among the missing from that game tomorrow were Hogan (4 goals), Weideman (2 goals) and Gawn, Brayshaw and J Smith were among our best. Think about that!

I thought the game was very entertaining - in a perverse sort of way.

Great to see:- Best of the Melbourne goals

The rest of the headline says Hogan's OK.

In: Kent, Tyson Out: J Smith (shoulder), Vince (suspended)

Four months ... and that means he goes back to the rookie list at least until he recovers.

What?

Correct. Rooey has an elite tank. Watts doesn't. He would be chopped up chasing his tail.

Statistically the Pies won the game in most facets of the game. When you win the clearances 43 to 25 and have more contested and uncontested possessions you should win. Even their %age of disposal efficiency was only marginally behind the doggies. In the end it was a few weak links on their part and maybe had the mark been paid to Moore, they might have brought home the bacon in the end.

Fact: Jack Watts is 0 - 16 at the Docklands.

Being able to kick long and with accuracy is only one attribute. More importantly, you need to get the ball often and be able to defend ferociously when you don't have it. If he hasn't caught your eye to date, that might suggest that he needs to do a lot more work to justify a spot on the list. However, as you say, it's still early days.

That's what amateur football is all about, isn't it?

No qualms about our list in 2017 being better than it was last year but what about the other clubs? They also claim they'll be better.

Not sure if the alleged debt claim amounted to us being in the same financial mess we were in when CS took over because when he left, we were substantially better off in terms of net assets.

Do we really need to go there for the umpteenth time? The buck stopped with CS and when the time came he resigned honourably instead of allowing the club to plunge deeper in trouble. There were plenty of others who didn't perform at the club who you can't say that about and when it's all said and done there's a conga line of failed CEOs on your criteria because, you might not have noticed, but we haven't won a flag since the days when Jimmy Cardwell ran the show.

Makes his story even more tragic IMO

In case it hasn't been mentioned anywhere, the two youth academy lads at training are both from the Dandenong Stingrays. They are 17 year olds - • Luke Davies-Uniacke 187cm 86kg Rye • Oscar Clavarino 194cm 80kg Berwick

But for this we have to thank the likes of Joe Gutnick and Cameron Schwab, two largely maligned figures in some circles, for their foresight and great understanding of the commercial benefits of the Bentleigh Club venture.