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Vipercrunch

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Everything posted by Vipercrunch

  1. For me it was the injuries to Aussie and Garland and to a lesser extent Blease and Strauss. After the seasons Aussie and Garland had last year, I was very keen to see them progress. I can only hope that they can hit the pre-season hard and show us where they are at in 2010.
  2. Very impressive win, with kudos definetely going to German. The next few weeks sound like they will be tough, but hopefully some of the injured players make returns and we stay in the top 4. Once the finals are here, several of the Melbourne players can come back. Casey have a great chance of having a good finals series.
  3. Good point. There are going to be some really tough calls made at the end of this year. For that reason I think we may end up only freeing up 6 at the most spots. One spot could go to one rookie (Mackenzie would be my choice) and the others all used in the draft up to around the 4th round. It's going to be very interesting.
  4. Given we had 8 changes last week out of nowhere, there is every chance there will be more unexpected changes this week. The "must plays" are Jordie, Cheney, Newton, Bennell, Jetta, and Valenti unless we need to give them more games with Casey to qualify for the VFL finals. Hughes and perhaps even Spencer and Buckley would be useful inclusions to continue giving young players experience.
  5. I am not what you would call "pro-tank" as I am uneasy with draft position being the primary reason behind list management, selections etc. I would like my club to view early draft picks as a bonus rather than an objective, but I guess I might be niave. I understand the advantage early picks would give us, and would hate the early picks to go to clubs like WCE and Freo, who most pundits woulds say are less deserving of them than us. I found myself in the boat of wanting the players to well, but not caring if we won or not. There are certain players I would love to see step up and prove some people wrong, while like most, I enjoy watching the new players do well. I think deep down I was happy with a loss, although given that we lost, a big lost would have served our cause better than a narrow one. I am looking forward to hitting Round 22 still at 3 wins so we can all out against St Kilda without a care in the world. I think Priority Picks should be evaluated by a commitee as I think more needs to be considered than just simply Win/Loss records.
  6. I am not sure that I want my young players putting their bodies at risk in insignificant contests in insignificant games. I want my players to be smart and know when to go hard and when to play the odds. What he did is a far cry from ducking under a high ball. If he took the ball head on, the absolute best result would have been yet another stoppage. If the ball bounced well, he had set himself up to take it away. No big deal.
  7. I think there are limited spots on our list for the older players. These spots must go to the players that are physically up to it, whose forms warrants it (in the best 30 players in the club), but most importantly who provide the best leadership, attitude and work ethic. For those reason, I feel there is a very important place on our list into next year for MacDonald, Brock and Bruce. Whelan and Green also fall into that "good example to young players" catorgory. I also would have a very hard time finding a position for Robbo, who yes has been good (a matchwinner on occassions), but has not shown the sort of example I want our young players to develop. Brock needs to get fit. There have been talk that he hasn't done speed training for along time due to injury. Until he gets his speed up and his body right, he should be rested. List manage him. MacDonald is doing well enough to stay on the list next year, but probably not as Captain. If all goes well, and the younger players around him develop, he won't always be Top 22. Bruce is only on this list because it is YM's list. He is past his best, but I think has at least one more season in the Best 22. Robbo should get one or two more games as a decent send off, but there is no place for some of what he offers (or fails to offer).
  8. Did we use our mid-year promotion?
  9. HT - As I said earlier, I have no doubt Scully is something special. My issue with this whole debate is whether the size of the prize (Scully or any future elite, premiership winning footballer) is worth deliberately losing games. Carlton are frequently called cheats becuase many consider they tanked to get Judd and Kruezer.
  10. HT - I've seen you ask that question alot, but I personally don't see why it is relevant. I have not seen him play live, but it is obvious you and many others have. He is obvioulsy very good, and will be a great assest to the club for a very long time, if we secure him. It seems the reason you ask is to justify resorting to any means to get him, which is where I and a few others disagree. I think we will get him, but not out of design. I don't think we are good enough to win 2 more games. On top of that, DB has said the goal this year is to develop players with an eye for the future. I hope by this he means he will be doing everything he can to get this current list closer to a successful period. I also hope DB and the club view Priority Picks and early draft position as a bonus for those that need it, not an objective. EDIT: What happens if we do all the list management, resting good players etc, etc and we still win 2 games? Giving that would be such a tragedy to so many here, who will you blame? The coach? The players? The "anti-tankers"?
  11. Two questions. What will the reaction be if we win 5 games this year? Why do some people think it is a bigger embarassment to NOT tank?
  12. Good Post Akum. Hopefully I am quick enough to get in before the usual suspects get to ya.
  13. It's a bit off topic, but I'd like to add Sam Mitchell as a extrememly punchable head. Everytime I see his smart arse smirk, I want to reach into the TV and whack him.
  14. Jack Watts hasn't played like someone who is at all concerned he won't make it in AFL. Players picked later in the draft need to prove to themselves and thier club from the very start that they are capable. Jack would have been told that he has nothing to prove, and is playing to gain experience. Nothing is being demanded of him. There will come a time when his coach and team will demand something from him, and that is when he will need to deliver.
  15. Blaming any lack of future sucess on missing out on Scully/Tengrove/etc is a very, very simple way to look at things.
  16. People are excited because there is a very unique story behind a player that also has great potential. Really looking forward to seeing him in the bigtime. The story is only beginning....
  17. I was calling for Sylvia to be dropped about 6 weeks ago, but since then enough has happened for me to think that he does have a real opportunity to be a vital and important part of MFC for the next 5+ years. The vast improvement in his form is the obvious one, but for me the honesty and commitment to improve all parts of his football and personal life that he showed in the article, and that he has continue to openly talk about in interviews since, is a real big tick for me. If he continues to stay on the track he is now on, I think he will pick himself in the leadership group in the next two years. Some people seem to deny others the chance to redeem themselves and make good, but I definetely don't. I think people who have taken the long way to reach their full potential can be equal, if not better leaders than those that have always made the right choice.
  18. I would much prefer a 4-4 split.
  19. Would love to see him get involved a little bit more as he appeared to do a bit of spectating at times last weekend. Having said that, he will prove to be a bargain as a PSD pick and I am hoping to see him in the bigtime sooner rather than later. Our last two PDS picks could very well prove to be inspired choices.
  20. I've been a little concerned with Rivers form tbh. Some will see it differently, but IMO if we had all our players fit, I would stuggle to find a spot for him in the backline. I would have Garland ahead of him. Hopefully he can find his form or adapt to current forward set-ups, or do whatever he needs to do, because like most people he is a real favorite, but right now he seems to be struggling.
  21. The problem is that when 3 players charge in to tackle, we leave at least one oppisiton player nice and open to receive a handpass over the top. That player then has an eternity without any pressure to move the ball forward. Pressure is caused by a player bearing down on you AND a lack of options. I hope it is a learning thing and our players can develop some more strategic pressure.
  22. I have begun to get really frustrated with our tendancy to over commit players to the oppisition ball carrier. I have noticed numerous times in the last few games that several players will go and pressure the oppisition player with the ball, leaving free oppisition players for easy outlets. This wouldn't be so hard to swallow if the free player/s wasn't so often on the attacking side of the contest. I feel we have to get a lot smarter in the way we put pressure on the player with the ball. Yes, we have to force him to dispose of the ball, but we can also create pressure by reducing the options he has. I would like to see our players think a little bit more before chasing the man with the ball. If a teamate is already heading to the ball carrier, start to limit his options by staying close to his possible outlets. Is anyone else noticing this? It's really beginning to frustrate me, even more than our poor disposal.
  23. I'm a big fan of Martin also, but think he will be able to learn his new position just as well at Casey. Perhaps even better as there will probably be more opportunity (Insdie 50's). I really, really hope this kid makes it. He seems to be a fascinating person (his IQ is probably more than the combined IQ of the Collingwood cheersquad) and I am a sucker for late starters and low draft picks coming good.
  24. I agree he has been showing that he has a good future, but I think in order to help him develop he needs both time at the AFL level to get familiar with the speed, hardness and pressure, but he also needs games in the VFL where he can spend far longer in the midfield (which appears to be his destination). He isn't getting a hell of a lot of TOG and possessions at the moment for Melbourne, so I think it would be good for him to rotate between AFL and VFL to benefit from both levels. I think that is the best way to get our young midfielders (and to some extent forwards) to develop. Our young backs are seeing enough of the ball at the moment to fast track their development, as long as they don't lose confidence.
  25. I hope we can find room for Newton and Cheney. I wouldn't be too upset if Robbo has played his last AFL game. Perhaps Maric could do with a game back with Casey.
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