george_on_the_outer

Today’s crowd number will be the perfect example of why we play games in Darwin

...because with our injuries we had to play young players who normally wouldn't have got a sniff at a senior game.

Perhaps there is a small glimmer of hope, in terms of getting Melbourne Victory out of Goschs. https://www.melbournevictory.com.au/news/victory-secures-funding-maribyrnong-academy-site If they were ever to move, then that area currently used as a soccer pitch, alongside Swan st could be used to build something we need. The Rebels then can have the whole of the inside of AAMI to themselves for training, and wouldn't need their training ground outside either.

How many times....how many times do people have to be told....Cricket is played on the ground 6 months of the year! Where do you do a pre-season from November to March? Then if you visit the ground during the football season, you will see lights about 2metres apart on mobile racks covering the ground after dark to make the grass grow.

I suspect our "injury" list is bigger than told. Tom McDonald had foot problems pre-season, and still cannot jump properly...means he cannot mark in contested situations, and the failure to not make a 40m kick last weekend is symptomatic. Brayshaw is probably playing on the wing, because he too is carrying some sort of injury. Watching him close up at the GC game, he couldn't accelerate to get to a ball in the open, something he would have gobbled up last year. OP? Bayley Fritsch also cannot kick as far as he was doing last year. His mind still thinks he can, but the clanger last weekend as an example was because the kick was short. OP? The trouble is that these players would have normally been rested, but when we have 17 players injured that leaves us only 4 or 5 to pick from 47, including rookies. Take out Jordon, Bedford, Bradtke and Chandler as they are too young and one can really see our plight. We can barely put a team on the park, and cannot rest any of those who need it, and have no option but to play others who are obviously sub-standard.

We should be picking a young player who can be developed rather than a solitary player who may be able to play this year. Our problem is injuries, so when (if) those players return, it would be unlikely for a "ready made" to get a game....i.e. a wasted pick. As well we have a whole raft of players who will retire or be delisted this year. I could give a list of 7 today who would not affect the present or future performance of the club. We don't need another one who would be added to that list. We need to think about the future, not this season, which is already shot.

Williamstown by 22

We have a forward line that cannot kick goals this year. Without Preuss in the side, we have to use Weidemann, Smith or McDonald or Keilty in the ruck for those 10 minutes each quarter that Max requires a rest. So we are even less likely to score during that time. Preuss provides a ruck option and a forward option. And as was seen in those last minutes of the Sydney game, Preuss covers the rucking in one half of the ground and Max sits a kick behind play to repel and defend. And when he plays in our forward line he takes the opposition biggest defender. However, if the weather is as forecast, other options need to be considered...... however limited those options are for us with our injuries.

A long time supporter/backer of North once told me " North cannot afford to bottom out". That has shaped their recruiting policy for the past 15 years at least. Better to finish mid table than the bottom, because the small supporter base would evaporate. The recruiting response to that is to bring in the likes of Tyson, Polec, Pittard in the hope it can keep them in that mid range. They only get mid range picks at the draft and never some real top end talent. In other words, they are never recruiting and managing their list with the aim of winning a Premiership. Scott leaving will do nothing for their situation.

You underestimate Preuss, moves well for a big man brings ball to ground can take a mark and kick a goal as he helped win our first game against the Swans. Proved to be of value. Big bodied player. Tim can play but l feel that he is a magnate for injuries just can't string games together just one of those players l guess. I am not comparing any player just saying Preuss was missed last night. Hurn or McGovern would have had their hands full. A good distraction. Time will tell how good Preuss will be. The argument shouldn't be Smith or Preuss....both should have played. We lost Melksham, Hibberd and Lewis. Last week we played against a side with 1 ruckman, this week 2.

He isn''t "seemily overly rigid"....he is! I have long said his running technique is fundamentally flawed, and how he has not been given an athletics coach to work on it in the time he as spent at the club is simply beyond me. His first 3 steps are sideways. He doesn't run on the balls of his feet at this point. So he is slow to accelerate, which is why he gets caught. Then because he goes side to side, and he carries the ball with elbows straight, the ball gets moved side to side prior to kicking. That is why he is so inaccurate.

If his contracted salary is not left in the Bulldogs salary cap for 2020 and 2021 this will lead to others rorting the system. Sydney will try to do the same with Buddy's contract if he can't get back on the ground. The Bulldogs and any other club can now go and offer $1M per year to any available player for X number of years and when they fall over before the contract end, "cancel the contract".

Because it is even smaller than our current allocation of space, and is too small for our current needs and there is no more room at the MCG. .

Whatever options are available, stop gap type ones cannot be considered. If you want to see what a 50 year plan for facilities looks like, then have a look at Essendons at Tullamarine. 2 ovals one the size of the MCG, the other the size of Docklands. An indoor facility the size of 4 basketball courts and an administration headquarters. This is the future of what is needed, and it is why Hawthorn is moving. Waverly is not big enough for the future. SO to be serious about the future, a facility needs 10 + acres of space....as has been pointed out by others, that is not available within 10km of the city. I hope that we can secure some sort of government assistance, but a serious amount as well. To get to AAMI, I think we got $2M while RIchmond got $12M, the Dogs gifted land and facilities of $16M. Now Carlton, Richmond, Geelong, St.Kilda are all getting huge handouts. Why not us?

I know the Board has been working on a plan for a long, long time. Unless we can convince Melbourne Victory to move out of AAMI, thereby relinquishing their soccer pitch area outside, where we could build something long-term ( and Large), there are virtually no other options in inner Melbourne. The option ( and I am sure it has been examined) where I think the best chance is at Caulfield racecourse: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/inner-south/caulfield-racecourse-liberals-pledge-425-million-to-ovals-plan/news-story/50702bf11aac868ccf43af8dcf04fa63 Unfortunately the MFC hasn't been mentioned in any articles about this redevelopment, but the land is sure there.....

We are about 8K ahead of where we were last year at the same time: Last year we only added about 250-300 members a week to the end of June, so we cannot expect much more than that to happen. This would give us about 53-54K at season end. A fabulous start to the 70k target, but how much better would it have been with early season wins. Still 8k is nearly a 20% increase from last year....not too many clubs would have done this!

Further details from a previous post: One month to go till the Dees hit Metricon. Our function is very slowly building but we need you to start committing or otherwise. Email: [email protected] with the number of seats you want to book and I will, in turn, send bank details for the payment. Don't forget it will be refunded to you by way of a voucher per person towards food.. this is just to get the bums on seats numbers. Jeff White will be guest speaker and there will be some merchandise available for sale. Raffle alai so bring your spare change! 120 max.. no more can be accepted for lunch so get in . Big game tonite.. Nervous as hell.. Go Dees

4 disposals to half time...perhaps not

Chris Dawes (mark 2)....no

Enough

Whatever the talent that might be available at the mid-season draft, we certainly have to use it to fill our list. Not just for this year, but we will have too many holes which will need to be filled at year end. Lewis and Jones probably not around again. Garlett, JKH, Maynard, Baker, ANB, Stretch, Keilty (R), T.Smith (R), J Wagner, all out of contract, most of whom cannot get a game. And I'm assuming Frost, Weidemann, Salem are renewed. 11 players.

yes he does, and he doesn't know how to lead.

Sydney put up a dodgy TEN year deal to get Buddy. No club, NO club should help them out. Let them bear the consequences. And if Sydney are trying to get rid of Buddy, ask St.Kilda what sort of condition Hannebury was in when the Swans traded him out.

Saints are playing the old Ross Lyon game plan.....strangle the game and keep in touch, hoping for a couple of errors to score. They will never win finals with that type of football as we have seen, but it gets them barely across the line enough times to keep the supporters at bay. The solution is simple: hit them hard on the scoreboard early.

Even the soccer mob are complaining: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/a-league-players-union-calls-for-inquiry-into-scg-surface-shambles-20190406-p51bly.html