pitmaster

I agree with you on the talent issue. Watts to me looks like someone who has played on pure talent all his life and is still after all this time adapting to the fact that at this level grunt and what's in your head makes up for less than pure talent. I see him reading the ball in the air and trying to anticipate the flight, the bounce and his opponent's moves with the superior perception that enabled him to out do his opposition as a kid. As for the bolded section - my kids go to a private school so those with thin skins can ice their bruises. What the (offending phrase) is intended to convey is he had the look of no hard times about him.

Right, and someone had to say it. The truth is Hawkins is 2 years and nine months older than Watts and for his first five seasons looked like what he was - a pampered private schoolboy. His break out game, as someone pointed out, happened to be a Grand Final (2011) when he was more or less the age Watts is now but in a vastly more powerful outfit. Until that time he really had been a damp squib. Now he is absolutely elite. Watts does not look like he has the same physical development in him but we know he has the talent. I live in hope that Roos' will bring him along to realise it.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/fallen-afl-star-liam-jurrah-to-face-court-after-being-charged-with-aggravated-assault-of-a-woman/story-fni0xqrb-1226899345027 Unfortunately it's a new incident over the Easter weekend.

Yep - that Carlton flag in 1945 must be the cheapest of all time.

I think there's an argument that you need to build the skills before you can try to maintain them under pressure. I suspect Roos and the panel reckon the skills just are not good enough, so let's get them up to scratch and really ingrained...then you might try more match day pressure simulation to try to build the ability to retain them under pressure. FWIW I think the second half of the year should start to yield greater improvement. I lifted these Roos' comments from demonland which I think underline my main point that we are trying to get our skills (and game style) right first: “Most of what we’re trying to do now is get ourselves right. When I was coaching the Swans, we spent a lot more time on the opposition, because we felt we had things right there through the mid 2000s. So you spend a lot of time on the opposition, trying to work out what they’re doing,” he said. “What we’re trying to focus on at the moment is getting those simple things right and trying to put some things in place that we think eventually are going to make us a good team. “So we haven’t spent as much time on oppositions, as I probably did at Sydney, when I was coaching Sydney, and that’s been a real focus for us – just trying to get ourselves right."

That talk will stop after we beat the Blues this week.

That would be the tiller, old dee, because if it was the rudder we would be under water...oh, wait, on second thoughts...

Not remotely comparable. Even if findings were made against an individual medico or player at Melbourne, and that's unlikely since there's nothing other than talk and no confirmation Trengove even picked up the cream, let alone used it, that is a world away from a near-universal club program of thousands of injections. Not even close. He tries Robbo, but does not get there.

And when Roos says he had not seen the fumbling and skill errors before he is not just referring to other teams he coached, but to our mob on the training track. What we saw Sunday was a group with fragile confidence fold under the sustained pressure applied by a team likely to finish top six. Two ruckman - one a true champion the other an athletic freakshow - against a novice, and a strong midfield against one learning to play together. Once those clearance numbers started to build we collapsed and I think it's the fragility of the mental game that shook Roos and that he was referring to.

Garland returns, releases Dunn to CHF and Georgiou and Pederson stay back with Frawley, allowing McDonald to go forward? Fitzgerald will miss -probably was not right last week. I'd bring in another runner, say Blease under instruction to run himself into the ground - maybe Evans too. Bail showed a bit of dash last week but chops it up so I'd be inclined to leave him out with Fitzy. But the players out of position line is Dunn following on from his last quarter forward stint with Tommy Mac up there as well. Watts stays a mid and feeds it to Dunn who goals from 55 meters - how cool would that be?

Certify me people...but I reckon we might get a positive reaction to that dreadful performance. I sat there yesterday wondering how we got close to Geelong and beat Richmond in the preseason - yeah I know those games are not truly real - but I am hoping for some spirit next week. It really was an out of the box shocker when you consider Watt's spilling an uncontested chest mark, Frawley's double turnovers, the fumbling, the lack of run - basic stuff that they were clearly working on in the off season. So maybe that returns this week after a couple of heads roll. And clearly selection was wanting since Fitz could not possibly have been fully recovered from that head knock - surprised no journo thought to raise it. So better stuff next week. Heads up and once more into the breach!

Deal is done.

Anyone who missed out on Brett's offer can try me via pm. I am in the same position.

Thanks the link to the Saints website. Absolutely hilarious. The umpires did not lose us the game - we did that - but they were very ordinary and penalised us for several holding the ball decisions that were just hopeless. We get the lousy umpires because we're lousy. Anyone have a clear view of the Kennedy-Harris infringement in the last quarter? Or perhaps it was Toumps having read the thread more clearly - jeez my eyes must be going. (That is, he was infringed upon)

Wow, thanks for pointing that out. The media reaction has been so misinformed - Rohan Connolly in The Age missed all of that completely. I have not read the entire thread - could anyone? - but has anyone else pointed out that Paul Roos did say don't form judgements for the first five or six weeks. Like others I can't see us winning anything until we get some players back but we will improve over the year - the second half should be significantly better. Now I am going to try to convince myself.

ditto

It's easy to say an opposition player is over-rated, and in this case it's even easier than usual. Possibly THE most over-rated player in the comp...EVER. Unless you count Craig Starcevic.

Clarkson was an untried coach until he went to Hawthorn and won a premiership. Ditto Longmire. And but for a couple of unlucky bounces ditto Lyon. You cannot rule out 'untried' coaches simply because we picked a couple of nqrs, or in Mark Neeld's case badly briefed a wrong 'un.

Well done - I paid almost $90 for two seats on the second level in a pocket! Pretty steep for a place where it's impossible to get really good seats unless you're a regular. But if we win, and I confess to having my confidence shot by our missing forward line, it'll be worth every cent.

Has it occured to any others that the assistant and future coach might already be there? For one, Roos has shown a fair degree of respect to one Jade Rawlings.

Sometimes the term 'spin' cops a bad rap. All it is, is someone's version of the truth. What's most refreshing about PJ is his admission that the club betrayed its supporters. I hope he strikes a chord with a few (thousands).

Future coach known by season’s end: CEO - Damian Barrett http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2014-03-14/future-coach-known-by-seasons-end-ceo Is counselling available for Demonlanders?

I am so hoping they blow up...but even now it looks to be a forlorn hope. Are you my soul mate, Biff? Do you hate them more than any other?

Heard same thing from very well connected Hawk. She was on end of bed and end of Dermie, slipped off backwards, bad break which can require surgery to repair although not in Dermie's case to my knowledge.

Sensational kick. Impactful defender. His detractors are clueless.