PJ_12345

Not that he'd be a big out - but Tex's hit on Tuohy should be 2 weeks and therefore misses our game? He is lucky that he came back on, but had only eyes for the ball and still made high contact.

Whos John Snow??

Dont let me down Frost

Will be interesting to see how we play over the next few weeks off the back of this. These are must wins to play finals, and will importantly show how well Goodwin can manage his team, and how the leadership group and players execute it on game day. Hoping for a couple of team changes and some big results. Bring in the Frost. Go dees.

Agreed on Oliver - but my point is, if he is gettinf tagged out of the game, then shouldnt Goodwin change his position? Bring him forward like Martin or Dangerfield. Petracca could easily be drawn into the mid and draw a defender out. Second point, you have to play finals. QB game it showed. We were too edgy and keen. We need a finals game for experience.

TMac's block was nothing different

I was there today. Gawn was unbelievable, and Viney single handledly willed us into the competition in the last quarter. I stand by my comments over the past couple of weeks - the team still doesnt feel right. OMac was slow, Petty doesnt seem ready yet, and the overall skills have taken a dive. I would have like to have seen Oliver and Petracca draw eachother and swap positions more. It could have been a good opportunity to bring the tagger foward and a defender in the mid. Instead, Oliver for the last quarter spent most of the time falling for a free at the bounce. In two minds at the moment. If we make finals and play like that, we will 100% be be beaten. But, we have to play finals for experience. Come on Dees.

WCE/Essendon game was just as bad (if not worse) than ours. The AFL deliberately put 3 local umpires on to test the noise of affirmation, and the 16 differential affirms that there is a bias no matter if the umpires are a mix of local/interstate, purely interstate or purely local. Also, there were a lot missed frees for Essendon than reflrctive in that differential. The AFL need to pull the finger out and umpires need better training. Their inconsistency is having too much on an influence on the game.

HB - obvious question, but do you know if it will be owned by the MFC? (I.e. not by the State Gov or AFL?)

There goes my sleep tonight. Thanks mate - it took me 3 months to grt over that movie.

North Melbourne has been doing it for some time...

*Bailey powerhouse Both Trenners and Watts there were recruited under Bailey, and were already 3 years in by the time Neeld got there. I'm not nit picking, but I reckon Neeld gets painted with too much, and Bailey too little. If we had Roos instead of Neeld I doubt there would have been a different outcome. Sure he was a B-grade coach, but so was the list he inherited.

An oddly specific thing to point out DS... do I perhaps detect some jealousy?

I can think of a few worse players today (Jones had some absolute shockers). More game time and a bit of polishing and he will be elite. He is only 22 after all?

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Have you had a hip op or knee op? Just a basic arthroscopy? For a player like Toumpas who needs time to build his body, not skills, it can be a bigger hindrance than you think. With hips ops you cant do alot of movement; muscle loss is really amazing and the recovery period is longer than you'd expect. Which would have been followed very strictly by the club because, as you noted, his program would be reduced and they would not want to jeperdise his long term career over it. I reckon he will be ok too. As you mentioned, some good footy and some bad. Cant wait to see what a full preseason will do for him.

Jimmy was always going to be a development player - we all knew this before he was drafted. Had an interrupted pre-season with a hip op and only been able to play a few games. Alot of very premature judgements on this site. Will be interesting what a full preseason will do to him.

With his hip op and that he is a development player he has beaten my expectations this year. Showed glimpses of why people have held that skill wise he was the best in the draft. Can't wait to see what a preseason will do to him.

You're right, I'm getting confused with all the different posters - I've miss-quoted you.

Binman, Callum Ward Chris Judd Gary Ablett Mitch Clark Brendon Goddard but these 5 didnt leave because they werent in their clubs 22... that 5 out of 13 - hardly "almost all"

Semantics rjay - I meant dropped in the sense off the list for the game. IIf you're argument is about transperency and if he should be played with a cold/injury or whether he should be playing better footy than thats fine... but thats a far cry from your original statement: "Neeld who has methodically destroyed his confidence and toyed with him." Re his "natural growth". People criticise MN for not developing players, then when players develop its a natural growth - lol its laughable

You're right, what is unanimous is his ability to read the play and ball. Personally I dont think its a matter of condifence issues anymore. He took some great contested marks when last up forward, which I think contributed to half of our total contested marks. Its about effort. MN obviously has a view that the club is bigger than a single player, and that if players don't put any effort in because they dont like the positions they are forced to play in (see Moloney) then you're out. I'd like to see what Watts can do again up forward. That being said and done if he isnt putting forward the effort when he is down back, which he is being paid to do then see you later. I'd like to keep him.

Its true. I went to a game at Casey after his AFL debut and CC was there. I asked him how Watts was going and he said it was confidence issues. CC stayed around and pointed out some things to me, like the biggest issue is that he used to go to ground too often in contests. How has Neeld not handled Watts well? Watt's played his best footy last year under Neeld. Had the 3rd highest average disposals in the team and his personal best average ect. Quite litterally he has improved every stat you look at. Other posters have addressed why he was dropped due to his injury.

Watt's confidence was destroyed when we played him too early, you can't attribute it all to MN, particularly when he was playing some of his best footy last year under MN. What I have seen from Watts this year isn't a lack of confidence, it's a lack of effort. He used to go to ground too easily, even at Casey, in his early years. Now he is too lazy to get into those situations. The only time he put in some effort was when he was breifly played up forward where his confidence in his kicking and marking was already there.

I'd like to see Watts played forward before I jump to any conclusions. I've always defended him, but latey I haven't been that impressed. When I've watched him at the games he always seems to be the last in last out, hasn't provided any pressure or sheperds, hardly spreads, often calls for lazy handballs in worse situations, and my god he is slow - and that particularly annoys me the most because we know he was one of the quickest in a sprint at the club. The only positive was that he took more than 50% of our contested marks and kicked a cople that time he played in the forward line earlier in the season. Ironic, he is starting to remind me more and more of Travis Johnstone... also #1 pick drafted 10 years prior in 1997, so much talent, so little effort