dimmy

Looks like we have found our scapegoat. Amazing how , after a loss, we seem to find the odd chook in the chookpen !!

Martin Flanagan reinfoces his standing as possibly our greatest football jounalist, purely because he loves the culture of the game. A terrific Ode.

There are two rules that frustrat me : The 50m rule for a bloke following his direct opponent within the protected zone. It is being milked. Clarify the below the knnes rule , particularly the Brayshaw situation last week. Is Brayshaw supposed to wait there until the opposition player gets to the ball before he can tackle him. I thought the bloke with the ball should be protected, rather than the one that flies in knwees first and lands on the back of the bloke actually getting the ball. The rule was brought in to stopp the "sliding" into the contest area and taking an opponent out. , but the ball carrier or competitor should be protected more. Ar we going to legislate against the ClArrie/ Sellwood clash last week , when both players went for the ball and Clarries skills were sublime to maintin posession and feed the handball off in the time it takes to open the phone box door.

Gunston is not playing this week !!! I just feel the brains trust would be very happy with the side's current form. Tyson is a strong body , which gives room for Gus or Clarrie to move forward for a while but still have presence around the ball. Bernie would love to play( and it would have been good to fit him in) ,but is also mature enough to realise that it is pretty hard to break into a side that is gelling so well together and players are all playing their roles. A case could be presented for Jeffy to replace Spargo, but the kid is providing a consistent presence and level of involvement in the last few games. It is not as if we have been playing practice matches against Coburg anf Frankston the last few weeks.

ANB has been one of our really big improvers this year because he has had a role and been supported by his coaches. Same does for Weiderman ,Frost and OMac. Confidence is a marvellous teacher. The we have the "babies" in Spardo (only 19) and Batley Fritsch . First year players. Both with a lot of upside. Then you really have the cream on the cake in Salem & Gus & Clarrie & Tmac . I also feel Dom Tyson is working into his role and Tracc is supplying the X factor and will develop consistency. Our coaching and development team are providing a terrific program Future is bright. I was disappointed that Jack Watts was traded ,but I now can see that he did not fir into the "Brand"that Goody was developing.

Well next time an opposing ruckman goes into Max at the bounce with studs out ............?? RUCKMEN ARE PENALISED FOR MAKING EXCESSIVE CONTACT (

I thought Gerard Whately's call of Hannan's goal was by far the best ( and to think he is a Cat's supporter) Roosy reminded me of a pregnant grandfather , the way he was beaming non stop after the game. And so he should, because these kids all virtually came to the club under his tutelage. I remember him describing Gus first year (when he was running out of puff at end of year) where he said he virtually was playing out of his long term position on the HFF and that long term he would mature into a genuine midfielder. Shows the longer term thinking that enabled us to get this side together.

To be honest I have had resrvation"s re Jack. My fears were that he would upset the chemistry of the Midfield. I have to admit I was wrong, because rjay's comment reflect the more mature way he approached his game. Maybe his time in the "gameday coaches area" would have given hi m a wider perspective than "see ball, GET Ball

Am torn between Nev( for sheer perserverance that has enabled his class to shine thru) , TMac (Pride) , Gus ( loves the club and had shown a lot of courage ), Clarrie ( for phoneboxfooty par excellence),Jonsey (for loyalty & effort) & Max (for being Max, for perserverance through injury issues), with Harmesy coming through fast. I have to admit too, that when Mikshake was coming to Dees, I ran around the house to cool down. So my jumper does not have a number on it ,but is Navy & Red

I think it is a terrific effort and it is a vast improvement in the quality of his ruckwork. I think the highlight was against Footscray in the 3rd Q when MFC played perfect football for about 15 minutes purely from the linking at the centre bounces where Gawny just seemed to put the ball into Clarrie, Gus Trac and Harmesy. Last Sunday was equal because of the quality oas well.

What a delicious dilemma though. I am sure they can arrange rotations / forward stints / bench time to keep them out of each other’s way. This has been my worry, because our mid field has really gelled over the last 6 or so weeks. Viney must accept that he has a supporting role and that we are lucky to have him up our sleeve. If Dom Tyson is fit then a tough decision will need to be made , because Tyson has been running into some terrific form so the "fringe players"such as JKH may miss out despite having his best game because of the way he covered ground. Young Spargo has been a really good team player and he is one of the reasons our defence (yes I am talking defence) has been functioning so well because the pressure applied by our mids and fwds. AVB ,Spargo, JKH ,ANB are all 2 way runners which is something we did not have/do earlier in the season. These blokes are our lesser lights and their efforts are helping OMac, Frosty etc contain opposition targets because they are not getting left 1 out in half the ground. We are NEVER going to stop good sides ALL the time, but at the moment we are restricting them enough to let our scoring ball movement to show through.

I agree, both short and medium term. I feel we will need to spend some fairly big lollies to keep some of the core young talent we currently have. Plus they are developing under our nose. We have some potentially very good young players who are really flourishing in our current environment. Spend money on development. O know GAff is a handy footballer, but not worth $1.2 M . Begs belief what Gawny/Oliver are worth. Or what Harmes/Salem are moving toward.

A much improved player. Just shows what confidence does.

That is the most complimentary 3 word SUMMARY ever !!!! I agree with all except Fritsch, because he floats around and rarely makes a mistake with his timing and disposal. A real find.

I feel JKH and Spargo were terrific all day in that theyt provided that forward prssure that reduced GWS taking the ball away with ease. That pressure gave our blokes time to set up . A very good game by all today. When you think that Spargo and Fritsch are first year players. Fritsch has that compoure and silky disposal that enable him to play anywhere. Spargo plays with heart and considering he is not real big he covers ground well. He provided a few handballs todat that opened up our forward line. Sam Weidermann is coming of age and is attacking the ball with a lot more confidence. I know this is the subject of another thread, but what would we get if we traded Lever, Viney and Hoges ?? (Before some peole get their knickers in a knot, not really. All it shows is that there is competition to STAY in the side, which is why Hawthorn had their dybasty )

Why is it ,that when we get a good to excellent player we seek to trade him. That just throws all the development work that has gone into that player and it goes to someone else and then we have to educate the incoming player.( how much development (and rehab) went into Scully and then he went off to the AFL team in Sydney. What type of player are we crying out for now ::: A Scully. What is standing out is the way in which sides are not working to have 20 stars, but a few stars and plenty of players with heart. i feel we are at that stage and have the advantage of having a lot of stars who are developing together.

I reckon some people have been a bit harsh on ANB. He has been one of our real improvers this year. He still has a bit of upside and that will come with confidence. His role is to be the everywhere man who covers as much ground as possible. At times his disposal is ordinary ,but a lot of times he places the little kick to a leading fwd quite well. He would be pretty hard to match up[ on because of his aerobic capacity. I also think some have been hard on Gus as well. Yesterday, I admit he made some disposal errors, but his clearances and tackling were first class. Plays with real heart He is a bit like ANB in that he has the knack of being available when the heat is on. We need players like that. The midfield has improved out of site since his second half injection in the Essendon game and the 15 minutes against Footscray (with Gawn, Petracca and Clarrie) was sheer class. Just think how good things will be if ANB Gus, Clarrie and Harmesy improve 10-15% ,and Spargo, Fritsch & VDB improve 15 %

Probably from the Coodabeens. A cousin of "Pearl from the Peninsula"

The reason I have Foxtel (and forfeit eating for 2 days a month is to watch Footy ad free while it is on AND to see Melbourne play, because Ch7 onl;y know the numbers and players of the big 4 (memberwise in Melb) i.e Cwood,Toiges, Essendon and Carlton. I think they are actually warming to Hawks too, probably because of their Triple Pships.(It has just taken a while for the penny to drop.

I had my reservations about Haemes, but the last 6 weeks has showb me how wrong I was. He has formed part of a strong (and young) midfield with Max, Clarrie, Gus. They all work very well together beit taging clearing or protecting one another. He has been on of my arguments against the chasing of Big targets, because there is so much improvement available in this team . They are playing with a degree of confidence in each otherand that is showing in the way they all are improving. I bet the Coaching staff cannot get the smiles off their faces ,because they are the ones who have developed the cohesion and compatability of our playing group. There is still rom for improvement as there is in any side. When you consider the current Premiers early last year, they were carrying some B- players but have developed them in side their club. Maybe it is a model. When you consider that today we had Viney, Lever & Hoges out who we would all of them as our A graders. I f this was a year ago we would have really struggled woithout them.

I have had reservations about Dom Tyson, but since his return he has been very effective. Even to say he is part of our midfield for finalS. If I had to make a choice I would bring Viney in for Spargo/Kent ( and only if he is fit !!!!). I feel for Spargo, but Viney is C0 Captain. However I feel our midfield setup is going extremely well with Gawn, Clarrie & Gus. As such I would play Viney as a small fwd and pinch hit in the middle if we are getting slaughtered.

Oliver : Best phonebox footballer ever ( Never ever thought I would quote BT)

The defence : Magnificent Midfielders : Gave a lot Forwards : Very good. Weiderman : Best game ,provided marking/competitive option. Lewis : Cool Head Luke Jetta :Build a statue Brayshaw : Leave your hat on. You are too essemtial to us .

6 Harmes 5 Oliver 4 Brayshaw 3 Jetta/Omac 2 Tmac 1 Anyone I missed !!!!

We lack experience, simple as that. Goody talks that we need to learn. Either that starts tomorrow ,next week or next year. Do not know