Doggo

Lloyd Richardson Grant Neitz Lucas Tredrea Hall O'Loughlin Robertson Rocca

Yep, 10-year minimum..

I remember this. CC was quoted as saying we will select CJ again, IF he is the best player available, which he certainly was not. More of a sly backhand than an endorsement for Johnson.

Good post, it's a nice position for the club to be in for once. I can't remember the last time i truly believed we had players capable of being the truly elite in the league. Top 3 by 2012 i'm hoping would be Garland - best defender (although Frawley will be right on his heels), Jurrah - best forward (Jack Watts also calls to say hi), Scully - best mid (Grimes anyone?). There really is the opportunity to develop these kids into some real quality players. Very exciting times ahead for us Dees faithful.

If there's anyone's future to worry about in the middle, it's gotta be McLean, or Jones. Unless he can recapture his early career form and pace over the next 2 seasons (not that he was ever quick, just now he looks so slooooow), things might be shaky for McLean by 2012-2013. With Scully and possibly Trengove/Morabito/Rohan arriving at seasons end, spots for midfielders, especially those lacking pace, will be limited, and unfortunately McLean looks the slowest of our current lot. Moloney and Jones, while neither are quick, both have a better ability to run the lines and carry the footy than Brock, though Jones gets carried away sometimes and often gets caught. But he's always looking to take the game on, which can only be a good thing once team performance starts to lift, and he's still only 21 or thereabouts. Brocky's game style is almost completely based around stoppage work these days and his inability to run freely has been clearly evident for 2 years now. Let's hope for an injury-free pre-season with lots of sprint work for Brock, because we know he can be a very good footballer if his body is right. If he can sort out his body, by 2012-2013, Brock will be 26 or so and in his prime. Big "if" though. Anyway, I'll go the other way and predict* that in 2012 or 2013, when our 'premiership window' opens, Moloney will either receive All-Australian honours and/or win a B&F as the 'elder-statesman' of our midfield group along with Davey, and alongside star names like Scully, Grimes, Trengove(etc). I think he's under-rated now because we aren't a good side and our midfield has too many like-types, but in a good midfield with star quality and a bit of pace around him, he has the potential to produce some Sam Mitchell-like results. His work in close is 2nd to none at the club this year. Will be an important leader looking ahead. *This prediction is based around us naturally improving ladder positions over time, hopefully to be around 8th-14th in 2010, bottom half of the 8-to-12th in 2011, top-8 and possible top-4 in 2012, top-4 and a real chance from 2013 onwards. "2013 Premiers!" (B)

Provided he can stay fit, there's absolutely no reason Moloney, now aged 25, would be doubtful in 2 years time. Especially not if he's next captain of the club...

Not eligible i don't think. Too old @ 22.

I remember that, someone near me yelled out "BROCKIE... WITH PACE!"... LOL He was doing the treadmill, but no-one went near him, so he kept going.

What of the issue of McLean's poor form this year? His last one was a good one, but only against Freo. Against quality sides this year he's been smashed.

That's right, i meant to write Nathan Bock's brother... Weighing that little and being that tall, must look strange...

Big opportunity in the ruck for Tom Bellchambers, Ash? Pre-drafting, he's a player i was hoping would end up at Melbourne on the RL, how have u seen his progress so far this year? Has spent some time out injured, but could be a player. Interested in your thoughts. A bit like us, your ruck stocks are scraping the bottom of the barrell. Hooker is no ruckman and though I haven't seen him, I have heard from a Bomber mate that the other ruck u have, Nathan Bock is 200cm+ yet weighs less than 80kg? And sorry to others for the unneccessary Bomber chat, i do like following opposition club ruckmen, and we might need one...

What about Moloney for his off-field contributions? A sizeable donation to the debt demolition for the 2nd year running; heading the first-year boxing camps in Warnambool for it's 2nd year; preparing MFC History kits for all new players at the club (an initiative started up by he and current captain McDonald), and generally being acknowledged as a true club leader with only the best intentions of the football club in mind at all times. I know the youngsters in the side look up to him, he has their respect and even holds some authority over them when out in social settings, ie. pubs, clubs etc. I have seen him gather the troops after a night out before 'curfew', playing the responsible big brother who'll give 'em a clip behind the ears to keep them in line. He presents himself as a passionate and affable character and is always happy to have a quick chat about the club, even if u just spot him in the street (i've had a couple of nice chats with him bumping into him around the St Kilda area). Most of all, he loves the club as much as any fan does, and he plays a hard, uncompromising brand of football on-field. He'll have a top-3 finish in the B&F this year, and at 25 is reaching the peak of his career. My bias is shining thru here, but the way he's handled himself, with regard to his preparation, getting his body right over the last year, and playing good consistent footy, as well as his off-field contributions, make him the perfect candidate to captain the club IMO. He may not have the high-profile appeal or talent of an Aaron Davey, but his leadership qualities and MFC passion cannot be doubted.

Agree. It's his body shape, or lack of decent muscle mass, that has me most concerned about him. He either is a VERY slow developer, or far too lazy in the gym...

I'm hoping that Wheels comes up this week and plays the last two to get to his 150. Wheatley sounds as if he's struggling and likely won't get fit in time for round 22, and with Robbo, i figure select him on merit if he performs against the Blues. Would like to give 3 young kids a run, but would be good for the club to give 3 long-time servants the send-off they deserve. And our list is crumbling to pieces in regards to injury, so we may just have to play whoever's fit.

I wasn't completely convinced that he would get a spot on the list next year, but these last couple of weeks he certainly hasn't done his chances any harm. He was fantastic yesterday and finally transformed his dominant VFL form into an AFL match. That said, Freo were not much better than a middle-of-the-road VFL or WAFL side, but credit must go to Valenti. 30 disposals and a goal is what it is, and that is an excellent game.

It was fantastic! A good reminder of why I love going to the footy. The sooner this year is over, and we can put this tanking debacle to rest, the better! Two more losses please DB, and then bring on 2010.

A mixture of young bodies and experimentation will get us over the line in the last two weeks, but I, like others, have some concerns about Carlton and their flaky nature. Would be a sad, ironic twist if they robboed us of a PP again. And who knows how St Kilda might react to dropping their bundle this week? They're far and away the best team this year, but it is St Kilda Football Club, with a (deeply ingrained) losing culture, anything could happen. They might just collapse and fold, like MFC did in 2004 from R18 onwards. Call me paranoid, but I just want this year to be over already. Barracking with all my heart for a win today felt good. Really good. I want to be able to do that every week again, so the sooner we bury '09 and bring on 2010, the better!

It's already been mentioned, but he did give Scarlett a hiding when we played them at the G this year. Was in his comeback game too IIRC? Still a NO from me though.

Morton took a couple of great marks deep in defence today, and showed real courage for such a skinny kid. Earlier in the year he was rightly criticized for squibbing a couple of marking contests. Today his courage in running back with the flight was unquestionable. He literally can play anywhere, and i can''t wait until his body fills out to allow him to fill a key post. He's going to be very dangerous!

Not a Fitzpatrick fan, but like 'carn dees' l'd be very pleased with Carlisle, Talia, or Panos at pick 18. I like Panos, i think he'll be a good player at AFL level from the little i've seen of him live, and in footage. Is a good size already but with scope for further development, has good goal instinct and is a strong mark. Earned his spot as AA U-18 full-forward and if he slips to pick 18, i'd love for us to pick him. Talia is the most versatile of the three, can play back or forward, but a better backman than forward at this stage though. Carlisle also has experience in defence, but looks more comfortable up forward.

Brent Moloney is my call for captain, he's the real workhorse and vocal leader on field, though i wouldn't be upset if Davey or Green got it. Green's probably missed the boat now, but Davey and Moloney are in the right age bracket to get it long-term.

I love Robbo and always have, but i think it's a no from me. Was good today, but against weak opposition, he's gone missing too often against the better sides, and is still playing selfish football at times. His defensive efforts are just terrible, as is his inability to keep his feet in a contest. Happy to let him play the last three and bow out with dignity if he chooses to retire. Or be delisted. Yes it'll be a sad day for the club, because Robbo is a 'one-club' kinda player in my eyes and deserves the right to retire on his own terms, but i'm hoping he does what's right for the future of the club.. Next year we will have a fitter, stronger Jack Watts without school commitments to add to our forwardline, as well as Liam Jurrah with a full pre-season. Matthew Bate is stepping up too. And while I'm not a Miller fan, he is such a strong bloke and I'd prefer to see these kids protected from bigger opponents by him than Robertson in all honesty. Hope he decides to retire and have a real send-off match alongside Wheels and Wheatley in round 22.

So would i normally but Jurrah played more of a 4-qtr game today, whereas Petterd seemed to flash in and out of the game quite a bit. Not one of his better performances but not bad by any means. Scary to think how much better Jurrah can become with a couple of pre-seasons and extra muscle in him. You can just sense he's growing more and more in confidence every week and is trying more things now. Had a couple of little fumbles, but continued to present and be dangerous all day.

6. Davey 5. Bate 4. Moloney 3. Jurrah 2. Valenti 1. Morton Special mentions must go to Morton, McLean, Jones, Frawley, Rivers, Dunn, Paul Johnson, Robbo, Miller, McDonald. Pretty much the whole team. And Dean Bailey, recognising this was his big day to sure up his final win for the year, his match-day tactics were spot on. The team played the way we hope they will more consistently from next year onwards.

Great win today. Despite how crap Freo were, the most pleasing thing for me was that we played a level of footy that we haven't been able to produce for 3 years, with a team that did not include names such as Green, Bruce, Jamar, Warnock, Grimes to name a few. Our work in close was great, and despite Sandilands getting his hand to almost everything, our midfield was well on top. All of our forward options looked dangerous, our backline was sure as ever, even without Warnock, and we dominated all over the ground. The first real comprehensive match-day coaching performance of Dean Bailey today too. Jurrah is just awesome, so is Davey, and Bate played an absolute beauty of a game. He cops a lot of flack from some posters, much he doesn't deserve. He's been fantastic pretty much all year in my opinion. Robbo found some of his old spring and was bouncing around like a jack-rabbit. And big Paul Johnson had one of his better performances this year, in nulifying Sandilands' effect on the game. Scary to think that Freo are pretty much at full strength. They are a weak rabble at the moment. Very poor crowd. 13004. Wehre was everybody? 1pm start didn't help me, sleeping in meant i got there only just before quarter time. But i'm very glad i didn't miss the next 3 quarters because we just punished them. It was a very sweet victory indeed. I guess the only consolation of the small crowd was that the kick on the G after the match wasn't anywhere near as packed as it used to be back in the day. All who didn't turn up missed out on the best performance we've had in a very long time. A dominant display by our boys and a really good win. Freo were crap and handed us our 4th win. Was nice to go out there and barrack hard for a win again, I forgot how nice it was to win by so much. But I still really hope we don't get an upset victory in the last two, however unlikely it may be. Back to experimentation as we meet an arrogant but flaky Carlton team next week i think.