Doggo

Yep, his versatility will be a weapon for us in years to come you' think. Similar to Garland in that regard. Both should be able to play forward and back in 3rd/4th tall roles. The thing i like about them as well is, in time and with bigger engines and body strength, could well be Pavlich/Goodes-type players, who could even go in the middle from time to time. Was impressed with his debut, lots of poise and good skills. One of his passes inside 50 to set up a shot for Miller i think, was just sublime. Even the commentators gasped at how lovely the kick was.

I expect us to go all out against Freo and "play to win" at all costs. Throw absolutely everything at them. If we do get up then i'd like to think, just to err on the side of caution, that we'll go back to the "experimentation" in the final two rounds. As unlikely as it might be that we would beat StK or Carlton, best to take the risk of a possible shock upset out of the equation. As RR correctly pointed out, last weekend there were 3 upset wins out of nowhere. Who knows what Carlton side might show up, the one that beat the Cats, or the insipid team that lost to the Bombers and nearly got overran by the Roos, etc? The Saints could well be 21-0 when we play them, and resting several stars in preparation for finals. The pressure of going thru a whole season undefeated might just get to them, as well as the lack of respect they might have for us, being the wooden spooners. Who knows...?? That said, if we lose to Freo, then play to win against the Blues. And if we lose to the Blues, go with a 'win at all costs' mentality against the Saints. In my eyes it's all dependant on getting that 4th win, which many of us agree should come against Freo. But judging by how they went last week, even that might not be certain.

Bring in Robbo for his swansong at the G! I hope the club announce something soon regarding him in 2010, and I feel a press conference stating 'his' intention to retire this week, ala Simpson last week, will help bring the numbers in in what could potentially be our lowest crowd of the year. The only thing stopping it happening though, of course, is that Robbo probably wants to go on, even if not at the MFC.. IN: Robertson, Jurrah, Whelan, Rivers OUT: Bail (quad), Bruce (wrist), Newton, Miller

Haha Miller.. Throw Bell, Bartram and PJ in for good measure! LOL

Great news :D

My thoughts exactly. The questions marks over his courage, esp in marking contests, were rightly justified. I'm one of the accused "haters", and even though he's improved these last couple of games, he's far from proven in my eyes, yet. On the right track though... Enforcer25, i can see many paralells between he and Pettifer. Let's hope for our sake that that comparison is one that doesn't eventuate.

West Coast!!!! WTF?! Tough week for tipping.

I think maybe Martin might come out, he's had a few niggles here and there recently. On Hughes, there's been a lot of conjecture about his eligibility to play. We have Valenti, Spencer and McKenzie elevated for LTI's in Garland, Meesen, and Blease earlier this year. Aussie, Green and a number of others could also be placed on the LTI list at any time you'd think? And with the AFL's new rule allowing teams to nominate one rookie to the senior list for the 2nd half of the year, even without an LTI, you'd think Hughes would be eligible for a game? I've been under the impression, that since round 11, Hughes would be available for selection if need be, with the club having more than enough player injuries that could be regarded as 'long term' and placed on that list. We're at the the bottom of the barrell now, so to speak, with almost NO fit players left. Hughes should be available. Unless of course it in a financial issue, with the club unable to raise his salary? Nonetheless, i believe Hughes deserves a game given his good form over the year, the fact that he's been on the rookie list for 3 of 4 seasons, he needs an opportunity to show his stuff at top level, we've got no players left, and because we're in a list management situation. He deserves at least one game for the red & blue! (Being an MFC supporter as a kid, if he doesn't make it, he'll at least have a story for the grankids in future )...

Did Casey have ANY MFC players today other than Zomer? Wheatley come up from ressies? List is starting to look really thin for fit players...

Didn't see the game today, any reasons given for the late withdrawals? A couple not coming up for MFC tomorrow!? I HOPE HUGHES GETS A GAME!

My thoughts exactly.

My preferred 22 for round 1, with a fully fit squad to select from, and no new draftees (Scully etc): B: Garland Warnock Cheney HB: Rivers Frawley Bennell C: Green Sylvia Grimes HF: Jurrah Watts Petterd F: Bate Martin# Wonaeamirri FOLL: Jamar Moloney Davey INT: Bruce McLean Strauss* Jones Emergencies (in order): Spencer, Blease*, Jetta, Maric, Buckley, Dunn, McNamara, Johnson, McKenzie, Bartram, Miller, Meesen, Bell, Bail, Newton. Retirees: Robertson, McDonald, Whelan, Wheatley I haven't included Valenti, Hughes or Zomer, likely rookie-delists. # - Martin playing forward / 2nd ruckman * - Difficult to say with these two as we haven't seen them at AFL level yet, but given a full pre-season and a bit of muscle, both on pure talent could be best 22 come round 1. Blease has a long way to go physically, though if it were based on potential alone, he'd be in the side. Have i missed anybody? Moloney's footskills, in particular short kicking, has improved tenfold this year. While he may not be an 'elite' kick, his delivery has not been of concern at all, opposed to other players sharing a similar role in Jones, McLean and Bruce. While i rate Green's kicking for goal, i've always thought his field passing was slightly overrated. This season i'd have said his disposal by foot has been no better or worse than Moloney's.

Exciting isn't it? Hmmm, sounds intriguing. Throw us a bone mate. Are u not keen because of a "personal" experience between u and he, or you're not keen because u don't think he's any good a footballer?

The fact we got pick 15 for Jolly, like pick 14 for Woey, means we did really well to get 1st round picks for those players at that particular point in their careers. Unfortunately, the players we got with those picks didn't turn out how we'd expected/hoped. I think Jaded is trying to say despite us (eventually) picking up two fringe players with those picks, we still did really well out of the deals in getting 1st round picks, and essentially won in those particular trades. The quality of the two guys we got is another issue altogether, ie. recruiting.

Agree, i believe ruck is the most difficult position to play re: injuries. That's why a 2nd ruckman is so vital to ruckman's ultimate career-longevity. Doesn't change the fact, or make it more acceptable, that Jamar has been so injury-prone in his time at the club though. (FWIW, he did play one full year, in 2006). He's played some good footy this year, but what use is he if he can't get on the park? I don't think Martin is a natural ruck, he looks awkward in the centre bounces and gets jumped into a lot, and hence has picked up a few niggling ruck injuries in recent weeks. He did some rucking at Sandy before being drafted, but hasn't done a whole lot since being at the club until now. Jim Stynes played 244 consecutive games in the ruck, often rucking alone! An absolute marvel that man...

Agree with this post completely, bar the Rivers comment, but that's just a difference in opinion of one player, although i understand what you're saying. Martin is probably best used as a defender, but because of his size and versatility, and the emergence of Frawley, he's just plugged holes this year wherever needed. Good to know he is versatile enough to play a number of roles, but how much of the chopping and changing is aiding his development, and conversely, how much is it hindering it? Brad Miller springs to mind when pondering that question. Eventually he needs to be settled down in one position, hopefully as of next year IMO. Good point about PJ; only his most ardent supporters (just Dappa Dan and myself now) are standing by him, whereas last year popular opinion was that he would turn out alright. Not everyone agreed, but the rate at which 'supporters' of his have jumped off the bandwagon is very alarming. He rarely made a mistake last year, but it only shows how fickle good form and confidence can be at times. I've rated the guy since juniors, but even i am starting to lose patience. On Meesen, i'm surprised at how many people have him as a definite part of our future. The 4 matches he played this year were ok/good, but he didn't set the world on fire by any means. But he was coming off such a low base that any improvement he showed would have been plenty. Remember, for the best part of a whole season in '08 he was not able to assert himself as even a quality VFL ruckman, and he only got his 4 games this year because he was the last man standing with Spencer and Jamar injured. Spencer is the 'great hope' of the current lot, because he is so raw and the fact that he is relatively untried. Meesen, like PJ and Jamar (despite his huge improvement), have not shown themselves to be consistently of AFL standard or above VFL standard as yet. PJ and Jamar are guns at VFL level, Meesen's form at Sandy last year was flaky. He's far from as definite as some have made him out to be. And funny as this sounds, but i reckon had he not got injured, he probably wouldn't be as lauded as he has been by many supporters on the forums. He would have played more games and most likely, been exposed with deficiencies he'd shown in the 20+ odd VFL games he played before his debut. Better the devil you don't know perhaps?

Would love to see McNamara make the side. Was very impressed with him earlier this year. Good size, moves and reads play very well, uses the footy nicely and is a lovely strong mark. Can drift forward for a goal too. Final bench in my mind will most likely be Johnson, Sylvia, Petterd and Dunn, although i'd be happy with any other combination from the extended bench. Be nice to see it read Buckley, Bail, McNamara, Sylvia. I love Beamer, but i'd prefer them to be extra cautious with any groin related issues he has, given his history. Dunn and Petterd might just be carrying something, so could open up a spot for a debutant. And on PJ, i've always been a big wrap for him, and despite his poor form, i don't think he's played his last game just yet. If he isn't part of our future plans, he'll be offered up as trade bait at seasons end, even for a very late pick. We as a club are not in a financial position to be paying out player contracts prematurely, so keeping him on next year for depth purposes at best seems most likely.

Disappointment might've been a bit harsh, but i struggle to find another word to describe his performances at this stage of his career. He makes Clint Bartram look like a smart footballer with great skills! Let's just hope he does a Colin Garland and turns it all around very quickly. I concur the thoughts of many here regarding Danny Hughes. I'm a big wrap for the guy, and would be disappointed if he didn't get a game before the season is out. It's a shame he didn't get elevated to the list before McKenzie, as Jordie was always going to get another season on the list next year. Sadly for Danny, he may have missed the boat.

Rohan has been the biggest disappointment of the new draftees at the club in 2009 IMO. At 22 it was expected that he would play some senior games this year and have an immediate impact. However he's struggled with the pace and strength of VFL footy, which no doubt was already a huge step up from AFLQ standard, and his disposal and decision-making generally has not been up to scratch. I have grave fears/doubts about his game, as he doesn't look to be exceptionally smart, strong, clean or skillful, and although he has good pace, his lack of smarts and poor kicking could be terminal. In other words, he just doesn't have enough stand-out qualities at VFL level for me to believe he'll forge a successful AFL career. Very sad news about his mother though. Losing your mother at such a young age has got to be one of the toughest things in the world. I hope he and his family are coping well, and my thoughts go out to them. I really do wish him all the best, and hope he proves me wrong and turns out to be a decent player.

LOL

I just finished watching the replay of the Richmond match. Unfortunately i wasn't able to make it on Sunday (due mostly to the 1pm timeslot, no sleep and a monumental hangover), and sadly it was first game i've missed in Melbourne this year. Faaaark... WOW. Just, WOW. Speechless. In my mind, a loss after the siren was just about the best possible outcome we could have hoped for. As close to a win as we could possibly get, without actually winning and harming our chances of getting the PP. Let's hope for a similar result this week against the Roos (maybe not quite as close). Anyway, i just wanted to make note of a few of the "unusual" positional experiments DB & co. had in place from what i could tell in the replay. After reading about some of the changes, I wish i were there to actually see these experiments IRL. Feel free to add any that i may have missed: -Morton late withdrawal, replaced by Spencer (We replaced a hard-running midfielder type, with a raw and underdone ruckman?) -Martin started in the ruck despite having 2 other, more 'specialist' ruckman in the team -Bartram starting at FB on Riewoldt 1st qtr (DB, you're kidding, right?) -Jones tagging Deledio 1st half (Deledio too tall and quick for Jones, plus dangerous when pushing forward) -Johnson, Miller, Bate and Newton all in the same forward line at the same time in the 1st half, with no crumbing options (Very poor at ground level, with Jetta and Davey used in midfield) -Bartram, Frawley and Warnock swung up forward in 2nd half (have any of these guys ever played forward before?) -No tag on Ben Cousins (Bennell was the early matchup before coming off injured) -Miller, Bate, Cheney and Jetta, all having a run on the ball during crucial stages of the 3rd and 4th quarters (Miller in the guts?! LOL.. Bate hasn't played there since 2007. Cheney and Jetta are both young and relatively inexperienced in the midfield) -Petterd got a go-anywhere license to roam free (Almost backfired as he played arguably his career-best game) -Johnson, at FB on Riewoldt for most of 2nd half + a short stint on Nathan Brown early in 4th (Big ruckman matched up on 2 agile, medium-tall leading targets) -Dunn played key back on Morton/Riewoldt/Brown in 2nd half (Tried out as a defender despite playing pretty well in 1st half in midfield/forward, and both our KPD's up forward) -Spencer forced to ruck alone despite cramping up in the last, while PJ is left down back and Warnock/Frawley up forward (PJ could've pushed into ruck, and one of Warnock/Frawley sent back so Spencer could have a rest) -Miller doing some centre-square ruckwork in 3rd qtr, with PJ down back (WTF?) -Newton on the wing and playing loose in defence for the whole 2nd half (HAHAHAHA) -Jones, Valenti both deep in defence in the late stages of the 3rd qtr and all of the 4th (2 of our slower, shorter 'inside' players, used as 'line-breaking ball-carriers' from defence) -Valenti matched up on Nahas in last quarter (Valenti way too slow for Nahas, who'd have thought?) -Davey off for majority of 4th qtr (When the game was up for grabs) -Vision of DB walking out of the coaching box with less than 10 seconds to play, thinking we'd won. The despondant faces of the coaching staff tell the story of one that's just been pumped by 10 goals. Pretty ice cold in that box, even before McMahon marked the footy. DB is adamant he thought "we'd won the footy game") I'm sure i've missed some, but judging from just that list above, anyone in their right mind KNOWS we were trying to lose. Never have i been more grateful for Vlad's complete and utter ignornace and stubborness to the issue that is tanking. This match was the biggest attempt at tanking the AFL has ever seen, IMHO. Bigger than Carlton's job on us in the Kreuzer cup of 07. If we were "playing to win", then there were just so many some massive howlers in the matchups that the coaching was bordering on pathetic. Some of those 'odd' matchups may have only lasted a few mins or so, but most were persisted with, and in the most crucial stages of the game. And almost all the changes had never happened before. Will DB be as bold next week in his quest for another loss against the Roos? I'd like to see them go all out again against the Roos. While Vlad is happy believing that tanking does not exist, let's rub it in his face! Bring Robbo back in, play him in the guts and off HB. Play Trent Zomer and Rohan Bail, both of whom have barely even looked up to VFL standard for the majority of this season. Sylvia, Morton both miss again with a 'mystery illness'. Moloney still sore... etc etc etc... Go all out Melbourne! Bring Scully home!

Bad luck for the little fella. Can't wait to see him out there, fit and firing come round 1, 2010.

Agree completley. If Moloney gets 'dropped' 'rested' or whatever you wanna call it, that would be so disheartening for him (and will stuff up my SuperCoach team). I want him to play all 22 this year, and have a red-hot crack at Davey and Bruce for the Bluey. He certainly deserves it given the horrid run he's had with injury. I just can't see any reason behind him not being named in the starting 22. edit: Tanking aside

Would like to see Newton played back on Riewoldt, and Matty Warnock up forward for a very well-earned rest from defensive duties.. We need to maximise our chances as i think Richmond are a particularly flaky side, and coming off a big win with their tails up, they're likely to come back with a lowered intensity level and play a shocker, in typical Richmond style. And tanking or not, i just can't understand how Moloney ends up on the extended bench when he's clearly been our best midfielder this year??

I don't think so, but i have a feeling he might have been a forward as a junior perhaps? Could be a bit of fun for him, and a hard earned change for ol 'nock. Lord knows he deserves it. Warnock the Rock. Swap him around and send Newton to FB, and there'll be some real interest in what's nothing more than another dead-rubber. Tanktics at it's supreme best!