Doggo

Totally agree with those Dusty. The inconsistency of the hands in the back rule is something that really pisses me off. To not pay the one against Roughead early in the match that resulted in a goal- IMO not neccesarily hands in the back, but with the 'two actions' interpretation, was definitely there- then later to penalise Whelan for the exact same action was disgraceful. Absolute shitful. Had a go at my Hawk friend after the Roughead one when she said it wasn't there. Needless to say, she didn't have a leg to stand on after the one against Whelan was paid.

He's a freak, big Stef. I love watching him play and seeing how he goes about it. The improvement is happening right before our eyes. If he only makes it to be just a good average AFL player then we're lucky given his footy background, but there's something about him that just makes me stop and think, " this guy could become something really special". The way he moves, reads the game and somehow has so much time for a big fella, with that much pace and ability to mark the ball, he really could become ANYTHING! Looked good forward against the Hawks, hope he is persisted with there over the next few weeks.

Absolutely pathetic effort by Dees supporters last night. In the first half i sat ground level at the punt road end with my hawks supporting female friend- i saw 5 others in red and blue. Just FIVE! Absolute no BS, 5 in my bay. There was easily less than 500 mfc fans in total in the whole ground level at that end. Every time we scored or there was a free to one of our guys, i was greeted with nothing but complete silence or disdain. You could easily have been mistaken for thinking we were from interstate given the complete lack of support we had at that end of the ground. Such a strange feeling at the MCG. 80:20 split IMO. Moved at half time to get near our cheer squad at the city end, and make the 'G feel like home again.

Morning Dan! Up nice and early aren't we? I'm just about to go to bed... Thank god for Monday mornings off! Well... Green, what a champ! Agree completely. IMO Brad Green is our best player, and this week in talk of his return, i said i wouldn't mind him finding his feet and gaining a bit of confidence at Casey before coming back into the team. Just to err on the side of caution. But that would've been a complete waste of time! He slotted straight back in and didnt look like he'd even missed any footy, let alone having his face put back together. Was as hard and brave as ever. There's no player at Melbourne i admire more.

Was gonna bite but... ummm, nah. Time for sleeeep

Agree with every point 100%. Top post.

Johnson was easily the best ruckman on the ground IMO. Won majority of the taps, found heaps of the footy, generally used it well and even got forward and took a contested mark and goaled. It's just when you've got guys like Mitchell, Lewis and Sewell buzzing around the centre sqaure, its always going to be difficult. But let's be honest here. They didn't win a ton of the footy because of the service they were getting from Taylor and Campbell. They won the footy because they're a bloody good midfield unit. FWIW, we didn't do too badly in the clearances, lost it 28-32, and we won the hitouts 31-28. Much better than last week. As an aside, in the last 3 weeks since Johnson has been our #1 ruckman, he's averaged 21 disposals and 22 hitouts per game. Not bad numbers at all.

Ricky is an exceptionally strong mark for his size. He jumps high, and early, has a good strong set of hands and a ridicluous amount of courage. DB's tried him forward this year to try and exploit those strengths, with limited success. Problem is, when you're in that 185-188cm height range, having an exceptional mark can often mean having to play taller than you actually are. He was excellent in round 1 playing as a marking forward, but i struggle to remember any other games this year where he's had a real impact. His footskills are generally good, but his set shot kicking is iffy at times which can often undo alot of his work in the forward 50. Forward line play has stifled him this year and IMO he needs to be freed up further up the ground if we want to see more consistent development from him. Short bursts up forward are fine, but whole matches rotting away in the pocket can't be doing his confidence much good. Ultimately, i don't believe he'll end up playing his career as a forward, but if he does, it'll be in the role Robbo has played for the last 10 years. Personally i think he's best suited to wing/half back with short bursts on the ball. He can drop a kick behind the play, use his courage and leap in marking contests, but still have the freedom and space to run and carry on the wing. The 1st two games of his career were as good as anybodys first few IMO, playing that exact role. He marked strongly, went back with the flight etc, and found a lot of space and ran well. I really rated him then, and i still rate him now. At the minute he looks out of sorts and is having difficulty with his consistency. I thought he was really lucky to get a game ahead of Cheney this week. He'll improve. He's only young, almost died a couple of years ago (lung puncture), and is playing out of, or rather, learning a new position. A run at Casey on the wing might do him a world of good at the minute.

LOL You'd think he'd be all calm and loose as a goose, but...

I would've thought the Saints might have more than 31k at this stage, given they're 8-0, but if they keep going as well as they are, they could easily get a few more thousand before the cut-off date. If we could crack the 40,000 members mark in a few years that would almost be beyond belief, especially given our membership numbers just a few seasons ago. I hope we can do it, anythings possible i suppose!

I'm pretty sure it was Garland. It was Round 9 last year and we lost by a couple of goals in a spirited performance. Garland kept an in-form Buddy to 3 goals and not many touches in a fine display.

If we can have good luck with injuries next year, then yes, 12 wins could be possible. I personally hope they begin challenging for finals again from next year, but don't expect it. 2011 and beyond is our window IMO.

Both had reasonable years last year. But they aren't great. Not even close to the top 10 ruck divisions in the comp. Taylor, although fit, wasn't even picked for the GF and has discipline issues (suspended twice already this year). An ordinary player at best. No better than PJ or even Jamar. Renouf, although now a premiership player, is young and raw, IMO is no better a prospect than Spencer, AND is a grade-A [censored] (see off-season drinking issues). Campbell is solid but with the Hawks lack of key defenders, he's been playing FB (and getting belted). I'm not saying our ruck division is any better. In all honesty, we probably have the worst ruck division at the moment. But there's isnt much better.

With Green likely to come back this week (although i'd prefer them to ease him in from such horrific injuries), it changes a few of my inclusions a bit. With Frawley and Rivers both likely to miss again, McNamara has to be close. He played well again on Sunday for Casey, and has been consistent over the last month. Would be stiff to miss out. Jamar shouldn't be far off either, but only played around 60% game time at Casey in his first game back. It really all depends on whether the coaching staff want him to play out a full game at Casey before coming back into the MFC side, or if they're happy for him to play 50-60% game time at AFL level as 2nd ruckman. With Spencer likely to be play for Casey seniors this week, Jamar could very well come back in and play that relief ruckman role. Petterd needs to work on his consistency. Would like to see him go back and have a strong 4/4 effort in the VFL. And Dunn, well, he's just consistenly disappointing. IN: Green, McNamara / Jamar OUT: Dunn, Petterd EDIT: Forgot about Bennell. Don't know how i'd fit him in but he shouuld definitely come back in after his rest.

HAHAHA... too true. God he is an absolute spud! So glad our young defenders can actually play footy.

I just hope if they pick him that he's ready to play. Green's just far too important a player for us to be rushed back and put at risk. IMO he's just about our best player. If he's not 100% ready to go, i'd hate for him to be played. If he is 100%, then yes, of course pick him. No doubt he'll be itching to get back out there, i just hope the medical assessments are as thorough as possible before determining his availability. To be honest, and i might be alone on this, but i'd prefer they take a conservative approach with Green's comeback. His injury was pretty horrific. Would just hate for him to re-injure his face in some innoccous little indicent. No doubting he'll put his head over it, just hope no-one knocks it around. Could be real sore with all that metal in there. Would one game at Casey to find some confidence and ease himself back in really be that bad for him?

Some really good points brought up in this thread. IMO you do need 2 ruckman at AFL level, but it's been interesting that since we've only been playing one, we seem to be running out games a lot better. Johnson has tired considerably late in the last 2 matches, but having the extra runner in the side seems to have helped our on-ballers out a lot. That said, a 2nd ruckman is vital for the longevity of a ruckman's career. If Johnson, or any of our other ruckman for that matter, had to play as lone ruck for 22 matches of each year, chances of them breaking down are massive. Ruck is one of the most physically demanding positions to play in aussie rules, and at least 5-10 mins respite for each quarter is crucial. Of course there are exceptions to the rule- the elite ruckman in the league, Cox, Sandilands, Jolly, all tend to be used as sole ruckman for their clubs. This allows them to rack up the huge hitouts numbers they do, and in Cox's case, huge disposal numbers too. White was a perfect example of a player who played better as a lone ruckman rather than as part of a ruck duo (in his peak anyway). PJ seems like he is that way also, however his ruckwork and engine probably aren't strong enough at this stage to justify not selecting a 2nd ruckman when one is available. I've enjoyed seeing PJ go around as the sole ruckman and these last 2 weeks he's been sensational- his stats are impressive (averaging 21 disposals and 19 hitouts over the last fortnight) and he's shown that he can cut it as a ruckman at AFL level. But he needs help, and as soon as one of Jamar or Spencer are ready for selection, i'd imagine they'll come straight in, as the title of this thread suggests, for team structure and balance.

My tip would be: Martin to Buddy, Warnock to Roughead, Cheney or Grimes on Williams, Bartram first crack at Rioli with Whelan back up (should Bartram be needed to do a tag in the midfield on possibly Bateman).

You'd think so. My only concern is his matchup against the Hawks. Warnock and Martin will take Roughy and Buddy, leaving Bell to play on Williams. If i remember correctly, last couple of times he's played them, Williams has absolutely destroyed Bell. Kicked 8.5 on him in one game a few years back i think(?). Personally, if they do pick Bell, i'd like to see him get a go in the middle using his pace and hardness to our advantage. I'm not sure he would bring more to the backline than someone like McNamara, despite him being untried at AFL level, both short-term (now) and in the future.

Spot on. TMac looks to have a much higher intensity level, more courageous and a stronger mark than Dunn from what i've seen. They do look very similar in size and build though. I'm just really keen to see him in the red and blue sooner rather than later, he's a very promising prospect. Frozen foods award?? Doesn't sound too good... Best to give the dimmies a wide berth next time around... LOL

Thanks for that PeterJames. If Rivers doesn't come up this week, from what u saw today, is Tommy Mac a chance for a call up? The times i've seen him he's played the tall, rebounding role in defence quite well, where did he play today? I've noticed he's been kicking goals fairly consistently since coming back for Casey. Surely he'd be a better option in the MFC side than Dunn, playing as that tall, go anywhere type flanker?

Read an article last week about him (forgot his first name). Said he'd love to play for the Dee's with his bro. Jack is living his dream playing at the club he grew up barracking, and Grimes mk2 wants in as well! If he's as good as Jack then could well be worth a look...

Bugger. Goal kickers? Bests? Jack Watts? How did Tom McNamara go?

Changes i'd like to see. OUT: Dunn, Petterd IN: Bennell, Rivers Petterd got absolutely pantsed yesterday. I'd like to see him go back to Casey and find a bit of consistency. The gulf between his good games and bad games at AFL level is just huge at the moment. Dunn, well, i've seen enough of Dunn. Consistently dissappointing. Bennell should come in after his rest, and hopefully Rivers can come up from his ankle injury. If Rivers doesn't come up, and McNamara has another good showing today for Casey, would be nice to see him get a run. Not sure about Green. I'd love to see him back, but from the sounds of it, his injury was quite serious. Wouldn't mind seeing the club take a 'softly softly' approach with him. He's just too important to risk by playing a week or two earlier than he should, just for the sake of it. I understand he'll be itching to get back out there, hence his comments about being ready, but i think the club should step in and not leave the decision 100% to himself (a la Geelong with Ablett).

Anyone see how he went?