Doggo

Will do mate. Will probably be heading down with Benny next week. I'll txt u. Sorry i couldn't stick around for a beer with u afterwards last night. Lord knows i would have had i had the money... Unfortunately those Rudd bucks didn't last forever...

The Adelaide supporter sitting next to me cursed his side when the final siren went. Obviously a win's a win, but his reasoning was that that sort of football wasn't going to get his team anywhere against the good sides. And he had a point. He commented that he liked that our team were actually trying to win the game in the last quarter, and thought Adelaide were very very lucky we couldnt convert our opportunities! God, its been a long time since i've witnessed an MFC win and cursed at the siren, instead of jumping up and down like a lunatic (after the tigers game.. lol)!

I've seen Wona clear 50m accurately in the past. He's not a huge kick, and generally tends to kick it low and hard rather than upwards, but is very effective. He kicked 24.4 and averaged just under 12 possies a game from 18 matches in his first year, at the worst team in the league. He also laid 62 tackles (4th at club). Forward pocket is a tough position to play at the best of times. Imagine being stuck there for 4 quarters when the team is averaging the least inside 50's per match, as we did last year? Also, Wona's field kicking/passing is just about the best at the club at the moment, and while he may not be super quick, he's not slow. His agility and lateral movement is exceptional, and he reads the play as well as any raw 19yo indigenous footballer going around at the moment, IMO. To put it into perspective, those numbers aren't too disimilar to the much hyped and lauded Cyril Rioli, who played in a premiership side with unlimited forward supply and the crumbs of Buddy and Roughead. I can sort of understand why you'd think he might be overhyped, especially after his 4 goal performance against Freo, and the way his form tapered later in the year, but IMO the hype is just about right.

BINGO. Got it in one.

I went by myself today. Mate who i normally go with chose to watch it in the warmth of his dad's loungeroom- poor form Benny! :angry: lol Was bloody cold. Just glad it didnt rain to be honest. I think the official numbers were 15k or thereabouts. Not a good result for the club at all. Sunday twilight game against an interstate club... what were they thinking? EDIT: Offical number was 14,129

We'll just have to agree to disagree then. You make some good points regarding his leadup play, good skills and agility, etc. However, i guess the point i'm trying to make is i'd like to see him attack the ball when it's in the air with more vigour. IMO, he just doesn't seem like he naturally 'wants' to put himself into those undesirable positions in a pack to force a contest or, best case, take the mark. I think his work at ground level is far better than his work aerially, but if he can't improve the physical-side of his marking, he's just another NQR forward/midfielder. He can be dangerous at times, but will he consistely influence a match? Tonight i noticed 3 occassions where he 'squibbed' it in the marking contest. This is something i have noticed for many seasons now with no apparent improvement. By the physical side of his marking i don't neccessarily mean rag-dolling opponents one out or busting packs wides open, a la Neitz/Brown/Roughead, but more so just imposing himself on the contest and being a bit more courageous in the air. Providing some body contact to help bring the footy to ground. He's got the body to do it, it's just he's lacking what players like Jared Rivers have in abundance- courage in the air. A reckless disregard for ones own safety in pack situations. Riv has it, Robbo has it, Ricky Petterd's got it. Not neccessarily KPP's or pack busters, but they thrive on the contact they create/receive in these contested situations. They won't die wondering. Unfortunately this is sorely lacking from Dunn's game IMO. Until Dunn can address this, i'm not sure where his future role in AFL lies. If he is to play that 3rd tall/leadup role, he gonna need more tricks than just being a good leadup target or he'll be found out very quickly.

My deepest condolences go out to Clint and the Bartram family. Here's hoping Clint's alright and the club do all they can to assist him in his time of mourning. A real brave effort to front up today. Says heaps abouts his guts and determination.

Agree. Being a forward at Melbourne in recent times would have to be one of the toughest jobs in AFL footy. Bate is playing out of position, trying to learn a new role as a KPP, in a side that doesn't honour his leads effectively. I watched him a fairly closely today, and while i agree he was not good, it wasn't thru lack of effort. His repeat leading is good, yet rarely honored. PJ's pass to him in the 3rd was a beauty, but he then missed the goal. I think once the team starts playing better footy, Bate's form will also improve. He has shown himself to be capable in the past as a 3rd/4th option in attack. Playing KPF is not helping him, especially without the protection hes had in the past from Neitz and Robbo. For now i'm very reluctant to be too critical of his performances- I'll give him at least until round 7-8 to improve before i start grilling him the way others have around here. Agree completely. It has been something he's had issues with for some time, and IMO, i'm not sure he's effectively addressed those issues as yet. He doesn't make enough body contact or attack the footy anywhere near hard enough in marking situations. He's lacking what players like Jared Rivers have in abundance- courage in the air. A reckless disregard for ones own safety in pack situations. Riv has it, Robbo has it, Ricky Petterd's got it. Until Dunn can address this, i'm not sure where his future role in AFL lies. I also noticed him 'squib' it on a couple of occassions today. I hope he can fix this part of his game up, because his size, speed and endurance as well as long effective kicking, are all great qualities to have as an AFL footballer. He just needs a bag of cement, if u know what i mean...

Paul Johnson was terrible, for the 4th game in 5 weeks. Other than his nice lead-mark-play on, then bullet pass to the lead of Bate at the Punt rd end, he was shocking, with his decision making and in particular, ball-handling. Fumbles, losing balance, dropping chest marks, his game 'had it all'. His ruckwork was adequate however- he spent less time in the ruck than Messen but was more competitive, ending up with more hitouts- but around the ground, which last year was his strength, and forward, he was useless again. Which really pains me to say because he's one of my favorites. Not sure if he'll be dropped, but he is really starting to lose me.

I thought Ricky was impressive today. I don't think he deserves to be in the 'pull finger' category after that performance. Paul Johnson, on the other hand, was terrible, for the 4th game in 5 weeks. Other than his lovely lead-mark-play on, then bullet pass to the lead of Bate at the Punt rd end, he was shocking with his decision making and ball-handling. Fumbles, losing balance, dropping chest marks, his game 'had it all'. I thought his ruckwork was adequate- he spent less time in the ruck than Messen but ended up with more hitouts (16 to 9), but around the ground and forward he was useless again. Which really pains me to say because he's one of my favorites. Definite 'pull finger out' candidate.

I'm not sold on Dunn as yet. Watching him today, I'm convinced he does not go hard enough at the ball or provide enough contact on the man, when the ball is in the air, as well as at ground level. He can be handy, and as many have already said, he's got the height, speed, endurance etc. to be a handful of a match-up as a 3rd target down there, or to play as a defensive forward on opposition flankers who are racking it up, but unless he can 'harden up', so to speak, i have grave concerns about his future at AFL level. He wasn't completely alone in that aspect today, but it is something i've noticed about his game that has bothered me for some time.

LOL

Ooops, I agree! I thought he was definitiely one of our best again. That was just a massive oversight, will edit now accordingly.

That's great news, lord knows we need him after the tripe that Newton and Bate served up today.

6. Moloney 5. McLean 4. Rivers 3. Davey* 2. Petterd 1. Frawley * EDIT

Green

OUT: Johnson, Petterd, Sylvia IN: Spencer, McDonald, Maric OUTS: Paul Johnson is one of my favorite players, and i've always been biased towards him, but he has just been crap this year. Looks like he's carrying an injury of some sort, as i'm not sold on him being 'just lazy'. He's never shown to be lazy in the past, and his work rate and pace is waaaay down on last year. At times it looked like he was moving in slow motion today. Spencer should come back into the side to give PJ a break and/or a big kick up the arse. It's now or never PJ, with the lack of experience in our ruck division, he reallly should be stepping up, but sadly has failed miserably thus far. Petterd is an intersting one, i really like him and rate him as a player, but he's failed to make any impact since his good performance in round 1. Was shifted to defence later in the game to get the ball into his hands, but did little to really hold his spot IMO. His kickout to Rivers in the pocket that went out of play was laughable. Sylvia, well, as is the way with him these days, just didn't do enough. Not sure if he'll get dropped, maybe Jetta might go instead, but i know i'd give him another run at Casey if i were DB. IN: Junior will come back in if he's fit, Maric was apparently very good again at Casey for the 2nd week in a row and deserves his chance sooner rather than later. Spence will need to replace PJ in the ruck. Pretty straight forward changes for mine.

It was hard to tell watching the match on TV, but it seemed like Beamer missed most, if not all of the last quarter, and most of the 3rd? I thought he was one of our best in the first half, and couldn't figure out why he wasn't on the ground. Just wondering if anyone who was at the ground knows whether he might have picked up me sort of injury or niggle, and hence was rested for the majority of the 2nd half? This would be a major blow as he's been one of our best so far this year. Any clues?

Bombers get up by 4pts! Obviously James Hird's big write up in the HUN didn't do any favours for the arrogant mob at Carlton. Seems they're starting to believe their own press. The "Big 4" pfffttt... !!!! Carlton are long way off being the certainties they would have u believe if they keep serving that crap up.

Yep, i saw it too. Was outside gate 4, right in the shadows of the Ron Barrassi statue. Absolute scumbags... the bloke with his shirt off was trying to make out like he hadn't done anything to the cops and was yelling at his mates to 'settle down'... not withstanding the fact his hands and arms were covered in blood and he was blind drunk. Jonesy's little borther was crying too, must have been quite a traumatic experience.

I'm probably PJ's biggest fan, but today he was just CRAP! The worst game i've seen him play for a long time, and i generally watch him pretty closely. I'm not sure whether he'll be dropped next week because of our lack of depth, but something may need to be done because on todays performance, he has regressed big time from last year. That said, Spencer was not much better. Probably worse. I know he's only young and very raw, but he looked horribly out of place at AFL level today. A lot will depend on how Meesen goes tomorrow I suppose, but at the moment, our ruck stocks are very very thin.

6 - Davey 5 - Moloney 4 - Green 3 - Warnock 2 - Jones 1 - Martin

Good luck to Robbo! Here's hoping he gets through unscathed!!!! And good to see McNamara and Healey back getting a run in the ressies, hopefully they can both play well and push for a spot in the seniors.

That is absolutley shattering news! :angry: I guess, as many people have already stated, we can only look at the positives here- that it was picked up early and Garlo can do the full rehab and not injure it further as was the case with Hird/Egan missing seasons, it opens a spot up for another rookie to get a chance on the senior list, and gives guys like Martin, Frawley and Bell more of an opportunity to cement a spot in the 22 in the back 6. We already know Garland will be around for a long time, and as DB has said, longevity is the key here. As much as i'm completely shattered he'll miss the majority of this year, i'm glad he won't be running around aggravating such a serious injury, in whats expected to be a down year. And hey, in the very very slight chance we have a ripper season and go on to make the finals (dreaming...), he could well be available come September!

No Cam Bruce in there Bobby???