wisedog

I think the national competition works well enough - it would have been nearly impossible to expand the game into NSW and Qld without the backing of a strong national competition. In my opinion the biggest casualty (apart from South and Fitzroy) has been State of Origin. I think one of the main reasons it can't get off the ground is because there's such a familiarity with interstate players, that there just isn't that 'us versus them' attitutde. When I watched as a kid, I didn't really care if Victoria won or not - I just wanted the Melbourne players to do well. I also think there's a shortage of meaningful trophies to be won in the AFL. It really is 'winner takes it all' and 17 clubs will go away disappointed each season, at least the State of Origin provided another focus. If the state leagues had remained separate, there may have been some great opportunities for other trophies, such as league champions and even a Champion's League running between the states.

Well they've avoided electric guitars, cheesy drum beats and the wimpy singers and as such, it's instantly better than the other expansion club songs.

From the MCC's Laws of Cricket - The act of making the catch shall start from the time when the ball in flight comes into contact with some part of a fielder’s person other than a protective helmet, and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control both over the ball and over his own movement. ... © the ball does not touch the ground even though the hand holding it does so in effecting the catch. I suppose this is where Gavaskar was coming from, but I'm sure there have been numerous instances of players taking diving catches when part of the ball has come into contact with the ground (a Symonds blinder comes to mind). It seems the only time a catch is ever referred to the third umpire is to check whether or not the ball had bounced before it was taken. It was an incredibly bitter test match. No doubt India were hard done by, but had it been the other way around, I think we all would have moved on fairly quickly. Although Ponting has never been renowned for his sportsmanship, he was widely praised for not making any exuses following our loss at Lords in 2009, despite 3 or 4 crucial decisions going against us (including a highly dubious catch by Strauss). I couldn't help but compare that to Kumble's petulant claim after the Sydney test match that "only one side was playing in the spirit of the game".

Out of interest, if the ball came in contact with the ground when he landed (which it doesn't appear to have done), would it be a legal catch? I only ask because I was watching a video the other day of Ponting taking a diving catch off Dhoni in the Sydney 2008 test. He controls the ball, but it touches the ground when he lands. Ponting appeals and the commentator (Gavaskar) basically calls him a cheat for doing so. It seems like a bit of a grey area.

I think it will too. One-day cricket lacks the prestige and significance of Test cricket, and has been surpassed as the hard-hitting, fast scoring form of the game by Twenty20. I have wondered if it was necessery as a bridge between Test and Twenty20, but I don't think so. It's become the mid-strength beer of cricket. I don't mind Twenty20, I think it has an important role in attracting people to cricket who may be otherwise put off by the idea of a 5 day game. Unfortunately, I've struggled to get behind the revamped Big Bash - I think it had more credibility when it was a state competition.

Ponting and Hussey bring up the 100 run partnership... who would have thought? I don't often say it, but the selectors have been bang on the money for this test match. Marsh has failed, but Hilfenhaus, Cowan, Ponting and Hussey have all made solid contributions.

I'm really glad both Warner and Marsh have been able to take their form in other forms of the game, and bring it to test cricket. The question is, where does this leave Watson? After years of debate, we finally have the opportunity to move him down the order, but I suppose it depends on how Clarke intends on using him in the bowling attack. I would move him, but for another reason. The middle order has been a problem for years now, and I think it would be fantastic if Watson was able to settle things at 6, and play the 'Mr Reliable' role. Hussey did this beautifully for the first part of his career, but at 36, a tough decision needs to be made. If it were up to me, the side would look something like this: Warner Marsh Khawaja Ponting Clarke Watson Haddin Siddle Pattinson Cummins Lyon

And the debutant scores the winnings runs. What an incredible finish! Well done to Ponting, Haddin and Johnson. Stood up under enormous pressure...

In '94 against Essendon. My dad’s MCC membership had just come through, after he had turned it down some 20 years earlier while living in England. I remember walking into the ground and seeing Dad getting abused by some disgruntled Essendon supporter on his way out. We took our seats way back in the stands, watched for about 10 minutes and the siren sounded. Dees won.

The kicking skills were atrocious and it was obvious the bulk of the team were playing with the round ball for the first time. In fact, I heard the team only had 9 games of collective experience. If we're not going to take it seriously, International Rules will quickly go the way of SOO.

I felt the same way. I remember seeing him interviewed on the Footy Show a few months before we drafted him, and even then I was concerned about how unenthused he sounded about the prospect of joining Melbourne. I thought after few years at the club he might feel differently, but as someone posted earlier, it never really felt like he played for Melbourne.

Good call - I was taken in big time by the Sibosado and Daw highlight reels. On the other hand, there was a fair bit of hype around Tom Rockliff after he was passed over in the draft, but that was probably supported by his TAC Cup stats.

Scully is just the quintessential, modern sportsmen. Never seemed to have any appreciation for the history and culture of the club, he was just an employee on a two-year contract. I don't begrudge him for taking the money, but he should have been straight up with us.

If Melbourne had it in mind to delist Maric, then surely an exchange of late picks could have got him to North Melbourne during the trade period. I think Maric’s fortunes will come down to the availability of Wonaemirri.

Well, Bate stays. To be honest, I don't mind having him and Maric around for another year. If only to see what a new coach can get out of them.

For a bit of perspective, Mitch Morton has been traded to Sydney for pick 79 and Josh Hill has been traded to West Coast for pick 49. I don't know what we're holding out for.

I think pick 39 for Bate is a very generous offer, especially in a compromised draft. I just don't know why we're playing hard ball on this one. After 6 seasons, Bate's yet to cement a place in the side and only managed 7 games in 2011. With the aquisition of Clark, he's now even less likely to be played. If he wants to move, let him go.

Thanks daisycutter, just dobbed in my little nephew.

Funny as most of them are based on patriotic American songs.

There's a banjo in the original as well, it's just more pronounced in the new version. When I saw the thread title, I was imagining cheesy drum beats and synthesisers as other clubs have done. As it is, it still retains a strong traditional flavour, I can't even tell if the vocals have been re-recorded or just remastered. It makes me wonder, it these songs can be produced so close to the original, why do so many of the new club's songs come out sounding like advertising jingles?

Woops... Had James Frawley in mind. Unfortunately, Thompson was injured for the last half of the 2004 season - his breakout year. As a result, he was undervalued by the football public and only Melbourne supporters knew what they were losing. You can often get badly burnt in such situations, so I feel we were fortunate to at least secure a player like Moloney, who was at a similar point in his career. No doubt, Thompson had been the superior player, but I’m very glad to have Moloney at the club.

Frawley is the only other Melbourne player who should be considered. I know its only Sheehan's opinion, but it's funny to see Scott Thompson and James Moloney so close together on that list. It was a great shame to lose Thompson, but Moloney was as good a replacement as we could have hoped for. I thought we may have even ended up with the better player after Moloney's string of BOG's, but Thompson went on to have the better season.

lol... Strike 1, Neeld!

Aussie Rules still has an air of daginess about it, and to be honest, the likes of Angry Anderson, Lionel Ritchie and Meat Loaf sit pretty comfortably with the character of the game. Having said that, Meat Loaf's perfomance certainly wasn't worth that money. Another washed up rock band like Guns 'n' Roses or Aerosmith would be great for next year!

Skin-coloured spandex, nerd glasses, black wigs and American flags have always been a winning combination in my book. Sorry you don't agree.