Dappa Dan

Demons going in hard, no score yet though.

You know where to get +1 from. Hurry up and answer my PMs.

I like it. He's so young, and the wraps on him, given his age, are enormous. We could try pot-luck in a couple of years hoping that another Martin comes along in his twenties and earns a spot, but I'd rather stick with a tall that can stay on the list for a few years without expectation. Let him train with and watch Jared Rivers go about it, and you have a custom-made defender.

Only because we're screaming out for some class and a little bit of flashy excitement. For my part I'd like to see the slow-burn improvement of Bartram as we need guys who can defend. People use the Ling example, and he was a tagger that didn't win possession for a long time. I would too, but RR is right. With Green gone, McDonald is going to be REALLY important. We juuuust beat a team that is a complete leadership vacuum. Adelaide have some of the best leaders in the comp. Without mature heads Maric would come in and take part in a 10 goal loss, getting no touches... and what would that prove? The end of this week will show us more about where we are. Last week will be forgotten very quickly. Thank God you're not the one making decisions then. Bate, Bruce and Bartram have easily done enough to stay. Particularly Bruce who is in some very good form right now. Far be it for us to expect even the smallest amount of seriousness and maturity in any of your posts. Dunn would be the closest out of that group, and even he needs to be given a number of weeks in a row to steady and show what he can do. Many of these players have never known what it's like to play with confidence. Dunn needs game-time and experience NOW. Maric has loads of time on his hands...

A loss by 48 points... All too temporary balloon bursts.

Ok. Now what is this hatred of Bartram coming from? Isn't he doing what he did last year? Nullifying specific players at the detriment of his own stats? Happy to be corrected as I haven't had all the games delivered yet, but surely if he's still doing this job, wouldn't it be fair to assume he'll stay?

No. Actually my brother and I went and saw Juice quite a bit during his days at Sandy. The kid has all the gifts a player needs to play at the highest level, and then some. Good kick, strong lead, huge leap, sticky hands, he likes the rough stuff and to chase, no matter what people say... His problem is, and has always and ONLY ever been in the head. It's definitely his attitude that is lacking. Lst week is a good example. Kick straight and you have a bag of 6. "Talentless" players don't kick 6 goals, not in this league. Put Miller's heart in Juice's body, and you'd have a player. Probably a player who wouldn't have gone as late in the draft as he did... What I cling to hope for, with Juice, is that basically he grows up. I've seen a bunch of kids in all different walks of life look like they're going to waste their talent, and then, at the right time, they meet a mentor or father figure who turns them around and they take a sudden leap in their abilities, on whatever field the mentor guides them in. Often it's not a comfortable change, and I have a suspicion if Juice pulls his finger out it'll take a BIG whack over the back of the skull... but I believe it can be done. I first thought Bailey is the man, but then maybe he needs a leader on the field... Just so you know, I don't hold out HUGE hope that he'll become a good player. Just that he'll earn a spot on the list until someone better comes along, and at best gain some trade value. It's not a grand ideal, and seems like accepting mediocrity, but I am just being realistic about what we can get given the time invested. Had we had a decent list Juice would be long gone. We are bereft of good KP forwards and I get the feeling on some level he's always known this. When we start coming good, if he doesn't continue to improve, he'll be gone, and it's no great loss. Trying a fourth round pick that's a KP player over the space of a few years is how the system works. No reason to cry over spilt milk. They can't ALL be Wayne Carey.

It's all about Brock McLean. Look out for 35+ touches.

What would be interesting is to compare teams when they bottom out. If we can get two on the trot and clear up that record that would be nice, but I have a suspicion Carlton went a few years without putting two together.

You come on a demons board and post this witless cliche? It's the oldest and least funny "joke" in football. And is a complete fallousy to boot. When you give [censored] to a clubs' supporters directly, try checking your facts. Again, get your facts straight. Our members and board were all for a TAKEOVER... NOT a merger. And your point about breaking a 45 year drought would be moot, as the Melbourne Demons would not have broken a drought, it would have been some other frankensteins' monster club. As for living in the past. At least we HAVE a past to cling to. How many flags is it TD? Actually, how many finals have you won? That would be 1 final, and that was against the club you're hanging [censored] on now. I suppose it would be unreasonable to ask a supporter of Freo to appreciate history... or football for that matter. HA! Well good luck for these next 30 years mate. FFC would kill to have the history we have. We average a flag every 10 years or so. At least we HAVE an average. Show some respect for one of the founding clubs of the AFL/VFL, who actually ARE responsible for much of teh fabric and culture of the game... And you know the best part? For all the so-called issues you claim we have, we're closer to a flag than you are. That must sting. And how are we supposed to respect you after you post this? I can't figure out what's worse. Either you're lying, which is stupid, or you're telling the truth and losing to the worst side last year in the second best ever half-time comeback was a POSITIVE EXPERIENCE for you? Wow. Only a Freo supporter. Of all the stupid things to say. Have a closer look at the site. Jaded is in the top-two posters in the history of this site (in it's current incarnation)... WYL is pretty high up there too. Jaded.... and half the the posters on this site, have forgotten more than any Freo supporter would know. Besides, of course, that geek that was on the footy show a few years back. I'm all for posters from other sites coming on and engaging in a bit of good-hearted debate. Believe it or not, we have even had the toothless wonder Joffa in here a few years back, and that was actually a lot of fun. Even he was respectful. Certainly a lot more respectful than you. It grates on me when Pies supporters come on the sites of other clubs who've been around for a while and claim supremacy, mostly because they use evidence like "How many flags" or "How many Finals" or "How many AFL/VFL wins..." But when, of all things, a FREO supporter comes on and tries to pick fault with a club like MFC who have, in their history, enjoyed a period of supremacy that outweighs ANY, who has the award for MVP on Grand Final day named after their greatest coach, who have won a record 5 flags in 6 years... That's where I draw the line. When you bring your purple haze over to Victoria, where the game CAME from, and try to keep pace with the OTHER 9 clubs vying for position, then you can come on here and (politely) debate where the club stands. Until then, go back to Perth, where you compete with ONE club (and perennially come second-best) and try to lift yourself from being the league joke you are at the moment. Rant over.

Um. Yes, Yes you can. It depends on your definition of "decent." The vast majority of what he brings to the board is self-involved garbage. Can't remember the last time something he typed was actually about football, and not him. But then, I think you'll find many more people ignore him than you'd think.

Would it be ridiculous to say that Scotty West may have had an impact here? (if it was said before in this thread, apologies) He's a player who got the most out of his ability, despite having clear faults in his game. I always thought that Jones is an ok kick (he drills his fair share through the big ones from right on the paint), but under pressure gets found out when delivering by foot. If he just adapted his game slightly, he could endure the years where his body isn't big and strong enough, and when the time comes, post 25 y.o., he could return to trying a few more flashy things. Even Godders, once fully matured, kicked a few surprising goals... Scotty West was always a really satisfying appointment for mine, as we had a bunch of players that really could have used his advice, in McLean, Jones and Beamer.

Probably. I would say he might be a sensible pickup in a year or two's time. Hall has played some really good footy post 30, and Pavlich is one of the least-injured, most-professional footballers around. For the right price, perhaps a single pick in the twenties, maybe late teens... He would be a good player to have teach Watts (Butcher, Juice?) and the others a thing or two about how to be prolific multiple goal-scorers. Juice is chock-full of talent (if not heart), and with a champion footballer like Pav around, it might be just the ticket. The two big things would be not to undo all the good work we've done securing good talls in defence (ie, don't trade them). Also, not to give Freo too much in return for him. They would want a first-rounder, we wouldn't want to give that up. And they love him over there.

You're a clown. When was the last time Bruce "lost" us a game of football? He's continually in the best, won a B&F, and is one of our best players, whatever your pre-pubescent ramblings suggest. Be serious? You first. If you can...

Strauss emergency? That says a lot if you've seen what the kid is capable of. This is pretty much just football porn, and while I don't usually get involved in these threads, I'll bite: The big plus is a defence that is just about the only element of the current demons lineup that shows it's capable of reaching the elite level. Why this is is just starting to show... We have a group of tall players that are so fast and agile that they can play small. I'm speaking of guys like Frawley and Garland. Rivers is still the most important defender, if not the most prolific ball-winner. Disagree if you want, but he is the glue that holds it together. It's from defence that everything else will happen. The midfielders will be able to be assisted by delivery, instead of going to fetch their own ball, sometimes under duress, when their delivery is always going to be under pressure. This is why Scully is most important for our number one pick. He is the ultimate link-man who can double as a ball-winner. And by the time he comes in he'll be surrounded by hard bodies. Put that defence with a midfield that can dominate, or at least endure, then they'll make any forward-line look good. So with all that said, we now also have a guy with talent like that of Watts who can wander all over the place and win the tough possies, and we also have emergencies that would be hungry for game-time, and would likely be just as good as many of the guys in the 22. Depth was an important factor for the Hawks last year, and has been for the cats in their reign.

If he can do enough before and after his annual hammie... then yes. AA beckons.

:D Whelan is a long way from done. Apart from the obvious ones, like Neitz, Whelan is one of our most important players of the 2000s. Not only that but he's one of the only mature-age leaders in the club who I rate highly. I want him in the side this year and next as soon as possible. Let him make his exit gracefully and while playing, then turn to the kids. While the defence has done well so far, they're not a finished product. Wrecker is, and always has been, the complete small defender, and just about our only one in the last 10 years.

Who did Bartram play on?

So it's ok for Juice to get a lot of it but be inaccurate, but when Bruce does it he needs to be dropped? Make up your mind.

Hooley Dooley. We're in for a rough one. Even the Eagles match will be tricky. Without Green against the Crows, even at the G, will be a tough one too. The others, forget about it. For mine, I was starting to get prickly at the suggestion we wouldn't win a game. Now with that taken care of, the people who opened their big traps (Newman, BT etc etc) will now look like prize gooses having been proven wrong within a week. The current 22 deserved a win as their endeavour over recent weeks (for the most part) has been top-notch. A few ugly injuries, as well as some horrible skills have contributed to their troubles. Hopefully this plays us into some confidence. Particularly guys like Sylvia who surely now must notice that when they put in, they not only get results, but they can be largely responsible for a win.

Never ceases to amaze me how few people in the football world ever admit fault. I would say a generous amount of 'landers, as well as the supporters of any club he ever kicked goals against, all claimed he was soft. And here we are, a few years down the track, and no-one is even willing to admit that they got it wrong saying he would never toughen up. Brad's attitude to the game has put paid to the theory that once soft = always soft. This is our biggest injury this year, and even of Rivers were to take a game or two off with injury, it would still be our most telling absence. Get well soon Greeny. You will be missed from the side by your mates and your supporters. Enjoy the warm well-wishes. You more than deserve it.

I'm surprised it's taken this long, but has everyone noticed the irony (wrong word?) of the fact that it was Wallace that put an end to Neale's career nearly 2 years ago by having his young Toigs smash us to the tune of nearly ten goals. Funny old game isn't it?

It's good in theory, but what do you do when you have players that are easily capable of playing more than the 12? In this case would they be listed fully?

Trade him. Pay that.

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