Dappa Dan

I was wondering when someone was going to point that out. Has anyone seen him on the training track? Talk about forgotten. He's never mentioned in dispatches. By the way, what does WIP mean?

Yeah, I'm comfortable with Bruce's weight. He's hardly the kind of player that relies on brute strength is he? Trav's another one. I swear to god he looks exactly like me between the neck and waist (not trying to pump myself up or anything). How do you get a guy who looks like a greyhound but moves like treacle (Dutchy), and then get a guy who's renowned for his running pace and ability who looks like a guy who sits on the couch when the footy's on? I suppose I should learn to take these photos with a grain of salt. The last 2 years I've gotten excited when I see Col in a photo, and then lo and behold I'm left cold. BTW, there's no need to edit my post there J. And if you are going to edit it, at least make it grammatically correct...

Thrilled to hear all that, and particularly that last sentence. Hannabal will be as pleased as me. Clearly the Jones boy has been attracting the attention of his coach, and as H said, no self-respecting demon fan with the future in mind would omit this kid. One thing though... If ND wants to play Neaves, how is he going to fit him in if he said he's going to play PJ and Jamar as our rucks? I'm ok with Jamar and Neaves sharing with PJ pinch-hitting and playing either forward or back, but I'd be surprised to see 3 ruckmen selected. Is it those extra 2 on the bench that allows ND to select all 3? Also, on Biz, I said it before and I'll say it again. The way I see it, only Carroll and Rivers are definites in the demons 22. Any one of Bizzell, Ferguson, Frawley(unlikely), Holland and Warnock HAVE to step up and prove they deserve that 3rd tall spot. And that's assuming ND doesn't select a 4th tall defender on the bench through the year. It's not like Clint's competing to play as a tall forward, where he'd have to compete with a slew of players who won't be dropped, like Neitz and Robbo (Not to mention guys like Dunn, Miller, PJ and Jamar who all will need time there). Of those 5 defenders, Frawley will probably not play a KP role this year, certainly not for bulk time, and Holland is a specific kind of player for a specific job. You'd think on the taller forward lines Holland would get a go, but that other spot could go to any of Bizzell, Warnock or Ferguson. Ferguson is limited IMO, and while I'd love to see Warnock play 22, I have my doubts on him doing it this year. He'll certainly play 10+, but... It's not like Bizzell only had 1 or 2 good years. He was a shining light since he was recruited, and it was only in late 2005 and last year that his fortunes faded. It would be one thing to select an average player who's over the hill, but as far as I'm concerned, Bizzell's reputation is sufficient that I'll be pleased if he's given a go, and I won't be surprised if he regains a spot in the backline, at least for 1 more year. Ward and Holland did it last year, and in order to be successful you need players from ALL age groups to play well, even the 30+s. Last year we had a couple of guys come back from the brink of oblivion. Bizzell's as good a candidate for this as there is at the club.

Thanks J. That's Awesome. Is it just me, or does it look like someone forgot to feed Nath Jones? Some of our players look far fitter than I remember, but also far skinnier. Having said that, the same can't be said for guys like Buckley, Neaves and CJ.

Must be a mac thing.

Links didn't work for me...

Dunstall played then right? If so, I reckon he was a pretty handy FF. While most would take Ablett just ahead of him, I reckon Dunstall is just about the best FF I ever saw play.

While I agree with you wholeheartedly there H, I sometimes wonder what comes first. Does the star bring the premiership? Or does the premiership MAKE the star? In other words, if we won a flag in 2007 vs the Eagles with Neitz bagging 20-30 goals in the finals and 8 on the big day, and McLean getting 10 clearances with 30 possessions, and Davey kicking 5 from a pocket (unlikely as it may seem), would they THEN be considered stars? Or champions of the AFL? There are those who believe that Neita will be remembered as a champion of MFC, but not of the AFL. Then there are those that believe the only thing he needs to become an AFL champion is to captain a premiership side. I'm leaning towards the idea of players being stars BEFORE they win a flag, a la Judd who was universally believed to be the best in the land before the GF last year. But It'd be interesting to see how a successful finals year (and I believe it's possible) would change the perceptions of the wider football community on the players who get you up. Food for thought perhaps.

Fair enough.

Encouraging post. If both you and RR have a more positive outlook than me, something is backwards. I highlighted that sentence simply because I think it needs to be highlighted.

But will he be given that time? I'm not sure if he's on a 1 or 2 year contract, but even if we assume it's 2, if he doesn't make some serious headway THIS season, he's only going to have 2008 to make strides. Bate and Dunn have put themselves in a position to be MILES ahead of him, and the club's shown that it's willing to stick with a tall forward only for 4 years, and in that case the player had a multitude of injuries to take into account. I'm as excited about Newton as the next guy, but I'm under no illusions that he's a made man. If he doesn't at least equal the efforts/impact of Dunn last season then he might be in a little bit of trouble.

I've been trying to formulate a side that has all the young'uns we want in there, but unfortunately if we were to select ALL of the guys I want to see, it would be the next best thing to forfeiting the game. It's still interesting to look at, even if it's just fantasy. eg. B: Petterd Warnock Neville HB: Wheatley Carroll Frawley C: Buckley Moloney CJ HF: Sylvia Miller Dunn F: Hughes Newton Hayes R: Jamar Jones Pickett Int: PJ Weetra Neaves Bode Garland Yze That's a full side of players who are not confirmed as starting in our 24, with the exception of the following: Carroll - needed 1 more KP defender who isn't injury prone. Pickett - will probably need 4 pre-season matches to get match-fit. Dunn/Miller - depending on your point of view. Jamar/PJ - depending on your point of view. Jones - depending on your point of view. Sylvia - needs to be given every chance to prove himself. Yze - needs to earn his spot. And LEAD. Moloney - assuming he's injury and OP free he needs to be given the chance to get fit and earn his rightful place again. If we were to field that side against a full-strength Hawthorn, we'd be in trouble all over the ground. It'd be exciting and all, but we'd be in trouble. I'm wracking my brain trying to remember what kind of a 24 ND went with last time, and with the exception of Neitz being out I can't remember what he went with. One thing's for sure though, there's going to be players included that you just wouldn't think would ever get a go, like Bartram who not only played, but just kept going and going. If I don't see Buckley, CJ, Dunn, Hughes, Newton and Neaves at some point I'll be very disappointed. I also hope Neville finally gets a crack after an ugly year with injury. After being retained I expect we'll see Bode as well. Weetra would be fantastic to see play after all the interest in his selection, but from what I heard he's got a way to go yet. I expect to see Garland do a Bate/Dunn and get selected next year. My smoky for senior selection in 2007, particularly for the NAB is Hayes. I don't expect him to do a Davey necessarily, but I live in hope.

Interesting. Look, anyone who argues that the demons deserve all the respect in the world is sadly misguided. Before I refer to anything in your post let me just clarify that all I ask for is our FAIR SHARE of respect. Like RR and others say, we won't get the respect we want until we actually win a GF. Even then, it's hard to get it, just look at Sydney in 2006 who came within a point of doing it again after everyone wrote them off as "lucky". It's pretty simple really. While being #1 in Vic counts for nothing when you tally up premierships, it's still a form of praise the demons earned in 2006. Whether or not you care about measly tidbits of intra-state bragging rights or not, we WERE the best performed Vic club in 2006. So when (and if, of course) we make a prelim or GF, will we be dismissed again? Worse still, if we win one we'll get the same treatment Sydney got. What I want is for people to suggest that we're a shot at making the top 4, and they're not doing that, despite the fact that we were better than the dogs last year. The one area I can't go with you on mo is where you say we need to have higher expectations. Who said we didn't? I EXPECT this team to build and build and build UNTIL we win a premiership. If we are forced to rebuild, THEN we shoot them down for being weak. Or the coach. Or whoever is appropriate. I'm not saying I'm thrilled we ended up out of the finals in week 2, but I understand it's a work in progress. What I am is mindful of the fact that from my vantage point, we are heading in the right direction. Essendon has more chance of winning a flag in the forseeable future? Now that's where we'll disagree. They were beyond weak last season. They've recruited for the next few years rather than for deep in the future. Sheedy's not going to last forever. Neither is Hird. They have problems all over the ground, and anyone who says by recruiting/retaining the spine they have will win them a flag is delusional (impressive as it may be). They'll win their fair share of games, no doubt. They may even make finals with a bit of injury luck, but they will NOT make top 4 or a flag. I'd take our list over theirs any day of the week. And while I don't have my money on us winning it this year, I have my money on this core of players between 18-26 being in touch of the top 4 over the next 5 years. What more could you ask for? Our sold interstate games have been an unfortunate necessity, that have been rectified. It's not like we were ever HAPPY with being bundled out early in week one or two of September. This perceived attitude that demons fans are happy with mediocrity is a myth. Or at least it is with me.

Good stuff Fan. Though I think there is one interesting point you made. That one about making it to the top 4 after round 15. I would argue that yes, you have to be a good side to do that, but then the hardness to keep it up in rounds 16-22 and in finals is exactly what we're lacking. I wouldn't call us soft, certainly not. But in terms of that kind of "hardness", we're on the way, but not there yet. I think the point I'd like to see people make is that you don't come from outside the top 8 one year, and win the flag the next. In most, if not all cases, you need to build the side, give them experience in a few H&A seasons, make finals, win finals, win prelims and then make and win a GF. H and RR, would you say it's too much to expect a few failures along the way? What I found encouraging was that there's definite improvement, in a number of different areas... Hardness in the youth, and even with some middle and older aged players with McDonald and Green adding extra grunt to their games. Success in a final, albeit with some good fortune. A better looking defence. A bona-fide star in the making (Brock). My point is that if premierships are earned over the space of X amount of years, then surely 2006 would count as one of them. In the end, one measely finals victory counts for nothing if it doesn't lead to the ultimate success. It's actually worse in a lot of ways because you deny yourself the spoils in the draft when you bottom out. If the assertion of guys like RR and H (and I don't mean to presume) is that all we're doing is maintaining a perpetual 5-8th position, then that's fair enough. They're absolutely right if they're saying that we're doomed to mediocrity, as that's all we've PROVEN we're capable of so far. 4 of the last 5 years we've ended up 5-6th twice and 7-8th twice. Is it doing us any good? Time will tell I guess. Personally I look at the glass half full. I guess it's too much to expect afl.com "journalists" to do the same. And in the end, it's all just academic. I'm loving following the dees at the moment, simply because I'm convinced we're growing and building, not declining. That's reason enough for me to think positively.

Ta.

Anyone know?

Ultimately, you are of course right. But we can't win flags EVERY year. I'm happy if we let them win one every second year... In the meantime, and particularly in the case of clubs that have suffered from sustained failure (and boy, have we ever done that), it's important to make our legion of rich, fairweather friends get up off their arses and follow the club again. We all hate that there are people who don't pay extra monay unless they see us win, but it's a sad reality that it happens. I may be wrong, as neither you nor I can be accused of being "fairweather" supporters, but I'd suggest that guys like Jones, Bate, McLean, Bartram, Davey, Dunn, Moloney, Rivers and even Sylvia all have the potential of being future stars of the competition. If the site that most part-time fans visit says that we're further back than we are, then that inhibits, at least in some small way, the excitement that we can generate within that fan-base. Look, in the end it's only a very small thing, and I can only find that one legitimate problem with it. To be honest, I'm just [censored] off because I'm proud of the image the club is working towards, and I think we deserve to have repect, or at least the embryonic stages of respect. I am mindful, however, that the only kind of respect that matters is self respect.

Disgusted with the assertion that the dogs were the best Victorian team last season and that they are the logical challengers for a top-4 spot next year. I can live with Freo being a top-4 candidate. They made it this year, beat us soundly, and topped up with trades. But there's NO WAY that the dogs were "certainly" the best of the ten Victorian clubs. We finished higher on the ladder after H&A, beat them by more than they beat us earlier in the season, and also finished higher after finals! After losing the first 3 games we spent 8 weeks in the top 4, to their 9, but were only 1 win in round 22 from making it. They were clear in 8th spot. We were also the better side at the business end of the season (after round 15) as evidenced by the fact that we thrashed them by 8 goals in round 17. The article goes on to lump us in with Collingwood and St Kilda. Not only did we thrash both sides whenever we met them in H&A, then beat St Kilda in a final, but we were clearly a better side than either of them for all but the first 3 rounds! Collingwood have been proven as having little depth, and the Saints had problems so bad that they sacked a coach! ANYONE who's seen a football match before 2006 can see as plain as day that we're threatening for top 4 this coming year. Honestly, what do you have to do to be rated deservingly by the media in this comp?! I'd complain, but I have no idea where to start, and I have serious doubts that my protestations would reach anyone who would care... Seriously filthy about this. MFC deserves more plaudits than this clown offers. Not much more, I grant, but more nonetheless. Here's the link. http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&...rticleid=311136

Is he serious with Baker at 10? Surely that's a misprint. That's one of the more absurd lists I've come across.

Says who? Nobody specifies what a hit is, and who ever said I thought it was only a bump anyway? I've watched that passage of play at least 50 times now (not kidding), I know what he did. Besides, hit can be used in numerous ways. Ever kicked a long ball out of defence and had a team-mate yell "Yeeeeah good hit, Freak!" If this site is anything to go by, you've certainly had the experience. I'd say it's a hit if the tackle is a devestating one, that causes injury and turns the game.

Thanks to robbo24 over at ology for the idea... While we were denied the flag we so richly deserved last year, we did achieve a number of things, and as fans we were given a number of fantastic days at the footy, and a number of individual moments that stayed with us for days, weeks, or even for the rest of our football-following lives. What were those moments? For me, it's gotta be Brock's first goal and celebration in the Saints final. That, along with his last quarter, second goal and the fact that he was the engine-room of that win... for many reasons I'm sure we'll remember that day as the first confirmed sign that we had a new champion player recruited and raised at MFC, who's going nowhere. Davey's delivery to Neitz was a pretty good one too, what with him having such a bad day, and being thrashed by Baker. Neitz's shot from fifty against the Saints earlier in the year? His two bags of 8, vs Saints and Roos? Byron's bump on that scum, Crowley? Bruce's winning goal vs the swans? Davey's two soccer goals? Carroll's big hit on Gehrig? Robbo's mark over Bowden? I got more. As far as matches go it's the Saints final, followed by the thrashing of the pies, then round 17 against the dogs: a 98 point turnaround since round 2. Matches against the Hawks and Freo in rounds 7 and 8 were great days too, along with the second half of the roos match in round 20. Over to you...

His absence is still felt. Feels like it's going to be a long time until he leaves our minds. RIP Troy.

Good onya Deb. Season's greetings.

There's a word count? I had no idea. How embarrassment. Like you say, a GF is not out of the question. I think I answered the original question wrongly. If you ask "Can we" I'd say yes (just), but if you ask "will we" I'd say no. But predictions in footy are useless, particularly at this point in the year. Take my novella above with a grain of salt all ye who read this page.

Sandilands as Jaws. Eddie McGuire as Goldfinger. Lou Richards as "Q." Bev O'Connor as "M" (Judi Dench). Samantha Jones (Fox footy newsreader?) as Moneypenny. Now THAT'S a cast. Move over House of Bulger.