The Backyard Charizard

I am not going to bag Miller as I reckon the bloke is trying his guts out each and every week.... The only thing that I am worried about is the fact that we persist with him in the forward line! Now that Dunn is back on the field, I think we must play Miller at CHB! Last year his shutdown roles on blokes like Barry Hall and Matthew Pavlich were excellent.... I realise that with Neitz and Robbo injured, ND had no option but to play him as a KPP in the forward line, but now is the time to put him back where he should be.... Yes, we saw him rip Fremantle apart last year but we can't leave him in a position he is not great at just because he had one great game! The guy clearly struggles to mark the ball in a contest... Not due to lack of effort, but he seems to have really hard hands... A great reference was made today on Triple M... They likened him to Quinten Lynch at West Coast.... A big unit who needed a lot of work on how to take a decent grab... WC are persisting with Lynch and he has now developed into a big unit who can take a big contested grab! He is not the best in the league by far, but he is not the hard-handed mark he used to be! Miller can spoil! He can punch and he can shut down a decent forward each week... Keep giving him drills at training so he improves his marking, but play him at CHB for the remainder of our injury riddled season! Dunn has great awareness when it comes to leading and reading the play (even though our F50 entries are bordering on disgusting) Miller will be a solid contributor for years to come, but until he can take a contested grab he should not be a power forward! Let blokes like Dunn & Buckley have a go for awhile... With our injuries to our backline I think Miller alongside blokes like Bizzell, Bell, Chopper and Fergie will be of greater benefit in the long run! Only my humble opinion of course!

This bloke is a deadset [censored]! Yes he played well today, but why the hell would he celebrate a goal by pointing to the infamous tattoo of his daughter?!?!?! This is just pure stupidity! He is insighting the crowd and making himself look like an absolute dick! Someone will clean him up before the season is out.... And hopefully they do a good job of it... It is bad enough that he got off his suspension due to allegations of provocation.... But to then come out the next game and make a big deal of it is just ridiculous! Play footy moron! You are a good player but you will be remembered for your stupidity rather than your ability!

The season is going to be a stepping stone.... We have to play some juniors and see how they handle it.... Our injury list is growing faster than an alcoholics beer gut! ND it is time to bite the bullet and show us what you are worth! Make some tough decisions and play some young fellas.... It is not just what we want.... It is what we need!!!

We have not given up and have tried our guts out.... But with no cattle on the pine it will always be tough...

We do all the hard work and then some poor disposals and some bad decisions drags us straight back to the ground....

Des Headland is my new most hated player!!!!!

We are fighting really well.... I like what I am hearing.... Dunn looks really good up forward.... Bate has just kicked another.... We are on a bit of a run.... Could it possibly happen?????

Wheatley has just done his shoulder?!?!?! How much worse can it get? Looks like we are going to have to play some young boys soon

Hmmm..... Will struggle with no bench, but here's hoping.....

Melbourne 4. 9. 33 Fockers 10. 5. 65 Well, we started the game really well with Davey slotting one through from 50 in the first 20 seconds of the match... But every goal we kicked was answered quickly by the travelling Fockers.... Byron kicked our second and Dunny our 3rd.... But this only sparked the Fockers into action.... They continued to kick the next 8 goals of the match and it was only a late goal (and an absolute ripper) from Yze that stopped the run.... We have injury problems again! Whelan first went down with what looks like an ankle injury, but also talk of a hamstring strain on top of that... Daniel Bell copped a huge knee to the back of the head not long after this and was out like a light! He has since got his bearings back, but concussion and a massive headache will see him most likely take no further part.... On top of this we have lost Nathan Jones with what was described as "an ankle the size of a grapefruit" We are trying hard to stay in the game, but they have too many quality players and with only 1 bloke on the bench we could be staring down the barrel of a massive loss.... Adem Yze has had a ripper half of footy... 17 posessions, 6 marks and sweet goal... Davey good with 13 posessions and slowly getting back to some sort of form... Miller presenting nicely and James McDonald doing what he does best.... But the likes of Pavlich, Tarrant, Headland, Haselby, McManus and Sandilands will mean that this game will only get harder to control....

This could be a blowout!!! They have kicked 8 in a row.... We will be outright bottom of the ladder after Rnd 4.... Jones = ankle Whelan = ankle Bell = Concussion One player on the bench.... Oh No.... Yze has just an absolute ripper.... One player who is trying his guts out!!

I think that with Pavlich running all over the place taking marks at will, we are up against it.... We need to kick every goal that presents itself to us....

Pavlich is an absolute gun.... Takes mark after mark and will end up with 20 marks at the end of the game if we don't tighten up on there midfield.... Jeff White should've kicked a goal, but missed.... Whelan will play no further part.... Ankle it is!!

Well Qtr time and we are 9 points down.... Pavlich and his mates on the forward line are gonna be tough to handle.... Hopefully Whelan's ankle isn't too bad and he can still have an impact.... And Bell may be concussed which would be another huge loss.... Bizzell can still read the game really well and just needs this game and he'll be back as an important defender for us... Davey, Yze, Miller, Bizzell, Green and White all performing nicely... Byron just being Byron.... Beautiful stuff....

Loving Byron back in the side.... The players really do lift when he is around.... Whelan injured left ankle??? Strapping it and I suppose will send him back on and see how it goes.... Daniel Bell copped a massive knee to the back of his head.... Groggy as hell.... Tarrant is still a [censored]!

Miller is presenting well... Yze having an impressive 1st quarter.... We are actually hitting targets!?!?!?!

Seems like a pretty fast game, but you are right.... Our defensive pressure in the midfield seems a little lacking.... Bizz seems to be getting plenty of the ball... Davey is having a great 1st quarter....

Dunn kicks our 3rd.... A good start with some quality football, but we shall wait and see what happens Fremantle continue to answer immediately though...

Nice start by Davey.... 1st goal within 17 seconds.... Byron just kicked our 2nd.... Could be a good day??

Well no debut players.... But TJ and Moloney out.... Sylvia and Bate in.... Will be interesting

Negative football is ok I guess.... But why the hell would you wait till you are 10 goals down to do it?? Our skills are disgusting! And if we spend the first half of the season "bottling down" and when our forwards come back to play are we going to suddenly unleash an attacking style of play?? I too want nothing but 4 points every week, but if it means we have to play a team of 22 Simon Godfreys to it then screw that!!!!

I am merely trying to prove that the players the crows have out are players that would walk straight into our 22.... For the record lets replace Ben Rutten on the above list with say.... Ken McGregor and lets replace Porplyzia with say..... Matthew Bode Either way you look at it, they have depth.... We don't! Adelaide got flogged at home by the Bombers in Rnd 1 but they had the group that would not take that sort of crap again.... We got flogged in Rnd 1 and came out and got flogged again in Rnd 2 (losing key players in the process) There is a difference in the 2 clubs obviously....

I believe ND is really struggling to keep a tight ship down at Melbourne.... Honestly, I think he will depart the club either during, or after 2007.... To have a full pre-season of hard running and skill work (we were all told how well we were going).... To then come out when it matters and show the country that our skills are lacking, our pace is lacking, our awareness is non-existant and our side has as much depth as a kiddies pool in Coober Pedy, must be killing the Rev. He has done all he can with our list, and in my opinion he has done a magnificent job in recruiting players who will one day form a bloody good team! I think now he is starting to realise (due to injury, poor form & lack of accountability) that he may have done all he can do! Turning to negative tactics to "minimise the damage on the scoreboard" is a load of crap! I, along with many of you, would rather see us play hard, attacking, accountable football and get beaten by 10 goals than come out attacking, go into half-time down by 7 goals and lose by 8 goals.... I have and will continue to back ND in everything he has done for the MFC in his 10 years at the club.... Membership is up, Sponsorship is up and our list is the best it has been for a long time.... Maybe that is what his job was?? Maybe now it is time to hand over the reigns and let another bloke have a crack? I know what will happen though.... He will stay with us for the season.... We will finish just out of the finals.... He will leave in a media frenzy.... He will coach the Fockers in 2008..... And he will win a flag in 2 years!! Thus is the life of a Melbourne suporter!

Yeah, just like Moloney is playing for us!!

Could not agree more with the above statement! I am sick to death of pre-seasons full of praise and promise, only to deliver a season of ups, downs and eventual heartache!! I will passionately support the Red 'n Blue until I die, but on the other hand... It would be nice to enjoy the spoils a bit more often!!