Lord Travis

The only positive out of watching this rubbish match is its made me very confident we should belt both these teams again this year.

Pies should be 10 goals up, just wasted so many shots earlier on. Dusty is overrated and believing his own hype. Got pinged twice last quarter trying to break every tackle instead of disposing cleanly when he had the chance. Complete opposite to Pendlebury who is so clean with his handballs and runs on to become another option again instead of just bombing it.

This should be the changes for the week. Frustrating to have Bernie get rubbed out for a week after he played one of his better games in the backline, but we have adequate back up. He needs to work on the stupid reckless things he keeps getting in trouble for. I'm all for targeted aggression, but it needs to be in play. If you bump a bloke going for the ball like Melksham did on the weekend then he will second guess himself next time he goes for it. Whacking a bloke behind play gets you nothing but trouble. Happy to have Tyson and Kent come back in. Both are best 22 and add something to the line up. Kent will add to our general speed and ball movement as well as become another goal scoring option. Tyson adds in and under skill around the stoppages and can also drift forward to kick goals. We can send someone like Salem down back to cover the missing players short term, and then get Vince and Hibberd back to settle the team longer term.

Agreed, he had a decent game and teams well with Jetta and Hunt. He was often the one initiating the switch and firing the ball out wide to Hunt/Jones/Vince etc. Good footy brain and stuck to the gameplan. I love that he elected to bump twice and it worked both times. He definitely adds a hardness and likes to get into the oppositions face and let them know about it. His bump into the second was one of the key moments where you could just see the momentum swinging and the boys were full of confidence in what they were doing. Not sure what changes to make this week. Smith out injured, do we just bring Tyson in as he is clearly the best player not in the team? Or do we bring in a defender to directly replace Smith? Either way I want to destroy Carlton and make a statement we mean business in 2017!

Yeah definitely odd to not get the start time right, as odd as it might have been. They get fined and move on. Just as perplexing was the horrible marketing campaign by Dare to misspell their own name? Very strange... I watched the reply today and my god our mids were good around the ball in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. Jones had a ripper game, Oliver was outstanding and Lewis was so calm. Multiple times he got the ball in a pack and everyone around him was moving and instead of bombing it or handballing into more traffic he'd take a step back and assess the options before releasing a perfect short kick to move us forward but also maintain possession and force the opposition away with a mark. Was brilliant. We need to tear Carlton a new one next week. I won't be satisfied with just winning, I want percentage and to show we mean business!

Saints coach addressed it in post game interview. They thought they had 10 more minutes as 4:35 is a very unusual start time. He didn't sound too pleased about the mistake. They stuffed up, it stuffed their preparation and will receive a fine. Nothing sinister in it. Worked out well for us in the end.

Really glad Jetta played despite the interrupted preseason. He was our rock down back today and one of our best. He's just super composed and is our rock in defence with the brain fades that the McDonalds and Bernie suffer from. Jeez Oscar was rubbish today. He was the only player to have a shocker today and it's disappointing to see he still has zero intensity out there and gets pushed around by guys 15kgs lighter than him. Really want Frost back fit to take his place. Loved Oliver, Jones and Lewis through the middle. Hannah was great for a debutant. Read it well and went hard too. Thank god the streak is broken. I hate going to that stadium. It was so damn hot in there too?!

Thought it was just me. It's boiling in here!

Works in our favor. Acres is a good runner and ripped us apart last year.

Not 100% sure of the selections going with two debutants over proven experience, but love the idea of what Goodwin and the selection committee are doing here. They've gone for a quick side that's not too top heavy because St Kilda have torched us time and time again with pace and run. They've picked a team with a slightly different dynamic than we're accustomed to and IMO it's a good thing. I do hope Kent and Tyson come straight back in after a week or two, but I love that they've gone with run and skill to suit our attacking gameplay. Based on pre=season form I'm expecting big games from Oliver, Brayshaw and Hunt. Go Dees!

Probably just letting others know in case they were signing up using their personal email address. Thanks for the heads up Wiseblood.

Article now on MFC website saying he won't play this weekend at Casey or Round 1. They are being cautious with an Achilles injury. Don't think we'll see him for a few weeks. Hopefully it doesn't become long term and we can get him back soon. He'll be a key to our back line this season. Great interceptor and booming kick. Frees up Hunt more as well.

They beat us (for 10 years straight) and finished higher than us. They've also shown improvement over preseason and added Carlisle to their list. They deserve to be rated higher than us. I expect we will overtake them as I believe we have more young talent, but it might not happen this year. I believe we are better setup to challenge for a flag in the future too.

Oliver is my favorite player and could be a star of the competition if he can build enough of a tank. He's so damaging around the stoppages with his quick decision making and sure hands, but it's good we are starting to see him create space for himself and use his brilliant kicking skills. Gun. Parish is very good also, and was the better of the two players last year. Oliver will be better long term if he gets fit enough but that's no slight on Parish. He looks a gun also and only a fool suggests otherwise. He did a few Cousins-like things last year grabbing balls out of packs and using agility and gut run to break away from opponents.

Agreed. The more I saw of him last year the less excited I was. He's not tall enough to be a stay at home contested marking machine. Doesn't have much of a leap of him either. He's not quick or agile enough to be a lead up forward. He's not skilled or smart enough to be a third forward option like Watts or Petracca. I can't see him making it at AFL level. He's depth for 2 years and then delist material in my opinion. While lots here hate him, Watts is on his way to 250+ games and already contributes to the team. Hopefully he can reproduce his form from last yearly improve further. If he does then he's in our top 5 players yet again.

Be pleased, but also accept it as standard. We need to beat teams around and below us to make finals, and those bastards have been beating up on us for far too long! Pray we start the year off well and build momentum. We have a good run and could go 5-1 IMO

Link to the article anyone?

Misread the title as Clearance Oliver. Fitting really! Can't wait to watch him progress this season. He's my favourite player and has potential to be one of the best players in the league.

No. I'm being over the top to illustrate a point. I just don't like the way the club has treated Watts. Unless he has done something far worse than expected and this is their way of covering up. On a positive note I can't wait to see Oliver unleashed. He's been really good in the 2 JLT matches and if he has improved his tank he could be set to explode quicker than expected! Love Clarry!

So Hunt is not up to par and the team is punished, but Watts is not up to par and he gets punished individually and cops it in the media from club reps and players? Good to know the coaching staff treat players equally.

Indeed it was. Absolutely sickening. Still haven't forgiven Bomber Thompson for making a joke of out of it too in his press conference after the match. Smarmy pr*ck!

I'm assuming he'll have to do extra training and will not play for the next few matches now like Watts?

Here's my best 22 for round 1 and summary for each player. Enjoy! B: Jetta TMac Hibberd HB: Hunt OMac MelkshamC: Stretch Tyson LewisHF: Petracca Hogan Bugg F: Garlett Weideman WattsR: Gawn Jones Viney I: Oliver, Brayshaw, Vince, Salem Jetta: Small defender who can do a lock down job on the best small forwards in the game but is average offensively. Luckily we now have lots more options down back so he can concentrate on what he does best. May get squeezed out over time due to new gameplay and team structure. TMac: A lock for key defender, defends well but is hit and miss offensively. A rung below the A grade key defenders such as Rance or McGovern, but still a very good key defender. As long as he doesn't make too many stuff ups offensively that cost us turn over goals then he has potential to push for All Australian selection. Hibberd: Intercepts well and has a big kick on him. Will take a bit of time to find form but will likely become our most consistent backman as the year progresses. Hunt: Lock for a rebounding defender spot. Provides great dash, just needs to get back and defend well like he did last year and make sure he uses the options around him sometimes too instead of running himself into trouble. OMac: Lock for other key defender spot alongside his brother. He was very raw last year but he got better as time went on. He needs to improve his intensity with defending as he is sometimes weak in the contest, but offensively he is more reliable than his brother. Melksham: Lock for halfback role. The coaches love him. He reads it well, has decent pace, decent skills and is a well rounded footballer. Gets a bad wrap from people who don't have great football knowledge. Last match he was one of our best players behind Petracca setting up multiple rebounds that lead to scoring chains and beating his man time and time again. He'll be an asset for years to come due to versatility of being able to play back, mid and forward. Stretch: Had a really good developing year last year. He gets to good spots, stays calm under pressure, uses his good agility to get out of tight situations. While he is an outside player, he has built up his body more over preseason and isn't afraid to go when he needs to. Think he will be great for us long term and said so on here when he was drafted. Exciting prospect. Tyson: Hopefully he is fit for Round 1. He's still really underrated as a midfielder and is super on the inside. He has played some top shelf games the past few years, and when he hasn't been battling fitness and form due to knee concerns he has been great. His second half last season was really solid. He is great around contests and likes a sneaky goal too. Would be a lock if it weren't for injury question mark. Lewis: Lock. He can play anywhere we need him. We've seen dominate in the midfield and then also fall back into defence and save the day. He's an elite footballer with great football knowledge and leadership. We are so lucky we got him for peanuts. Super exciting to add him to the team this year and he'll help us further up the ladder. Petracca: Lock for half forward. He's ready to explode. Great offensively, getting better defensively, if his set shots are fixed up, which they appear to be so far this preseason, he'll have a huge year and have an impact up forward and rotating through the midfield. Still not sure what his ceiling is! Jet! Hogan: Lock at CHF. Looks lean and mean. Hopefully he has a better year infant of goals and helps guide young Weideman. He'll push up the ground and have an impact at stages too as we saw on the weekend. I really like him playing at CHF as he is super fit and can beat defenders in so many different ways. Could this be the year he explodes and finishes near the top of the Coleman? Hopefully! Bugg: I love Buggy. Ideally Kent would be playing half forward, but I doubt he will be ready for Round 1 due to injury. Buggy is the perfect role player. He will be in and out of the team but he is versatile, can play lock down, can win ball, can kick a few goals. He's our best depth IMO ahead of guys like Vandenberg, Harmes, JKH, ANB. Garlett: Our best small forward at present. He will hopefully kick his 40 goals again this year which is a good return. He will have more completion from below than in the past though. Weideman: A bit like Oscar last year, he's a bit raw and probably isn't the best option if Pedo is fit, but they will pump games into him as he has the talent and attributes to be great for us long term. Like Oscar he just needs to attack the contest with more intensity as he is inconsistent with this at present. Got a great leap and good skills. Watts: Should be a lock up forward. Kicked roughly 40 goals last year, setup countless others, he was superb. Suffering the storm in a teacup media bullish*t at the moment so hopefully lines up in Round 1. We are worse off without him. Only Petracca rivals him for scoring assist at present. Jack just has beautiful vision and kicking skills. Hoping he has a year as good or better than 2016. If he does he may push for All Australian. Gawn: Lock for ruck obviously. Hopefully he is as good or better than 2016 and the new rule change helps him. He's probably our most important player in our push for finals this year IMO. Jones: Lock. With more talent around him I think we'll see him running round free a bit more and doing less grunt work. That's fine by me as he's developed into a really damaging kick both around the ground and for goals. Excited for him to finally taste some success after battling manfully through years of rubbish. Viney: Lock and hoping he keeps improving and pushes for All Australian standard. He was nearly there last year. He still needs to work on his kicking, but other than that he is great around stoppages, great offensively, great defensively, and a surprisingly strong mark for someone his size. Oliver: Lock. My favourite player looks set for a big year through the midfield. He's such and exciting prospect. He's elite around stoppages, has insanely good vision and hands. he is a really good kick too so if he starts finding more space and not handballing every time he gets the ball he will become even more damaging. Love his intensity. He'll become our best player and win a Brownlow in a few years I hope! Brayshaw: Has had a good preseason and looks to have put the injury concerns of last year behind him. I don't think his ceiling is as high as Petracca or Oliver, but people may have forgotten how damaging he can be. I really like him when he is streaming forward from behind the ball setting up scoring opportunities. He's a really strong tackler as well. Vince: Can play anywhere. I prefer him midfield but he may be squeezed out over time. Looks to be helping down back but I'd love to see him up forward more. He can launch a long goal or hit passes to leading forwards. Salem: Hopefully he is past his injury and health issues. Moving to the midfield will be great for him. He's average as a defender, though obviously a decent rebounder due to great kicking skills. If he plays midfield and forward he has a great balance of inside and outside and the ability to his the scoreboard. Top 5 BnF potential this year if he stays fit.

It's just strange. The guy hasn't played a game since last year. He had a good year, kicked roughly 40 goals, was probably our best forward overall for the season, and yet somehow the club has taken away any positivity from that hard work and success and we're left with all this media negativity and these threads amongst supporters. I think they've managed the situation poorly, regardless of the outcome now, so whatever's happens happens I guess. Ugh.

He's in our best 22 so he plays. If he's down at Casey and I see plodders like Vandenberg running round against St Kilda then I'll be annoyed, especially if we lose. I don't care if he has a supposed attitude problem, if he plays and plays well then it's irrelevant.