Lord Travis

RIP Tommy Great guy of the game and an inspiring figure to all with his work ethic in all facets of life

Do we know if this will be appealed? It wasn't even worthy of a report, let a lone a 2 week suspension. [censored] me dead the Tribunal is a backwards waste of oxygen.

Smart guy full stop. He has a Law degree that he did part-time while playing and having met him a few times it's clear he is a very intelligent guy. Glad he is finally back out there giving us a contest!

I've been a big fan of Trengove since the day he was drafted. I thought his first two seasons were some of the most promising ever by a Demon in my life time. It's sad to see what he has somehow become as the club has broken him. Out of interest, what did they show on Footy Classified? Was it just clips of him being pushed around by opposition or slow running not getting to contests in time?

Not really. He averages 12 touches a game. He just got 10 for the quarter, so that's his usual output but spread over a whole game He is definitely over-rated.

Yeah Howe looks shocking this year. He's like a completely different player. Our midfield is getting slaughtered. Forget about the lack of forward line, we need to get our hands on the ball at the stoppages and start asserting ourselves around the ground!

Dom Tyson is my favorite player already. He is always amongst it and appears to actually care if he loses a contest. Good onya kid!

Nathan Jones is having a shocker. Skills poor today and has given away about 4 free kicks already!

I never thought we'd win the spoon this year. I didn't expect finals, but definitely didn't think we'd be spooners. It's really sad that other clubs can turn it around really quickly, and here we are 8 years later with the highest paid coach in the land and we're staring down the barrel of another wooden spoon.

That goal was caused directly by Terlich. He waited for the ball to come to him instead of going towards it and protecting it for an uncontested mark. Lazy and stupid. He's not an AFL quality player.

We haven't ben able to control the ball at all. Even when given possession for a kick out we are just bombing and turning it over. This is going to be ugly. Hopefully we can rebound next week against GWS. If we can't beat GWS then we're [censored]. We've already lost to St Kilda and they're now 2 wins ahead of us. Need to catch GWS or spoon suddenly comes into the equation.

Sorry to hear about Danihers illness and I wish him all the best in his fight. The Rev was a great coach for us, and I still remember the Daniher years as the best in my time following footy. Though he didn't win us the ultimate prize, he got us closer than anyone else and had us playing good football for the majority of the time. It was a joy to go the footy when he was coach. Watch Travis Johnstone and Adem Yze hit Neitz on the chest for years were the best memories I have of my beloved Dees. The 2000 finals series was so exciting, and it's the only time I can remember where a Melbourne team just wanted to win more than everyone else. Keep up the fight Neale. You're a legend!

Looking forward to seeing our new look midfield get the job done. We have a lot of key talls out with Clark, Dawes, Hogan, Garland, Jamar. The midfield is going to need to work hard and contribute goals too if we are to win. This is a very winnable game, and I expect to win, but remember how poor we've been the last 7 years and don't be surprised if St Kilda beat us. On a side note, good luck to Georgiou and all other debutants. I look forward to Tyson and Bernie tearing it up. Both are already favorites of mine! Will be keeping an eye on Templeton debuting for the Saints. I rated him the best player in the rookie draft and was disappointed we didn't select him. Not surprised to see him debuting already and smashing preseason.

With all our decent key forwards out injured (Clark, Dawes, Hogan), the midfield will need to step up and produce what the preseason has promised. We need competitive two way running and to hold possession of the ball. We can win this match easily if the midfield does it's job. If the midfield don't put the effort in, then it's just as easy we could lose to the Saints, which would be a disaster considering their injuries and poor list. These are the kind of games we need to comfortably control this year.

Now on the AFL site saying he is likely to miss the first few rounds, maybe more depending on scans. Hopefully it is just a short term injury and he still gets some senior experience this season. He is a key part of our future so we need to manage him properly. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-03-06/hogan-a-likely-non-starter

Tyson is a gun. We've got a bargain here. He was obviously undervalued due to his injury and GWS were desperate to get Pick #2. We've landed Tyson AND Salem. Tyson alone will likely prove worthy of the pick, let alone adding another potential good midfielder. Tyson is so clever in the stoppages and when the ball is in dispute around the ground. The amount of times this NAB cup we have seen him get first hands and flick a handball out to start a chain of possession shows what a talented and important player he will be for the next 10 years for us. In training he is always feeding the ball out to Watts, and Roos has made a focus of that. If he tidies up his kicking just a tad, he is a potential superstar. IMO his NAB cup showing at least proves he knows how to get his hands on the footy and it's just about staying fit and healthy. As long as he is on the park he is going to produce.

Bumped into Jamar today and had a chat for a few minutes. Very friendly guy. He said he would be right for Round 1, but whether they give him a week or two match practice first they have not decided and it may depend on the form of the other rucks. His calf has been giving him niggles, so he has been rehab a lot of preseason. Said he will mainly be sharing ruck duties with Spencer this year, but expects both Gawn and King to be very good in the future. Asked about Fitzy and he said Fitzy will play forward unless there is an emergency. Anyway, as I said he was a very nice guy and was good for a chat. Hopefully he can recapture his 2010 form, but who knows after coming back from injury and being a bit older now.

Lord Travis is good to go

Watts - Talented, Roos is going to give him a set role and the development and confidence he needs. Vince - Big game player, beautiful kick, will slot right in and be super important for our midfield for the next few years. Trengove - After stagnating, he will start to fulfil the potential he showed in his first two years. Roos is a big fan and I expect to see Trengove become a midfield star. Also excited to see the new superstar recruits Hogan and Tyson in red n blue!

Hope we pick this kid up in the rookie draft. Lock him in the gym to add 10kgs and he'd become a valuable addition to our midfield rotation. Can provide run on the outside, and has the skill to win his own ball. Better prospect than a fair few on our list IMO.

Eli Templeton not on the cards? I can't see him being talked about here. He is straight up a better footballer than anyone else mentioned here and was rated as Top 30 by afl.com and pretty much all journos. I'm wondering why he wasn't drafted? Does he have a bad attitude? He is quick, skillful, wins his own ball and brings his teammates into the game. I'd love to see him in red n blue.

Cavarra and Templeton should be the main targets. I'm surprised they weren't taken top 30 in the draft! Both are definitely potential AFL midfielders, more so than many that were drafted. If we land one we have got a bargain.

Will be happy with Scharenberg if he slides as he is talented. Otherwise will be happy with Freeman, Salem or Sheed. Not a fan of Lennon. Don't think Crouch is needed as we have a few ball winners now. Lewis Taylor is a gun, and more talented than all the midfielders we're considering. He is however too short. We need mids with decent size. It's unfortunate as if he was 5-6 cm's taller he'd be my fav of the bunch and a top 5 pick IMO.

I'll be happy with any of the mentioned options. They are all talented kids with the potential to add to our midfield. I'd be happiest if we drafted Freeman though, as I think his pace offers something different to our midfield. We don't have much pace through the middle, and even though he has spent more time at underage level winning inside ball, he clearly has the attributes to be a link up player too. He could become a very well rounded midfielder and feel that speed adds something more for us.

It is Salem. He looked very good in that clip. Ran hard to be an option and then followed up. Quick, quick reflexes too and good field kicking. He's a first rounder for sure but not in pick 2 calculations. Lewis Taylor was brilliant in that clip. He's a really good little midfielder. If we had another first round pick I'd want us to take him, but we need some decent sized bodies to even out our midfield so he isn't a pick 2 for us to build the midfield around. Gun player though and will have a good career.