Lord Travis

Trade him for a top 10 pick.

Would if we could mate lol

Think Rivers' career is pretty much over. He's barely played since 2005, was in average form then anyway, and the game has changed since them. It's faster, more taxing on the body, and he's going to struggle to keep up even if he is fully fit. Sad to see such a talented player cut down. We've had a few of them in our time havent we

Good stuff. Love Hamish (and to a lesser extent Andy).

Bloody good effort getting that many members in what is a pathetic year. Just goes to show there are supporters out there handing over their money and doing their part. Now hopefully the team can repay us in the future for what we've had to put up with recently

White dropped, Jamar still in the side?

It's official then.

Melbourne FC=

08

Lets hope Naita is worth it!

Considering the position we are in, our membership numbers this year and fantastic! We're bottom of the table 2nd year running, struggling off the field also, and yet we are pulling in numbers on the verge of our best ever. I think that's a pretty good effort personally.

When we start to perform on field, those numbers will rise even higher next year and so on.

It is a culture problem at the club that lead to inconsistency from supremely talented players. The thing that gets me is all of you calling him a soft front runner, despite the fact he is getting more contested possessions and clearances than players like Jones!

And also, he had his worst game of the year today, but it was due to injury. You're all saying 'blah blah gets tagged and turns to sh*t', but fact is he copped an injury today and struggled to move properly all game. I actually went today, so if you didnt bother watching the game and are just assuming he got tagged and performed poorly, then you're a moron and part of the reason this place has turned to drivel this year.

Stop slagging him off, and start pointing the finger at someone who is actually performing poorly like Bruce or Bell etc.

Brock goes in harder than anyone else in our team, except for maybe Jones. Difference is Brock gets ball around the ground to and uses it well.

Brock is having a good season so far, and is battling hard in a poor team with a slow and often inexperienced midfield. Criticizing him is idiotic.

You f*cking morons. Travis hurt his hamstring in the 3rd minute of the game today and thus played only around 65% gametime.

Last week, as with a number of times this year, he raped the opposition. 2 weeks ago he had 32 disposals, 14 of those contested, 9 clearances, 2 goals and 8 tackles. He's single handedly dragged the Lions over the line in 3-4 tight games this year. His season thus far is possibly the best of his career, and he puts pretty much all Melbourne players bar Mclean to shame. I really hate seeing him get badmouthed on here. Do you all hate Thompson, Jolly, Woe, Walshy etc as well?

Ridiculous thread.

P.S Yze_Magic, if Buckley is where amazing happens then we are utterly [censored]. Let's hope we can ship him off to Freo for pick 150.

Since everyone keeps talking about Naita, I'm gonna throw my two cents in here. Flame me if you want, I dont give a [censored] because most of you havent even see him play.

I think if we've got a #1 pick, why not use it on a midfielder or KPP. Ruckman seems like a waste, And don't start the he's so much more than a ruckman. He's not. He hasnt proved that, and it's all speculative at this point. He needs to do alot more if he's going to be worth a #1 pick. Yes he is very athletic and has POTENTIAL to be something great, but I think it would be better to take a mid with the #1 pick. Look at last years draft. Kreuzer IMO will be nothing more than an average ruckman. Cotchin and Palmer look like superstars already. Masten and Morton have both shown glimpses of being something special. Kreuzer is a wasted #1 pick if you ask me.

Naita might be different, but I think we can get a decent ruckman with a far less important pick, or even the PSD with Warnock. Then take Rich or Hurley with #1.

Rich is a jet. He's a 17 year old playing in the WAFL against men and copping a no.1 tag already, and still managing to average 16 possessions a game despite being thrown into a back pocket at times. He is tough, and has elite footskills on both feet. He will be a Hodge style star IMO.

Hurley is a gun KPP. All Australian last year already as a fullback. Been thrown forward a few times this year to spice it up and kicked a bag of 6 from CHF. He is a more natural defender though.

And before you ask, yes, I've seen 2 WAFL games of both Naita and Rich. Naita was average. An atheltic freak, but can he learn to translate that into a footballing world? His taps go to noone right now. People marvel at how he roves once the ball hits the deck. The reason it hit the deck in the first place is because he tapped it to nowhere and had to chase after it to make up for it. His best game I saw he barely got any of the ball and the only reason I even knew he was playing was because he stands out so much from his appearances.

Rich was average also. Think he only got 17 touches, but some of his kicks through the middle were [censored] marvelous. He gets his own bal too. Tough little bugger. He'll need to learn to cope with tags though, but you'd hope that comes with experience and age.

Both showed only glimpses, but Rich looks alot safer bet if you ask me.

I mentioned this in the Prismall/Lonergan thread last night.

anyone see Ablett's game tonight? Phenomenal! 39 touches, 2 goals, 6 tackles, 8 clearances. Unbelievable. On his form this year and last, he is better now than Judd ever was IMO.

I think he is possibly the best player I've ever seen.

Can we wait until the season is over before talking about this? Naita could well keep improving, he could stagnate. He has potential, but he could also be a huge blunder. He doesnt have great skills, he doesnt get alot of the ball, he doesnt take many marks. Still alot of question marks over him if you ask me.

Let's wait until the season is through before we start pumping the guys tyres up too much. Rich, Hurley, or someone not even mentioned here could completely tear up the season and be a better pick up. Palmer tore it up last year, was thought to be a 2nd rounder at the start of the year. We all know what happened. Went pick 6, is having one of the best first years ever IMO Averaging 25 touches in his first season with little support!!

Wait out the season before all this talk gets thrown around. Using a pick 1 on a ruck is a waste anyway IMO Don't go saying "ZOMG BUT HE ISNT JUST A RUCK!!1! HE CAN PLAY ANYWHERE!!"

No he can't. He was thrown forward last week and had no impact there. He doesnt take many marks, and is poor at contested marks, which are needed to play as a key forward. Only 8% of his taps have been to advantage this season, which seems poor to me. And he doesnt get much of the ball around the ground. One of his best games this season where he's gotten wraps for showing a glimpse, he got 13 touches. Hardly Cox like. I know he's playing in the WAFL against men, but still not great return for a supposed #1 pick.

Enough of this talk for a few months please.

Stupid Thread.

Maybe try to lure Prismall through the PSD promising him 22 senior games and good game time?

Definitely a good idea. Lol I completely forgot about the PSD for a minute there Depends on his contract status though doesnt it? Anyone able to find out what his contract status is? If not, then I'd still be willing to trade for him. He really is a talented player cursed with trying to break into an amazing midfield. He's been consistently racking up 30+ possessions in the VFL all year.

Just did a bit of research on him myself.

Drafted 2004 at pick 32.

Is 21, turning 22 in July, so he's still young and fits into our 23 and under policy.

Debuted in 2006, played 8 games and averaged around 14 possessions.

Only managed 5 games last year due to Geelongs fantastic year and slab of All Australian midfielders. In those 5 games he averaged 18 possessions.

This year has been emergency 8 times, playing his second game for the year tonight. Hasnt played AFL for nearly 2 months, and he racked up 21 touches tonight, including 7 inside 50s and 3 tackles off limited gametime.

I really think he would be a great pick up if we managed to get him off Geelong. He can win the ball himself, but more importantly he has good skills, which is something we need.

On a completely unrelated note, anyone see Ablett's game tonight? Phenomenal! 39 touches, 2 goals, 6 tackles, 8 clearances. Unbelievable. On his form this year and last, he is better now than Judd ever was IMO.

Forget Tenace. He is like Buckley. Can run fast, and that's about it. Poor skills, no defensive side, waste of space.

Prismall would be great for us. He'd walk straight into our midfield and just about be our best. I'd give up any pick after first rounder for him. Say pick 20 something for him? Would really help our midfield. Finds alot of the ball, decent speed, good skills. Feel sorry for him wasting away in the VFL because he has to contend with Ablett, Bartel, Corey, Enright, Chapman, Kelly etc

Cats wont let Lonergan go. They rate him very very highly.

If we could draft a ruckman, some KPP, then trade in Prismall, I think we will have done well.

Colin Garland? I agree

Seriously though, it is a combination of unsized bodies and defensive pressure. We suck with both.

Our players never seem to put on the size that other clubs' do, and our defensive pressure this year has been the worst I can remember from a team.

I know! That's why I'm so worried as the where he is!

Our forward line has been our strength for as long as I can remember. Jackovich, Lyon, Schwartz, Farmer, Yze, Neitz, Robertson.

It is now our weakness and there is noone in site who looks like they can step up and be our next great forward. Bate and Miller player the lead up role. Robbo would have maybe 1-2 seasons left, and is past his best. Yze is gone. Davey is being pushed up into the midfield. Dunn is playing as a tagger and going backwards. Wona is ok, but is a crumber and not someone to rely on to kick you bags and take the number 1 defender

So where is Newton?

This draft we must draft a tall forward. Hurley would be nice!

It's really sad to see him go. He's the only one left playing from when I was a kid watching us play every weekend with my dad. Him and Yze. Now they're gone, it's roughly 15 years later, and we're no closer to a flag

Really feel bad for the big man as he has dragged us through some crappy periods and never got the ultimate reward for it. He'd get double teamed, bashed from all sides, and just keep on going and kick a few goals to keep us where we needed to be. A true leader. If only we had more like him!

Great career and will rightly be remembered as a Melbourne champion as he holds half the records for us now B)

It seems every time I start a new topic it's to ask where the hell a certain player is!

Last time it was Frawley, this time it's Newton.

Started the season poorly and got dropped. I was pretty disappointed as Neitz is done and he is the only big forward coming through to replace him. I know he was suspended at Sandy a few weeks back, and possibly copped an injury at training last week?

Why hadnt he been playing with Sandy after the suspension was served?

Does anyone know what is up with him? The club is useless for injury info.

His facebook status last week was 'someone donate me a new knee ' I thought the injury was a shoulder

WTF?

Thought the big man would've had at least a send off game at the G so we could all cheer him on and thank him for his wonderful service and captaining us for many years. Sad end if true.

It's probably Lethals doing. He blasted him in the media a few weeks back and Travis has lifted since then. Without meaning to insult us, Brisbane have a good strong winning culture, where as we do not. If he doesn't perform up there, no more pat on the back better luck next week. It'll be a big 'wtf was that performance?! We're taking half your pay cheque for next week you dunce!'

I do, because I think it's important to put defensive pressure on the other team as it forces mistakes and gets you the ball. Players need to work hard both ways, not just one way. It's our number 1 fault this year, even more so than skills. Players who dont defend and tackle as well as attack have no part in the team.

Aaron Davey set that standard a few years ago. Now every team has small forwards tackling like madmen and Davey barely does it anymore

Without Rivers, we are lost even when up and running. To lose him now would be disaster. Ofcourse we need to play youngsters, but he is a young defender as it is! For a guy who's 23 he has been injured an awful lot

Get well soon!

Was alright. Threw his body in there and laid 6 tackles which was good. Will definitely play again next week you'd think. He looks to me like a Junior replacement. Will always work hard, lay lots of tackles, and be in the thick of the action getting the contested ball.

Possibly and here's hoping. Similar to how Travis Johnstone is playing at the moment in Brisbane. Trapper had 32 touches and 2 goals on Saturday night but how many of those possesion were hard-ball gets?

It was actually 3 goals. And he had 7 contested possessions, 4 clearances, and 6 tackles. But by all means keep bagging him and calling him a "front runner" etc.

I see Buckley as Daniel Ward mk2... but probably worse. He can run fast, and that's it. He's an athlete, not a footballer. He doesnt read the play well, makes poor decisions, has poor disposal, and doesnt defend at all. He has laid 1 tackles in his 3 senior games this year. If you want to count NAB cup matches, he's laid 3 tackles in 7 games. That is downright pathetic. Especially for someone of his pace who is around the ball often.

He either learns to defend, and fixes his disposal, or we get rid of him. An outside player who does nothing but attack ineffectively is the biggest liability possible on the footy field. He is of no use if he doesnt change his game.

Sylvia has been decent this year. Not outstanding, but far from our worst performer. His move to the back half seems to have helped him find some confidence and the ball. His stats have been consistently good this last few weeks, and I think it may be starting to click for young Colin.

14,271, and under 10,000 by the end of the match.

Then we'll cop it in the media again during the week.