Lord Travis

Grimes wont play until the 2nd half of the season at best I'd say. Not that it matters, as there's no need to push him early in his career when it is completely unnecessary. Hopefully he is given time to overcome his injuries before they become chronic and turn him into another Rivers, Sylvia etc. Bate probably wont play this week. I'd say he'll play for Sandy, and then return in Rnd 4 at CHF in the role he played most of last year.

Forward line isnt looking great when big Neita retires. Hopefully we draft a good sized forward in the upcoming draft to play FF or CHF. Will still be years off it though. Newton to play as either FF or CHF depending on others. Maric to fill the crumber role. Bate and Sylvia to lead off the flanks and push into the midfield. Doesnt look great when compareed to say the Hawks forward line of Buddy, Roughead, Boyle, Rioli, Williams etc

Doubt very much that he'll play this weekend. 1-2 weeks is a good result. Thought he may have been gone for 10 when he was carried off the field :S Hopefully now we get to see Maric in action. Give the supporters a glimpse of light at the tunnel, because it sure is dark at the moment!

I didnt follow the pre-season as vigorously as previous years, but I dont remember anything about Frawley being injured. It concerns me that he isnt able to get a game with our current abysmal team. Players like Garland, who while they may turn out to be decent players, currently look like flailing [censored]. The fact that our top draft pick from 06 draft cant crack it into the team over him and many others is a worry! Many people had penciled him in as FB, or in the back pocket next to Carroll until he'd put on the mass to take over as FB. That is after all what he was drafted for! My question is where is he? Was he injured over pre-season and only now working back to match fitness? I read he played for Sandy and was average. Is he fully fit and in poor form? For those who have seen him, has he put on any weight? N. Brown from Collingwood was drafted 3-4 places earlier than him, was only 1kg heavier when drafted, and is now 95kg and looking like a real man competing against J. Brown and Pavlich! Where is Frawley? Why does our club always struggle to develop the talent properly? Have we wasted another high pick

Cale Morton is doing his chances no harm. If we could somehow land Morton or Cotchin, we will be laughing!

No demon deserved to be in the top 50 this year. Not even close. Mcdonald and Jones would be first up, and they'd probably rank at about 70-80

I HATE trade week, and this silly period leading up to it. I cant stand weeks or speculation with nothing to actually talk about. That's why I avoid the forums this time of year. My opinion is that like always, we wont feature heavily in trade week. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because Judd aside, the talent you get through trade is usually traded for a reason, damaged goods. I'd trade for another top 10 pick. I'd love to draft Rance, the prototype modern fullback. The guys big, and has a great kick and rebounds well. Think of him as Matty Scartlett. Saints will take him at pick 9 guaranteed if he's around, so we need to get a pick before then, preferably pick 5 from the Doggies or 7 from Freo. That way we can draft say Palmer or Ebert with pick 4 (assuming Kreuzer Cotchin and Morton are pick 1-3), then land Rance aswell. Inject a talented midfielder into our already good young onball brigade, and add a full back we've ben waiting for to the defence. Then we'll have the following as a defence for the next 10 years basically. Frawley Rance Batram Petterd Rivers Bell Not to mention the rotating onball unit of Mclean, Jones, Moloney, Sylvia, Bate, Dunn, pick #4 etc COuld be very exciting. Will probably cost us TJ and picks to get there though.

Brown wont be dropped. He played well on the weekend, and has been giving his all in this bleak season. He will definately be there for his good friend Neita's 300th, and likely play every game left this season, then probably retire at the end of the year.

Can someone tell me what is up with CJ? Is he playing for Sandy, or is he injured? Because I would have thought he'd be getting a game by now. He looked set to explode at the start of the year, but just didn't take his opportunities and is in real trouble. What do people think lays ahead for the future of Chris Johnson?

Mclean is the best of the 2003 draft thus far. Better than Cooney. That's not to say Cooney isn't a good player, because he is, and if he could put it together consistently he'd be fantastic, but Mclean has achieved the most thus far. Cooney just had a error riddled game on the weekend. This time last year, he played a magnificent game, had 35 disposals and 5 goals against Adelaide in a BOG performance to help secure the Doggies a finals place. Mclean did him one better and won us a final :D hahaha Point is Cooney is a good footballer, and there's no need to rubbish him.

Mine too. Watching Travis was the most exciting thing thats happened on Brownlow night since 2000 when Woey won it!

Foley is having a good season and standing out in a horrible team. Mclean is better, and will always be, better than him. Jones looks like he will be too, and he's even younger than Foley.

The match showed that if we have the cattle on the park, we will be competitive. We played with the intensity and passion that was present in 06. Those hard tackles, the niggling, the direct play, that's what got us where we were last year when we beat the Saints in that final. The team out there showed that if we have the cattle, throw in a new coach, and something to play for, we are a dangerous team and are capable of anything. How much better do we look with Travis out there and fit. Whether he is weaving magic, or copping the #1 tag, he is important to us structurally, and the midfield functions better with him out there leading it. How much better did Robbo look after the rest? I havent seen Robbo covering so much ground and playing with such vigor since 2005. That game would be up there for him possession wise. And did you see the way he got on with it quickly? He knows what it's like as a forward, you want the ball to come in quickly so there's room to work with and opposition dont have a chance to flood back. As soon as he got it he moved it on quickly, and it worked a treat. Played a really good game. Add back in Rivers, Bruce, Mclean, Whelan, Batram, Bate and a whole swagger of others, add a FIT Neitz who is hindered by a dodgy knee and a top draft pick like say Cotchin, and we will be top 8 team next season barring horrible injury like this year. Infact, I'll most likely be putting money on us for top 4, because our odds will be amazing value. It's not all doom n gloom. 08 will be a good year for us. 150 celebrations. New coach. Clean slate. Exciting times!

Ferg is a 26 yr old with the body of a 19-20 yr old. He should develop further, but won't because he is too old. He is a 26 yr old who hasn't even cemented a place in the side. By this age he should be established in the side, and in the prime of his career. If we can get a trade for him, then i'd take it. Anything. If not, then he will either be kept as depth, or delisted, depending on who else goes at the end of the season. You cant fault the guy on his courage and application, but unfortunately he simply just doesn't have the body or skills to cut it.

I'd like to win every match left, except Rnd 22 (assuming Carlton dont win another match before then). It would be brilliant to be in control of the match, then in the final minute kick rushed behind on purpose, really ridiculous ones from like 50 out, to hand them the win, thus robbing them of their priority pick, and granting us a higher pick. That way, it's a win win. We get a better pick. We were better than them, and handed them the match despite the fact we were in control. The AFL would then be forced to changed the drafting rules.

Moloney is severely hindered by OP. He cant take off and stand up in tackles as well as he should. Go watch 2005 clips, and you will see that behind Travis (who won the Bluey), Moloney was our second best midfielder and had a consistent good year. He represented Australia in the international rules series against Ireland, and was picked due to his long kicking and PACE. He is hindered at the moment, but people forget that when he is up and going, he can work up quite abit of momentum and smash right through tackles instead of being caught. I mean it was only the start of this year he was having an impact. He was amongst our best for the first few weeks until his groin flared up. We need him to get over his OP, because he could be a really useful player for us. But you'd think if his battle with it doesn't improve over the next year or two, that he will be traded off or cut loose

Was brilliant on the weekend. He usually gets kudos for his skills, as he rightfully should, but another pleasing aspect of his game was the fact he had 7 tackles, the most of any player on the team! Lead disposals, inside 50s, and tackling. Great game. We are a much better side with him out there, whether he is performing miracles or not.

Good to hear Buckley played well. I've recently become friends with someone who's been friends with him since they were kids, and she says he lives and breathes footy. Was a die-hard Melb supporter, and has made playing in the red n blue his life. Apparently he is insanely hardcore compulsive about it, doesnt go out pubbing etc, and trains himself into the ground, whether with the team or on his own. Was sad not to be playing this weekend, but will continue to work his ass off to be able to pull on the red n blue. It's always good to hear about players who have a real passion and pride for the jumper

Good luck to the old fella next week. I still have fond memories of his entire 2002 season. Was an absolute monster up forward. Another special mention to his match vs St kilda last year where he kicked something like 5 goals (from 8) from outside 50, and set some kind of record. Was great that day with his long kicking!

No need for any big changes. Bring in Mclean or Bate if fit. Out goes Frawley injured, replaced by one of those 2.

Great news man :D I'll cya before u go. Gonna be lonely at Melb games without you You will be missed

Sylvia COULD be better than Brock. He has the potential to be a real star player, but until his body lets him, we wont see that happen. We've already seen the difference with his OP being more under control. He has been able to shrug his opponents aside and burst off on several occasions this year. My favorite moment of the year so far, and it may seem stupid, was in the Queens Bday match where he literally tossed some Pie player aside burst off, and drilled a pass into the 50 which set up a goal. That moment showed what he is really capable of. Either way, I'll be happy to have both these guys in our side for 10+ years :D

I went to the game and watched him really closely. He was getting to the right spots, just not getting as much ball as he should have. The team didn't have confidence in him (as he's a first gamer), and therefore didn't pass it to him when they should have. Much like what happened with Sylvia in his early career. I think Buckley showed he has really smooth hands in traffic, and has pretty good pace to boot for someone his size. If he can get used to the speed, keep up the fitness, and gain the confidence of the rest of the team, I believe he could make it as a midfielder, back pocket, or tagger.

Get well soon Ricky. You've been great in your debut year, and we'll be glad to have you at the club for many years to come.

Nice poll. I think Brock's the obvious choice at this stage, but any of those top 4 listed could be star players. Brock we dont even need to talk about. Jones is tough, determined, a bash and crash machine. Fix his kicking, and he will be a stand out ball winner in the Sam Mitchell mould. Sylvia is the wild card. Great mark for his size, great leap, strong, aggressive, decent pace; he is currently a more than handy half-forward who could move into the midfield once he gains fitness. He has the attributes to be a star of the competition, just a matter of whether his body (and head) will hold him back or not. Bate is quickly becoming one of our most reliable players. His hands have glue on them. It's amazing seeing some of the marks he takes when he is so stretched to grab the ball. He has good pace, good work ethic, and he could become a great CHF IMO. Been great this last month and abit. Great to see his confidence on the rise. The rest of the group, bar probably CJ, Buckley and Garland at this point, will all be solid players for us for many years to come.