Lord Travis

6. Johnstone - Easily our best. Playing good footy and been amongst our best for a few weeks now. One of the few out there who appears to try and care 5. Sylvia - Another good game off limited oppurtunities. The kid might finally be on his way to becoming the player we know he can be 4. Junior - Tried hard 3. Petterd - Starting to struggle now. Decent game from the youngster 2. Green - Really sturggling. Tried to run? 1. Bell - I'm done. His worst game for the year, but still far from our worst player

Rivers to CHF is disaster city! He's easily our best defender, and without him down there we'd be absolutely screwed. We've got more than enough younger forwards to try and fill the role. Only things I'd like to see this year that I haven't yet are Buckley given a run in BP/HBF, even if just for a week or two. Frawley to debut, and likely play on HBF or wing? Newton to debut, though this one seems unlikely and I don't think he is ready if he hasn't cracked the team throughout this injury streak. Sylvia and Bell both given runs through the midfield, not for full matches as they aren't ready for that, but just bursts of 5-10 mins here and there.

CJ has been poor this year, no denying that. He doesn't have good awareness. Seen him get run down far too many times for someone of his speed and supposed talent. The kid has great skills, but hasn't put it together yet. He's safe this year, as there are many ahead of him who would get the chop first. But if he doesn't start to solidify a spot in the team next year, then he's gone.

Godfrey to Kerr. Kerr is a firecracker and wont deal well with the constant pressure. He will get frustrated and lose his concentration, maybe even take a shot at Godders nuts Not sure who goes to Judd, probably Junior. We need Travis free to hurt the opposition, Bruce mopping up around halfback and pushing into the midfield, and Jones getting the hard ball for us.

Glad to see he hasn't thrown in the towel. If he can get fit and back into form, he is easily in our 22 and will go along way to helping us to finals/flag etc. We need his hardness and experience out there to lead younger hard nuts like Jones for a little bit longer.

Doesnt say how many players have played ALL games. We've had only 5 players or so play every game this year. Easily the least amount of any team, even Adelaide. That upsets structure, and doesn't give the team a chance to play with each other properly and know what works etc.

Travis was great on the weekend. Hope he keeps that kind of form up, and continues leading our players well on the ground. Also love the avatar jacey :D

Glad to see Brock is named. Means he cant be far off, even though I don't expect him to play this week. Subiaco is a hard ground to play, and if he isn't fit enough he will struggle and injure and hammy or something. Concerned about Rivers. Our best defender by a mile, and he cant get out on the park, just like Matty Whelan. Every time Rivers has played this year, he's been sensational, and everyone remembers just how good he really is. It's a worry that alot of our star players of the future (Brock, Rivers, Moloney, Sylvia) all struggle badly with injury.

Why is it hard to believe he is top 3 fittest at the club? I'd say he was THE fittest, and top 3 in the LEAGUE if not injured. The guy was a cross country runner, and one of his main strengths as that he can run all day. He doesn't have the best pace, but he covers more ground on our team than anyone except maybe Junior I'd have thought.

Bate isnt that high unfortunately. Maybe in the future he could be, as he has the attributes to be a great player, but not yet. He was on the verge of being dropped just a few weeks ago due to poor output. 1. Travis Johnstone 2. Brock McLean 3. David Neitz 4. Cameron Bruce 5. Jared Rivers 6. James McDonald 7. Matthew Whelan 8. Aaron Davey 9. Russell Robertson 10. Brad Green Can't even be bothered to finish. Think the top 5 is spot on though, maybe order could be shuffled. Jeff White, Adem Yze, Daniel Bell are all right there vying for a top 10 spot too I'd have thought.

Don't think we will risk Brock next week. Make sure he is fit enough to play. No point rushing him in if he isn't fit, as he will just re-injure his hammy. Cant wait for him to come back though. Take the spirit we player with yesterday, add in Brock and Green to our team, and things are finally starting to look up :D

He has had the fumbles abit this year, probably due to low confidence. But yesterday he was fantastic. Marked everything that went his way, and had a big impact on the match. His best game thus far I think. He seems to be a confidence player, like Neitz. If he pulls something off early, such as one of his now trademark goals from outside 50, then his confidence grows and he tries to do these unique things more often. If he gets shut down or fluffs a kick, his confidence drops off and he gets the fumbles bad. Yesterday was an example of what he is capable of when his confidence is up. Hopefully he takes some confidence from the match knowing he is capable of having a big impact at this level like he did. He really has the attributes to be a great player in a variety of different positions.

Brown - usual doogy game Carroll - great contested marks Warnock - surprisingly good goal Rivers - our defensive rock Bell - reliable as usual Bruce - not enough damage Johnstone - starting to build Petterd - fantastic 2nd game Moloney - struggled with injury McDonald - usual junior game Godfrey - another good game Davey - not too shabby Pickett - not doing enough Dunn - good shutdown job Miller - absolutely no impact Yze - another decent game Neitz - decent return game Johnson - starting to build Bate - his best game White - good rounded game Jones - is a star Sylvia - getting better also

Bell would be leading methinks, with Moloney not far behind. Bell hasnt had a bad game yet, and has beaten all of his opponents convincingly. Noone else in our side can say that this year. Whenever someone has been kicking bags on us, Bell has been switched onto them and shut them down. Go watch the match against Hawthorn. Williams kicks 4 on Carroll. Bell switches onto him. Holds him to only one more goal (from a soft free kick I might add), and then Williams kicked another as Bell came from the field after a heavy collision and left him without an opponent. Add the drive he gives also to his great defensive work, and you've got a good reliable backman. The guy has improved his decision making, is free of OP finally, and really is having a great season. Moloney has also been consistently performing well in the midfield, even hampered with injury. It's sad to see him struggling to run out games. Was bad in the last quarter yesterday, he went to chase someone on the wing and just couldn't take off like he should. You could see the pain on his face that the groin was really hurting and holding him back, and also the pain of being beaten. The guy is passionate and hates being beaten. He bleeds Red n Blue. If he ever gets free of his OP, I reckon he will become a really good player and surprise alot of people.

Dunno about the next Tingay. Different sort of players IMO. Hope he has better luck with injuries! Very pleased with Petterd thus far though. Kid is really showing he has the skills and smarts to become a good player. Add a few KGs to his frame, and more games under his belt, and he will be owning the HBF and pushing up into the midfield with great effect for years to come.

Nathan Jones is a star. Quickly becoming my favorite player! For someone so young with less than 20 games under his belt, he is already so important to us, and is having an impact. I like that he is constantly smashing his way in and working his ass off no matter what the circumstance. Short career thus far, but whenever Melbourne are in trouble, he seems to lift. In many games already he has been a spark for us. I really think he is going to be a great leader at the club for the next 10+ years, and have a fantastic football career. The thought of him, Mclean, Moloney, Petterd, Bell, Batram, Bate, Sylvia, Dunn all up and firing...pretty exciting. All these kids have got real grunt and desire, so much so that they're the ones leading our senior players more so than not these days. That's obviously not a good thing, but it is exciting to know that barring catastrophe, we've got a great new breed coming through the club. Keep up the good work Jonesy!

Fair tackle, and a damn good one. Pretty much picture perfect text book stuff. Pinned both the arms so he couldn't dispose of the ball properly, just unlucky that Cornes landed the way he did. As stated, very similar to the Guerra tackle on Bruce in 05. If Byron goes for that, I refuse to watch football for the rest of the year. That would be PATHETIC. One of the highlights of the game yesterday, and what sets our great game apart from other soft boring sports. Sidenote; hope Byrons ear is alright

Glad to see Jones back. The kid is a real hard goer, and is already very important to us IMO.

Didn't see a thread on this, so figured I'd start one. It's Travis' 150th game this weekend, and while he hasn't had a good year thus far, and some of you may go bash him for not living up to his #1 pick etc, I want to congratulate him for his 150 games for the MFC and counting. He has been my favorite player since 2000, and I wouldn't have gone to nearly as many Melbourne matches if it wasnt to see him play. His performance in the 2002 semi against Adelaide remains the greatest and most exciting game by a player I've ever seen in the flesh. His skills are, simply put, the best going around. When he is on song, there is noone more mesmerizing to watch IMO. If we are to win a flag within the next 5 years, Travis will be key. If he is fit and firing, we are an immensely better side. He cops such a heavy tag these days, because the opposition knows, shut down Travis, pretty much got Melbourne beaten. Here's hoping he has a great 150th and kick starts himself into some of the great form we know he is capable of. We need our midfield to start getting on top. Congratulations Travis, and here's to a stack more games for the MFC in the future

Didn't have a great game last night, but he was still hard at it. He layed the best tackle of the night IMO

BB, who else would be leading our B&F? Bell has been solid-good in every match this year. Calling him a hack is the dumbest thing I've read on here in a while, and there's been som dumb sh*t on here recently! Only other solid contributers have been Bruce, Moloney, Miller, and Rivers. Moloney and Rivers have both missed time through injury. Miller is Miller, tries hard and does alright, but not the best. Bruce has been OK, but not great, especially by his standards. Bell however, has shutdown his opponent every week, while giving drive out of the backline also. His disposal is now one of the best at the club. He has come along way in the last 6-7 months. Based on this years form, he has taken over the mantle from Whelan as best small defender, and most reliable player. If he is not leading the B&F, he is definately top 3. I don't see how this can be argued. I think this also says how poorly performed our team has been this year.

All these people on here knocking Bell clearly have no f'ing idea about football. Bell would currently be leading our B&F this year, and barring injury will finish top 5. Knocking our best player for this year shows your incredible knowledge

Good news regarding Sylvia. Hopefully he can string some games together and show us all what he made of :D Also great to hear Rivers in good spirits. Him, TJ and Moloney will all be very valuable inclusions back into the side. Petterd getting amongst it. Good luck to the youngster this weekend.

Awesome news! Not only has Ward been dropped, but we'll finally see some debutants too! I don't mind if we get smashed, as I'll be happy seeing some of our future prospects in action!

He has been rucking better than White for a good year now. Anyone who doesn't see that isn't watching. He doesn't do enough around the ground, but he has some pretty good ruckwork. He was in really good rucking form before he got injured late last year. I seem to recall numerous instances where he he fed off clean taps to Mclean, Mcdonald and Jones. White is serviceable in the ruck now. Lost his leap, his touch, and the ruckman around him are all taller than they were a few years ago when he dominated. He has been a great player for the MFC, and we are now seeing the struggle of what it's like not having a consistently good ruckman. We've had Stynes and White for years, and now have no heir apparent. Do we trade to get one? Draft one? Or go with an average ruck division in the future and hope our up and coming midfielders will dominate regardless?