Lord Travis

Not sure about White, he was OK. But Davey and Travis were certainly in poor form. No point dropping them though. We've got bad injury problems at the moment, and they're both too important to drop quite frankly. Poor start to the season

'LOL'

Look forward to the return of Sylvia

We are [censored] for a while then :S

Travis has a PS3 already?! No wonder he isnt paying attention Hit the nail on the head. Not saying he's scared exactly, but he is getting no support whatsoever. Everyones jumping on him for a poor game yesterday, and while he did have a poor game, I don't think people realise how badly he was being harassed. I counted at least 3 ball up contests where he was sandwiched by 2 hawks players illegally blocking him from the contest. None of his team mates helped him out, and it got to the stage where he'd be focused on the contest, get drilled by bumps from both sides, look around at his team mates who were standing round hands on hips, and he'd just sink his head. There is no comradere in the midfield at the moment. The hard work that the players did last year, the running, the chasing, the 1%s, non-existent thus far this year. Shows how important Brock really is to us. As soon as he left the field in round 1, our midfield has been lost since. Soft, lazy, losing. When Brock, Pickett, Sylvia, the harder players return and take some of pressure off Travis, he will shine. He's too good a player not to. But it's abit hard when you're being tagged by TWO players at once. There was no Mclean, so all they had to do was take Travis out of it and the match was theirs. Travis is good, but he's no Judd unfortunately.

Right just got home. Shocking game, but we did fight it out considering the bad run with injuries. Whelan - was soundly thrashed Carroll - was not disgraced Bell - solid medium backman (I thought he did well today, though alot of you appear to disagree) Brown - gave decent run Rivers - well rounded game Ward - under the pump Johnstone - harassed to death/career worst game (yes he had a terrible game, but his team mates didn't help him out at all. he was blocked out of numerous contests by 2 men tagging him at once, and his team mates didnt do a thing to help him. I'm defending him because he's my favorite player. As sh*t as he was, I blame team mates for not showing any comradeship whatsoever. And therein lies our main problem currently) Johnson - not doing enough Green - poor milestone game Davey - becoming a passenger Moloney - another solid game (am I the only one on here who thinks he is actually doing well considering how little footy he has player the last year and abit?) McDonald - battled as usual Robertson - not much opportunity Neitz - get well soon :S Jones - made small contribution Miller - is getting better Jamar - is going nowhere Bate - lacks confidence + form/mr butter fingers Wheatley - poor milestone game Bruce - battled all match White - switched up game Godfrey - what we expected (tried hard, but just isnt a good enough AFL footballer) Terrible start to the season for us. Slightly worried, but we lost first 3 last year and came back. Problem is we've lost 2 at the G already, that's more than the entire season last year :S I had both matches penciled in as a win, and they'll obviously come back to haunt us. CMON DEES. LIFT YOUR F*CKING GAME!

We're getting injuries at the wrong time. We're being forced to use depth we shouldn't have to. Having Ward, Brown, and likely Godfrey in the same team is not a good sign. Maybe 3-4 years ago, but it's 2007 now and we have far more talent than we're getting onto the field :S

Looking forward to the return of this promising young forward

Heffernan. Played some great footy at the Dons, and was touted as future captain. The we picked him up as the Dons were forced to trade away some talent or fall down the ladder badly. I thought we'd got a steal. What we got was midfield depth, and poor one at that. Disappointing.

Congrats to Brad on 150 games. Was a lively young forward who helped us into our only grand final in a long time, and has now re-invented himself as a reliable half back/midfielder, and decent leader to. Hope he has a great 2007, as he has all the attributes he needs now to take his game another step up and reach All Australian status

You're right, stats dont mean anything. So, stats aside, he was still one of our best last week and you dont reward players who play well by dropping them, even if there isnt a match up. Just isnt fair on the guy. I mean Carroll was shocking last week, I'd drop him ahead of Holland if we were going by form here. Or talk about form, how about the much talked about Adem Yze, or Brad Miller? Even Bate was poor last week. Infact most of the team were. Regardless of whether the Saints let Holland do as he pleased, he still did it and did it well. To drop him sends out the wrong message to the other players. Play well, and we'll drop you due to match ups, coast along on reputation and youl'll be rewarded. Shouldnt be that way. I'm off to the pub for the night to drown my sorrows, on a completely unrelated note. But poor Dutchy

What the [censored]? Holland dropped? Boy I feel sorry for him. I mean there isnt any obvious match up in defense, but that's a real slap int he face. He was one of, if not our best last week, and to be dropped so easily when someone like Yze has countless chances....just reeks of coaching panel etc playing favorites and not treating players equally and fairly. Bad outs, and probably bad Ins too this week. I feel cheated.

Thanks very much :D And yes, I do know it all B)

Can i just add, last night was not a good one for Junior. I've never seen him play so soft. He didnt tackle like the number 1 tackler in the league, that's for sure. He either didnt bother trying, or let them slip, and he also shirked a few contests noticeably. Is he injured? Or has the softness of the other senior players infected him now :S

6 - Moloney - Our best imo. Great to have him back. Missed his long kicking. He didnt blaze away with them either like he has been criticised of doing, but when he did they were spot on. Had some great long passes to neitz. There were 2 occasions where neitz marked his perfectly placed long kicks one handed and diving after a strong lead. Was relieving to see he still has the talent, and passion. Wish some others would follow his lead. At one stage he got shoved needlessly into the fence, wasnt happy, turned around and let the Sainter know it, and wound up taking on 3 of them by himself in a wrestling match. Not one team mate came to his aid Wish some others had his passion and fire! Will have a good year, and may be top 5 in our B&F if he stays fit and doesnt suffer injuries. 5 - Holland - Our only backmen not humiliated. Even though he was allowed to run around and be the loose man, he did a far better job than i thought imaginable for someone so slow who isnt the most reliable kick... 4 - Neitz - Got limited opportunities, and with the exception of one set shot he missed, did very well. 3 - Robertson - like neitz, limited opportunity, and did alright considering. Great goal before half time! 2 - Jones - Great first quarter, and tried all day. When Brock went down, Jones' stats dried up, as he didnt have ths upport and started getting crunched from all directions Love this kids heart, and hope he plays all year. 1 - White - Feel sorry for him. What a lousy match to remember as your 200th for the Dees Congrats on kicking his 100th goal in his 200th match! Did a few great things around the ground. Had a few good passes, and won a great contest near the wing in the 2nd half. He ran his guts out at the ball headed for the boundary line, was running against an obviously quicker opponent, and made the distance, threw his body at the ball, sheperding it from the opponent and taking the hit, then gathered and off he went. Fantastic to see a big man do this. I found it really inspirational, and felt sorry not many of his team mates had the same ticker on the night.

The gameplan is rubbish. Ditch it, or we will struggle to make finals this year, let alone top 4. We have the list to make top 4, don't waste the opportunity.

Whelan - a major loss Carroll - worst on ground Holland - backline's only winner Ward - usual dodgy kicking Bruce - one to forget Bell - average defensive performance Johnstone - one of best Davey - pathetic undisciplined game Green - just went along Yze - streak probably over Miller - was totally ineffective Moloney - our best player McDonald - where was tackling? Bate - poor ball handling Neitz - one of best Robertson - brief magical moments McLean - get well soon Jamar - thoroughly beaten alround Johnson - showed some promise Jones - seemed totally overwhelmed White - a decent game Bartram - was not ready First of all, our team was lazy. Our midfield was lazy. Before tonight, I thought our midfield would be our strength this year, but not anymore. We were smashed by an unfit and battered midfield in theirs. I thought we were spuppose to be fitter? Where was the chasing and 2nd efforts?! I just got home from the match, and numerous times their players broke from a pack, and instead of ours chasing they jsut stood there and watched. At one stage, MIller droped a mark, Junior layed a sofft tackle and fell over and just watched (Junior?! of all ppl!), and Travis was left to run back and forth between 3 Saints, with about 3-4 team mates jsut standing and not bothering to help the poor guy. Welcome back Moloney. I thought you were our best tonight, and it's great to see someone in our team with some form of passion for the jumper and the game. Davey was pathetic tonight. In all honesty, I couldve got more touches out there tonight. I counted 3 kicks the whole game, and he was playing on a debutant. Pathetic. Carroll was F*CKING PATHETIC tonight. Gehrig wouldve had 9-10 if he didnt kick so inaccurately. As it stands he still kicked 4.6 or something. Carroll was lazy. He turned his back to the ball numerous times, and was beaten for pace and strength at every contest. I dont remember him sucessfully spoiling a ball tonight. Me and my mates were joking how he was the new Nicholson. Difference is Nicholson wouldve spoiled a few He's lucky Rivers is injured, because I personally would drop him after tonight. Worst performance I've seen by a defender in person EVER. And I've been going to the footy for 15 years or so now. Stop this run and carry sh*t. If we cant beat an underdone Saints at OUR HOME, then its not worth pursuing. Imagine if theyd kicked accurately and Reiqolt had played. W wouldve lost by 100 points! Pathetic performance tonight, and I pray we come out and ebat the Hawks next week, or it's gonna be a long year.....

According to Fagan, Sylvia will play for Sandy next week? Read that in an article today I'm positive. He is still weeks away from AFL you would think. Still needs to complete a preseason of some form to get reasonable match fitness. Thanks all for the report.

Sylvia wont play round 1. He is the only player not to play a practice match due to injury. He still needs to complete a pre-season fitness program before he can even be considered. So he will likely not be playing until a few rounds into the season at least. Batram had his first match today in months, and from reporta played a half and did well. Doubt he will play round 1, as he isnt fit enough, but will definately be in the side after a few rounds one would think. Frawley may be injured also, as he was a late withdrawl from the match against Geelong I understand? And he would have been borderline selection anyway. Yze takes Sylvias spot. Bizzell take Frawleys spot. Pickett takes Batrams spot. Fiddle round with positioning, and that seems pretty good.

True we are a far tougher unit than I can ever remember. With Mclean, Jones, Moloney, Batram and Sylvia all running through our midfield for the next 10 years, we shouldnt have a problem with toughness for a very long time. Exciting times ahead for the MFC

Dunn has a broken jaw and is out for 2 months?? Suprised I havent heard this mentioned anywhere at all yet! Guess that settles the Miller vs Dunn argument for a few months then.... Hopefully it isnt too bad, as Dunn looked set to improve again in 2007 and make his way into our 22.

Miller will be staying at CHF for the time being. Neitz needs to play close to goals as our main target up forward, for both his sake and the teams. Dunn will take over from Miller at CHF, but for the time being Miller will stay there methinks. I want to see our mids kicking heaps of goals, West Coast style. I want them to run hard, never stop running, and kick a stack of goals. I want to see Travis, Bruce, Green, Mclean, Jones, Moloney all amongst the goals when I read the match report in the paper.

Nice article. Good to hear he has a mature head on his shoulders. Seems alot of our young brigade do Look forward to Dunn making further impact in the future.

Being picked in the 50s shouldnt have any bearing on a player. Look at Batram. In 2-3 years will we be saying "well he was a late pick, so we dont expect much of him". No. He has the talent, and we've seen that already. Same with Miller. There's a reason he was being talked up as a future captain and leader. He has had a poor year and abit, but if he gets his mind on the job at hand, regains his aggression that's disappeared, he will be fine. Wont be great, but he will do. Dunn will overtake him in the future IMO, but for now we should have Miller leading up the ground from CHF and hope he kicks a few more goals along the way. Dunn can be swapped in there in bursts, or play leading from closer to goal or further up the wing.

B: Whelan Carroll Holland HB: Bruce Rivers Bell C: Johnstone McLean Green HF: Bate Miller C.Johnson FF: Robertson Neitz Davey Foll: White McDonald Jones Int: Jamar Moloney Yze Pickett Em: Dunn, Frawley, Ward Need 3 tall backs against Saints. I've got Yze in the team, despite poor form. Pickett and Moloney both have question marks over their heads regarding fitness, but assuming they're both OK, then they walk into the team. Looking forward to the return of Brock, the emergence of Jones and CJ, and a good 2007 for the Dees :D