mauriesy

I read about the death of one-on-one football if favour of the 'modern rolling zone'. But sometimes I really wonder. Not much point zoning down one side of the ground if your opposition switches out to free players on the other.

A Roos-Goodwin dichotomy is a media invention to raise a bit of chatter and sell a few stories. It's the second week of the season. Everyone should settle down. Sure, we didn't play well but the doomsayers need a lot more evidence before they consign us to the wooden spoon.

Agreed. We had no answer to their running, switching and loose men. One thing I also noticed was that when Essendon (usually Gwilt) was taking a kick-out towards the member's wing, there would be lone Essendon player, totally unmanned, out towards the 50 line in the opposite back pocket. They often had no opponent within 40-50 metres. When the ball came back or play was switched, this player was well out by themself on the southern side to take a turnover or a switch. It gave them a lot of overlaps down the southern side wing that we totally failed to counter. We definitely needed another tall back for Daniher. He is just so good overhead one-on-one. If he could kick we'd have lost by 5-6 goals like we did last year. Also, I can't quite understand the new deliberate OOB interpretation. There were some rightly picked up that wouldn't have been last year, but that excellent come-from-behind spoil by Watts (I think) was right in front of me, and was given deliberate when he had no real control over where the punched ball went. He was just trying to get a fist in. Exactly the same OOB spoil in the StK v Dogs game last night was given a throw-in. FWIW, I didn't even think the team looking sharp in the pre-game warm-up and told my wife the same.

The arrogance of the team in thinking they didn't have to work hard to beat the Bombers was matched by the arrogance of many on here who talked about how much we'd win by and how many Hogan would kick. Getting ahead of ourselves. Underestimated a Bomber outfit that was by no means a 'Dads Army' and provided more pressure, more run and more skill.

Not sure whether you mean the total playing group or the 'best 22'. 120 games x 38 players is 4560 games. No list in the AFL comes anywhere near that level. They'd be 50% geriatrics.

Assuming sufficient quality in the list, I think 6 years is pessimistic. Here's a calculation of the total number of games played by each club's list at the start of this season. I just added up the number of games played by every player in each club's list (source Age 2016 Footy guide). Here's the data: North Melbourne 3993 Fremantle 3393 Hawthorn 3377 West Coast 3092 Geelong 2944 Port Adelaide 2942 Collingwood 2791 Richmond 2769 Sydney 2601 Essendon 2573 Western Bulldogs 2556 Adelaide 2500 Carlton 2450 St Kilda 2432 GWS 2415 Gold Coast 2405 Melbourne 2268 Brisbane 2009 So Melbourne is the second-least experienced team at the start of 2016. The teams that would appear to be close to premiership contention (Sydney upwards) have at least 2600 (maybe Bulldogs at 2556). The favourites this year have around 3000+. How long does it take to get to that level? Each year you can add 22 x 22 = 484 games experience to the list, minus delistings and retirements (we're not liklely to have too many players retire that soon). Players delisted generally don't have many games under their belt. You can also bring in experience through FA and trades. Melbourne's figure also includes Melksham. So say you can add 300-400 games experience every year to the list. In two years Melbourne could have a total list experience of 2800-3000 games. That's enough to be in contention. As I said before, this assumes a certain amount of list quality. But experience is a necessity, just look at the top 5-6 teams on the table. BTW, amazing how old North Melbourne are, although Harvey skews the list)

He'll either accept her as a professional, or be condescendingly misogynistic (with some ogling thrown in). I suspect the latter.

If those are what goes through a player's mind when they look up the field, no wonder they're sometimes indecisive.

Hird: gone Little: gone Thompson: gone Robinson: gone Dank: gone 34 drug-taking players: not playing What is left to boo? A whole lot of players who had nothing to do with the drug issue and a new coach. Just beat them, that's enough for me. Anything else is childish, vindictive rubbish. P.S. Are you going to boo Jamar too if he plays?

Damning with faint praise. He was good and deserves a more positive comment.

Go your hardest being combative and concocting class warfare. I prefer to spend my supporter time enjoying the game and helping the club. Maybe people just prefer the northern stand because it's not looking into the sun.

I think that's a load of twaddle. The club has never been more open and accountable, and, in my opinion, heading in the right direction after 10 years out of the finals. Misplaced aggression will get you nowhere. It's a terrible negotiation tactic. Also, I didn't say Collingwood the club was persecuted. I said their supporters act like they're persecuted. In fact somewhow they feel superior and inferior at the same time! (WB supporters just feel persecuted.) I just don't want to accept that as a mode of operation for my support for Melbourne.

As someone who climbed in New Zealand in the 1970s, I can show you my photographic record and compare it with some recent photographs. My photo (left) shows the Mueller Glacer (Mt Cook National Park) in 1976. On the right is a photo taken by someone else in 2014. . Another comparison (below) is the Hochstetter icefall coming down from the Grand Plateau on Mt Cook to the Tasman Glacier. My photo shows the icefall in 1976 (left) and a recent photo (right). A lot of mountaineering routes that were ice climbs in 1976 are now mainly rock climbs. I took the 1976 photo standing on glacier ice, the terminus of the exposed glacier ice is now a few kilometres higher. Finally, this one is taken from the middle of the Tasman Glacier, standing on ice, looking up at the moraine wall in 1976. You can just see Malte Brun hut (orange roof, since demolished). There is no ice or snow on this part of the glacier or on the slopes now, it's all bare rock. However, New Zealand's glaciers have been rapidly retreating since the 1700s. You can see where the ice reached then, at the distinct line almost exactly across the middle of the photograph (a short distance below the hut).

This talk of 'AFL power' and 'failure to fight' is 50% rubbish and 50% delusion. It's time some here stopped feeling persecuted and left that attitude to others, like Collingwood and Western Bulldog supporters. One sign of real strength is to take charge of your own actions and consequences. A fine was appropriate for Pedersen. If it had been a player from another club in the same act toward a Melbourne player, some on here would be calling for a week or two. Accept the error, take the penalty, and run.

He has been a very strong role model to Dustin. It's just the wrong role.

One kicking incident at training does not indicate a general attitude problem, nor that he 'needs to take a good hard look at himself'.

Loved Daddy Cool when I was in my early 20s. Favourite Australian band ever..

What I object to in this thread is the title ... 'needs to have a good hard look at himself'. It implies there is something wrong with his attitude. While I am happy to question his skill level, ability to make decisions in traffic, and his kicking, I've never found his attitude to be an issue.

Gawd, imagine how much she'd get beaten by Serena if she didn't take it.

It was a practice match in hot conditions in a swirling wind. 15 of the 18 goals were scored at the one end, with the wind. The Doggies scored 3 points for the whole match kicking the other way (we scored three goals there). Yes, we didn't set the world on fire. There were skill errors. Tom Mcdonald made some blunders, But please remember that while the Dogs had a 'young team', so did we. Salem, Viney, Tyson, Gawn, Kent, Frost, Harmes, vandenBerg, Michie and Kennedy have played 50 games or fewer. Oliver, Hunt and Wagner haven't played any. That's half yesterday's team. Some or most of these guys need to get to the 100+ games level to set the basis for a premiership. Until then, try complaining with a realistic perspective.

Funny how Hulett (194cm, 90kg) is some sort of 'hulk', but Weideman (196cm, 91kg) is 'skinny'.

Can always send him off for a reco, just so he's ready for round 1 ... 2017.

You forgot the compulsory brain scan for every headache just to make sure it's not a tumour.

At best he's a competent rebounding KPD, at his very worst he's a rich man's Zac Dawson. Keep.

All of them.