Nasher

I'm glad someone got my point. Sometimes I wonder if I am speaking a different language to everyone else. Very frustrating.

It was a deliberate omission (edit: I didn't know he was actually injured until seeing Grimes to Watts' post above). Including him has to be at the expense of someone, and I currently rate the other players I've listed there more, and that's the only reason. Who I "currently rate" can and will vary throughout the year. That is, I haven't picked him for round 1, but that doesn't mean I won't pick him for round 2 for instance. If it makes you feel better, you can slot him in the emergency spot that I left vacant

Revised team based on Sylvia injury and change of mind as per my previous post: B: Rivers, Warnock, McDonald HB: Grimes, Frawley, Macdonald C: Trengove, Bruce, Davey HF: Petterd, Bate, Miller F: Scully, Martin, Green R: Jamar, Jones, Moloney IC: Strauss, McKenzie, Maric, Bennell EM: Cheney, Spencer, <someone else - who cares really> In: Maric, Bennell Out: Sylvia, Spencer For the record, based on the experience level of this side (3 debutants!) I suspect it will probably get a bit of a smashing. If we were playing anyone other than the injury decimated Hawks I'd be willing to put money on a smashing, actually.

Most exciting prospect is definitely overstating it. More exciting than Scully, Trengove(, Morton, Watts)? You've got to be kidding. He's not even a certainty to make it at the top level at all yet, let alone reaching the Andrew McLeod level. What he does have is the tools to become a very good player. I'd see par for Bennell as becoming a good 'B' grader to sit in the 15-22 position on the list of a premiership side, but he's got a lot of work to do to get to that level. His career is off to a promising start, but I wouldn't get too ahead of myself just yet.

Nit pick all you like, my point remains the same.

It's not surprising that morale is low, we've just comprehensively lost every game of the pre-season. They've now good two weeks to get themselves 'up' again. Spot on. Thanks for the report, nice to know the day was a net positive.

That they bring nothing to the table is quite clearly rubbish, otherwise they'd never have been drafted. And I don't think that was really CB's point anyway. I view Fitzpatrick in the same light as pretty much everyone else we've picked in the 50s and beyond -- my expectations are very low but that doesn't mean he brings nothing to the table.

Is that such a stupid idea? Warnock played forward and back at Sandringham before he was drafted and during his early years on the rookie list. He'd offer more forward than Frawley would IMO.

Slow day at work today, so here's my attempt. I'll go through the reasoning too. B: Rivers Warnock McDonald HB: Grimes Frawley Macdonald C: Sylvia Bruce Davey HF: Petterd Bate Miller F: Scully Martin Green R: Jamar Jones Moloney IC: Strauss McKenzie Spencer Trengove EM: Cheney Maric Bennell Note: I've treated the positioning in the same way that the clubs do when they release team lists; i.e. they might vaguely resemble how they'll line up, but really it's just plonking people anywhere. How I picked the team: - Wrote out the whole team list - Put in anyone who would be an automatic selection (I had 13 people) - Excluded anyone who is automatically not playing, i.e. the injured, the raw, and the rookies (exc. Spencer and McKenzie who I have assumed will be available through rookie promotions) - Chose whoever I had left on merit. I was boiled down to choosing two out of Strauss, McKenzie, Maric and Bennell, and had a really hard time doing that. I would happily raffle those positions. I've chosen Spencer in the side as well as Martin, but I'm not completely comfortable with this choice, and I'm sure I'm going to change my mind a lot before round 1. Of the three rucks, I think Martin is the only one who offers anything other than ruck capabilities, even though he's the worst ruckman of the three. I've got a nagging feeling that this configuration result in waste, i.e. 100% of the game with at least one ruckman on the pine, therefore being short a runner. On writing this, I've changed my mind and dropped Spencer already. Argh. Given that, I'd swap Maric in for Spencer. I've assumed Garland and Wonaeamirri will not be match fit in time for round 1. Of the 'rest' of my list (Gysberts, Bartram, Newton, McNamara, Dunn, Jetta and Bail) - I simply had them behind the rest of the list in terms of pure selection merit.

Thanks for the bump. I might close the poll so this one can go in the time capsule.

Occasionally players have raised their heads incognito, but not often, and usually not for long. A Sandringham senior player also posted a bit during the alignment - again incognito.

Likewise. Macdonald is an automatic selection for mine.

Bum. It's not the end of the world though. We miss out on some excitement, but at least it's not going to dent premiership aspirations. In that regard I find it hard to be too bitterly disappointed about any injuries to anyone. It would have been nice to experience a few extra highs this year, but now we just have to wait a little longer.

Fantastic news, thanks for sharing. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Col can produce last year. Hopefully he can back up a fantastic 2008.

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on internet forums as a whole too, sadly. Keeping them 'constructive' is an impossible task, you either under-moderate and you get a lot of people posting slanderous rubbish, or you moderate heavily and everyone feels like they are being oppressed. I think the happy middle ground in the middle is so fine that it's very damn hard to hit. In my earlier days as a moderator I copped a lot of flack for being too heavy handed; then there was the straussski incident. Damn. That said, I like Demonland and I like being able to share my thoughts with like minded fans. Some of our members have some fantastic perspectives on footy and I've learned more from some members on here than I would ever learn otherwise, especially since I rarely get to games. I can't see any other medium that is going to offer the broad range of opinions that you're going to get on a forum. By the way, I would never have even considered becoming a member of the club if it wasn't for online forums such as Demonland, as I get zero benefit from it. As an outsider, I had no idea of the importance of membership. I wonder how many other members the club has indirectly accumulated through other members and suppoters promoting club membership on footy forums.

I think 45HG16 was too, you posted at the same time.

Use this thread now please: http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19486

Thank heavens for that. I wish he'd done this years ago.

Agree with all of that, particularly about Miller. He's a limited player who produces to 100% of his ability, you'll get nothing out of pushing him harder. As far as I'm concerned he's an automatic selection in the side until he is inevitably overtaken by someone better. Until then, all anyone can do (coach included) is live with his limitations.

Agreed.

Exactly, the post on 'ology is baseless. I'd still assume we know nothing.

I agree. Free kick yes, suspension no. Correct result.

Indeed.

It's okay to not like the art. Good intentions don't make it mandatory to be happy with the result.

I tend to agree with Oliver Hill; I don't get a lot out of the Bailey interviews either. You could write the script of his interviews without actually hearing it and you wouldn't get much wrong. I'm completely fine with the fact that he wants to keep his cards close to his chest, but it doesn't exactly make for compelling listening.