hoopla

Giant Billboard on the highway in from the airport.

The standard Red and Blue symbol with

"Melbourne, Birthplace of Football'.

Great idea

Victoria is growing at the rate of 1800 per day... of whom some will eventually be sucked into the "religion" of this State.

A sign like that might just help get us more than our proportional share share. First impressions last!

Giant Billboard on the highway in from the airport.

The standard Red and Blue symbol with

"Melbourne, Birthplace of Football'.

Great idea

Victoria is growing at the rate of 1800 per day... of whom some will eventually be sucked into the "religion" of this State.

A sign like that might just help get us more than our proportional share share. First impressions last!

We have to understand that we still lost last week and the week before. Playing finals this year would be a bonus but as the club has stated from the first day of pre season 2010 is about getting games into our young players and getting them to play together. With that in mind to we play Dunn or Watts, IMO the development of Watts is more important then playing Dunn. Watts is the player we need to get games into so he learns at AFL level.

Nothing against Dunn he has been OK this year, but looking beyond 2010 Jack Watts is the player that we need to develope.

... and the club believes that a solid grounding at Casey is what he needs at present..... ( anyway thats on another thread!!)

At least - unlike some - you agree that Dunn has been OK this year.

How about invest in 10,000 kids jumpers at cost price for free - for Auskick clinics ? Have them distributed to all clinics (where quantities are required) by those in contact with the club from various areas. It's worth a start. The footy results should take care of promoting kids interest. Consistent footy results over decades to come.

edit:

It could be an expensive exercise though (on second thought)

Star players will also assist.

Yes ... it would cost a bit..... but some sort of mass promotion within schools ( together with sustained on-field success) might be more than worth it.

On field success alone is not enough - look at North in the 90s

Perhaps $5k to every school with 50 mfc junior squadron members?

Out: Dunn, Hughes

In: Morton, Watts

There is no way we should ever risk Watts in the ruck so PJ may keep his spot to help Jamar tackle NicNat & Cox.

Hughes should consider himself to be very unlucky but surely Watts has done enough to earn a call up?

Dunn has been my favourite whipping boy this year and he lived up to his reputation again on Friday night. Morton should definitely come in but if he still isn't 100% match fit Gysberts could come in.

On his contribution to the team this year Dunn shouldn't be anyone's whipping boy .... and he won't get dropped. Give him a break.

Hughes did all that could have been expected of him last week. They wouldn't have put him in in the first place if they weren't prepared to give him an opportunity to build on a satisfactory start.He won't get dropped either.

I agree absolutely that they won't put Watts in the ruck - which means that he will have to consolidate at Casey and that there will be no change.

I'd love to find a spot for Morton .. but unless you drop Bartram ( which would be tough) or rest Bennell ( which I doubt), he'll have to have another run at Casey - which will be good for him anyway

Last week on Whiteboard Wednesday, Cameron Schwab made two telling observations

- We have the lowest supporter base in the AFL ( but the highest membership conversion rate - hence our record membership this year)

- We have the lowest number of Auskick enrolments of any club - by a significant amount.

This is consistent with statistics on the DreamTeam website - which show Melbourne with the fewest number of registrations - but with the highest average score per person. This is just a reflection of what we know already - that Melbourne supporters understand the game better than anyone else !!!

So we have a passionate intelligent supporter base - but it is small supporter base and it is not a young supporter base..... and supporter numbers influence sponsors

Now is the time for all of us to really start talking up Melbourne - to start telling the kid next door to ignore his parents and cross to the Dees to follow Skull and Trenners and the Waipiri Wizard... and get with the excitement

And we have a great story to tell newcomers to Melbourne ................ the founders of the game, the core of the peoples'ground, the community club - and of course Jimmy.

We are doing well converting supporters to members - but we need more supporters to grow our revenue.

I know the club is looking to build our supporter numbers in the Casey growth corridor - but we can help if we all continue to put out positive messages

Let's make sure we are not last on ANY table in 2011

At the start of the year Bailey said that his major objective this year was to get game time into our youngsters.

This exercise shows just how difficult selection is becoming. By the end of the season, I'd hope to see several youngsters get exposure (more exposure) to AFL footy. Fitness- and Casey form permitting - just how are we going to give 2 or 3 (more) games to

- Gysberts

- Tapscott

- Strauss

- Woenamirri

- Jetta

- McNamara

- Maric ?

It's going to be hard enough to fit in Watts, Morton and Jurrah.

Good problem to have - but it is a problem

another of those rare moments... I agree 100% I actually think his decisions are normally more than ok. Normally his poise and assertiveness in actually providing good options is , i thought , becoming a hallmark of this player. I must be looking at a different Grimes to some others.

Yes... ""poise and asertiveness ...are becoming the hallmark" of the J Grimes I know as well.

I guess if you are determined to find fault you'll probably find it !

Is that really when Grimes tends to make his errors? From what I've seen, I don't think his errors are caused by pressure or risk.

Note that I'm not talking about Friday specifically - it was a couple of hours in the wet with a greasy ball, and I didn't notice him using it particularly badly, given the conditions.

It's interesting you think he's generally a brilliant kick under pressure, because I think most of the glaring mistakes I see him make are not caused by pressure or trying to take a 'risky' option, but when he's under relatively little pressure - it's AFL, after all - and simply fails to execute.

I'm not going to go through vision of old games but more than once he's been in a situation where he's by himself on a back flank, kicking a 20-30m pass to a teammate by himself, and fails to hit a target because he simply mis-kicks it.

(I think there was a game last year that was discussed on Demonland (v Essendon?) because scenarios like the above caused a few turnovers that resulted in opposition scoring shots, but I'm not going to hunt it down. Pretty sure 45HG also posted in it.)

I find it interesting because he looks like a decent kick and often uses the ball really well, but tends to let himself down more than you'd expect under little pressure.

We notice Jack's kicking because h4e takes risks to set up attacking moves.

I prefer to concentrate on the overwhelming number of times he wins the ball and puts it to advantage.

I saw the Swans intercept a couple of Gary Ablett's kicks on Sunday. I wonder if there is a thread "Ablett's execution by foot" on the Catland website?

The idea that it's 'too early' to discuss potential weaknesses is bizarre...that time was passed long before these guys were drafted.

This of course sounds fair. The problem is that by reference to any reasonable benchmark for a kid with less than 20 games, he has not yet revealed any "potential weaknesses".He hasn't been perfect - but then Don Bradman only finished with an average of 99.94.

Probably no change. I would like Bail back in and I'm not convinced about Rivers. Given the conditions I reckon Hughes showed some promise.

Agree with this. PJ will be told to do more - and Bartram will be warned not to lose his feet again when the pressure is on.

Dunn made another good contribution and will be an automatic selection.

hes fine should be lining up for casey this week, hes shin aches a bit thats all, that'll happen for a while after a break but eventually it goes away. the aches pretty much feel like shin splints so its uncomfortable but hopefully he can pick up some form and be ready for a run in the second half of the year

Good to hear that a bit of shin soreness is not unusual after a break - and that it will ease in time. Must be very frustrating for Sam though

This is a ridiculous thread.

For goodness sake, he hasn't played 20 games yet ... so he miscued a couple of kicks with the wet ball!

It is very naive to question Jack's decision-making ability. Yes he does take risks with his kicking trying to switch or set up attacks - that is his job! The fact that he doesn't always take the safest option doesn't make him a poor decision-maker. No risk: no reward!!

Generally he is brilliant kick under pressure with both feet - and he will get better

Give him some credit - for the major role he is playing in driving us off the bottom of the ladder ( and ensuring that we play an attractive brand of attacking football!)

Any disappointment I felt over Brock leaving is overshadowed for me by the fact that he gave $10k to the debt demolition. It was an amazing gesture by him, and frankly he deserves our heartfelt and eternal thanks. It was people like him who saved the Melbourne Football Club.

If he felt sufficiently committed to the MFC to donate $10k - why did he walk out a year later? It doesn't make sense - unless he suddenly realized that he wasn't going to get the captaincy. Perhaps I'm being unfair - but his change of heart was inexplicable

Anyway Brock thanks for the donation.

I look forward to cheering on Jordan Gysberts for years to come

Robert Walls, Andy Maher, Michael Christian etc. are all terrible, terrible commentators - but you don't preface that by saying "Male commentators."

Agree with E25, thread title should be changed.

Underwood is absolutely putrid as a commentator.

Its not the sex of the commentator that counts - but knowledge, vocab, timing and tone.

Underwood probably has the knowledge and the vocab - but her timing is average and her tone lousy

Maher has no knowledge, a poor vocab, lousy timing and an awful nasel tone !!

Well I'm one who reckons Hughes has been a clogger for years.

If he isn't elevated on to the senior list in place of Petterd, then the decision to re-rookie him this year will be even more baffling than it was at the time.

Never thought I'd say it - but lets give him a try ( and if he does OK, I'll never question our recruiters again !)

gulp... Go Danny..

Too many knockers on this site ready to give everyone over 23 the arse ! Rivers still has plenty to offer, just as there is a place for the more experienced leaders on the list

It is tiresome to see people continually writing off 25 year olds when many don't reach their prime until they are 27-28.Rivers is an asset to the club - with the ability to be a key part of our defence for at least another 5 years.

Nobody has factored into their reasoning the possibility that Garland might move to forward in time. He is a terrific talent... who showed the ability to lead and take a contested mark.

He doesn't work that hard and is rotated off the ground more than most.

Interesting observation. Some super-talented kids do have to learn to complement their natural ability with hard work. I'm sure the club is doing the right thing.

We have started our climb up the ladder now. We don't hand out games to those with potential any more. Games have to be earned.

Keep pushing him at Casey ... even if takes all season..... and don't write him off it does.Some players mature quicker than others.

sigh

If the game had stayed the way it was 20 years ago, it could be argued that so would sponsorship, crowd figures, player payments etc. The league would be in the dark ages, with no prospect for growth outside of Australia. I'm confident that if you showed an overseas video a game from last weekend and then a game from 20 years ago, they'd be able to grasp the rules more from watching the match from last weekend.

Sorry. I can't accept that.It was a great game 20 years ago ......... and it is a great game now.

The game is faster today - and hence potentially more exciting. But equally it is more predictable - with fewer contested marks. From the reactions of the crowd it is arguable that the least attractive feature of our game is the tendency to chew-up time by using the soccer-like tactic of kicking the ball backwards. This didn't happen 20 years ago.

Through the use of the interchange bench, the game has become 22 rotating players vs 22 rotating players rather than a match between two teams of 18 ( plus injury substitutes). By refreshing players through the use of the interchange , coaches have been able to employ 18 man zones and add some rugby and basketball - and soccer - patterns to their tactical options.If this makes it easier for overseas audiences to follow the game, then so be-it.

The game is far more professional now - and therefore potentially far better than it once was. The speed of the game is exhilarating - but I am concerned that over-use of the interchange is robbing us of the one-on-one battles which were once a major source of interest and entertainment

Well, first off, Grimes needs to be dropped. Playing horribly.

Secondly, who would you have put in there yesterday?

I see that Jack Grimes is one of your two favorite players. The other one is no longer at the club - Matty Whelan.

I presume your favorite movie is "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest"

Just wanted to thank Billy for a highly readable and extremely informative article.

Much appreciated

That's rubbish. The difference is in the execution by the players not the game plan. Game plans are not invited or changed over a week of football. In many cases they have to be learned over a number of years and not a pre season. The "knowledgeable" people you refer to are incredibly silent at the moment after there squawking about Bailey cant coach and there is no game plan. The kick and hit up the corridor is a strategy common to all game plans but it involves ensuring you can the implementation right to facilitate that. This has always been an important part of what Bailey was trying to do. Its what 15 other clubs try to do more or less successfully.

I reckon you could point to lots of differences between our so-called game plan and Geelong's. The over-arching similarity is that it is attacking and skilful.. . in stark contrast to St Kilda's, say.It's clear now that he has been systematically working towards a hard tackling direct running style of play.

Bailey said in the pre-season cup that he wanted us to take more risks - and I seem to recall that his main message after Round 1 was that we had to show initiative and take the game on.

Over the next couple of years we will have some ups and downs - but we are going to see some brilliant footy

I am going to cop it here, but our kids struggled to push though because Nathan 'Chopper' Carroll did his job down back for a few seasons there. It was when he started to wane that the dees toyed with anything they had (including Buckets Holland down back). This opened the door for Warnock.

Warnock was a gamble that paid off, and he has pinned it down ever since. Garland and Chip copped it big time early on in their career. I was never one to ride chip, but Garland was a guy that I could not figure out. I never bagged him, but I wasn't going to back my house on him being the player he is (or is going to be) today.

Just look at them now..........great perseverance from our list management team!

The big difference now is that we have a full-time development coach ( Kelly O'Donnell) and a professional approach to developing our young talent. We are also beginning to get on top of player conditioning and injury prevention. We are even starting to get some decent facilities.

Craig Cameron did a good job as a recruiter - and Danners did a good job as senior coach. We just fell off the pace in between them. We had some terrific individuals there - like Chris Fagan - but they had no support resources

.....

But this is purely a hypothetical.

I'm happy with our team as it is.

Yes...

The only valid comparison is the comparison between teams.... and I'm pretty happy with our team at the moment

Excellent post. Although I prefer it when you're going off your nut on the steps in the members.

Lots of good thoughtful comments on this thread.

I tend to see Dunn as a better long-term option because of his versatility - but he needs to show stronger hands on the lead if he is to challenge the best 22.

Clearly Bartram has a terrific attitude - but I'd be very disappointed if our younger players don't go past him before the season is out. It would be nice if he could continue his career on the Gold Coast