no cigar

Who would you rather have - Colin Sylvia or Brock McLean ??

here's one from left field - how about "Black Caviar" for LJ

Thanks Prof, agree with pretty much all of this except Brian Dixon would have to be on the wing in front of Stinga, good call on Neitzy - he was a sensational CHB and should have played there more often in my opinion. I remember seeing Schwartz kick 9 from CHF at the SCG before he started to do his knees - would have been better than Carey on that day's evidence. I was never sure about Jackovich, the guy was a freak but you wouldn't trust him to put the cat out at night! I only saw the last couple of years of Ronald Dale and I whilst I find it very difficult to disagree with you that Robbie was the best player I have seen , I suspect Barass was more important in providing the drive needed to win games. The other one I question is Big Carl, I know we all love him but he was past his best by the time he played for us. I think we are forgetting Peter Moore who won a Brownlow for us and deserved his place in here in front of Carl I reckon.

Exactly - what a lot of nonsense on this post about the "fabric of the club". The Club has come out of this beautifully so far. We have lost McLean, Robbo, Wheels and Wheaters so far who all were clearly good servants of the MFC, perhaps a great servant in Robbo's case. Equally clearly, none of them are crucial to our chances of winning a premiership in the next few years. Picks 2 and 11 on the other hand, who knows, but at least we get to take our chances.

in my living "room" that is - I hope I'm not that sad!

This is close to the best news I have heard for some time. We all loved McLean for the fact that he bled for the club and tried his best. The fact is that his best isn't much good. He is OK but will never be a star and in my opinion would really struggle to be in our best 22 next year. I only get to see most games on TV being interstate and I have followed Melbourne for a long time - the one player I seem to always be yelling at in my living these days is Brock. The kid just makes far too many mistakes for someone who we rely on to have the ball in his hands. Having said that, it would be the worst news ever if we lose Davey. He is our best player for f##ks sake!!!

Davey would be a great captain in my opinion, not to mention the mentoring role he seems to have already assumed with Jurrah. The captain has to be one of the best two or three players at the club and Davey is currently the best. McLean will be lucky to stay in the top 22, Moloney isn't at that level either and all of the kids need to concentrate on their footy. Green would also be good choice but the Flash would be an inspiration. I also think Macca has done a pretty good job in a terrible year to have it.

Undoubtedly one of the best. There was a long period in the early 80's when we were crap but at least we had Robbie to give us something to smile about at the footy. Beautiful balance, long arms, one of those players who played "tall" and could also move like Keith Greig. In the two word analysis of the games in those days Robbie would need just one - "graceful". Make no mistake, the march to the GF in '87, so cruelly cut short, for we supporters was all about doing it for Robbie to return some of the pleasure he had given us over the years.

It's not just that he is slow, it is that in the early stages of a game when the pace is on, he arrives late and in his haste usually [censored] something up. Once the game slows down he starts getting the footy because he is an honest, hard worker and he also usually does something with it. This is why he is a useful member of the midfield group. All I'm saying is that he is nowhere near the class of the elite midfielders in the competition

I have been biting my tongue for some time now about McLean. If anyone still thinks he is the messiah then I am Peter Hudson. I live interstate and only get to the odd game live but as my family will attest, I have spent many years lovingly shouting at the TV whenever the Dees play. These days I spend most of my time shouting at McLean. I can see him sticking it out over the longer term as a hardworking midfielder and I hope for his sake that he succeeds but please, stop this McLean for future captain nonsense, the guy is just not very talented.

The first part of the game plan might be to go in and get the ball followed by doing something positive with it once you get it!!! I only saw yesterday's game on TV but the number of times we stuffed around trying to get our hands on the pill only to be shown how to do it by Richmond of all teams made me want to throw things at the tele. Every team we play these days gives the impression that they actually have a structure around stoppages so that when they get their hands on the ball they know what to do with it. Our guys look completely the opposite - when they do get their hands on it, it is a raffle to see if they can clear it effectively. The only part of our team that looks like they have some idea at this is the backline - probably because they have been getting so much practice. The positive thing about this problem is that it is something that can be fixed with practice and planning assuming that is that it is recognised in the first place.

Well, for what it is worth, this was the only game I have seen this year and followed the corresponding game in Canberra last year for me. The difference was remarkable. I spent most of the game last year with my head in my hands and most of the game yesterday feeling pretty good. Sure, we lack a couple of quality players but the effort is there and although the midfield was probably beaten on the day, they had a real crack and contained Sydney in close for long periods of the game, no small achievement. The backline still looks undersized to me but showed enough to suggest they will be OK. The work of CJ, Wheatley and Green coming out of defence was first class and I reckon we just need to add a big body to help out Warnock, Garland and Frawley ( who is still some way off but is nevertheless very quick for a bigger defender). The forward line was too congested all day, probably reflecting our inability to get the pill in quickly. PJ just needs to believe, he could be terrific. Miller, Bate, Green and Bruce on occassions, Flash and Wonna can all be dangerous I reckon and it might be a rose coloured view of the world but I think it looks OK for the future. Our problem is more in the middle and on yesterday's evidence is all about skill. The players are doing the right things, they are just making silly errors and silly decisions at times. Sydney's ball movement at times was so much sharper than ours through the middle. The best skills we have belong to Bruce and Macca and at this stage it isn't enough. Other positives were obviously Dunn's job on Goodes who was way below his form in recent weeks. Brock was just OK, I think the ground was too big for him, White, Jamar, Jones weren't bad. On the other hand, Bode doesn't look up to it and I reckon Sylvia has a long way to go - for all his tough approach he squibbed it a couple of times yesterday. Nevertheless I was proud of the team yesterday. They were up against a very good team in very good form and had a real crack. We aren't competitive when the game is hot yet but there were enough signs for me to conclude that there is a lot of upside to this group.

I must admit that I have been reluctant to comment on here lately as it has been hard to say anything at all this year that's been positive and it's hardly useful to carp on about how crap we have been. Having said that, there was an awful lot to like about yesterday's game, particularly the contribution of our young guys that has already been said. I do want to say that I am continually frustrated by "our next captain" Brock Mclean. he is obviously a very good footballer and is getting a lot of the ball and starting to do something with it most of the time. I can only watch on tv as I live interstate and maybe I'm missing something but to my mind he still has a long way to go, particularly on his defensive skills. It was a bit hard to be sure on tv but it looked like he was on Brad Sewell in the last quarter, certainly in the centre square at a time when the game was there to be won and Sewell did his best to win it for Hawthorn. To my mind, McLean just failed to sense the danger enough to try and shut him down even after his man cleared the ball out of the centre on 2 or 3 occassions. The other complaint I have is the silly free kicks he keeps giving away at crucial times. I don't want to just bag him, as I say, he is a very good footballer and does look like he has the capacity to be a great player for us for many years, my point is simply that he isn't there yet.

I agree with the point that it couldn't be worse to give some more kids a go. What I don't understand is why those that are there, presumably on trial for their places are not trying very hard. It was obvious on Sunday, and something of a shock as it was the first game I have seen live this year, that there were players out there for the Melbourne Footy Club who couldn't be fagged putting in the effort to get to their opponent, let alone get to the ball, let alone get the ball when it was tough. There were some notable exceptions, including players who regularly cop it on this forum and for my money they should be the first picked every week. And by the way, the wind wasn't a factor, it was blowing mostly across the ground, perhaps a 1 or 2 goal advantage to the eastern end, Sydney had no difficulty scoring goals at the other end.

Well, this was the first game I have seen live this year and I just find it hard to believe how much bad stuff was happening. I won't go on about it except to say a couple of ( obviously controversial ) things. Firstly, there was simply not enough effort put in - it was embarrassing to watch. What on earth is going on with Neita? How anyone can say that Brock Mclean or Brent Moloney are gun midfielders is beyond me - they are both too slow and don't go anywhere near the ball when the heat is on in the middle!! Ward and Brown had to be introduced to their opponents after the game. There is plenty more to say but I will stop there. On the positive side - why do people on here go on so much about Miller - at least he has a crack, along with Bell, Holland, Green, Carroll, Jones - give me those type of players any day of the week. The Juice was terrific - at least that's one thing the posters on this site have had right all year. The last game I saw live was the Queen's birthday game against the pies last year and the degradation of this team since then is nothing short of disgraceful. For goodness sake, get Sheedy on board to teach these guys how to play football again. And one other thing, what is going on with the rules these days - there were so many "tiggy-touchwood" frees yesterday I don't recognise the game any more - this stuff is basketball!

I haven't commented on here for a while because frankly there hasn't been much to talk about this year but as someone who has had his disagreements with ND's decisions over the years, I think we have to agree that the man is a class act. I reckon he is both a good bloke and a good coach and I loved the way he stepped forward to fight for the club a couple of years ago. I also think he has made some mistakes and reacts too slowly at times to things that blind Freddy could pick up. This week, I would suggest that we have seen him at his best. Neale has taken the right course of action to ensure that there isn't a period of unnecessary destabilisation about his position at a critical time in the club's fortunes. We have to rebuild from here and Neale has bravely accepted that he is not a part of that rebuilding, accepting the responsibility for the team's performance this year ( whether or not that is justified ). These are the actions of a true leader and I wish him all the best in whatever he decides to do in the future. Let's just remember some of the great games we played over the past 10 years, forget about the poor losses, genuinely thank Neale for his contribution and get on with the future!

I hope you are kidding - Neita is precisely the sort of player that would take Brown and Hall to the cleaners! Riewoldt on the other hand would be a problem.

Allow me to disagree - Neitz is still strong, still quick and was, of course, in case you have forgotten, once the best CHB in the competition. If he can't handle the pace for 100 minutes you could always put him back to FF for 5-10 minutes a quarter. The fact is that the man is a champion and I would back him still to do a better job at CHB than anyone else we have at present. If neither of Dunn or Miller are KPF's, we are obviously in serious trouble right now - who are you suggesting for CHF this year?

I don't have any problem with the recruitment and rebuilding that has occurred over the last few years and as a result we can all see the potential in the current group of players. As others have said we need a key backman now to support Rivers and Carroll and give us a decent shot at the flag. In my view we already have him, it ain't going to happen but why not get the best out of Neita's last few years by putting him back at CHB. It also solves the what to do with Miller and Dunn debate, they both get a gig at CHF and FF, probably Dunn at FF given that he is a better kick for goal. As I said it ain't going to happen but it would if I was the coach!!!

I only saw this game on TV but from where I sat we looked fine at this stage of the year. It wasn't a bad game of footy, we showed glimpses of what we can do when it gets serious and no-one got injured. The pluses for me were Chris Johnson and Simon Buckley and even Danny Hughes did some nice things. The negatives were that neither Jamar nor P Johnson exerted any real presence around the ground and the Bizz looked as rusty as buggery ( I am a big fan of the the Bizz so I hope this is just temporary ). And for all those who are jumping off the Miller bandwagon, I can only say that you probably don't know much about the game. We were clearly experimenting with the way we carried the ball ( presumably designed for bigger grounds than Telstra ), hanging on to it longer, looking to go through the corridor etc and none of that was playing to Miller's strengths at CHF on that ground. You then add the fact that we only did it well a few times and Miller was always destined to be an onlooker in the forward line. Sure he could have taken a few more contested grabs but it's February for goodness sake! For what it's worth, I reckon we look allright.