Je Roos Salem

At least that's consistent with what he said last year, that 2016 is the year for finals. The question is not so much if we are good enough but if there's room for us in the 8 given how stable some of the teams at the top are. It'd be fair to say the Cats will go back into the 8, Collingwood are a fair chance too. Also not napping against teams like Carlton, Essendon and St.Kilda (who we play twice at Etihad) would help us be a chance. It'd suck to see us hovering around 11th-14th all season again, that's for sure. We need to get off to a good start to get fans through the gate

Very good decision to put Viney, Gawn and McDonald in. They've played their way in to the role. Likewise taking Dawes and Lumumba out who should not have been given a free ride into it. Not super keen on Garland, maybe it'll help him capture his form of a few years ago but he didn't look the part last year even though he's the first to confess his love of the club

Worth noting Salem turned the ball over twice in succession too. It was a hard day for kicking. We persist with McDonald. He's still young and looks like he wants to be out there. Strong runner, marker and ball finder.

I love hearing Gawn's ambition to become the best ruckman. It doesn't sound ridiculous. Plenty of room for improvement still and a fair bit behind Goldstein, but he's capable of getting the numbers now. He's come a long way quickly since spending a lot of last year in the 2s

He's our hardest trier in the backline by a fair way. People were still criticising Tom's disposal when he dominated around the ground against Essendon last year. I think you can't always point the finger at Tom when he's one of few players who make up for their disposal errors with a magnificent work rate. Garland's form has been worse and Dunn has been fairly average too.

What really annoys me about the commentary is them constantly praising the new umpiring interpretations

Watts does NOT belong in the midfield. A promising game, particularly the 10 marks. We found a way when it counted again, hope we can go 3 of 3, the Saints shouldn't be too hard

Is it gonna sell out?

Is something wrong with Newton and JKH? Thought they'd have been picked in the squads if fit. Vandenberg and Harmes have potential to be strong, medium sized markers inside 50. Add Kent, Garlett and Kennedy and we can kick a score. One of Dunn/McDonald should practice forward I'd like to see Frost in the backline

They unfairly invented this rule midway through 2015 after being told to crack down on dangerous tackles. Umpires shouldn't be calling something dangerous. They should be looking at whether there's a push or contact to the head/throat, that's it. Tackling is meant to be dangerous rather than basically a hug in a pack causing stoppage after stoppage. The ridiculous thing is how easily it can go one way or another. A player can lay a ripping tackle where the player drops it but just because he gets slung at the last second it can go the other way!! Disgraceful. I don't want to see Oliver second guess himself

I'm going Richmond. Mostly because I think we could seriously beat them, and going into the game, the story will be about them rather than us and the hype about them will probably drown out ours (even though it'll be remarkable to see us in a GF too). If we played Collingwood I think we'd lose and seeing Collingwood get up against us on the big day would be seriously hurtful

Seems like he's perennially injured or troubled, I'd be surprised if he hasn't lost passion to play. Biggest shame is his level of talent deserved a much better career. The Cats don't need him like we did. And yeah, it's a dream to imagine him with Hogan. Especially since they lived together when Hogan first came over.

If it actually was just 4 I wouldn't be upset. Problem is so many injuries these days (like Salem last year) just end up being double the length

Harmes can really take a hit too

It does seem a bit odd you get unlimited rotations in the preseason. Good win today but only 'good'. Surprised how easily we overran them in the 2nd half. Midfield was very good given who was out, forward pressure was good, leaving where we left off in R23. I'm really excited about the potential of Kent, VB and Harmes inside 50 this season. Hogan had a solid game without dominating. Pedo did his job like the first half of last season. Remains to be seen if Dunn/Garland/McDonald is a good enough defensive combination. Jetta was probably our best defender today. Viney and Gawn virtually won us the game oh and some of the frees helped. Oliver seems to love the contest (that should not have been a dangerous tackle!). Kennedy was decent in his first outing, Bugg was ok. Garlett looked disinterested at times but popped up for 3 goals as we've become accustomed to. Pretty used to one good win in the preseason. Definitely can't get overexcited, but by all means if we play as well in our next 2

Defence is looking very average again. Wasn't a great half, but we're doing alright given our personnel. Clayton Oliver (genetically modified Jordie McKenzie) has helped make up for the lack of numbers in the middle, although I'm guessing his minutes are heavily managed

I wonder if the Monday afternoon sessions will continue or if they're just a preseason thing?

The media feeds off unsigned players so much. Let's just let the year play out not to put too much on the boy's shoulders now and Journos will continue to put the food on their table. Or desk, which is probably where they eat majority of the time.

From afar.

You've got to admire Richmond fans. Hawthorn on the other hand, their supporters tend to stay away from games that are basically a walkover. GC and GWS continue to be an embarrassment to the competition of course

In everyone's head, we'll already have lost that R2 game. The topups are just so stupid. Why couldn't we be drug cheats in 2012 and get Kelly and Stokes? It's not that bad a deal to be honest, when you think of how many of our players have gone from that period. Yes, unfortunately it'd mean no Nathan Jones unless he's afraid of needles.

I already think McDonald and Viney are really good players who have basically broken out, all signs lead to Salem and Kent becoming stars for us if avoiding injury in 2016. Tyson has more to prove but I'm yet to be fully convinced he'll be a 'star' as opposed to just a handy midfielder

I agree that our theme song sounds really old, and the words aren't very interesting or relevant, but for the word 'Melbourne' to be spliced into the song just wouldn't have enough support behind it come game day. When we finally win a flag I won't want to listen to something else. However it could work if there was a secondary song/modern version to play before the bounce or even as we run out while keeping the traditional song for victories.

I like that it's ditched the historical elements just for simplicity and just for the sake of moving on. Kind of reminds me of the clippers' logo change with big and bold letters. The old one wasn't as strikingly red and blue, it was too glossy and the red could look pinkish and the blue not dark enough

I don't have much interest in the exhibition games. However it'd be good to see a national league broadcast like they do with the soccer, even if the depth of talent isn't there