RalphiusMaximus

He gets a hell of a lot of ball in tight spaces where it's really hard to spot. He's often the first one with hands on it getting a quick short pass out to one of the other mids.

Haven't seen the game yet, but I am amazed at the lack of love for Jetta so far. Betts has repeatedly smashed us in the past and Jetta killed him.

On the downside, I think Viney may have a case to answer. If you look at the replay, he turns and goes shoulder first. That looks a hell of a lot like a shirtfront with high contact and a broken face at the end of it. I think they'll have a pretty good look at him. Bear in mind that the MRP likes to use Melbourne players to show the world how tough they are. That aside, I am so happy about this win. As has been said, JKH appears to have had a blinder, Watts was better this week, Tyson is back up near the 30 disposal mark, Jetta killed Betts, Dawes was good and the radio guys said that would probably be the best game Pedersen has ever played. Great signs.

So according to the radio Viney has gone and killed someone who got between him and the ball.

So I'm thinking Salem will be the super-sub again this week. You know, because this IS a thread about Christian Salem. Just thought I'd throw in a comment about him.

To be fair though, he was far from disgraced.

It'd be nice to see Clisby and Riley getting a run.

What I loved about the photos they showed us was the lack of worry on his face. If you look back over all the press conferences and training photos for the past year and a bit you'll see a guy who looks stressed. Right now, even if it's just a rare "good day," he looks relaxed and happy. That is a massive improvement, and shows that stepping away from football was the right move for him. It kind of reminds me of when Jason McCartney retired. He said in an interview a while after the event that he hadn't realised how much he was hurting until he stopped pushing his body past where it wanted to go, and how good it was to not be in pain all the time because of it.

I expect he will be. Roos talked about how hard he was blowing at the end of the game, so it sounds like there is still a question over his fitness. I would expect him to be sub again for w couple of weeks while they see how his fitness levels hold up to the more intense game before they start him.

I have to say I was impressed with his build on the weekend. For months I've heard that he was slightly built and would take a long time to get his body up to scratch. He looks a lot bigger than I expected. Add to that that his skills appear to be every bit as good as advertised and he's a lot harder at the ball than expected and I'm pretty damn happy.

Listening to the comments coming out of the club for the last few days, I suspect we won't be seeing any changes. Roos said that Salem looked like he was blowing up a bit towards the end, so that would indicate another week as sub. He tells us Watts isn't getting dropped and he's the one who most deserves it. The only thing I can see being altered is Gawn maybe coming into the side, but I don't know who they'd be swapping him for.

As long as Watts is out. Everything I said last after the last game still applies, so I won't bother repeating. Howe is in a slump and may be dropped, but honestly, he's providing more than Watts right now. As above, we'll see what happens with suspensions. I suspect Georgiou is in trouble. Inclusions could be anything. I think Strauss has been playing well, and Clisby could have a claim.

He looked so clean and classy tonight. Could have had more of the ball if his teammates hadn't stuffed up a few passes and made bad decisions. He doesn't just use it well, he looked to be presenting in the right places and he put his body in when he needed to. Basically everything we need in a young player.

I think: JKH is looking like a win for us. Salem showed some real class. Vince just had his best game in the H&A season. Cross fought hard. Jones was Jones. Pedersen played his best game for the Dees Dunn is very solid these days And... Watts was soft although he picked up a bit after Roos got stuck in to him. Howe was similar to Watts, but less soft and more lazy.

I think last year's draft is looking like gold for us. JKH is getting better and better, Tyson is a workhorse in the middle and now Salem is stepping up with class, poise and an unexpected degree of toughness.

GOal Salem!

FMD Umpire! It's only holding the ball is the tackle is legal!

Roos giving Howe and Watts a roast

Salem just came on and has two marks and two effective kicks from his few minutes. HE looks a little lost in traffic, but oozes class.

No, he needs to run without it first.

I dunno. I can see him being shot in the foot.

OK. Half Time. Thing's I've loved: Viney took a mark in front of the leading Franklin. Stretched right up and left himself wide open with no idea how close Franklin was. THe kid has no sense of self-preservation. Nev hurling himself into the air to spoil a certain mark, winning the ground ball and getting hit high for what would have been a free kick had he been wearing just about any other jumper. Jamar's effort around the ground. He's not getting many disposals, but he's providing a physical presence more than he has for the last few years. The overall physical effort from the team. Things i've hated: The [censored]-poor one-eyed umpiring. Watts' inability to chase, compete for a contested ball, jump for a mark with both hands... Concerns: Pretty sure we'll see at least one of our players suspended out of this. I'd love to see us make the most of our inside 50s in the second half to put on some scoreboard pressure.

Well, we kept them goalless for that quarter. That's something. Sub Watts off for Salem at halftime and we might see a quick skillful player running on to the loose ball and pinpointing some passes.

IS it just me or is Pedersen actually playing really well tonight?

JEtta get's hit high. Umpire says holding the ball.