RalphiusMaximus

I too am excited by the prospects this year. I think Sam Newman is selling us a bit short, although others are also giving us a bit too much credit. However, if we manage to get a decent injury run we'll do ok this year.

Wasn't he trying to get to the Bombers?

I'd like to see Jack be a one-club player as well as a star, so from that perspective I would love to see him signed up for a good long contract ASAP. However, as the OP says, there are still a couple of question marks over him regarding his contested ball winning. It could be that he finds himself without a spot in the side simply because we have other skilled HBFs who are harder at the contest (and I truly hope that this is not going to happen). It could be in everyone's best interests to see how he goes this season and deal with the contract later.

Neeld said in an interview late last year after trades were done that he thought we were one A grade midfielder short and they'd be looking to grab one at the end of this year. I thought at the time he was talking about Thomas, and nothing any party has said since has changed my mind. He would be a very nice pickup if we could land him.

How odd. I find that really interesting and now I'm going to have to hunt up their criteria and find out why. I wouldn't rate us that highly. Edit: I see now. They rate our forwards pretty highly. I think that is a stretch given that it is a group that has basically never played together and also that there are so many question marks over them. II guess it's the difference between "on paper" and reality. It would be pretty great it they did perform that well.

I don't know what's so unworkable about the way Neeld wants us to play. We have already seen signs of a very good press in place. That is already a massive improvement. Sadly, the players are not yet well-drilled enough to keep it together for a whole game, but when they got it right it was great. I think our forward 50 entries need a lot of work as we still seem to bomb it to the square rather than hitting a target and it's far too easy to rebound from that, but I would hope that as we get better kicks into the midfield and more forward options this will improve. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the progress we've made tactically.

The game against port a few weeks ago most of the experts seemed to think Port would win due to their superior list depth. They were genuinely surprised that our young fringe players were able to beat theirs. I would suggest that this means that most of the experts have their list ahead of ours. Personally, I think that they have a far better midfield, a similar forward line and probably a worse backline although a lot of people really rate Carlisle. Remember that while we think we may have solved the scoring problems it is an entirely unproven forward unit we are relying on this year. It could flop as easily as fire.

Am I the only one horrified by this thought? These players should be putting in a "special effort" every week! If you can play at that level one game to make a point then you can do it every game of the season. Given the privileged lives they lead and the insane money they earn you would think these guys could put in their best effort every time they walk out in the red and blue. If it is true, then I hope the players in question were part of the clean-out, because that is exactly the sort of toxic culture we are desperately trying to eliminate.

Incidentally, MFC have tweeted that the match footage is of poor quality so they won't post it on the site.

Not fussed right now. I doubt we'll have a worse season than the last one. If we do, we might be in line for a priority pick! :D

Thanks for the write-up Goodvibes. It gets said over and over, but for the people who can't get to a game, these insights are a huge bonus.

Agree. I think this kid has the goods. He looks like a real find.

Do we have a write-up?

3 goals to Aaron Hall. I really wish we'd managed to get him.

Hey, we only lost two quarters right?

I note that a goal has taken them from 74 to 79. Interesting scoring up their in the north.

https://twitter.com/melbournefc/with_replies

Do we warrant a priority pick from the AFL yet?

Are you saying it was a mark he should have taken but he dropped it, or that he just barely dropped it? Just wondering.

That is what we call a BAD quarter.

Melbourne FC ‏@melbournefc Watts on the run takes three bounces and kicks to Hogan who just misses the mark under pressure. Howie scores a point. Sums up our play really. We keep falling down with the f50 entry.

Starting to sound a little grim now.

People on here always underestimated his ability. Yes he's not creative, but as a stopper he's as good as any in the comp.

Many strange things going on today.

I think you need to refresh your twitter dude.