RalphiusMaximus

That's a very insightful comment I think. Looking back, all of his best games have been when he's had a very clear role to play. Perhaps using him in tagging type roles for the rest of the year will be good for him? He could go to Pavlich next week.

I can respect that opinion, but I have to disagree. He did fade as the game progressed, and Shaw picked up some cheap disposals at the end, but I still say that he was one of our few winners for the day and deserves praise for it. Yes, he didn't go for a few contests when he should have, and it looked really bad when he stood and watched that mark in the goalsquare, but he's not alone in that. At least he knew he'd done the wrong thing. With luck he'll learn from it and do better next week.

WTF?? You want to drop Morton after a game like that? That's as well as we've seen him play for two years. He took on a tagging role, smashed Collingwood's most damaging rebound player and collected 22 disposals and 7 marks doing it. A bit of an overreaction because he stayed down in a marking contest isn't it? I can't count the number of times i've wished more of our players had the sense to not fly and spoil each other.

Totally agree. One of the few players in our side with the speed to do that. As for the shot, he would have been kicking from 55+. That's a long shot for him. There was nothing wrong with his pass except that the man on the other end wasn't good enough to take the mark.

I don't think we'll be seeing the Russian, which is a shame because the Fremantle rucks have been playing well even without Sandilands. That gives Gawn another game which is great because he's showing real improvement and is getting his hands to a lot of balls. I wouldn't be surprised if Jurrah were rested if he's damaged that calf again. A week or two of rest could be just the thing. I wouldn't drop him to the VFL. If he goes for a break, Petterd would be my first choice to come in. He is more versatile than Bate and Dunn, being able to play midfield as well as forward. Jetta had a shocker today. I'm not an advocate of dropping someone after one bad game, but if Tapscott is to come in, he would be my choice to make way. That being said, Tapscott may find himself in the VFL for a week to get some touch before coming back. All in all, I don't see many changes for this week. Nicholson will be inlucky to miss again, but there will not be a spot for him.

I don't know about missing the whole replay. First five minutes were pretty good actually. You saw some really good passages from Watts and Morton, which is a huge boost for us supporters. Goal to Sylvia. It was good to see. I think Watts had 5 disposals early in the first. It's just after that spell that things go downhill.

I find it very funny the things people say about Jones. He is the new Cam Bruce for exactly the opposite reason. While Bruce would dish off to a bad option to avoid being hit, Jones will occasionally hold the ball too long because he refuses to dish off to a bad option. I'll take Jones any day. Also, let me say that the rot began when someone (can't remember who) chose to handpass to Jones in the midst of three Pies rather than go the other way to three unmarked teammates. Even then Jones very nearly got the ball out again.

The area we are lagging behind is, for want of a better term, professionalism. I've watched our training sessions, and they don't look all that different from the ones you see twice a week at your local club. Compare that with the report we saw this week on how Collingwood train. Compare how well-drilled the top teams are with the indecision and uncertainty shown by our boys. A Collingwood player always knows exactly what his next disposal is going to be. He gets the ball and instantly knows what he is doing with it, because they are so well drilled in their structures. We never see that certainty from our team. We rely too much on individual skill and not enough on cohesive team play. I really do hope that the coaching staff realise how far behind the 8-ball they are, but if they did, wouldn't they be trying to improve?

Harsh to say that Sylvia was the only winner. Morton thrashed Shaw.

6. Sylvia 5. Morton 4. Strauss 3. Watts 2. Howe 1. Gawn I thought Strauss was really good today. I don't think I saw him beaten 1-1, which is a big improvement, and he butchered 1 kick for the day. Also got a lot of the ball. Watts drops behind him because he butchered quite a few kicks trying to be more creative than he needed to. Sylvia obviously was our only attacking threat. Morton smashed Shaw for most of the match and gave us run out of the back half. Howe and Gawn both gave us something, Howe constantly presenting and once again taking good marks, and Gawn holding up the ruck when we were being thrashed everywhere else.

I rate Morton as one of our best on the day, but he spoiled it by not going up for the contested mark a couple of times towards the end. At least on one of those occasions he knew he'd screwed up. I also have Watts in both the good and ugly sections. Overall game good. Nailed a run down tackle for a holding the ball call - Really good. Made some really bad kicking errors where he put it down the throats of opponents - Ugly.

I love a good but of pessimism. It makes my day so much more entertaining. I have another thought for everyone. The Ox would presumably have gotten his information from people around the club right? It stands to reason that this is his source, rather than random members of the GWS staff, Andrew Demetriou's PA, or Tom Scully's manager's dog. If this is the case and the management at Melbourne know for a fact that he is leaving, then not coming clean and telling their membership is a massive betrayal of trust. I would go as far as saying it's a 10,000 member loss for the next few years to breach faith with the faithful in such a manner. Surely if the club were certain he was gone they would be telling the world and giving the game time to someone who was going to go forward with the club. Logically, the current stance by the club is that of people who believe that he is staying, or at the very least undecided. Therefore I question whether the Ox truly has the information he seems to think he has. Where exactly are his sources placed that they have such information? Obviously not Melbourne FC. If it comes from GWS then it can be written off as crap designed to sow discord and aid them in pinching players. There is absolutely no reason for anyone in the AFL hierarchy to know the details of Tom's contract negotiations until it is signed, sealed and delivered, so no useful sources from AFL house either. Sorry to the doom and gloom brigade, but there is simply no logic in the Ox's claims. The only source of credible information would be from within the club, and it is simply not logical that they would be taking such a self-destructive public stance on the situation if they were convinced that he was gone. I simply don't buy it.

THey were stronger, fitter, and they knew that our tackles don't stick. How many times did they pick up the ball and just charge at us, confident in the knowledge that even if our boys could grab them, they couldn't prevent a disposal? I know it's a matter of strength and maturity, but it still hurts to see.

TV commentary had it right. We're crying out for a big bodied full forward who can make a real contest against those defenders. Hopefully Cook and Fitpatrick can grow into the players we're looking for.

I notice that nobody has mentioned the obvious truth. The only back on our list who has the physical presence to handle Cloke in the goalsquare is Warnock. Why on earth would you not have brought him in to take one of the three huge forwards Collingwood hit us with?

I'm loving the lines being trotted out on here. Everyone has their own pet hate to spout off about. Jones is woeful. Morton is soft. Sack Bailey. Blah. I agree it was an embarrassing loss today, but to say that Collingwood were bad is ridiculous. You have several of their regulars stepping up for career-best games, you have Cloke nailing his best ever haul, and they have destroyed us in contested possession. They were damn good today. They came in as a highly professional outfit and made sure that they dictated terms, stuck to their gameplan and won the key areas. I'm not at all happy with the way we played, but the reality is that this is the result we should have seen twice last year and I'm not really surprised we saw it today. Our boys were outmuscled at stoppages, outplayed tactically and in the end outrun by a team which is fitter, stronger and much better drilled than us.

You are kidding right? The kid is going to be great. Are you basing this on the fact that he's injured himself and as such isn't appearing in the write-ups? He smashed AFL rucks last year playing for Casey. He's another guy who will take time to come on, especially with the CFS issue, but he will be worth the wait.

The funny thing in that article is that there is no mention of Warnock, although he is probably the most tradable of the fringe players in terms of market value. He is a quality defender who struggles to get a game simply because we have too many tall backs. Very few clubs have the luxury of not playing someone like him. I would not want to trade Morton. He has stalled a bit, but he is still a young player and his potential is huge. He is worth keeping around until we are seriously shooting for the flag. If he comes on then he is another huge weapon and if not then he can be traded. To offload him now would be very premature. I can't see Petterd going anywhere. He has been dropped because he gave a shocking defensive performance, but he is quality and can play anywhere on the field. He's exactly the sort of player DB loves. Bate I can take or leave. He's a decent medium forward, and perhaps could be reinvented as a big bodied bullocking midfielder, but I suspect he could find more game time elsewhere. THe suggestion that he could go to Richmond is not without merit. Given the amount of attention Jack R draws, he would probably be able to get a fair bit of the ball when his man gives him space to focus on the bigger threat. He is also a very good assist player, something that has fallen off this year with his limited opportunities.

But do you contend that they signed because of the rumours? It would be a poor effort by their managers if they allowed that to happen. Let's look at another example. We had a player a few years ago shop himself around to other clubs. The rumour mill had him already out the door and signed with Collingwood. It was only during trade week that he decided to take a smaller contract to stay with Melbourne because his desire to play with us was greater than his need for more money. Do any of us hold this against him now that he is captaining the club? Tom has every right to take his time and look at all of his options. The only thing that matters to me is whether he signs with us or with someone else.

Once again I feel the need to address a few points. Why would a media personality put it out there that he is leaving when they will have egg on their fave if he stays? Surely they must know something to be saying that? No, not really. If they put it out that he is leaving and he messes up their story and stays, they will simply deny that they ever said he was gone. Remember that one of the primary excuses many of these people have been using to justify their claims is that every player linked to GC last year went. This is 100% incorrect, but if they keep making the claim then people will eventually believe them. Likewise, should Tom stay with us it will simply not be mentioned again. They will start another self-congratulatory tale about how accurate their guesses were and conveniently forget that they had ever spread such an outlandish rumour. Somewhat linked to the above point is the fact that GC made a play for several Melbourne players, or indeed the media said they were moving north, and amazingly none of them left. James Frawley, Ricky Petterd and Cale Morton were all rumoured to be signing with them (by the infallible media) at various times, and every one of them stayed with us. All in all, I am disinclined to believe any of the hoard of media hacks who want to get in on the feeding frenzy and voice an opinion. There are two people who I will listen to regarding the future of Tom Scully, and I seriously doubt either Tom or his Manager will be telling us the answer until the season is over. Until then, it's all unfounded rumour ans idle speculation.

Bear in mind that they are not able to sign anyone right now. There was a specific window last october when they were able to sign players. Otherwise, they have to wait until after the season. If he's claiming to have already signed someone, then they signed a contract last year. Since Tom strikes me as a man of significant integrity, I do not believe that he has been lying all this time when saying that he has not spoken to them and has not signed anything. Therefore they are not able to sign him until after this season and any claim otherwise is just hot air.

Achilles takes forever to heal. Especially if you want it to stand up to a game like Aussie Rules. Even with the best doctors, this is probably a longer layoff than an ACL. Very harsh on the big guy, especially since it popped in such an innocuous way. Not even in a contest.

In the same vein, do CG have to delist 3 players? They can't drop their kiddies because they are all on 2 year deals, so they would have to offload some of their poached players wouldn't they?

One computer and some easily available free software? Hey everybody, I can post from overseas!

Remember that they have two years to poach players. That allows them to heavily front-end contracts to players they take this year and still have plenty to throw around next year. The majority of their list will be on basic beginner contracts so the distribution of the salary cap is skewed massively in favour of the players they are able to poach as well. These two factors allow them to offer obscene contracts to several players, with the bulk of the cash coming in the first year.