Grand New Flag

As normal members of this site letting emotion get the better of them. Logic not emotion is required. Don't underestimate how far back we have come from. It was always going to take some time. We have improved out of sight in the last year and 7 rounds. However, we still have no depth and once we start having to pick players further down our list we are still terrible. With continued good recruiting and the maturing of our list our depth and best 22 will continue to improve and improve dramatically. I can remember far worse losses that Saturday, some of them in years we even made the finals, one of them in a year we made a GF. It will be a bumpy road, but at least we are on the road. Mishaps like Saturday have to be expected along the way.

Terrible selections this week. I have no idea of the logic behind them. Watts being dropped is ridiculous. If he was to be dropped he should have been last week, not sure what else he was meant to do when he came on last week. I thought he performed very well, 3 goal assists, momentum of game changed when he ran on. Watts problem is above the shoulders, he lost confidence after dropping those marks against Adelaide, signs were he was through that last week.......... now we drop him?!??!?!? Dropping him is going to do nothing for his confidence. Bad Call. I can't bring myself to see an utter smashing and I think that's where we are headed this week.

They are quickly taking our place as the leagues car wreck.

I am only certain that Watts will not be dropped. If ever his importance to the team (even when out of form) was demonstrated it was on the weekend. He is just so creative, takes a good player, and works very hard. The flow of the game changed instantly when Watts came on. His 7 possessions with 3 goal assists was only part of the story.

Watts come on, was able to immediately get involved, and the flow of the game changed. I understand he was coming off a poor 3 weeks, his confidence shot, but we simply can't afford not to have him in the team. I understand how frustrating he is, however he is immensely creative even when he is out of form. He is underrated on this sight. I am happy to see he has seemed to shake the mental demons and hope he can learn from this form slump to become more consistent.

I truly hope Watts is not dropped. He is out of form but I don't believe anything will be gained playing him at Casey. If you look at our record over the last 3 years, every game we have won with the exception of Richmond 2 weeks ago Watts was a standout. I am happy we can now win without Watts, but we can't afford not to play him. I believe he will come good this week.

Seriously JC, take a chill pill. Gary Lyon has been a great savant of our club and owes us nothing. It is ridiculous to blame Gary Lyon for our disappointments because he has chosen a different career path post playing than you would have liked. Gary Lyon is a loyal Melbourne man, we are lucky to have his media exposure. We would be even more irrelevant without it. The lesson we should have learnt is don't force someone to get involved who does not want to get involved because it leads to decisions like Mark Neeld. Let it go mate and your anger over other disappointments like JW. For the record, despite a poor 3 weeks, JW is still one of my favourites and one of the first I would pick every Thursday.

It would be a very poor career decision for Keath to turn his back on cricket. He may have had a disappointing season, but he has all the skills to make it as an Australian cricketer. If he must go back to state, IPL and big bash contacts down from his current Australian contract..... so be it..... he is only 23. The money is far better in cricket and your career far longer. Players don't peak until in their 30s. He just needs to tough it out, not run away the moment things get a little difficult. The fact that he is being a little dumb and more importantly failing to show the grit and determination required in his chosen sport is a blight on his personality and for this reason only he may never make it in either sport. I am sure we would not give him the time of day.

Dam!!! I did miss that! Ok Mitchie in for Viney.

Clearly you have not been watching our games? Viney was our best midfielder in R2 and in R1 went head to head with Ablett and beat him. Please note Viney was not Ablett opponent when he Ablett went forward. Further Viney as a SA boy seems to always have a stellar game when in Adelaide. Viney would be way ahead of N Jones on form.

Dawes is GOLD for Hogan. For that reason alone he must be one of the first picked every week despite his limitations.

I will be happy if we make a game of it. Very worried we will embarrass ourselves. However in saying that it is hard to imagine our midfield playing that badly two weeks in a row. Jones, Tyson, Vince were as bad as I have seen them last week. These are our 3 best midfielders.

Dawes, he use to do the backup ruckwork at Collingwood.

The obvious changes are: Vince for Toump Dawes for Frost In saying that I think people are being way to hard on Toump. He was serviceable in his 27 minutes, sure he made a couple of errors but he was ok. He showed plenty in the pre-season, is too skilled for Casey and at some stage deserves a 5 week run in the seniors in one role to gain confidence. I have faith that the Toump will become an outstanding footballer. Frost had an excellent debut and is very unlucky if dropped. However, at this stage Dawes is a significantly better and more experienced forward. Dawes demands the best backman, physically and mentally intimidates his opponents, is the enforcer and plays the team game. With several other genuine forwards around him and a stronger, more skilled, attacking mid-field Dawes may well be a match winner (if he is kicking straight). Dawes will also probably take 2nd ruck. To suggest that Dawes should not come in this week is crazy talk. Unless there is an unknown injury or Roos wants to rest Brayshaw, I am almost certain these will be the changes. This would represent our strongest team (LTI not included).

Pass Mark: 8 wins

Thanks IT, Surely the idea that EFC did not keep records or have lost the records of what their players were taking and when they were being administered is not plausible and thus an admission of guilt. The system will come across as seriously and critically corrupted if EFC and Hird are found "not guilty" due to "no records". It makes me even more angry at what Hird has done to his players, his club and our game.

This thread is great reading for those like I who have not followed the process closely and who are unfamiliar with the WADA/ASADA power and process. Thankyou for the read, it certainly sounds like EFC and most importantly Hird are f......ked. Hird is a total disgrace, how he can look at himself in the mirror every morning is beyond me. His AFL and business careers should be ended as a result of this debacle. Certainly people in business will think twice before dealing with someone who clearly has such low integrity. I am sure this must be discussed somewhere in this thread, but what is the timing for an outcome to this horrible affair?

I rate Mitch very highly. When he was fit he was by far our best player. I believe if he does get physically and mentally fit he will win the Coleman Medal. Consider how good he would be with Geelong midfield supply and Hawkins beside him which would not allow Mitch to be double teamed. Its a scary thought. What are the chances of Mitch being physically and mentally fit? From his historical record the chances are low............... but I have a bad feeling.

Since supporting the Dees as a kid in the late 70s we have not had a superstar player with the exception of perhaps Robert Flower in the early 80s when Flower represented 80% of the talent on the entire Melbourne list. In all my years of supporting only two other players excited me to the point that I thought we had finally recruited a superstar. These players from the early 90s are Schwarz and Jackovich. Unfortunately neither went on, Jackovich partied too hard and Schwartz was never the same after 3 (back to back) knee reconstructions. Since this time there has been no Melbourne player that I have believed has the genuine capacity to be the best player in the league, to be a genuine superstar. In 2013 circumstance allowed me to attend nearly all Casey games. From round 1 it was clear that we had recruited something very, very special, a young 17yo by the name of Hogan. Each week I went to watch Casey, each week I became more impressed at what I was seeing. Super fast, super big, amazing agility, fantastic kick, calm, cleaver and hungry this kid has the entire package. Watching him was something in-between Carey and Lockett. Yes he looked that good. Whether playing CHF or FF the guy is all class and skill. I believe he is only the 4th Melbourne player in my lifetime that I believe has the ability to develop into the best player in the league. Now some here will say "stop, don't put any more pressure on this kid". However, from my conversations with him and from what appears to be his character, I don't think expectations are going to make any difference to the young man. Clearly the expectation horse has already bolted, he is on a $500,000pa contract which makes him the highest paid player in the history of AFL not to have played a game. Some random on Demonland saying he has the ability to be the superstar is not going to make any difference to expectations. In saying that I don't expect Hogan to be Carey next season, 30 goals from 20 games would be an excellent return and put him on track to become a superstar. So for me the most important player for 2015 for the MFC is Hogan. I am so excited!!!!!! Go the hulk.

I feel sorry for all three. They were all poorly developed, I feel all could have made it in the right environment with the right development. Our club is somewhat to blame for their failure. For the record Strauss and Blease were fair picks, both went at about the level that most recruiters ranked them. Tappy went a little earlier than most rated, clearly that Neeld was seduced by the big body.

No early appointments for me today and so I turned up to training first hour. The first hour was a tough fitness session with all players sweating it out. Endurance running and sprint routines were the measure of the morning. I was very impressed with the size, speed and endurance of The Hulk. Hogan kept pace with McDonald in the 5 minute run and then passed him in the last 20 seconds. This is very impressive for a big bloke who missed a whole year of endurance running against arguably our fittest, endurance player. I was also impressed with the size of Frost. This guy is a Man Mountain. I hope he can play because he sure has the physic. When I left players were changing into footy boots, no doubt other will be able to give a more interesting account. I have tried to upload some photos. Having some issues. Would appreciate the heads up on how to do this.

This one is all Koshie's.

Premiership - Sydney Brownlow - Nathan Fyfe (Ablett will win it if he is fit at the beginning of the season, however, this now looks very unlikely) Coleman - Mitch Clark - I think he is that good, with the delivery the Cats can give him with Hawkins taking the best defender, I fear a blinder from the dirtiest of dogs. Bluey - Jack Watts - Playing wing and half forward. Rising Star - Jesse Hogan Wooden Spoon - Carlton

Howe is us supporters only excitement. Sometimes our only reason to go to the game. Howe has been terribly developed and I believe could be our best player. In a good team, he could be anything. He is god to my brained washed 6yo (I have brain washed him with guilt). He is to my son what Robert Flower was to me. Personally I am very happy he remains a Dee.

.... and we can offer the most coin. Some on field improvement in 2015 is what is required.