praha

He needs to do that against good opposition. That Freo side was down on confidence and playing very poor football. That Doggies side was hardly tough competition. We needed that performance against the Saints, Suns and Swans, and not necessarily in front of goal. He doesn't do those things when we need it the most. Kicking a few nice goals when the team is up by 40 points is nothing more than the product of a downhill skier.

When was the last time a Demons team had no changes?

What is "equalisation" though, really? It's pretty ambiguous. I can understand equal scheduling, equal divide of league profits, equal access to media, but what we actually see is not "equalisation", it's essentially redistribution. Clubs like Melbourne have relied on the league not through a lack of being "equal" or having the same access to talent or anything like that: it's been diabolical decisions and mismanagement. So long as the league props up clubs like Melbourne, there will always be erratic, unstable change happening around it. Even if you see what Roos and Jackson have done as being good, the reality is that it is for many of the players the third regime change in their careers. The AFL has essentially bailed out ineptness by funding it with the profits generated by the success of a few. I understand Eddie's frustrations because success at the Pies will be a different product to success at the Dees, which has had the AFL essentially control its direction. Melbourne was so bad the league had to take over. I'd be pretty [censored] if I worked my arse off to make something successful, only to see inept clubs like Melbourne get a leg-up from the league. The league doesn't want to lose 30,000 fans as it would if Melbourne moved, folded, merged, whatever, but I don't agree that long-term redistribution in the answer. Eventually Melbourne will need to stand on its own two feet and if it doesn't, the league should not feel obliged to help it again. For the good of the sport and league, teams like Melbourne need to be competitive both on and off the field, on its OWN terms. If it can't build something from what it has now, it will most definitely be the end of the club as we know it now, and it might be for the better.

Couldn't find another thread related to the Brown Dog so thought I'd bump this. I just saw Nathan Brown and Daniel Ward having a chat in the Australia On Collins foodcourt. I often see Brown around that area, on Collins near the corner of Elizabeth. Both look pretty fit. I guess the reason I'm telling everyone this is because seeing those two has brought on a strange, uncomfortable sense of nostalgia, as I long for the Daniher days of yore. Maybe because the success of the 00s was my first (and only) experience of sustained Demons success? Either way I thought they were fine contributors in the Daniher days (despite the negativity of this thread) and it makes me sad to think I look back on those days like as if they were 10 years ago. Oh wait, they were...

I think this too. I'm certain he will end up playing his best game for the club this weekend. Bookmark it. He's in his late 20s and has had good memories at the Crows. They traded him not because he was overvalued but because the Tippett scandal hurt the club and ultimately they needed to dump some weight, and that meant good players like Vince. It would be inhuman if he were to no longer associate himself as a Crow. For some people it's hard to make the transition. But he seems like a down to earth and accessible guy and with time I'm sure he'll be remembered as a Demon.

Not to invalidate the improvements the team has made, but I find it sad, bordering depressing that we're all so desperately scattering around looking for ways in which the team has improved, no matter how trivial they may be. This team needs to start winning. Well, Roos' gameplay circa 2005 was blasted, too. The difference being that that team always seemed with a chance to win. Let's be honest: in all the games this year, despite most of them being pretty close, none of them felt like Melbourne was ever really going to run over the top and win. The only way this team will win is if it's able to get to a 3-4 goal advantage at some point in the second half. If that goes the other way, it won't win. It doesn't score enough to make much of a turnaround beyond 2-3 goals. Asking for a 4-6 goal turn around in the 2nd half is a big ask for a team average 50 points a game.

lol "Jurrah, Watts, Wonna, now there's a forward line the rest of the competition would [censored] their pants over." "Clarke, Jurrah, Watts, now there's a forward line the rest of the competition would [censored] their pants over." "Dawes, Clark, Howe, Hogan, now there's a forward line the rest of the competition would [censored] their pants over." "Patton, Dawes, Hogen, now there's a...." *head, desk*

Swan's breakout year was 2007. Sixth year by comparison, which this year is Watt's. By the starts of Swan's sixth season, he had played 20 less games than what Watts had at the start of this year, effectively meaning he had one less year of experience. He won the Pies' B&F in his seventh season, in which he also played his 100th game. The difference is that Swan was also supposed to be a late bloomer, and never had the weight of expectation on his shoulders. Watts still has a LOT to learn about the game and winning despite having played 20 more games than Swan had at the same point in his career, at which point he "broke out". Is Watts any closer to breaking out now than he was in mid-2011, mid-2012, when he was at Swan's level of experience when he started playing A-grade football?

Spoken like a true hogan hero

Disagree he'll be dropped. Seems less likely now. That is hardly a "spray". Here's a team of young men who have played 50+ games of unaccountable football with ZERO guidance. Watts may as well have played 20 games. It's like this team is being taught defensive fundamentals. The likes of Howe, Watts, they may as well be starting their careers over again. They haven't really been held to account for how they play football. This was probably to be expected.

Wow, he was smiling? In what ways can we attach this emotion to the perils of contract negotiation?

The team is 1-5. I therefore judge them to be in the bottom 2 of teams in the league. Fin Mods pls close thread

Shh, BIG MARKS.

That...wouldn't do anything.

What's his listed height? Looks eerily Lyon-esque. EDIT: 183cm. 6 foot.

I actually felt sorry for him tonight. 14 minutes into the final quarter, AFL members wing. He is able to get his opponent under the ball, pushes out into space and runs onto the ball. With a paddock ahead of him, and Frawley and Dawes deep, he actually doubles back: he had no one in front of him, but for whatever reason doubled-back into the opponent. He's able to push aside the opponent and get some space again, but then kicks it straight into them. The balls goes out of bounds, the supporters in the vicinity jeer and yell, and Jack throws his head down. It was a sad, sad sight. That is a young man completely shot of confidence, and clearly not quite up to the task of AFL footy: he either lacked the confidence to run and carry, or simply panicked and looked back into the corridor for the handball. It was a frustratingly silly decision, and indicative of the club's struggles in going forward all year. But Jack epitomised it better than anyone. Gotta feel for the kid. But the VFL beckons. He is not AFL standard. Potential gets you so far. I'm getting sick of people saying he is "talented". Having a nice kick and side-step does not make you a good AFL player. The fundamentals required to win contests and put your team in a better position are things he really struggles with. Salem managed to do it twice in one quarter of football. He may struggle to play 150 games. He is second-rate.

This was a major problem with Bailey's team. It started to come undone in 2011, around the time of the Carlton game. We were pressing defensively but held back from a full-on press, but whenever we'd have the ball there would be no target, because the forwards (or mids) weren't working hard enough to get back and present. Guys like Watts, Howe, Frawley, they need to be leading and trying to get into a space, they all need to work harder. Watts is mind bogglingly second-rate in his urgency to get into space. Howe is just lazy. Frawley still plays like a defender. He doesn't have the eyes for the goals. "No. 1 draft pick Jack Watts...and the Melbourne Football Club!" Let's be honest, the kid never had a chance. He's done. Astonishingly below AFL standard so far as urgency goes. He will not play 150 games. Watts is just that smart student with the potential for greatness but is ultimately satisfied with a B- average. Can anyone imagine him in any team from 10th upwards? My god, imagine him in the Port side? Hawks? Geelong? He'd be lucky to ever make the 22. Worst No.1 pick ever? Not even in the top 22 of the second-worst if not worst team in the league.

Not so sure they'll both be dropped. Surprisingly, Terlich made it into Melbourne's best.

I don't know, I think Roos' game style is at odds with the club's need for off-field prosperity. I understand this is all necessary to weed out the bad from the good, and create good habits and a consistent game plan, but this is as ugly I've seen the club play over a period of time, and it's turning people away. The club needs a win. It's a double-edged sword atm. I'm not sure the club as the flexibility to be playing this sort of footy. It desperately needs 6 wins this year.

"We deserved to win the Saints game and didn't" Garbage. The Saints were far more deserving because they took their chances and made the most of them. Would we have won with Dawes, Clark and Hogen in the side? Perhaps. But on the day, the team did not "deserve" to win. They COULD have won, but they didn't.

Nah. Dogs took a chance on a proven forward. Played a few good games for them. Far from the worst.

And yet, here we are, talking about him

Here's the Gaypride Round jumper.

Lyon 10 vs Bulldogs in '94. But yeah Farmer had a magical 2000.

Today if you can't hit a target you shouldn't be in the 22.