praha

He was solid on Saturday. Also, this goal: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2014-03-22/dean-terlich-running-goal How often have we seen such clean, crisp movement leading into a goal over the past two seasons? There's definitely something to work with. Pity they couldn't take the game on similarly throughout the match. Went in their shells a bit.

Relax. The guy is at his best along the wing and being the occasional man up. He is not a leading forward, nor a primary target. He was playing a role last night not suited to his best role. Give the guy a break.

Vince on the radio said he thought they were pretty average, said the first half was terrible. Summed it up perfectly, said they had run and were always confident when they had the ball, but as soon as they SHOULD have gone forward, they hesitated. At least they can see what we see in the stands. It always seemed they went one or two possessions more than they should. I'd imagine that even without good positioning or a target, kicking it inside 50 towards the boundary would suit the structure rather than make an error along the center or half back line. Three goals directly from missed handballs or over possession. There's the game right there. It seemed that for 90% of the time the players were confident with their skills, delivery and ability to control the play, but it was the 10% that led to a loss. It's all it takes. Also there was one forward on the ground, he had three goals, and that's the difference. He is a superstar and ultimately, really, he was the game's x-factor.

Media department's issue.

I thought we ditched the "Watts as a tall-forward" in 2010?

He looks amazing. Port look very good. Wines, Westhoff, some nice run and silky smooth skills coming out of half-back. Even Butcher looked good. They made Carlton look very second-rate for large parts of that game. Port was in 2nd gear for much of the first half, brought it up a notch and they looked like a top-4 side at times.

FA has been in the pipeline for 5-10 years. Every club knew of it and surely when sighing him to a contract that would have brought him into free agency would have anticipated this.

If the club loses Frawley and Dunn in the same year, our backline would be similarly as inept and dysfunctional as the midfield was in 2013. Would be a step backwards.

Very poor planning by the club. Front-loaded his contract so now his pay is outside the top 25%. Top teams will be lining up for him. Can't see how the club will be able to match an offer from top-tier teams like Hawthorn, Swans, Pies, even Dockers who will all have big pay-packer players retiring and will have the room to afford him. You mean Lions fans are laughing about not having to pay $500,000 for a guy that can't get on the park?

Roos said he won't play according to Channel 7 journo Nick McCallum (who I trust a lot more than Barrett...) http://twitter.com/nickmccallum7/status/441538136632328192

Published 24 minutes ago - Young key forward Jesse Hogan set to lead Melbourne Demons attack in Round 1

Hate to nitpick but when is a turnover NOT unnecessary? Anyway, he seems comfortable in his position but his drop of the ball is very awkward. Reminds me a lot of Bruce. Overall though been a nice addition.

Daniher's Dees were consistently inconsistent. Reality is that had the club made the right choice after the '03 season and decided to move him on, the club would be different now: it would have been able to build a young list around experienced leaders that, as history shows, had 4-5 years left. Daniher was at the club for four years too long. Great bloke and great coach for '08-2000, but '02 was a massive underachievement after a dismal opening against Adelaide in the semi (we'd have pushed for the flag that year had it shown up in the first 20 minutes of that match), and '03 was truly "dismal". Kept players on for longer than he should have, and seemed to lack a "plan B". The club got way too comfortable with him and it cost the club, big time.

I hate when they hit a high pitch and say, "And now Melbourne's hit the front!" Like as if, "How about that. They have a lead!" Sports commentary in this league gets worse by the year. He looks like he's playing a game of high school football. EDIT: Well how about that... "And second-year midfielder Jimmy Toumpas ($240,800) showed some of his glittering potential, needing just 12 disposals to power to 86 points."

Who cares? I follow NBA, NFL, MBL, AFL, NRL players on Twitter: 99% of the time, they're tweeting about personal stuff.

Professionally, a victim of a truly inept, inefficient organisation. Privately, a top block and a real thinker. All the best!

Can't be a coincidence that so many highly-touted youngsters have come into the club, only to leave, end up somewhere else, and struggle for a number of reasons. I have no doubt that some of it is on him, but much of the blame must also be placed firmly on the club, especially after the last two years.

Adelaide - Their supporters come into the MCG like they own the place. Brisbane - Soft-spot because of both Fitzroy and the 3-peat. Carlton - Grew up in the north surrounded by Blues supporters so naturally hate them. Was great seeing us beat them in two finals. Collingwood - Don't mind the club itself, I admire its success and ability after being down and out at the end of the '90s. Essendon - Despise the arrogance from club and fans alike. Fremantle- At least they're not the Eagles. Geelong - Certainly loved them '07-2011. Kind of over them now. Neither love nor hate. Gold Coast - Don't mind them. GWS - Argh.... Hawthorn - The worst supporters in the league. Young, cocky...but rightly so. North Melbourne - Their supporters can be real bogans, or real cocky asses, probably from the Carey years. Don't mind the club though. Gotta love that culture. Port Adelaide - I don't mind them but I hate this sense of privilege they have, like, because they have been around so long in the SANFL that they deserve better recognition in the AFL. Richmond - Really admire their fans, despite how loud and crude they can be. Down and out for decades but still turn up. St Kilda - Terrible fans, terrible club. Sydney - Probably hate them the least of all interstate clubs. West Coast - I only really have trouble with one group of fans at MCG games: Eagles supporters. The club is okay I guess but wow, their supporters are asses. Bulldogs - Probably my "second team" mainly because they are similarly irrelevant as Melbourne.

Clark, Dawes and Howe are all capable of moving up and pushing onto the wing. They all do it frequently. Especially Dawes. Hogan should stay in the goal square. I imagine in a traditional forward set-up it's a bit top-heavy but you'd expect them to rotate around Hogan.

The reality is that the AFL controls a very tight ship, media wise. Australian journalism across most industries is obsessed with the politics of everything. If you watch the NBA, NFL broadcasts, there is a genuine, interesting and insightful covering of the actual game. We get that to some degree but the most amplified AFL coverage always has to do with a player getting in trouble, or drug scandals, or something like that. The likes of Seven, the radio stations, they get decent access, but they really have to grovel to get information and access to players and clubs. I agree that the standard of journalism is very low but the AFL doesn't make it easy for private, third-party publications and outlets to cover the game. Not to stand up for how bad it can get sometimes but the AFL is also partly to blame for the deterioration of media coverage.

I'm happy to acknowledge Neeld's contribution to building our list with potential talent, but as far as coaching goes he clearly lost the plot from very, very early on. IMO How the team performs next season will determine Neeld's most lasting legacy: either he tried his best but the will of the club's ineptness eventually took over, or he was just a really, really bad coach.

Transfer fee would be set based on market value of the player. He probably attracts a few people through the gates so his NT is seeking compensation. Standard, really.

I really like the current jumper *shrugs*

efa

50 seconds, WOW-WEE!