praha

I am furious we're playing a home game there to begin with. I actually think WC plays more games there than us this year. Where's the home ground advantage?

I think that now that the offer is on the table, if he doesn't re-sign it's essentially a surety that he is leaving. That's just what I think. There's no reason not to sign now because he knows what is on offer, and signing and considering wouldn't compromise his playing ability. Sorry to hurt anyone here that thinks otherwise. And no, I don't have any sources. It is just my opinion.

I think the media is playing it out. I'd love for him to be at Melbourne, but I don't think the club would ever sign him. It's Melbourne, after all.

And that means people aren't aloud to watch it in a crowd environment with other supporters? The sports bars in the Casino are probably your best bet. The Pub @ Crown gets too rowdy with young idiots for my liking.

if we can afford 600k, then let him walk if he wants. since free agency comes in we have the potential to sign more good young talent.

When a commentator is talking about a player in the plural sense, they aren't talking about the player exclusively, but rather players like him. "...your Scully's, Judd's" is like saying: "...players like Scully, Judd" It's ugly usage, granted, but it makes sense.

Pretty bad, lowest common denominator article. Nothing we didn't already know. Both are just Brad Miller 2.0, drafted by an insipid coaching and drafting team of the Daniher era.

"Collingwood"

Maric + Petterd next to Jurrah is a formidable front line. Leave Watts the room to lead, allow Jurrah, Petterd and Maric to roam and crumb. Also got Jamar, Martin, Sylvia and Green, or able to kick a few. We really do have superb potential across the board now. 2012 is going to be great when you really think about this team and disregard the fact that, well, it's Melbourne...

OK. Hawthorn - 2004-2006 Collingwood - priority pick in 2006. 2007-2010 (flag year) St. Kilda - 2004 says hello West Coast - ...2011? They finished last in 2010... Carlton - 2009, 2010, 2011, all finals years after years of [censored].

You gotta do what you gotta do. They don't compromise the experience, so no biggy. Anyone who actually cares thinks too much.

Unacceptable considering other teams in rebuilding phases -- Hawthorn, Saints, Dogs, Blues, Pies, Eagles -- have had no issues winning away from home.

The only way you could get Melbourne supporters to Etihad would be to in some way transform it from a [censored] stadium into a good one. Do that and the Dees supporters will turn up in droves. No but seriously, why do we have a Melbourne home game against the Weagles there?

Dimwit of the highest order.

I hope I get to see a golden age.

It's so funny you started this thread. My girlfriend is from France, but has lived here long enough to understand the game. She understands the cry of "ball" and the purpose of having a "holding the ball free kick", but we were joking about how every single time a player was tackled, the crowd cried ball. If she noticed it, anyone can. That said, I think Richmond fans are generally a pretty ignorant, dumb bunch. Or they're so one-eyed that they can't make an unbiased opinion as to an umpire's decision. The fact is that Richmond players threw themselves onto the ball far too often, and if you do that when you have a clear passage in front of you, the umpire will ping you if you're tackled and the ball held to you. The idea is to punish players the cover the ball -- they want players to keep the ball continuously in motion. They saw the amount of free kicks we were getting, and so therefore seemed to believe Richmond deserved retribution in the form of a free kick. Morons. Great atmosphere there yesterday though.

Scully's very quick, gets his hands on the ball, often reminds me of a rich man's Stanton, but I think he can improve. I'm not concerned in that regard.

Can someone create a banner for Saturday's match that says, "31 - We Still Love You"?

I think the club has stepped in, as it should. There is limited monitoring of Twitter, and players may often inadvertently provide commentary that can land them in hot water and with media coverage that they don't need. See Dane Swan. The club is in desperate need of a legitimate social media manager. Whoever is in charge at the moment has no friggin' idea.

That HS article is beyond pointless. That website defines "hit bait".

I have a little respect for Richmond fans. They might be feral, but 30+ years of complete and utter [censored] hasn't stopped them from attending games. They are very passionate. Can't fault them for that.

Very suspect at the moment. Our press against top sides is incoherent and dysfunctional, because the opposition's pressure breaks our press and we're totally dysfunctional. Whenever we come up against a side that can't put the pressure on our press, we thrive. It shows there is a very distinctive difference between the good and bad sides at the moment...and we're right in the middle, with a fair distance from the top as well as from the bottom. There is no top 8 threat atm that I am confident Melbourne can beat. We are suspect against pretty much every side once our Plan A is compromised. There is no Plan B. But once Plan A is mastered, there won't be a need for a Plane B. I don't think we're implementing this gameplan as well as it could be implemented, because not everyone is performing, and we still make a lot of errors and stupid turnovers.

He had a very poor game today.

So who in the cheer squad will be held accountable for the stupid "31 PLEASE STAY" sign today?

I am frustrated that I struggle to get a job as a journalist, and Robbo does what he does.