praha

It would be hard to prepare coming in as a sub.

Fans have more than enough justification to be "negative" considering they are paying and giving their time up to watch the games. Also, this is a message board and an online community, and people can be as negative/positive as they like. It's fine either way, and no one should tell someone else otherwise.

We didn't smash them at all. We were not more dominant in this game at any point than what the Lions were in the first quarter. That wasn't a poor effort. It was a dumb, urgency-lacking quarter. Really frustrating to watch. Like seeing your teenage son get expelled from high school. I wanted to give them all a slap across the head for that quarter.

Something is better than nothing. Get off the team's back in this regard. Was at the Bulldog's game yesterday to watch the Suns, and if you want cringe-worth entertainment, look no further than the Doggies. I'll put it bluntly: sometime pre-game, at one point, "Who Let The Dogs Out?" was playing. Seriously though, I like the initiative. But yeah, it could be better. It's entertainment made by people from within the MCC most likely, or made to appeal to that demographic. What do you expect?

The idea is that a fast game = more injuries, a slow game = a tighter contest, fewer injuries. Fewer injuries = less intimidating less intimidating = more accessible more accessible = more marketable more marketable = expanded reach.

Our transition is SUPERB. The problem was on Sunday was Hawthorn's impenetrable zone that our young players just had no idea how to counter. Games like that happen with a side like this. Hardly cause for concern. They will learn from it and improve. Our transition from defense to offense has, at times, been fantastic in the first two weeks. Quick and precise. But we need the run out of half-back for it to work, and that's where Jones, Moloney, Davey, Sylvia have let us down in the first two weeks, and ESPECIALLY against the Hawks. Those kick-ins were just....arghhhh....pie-droppingly frustrating.

Moronic thread. I'd have done the same thing. The guy is on another team now, and was essentially told his time was up. He is the enemy of us, and we the enemy of him.

It's been 2 games. Relax. We need the yearly Hawthorn flogging to get us on track it seems. I am so utterly sick of getting belted by them. Really getting sick of it.

Our midfield was disgraceful yesterday. No pressure at ALL! What was the inside 50s differential? Hardly our backlines fault. Our midfield continues to dig a grave for us in games. Without a tall forward to kick goals, out midfield needs to step up to counter that, so that our lack of goals isn't countered by the oppositions goals. To do that, we need to stop inside 50s, which would in turn take pressure off our backline. Our midfield let us down miraculously yesterday,

I always thought Healy hated the Dees. I guess his commentary performance today was a chance of pace.

You're all expecting the world from a team that just isn't that good yet. It's all hype to help grow a brand. We are still a good 12-24 months off being a good team. Until then, we will be team's like Hawthorn little [censored].

The thing is, the midfield is crap and is getting mauled, so the opposition gets the inside 50s, putting extra pressure on the backline. Grimes is there, but he has no one to pass to within an effective range or in a good position. The gameplan out of the backline is based on maintaining possession until you get a run out, which is very, very basic. Most clubs do it. But the midfielders don't present well enough, and so we find out half-forwards leading up into the back flank, and we're losing in the air so it just goes back into the forward line. Grimes is just not being provided with a clean passive possession out of the backline, because no one is presenting. And how kick-ins are a joke. Everyone is scared to present out of fear of error. That displays lack of leadership.

There is no room for two of the exact same type of player in our team. It's either Rivers or JMac. One of them had to go. Hard truth.

From 1996? Definitely. How current home jumper is by far the best for a while.

I'm just not confident. We can beat them, but I think this team will take 3-4 weeks to start getting some good, consistent football going. People are expecting us to jump out of the blocks. I'd much prefer a slow start leading into building momentum. I'm confident we'll lose tomorrow. Hope I'm wrong.

I think we're in for a loss this week. I don't have a good feeling at all.

Depends how we go. We have a good draw with lots of MCG home games early on, so our on-field performance will determine. If we win 60%+, we're a real chance.

If there was a Message Board Quote Of The Year award, you'd win it. I'm stealing that.

The Gold Coast would absolutely jump on this. A merger doesn't have to be initiated out of desperation. It can be a worthwhile investment. I think the AFL would love the idea of the Gold Coast having a Melbourne fan base (like Brisbane and Sydney do), especially if they struggle for the first 10 years or so (which they might) to create a strong fanbase (something the Lions are still trying to do in a city that loves sport more than Sydney does), even after 3 flags. I am still confident that the Roos will move North (pun not intended).

I thought Bail provided good run at times. Thought he did a great job.

He does OK. I think people undermine his performance because they expect so much. If he was pick 10, he'd be going along just fine.

Not really. I think a tall, skinny athlete is more prone to injury than a player like Viney.

It was very, very obvious that the umpire didn't blow his whistle until he noticed the Sydney player on the ground. He obviously saw the contact initially, but didn't think anything of it until the Sydney player appeared hurt. Poor decision by the umpire. Everyone around me was livid.

Was in the AFL Members. Can't remember the MCC and Punt Road goal end being so jam packed before. The fans in those areas were loud and red. Was great to watch when we kicked a goal. The excitement levels just aren't the same in AFL Members.

They are essentially saying that if you have the potential to make a decision of disposal, you can make the decision not to continue playing. They know this is impossible, and they have adjusted it as so, so as to counter the stops in play caused by a saturation of re-interpretation. The AFL is essentially "fine-tuning" the game to make it more attractive to international audiences, including foreigners in Australia (students etc.). In that instance a fairly trivial matter didn't actually cause stoppage in play, because the Melbourne player inadvertently played on, meaning the play never stops. Once the fear and anger associated with the change subsides (which is purely human nature -- with evolution and progression naturally comes fear), no one will notice it anymore and accept it as a bona fide rule of the game. I don't really mind it. I'd rather see more old-school stuff not causing a stoppage in play, as it would now with a free-kick and not generous advantage.