praha

In all seriousness, he is a lovely lead. He presents well off the forward flank and down the middle and when we are flying out of defence is when he is at his best. But it's as soon as he gets within that 50 arch that he does a complete 180. He has no confidence and has a veteran of the side, I can't see him turning the tide. Unless he plays further up the ground permanently, he will be a constant cancer in the forward line, which I think he is.

Because when we get a genuine CHF and forward line, his football-less brain will no longer be required at the MFC and he will have to rely on his wife's pay cheque (I assume she gets paid purely for being so attractive and hot). Honestly, this man's football brain is no where to be seen. He thinks too much when he gets the ball, therefore leading to mistakes. He knows how to lead, but drops sitters (always has) and has never, ever been a consistent (and trustworthy) shot on goal. Tonight's game was a perfect example. Everytime he gets the ball, even when he is within distance, you see him looking around to pass it off. Then when he is shooting for goal, he almost always gets points. Arghhh....

I like the idea, but might be negatively received. I've always liked the idea of starting another supporter group that sings and chants. Cheer squads are so boring and dull (sorry if that offends anyone involved in them). The chants are so old and boring. They do nothing to excite the crowd around the ground. Anyone who has been to a Premier League match would be able to admit how much influence the supporter "firms" have on the crowd. Granted, they cause a lot of trouble, but you have a group of 30 or so men singing and chanting and cheering, and suddenly an entire stand/stadium is joining in. I'd be VERY interested if it was a dedicated, aggressive (supporting wise) and LOUD supporting group.

Cyril has really benefited from coming into a side that was successful right off the bat, as Hawthorn were in 2008. Morton would be 10x the player he is now had we been a finals side in 08, imo.

Hmmm... Not only one of, but two of our best taggers and run with players get dropped, just as we come up against a side with a strong midfield. I'd have kept one of Bartram or Dunn.

Really impressed by Brock. Doing a great job. Very, very well spoken.

Awesome! These injuries do heal well if you monitor them well. I've broken both my jaw and cheek bone on separate occasions, and both were healed and functioning normally after 4 weeks (or a little over). I don't think a week at Casey would be worth it. Would you play a regular at Casey for one week after they miss 4 weeks with a broken wrist? No. Any injuries from the waist down (besides concussion and neck) don't need to be.

I love how he said that it was a shot that Miller would normally get. I'm assuming he doesn't know all that well how Miller is as a player. When Miller missed it, I wasn't surprised at all. I don't think anyone was. Glad to hear we're on the right track though. Hopefully we bring it again against the Hawks. I have so many damn friends who go for Hawthorn. Being from the Northern suburbs, I don't know why...

Hmmm...I think 2010 might still be a bit premature. Remember, this will be a team that would have won 7-8 games over 2 years (pending they only win 4-5 this year). Jumping to 12 wins with a young, growing and maturing list and I suspect less veterans (Robbo and McDonald maybe gone after this year) would be a tough ask. I think 6-8 wins is a more realistic approach, with 12-15 in 2011 and 2012, with hopefully a power side by 2013. That's at least what I expect/anticipate.

You wrote off a first-year player, even after one amazing debut and two average games?

lol made me giggle.

The way I look at it: Judd at Melbourne = 9th-12th place finish in 2008 and no Jack Watts. No priority picks this year (if we do indeed get them) Judd at Carlton = Jack Watts + Bleese plus possible (and likely) priority picks

In fairness to Watts, the Casey game was rubbish. The entire team played poorly. He was probably one of a few to show promise in bursts.

I don't think calling a player a rat because they used to go for Melbourne and then get drafted unwillingly to another club is fair. Judd, maybe. But not Franklin.

Aaron Davey omitted. Oh how a year is a long time in football.

That made me giggle I think I might do the same. How do I get there? I am in Essendon. I'm guessing hope on the ring road, all the way down towards avalon?

I think Bailey is doing a great job. We have improved out of sight from this time last year. We're still not very good, but we have improved.

Anyone who believes the AFL genuinely wants 10 teams to remain in Melbourne is naive. What a disgrace.

It's Rivers, so I expect him to be out until Round 4-5, 2010.

BT is just a fat moron with a voice suited to a commentator. I don't listen to Triple M purely because he calls on it - his comments sometimes are just stupid. It's as if he takes no notice of other games unless he is calling them.

Melb v. Adelaide at the G on a Sunday at 4:40 was never going to get over 14k. I'm surprised we got even more than that (even though I guessed 25k+). But 13k for a Saturday night game is TERRIBLE. Has to be the worst crowd for a night game ever. We will get 15-18k for the games against Port/Freo/WC

I really doubt he would have played a full game. Probably 50-60%. I don't Melbourne/Casey would have been keen on him playing a full game.

I think a small "C" on the jumper or something is fine.

Essendon's 3 best players are all over 30. /thread Poor comparison though. We lost several leaders last year and over the past 2 seasons (White, Holland, Yze, Neitz, Carroll, Brown) and have replaced them with 17-19 year olds. Essendon haven't really done that, and just added some great draft picks with the oldies. I wouldn't say they are rebuilding just yet. They are still a decent team at best. We an average team at best. I don't think we were ever compared with Essendon during the rebuilding stages. In terms of rebuilding, we are several steps a head of them. IMO anyway.

I think a good indication of both clubs' positions will be at the end of the year when profit and loss statements are confirmed. I expect both Melbourne and North to see losses exceeding $1 Million in this financial climate.