bananas

We'll either win, or we'll lose. Unless it's a draw. (getting in touch with my inner Malcolm Blight/Robert Walls/pick a commentator who says mind-numbingly obvious stuff ... oh wait, that's all of them!)

6 Jamar 5 Jurrah 4 Jones 3 Moloney 2 Gysberts 1 Bail Apologies to Rivers and Martin.

Barring early injuries, there's nothing to stop him being subbed off, though ... ... will be interesting to see how Bailey uses it, when injury doesn't force his hand.

just joined 499717 as Have To Be Bananas

Sorry Rollo, would love to play but won't be able to get down. Hope it's a great day ...

P W L % 2 2 0 137% Nice. Watts and Jurrah, baby.

Or: "Outstanding play from the Warlpiri Wizard!" Jurrah goals. M 0.5.5 35 PA 1.2.6 27

How about: "Jack Watts slots the goal to put the Demons in front" ?

Bate marks and goals after the siren. M 0.3.1 19 PA 1.2.2 23

Dunn goal. M 2.1 PA 1.1

The best 2 second place teams go through as well.

Final score: Melbourne 5.4 34 Adelaide 3.6 24 1 down, 1 to go.

Maric gets his second after great pressure deep in the forward line. Wakelin on SEN: "I really liked the workrate from Jack Watts there." 5 goals to 2

What can make us all feel better after the week we've had? BBP's sentence can!

Jurrah speccy! Then slots it from 20m out. M 4.2 v A 1.3

Bennell to Jurrah to Green, set shot goal. Melbourne 3.1 v Adelaide 1.3

MORE INFO: When they switched to the 1's vs 2's in the second half, the seniors defence was: FB Strauss Garland Bartram HB Grimes MacDonald Rivers Add in Warnock if necessary, with Frawley obviously still to come as well. Strauss' performance was a big positive, and everyone else looked comfortable. Bartram's disposal does let him down, but he also provided the individual highlight of the day: receiving at a sprint on the half-back flank he tore through the centre square on a diagonal and shaped to kick to the opposite pocket, then cut back inside, throwing every defender off balance, and hit Jake Spencer for an uncontested mark 30 metres out, directly in front. It was gold. More please, Clint! The second-half seniors forward line was: FF Martin Watts Dunn HF Maric Bate Howe Obviously that forward line is further from the ideal than the backline is. Martin was probably playing there to simulate the 'resting ruckman' structure ... his spot will be taken by Jamar or (gulp) Spencer in the real stuff. (Another poster has said they saw Martin in defence in the second half, but I'm pretty sure he started forward.) Equally, Maric was filling the spot that will belong to Wonna or Bennell, and Howe, though pretty impressive, will step aside for Green, Petterd and Jurrah. Bate, too, could well make way. Maric was busy, seeing a lot of the ball all day, but he never seemed to use it very well. Dunn is gonna be a very good 'defensive forward', because not only can he lockdown a rebounding defender, but he's getting more and more dangerous as an attacking option himself. He's one to watch for sure. It seems to me that Green, Jurrah, Watts, Dunn, Petterd, Bate, etc. will all continually switch between playing at half-forward and leading to the wings, and staying deep inside the fifty, depending on their match-ups at any given moment. It'll make for a very fluid forward line and, when it's working, will look sublime. When it's not working, however ...

Yep, he's a hell of a player ... but it helped that he and Jordie were on the same team in the second half!

I was there. I won't try and do a proper report, just throw out some things I noticed. * After half-time they threw away the selected sides and did a lot of jumper-swapping. It appeared obvious to me that the 2nd half 'Blue' team was very nearly the first choice team. * Blease played deep in defence, but didn't reappear after half time. I saw him with his ankle heavily iced. * Strauss looked neat and composed, though still one or two clangers. He wasn't alone there, the skills weren't amazing from anyone today. He did, however, put on a couple of big tackles, including stopping a rampaging Spencer, which was a pleasant surprise to me. * In the first half, Spencer rucked against Jamar and Martin rucked against Gawn, which indicates to me that Spencer is still the #2 choice. Spencer contributed a bit around the ground, which was good to see, and even with his ridiculous ball-drop most of his kicks got where they were supposed to go. Martin and Gawn both showed good and bad signs, giving free kicks away to each other in the ruck, but then both making contributions as resting forwards. Martin split a few packs, and Gawn dobbed one after Scully (almost) hit him up on the lead and he earned a free kick. * In the first quarter the White midfield (Sylvia, Scully, Trengove, Jamar) was way too good. In the second, however, McKenzie and Moloney became the two most important figures on the ground and hauled the Blues back into it. McKenzie appeared to be tagging Sylvia ... which I reckon is a good move. He's got the 'see-ball, get-ball' instinct, but this should teach him accountability and make him a better player. * Jack Fitzpatrick was on crutches and wearing a moon-boot. I might have just missed that news, but it was a surprise to me. Petterd, Gawn and Blease all ended their match early, but I was on the far side of the ground, so have no detailed info, other than that Blease was icing his ankle at half-time. * In the first half, whenever there was a stoppage, Jack Watts would set up as a link-man on the opposite side of the ground to the ball. If the Whites won the ball on the wing and found time, they would look to spot him up in the centre square, allowing him to use his skills to deliver inside 50. This happened consistently enough that it was obviously planned, and on a day when hitting targets was rare, Watts' ability to pick out a leading forward a few times did stand out. * In the second half, Watts played closer to goal and Morton took on that role of 'fat-side quarterback' --- pardon the american terminology, but I dunno what else to call it. * In the second half, all of Martin, Jamar and Spencer played for the Blues (Martin almost exclusively forward), which left Tom McDonald to ruck against them, with support from Casey player Luke Hill. McDonald was outclassed in the stoppages, but worked hard around the ground, trying to wear the bigger guys out. He was rewarded with running into an open goal after busting a gut getting forward, after Jetta intercepted a wayward Moloney pass. * Other young'uns to impress: Howe, playing for the Blues in the second half, worked hard across half-forward and found a lot of space. Twice in a row he was involved in the lead-up to a Jack Watts set shot at goal. Nicholson got involved but just needs his kicking to be 5% more accurate. Michael Evans had a lovely passage of play steaming down the wing, combining with Casey player Aaron Purves for a one-two, then dobbing a running goal. * In the second half both Rohan Bail and Neville Jetta were relegated to the White (inferior) team, but, as pretty much the most experienced guys on that team, both stood up and played really well. Bail is eye-catching with his run and carry, and Jetta is one of those smart guys who knows where to go. * Sylvia is awe-inspiring at times. There were more than a few occasions where a crowded stoppage would just be split apart, and Sylvia would emerge, ball in hand, sprinting away from everybody. Jordie got on top of him for a bit in the second quarter, but Col came back strong, and was probably BOG over the whole match. * The goals came from: WHITES: First half: Bate, Gawn and Evans Second half: Nicholson and Tom McDonald BLUES: First half: Dunn and Casey player Matt Fieldsend Second half: Howe, Dunn, and Watts x 2 * Understandably, the Blues dominated the second half, but didn't get the scoreboard reward they deserved. Dunn looked really dangerous and hit the post a couple of times, to go with his two goals. I'm happy to try and answer questions, just don't expect too much of me! Cheers, Bananas.

To be honest, I think Moloney is a bit over-rated on this board. For us to turn into a good team I think we'll need a bunch of the kids to go past him ... which will hopefully happen within the next two years. I'm probably a bit ambitious hoping for it by round one, but hey, it's the off-season, I can dream!

My team: FB Bartram Garland Rivers HB Grimes Frawley Morton C Sylvia Scully Davey HF Watts Dunn Petterd FF Jurrah Green Woneaemirri Foll Jamar Jones McKenzie Int Trengove Gysberts MacDonald Sub Bail Unlucky: Moloney, Bennell, Bate, Warnock, Campbell, etc. My reasoning: This is assuming all are match-fit and cherry-ripe to go. Already, we know that won't necessarily be the case with regards to certain players (was it Gysberts who did his hammy a few weeks ago?), but screw it, I can dream. Unlike most, I reckon the forward line pretty much picks itself. On 2010 form there's no way Green, Jurrah or Petterd won't play, a fit Aussie is a shoo-in, and if we get late-2010 Dunn instead of the early-2010 version, then he's an obvious choice as well. Which leaves Watts ... who'll get better, quicker playing AFL as opposed to VFL. The backline is all but settled. Frawley, Garland, Rivers, Grimes and Bartram have locks on their positions. Depending on match-ups, Warnock or MacDonald can come in as the sixth man but, given the way he ran with Goodes the whole day last time out against the Swans, I've named Morton on the half-back flank. MacDonald squeezes onto the bench, to have at least a tall-ish option on there. In the middle Jamar, Davey, Scully, Sylvia and McKenzie are the certain starters for mine. I've picked Jones, Trengove and Gysberts to round out the team, hoping that Gysberts is really as good as those first couple of games made him look. Moloney, Bail and Bennell can consider themselves unlucky, but injury will surely open the door for them before we actually hit the season. And, because it's round one and Jamar will be fresh as a daisy, and because of how hilariously slow Sydney appeared when we played them last, I've left Robbie Campbell and Jake Spencer back in the sheds. They can come in to give Jamar his chop out deeper into the season as the Russian tires, or against the teams where we really need to pick a 'bigger' side.

Hmmm ... there are a number of people who want to give it to a ruckman, and a number of people who want to give it to a guy who's really worked hard to earn it. I've got a suggestion that'll keep both camps happy: give it to Jamar.

We're gambling big time on Spencer/Gawn/Martin ... or to put it another way, we're gambling big time on Jamar's body. Hope it works out.

I'm with (or, I dunno, with-ish) AJ on this one. I love the concept of having an emblem that tells the story of the footy club ... I just don't like the execution. 1) I don't like the shiny, 'done-on-a-computer' look that it has. This thing should be timeless, but the way it's rendered screams 'NOW' to me. 2) If you're going to pick a bunch of different elements, then you should make them things that actually have resonance. To whit ... I love the 'original rules' watermark on the background. Damn right, we invented this game, lets remind people of that. That has meaning. ... but I hate the Southern Cross. Can anybody genuinely tell me that (BEFORE they saw the accompanying video) they had ever associated the Southern Cross with the Melbourne Football Club? If I see the Southern Cross, do I think about the Dees? No, of course not. If you're gonna use symbols like these, then make them symbols with genuine meaning, not 'made-up-in-2010-so-we-could-fill-the-emblem' meaning. Anyway, I know I'm in the minority here, so I'll shut the heck up after this. Please don't think this means that I'm backing off/defeated/whatever, I just can't be bothered having an argument in which nobody's ever gonna change their mind. Peace out. PS --- GO DEES!

Still first in line for the small forward job. Back in his first season he won us a couple of games off his own boot, and by my reckoning he's the only bloke currently in our team that's done that. Fit, he's easily best 22.