Adam The God

I felt like this was more obviously directed at Neeld, but I think it certainly has merit in relation to Welsh's ordinary public form.

I like Peter Ryan. He's a solid contributor. What are people's thoughts on the correlation between these stats and success? He mounts a good argument. There's no doubt that players gain confidence when they're continually selected to play at the highest level. As long as the feedback they are receiving each week is constructive, IMO it's only a matter of time before they respond. And that's usually a short amount of time. Exhibit A - Rohan Bail. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-05-29/stability-breeds-success AFTER Melbourne lost to the Sydney Swans in round six, the heat was again being applied to Jack Watts after a performance where his efforts had been sub-standard and he'd been caught ball-watching. Although Watts had been a contributor in the early weeks of the season, form appeared to have deserted him. At Monday's media conference that week, Paul Roos was asked whether Watts might need to return to the VFL. The coach immediately knocked the prospect on the head. "I would think he would be playing this week. I'd be surprised if he wasn't," Roos said. Roos then made no change to the team that had lost to the Swans for the game against the Crows in Adelaide, the second time he’d picked an unchanged line-up. To the surprise of most, the settled Demons pulled off an upset win over the Crows after establishing a winning lead in a stunning first half. That Roos chose to back Watts rather than demoting him after an ordinary game comes as little surprise. Famously, while coaching the Sydney Swans, he made just one change after round 19 (Paul Bevan in for Luke Vogels) as the team made its way to the 2005 Grand Final, the settled line-up doing enough to win the club's first premiership for 71 years. He appears to be applying the same philosophy at Melbourne in his first year in the top job. Statistics from Champion Data reveal Melbourne averaged just 1.63 changes per week during the first eight rounds of 2014, making it the most settled team (alongside Gold Coast and the Sydney Swans) over that period. The only other teams to average fewer than two changes per week in that time were Port Adelaide and Geelong. Apart from Melbourne, those four teams currently make up the top five spots on the ladder with the other, Hawthorn – a club cruelled by injury – averaging 2.63 changes a week. Fourteen Melbourne players have played every game this season; only Gold Coast (15) have more. The numbers show Melbourne to be the biggest outliers on a table that generally reflects ladder position. Gold Coast's progress can be tracked through the declining number of changes it has made each week since 2011. The Suns have gone from 4.10 (2011), 3.43 (2012), 2.90 (2013) to 1.63 in the first eight rounds this season. Roos understands some players aren't developed enough to play well every week, but lessons can be learned. He also demands that players be picked only if they display consistent good form at a lower level. Expectations have stayed high behind closed doors, while much of the discussions about standards expected of players have been private, not public. And the Demons' players have responded. "There are a lot of different issues that go into [selection]," Roos said. "Obviously every team wants their best team on the field. Probably part of what we're trying to do is work out what our best team is. "The players have, for the majority of the time, done what we have asked the [players] to do and we have continued to improve. "Medically the team has been really good … the big part of football now is getting your best team on the ground." The Demons have still used 33 players, but the improvement is obvious when a comparison is made between the team that played in round one and the one that beat Richmond in round nine. Melbourne's team for the win over the Tigers included Jack Viney, Colin Garland, Mark Jamar, Chris Dawes, Max Gawn, Christian Salem and Aidan Riley for Shannon Byrnes, Jack Fitzpatrick, Alex Georgiou, Viv Michie, Jake Spencer, James Frawley and Jack Trengove. Trengove and Frawley would be the only automatic inclusions of those outs, while those included have either proved themselves at AFL level or are highly-rated youngsters. Of course there is more than one way to skin a cat, as Geelong showed in 2011 when it rested players and tried youngsters to average the second-most changes in the competition (3.67 per week) but still won the flag. But for a club that experienced so much upheaval in recent seasons, Melbourne is benefitting from the opportunity to go into battle each week with a familiar line-up. Average changes by club, rounds 1-8, 2014 Melbourne 1.63 Gold Coast 1.63 Sydney Swans 1.63 Port Adelaide 1.75 Geelong 1.88 Collingwood 2.00 North Melbourne 2.00 Adelaide 2.13 Fremantle 2.38 Essendon 2.50 Richmond 2.50 Hawthorn 2.63 St Kilda 2.63 WCE 3.00 Western Bulldogs 3.13 Brisbane Lions 3.25 Carlton 3.38 GWS 3.50

It might be a little far fetched, but my feeling on Mitchell is that given he's a father/son, he is more committed to staying at the club than some others might be. Therefore, Sydney think they can keep him out of the side longer than some others. They'll play him if someone is really struggling in the 1's, but they won't tinker with the line up otherwise. Then again, Carlton and Collingwood could sniff around.

Oh and this makeshift forward line everyone is talking about is never going to win the game for us off their own boot. It's going to be goals from midfield, a couple from the forwardline, but what is most important is contributions from the forwardline. They must run, tackle and chase their opponents, but also and crucially, provide targets across half forward and inside 50. If our forwards can take enough marks, that will go a long way to seeing us being competitive. If the ball keeps coming out of defence and our forwards and mids fail to apply frenzied pressure, it's going to be ugly.

Jones and Boak are quite different players. I'd probably take Jones over Boak, because I feel he's more consistent, but Boak can be far more damaging than Jones. As for Tyson v Wines - two very different players again. They are both stoppage machines, but Tyson has the awareness and calmness that I don't think Wines has. Wines is probably currently ahead if I'm being honest, but I think if Tyson continues to improve this season, he'll surpass Wines by the end of 2014.

I don't think you can call a guy a bust who was responsible for leading Hawthorn to two flags, coaching them to a couple of finals on top of that and then coaching the Bulldogs to a couple of finals. My problem with this Stuie, is that the players would be learning two almost completely different game styles. IMO, we need a consistency of game style and for that to become 'the Melbourne way'. Bomber and Roos are very different coaches, with very different game styles. Jose Mourinho (as much as I hate him) is another that never played at a particularly high level, yet is considered one of the great managers in world football. It's all about the tactics and man management. It's a very different game, but he has those assets to his advantage. At the moment, I feel that there is a palpable sense of stigma towards those coaches that haven't played at the highest level in the AFL industry or haven't achieved success at the highest level. As soon as that changes, you'll find that AFL playing experience will not be as important as coaching experience and ability.

Add the sleekness of Salem, Toumpas, JKH and you're cookin'. You've also got that bloke Jones for a few more seasons yet too.

Why Richmond? I think we're more likely to get him than Richmond. We'll probably have a better pick than them and we can offer a larger contract too.

Would love Shiel this time around though.

All the Bond movies were wig years for Connery. Wore one from Doctor No onwards. Anyway, I'm on the fence with Cameron. If our guys think it's worth throwing the kitchen sink at him, then fine, if not, I'm happy.

I probably agree.

Not what I said at all.

Haha, we'd be laughing with this. That said, if GWS hold out for another year, I'm not sure too many teams would be able to offer two first round picks. I think it's still short. They'd have to do the deal if it was two picks for one of them and they'd signalled their intention to leave. If Cameron played for the MFC, Saty would claim he was the next coming. That sort of bias I understand, but it's not helpful in this instance. Cameron is a gun. It's understandable that he has a couple of quiet weeks in the youngest side in the comp. I'm almost certain Roos would love to have someone of Cameron's talents. Our issue is do we need gun midfielders more?

What are you talking about? We have a minimum cap and we have to pay it. The 35,000 members is irrelevant. Further, we still get financial support from the AFL...

The last great film I saw was Altman's 3 Women. I'd highly recommend it if you like weird, but psychologically complex narratives.

I've been meaning to. I was in Berlin for the European Film Market in 2013 and Screen Australia had it up everywhere. Really glad it did well critically. I'm not sure its distribution strategy was that tops though. I take it you've seen it, D?

Totally.

I dunno. I'm not a Fyfe fan. He's good, but I wouldn't have him in the same bracket as Dangerfield. He's younger though, I guess. Just a bit overrated, IMO.

I don't think we're giving Port's forwardline enough respect or credit here. They are very dangerous. Wingard is unstoppable and Schultz is about the best full forward in the game right now. If we can keep them below 15 goals, that'd be a great effort.

I agree. But, personally, I'd much prefer to view him as a role player and it's this attitude that I have a problem with. It isn't about that anymore. It's about Jack playing his role and doing everything that is asked of him. The goals and influence on the game will follow.

Really? Intriguing.

We need to stop expecting that Jack Watts will have his 'break out game'. I simply want Jack to become a role player. He will impact games due to his excellent disposal and decision making, but the new MFC is 21 players, 21 roles.

Good idea, Billy. Yep. I'd start Garland on him and have Jetta as a back up.

He's one of the biggest whingers in the game. Nick Riewoldt's another star who does it. Great players, but don't touch 'em.

PJ's led the revival.