Adam The God

Seemed like a massive brain-fade that decision. Horrible decision either way.

Where does Sheed sit in your calculations, Ben? I may have missed it on one of the earlier pages.

I think Cudi is insinuating the GWS & GCS wins don't count. I'd agree. So that'd be one win. Against Essendon last year.

Why would you not sell the Port game? You'd only look at transferring games that you might lose money on at the 'G. Anyway, no to 8 Tassie games.

There are a few around the traps, LS.

Without wanting to sound cynical, you've gotta remember that the MFC website is a major function of the MFC propaganda machine. It's successfully been sprouting positive messages about the club for a few years now. Good old Whiteboard Wednesday. That had me fooled. Burgan's a good writer, but personally I'd prefer more video content. Visual media is usually a more engaging tool and the club have rightly created new video segments since the arrival of the current FD. More, I say. I like that there's a biased MFC media outlet, but if I want the whole truth and nothing but, I won't go to MFC.com.au. I'd have to hope Emma Quayle is publishing her weekly piece or that Demonlanders have some thoughtful insights.

Yeah, fair enough. That makes sense.

Whilst I agree to some extent, Nasher, GWS makes little business sense either. That club will burn a hole in the AFL's pocket for years to come. You only have to look at all of Sydney's success, yet their membership base remains poor. What I'm saying is that the AFL won't necessarily be put off by this if they want a true national competition. I can't see the sense in the OP though. Especially since we've set up the NT initiative. I'd look at maybe playing three or four games in the NT down the track, but that would only be on the basis of a fruitful, growing relationship. Whilst I'd prefer to watch every MFC game live at the 'G, particularly the home games, it makes sense if we are struggling to get more than 25,000 for an MFC v GCS or MFC v GWS or MFC v PA etc, that we transfer those games to the NT. But eight games interstate? You may as well let the AFL stamp your relocation papers. Talk about selling your soul.

Like your work, McQueen, but disagree on this one. It's about the only thing worth of note on the website. Matt Burgan seems like a really nice guy, but some of the articles on the website are pretty ordinary. The site also suffers from a dearth of content. They need more content like THE CRAIG REPORT IMO. It's simple and easy, but would work better if it ran a little longer. I want to hear a bit more from our coach. It'll take an extra five minutes out of the day. It's important to see what the coaches are defining as competitive efforts and as well as providing supporters a sense of being kept in the loop. I've watched this segment in previous weeks and have agreed with the assessment of former passages. This week I strongly disagree. Sylvia's first effort was half-hearted, the second was alright, but nothing to write home about and then the third is non-existent. They're clearly trying to pump Sylvia up, as you say, RD.

I'd say Jimmy's awkward gait has come about from his two hip operations. He's still no doubt learning how to move with it.

Yeah, I mentioned this the other day. I wouldn't be surprised if this was part of his 'conversation' with Jackson. There's no perceived dead chook sitting in the coaches chair.

The AFL will be looking for a quicker fix here though, RM. Hip pocket involved and all. They'll be looking to see improvement next year. I think we'll get a PP, but the AFL will be wondering how they can help us acquire some experienced talent for the midfield. I subscribe (like many of us here) to the line of thinking that says if our midfield was injected with experienced talent and underpinned by good coaching, we'd be seriously competitive very quickly. The AFL will see that and I believe that is why they have already signed off on a plan to get us there. We will wait and see though.

I'd say at the moment he wouldn't be featuring, but if he continues his form from the last few weeks, he might be a shot. I agree if he were to be named in the AA team now, it wouldn't be a key position. It'd likely be a back pocket or flank. But as with your Cloke example, there's no doubt he's playing KPD for us.

I still disagree, RM. If you watch it back, Craig doesn't mention any names until he is asked about specific players. To me he seems clearly cautious on this and then goes on to emphasise the importance of team development over individual output on the day.

That's selling him pretty short (pardon the pun) I reckon, DF26. He plays on the talls more regularly than the smalls. He's a KPD for mine.

Very, very rarely, Stu.

Yeah, I was basing this on the proviso that all were fit and over their injuries. Without knowing the ins and outs of Clark's injury, I wouldn't be surprised if he never plays again. But if he does, he's proved capable and influential when playing in the middle previously. He'd rotate forward of course. Equally, I could see him simply sitting at FF and Dawes playing CHF, Hogan in the pocket next to him. Watts could play on a wing, but I'd really like to see him stay forward if possible. We're still yet to see Clark and Dawes on the field at once. We can certainly carry both of them and Hogan in the same side. Watt's flexibility and disposal efficiency gives him a game for mine too. The thing that makes Hawthorn so dreaded for me is their imposing tall timber and the infusion of x-factor from half forward and the middle (SB and CR). The great thing about our potential tall set up is that at least two of them are extremely mobile and versatile talls (JW and MC). This would allow us to carry them all and really push sides with our height, but not get exposed for pace at the same time.

This is a competitive business, mate. I care only about the MFC. I'd prefer the Bulldogs not bumping our picks up. Heartless? No. If I was the AFL, I'd be giving the Bulldogs a priority pick at the end of the first round. They'll have been rubbish for two years. If they are rubbish again next year, they should be awarded a PP in the top 5. We are a completely different fish though. We've been rubbish for far longer and will finish below the Bulldogs. If the Bulldogs receive a PP, ours should be a lot earlier.

Sorry, did I miss something, Red? Is this a quote?

That is not intelligent reasoning, BM. If you are a horrible football side who remains anchored to the bottom of the table, you "deserve" a PP. That was the entire purpose of the system. The AFL want a healthy and competitive league. Past drafting failures don't/shouldn't even come into it.

I'm intrigued, Tim. Would your view on Roos have been different had he publicly accepted already? See, I think it could all still be smoke and mirrors. We've really no idea what's going on behind the scenes here. For argument's sake, Roos may well have accepted as soon as Jackson approached him. Jackson may not be keen on having a dead chook sitting in the coaches chair for the next 10 weeks and so has decided to hold off on declaring Roos coach until after the new board and president are officially unveiled. I'm putting this out there because I too have a slight reservation about Roos' commitment. It may well have been put to rest had he come out straight away and said I'll take the job. Ultimately though, we can't possibly know his inner workings at this stage.

Watts should maintain his current weight, but work more on his one-on-one stuff, though he's improving. He should look to fill the Gunstan-type role in our forwardline. I think there's a place for all of them in our forwardline. They're all very mobile which gives them and the side flexibility. Clark and Watts can play in the middle or on the wings. Dawes and Hogan can play as lead up CHFs or deep FFs. Win-win. We just need a couple of dangerous crumbers at their feet. Hawthorn's Shane Savage is number one on my hit list. I hope Blease can play a role in there one day too.

It's the bikes. I tell you, it's the bikes. Look at his calves. Way too thick. Blease has got a lot of work to do on his game if he's going to make it. To be honest, probably more than quite a lot of other demons. I'm not saying he can't make it, but he has some hurdles to overcome. He lacks endurance, an ability to run the other way and makes poor decisions. There's also the disposal efficiency. I watched him in the VFL a few weeks ago. He is a massive confidence player. Hopefully the new coach can nurture him a little more and increase that disposal efficiency. He must ensure he works the other way though. I'm not sure I'd be sticking him alongside Davey. If Aaron trains at all like he plays, I'd suggest he's very, very lazy. Used to love him, but he's done and was so two years ago.

Absolutely. It was very obvious early on and it remained that Craig must have emphasised possession retention as an essential. Instead of kicking it long up the line every time, we were happy to chip the ball around a lot more. Side ways, if need be. Backwards, if need be. This lead to a misleading increased disposal efficiency throughout the game, but we played a smarter and more patient game yesterday. Eventually our skills and decision making killed us, but Craig has already identified that Neeld's long game up the line is futile with these players at his disposal. Personally, I think it's a really an ordinary plan with any list. Its emphasis was on teaching the players to win their own ball - ie. contested possessions. Guess what. The modern game is about uncontested possession and your ability to get the ball into space, not kicking to contested situations and packs. To say nothing of being thoroughly predictable, as we have been under Neeld.

Yeah, I think this excites me too. He has to learn to beat the first or second best opposition defender this year. That will hold him in great stead next year, when he'll have far more support and receive a weaker opponent.