Adam The God

Agree. Doesn't work hard enough and lacks discipline - see his numerous attempted hangers inside defensive 50.

That's true. Concur with you and rpfc on the second point too, nutbean.

Wow. How was Aish's kick then.

It's an interesting one this. I wouldn't be surprised if Carlton gave up Gibbs for pick 2 or 3. They do overrate their list though. I wouldn't want him even if they do offer him. We need ball extractors, not soft outside runners, with admittedly elite disposal.

I was at that game in Canberra. Morton was superb on Goodes. Killed him. I can see where you're coming from with this, Billy, but it seems reasonably clear Cale's greatest weakness is psychological.

She has a very short memory, unless it relates to a personal grudge of hers. That said, just about every AFL journalist has the memory of a gold fish.

I must be the only one who thinks he's comfortably beating Jones in the B&F. I've been pretty disappointed with Jones' season. I've been more frustrated than anything, because he's had to run the midfield single-handedly. I'm not convinced he's been tagged the last few weeks. I think he was getting a tag between about rounds 3-7 and it's dropped off since. He started the season well, while Col took a few weeks to get going, but I think the latter has been dominating the votes each week for a while now. You're correct about Griffen. I loved that. It was great to see that measured aggression. Within the rules and highly confident.

Shuey's an interesting one. Do you know his contract status, tatu?

Was waiting for this thread. Love this idea.

Perhaps, though Grimes turns it over too much by foot for mine. He certainly couldn't play key position like Dunn either. In fact, I think Dunn's a better kick than Grimes too. I'm sure he'll come in once fit, but I can't find a place for him outside of the midfield. That is if Clisby keeps holding his place.

Maxwell is hopeless one-on-one and isn't really a key position player. He's a third tall at best. Garland is a KPB that can play on tall or small. Is lightening fast and fantastic one-on-one.

He's a gem. It's great to hear. I wonder where Grimes fits in now. He'd have to play in the midfield or on a wing wouldn't he? Don't ruin a good thing.

Totally agree, OD. If we could get even a player of Luke Ball's calibre that would invaluable and allow Viney, M Jones and Toumpas to learn from them. Not to mention allow Nathan Jones a little more time and space. The problem with Carlton is Gibbs never turned into the midfielder they were hoping for, but Judd has shown Murphy the way. Obviously Carlton also have KPP issues, which is why they have never really looked threatening.

Grimes is never on the park. I'd be dividing it between Garland and Jones personally.

I hope you're right, Trenners. I think it might take a little more than a win over the Bulldogs to convince the majority. We need to show for the remainder of the season that we can match it with a mid-tabled side or two. I doubt it with our midfield though. I wholeheartedly agree that we have great promise at both ends of the ground. We also have some young talent in the middle. It's experience we lack there. If we land an established coach, as you say, they will still have a bit of a hard sell. We should be aiming to win 4 or 5 of our remaining games.

Tony Shaw was harsh. In fact, he was harsh on a number of Melbourne players. You could hear the almost disdainful tone in Hudson's voice all night too. I've watched the replay twice now. Loving it. :D

Spot on, Robbie. This is decision making and can be ironed out.

I'll admit that his ability to get so much of the ball means that he will turn it over a few times and therefore that may stick in the memory. I'd say my point about experience and decision making is still valid for Terlich though. Each to their own, I guess.

Actually I noted his contribution, just as I noted the work he needs to do. Disposal efficiency is an absolutely rubbish stat. It depends who you talk to, but what some consider an efficient disposal is the ball getting on the full to any player on the ground. Again, he reads the play well, has the ability to kick well, but makes poor decisions too often at the moment. I'm not saying he won't get there though.

Completely agree, BBB.

We MUST make sure we fix our midfield. We'll beat the Bulldogs' of the league, but won't get near even the mid-table teams with our current midfield. It lacks experience and class.

I thought his disposal was deplorable early on, but hopefully that goal on the run can give him a bit of belief and confidence in himself. That's what we need from him though. Don't go looking into the middle with dinky little passes. Either tuck the ball under your arm and run at the opposition or play the percentages. He can still make it, but needs to understand his limitations and the specific role required of him. He should provide a bit of speed from the stoppages and if he can kick a goal or two a game, run and carry the ball, he's worth a game.

I think that early check-side goal gave him some extra confidence to deliver a consistent game. Easily his best game. He almost looks like taking those pack marks now. His positioning at times still needs a lot of work. Well done on the game though, Fitzy.

Needs to work on his kicking, because he's a great reader of the play and doesn't have a problem finding the ball. Decision making is his problem at this stage. With another 20 or 30 games under his belt and hopefully we'll start to an improvement on that level. He could become a very important part of our defensive puzzle.

Did anyone notice that we seemed to have a PLAN B out of defence tonight? This is the first time I can recall that we've ever had a plan outside of simply kicking long to the back flank and hoping Howe or a ruckman would pluck it. That goes for all of the Daniher, Bailey and Neeld eras. Essentially, what I gleaned from it was that Frawley would bolt to roughly centre-wing. Terlich would then kick to himself. By this time, Frawley would double back into the space left by his opponent and Terlich is then left to hit him up easily. It worked a treat the first time. It's simple things like this that keep the opposition guessing. I'm probably wouldn't work against the top teams, but at least we're trying something different down there. Unfortunately, we're still persisting with the horrid huddle, but if the players work hard enough there's a chance that they can break that defensive zone. Aside from the team performance for the first three quarters, this is the aspect of the game that most excites me. More innovation, please.