Jurrahnator

For what it's worth, I agree with Nasher's comments on the Watts incident in the last quarter. Yes, it looked bad and the young man should have made a better fist of disposing of the ball. However, in my mind, Miller was equally to blame. He could have either put a shepherd on Brown or dropped off Brown to give Watts an option for disposing of the ball. Instead, he stood and watched! Watts is still young in so many ways - he has not yet done a full pre-season, Monday was something like his 9th or 10th game, he is still adjusting to playing against men (not school boys his own age), he has not learnt the art of knowing where the ball is going and then putting himself in a position to win it against his opponent. But these are not criticisms, simply facts. Jack may become a superstar of the AFL (I don't know - my crystal ball has gone on the blink) but I do know that he is an intelligent young man with an incredible intuition for football. He will learn, he will get bigger and stronger and he will provide a focal point for players down the ground when we attack from the HB line. Frankly, I don't care whether he's a superstar as long as Jack is the guy at CHF when we win the GF in 2013 or 2014.

I hope those criticising Cam Bruce have been watching "On the Couch" tonight. Both Gerard Healy and James Hird spoke of Bruce's performance, historically and this season, in glowing terms, particularly Hird. I prefer the opinions of two Brownlow medallists to those non-AFL players who like to criticise from the stands. My 40+ years of watching footy tell me that Cam Bruce is a critical part of the team's structure and a player the coaches rely upon to provide direction and leadership on the field. [No doubt, there will be some posters who tell me I'm an idiot! That's fine - I will just continue to rely on the opinions of people I respect.]

Good post DS. I think all of us are dreaming a little about what could be, but it is right to add a pinch of reality. I have been following the Dees since about 1960 and don't think I have seen a better group taking the field for the Demons than the current list. I know we will be challenging for the Flag again and in the not too distant future, but it is probably unrealistic to expect that to happen in 2010. It's hard to see such a young group being able to maintain the same sort of pressure as we have seen over the last 4 weeks for another 17 weeks. What they have done takes enormous concentration and effort, and I think we have to expect that some of the young guys like Scully and Trengove will tire as the season progresses. Another strong pre-season in 2010/11 will however help them to withstand the 'heat' and maintain the pressure even longer. Don't get me wrong - it would be maginificent to see the red and blue take to the MCG in September 2010. But we all need to take this a week at a time and only start to think about it over the last round in August. I suspect before the season is finished though that we will see at least one game where the pressure is off just a bit and the boys get overrun by a more experienced team. In the meantime, it's good to be able to believe again - to believe every week that we are a chance to win the game (and not just hope that they will be competitive). Thank you to Junior and every player on the list for giving me reason to enjoy the footy again.

I agree with the thrust of what JJC is saying in this thread - and there were many other examples last night of skill errors and just plain bad footy, eg the defensive kick in the first quarter that went 40 metres backwards and out of bounds instead of hitting the Melbourne player on the chest. I did not see the whole game - just the first 2 1/2 quarters. I am ready to concede that it was a practice match played without a 'full strength' team, but the most worrying aspect for me was something that shouldn't matter whether it's a practice match or the 22nd round of the season. I cannot recall one instance where our midfielders actually won the take-away at a centre bounce. Yes, Spencer was killed in the ruck by Sandilands (as are most ruckmen in the AFL) but our mids should have realised that was going to be the case, or have seen it very quickly in the first quarter, and adjusted their game so that Sandilands was not giving the Freo players first use of the ball every time. Good sides do this - the question remains whether our midfielders are capable of doing it. I hope to get to Visy Park on Saturday and I'm praying that we can show much more skill in the middle of the ground - the place where games are won and lost.

This is the first time I have felt the need to contribute to this site. And like Bangkok Demon, I am disappointed with the negativity. Personally, I want Melbourne to win every game that they play - I was at the 1964 GF and I want that feeling again - but we are not going to do it by 'tanking'. Even the thought makes me angry. Yes, we beat a rubbish side today, but I saw some things that make me confident of the future. We have a defence that is working together well, and happily that includes Jared Rivers slowly returning to the form we know he's capable of producing. We have a forward line that is starting to work. Jurrah is the most exciting thing to happen to the MFC in a long time, Petterd seems to be learning what the game is all about at AFL level, and we still have Aussie to come back. Unlike some others, I think our midfield is starting to learn what's required of them. The efforts by McLean and Jones over the last couple of weeks have been a real positive. And I have been delighted with the way that Jamar has stood up over the last couple of games. Added to all of that, we have some exciting talent still developing. Watts is going to need 2 - 3 years to make his mark, then there's Blease, Strauss, Bail, Bennell, Jetta and others who are all going to improve, given time and good pre-seasons. I despair sometimes at our lack of skills - how many handballs today ended up at the feet of teammates and how many short passes dropped short of the intended target? However, the skills are without doubt an improvement on 2008 and I expect the skills of the team in 2010 will again show improvement. Bailey and his coaching staff need time to develop the kids they have got now and I'm confident that we will see continuing growth and developemnt in everyone, even the senior players. The priority pick would be excellent but I refuse to accept that it is the end of the world if we don't get the PP. And the fact is, we still have to win two more games before we lose it. Nothing can be taken for granted (except perhaps a win against the Dockers!!). So, instead of all this gloom and doom, let's be happy for the boys who won today - hearing them sing the song at the end of the game brought a tear to the eye because they were passionate and happy. The least we can do as Demons supporters is show them that we enjoy their success and want more of it. I am proud of my Club. Our President would never go out on the ground to deliberately lose a game and I am delighted that we have a group now who are also not prepared to accept that outcome. We will get better and we will succeed.