JJJ

I was in the standing room at that end. He wasnt directly in front and kicking for goals was difficult at that end. It was class. The good news is that he is an outstanding athlete and a willing worker. Add to that the poise, vision and skills on both feet and you have a player. Will watch with interest as he progresses.

Jones was wasteful. His ball drop is pretty average and he doesnt kick through the ball on the shorter kicks. These things can be improved as will his decision making as he gains experience. He is the least of our worries.

Nice article. Curious about your comments regarding col. I'm not saying that Sylvia played well yesterday or that he outplayed his opponent, BUT, you have to look at how he was used yesterday. Early on his role in our forward thrusts was good. His aggression at the ball and man was great as he folated from the midfield through to half forward. Later in the game as his energy levels drop off he is used as a leading forward, or at least the coahcing staff intends him to be. The delivery and slower ball movement made it almost impossible for him to be effective. I noticed that players didnt look for the longer leading option, instead taking the shorter option which meant for a half forward numerous unrewarded leads. For disenchanted MFC supporters he is as soft a target as the MFC is for the media. Get a new hobby.

What gives? When we were playing well in the 1st qtr Sylvia was excellent and a major reason for a success. The delivery to him was appalling from qtr time on, but he presented hard all day and hit in hard in the clinches. The general opinion of him on these boards is so clouded by his 'off field issues' that it makes it impossible to give an honest accessment. Its pathetic and is wearing thin. White makes me want to vomit. He just goes through the motions, picking up his pay cheque on a Tuesday, playing footy on the weekend. Watching Rivers give him 2 sprays was priceless. When White went into the middle we lost drive.

I always find it funny when people build up a player to be something then get agitated when the player in question fails to meet those expectations. He is talented, he has troubles, both physically and emotionally but lets keep perspective, he's young and plays in a fashion that makes him unique at the MFC. Give him a chance to prove himself. both on the field and off it. This is the 1st time he completed a preseason and he may turn the corner for us.

I dont think they would have dropped Buckley in any case. He is one of a few players who tries to create something and doesnt let the opposition dictate how we play. With the match report in mind here is my team for Geelong. Maric Neitz Dunn Sylvia Bate Bruce Buckley Jones Wheatley Bartram Rivers Bell Whelan Carroll Miller PJohnson McLean McDonald Moloney Morton Garland White INJ:Holland Petterd Davey Grimes Sandy:Yze CJohnson Green Frawley Robertson Cheney Meesen Weetra Newton McNamara Martin Warnock Jamar Bode I would play Dunn as a leading forward as i think he is a natural forward. He has a knack at getting shots on goal. Maric comes in for Weetra to add class. Sylvia and Bate playing as dual CHF with Bruce the roaming forward/midfielder. Buckley as your release man out of defence with his pace and Wheatley dropping back. Rivers comes in and should take the most dangerous forward straight away. With his ability to be the 3rd man up by reading the play it should bring Whelan, Bell and Bartram into the game. Miller is on his last chance but I think we will need his strength. PJ should be 1st ruck. Let him hit in hard early and often, creating space for the midfield. Moloney comes in if fit. Morton is an automatic selection at the moment. Garland needs more game time and White is lucky that our ruck depth is awful. I think we could come away with an honourable 50 point loss if all goes to plan.

7 tackles and 9 contested possessions. the effort is there. he is just out of form and getting support only from Jones in the middle. Oh for a ruckman who could lay some of the opposition midfielders flat to create some space in the middle. If you want to lineup some players, have a crack at White, Green and (a bit harsh due to his experience) Weetra. White provides little in the way of direction when he hangs around half back. Green endangers teammates when he handballs to them and Weetra shows neither the determination or desperation required.

Buckley made mistakes and needs to get harder at the ball but he was one of 2 maybe 3 players that tried to change the flow of the game in our direction. He isnt the sort of player you build a team around but he could turn out to be a very handy running link man somewhere down the track. Also, wasnt that his 7th game of his career?

We have a bigger problem with the players not showing the desire to push themselves. Judd and Cousins used to run until they were physically sick. The other WCE players took note and the team as a whole became a much harder running group. We dont have our veterans providing such an example.

word on the street? sounds vague and baseless. He is a fierce tackler. What happened to our tackling. Werent we the number 1 tackling team in the comp in 2006? Our efforts to restrain the hawthorn players was pretty average. Even so, the Ins this week could be very good and add a bit of spice and talent to the mix. Also, our opponents are the Dogs, they dont have the ticker or the size that will trouble us this year. I dont expect a win, just an improved performance. For Col, all I ask for is a contest. Actually thats all I ask for any player this week. Contest to the best of your abilities. Tackle hard, keep your head over the pill and when you think you can't run any further, put your head down and run some more.

I understand the stats. What Im saying is that we hardly ever got clean ball out of a contest. The hawks would get the pill, use quick hands and release any number of players forward. If we won possession it was under more pressure and never clean and without the required runners to make something of it. I find most stats these days pretty unsatisfactory when reviewing a game. Most mean sweet FA.

I'm pretty sure thats a useless stat. It's right up there with hitouts. We were beaten in the clinches all day. The hawks run to advantage and linked up after they cleared the ball. we had no run or cohesion.

Agreed, but Im of the understanding that Bate wont play next week.

I don't care where he plays. get him in the team. In the backline he would join Peterd as the only vocal leaders of that rabble. To me that was a huge disappointment, no leadership at all in the back half. Very early on most of the backline started lookinh out for numero uno. Dunn as a half forward would have being useful yesterday. He has the tank and the drive to present and give the 2nd efforts that were required yesterday. Newton looks like a deep forward only at this stage.

Our lack of speed is a little overstated. Our inability to get first hands on the ball and gut run are much bigger concerns. We have some players who dont know how to push themselves. Davey looked awful. Unrecognisable.

I heard that Buckley is in doubt. so add Bode or Weetra

Throwing the kids down back could work. It depends on the supply through the midfield. If our midfield plays like 2007 the kids will be smashed. I would suggest anybody mentioning Garland are living a fantasy. Rivers in 2003 and Frawley in 2007 showed more in their brief forays into the AFL and VFL than he did. He needs to learn how to play, his footy background is pretty limited and it shows at times. Play some senior footy in 08 and build for 09. Frawley isnt even a good ordinary player at present. He is very average, but he is extremely quick, has a body that has more development left in it, great hands in close and loves to take on his man and use his pace going forward. His only weakness is his awful kicking technique, otherwise all the tools are there for something pretty good. Its up to him and the coach to make it happen. My hope is for a Darren Glass type full back but with more running. Carroll needs to leave. He is a flawed fullback. He has no touch with his foot skills, makes terrible decisions, gets turned inside out with ease and generally makes plenty of errors. Add to that his off field issues and we have a player who should be playing either state league or suburban footy.

yeah, like the old training jumper. as for the need to change the jumper, doesnt it depend on who designed it? if Asics designed we may need a change.

why couldnt we have a red jumper with blue trim with the letters MFC in blue intertwined as they used to be back in the day on the front, a bit like the carlton jumper. it should avoid the 2 clash's we have with essendon and carlton. on the back above the numbers you could have an MelbourneFC 150 logo or something... at least it has a bit of heritage about it. or invert the colours as another poster has done above. im not keen on the club bending too much.

i would be shattered if we to McEvoy. he isnt an AFL KPP. he hasnt the speed and agility to translate his game as a junior into a senior player. He looks to ha ve great hands etc but his speed and mobility is a huge concern. As i see it there isnt a KPP of worth at 4. I hope CAC sees it my way. will be happy with any of the utility/mids around at 4.

next year will be my 12 consectutive year of Redlegs membership and my household havent received an issue since the end of 2005. before that we got only random deliveries....

i assume we need a new clash strip due to our new clothing sponsor anyway. ditch the all red design with the old logo and try something fresh. perhaps they could widen the red yolk and make it go lower on the jumper. wth white shorts we should avoid a clash with essendon and carlton.

the old logo meant nothing. it was neither strong nor inspiring with no links to our past. it doesnt even look like a demon. the new one should appeal due to the resemblence to the jumper.a jumper that was wornfor 12 premierships. its simple yet recognizable. im rapt to be rid of the old one.

i wouldnt rest your case on those stats. the year you refer to was when the hawks played awful, indirect, ugly footy. Hodge, mitchell and crawf gathered a large percentage of their stats that year across half back. waxing the ball. they took overpossessing the footy to new heights.

I was driving home from work today listening to SEN when it dawned on me that the MFC is a lot shiftier and smarter than I have ever given them credit for. I believe an agreement between Brett Ratten and the MFC was struck that would ensure that we have the 2nd pick in the draft and that Ratten will be a highly paid coach for the Blues. By agreeing to give Ratten a 2nd "interview" we have in fact driven up his value, given him leverage and put pressure on the blues to sign him to a bigger deal. The kicker for us is that Ratten will ensure that Carlton wins at least one more game (most likely against us) giving us the 2nd pick. That leaves us in the incapable hands of the Tigers, which as we all know means that Krueser (sp?) will be available at 2. Everyone's a winner......