The Chazz

Maybe it was GWS that said to Tom to go down with knee "soreness", and milk it for as long as you can. A soreness issue is like a soft tissue issue, it's almost impossible to detect on scans, xrays, etc. Classic Work Cover injuries are soft tissue injuries. They can take as long as they want to heel, because it's hard for a doctor to disagree without evidence. First and last time I'm commenting on the Scully issue.

Here here. And I don't see how a mistake under pressure in the backline is more excusable than a mistake under pressure in the midfield. And even a mistake in the backline not under pressure is more excusable than a mistake not under pressure in the midfield. Might get Nath to change his surname to Grimes, then he can make as many as he wants and get away unscathed! To end this debate, I'm calling on someone with a lot more time on their hands than I to get the clanger stats for last season, and even last week. If they have such a stat as a forced clanger and an unforced clanger, even better! Until then, innocent until proven guilty, or maybe I'm guilty at finding the flaws in everyones game rather than a select few.

I'll agree to disagree! Some of Grimes' turnovers last week were inexcusable, in particular one in the first quarter when he kicked to an unopposed Melbourne player and kicked it on the full. I think Goodes ended up with the free kick? This kick was made under minimal pressure. I love Grimes, and watch him very closely, but I can't for the life of me agree with the Jones criticism while Jack continually makes as costly mistakes, especially in the backline and under no pressure. To support this, how many times did he kick out last week? I'm sure we used Tapscott to try and get over the zones, but if a player, like Grimes, can't kick to himself, run his full measure and kick over the zone that way, I don't want him in our backline! I want him in the team obviously, but gee he hurts us sometimes. I think I remember the kick to Jurrak that you were talking about - Jurrah was about 15m in front of his bloke but the ball went over his head and Jurrah found himself 15m behind? To be fair to any of the midfielders, if they are on a fast break of some kind and look up and see Jurrah in a one on one, he is unpredictable even to his own players, so I'd excuse them for the missed target, because I'm sure Jurrah has probably faked a lead to catch his opponent off guard and at the same time, caught his own teammates off guard!

Don't normally like to challenge your posts E25, but watch the replay again and report back on the amount of turnovers J Grimes did, especially in the first half. Of those, can you tell me how many resulted in the Swans scoring? I think a mistake in the backline is the ultimate sin, and that's where Grimes continues to make his.

I was talking to a fairly recent ex-Demon yesterday, and he said that the thing that hurt the most about being given the tap on the shoulder was that he didn't get to make the decision. In his mind, he could've played an extra year, but assured us that the Club made the right choice because about 6 months after his last game, he realised just how f***ed his body was (he used those exact words). He said that Jnr is not silly, and knew he would struggle to go around once more, especially after taking 6 weeks or so to get over a hammy last year. He assured me that Jnr was not upset with the decision. The only person he claimed that was still a bit annoyed that he was let go was Robbo, as he still feels that he could play AFL. As we both agreed, Robbo will be 70 and still fell he can play AFL! 2 other points that he made, that are unrelated to this thread also; he didn't agree with the mentality of being a high draft pick = automatic game time (didn't mention any names), and the other point was that he would dearly love to return to Melbourne in some coaching capacity. This was the most interesting point becuase that to me sounds like the past players culture issue that some are concerned about on here is minimal. Of the current crop, the one that excited him the most (called him an effing gun) was Trengove. I'm not going to name this player, but I can assure you, they were his words.

It will be an interesting looking side come Round 6. (That better Titan??!!)

Is this true? In Qld - don't get AFL on the news up here. Apologies if I have missed sarcasim!

My point was that while Ricky played a great 10 minutes in the last quarter, he wasn't the great saviour that he is being pumped up to be (hence my comment about him missing a reasonable chance). I can't wait to see Ricky get through 2 seasons uninjured, just to see what he is really capable of. I'm still not sure his position - I know he played CHF last week, but as I'm old-fashioned, I don't think that will contribute to us winning a premiership. Nb - I am a believer of a premiership team needing 2 bigger key forwards, and will challenge anyone who thinks otherwise! Ricky is NOT a big key forward.

I just assumed with the amount of people in this thread saying that Gysberts has to come in for Maric for this week, that they rate him a lot higher than I do. And I'm pretty sure if I went through the "best 22" threads on here, a majority of posters would have Gysberts in that team. I'm one of few that, for this week, think that it'd be a shame to drop Maric after Saturday's performance (which I didn't think was too bad), considering he was one of a few that really stood out and made a statement in the preseason. I'd be giving him until the bye to get to the level needed, by that stage Wona will be match fit, so there will be competition for his spot. Based on this years games, I have Maric ahead of Gysberts in terms of form, therefore don't believe that the change that a lot are talking about should happen. Our Round 5 side is going to be a very, very interesting one. I think it will give us a great indication as to how we will travel this year, and it will give us an even great indication where the future of some of our players are at (ie Bate).

Still think this is rubbish! I have called for the past 2 seasons for Stef to be our big bodied full forward, and now with the sub rule in place, having Stef play 70% at Full Forward and 30% in the Ruck, with Jamar vice versa, it is a potent combination. Stef is happy to crash packs, is quick on a lead, and has a good kicking style, could easily see him slotting 30+ in a season. Other thing too is how many tall defenders can we put in a team? Frawley and Garland are auto's, depending on match ups we can use Rivers or Macdonald, how many teams have more tall forwards that we need to match up on? I had a conversation with BP about 18 months ago and I told him the same thing, with which he agreed 100% with me (take that for whatever it's worth!). I'm not saying I told him how our players should play, I just got the impression that the FD have the same image for Stef.

People on here are very harsh on Nathan. But in answer to your points; 1. I think his role is quite varied. His best position in my opinion is to play a close tag on an appropriate opponent. If his opponent isn't accountable, Jones has the ability to break a game open, and kick a couple of goals from 50+ (any goals from our midfielders is a bonus). 2. He is slow, but not too slow for modern day football. While his stocks would rise if he had an extra couple of yards of pace, he doesn't have it, and I'm not willing to dismiss him because of it. Rhys Shaw proved on Sunday that you can be an effective tagger without being lightning quick (until Tappy smashed him!!!). 3. Would love some actual statistics on how many turnovers he has per game. Then we can compare that with Grimes, and for those still in mourning, Cam Bruce. Jones is on the bottom of the packs a lot of the time, there aren't too many players in the comp that play that role and don't have a higher turnover count. 4. I don't expect much more from him from a leadership point of view. They don't pick the leadership based on ability alone, and I'm pretty sure Nathan's role off-field with our young list is quite significant. Don't forget that Miller was in the leadership group last year, so it's obviously the stuff some do behind the scenes gets noticed, and doesn't mean they are certain starters in the 1's. My conclusion - Jones will play consistent footy this year, and would like to think he will take a big step forward in the 2nd half of the season. Reality is, at the end of this year, he will be competing for spots, which I'm sure he is well aware, and I think that is an excellent position to be in if we have guys like Jones as our depth.

Incorrect. We were 14 points down at 3/4 time. Not taking anything away from Ricky's last quarter performance, but don't forget, he was one guy that missed an opportunity in the last to win the game for us. That said, he should start this week, and Maric plays the sub.

Am I the only one that is blown away by this attitude? Gysberts has played 3 games, 2 were high possession games, the other - did he get injured or was he given less slack? He still needs to put on 5kg, yet people are screaming he is an automatic selection. I'm not saying he is a dud - I do think he has a lot of upside, but can honestly say he isn't in my top 22. If he turns out to be a star, well done to the ones that called it early, but I'm happy to wait and see with this one, then jump on board if need be!

We were in front for the final 4-odd minutes of the match, the only time for the whole game that we were. Yet, some people still think we managed to lose it? As Bailey said in the presser, 12 months ago we would have lost that game, especially considering how much pressure the whole team were under in that last few minutes. The fact we drew is great sign of further development. But, there will still be the idiotic ones saying how we smashed them last year so what's changed this year. If we were a realistic top 4 team this year, the draw would hurt. It may end up being a blessing come round 24.

Good point - will make life a lot easier if it were to happen! Flash got reported too, which I think may earn him a week (depending on if he has carry-over points).

What's this based on Bay? Who would Gysberts replace? My idea of making a change is to replace a player with someone better (especially if there are no injuries), and I'm bugger if I could see anyone out there today that should be replaced by Gysberts based on my opinion. If Frawley is 100%, he plays, possibly at the expense of MacDonald, but I do like Joel's toughness against sides like Hawthorn.

It will probably be 6 weeks, as we have the bye in Round 5. Starting to be very greatful of the timing of our first bye.

I'd rather our current injury list look how it does at the moment rather than on this date in 2013 or 2014. Step right up Master Tapscott, your opportunity is now.

Here's the link: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/109814/default.aspx

Scully out for 4 weeks, Jordie out for 6 weeks. MFC website. Bugger

Yet some still question Bailey's ability!

I believe Scully can reach a level that I haven't seen or heard of many, if any, Melbourne player reach. I just hope common sense prevails with his contract. From there, as someone mentioned, we need a good half a dozen blokes that any team wants in their side. They have to be Watts, Trengove, Frawley, Grimes, McKenzie, Jurrah. For mine, the jury is still out on Morton, Gysberts, Petterd as to what level they can reach. They may well become A graders, but I wont factor them in to my list yet. Some key names; - Jamar needs to stay at the level he was at last year. If he does, he'll be fine. - Sylvia (aged 25) should see himself as one of our leaders come open window time. He has been on the list for a long time, but is starting to show his worth. I don't think we will win a flag if the above 6 I mentioned don't fly past Sylvia in the next 2 seasons. We need Col to be one of our best good players (ie. automatic selection, but has others better than him). - Garland (23) needs to be compared to Harry Taylor in the next season or two for us to go along way. He has shown he has the potential, to the point I an see him earning an AA at some stage in his career. - Tapscott and Blease are the unknown. Tapscott could be the X Factor. I nearly put him in that list of 6, I just see so much upside in this guy. If he and Blease were able to force their way in to that 2nd tier (the one below Scully), we will have an exciting decade. We obviously need all of our list to continue to improve. If we are going to rely on Davey, Sylvia, Jones and Moloney to take us to a flag, we wont win one. These 4 will be part of a premiership team, providing the above happens! I have named 18 different guys above. This has the potential to be the team of the decade. 2 key backs, 2 key forwards, 12 mids, 1 ruck and Petterd (wherever he fits in - forward I suppose!). So much has to go right for the next 10 years to see us have any Grand Final success.

B: Bartram Martin Rivers HB: Grimes Garland Bail C: Davey Jones Bennell HF: Maric Watts Sylvia F: Jurrah Green Petterd R: Jamar Moloney Scully I: Tapscott Jetta Joel Mac S: Wona Theories; - Trengove and Dunn are 50/50 to play. If fit, both come in for Tapscott & Bail - Rotate Jamar rucks 80%, Martin does the rest, and when Martin is rucking, Joel Mac goes back - Green probably wont start forward, but I still think he is the most important part of our forward line - The side for Round 1 will look a lot different to the side of Round 6 (hopefully!). Not having Frawley, Morton, McKenzie, and possibly Dunn and Trengove make it a totally different looking team - The team above has an average games played of 60 games. A minimum of 2 seasons short of what is considered a premiership team

7 days until Round 1 at the G. They will be seeling them there and 100% goes to the Club, as opposed to the owner of AFL shop franchise. If you haven't got one yet, another 7 days wont hurt

Am I the only one on this site that hopes like hell that G Lyon never has any form of caoching role at the MFC? Just curious! Fully respect he is a Demon great. In response to the OP, and as I have mentiuoned on other threads - we are not in the best 7 teams in the league, therefore anyone with expectations that we will finish higher than that are unrealistic. The difference between the side that finishes 8th this year and the side that finishes 12th will be minimal. We finished at the back end of that group last year, my expectation is that we will finish closer to the top end of those sides (ie we should finish 8th-10th). It is very difficult to put a wins/losses target on this team. All I hope for at the end of the season in that we put in a few more performances like we did against Sydney, especially against lower teams. Of those top 7 teams that I think are better than us, we play them a total of 9 times, meaning we have 13 games that should be winnable. 2 of those are hard (ie. one in West Coast, one at AAMI), so that coems down to 11 games where we should have a lot of confidence. Allowing a couple of those "easier" games to not pan out how they should (ie we lose), and allowing for us to rise in a couple of the games against the top 7 teams, 11 wins would have to be your target. The other thing I want to see is the size of the losses continue to shrink. Losing to teams like Carlton and North by 6 goals or more is not acceptable. If we don't meet my "target" of 11 wins, as long as those games we lost we were in the game for most of it, then I think Bailey will happily accept a 2 year extension at seasons end.