The Chazz

I personally think the Football Dept made the right call, and if I were in that position, I would have made the same decision. Would even consider Moloney coming back through Casey this week, although he is a better chance of coming straight back in due to the fact he is a lot more seasoned.

Doesn't mean that they will play it, but players that are 100% fit would hacve the capacity to play 100% if erquired. Trengove wouldn't have been in that category.

* Watts * Aussie * Jurrah * Bennell Would be surprised if we see any of the above names dropped for the rest of this year. Bailey has always talked about our forwardline with those players mentioned, as well as Green and Sylvia, and how they have played minimal football together, and how exciting it is to have an attack with that potential. Puts pressure on blokes like Bartram, Dunn, Bail and even Morton, as there are players waiting at Casey for their opportunity. I know one thing I like about our forward line with those named in it, it's the fact that the midfield have had something to kick to. The forwards are starting to make sure there are at least 2 of them inside 50, so if we do get a fast turnover, the mids have targets, not just bombing it long and hoping our guy wins the race back. Changes for Richmond; In: Trengove Out: Buggered if I know! Paul Johnson is an easy target, but the 2-ruckman thing is working well at the moment, and Johnson is playing reasonable footy. It has been a long year for Jamar, we may need him come September so leave PJ in there to help him out, and to get a bit of confidence at the same time.

Ah Nasher, you and I always seem to disagree. Let's go back to before the Lions game. We made the change that had to happen (McDonald in, unlucky for Maric), who else would you have left out for Trengove? What you really are struggling to come to terms with is the fact that Trengove is a first year player. Regardless of how mature his body is, he is still a kid, and he had not played football for 3 weeks. It is common knowledge that the pace of the AFL is far superior than the VFL, so why would you throw this kid in and battle his way through 4 quarters, as opposed to what they did and got him to play around 80% of confidence-building football. With the amount of rotations in the AFL, and given Jack's role in that, it would have been lunacy playing him in the seniors. You can get away with playing that style of game at Casey (where players are expected to play less than 100%), but in the AFL, you need all of your players in a position that they can play 100% of the game at 100% effort. I think it would have been unfair to expect JT to do this. As it turned out, he played as good as we expected him to at Casey, and will be right to go this week. Also, we won without him, so it was a great decision by the Club - I think you need to suck it up and move on. JT will be a star for Melbourne for a long, long time. Why push him in his first year? List and injury management is vital with the development of these kids, as well as the senior guys (ie James McDonald).

Anyone remember the late 80's when we dropped Greg Healy - out Captain at the time? It can happen, it has happend, but this week it wont happen. Would be sorry to see Bail get dropped, I think he is a vital part of our half back line. Not sure the reasoning for people wanting to drop Jones either.

More than happy for you to do that HG. Not sure if you were seeking my permission by posting that in this thread, but feel free to ignore this thread, and those that I will post for the remaining rounds. Cheers

One week at a time all, but so far, this weekend has turned out exactly how we needed it to. Just need the Dogs to hangh on against the Roos.

The drawn game against Collingwood could help us should it come down to that. Means our percentage will be somewhat irrelevant as the sides above us could be 1/2 a game in front of us, or 1/2 a game behind us.

I did see that Old55, but I couldn't not pick Melbourne based on form. Home ground advantage is why they are favourite, but it is worth noting that "the smart money"has come for Melbourne - I think we opened up at around $2.15, now down to $2.06 or similar.

Totally agree. If we were to win all 5 it would give the group at lot of confidence = would bean 2 interstate wins and a win against a contender (Hawthorn).

Trust me WYL - we CAN make the finals if we only win 3 more, providing other results go our way (hence it being a mathematical chance). The more we win, the better our chances. Either way, I think we (or whoever finishes 8th) will play Freo in Freo - a win would not be out of the question there. Personally, I'd like to see us win 4, but if other teams do the right thing, I could be happy with 3!

If he does I would love him to bring the trumpeter! The more I think about it, the more I loved that guy last week! Sadly, I think Jimmy would be doubtful this weekend though.

Thanks for the feedback guys, will be happy to do it each week if you're interested! I have sat down and looked at a number of different scenarios, and, mathematically, we are still a chance of making finals if we were to win only 3 of the next 5. A lot of results would have to go our way, but it's not out of the question! While I'm happy for the Club to be concentrating on one week at a time, it'll be good to see how it all pans out. If we make finals - GREAT! If we don't - I'm still proud of their efforts for 2010.

Could Mods please add (Round) 18 to the topic heading. Cheers

For those who think we are still some slim shance of making finals, below are the matches that we need to keep an eye on for Round 18. Brisbane vs Melbourne Who do we need to win: Melbourne (of course!) Who should win: Melbourne (not biased) If we are any chance of making the 2010 finals series, the Dees MUST win this game. While our interstate record is poor, we have to be going in to this match with great confidence after an amazing team win last week, while the Lions are struggling BIG TIME. With our fearless leader back this week, this will only strengthen our chances this week. Sydney vs Geelong Who do we need to win: Geelong Who should win: Geelong Played at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night, the Swans will be looking for a more improved effort this week. While the match committee have left the team unchanged, they do come up against the might of Geelong. The Cats should win this one. Richmond vs Adelaide Who do we need to win: Richmond Who should win: Adelaide As this match is at the MCG on Sunday afternoon, it will give Richmond more of a chance, especially after the Crows performance in last weeks Showdown. Sadly though, the Tigers recent good form came to an abrupt end last week with a terrible performance against Collingwood. It would take a major turnaround in form to see the Tigers upsetting the Crows. Western Bulldogs vs North Melbourne Who do we need to win: Western Bulldogs Who should win: Western Bulldogs At Etihad on Sunday afternoon, and with a dominant performance against the Dockers last week, the Bulldogs will go in to this match favourites and full of confidence. Will the Roos shut down the Dogs running game and cause an upset? Doubtful. At the end of Round 18, and being realistic in the above selections, our "section"of the ladder will look like this; 8th - Sydney (36) 9th - Adelaide (32) 10th - North Melbourne (32) 11th - Melbourne (30) I will aim to do this each week for those that are interested. If you're not interested, this thread does not require your comments. Nb. My selections over the coming weeks will be based on my realistic opinion, with injuries and betting agency odds being taken in to consideration.

Very clever emergencies...

I wonder if Garland was training on Bate as he is the same height as Fev, just 10kg lighter? I would think pace-wise they (Bate and Fev) would be pretty close to the mark.

If that is directed at me Nasher, I think it's a pretty poor comment. *I'm suggesting leaving a first year player who hasn't played for 3 weeks to come back through the reserves for one week. Would Gysberts be automatic selection if he was fit? *I'm suggesting we 'rest Moloney for one more week to get him 100%. He may be able to come straight back in the week after as he is a seasoned player. *I'm suggesting we drop Paul Johnston to bring in Warnock *I'd still rather Jnr miss this week. The Gabba is the hardest ground in the league (even though it has been wet all week), when you are at that age, hard grounds take there toll on the body. 1 more week at Casey should ensure he is right for the remainder of the year. BUT, if he's right this week, sadly I think Maric will make way for him. Why I say sadly is because I thought he played pretty well for his first game this season. Head-to-head, he doesn't stand a chance against Jnr, but still think based on last weeks effort he deserves another game. Of course it would be easier if we lost by 73 points last week, players would obviously have not performed to the level they did, but, thanks for the newsflash there champ.

Thanks for the report, appreciate it. Anyone know when the team is headed for Brisbane and if we will be having a training run there? Be careful when reporting on our indigenous players. You can be referred to as a racist if you mention anything other than their names on this site. It's not a nice feeling when you get classified as such when there is no such attack intended.

H, I'm one of the guys advocating for this, and I apologise for making you feel ill. It's not that I think that's where he is at, I think he will benefit from having a run at Casey, as opposed to being rushed straight back in to the Seniors. It happened to our captain, who benefited from it, and the senior team didn't suffer from doing so. Most champion racehorses have a trial before they start their spring assault. The owners don't get any prizemoney in trials, and often wont win, but it makes them cherry ripe for their first start. Unless he was right to go last weekend, and he has put in a lot on the training track, give him a run in weaker grade, then attack the tigers. That said, I think he is a big chance for a call up this weekend. I'll love watching him at the Gabba if he does, and will not rant and rave if he does play. I'm happy to see either outcome. Nb. That's not sitting on the fence, just justifying my opinion to play him (THIS WEEK ONLY) at Casey.

While I understand your points, are you making changes just for the sake of it? 3 changes to a side that has demolished a top 8 team. Junior is our captain, and should come in...only if 100% fit. As reported on the MFC website, Moloney is only a 50/50 chance of playing. Again, he is in our best 22, but should only be selected if 100% fit. I strongly doubt either of these guys will play at the Gabba this weekend. If a change will be made, it will be Warnock in for Johnson. Someone talked about dropping Maric for Warnock - why would we replace one of our running players for a bigger, slower defender? Again, a change for the sake of writing something in this thread! I would love to see Trengove come in, but it has been 3 weeks since he played, so he may just benefit from a run in the 2's. Another thing to consider is that it has been raining up here (SE QLD) all week, and forecasted to do so for the remainder of the week, including rain Saturday arvo. This may see a bigger body dropped for a midfielder.

What has this Cornelius bloke done that is worthy of Melbourne having a serious play for him?

Was the first time I saw him on the weekend, and I have to admit, I bloody loved it! My parents were there and they thought the same thing. Yeah sure, he was a bit rusty on a couple of notes during the first playing of the Superman theme song, but we saw through that, had a bit of a giggle, and kept listening. I can tell you one hting though, when he started with "It's a grand Old Flag", the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I proudly belted out our great theme song, and a majority of the Melbourne supporters in the crowd did likewise. I think it's a great novelty for the Club. They are trying to do things differently to the past, and if it creates interest in some regard, I think we keep going with it. Personally, I was disappointed that he didn't play our theme song a lot earlier in the last quarter. Before we go bashing this poor bloke, how about someone send a tweet to NJ, Sylvia, Russian, Morton etc to see what they think of it. Ok, they play the recording of our theme song as the players run out, we all sing and clap, but I would be surprsied if hearing the theme sone sang along with the trumpeter just a minute or so before the start of the game didn't fire up the players somewhat.

The Swans play 4 teams in the top 8 (Geel, Hawth, Bulld, and Freo at Freo), with only Brisbane at the GABBA their other opponent in the last 5 rounds. The chance of them not winning another game for the rest of the year is quite high. Even if they picked up 1, that would mean Melbourne would be 3.5 games behind them (obviously we would need to win 4 to get ahead of them. So, if we win this magical number of 4, that would mean Adelaide can win 3 or less. They have Richmd in Vic, Bullies at crow park, Bris at Gabba, Collingwood and Saints both in Vic. You would think they would lose the last 2, therefore the most they could win would be 3 - which means beating the Dogs. Highly possible that they will win only 2 games. Kangas have Dogs, Freo and Saints all in Melbourne, then Eagles in WA, and finish with us. They are 1.5 games in front of us. I can't see them beating Dogs or Saints, and really we need to beat them which will give them 3 loses - a total maximum of 2 wins over the net 5 rounds. Again, if we win 4 games, we will pass them too. The above scenario is realistic given the fixture of those few teams above us compared to ours. If we can keep some consistency over the next 5 weeks, and play similar to yesterday (hard to play that level for that period of time at this stage in our development), we are a realistic chance of winning 4. Now, let's say we drop the Hawks game AND the Power game. It would mean Sydney have to lose to Brisbane at the Gabba in the last round, Kanags losing to West Coast in WA, and Adelaide losing to either Richmond at MCG or Brisbane at the Gabba (either could be possible). It is a realistic possibility that we could make the finals with 3 wins out of the net 5, and the above scenarios taking place. It wont be in the same league as the great Bradbury, but gee, we're in with a rough chance. Round 22 could be an interesting round of football. I may need to go to the Gabba in that round and barrack for the Lion over the Swans! Hit me with it Rhino...!!!

Joel is a very important player for us. He will never be a star, but his experience and toughness will be very important for many years, even through our premiership attacks. The big challenge for Joel is consistency, and ensuring he keeps in the team. This is up to Joel. He is probably in the same boat as Bate, Bartram and Dunn in the fact that they have to perform week after week otherwise they may be in danger of losing a spot. As we will see this week, it is getting tougher and tougher for selection, so it is vital that these blokes put in 100% every game. An off day may cost them a month in the reserves - harsh but true. Warnock is very important this week, and if recalled after a few good Casey performances, will need to do the same job on Brown that he did earlier this year. But, our backline has had the time to develop and play together during our crappy times. They are ranked #7 (I think) in points against, a fantastic effort, and will only improve as our midfield gets better (due to increased pressure on opposition mids to hopefully reduce the amount of inside 50's the backline have to put up with). As I have said in a number of other posts, our forward line is at the same stage as our backline was at 2 years ago.