The Chazz

Don't suppose he barracks for North Melbourne?

Great work JT, first of many for the Red and Blue over the coming seasons. Another thing - it's great to see he joins 5 other Demons since 2008 to be nominated. Add Scully (definite chance to be nominated this year), maybe McKenzie, and 2 smokies Watts and Gysberts, and that could possibly give us 10 nominations in 3 years - league best? One thing about JT, actually, 2 things - did you see how much he celebrated Scully's goal on Saturday night? I LOVED IT!!! The other thing, and more directed at the older generation - Does anyone see the similarity between JT and one EJ Whitten? Now, I know Teddy was one of, if not the greates player to play the game, and don't for one minute think I am getting ahead of myself, but the obvious comparison is kicking style. JT, when kicking from a set shot, has that high arm spread like Teddy had. It's the closest comparison to EJ's style that I have ever seen (in my 30 years). Both are/were bloody strong overhead, and not affraid to lay a hard bump or tackle. JT has this look in his eye that shows his opposition that he's tough, bloody tough...he is 18 years old and has played 5 games. Jack 185cm 82kg, Teddy was 183cm 89kg. Obviously if he turns out half as good as Teddy he will be amazing, but from what I have seen so far, this kid hasn't got any noticable weaknesses that will hold him back. Where will he stop?

Early prediction - Scully to get BOG and Rising Star nom after the Roos game. Why? He LOVES Etihad, rewind to state games last year; he played Etihad better than any of the other kids. I'm hoping they will win - I am flying down from Qld to watch the game - haven't seen a live Melbourne victory since 2006 - would love to sing the song after the game instead of before it!

Your point is correct in some ways, but totally incorrect in most ways. Geelong won both their flags with 2 KPF playing in both years. While you are correct isn saying who would want Mooney, the point is he is a bigger bodied CHF/FF who attracts a bigger defender. In their first flag, they had Nathan Ablett - again, who would want him? Last year the had Hawkins. Why they did so well was becaue the 2 big forwards made a contest and the ball hit the ground. As we know, Geelong have quality mids and small forwards that when they ball does hit the ground, they are there to clean up and kick goals. The year they lost to Hawthorn - Mooney should have been the match winner. He killed his opponent, and realistically should have kicked a handful. Because he missed, that was a big reason for them losing. What it does prove though is that you do need bigger KPF in finals. As for the original post, JT is awesome, I love him. But I also lose Scull, Grimes, Jordie, Chip, etc, etc, etc! I'm a tart! I don't care if none of our kids win the Rising Star, I just hope they realise they are Stars in our eyes. A couple of them will at some stage win a Brownlow, which will hopefully mean we are having a crack at a flag for a good few years.

You're not on your own E25, but where is this obsession of getting Garland up forward coming from? He is a valuable part of our back line - why not leave him there? If Petterd doesn't get up, Martin to FF, Bail in. If Petterd is fine - No Change. I also disagree with the person who said Bennell could be dropped - like a lot of them, he is getting better and better with more game time. He will be a pretty handy player in the years to come.

I've had enough of this Watts story! My opinion - play him in the seniors next week. He has had 2 or 3 full games in the reserves to get fitness up. I don't give a toss about his form in the VFL - he was a Number 1 draft pick, he obviously has ability. Sometimes kids like this will benefit more from playing at the elite level as opposed to 1 or 2 levels below - look at Scully and Trengove. I'm not saying he will be our KPF answer straight away - I'm happy to see him on a half forward flank for a majority of the time, but he does need some exposure to Full Forward during games. Let's not forget, as a junior he was always the bigger kid and mainly played that KPF role; playing wing or flank is great experience, but fairly new to him.

Brown and Black confirmed to play, even though they are under injury clouds. Yet Voss admitted that it's a long season and it's fairly early to take risks. Maybe he is a little bit nervous about tonight. Interesting... Go Dee's! Will be cheering from an ale house in Bears country!

Hope you're right Balls! I can tell you one thing - unlike a majority or people in here, I will be delighted if J Brwn doesn't make it this weekend. He is a great player who is a proven match winner off his own boot. He was going to be a tough match-up, Frawley is the obvious answer for Fev, Garland and Joel Mac to take Staker and Brennan, would have left Warnock on Brown which I was a bit nervous about, especially seems Brown likes to go up the ground a bit (I think if he plays/played out of the goal square Warnock would be capable). We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but the task in considerably easier if he doesn't play. It will still show where our list is at at the moment, and will give us a slight chance to be 3-2 by the end of the long weekend.

In that Age article, Brown never confirmed he was playing, he confirmed he wasn't having surgery.

To be honest Jack, I live an hour or so from he Gabba, and while I enjoy watching Brown play, when Melb pay Brisbane up here and I go, the last thing I'm hoping for is to see J Brown in the flesh. I would assume those that don't turn up this weekend if Brown doesn't play would be non-Melbourne supporters. At this stage our team has nothing to prove. We are probably fighting above our weight this year, but as I said in my previous post, in 3 years time when we are expected to be a lot better team, that's when I'm happy to take on full strength teams. That said though, if we win 3 flags straight, and every year we have had a dream run to and through the finals because of opponents injury lists, no-one will be concerned about how easy a run we had!

Agree with what you're saying to dome degree, but I think you're about 3 years early. This year, we are not wanting to prove we are the best, we are far from it, so, until then, I would love to play these top teams when they have top players out. As someone else hinted, with Brown out it will help (still not going to be an easy task though). We can go to 3-2, with the strong possibility of being 5-2. All of a sudden, a finals birth, while highly doubtful, is still a possibility. What a great experience that could be for this group.

Saturday Night, 5th June Brisbane are playing North Melbourne at Etihad - go watch him there! Hopefully it's not Saturday Night, 24th April!

Danny Seow?

As opposed to building this winning culture we all desire? So, IF Brown plays, he comes out kicks 10, Fev gets 5, we lost by 78 points, everyone will be happy that we got to play against the twin towers? Dreaming.

My thoughts are how STUPID some people are in here saying they will be upset if JB doesn't play. I don't give a toss how many players a team has out, a win is a win. I'm sure if we were playing them in a final that we would all be hoping he wouldn't be playing! Odds-wise, I would still have Melbourne as $3.30 2nd favourites. Brisbane to start around $1.40.

Ok, don't shoot the messenger - just telling you what I just heard on the news... Jonathan Brown is far from 100% confirmed to start this Saturday night. Apparently (according the the one-eyed Brisbane news service), he is having extensive physio this week to get up for the match Saturday night. They interviewed our mate Trav Johnstone, and TJ indicated that there are plenty of players that can take Browny's spot if he doesn't get up. Now, this is straight off the news - could be a heap of cr@p, but thought I would share it with you. So, even though I have no solid facts, if you feel the need to make idiotic comments about how poor this post is, please PM me so we can discuss this further. Fingers crossed he doesn't get up I guess! Edit: Changed the spelling of the player in question for Jaded's sake.

Well responded! Another thing we have to face - not all our current draftee's are going to make it either, THAT'S REALITY PEOPLE! Unless they can take that next step, blokes like Cheney, Jetta, Bennell, McNamara, etc may be the fringe players that can play good footy, but may not secure a spot. While it will hopefully be a bit frustrating for some of these guys, they will demand interest from other teams, therefore, if we are smart, we will trade the odd player for a handy draft pick (ie pick 20-40). This is what Geelong have been able to do, and have done very well. I'm not calling for the named players to be traded, I;m just highlighting the potential players that will have to show a bit to be a regular. Very healthy competition to earn a game - what a situation to be in.

Sorry, I get the Friday night game live up here (Qld) via Foxtel 518 = no ad's = great coverage fr the 7 network!!! In regards to the Sunday telecast, I have mainly watched Fox as that is who is televising Melbourne's game.

Is this taking the pi$$ out of my comment RB? If so, what I mean is if we were asked in the preseason what this game would be like, I'm pretty sure none of us would have said the Lions were going for 5 straight wins and the Dees were going for a spot in the 8. So, in those terms, this game is a pretty big game. Blockbuster? Well, maybe a slight exaggeration, but it's still a massive game for both clubs.

Can't agree with that at all! Channel 7 is by far the best viewing channel. Channel 10 has 2 words...Kelly Underwood, enough said. And while Fox is good at times, I'm sick of them replaying a 20 second passage of play when they only have a 10 second window to show it! Plus, they didn't even show the boys singing the song after the Richmond game - very shattering for interstate supporters. In reply to the OP, from memory the TV stations select their telecast games about 6 weeks or so before the actual game. Therefore, when Channel 10 had the choice between our game and the St Kilda game, it would have been before teh start of the season, and who can blame them for picking the game they did? No-one would have expected our game this week being a potential blockbuster!

It was an agreement Sturmmann. I am happy to see Newton gone at the end of the year, and most likely Meesen will go to (which is unfortunate because I don't think he had a greater opportunity as he needed). I'm glad the Club didn't shaft these 2 blokes by not fulfilling their side of the agreement. In regards to the ruck stocks - I would love to see Gawn play the last 3 or so games this year if he can. It will give him the greatest sniff and make him bloody hungry for 2011. Then I would be happy to have him and Jamar playing from Round 1 2011, and keep playing Gawn until either he needs a rest, or isn't performing (if the likes of PJ or sadly Spencer are performing well in the reserves). I know the young, big kids need time to develop, but I can't help but look at Nic Nat and Kreuzer and think "just play the buggers if they earn a spot - regardless of how much we are trying to protect them".

Let's face it, within the next 2 years, Bruce and McDonald will retire. That frees up 2 spots straight away. If, and it is a very big IF, Blease, Tapscott and Strauss become decent midfielders, I can quite easily see the likes of Bartram and Dunn in strife. So, if my theory is correct, there is the 4 spots you need made vacant to fit those listed players in. I'm not too concerned about fitting them all in - as long as we are similar to Geelong in the fact that we have 2 or 3 gun mids (Grimes, Scully, Trengove), then the next level down are blokes like Morton, Tapscott, Strauss, Moloney, Jones, Gysberts and Blease, the rest are going to have to fight like hell to fill any remaining gaps. This will ensure better ouptut from the fringe players as they will be playing above their weight to keep a spot. The Cats had players like James Kelly, Wojinski(?), and even Byrnes and Stokes who fit this category. Definitely some exciting years ahead, providing our players live their potential and get to the level that they need to.

Not sure why we are all concerned about this "salary cap issue we will have in the next 2 years. Until this team get us to a level where we are a serious premiership contender (ie like the teams this year of Geelong, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs, etc), we can't just go paying them top dollar based on potential and possibility. Look at Geelong over this time, they have lost no top line players in their dominant past 3 years, sure they are having some salary cap issues (ie had to let Mumford go), but they still have a majority of their premiership players running around today. In 3 years time we may be having a crack for a flag. I can't see any of these boys wanting to go anywhere else, unless they are offering $$$ like the GC17/Ablett scenario. At this stage, none of our players are as good as G Ablett jnr.

Frawley was towelled up by Riewoldt last weekend - are we calling for him to be dropped? Seriously, Joel has been a great addition to our backline. I'm not sure why these people are saying his long-term future isn't looking very bright, he hasn't done much wrong to date and I'm not sure who we have on our list that will take his place. One thing I have liked about him is that when the backline are under the pump, I feel most at ease when he has the ball in his hands. That's the experience factor and the bigger body.

At the end of the day, the top 10 draft picks were virtually predictable, therefore, BP had the opportunity to pick the best of the rest. In my opinion, he did. How can we say he didn't? He had seen a majority of the draftees, and when it came time for pick 11, they called out the Gys' name. I have faith in BP's ability, and answering the original question, YES, we did do the right thing picking him. I still say that we did the right thing picking Watts instead of Nic Nat and Rich. Only at the end of their careers will we be able to answer differently. Also, one thing we all have to remember is that out of the last year's draft, their is only 2 potential SUPERSTARS/CHAMPIONS of the game, we got them both at 1 & 2. To expect any of the other boys we picked up to be in the same category is ludicrous. If they become very good players (those that I rate in maybe the top 40 or so of the league in the next 3-5 years), I think our recruiting has been spot on. Potential stars like Scully and Trengove aren't plentiful. I don't even call Rich a potential star - feel there isn't a huge amount of improvement in him. Hmm...might make a seperate thread on who Melbourne's potential superstars will be, could be a very interesting topic!