The Chazz

Can we get the Richmond doctor to scan it please? If he gives it the all clear, then I will start breathing again...

Was the first solid hit out for the year for both teams. Both sides showed many signs of rust/cobwebs, and will be better for the run. For me there were very few highlights. I thought the Jamar/Tyson combination was fantastic - a combination that we are desperate for. Further on Tyson, he looks ready to take the next step that we hope he can take. I still think an indication of the type of footy club we'll be over the next 5-10 years will be shown by the level that Dom gets to. Potential Top 10 player of the league, we will know if we're on the right track if we can help get him there. Of the noobs, I thought Newton, The Prince and Frost were clear standouts. We know what we'll get week in week out with Jeffy, and while Vanders was good in the half he played, I'll hold off on the premature jubilation as shown by some here. (I remember doing the same thing with Magner after his first NAB game, that didn't end well). I think the biggest highlight for me was that, yes, we made some silly mistakes (so did Freo), but many of our mistakes were made when we were taking a risk/taking the game on. Lowlights? I don't actually have any. First game since late August/early September last year, a number of young players or players that are young to the club. I went in expecting a rusty performance, and that's exactly what I got. We played competitive footy for two quarters, dominant footy for 1 quarter, and were outclassed in one quarter. I'm more than satisfied. The big dance starts in a few weeks, plenty of time to work on some areas before then, and there's no better place to do that than in PRACTICE games.

It's probably to confirm that the Melbourne Football Club must be on the right track, as amateur "journalists" like Damien Barrett aren't publicly sticking the boots in to our club. The fact that some have not noticed his poor reporting means that he is either sacked, not reporting on the MFC and focusing on some other topic, or that he is on extended leave in Indonesia. The OP rightfully has concerns about the person that seemed to stalk us for the past few years, especially now that it appears he has left without a trace. It is understandable that someone would be concerned for his welfare, yet at the same time have a sense of relief that the bins at the MFC are no longer being raided by an insignificant nothing.

Fixed. Not sure why it was offensive, happy for a PM to explain your views.

I'm hoping he's on the bus at the moment somewhere in Bali. Edit - less offensive.

Thanks for clarifying, Saty.

Harsh on Bail and Jones, both been quite solid all preseason, and Jones in particular has probably been one of the most consistent better performers.

We'll start with Essendon...

Saty, can you please clarify what you mean here, especially the underline bit. Do you mean "getting close" as in it's close to our games being played, or do you mean "getting close" as in we are getting close to playing the way Roos wants us. Cheers.

Sadly, it's not just you, but I wish it was as ignoring one member takes me a lot let time than ignoring 100+.

I'm bored with this thread, and all the legal-eagle d!ck measuring that some posters continue to shove down others throats. Just suspend them all for 12 months already. Fcuk 'em.

Watched a replay of a Hawks v Collingwood final from 2011 - not even 4 seasons ago. Collingwood had 15 players play that game that are no longer on their list. If they don't have a bad couple of years in the immediate future, it will show that you don't need to bottom out in order to rebuild a list. Sadly, I don't think they will be bottom 4 this year. I also don't think West Coast will drop much. Freo may drop more positions, but will still play finals I'd expect. I think North will consolidate a finals spot, getting closer to the Top 4 than some would expect. The top 7 will be (possibly in this order) Hawthorn, Sydney, Port, North, Fremantle, Geelong, Brisbane. I think 8th spot will be fought out between Adelaide, Gold Coast and (depending on the outcome of the current issue), Essendon. The bottom 4 would have to be St Kilda, GWS and Bulldogs. It's the next group that could determine our finishing position. It is very open from 11th-15th. Bit of wishful thinking no doubt, but we could finish at the top end of that group with some luck, but it would mean we have to go past Richmond, West Coast, Carlton and Collingwood for this to happen - I'm just not sure it will. If, as I expect, we do finish 15th (which will still mean bottom 4), I hope we are two or three games ahead of 16th, but only a game behind 11th.

Obba, I reckon Bartel has been a better team player than Hodge, and by no means am I taking anything away from Hodge (love his guts). Have a look at Geelong when they were at their highest peak - Bartel was regularly played in positions all around the ground. It was a luxury that they had at the time - that they could play a player of Bartel's calibre in a back pocket, back flank, forward flank or forward pocket. He obviously won a Brownlow playing mostly in the centre. Could he have won another one/two? Who knows, but he was willing to sacrifice personal glory for team glory. Of all the Geelong players in the late 2000's to early 2010's, Bartel would've been the player I (ie the MFC) would've thrown as much money as possible to get him to our club. He may well have been offered a lucrative contract, not just from us, which if that were the case, it'd support my view.

It's interesting - I think a few posters have got "respect" and "love watching" mixed up. I respect Pavlich, Jobe Watson, Bartel, Sam Mitchell and J McVeigh. I love watching Judd (in his prime), GAJ and Hodge. But probably love watching Franklin the most.

Paul Chapman's alleged assault of a woman in 2010. The alleged incident between Ottens, King and King's girlfriend. Mark Thompson's alleged wrongdoings.

A vacation in Auckland? Call it what you will. Would be like Andrew Chan saying he was going to Nusa Kambangan Island for the white sand and palm trees.

The problem with this, Andrew, is that the team you propose we play against will likely be our starting 22 in Round 1...

RPFC's response to this...

I said the same thing to my wife about Geelong about 10 years ago... Can we take anything out of that? Well, given that I know a lot more than Stevens, which isn't hard as he knows fcuk all, I'll lock us in for a flag in 2017.

Tell Morabito, Menzel, Rodan, etc that... We can only hope that it's a one-off, and it doesn't bother him for the remainder of his career.

Should we delist him and re-rookie him at seasons end? All jokes aside, I'm shattered. The positive is that...actually, there is no positive. Maybe that it frees up a chance for a rookie to put their hand up, but I'd much prefer Petracca running around than Vandenberg (no disrespect to Vandenberg).

This is the second most disturbing thing reported in this thread. WTF anyone would talk to Stevens has me stuffed. I'd love for him to come up and start a conversation with me...

Is it true that the west coast of New Zealand is now on tsunami alert after this?

Also, CBDees, I think I have clearly indicated in the post you quoted, that the defender is choosing who he plays on. I've highlighted the main bit for your benefit...

Not always, and it's a changing landscape, especially with the increase in the importance of the HBF. A couple of years ago Watts played a dedicated defensive HFF role on Sam Fisher against St Kilda. Watts got towelled up, but his role as a HFF was to go to their running HBF. Dunn used to be a great defensive HFF, as he would kick goals. Can't remember who the player is, maybe at Adelaide, that Roos had one of our players tag off a HBF last season.