DeeSpencer

There were a few earlier, but the point was raised he might be handy against his old side. Plus he was just back after being dropped so we don't want to yo-yo him and he finds a way to score most weeks. If Viney is right to resume midfield duties then Newton is probably one I'd prefer at half forward/midfield rotation than either of Jones or Bail and probably a not right Tyson. I wasn't at the game on Sunday and I find you can see work rate much better live than on TV so it's hard to judge if Newton contributed to that or if guys like Matt Jones and Bail really did do a power of running to contribute defensively.

McDonald - Westhoff Dunn - Schultz Is what we did last year. This time Port have a resting ruckman (Lobbe and Ryder) for Fitzy to play on. Then Garland can either play on a dangerous small (Jetta to Wingard, Garland to Gray was last years match ups) and/or he can get involved in rebounding the ball more. Howe stays forward. Boyd and Cordy was a nice warm up for Fitzy. Lobbe and Ryder will be a test if he gets the match up.

Terrible positioning by the goal umpire. He should've picked which post it was going closer to (in the end went pretty much through the middle) and then got alongside it so he could see the goal line and was out of the players way. I actually hope Roughead is ok because you don't want to see a player injured because an umpire stuffed up. That said I'm sure the ump was doing his best and I'm not suggesting hanging him for 1 mistake but it was definitely a mistake.

Paul Roos only tells a small portion as well. Lumumba can't get near it in the midfield. Isn't using the ball well and wasn't great (but not terrible) at half back. We need all the run we can get at half back/wing so he's not going anywhere but he needs to find some form again.

Not really. Turf toe in the NFL is often season over right there. I think Sandilands and Kreuzer have missed long patches. It's a stress injury. As soon as they are confident that he's rested up and all the stress symptoms are gone he'll probably be 4 weeks. But until they get to that stage they need to go longer rather than shorter.

Against Sydney and Hawthorn in particular we devoted a lot of numbers to the contested ball to try and win that to get in the game. But I agree uncontested is probably our weakness and the likes of vandenBerg and Brayshaw in to the team really helps contested possession. As does the return of Viney and the tagging role Vince does. When you add in Cross and Jones and some good competitors forward and back there should be enough players who can win contested footy. I suspect the Dogs had a big drop in pressure as we managed some easy possession chains that we probably don't have a right too given our weaknesses in that area. But the run was definitely up and the skills followed.

I hope in the spirit of sharing resources with Casey we can get this young fella in to the MFC communications staff (yes my favourite friends, hello guys if you're reading) and teach him a bit about video work. If he's interviewing Gawny or any other tall footballer he should find himself a box to stand on. Hold the mic up a bit more Get a sponsors back board (surely Casey have one/can afford one) Get a few questions to ask from Burgo (although I thought he asked good questions). Simple stuff to just improve his videos a bit. The graphic at the start is pretty slick.

He took a pretty young group over at the Dogs, rose as close to the top as most coaches get then left after 1 bad year when they got old. Sydney was more up and down but he made a grand final then left a team that won a flag not too long after. I think you're been unfair. At the Dogs he had a team of elite flankers that were missing 1 really strong midfielder and a tall at either end. That's how the list was set up and you can't always have everything. I'm sure wanted the rest of the team to be perfect but he couldn't get it. Eventually at the Suns he'll get Lynch and Dixon (if they hold on to him) up forward and O'Meara, Swallow, Prestia in the middle and they'll have grunt. Any time they lose by under 10 goals with Ablett, Swallow, O'Meara, Martin, 2 key defenders and now Prestia out it's a good result. Plus they have Saad, Lynch and Leslie facing fitness tests. Imagine Melbourne without Jones, Viney, Tyson, Garlett, McDonald, Dunn and Vince and several more depth player out. You couldn't judge us on that. They will be 1 and 10 a the bye after they play the lovely Syd/Haw/Freo trifecta. It's a complete write off of the first half of the year. But they can focus on the second half and win a few games and bounce back heavily next year.

His decision making has improved somewhat (on limited exposure so far), his work rate is high, his marking improved and his contested work improved. It's foolish to suggest he's 'fixed' as a player and the way he kicks is still a huge concern for a modern AFL backman but he's safe in the team for at least another week. Some of the marks he took were first rate under pressure. Lumumba would go before Grimes.

Bail and Matt Jones contributed to the win. But they left 3 or 4 goals out there with misses, poor shots, turnovers and lack of understanding of forward play. Right on half time one of them could've simply tapped the ball over to Garlett who would've run in to an open goal yet instead took possession. Jones gave away a careless high free to Murphy and had his quota of fumbles. Bail let quite a few tackles slip. I'm glad Roos deployed them as role players and they did the role. Watts and Toumpas filled the much needed roles for some run and skill up the ground. Brayshaw does a bit of both, Pedersen and Hogan provide the big targets, Howe the versatile option and Garlett chips in with some finishing skills. Viney and Jetta have to come in and then the question should be asked whether we can use other players (say Viney and Newton) in the roles Bail and Jones did or if they are worth keeping as they have pace, endurance and discipline. Dropping guys who have done their job is always a tough ask. But personally I'd go for the skilled players but make it known that Matt Jones and Bail are there in reserve and if you don't work hard enough they'll get your spots as they've shown an ability to do a job for the team even if it did come with some errors.

Left nut is safe. Should've put some money on it.

Came on and gave the knockout punch to a toothless midfield. I do love his attack on the footy and man though so I want to see more. Maybe another game as sub to start off with.

Perfect one for a fine you'd think. I know it's all decided by the MRP these days but you'd think the ump would've reported him on the spot and the dogs players remonstrated if they thought it was bad.

I think the ideal number of tackles in a game of footy is 0. With the proviso being that you win the hit out and clearance, share the ball around and goal and the other team never touches it. Hawthorn always get lower tackle numbers when they play teams like us for that reason. It obviously depends on who you play/what conditions/what game style they have etc. For a senior player Roh Bail letting Murphy slip out after he ran him down cold was really poor. Luckily we have guys like vanders and Brayshaw to show him how it's done. Not sure it was actually holding the ball but Vince's tackle on Bont in the last quarter was brilliant. I love the stat they give out on the VFL stats sometimes on effective tackle percentage. That would be a great one to get. I'd rather 40 tackles at 100% than 60 tackles with 20% more missing.

I'll bet my left nut. He launched off the ground and put his shoulder to a blokes head. The commentators saw it and noted it. In the old days that was fair game, but now it's outlawed and for good reason. Concussion is the most serious frequent injury in AFL. I coach an under 17's side and I've got 2 guys out for the next fortnight waiting for doctors to clear them for concussions. They've missed days of school. They've had headaches. Their parents are worried about them. Knees, ankles, broken bones, blood noses aren't a concern. Most parents know bones heal and kids wear the injuries with pride. Concussions are the ones that get them worried.

Not a bad call. He'll know Port's running patterns and be keen to show them he can run at AFL level and was worth more than the 1 year deal they offered him. Plus he might just have a natural feel for the way Port players move and get on their right sides, run a few down etc. I'm keen for him to cement a spot in the team as well. Good kick. Good hands in close. All he needs is either a bit more speed or more fitness and he'll be a really handy player. He's not one I'd drop lightly, especially after already being dropped last week.

No need to rest him with the bye not all too far off. He could be the sub though. Unless he was sore, then the same thing applies as with Hogan. All depends how he's feeling. Playing him at half forward so much is his rest!

Hmmm. Is Tyson an automatic in? We need run against Port. I guess he comes back and so does Viney. Both could play as much half forward. Vanders goes to half forward I guess. Toumpas as well. Riley is a pretty one dimensional sub in a team that has plenty of inside midfield options but not a lot of outside run versatility. FB: Jetta Fitzy!! Dunn HB: Garland McDonald Grimes C: Lumumba Jones Tyson HF: Brayshaw Pedo Toumpas FF: Garlett Hogan Watts Foll: Spencer Viney Vince Int: Howe vandenBerg Cross S: Riley E: Newton Strech Harmes I'd say if Tyson isn't 100% then we give him another week and play Newton instead. Otherwise then yes I think Newton is the unlucky out. Same goes for Jetta or Viney. If more than 1 of those guys aren't ok then I think next in line for selection are Stretch, Harmes and Neal-Bullen. I'd have those 3 ahead of Bail and M Jones.

Agree. Making ordinary decisions trying to be the defensive general when he's playing with some pretty senior players. Needs to focus on winning his match up. Mainly he needs to focus on winning the footy. Dropping back to the last line looks great when it works, but there's no position of goal keeper in the AFL. If he wins the ball or supports his team mate who has the ball then he'll get back in form.

You need to acquaint yourself with modern AFL if you think that was fair. Within the distance so fine to bump. Bumping is pretty much always allowed. But jumping off the ground and putting your shoulder in to their head is not allowed. Particularly when they aren't looking and more so if it leaves a player concussed. He's in trouble. Injured anyway but looking at 2 or more out suspended. Jeffy Garlett might be in trouble as well for crudely taking Boyd high but I'm hoping it's not worth more than a fine.

That's pretty warm coming from Melbourne winter. A running side will be the order of the day. But the forward line we played today was a running one and Fitzy/Dunn/Garland/McDonald is not too tall down back if it's the right mix for the match ups.

Maybe what Mooney means is his speed with the ball in hand. He's really quick to get it. Needs to find the ability to accelerate with ball in hand, then steady and kick. That's not easy. Either that or repeat speed with fitness. I totally agree he's not slow at all.

It's not silly to say play all 3. With the skills Hogan has up the ground and with Pedersen back up rucking it can happen for sure. But it should be play all 3 if they are in form. I watched Pedersen play for Casey v Coll earlier in the year. He was lagging to get to contests, not holding marks and not at all looking dangerous. He's been made to work for his spot and has found form and is now covering the ground and holding his marks. Dawes can go back to Casey, get fit and get his confidence back. Then if Hogan needs another rest it can happen. Or if Pedersen drops off they can make the swap. Or as I said at the start we can pay all 3. Hogan is certainly on good money. Dawes is on good money. Pedersen was wanted by Coll I think when he left North. I bet he's on a fair pay packet as well. They are key forwards. Only so many good ones to go around 18 teams. So let's stop with the crap about who makes what and how good a 'value' they are. If the bust their guts playing as a hard at it key forwards they will earn their money.

Repeat speed maybe. Not speed. He's super quick for a man of his size. Easily runs passed some quick players. Disposal sure. But he makes the right options. He's a player. If he's only 80% fit then he might be even more than that.

You forget Jamar's AA year in 2010 that was better than anything White had served up since they changed the centre circle rule. Jamar could never kick but he was a beast at rucking and had a good patch or marking and general competitiveness. Spencer is a moderate ruck, with poor skills but high levels of competitiveness that sometimes means he'll play a good game when you least expect it. Everyone wants a ruck who can win the good hitouts, mark like a champion CHF, compete like Shane Mumford and has the skills and run of a midfielder. Peak Dean Cox is the only player who's probably ever done that. Sandilands gives you hitouts and a bit of the rest but he's not even close to the full package. Goldstein provides a little of everything. For our rucks it's about working with their strengths and minimising the weaknesses. Spencer at least provided his best ruckwork and competitiveness today.