DeeSpencer

Mitch Clark died early in this thread but seemed to come back to life later on. This is possibly counter intuitive but rucking part time may actually be protecting him compared to playing forward full time. Sounds like today's training was very physical with the aim of getting some tension out before a final week then Christmas break. Nice to know Kent is alive. Shame he's a far way back. If he's got patella tendinitis I wonder if they'll be able to fix him before next season. Physios opinion please! Tapscott in full training in positive as well.

The AFC really is a bit of a mess isn't it. Denver and New England just don't fill you with confidence the way they play defense and no Gronk takes the pats offense down a peg. They have to do something about targetting knees. Not just a fine but a straight hit to the knee of a defenseless receiver should be a week off. Indy are shot and at the end of the day it's still Andy Dalton at QB for the Bengals. Can he beat one of Brady or Manning in the play offs? I'd say so. But two in a row like the ravens did last year? KC are every shot to beat Indy week 1 but then how do they beat Denver? They've tried twice and can't. And the last wildcard - Miami or Balltimore maybe, they shouldn't beat the bengals. The 49ers struggle the same way that Cinncinatti do when you talk about beating good teams 2 weeks in a row. They're every chance to beat whoever they come up against week 1 from the NFC North or East but then likely taking on New Orleans before then getting Seattle (or vice versa) - good luck with that. The play offs always throw up surprises but with their records at home I can't see how the NFC championship game wont be played at either New Orleans or more likely Seattle and how the home team wont win. I suppose the biggest factor is injuries that's about it.

That would be good for him and provides continuity with VFL/AFL guys. Also Troy showed versatility to play at either end of the ground which is handy as the Melbourne talls can develop around him, he doesn't have to play a specific role.

I've heard a player say Toumpas is very Morton like ie. very outside. The difference is so far Toumpas has shown the way he's attacking this preseason that he's likely working on his body and will be These kind of comments often come from lesser or frustrated players when referring to the new boys especially golden child types like first round picks who will invariably be giving games ahead of strugglers. The amount of [censored] I've said about team mates in local footy is 10 times worse than a throw away line. Anyway bad luck Ben Hur on your nephew being a [censored] as it is routinely known across most of Melbourne that Hannebery's mates aren't the sharpest tool in the shed eg. the caravan rolling down a hill at Falls Festival incident.

Howe wrestling with Miller. Oh what is that, maybe they are teaching him how to use his body in marking contests which is a huge weakness of his. Surely not actual proper skills of the game training.

I would suggest that's a puddle ie. very little depth. The counter to that would be that we have 3 decent key forwards and a nice forward/ruck in Fitzy, 3 options for 1st ruck all of whom can at least provide something, options with tall defenders and small defenders. But when it comes to the midfield I'll take a puddles depth in 2014 compared to not even enough to fill an entire team in 2013.

- Ok I'm on my own but I liked the collar, gave us an air of class - Still think the red isn't perfect. I know Schwab's experiment with the red was a stuff up but this is still too tomato coloured and not a deep rich red. However it might fade a little and be the right colour on TV. Last years jumper was right on TV, this one just looks a little too bright in that video. - Don't like having the MFC logo as well as the sponsor and AFL. Makes it cluttered and asymetric

Oh god even Demonland is being overrun by hipsters. Is the new server based in Brunswick?

Suggested changes: Creation of forward/ruck position with Clark, Fitzpatrick and King Move Grimes to small or medium defender Move Pedersen to tall defender Move Garland to medium defender Move Strauss and Terlich to small defender Move Jetta to small defender Consider creating versatile midfielder for Vince, Trengove, Michie, Salem and maybe even Evans Move Watts to outside mid In terms of age and games played it shows me we can actually get some immediate impact from guys still yet to play 100 games (Howe, Watts, Dawes, Clark, Grimes, Trengove, McKenzie). And if we can win games whilst Hogan, Kent, Viney, Toumpas, Tyson and Michie to name a few still haven't got to 50 games then we will be a better side again once they do. Our best 22's wont be the youngest sides ever picked and we probably be older the when we were rebuilding from scratch in 2008-2009 under Bailey but it still lacks a lot of experience.

Whatever. The essence of a game plan is taking 18 (or 22) and making the combined skills greater than the sum of the individuals. Therefore multiple game plans actually defeat the purpose. Situation tactics to be implemented at different times is another matter. Of course the team should practice playing with a man behind play, or practicing ball retention to drain a clock or change to a more direct style in wet weather. But that doesn't mean you alter typical patterns of moving the ball and of defensive structures. Roos' game plan at Sydney always featured attacking corridor football from half back by the likes of Taidgh Kennelly. I don't see anyone who isn't calling for that. But that's different to what I consider is in all likelihood disrespectful to the talent of the other 17 teams in expecting a a fast flowing attacking plan to work with a limited skill set team who need to nail basics first.

Well lets get in to 2014 then Most Kicks: Jack Grimes Most Handballs: Nathan Jones Most Disposals: Bernie Vince Most Tackles: Jordie McKenzie Most Marks: Jack Watts Most Goals: Mitch Clark Can I suggest an addition Most Brownlow Votes: Nathan Jones

Yeah I've acknowledged that later that clearly this was not your standard racing syndicate. And of course in pure investment racing syndication is a risky investment but the whole point of syndication is that you only put in small affordable amounts according to what you can afford. Hence for a reasonably well off business man if McLardy owns a couple of shares in syndications he can hardly be labelled a horrid gambler. Anyone, especially if they do so knowingly, who put cash in to the punting aspects of the business were very foolish. Someone attempting to seek their own justice on the manager tells me not only was it a dodgy deal but probably a dodgy deal featuring dodgy people.

That's presuming he wasn't in on the whole thing. I was a bit suspect when they brought Black Caviar's brother. Usually the big studs or rich owners make those purchases not new on the scene syndications. And to think CC seemed to be doing pretty well at Richmond after he left us.

Addit to above. It seems BC3 had a different business model to simple race horse syndication where you put money in for a share of a specific race horse. It seems BC3's business model was much different and obviously less successful with the punters club involved as well.

Well that's where 5 million of it went. Craig Cameron is probably the bigger MFC link than McLardy. Hopefully he hasn't dragged too many MFC people in on this. Race horse syndication isn't too risky a game usually. Sydnicators with good records and business practices will buy and sell responsibly and make a low risk profit. Those who buy in to syndication's will usually buy small percentages for an affordable amount ie. 5,000 to 10,000 for 5 or 10%. I'm not sure what went wrong to Oh and sounds to me like the terms punters club is a bit misleading. That usually means a betting syndicate. As far as I know BC3 were just a racing syndicate, which still had the potential to take in shares of cash and get no return but usually it's money in, share of race horse out. You usually should find out where exactly your money has gone unless BC3 were sitting on the winnings or taking investment dollars and pocketing them.

First time I've ever heard of anything like that in any kind of sport or business. If he's out of contract he's a free agent to go wherever he wants surely.

Sounds ideal for him to head up there whilst his old man coaches us then come back when Roos is in another capacity with the club

At least Blease and Tapscott have been out there. And I think part of the reason they are in the rehab group is a recognition that in 2013 they just didn't have the fitness base to play the position they are being asked to play. So they are getting the treatment that the rest of the list got in 2012 in terms of remedial fitness work before they join in the skills training. Kent is missing completely. Not one report that's even seen him out on track as far as I have seen. I mean does anyone even know if he's in Melbourne?

Seems Kent is still absent from the outdoor training besides the aforementioned.

The above combination kept me away.

Penrith the most valuable sporting brand in Australia. You've got to be kidding me. I don't know how they work these things out but if you asked me whether I'd rather own Coll, West Coast, Hawthorn or any of the other top AFL clubs or Penrith it wouldn't be a hard call.

I disagree on that. I think back in 2005 Goodes was very much a midfielder almost exclusively. He used to go head to head with Judd in games. Micky O was a slightly undersized full forward. Hall the centre piece who played anywhere from 30-70m from goal and was a main target and O'Keefe was the third tall who did a lot of lead up work. Nick Davis was probably that mix between opportunistic small forward and also marking forward. They also had 2 primary ruckman and whilst it was the days when the second ruck sat on the pine a lot I do remember Jolly often spending time in the goal square. Dawes can be a bigger version of O'Keefe as the up the ground player. Hogan can take Hall's spot as a the old fashioned go to CHF and then those 2 can swap. Clark sits in the goal square as the back up ruck but is obviously a class above the likes of Jolly doing that and Howe plays as a small who rotates up the ground and gets used as a miss match not a go to in a crowded forward line. I think Sydney this year will show us that you don't have to disrupt your fundamental game plan and style to capitalise on key forwards. The alternative is trying for a North Melbourne attacking plan to get fast forward 50 entries to multiple tall forwards but I think that costs too much in terms of defensive ability to make it work. My point is that Sydney had an above average forward line in 2005 and that we can too but to set up some plan revolving around our tall forwards is fraught with danger.

So you want to take a 2-20 team and give them multiple game plans and the ability to switch between them at the breaks. Come off it. This is AFL not basetball or soccer where you might be able to switch game styles if you have the skilled players for it. For mine there are 2 main components to any AFL game plan. Defensive set ups and ball movement patterns. They are the two things that with a good team you might be able to manipulate. Everything else really comes down to just being the harder working, higher intensity and more skilled team. Defensive set ups: - Numbers around the stoppage - A player dropping back to form an extra number across half back - 2 way running from the mids to seal off exits from our forward 50 Ball movement patterns - As much fast movement as possible while maintaining possession - Using the deep switch to get to the open side - Mids running forward of the ball to space - Forwards running in to open space in the forward 50 The aim will be to play defensively like Sydney or even Freo and to move the ball like Sydney of 2012 or even some aspects of Geelong 2013 but without some of the high risk corridor stuff. Again I'd imagine Roos would be keen to get the defensive stuff organised first whilst trying to keep the game moving from half back on transition. This Fitzy goal from last year - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfzWUfnLufY - will be what I imagine we will try for on attack. It features accurate kicking from half back, Jack Watts linking up in the midfield, Dawes presenting at CHF and Fitzy finishing it off.

Obviously we are keen to see Hogan, Clark and many others. I was thinking people could name 3 they really like and why. Try to stay away from the obvious names. 1. Dom Tyson Why? Because he really was our biggest recruit this offseason at least in terms of what we paid. Every tall and left footed midfielder gets Pendlebury comparisons but the way this guy wins clearances with positioning, clever hands and reading the play makes me think it is somewhat reasonable. I'm not expecting dominance but lots of little quality moments could be a great start to his MFC career. 2. Mitch Clisby Why? Bit of a lesser name but his games in 2013 impressed me. Hard at it, keen to run and carry and decent natural defensive instincts impressed me. As did his body slam that got him suspended. He had a few lingering hamstring injuries in preseason last year and first half of the season so I'm hoping for improvement physically and then more improvement with game time. Lack of height and size worries me and kicking isn't amazing but I do like him. 3. Daniel Cross Why? Because he's 30, and plenty of times we see guys struggle at 30 for a year before rebounding and playing much better. He'll suit Roos to a tee. He's got the endurance and speed was never part of his game plan so from that regard I think physically slowing down might not effect him too much. Fighting for a spot that was always yours might've taken a big toll at the dogs and the freedom to know he just have to train and play hard to do his job might free him up.

is he any good? What TAC team is he playing for?Anyway the AFL would likely not allow it. Plus it might not suit his development and hinder the club for no gain. Mixing him with AFL players and training in his current role (?ball boy) sounds reasonable to me