DeeSpencer

The counter argument to that one is simple. If Mike Sheahan asked you what would you say?

We were very soft in round one against Port. Nicholson/Gillies/Pedersen ducking/Frawley, Watts and Garland not really comitting. Every time the ball went forward it was a matter of who'd jump out of the way first. It's got better. Tapscott has done a couple of brave things. Garland and Frawley are going much harder. Even Watts backed into a one man pack. I wouldn't have been surprised to see Davey drop his head when Tappy sat the ball up on it against GWS. But there is still so far to go. The tackline and the attack at the ball in and under (baring in mind the slide rule adding confusing) still has miles to go. Melbourne players seem to tackle because they have to. Besides maybe Sylvia (when he's in the contest), Tapscott and Trengove I don't know who actually enjoys a good tackle. It's a shame Jetta was suspended. Tell you one thing about our clearance work though, when big Maxy Gawn is buttering up for second efforts on the ground and the midfielders aren't its pretty horrible.

It's not like he's fully dead either. He had 17 touches and 10 tackles and I think he mainly played on Redden who had 24 touches and a goal but didn't kill us. We'd love both of the Jacks to be game changes. That's why people are calling for Clark and Jones because they are the game changers on our list. Grimes can save a game playing good footy off a half back flank but can't exactly win one either back or in the middle. Trenners is tagging and trying. As much as I'd love a team of game changers I'd settle for blokes who break even and beat their men or halve the contest. I see that thinking in why that Jack's are captain because Neeld wants a team of guys who do the hard but simple stuff first.

Tried it against Essendon. Failed. Is an athlete not a footballer. It's not just bad kicking, its poor vision, way too many fumbles and a lack of physicality. More time in the VFL might help but I feel his ceiling is limited. He's been a good runner since he came in but I haven't seen much else improve. He's best games to date were coming on as the sub where he could use his speed to really get him out of trouble when the game opened up. Before any positional change I'd try him in that role again. Oh and at the start of 2012 Neeld tried him as a defensive forward. That didn't really work either.

I'd like to see us hit the ball to Sylvia or other midfielder out of the middle more. Hey if we are up and winning the taps (Especially with Max Gawn in there) I'd like to see him shock everyone and hit it to the tagger on one of Carlton's midfielders! We seemed to have largely replaced the hit it to Moloney tactic with the hit it to Jones. And whilst I like Jones much more as an around the ground player if we are putting it down one guys throat all game I'd rather it be Moloney actually. That would see Jonesy get a few more tackles and some other players get involved in the game.

McDonald with one leg is better than Gillies. I think I'd rather give Troy Davis a shot and he's a long way from AFL from what I've seen before.

Have we. When was the last time you watched a Melbourne game and though wow today they are just being ruthless. The last time I saw one was probably in the Daniher days when we were beating up a young Hawthorn or some other struggling side.

We've clashed a bit on this thread Stuiey but I'm with you here haha. As bad as McDonald has been leaking 8 or so goals last 2 weeks and his skills have been average I shudder the thought of Gillies standing still unable to run to the contest or being totally ineffectual when he got there! Setanta might've kicked a lazy 10!

Obviously a huge problem this year is that we aren't running nearly enough but I still think we aren't going hard enough for long enough. If we were ever going to declare a line in the sand game it would have to be against Carlton. Mitch Robinson openly called us soft. This is the same bloke who alledgedly had a cheap shot in the VFL behind play. We could set an absolute standard for how we approach footy this week. Magner should come in with Clark out for an extended period. Viney should be back in. He can take anything given his way. Tapscott isn't backwards in coming forward. Jones and Trengove aren't afraid of contact. It's time for Maxy Gawn and Chip Frawley to pay the iron price for those beards. Not to mention its time Jack Watts got some mongrel in him, otherwise if he's playing as the third tall Jesse Hogan will thank him for warming his spot in the team. Serial pest Lynden Dunn will be back. Hawthorn were half a team of kids when they did it. And the other half were duds like Campbell Brown. But how many Hawks have you seen squib a contest since. I'm not talking about big hits off the ball. But I'm happy to concede some free kicks for tackles that got a bit nasty. For spoils that came hard and unrelentingly. The benefit of drawing a line in the sand isn't about dishing out the punishment but learning when it comes back at you that you can take it and play through it. Carlton have a few tough blokes, McLean and Robinson head the list. But theres a few who could be put off as well. Yarran, Garlett, Kane Lucas to name a few. Judd and Murphy will kill us if we sit back and play nice on them as well. And I'm not sure we've got a guy who can do what Taylor Hunt did to Murphy by running off him. Am I out of touch with the modern game? Or is time our players took a step up and decided they didn't want to be known as a battling young side who were happy with a 5 goal loss on the road.

I thought they way we structured it anyway was obviously a team decision but as much as the physio's Misson designs how much training load and match day running he is capable of doing. This is whole who runs the sports science side of a club is a very interesting topic. Ideally you'd have a doctor who is also a physiotherapist who is also an exercise physiologist but I don't know many of them! I sometimes wonder if North Melbourne and us are two teams with some of the better injury rates but also have seemed to struggle in periods of games and look unfit. It might be that Misson isn't pushing them hard enough. But my first guess is that Misson is getting the guys fit and strong enough but their footy related training is not done at the right intensity. None of the drills I've watched at preseason training this year were done at flat out speed with hard pressure or physical pressure. And Neeld defers to his assistants a lot. I'd like to see him get in their and get the standard and intensity improved. Anyway sorry about the off topic.

Magner must play. Lets be honest foot surgery for Clark must mean at least a few weeks with no weight bearing then probably a month before running. 2 weeks full training to get him back to Casey and then we are already at 7 weeks. I'd rather Magner play now and Clark miss an extra week than the other way around. So third time lucky on the team! FB: Terlich Sellar Garland HB: Strauss Frawley Dunn C: Evans Jones Byrnes HF: Howe Dawes/Pedo Trengove FF: Tapscott Gawn Watts Foll: Jamar Bail Sylvia Int: Grimes Magner Viney S: Matt Jones Out: McDonald, McKenzie, Rodan, Blease, Davey In: Sellar, Magner, Viney, Dunn, Strauss + Dawes swap for Pedersen if fit Philosophies: 1. McDonald is playing very poorly, time for a change at full back. I've debated this one enough earlier in the thread. 2. Dunn in for Watts' backline spot. Watts forward (luckily) 3. Time for a revolution in the midfield. Viney is back. Magner must be elevated and play (without huge expectations guys). Time for Bail into to tag. Time for Matt Jones to be used as a sub. Time for Byrnes to get more midfield time he's probably in better form than most of our players. 4. Rodan might not be worth the effort. Blease and McKenzie don't look right. Both look below peak fitness. 5. Strauss in to play on one of Garlett/Yarran. Allow Grimes to play in backline or midfield based on need. 6. Davey needs a full game in VFL to prove he can run it out, then I'd have him in the team for good not sub. 7. Dawes to play if declared fit to run out game.

I think you have a very simplified version of addiction. It's not that easy, especially gambling because its something ingrained in Australian culture and so easy to do. You don't even have to tell anyone you are doing it unlike smoking which people will notice or drugs which you can say hey why did you even try them. And Ox has beat it.I agree potting the coach might not have been the smartest thing for do but look at it this way, he currently has no ties to the club and was asked a question. His reasoning was very straight forward - the first 3 games don't indicate a group of players doing it for the coach. I agree ex players don't have a right to just expect a position for them to be created to help the club. They have to find some way to get their skills in use. What I can say though is our board has one football person in Healy. If Ox is willing to walk the tightrope like Dunstall and avoid all media questions relating to Melbourne and also supportive of our current board then there could be room for him. It's still got a lot of top quality business men and a woman, but our biggest issue right now is our football department seem in shambles. All this depsite increased resources from the Bailey crew. And I'm not convinced its purely a catch up issue. If the Jackson review finds that the football department is lacking the next question must be how do we fix it. The last 2 processes haven't seemed to work. Greater board involvement with the FD might help and Ox could play a role.

I knew as soon as they said sprain in the same area as the lisfranc it was potentially bad news. In a way this is a good thing compared to what could've happened. The screw can be taken out and any scar tissue cleaned up. After a period of rest to whatever ligament is strained he might be well and truly healed. Obviously Mitch's year is now down the drain but he won't need off season surgery. It allows us to learn to play smarter footy. Also says to Dawes, Pedersen and Fitzpatrick please show us what you've got! Not to mention Magner must be upgraded.

I think all those guys efficiency has gone up. I think you underrate Swan's kicking a bit. He's pretty good these days. Carrazo is very safe with the ball. I don't watch a lot of Priddis. Although I'm confident West Coast beat Port last week if Priddis isn't KO'ed.

Yeah but I think Viney will be more like Swan early in his career then fix it up. I think his kicking will follow the same path as Jones'. Just when he starts to really get maligned for it he'll tidy it up. But playing in a good team will help him no end.

But it happens in all sports. Some golfers just can't putt. Some NBA players just can't shoot. Some NFL QBs just can't make clutch throws. In any sport that is a balance of skill and other factors you'll have guys who aren't good at the basic skills. Sydney is one team that always impress me. They don't have a perfect team of skilled players but they train them up and rarely make bad turnovers. One thing Melbourne needs to do and I'm not sure if Neeld knows this or not is lift training intensity but a huge margin. We might run hard and fast in training but the pressure applied for skills is really low. It's like we practice ten pin bowling with the bumpers up and from half way down the lane then expect it to work on matchday.

Jack Viney is a great test case. His numbers will be down due to winning a lot of contested ball. Players who do that like Joel Selwood will always struggle for high disposal efficiency. However as he gets more comfortable at AFL level and in a better side I expect him to improve. He doesn't have a perfect action but I bet at one stage he starts to look like a turnover merchant but should fix it up. Jack Grimes in an interesting test case. He'll play large parts of games kicking the ball beautifully then shank one straight to an opponent. Garland the same. Both have reasonable actions. Frawley has a butt ugly action but is reliable if kicking long and wide. I'd actually prefer to see us over possess the ball at times to benefit our kicking even if it results in turnovers. The dogs are doing that.

But why pass the buck? We know Grimes and Trengove train at a top level, were leaders of their junior clubs (states even) and play like leaders. You can't say Grimes isn't out there giving it his all every week. Clark has a lot of injury worries and trying to lead a team from FF/CHF isn't easy either. Jones is playing like a leader but that doesn't mean he has to be captain. Let's wait and see what Trengove can do for the rest of this year. If he keeps leading the tackle count then thats a start if you ask me.

depends on his fitness. To me he just doesn't look right. Happy for him to stay or go depending on the clubs idea of his fitness. Problem is their really aren't any midfielders at Casey to replace him with. Nicholson just isn't disciplined or strong enough to tag. It's why I want Bail to do it.

Cut by the Jets today. Stage one of the tebow plan is in motion. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Come on afl be bold

Here's a thing about football. When you are a defender your first job is to be on your man. Watts was so bad at it he had to get moved forward. Here's another thing, when you've played been on an Afl list for 5 years you should know how to tackle. My second post I've decided to keep Watts and play him forward but it's an indictment on him that he has to be moved back to the other end of the ground having failed as a defender. Imagine if you were a chef and had to keep getting moved between desserts and entres because you keep stuffing both up. Here's a thing or two about life. If you are going to insult someone maybe get all the facts first. Then you with your 56 posts won't look like such a tool calling me a troll. Stick your hash tag where the sun don't shine.

Haha you are kidding. What about plenty of easy marks his opponent took whilst he trailed in behind. What about his tackling attempts that are just wrapping the arms around. No shoulder or force behind it. His game on the weekend to me was a couple of kicks from the backline, 2 cheap goals and only one attempt when he actually jumped at the ball in the air. Watts signature move is half hearted, it has been since he entered the league.

I see what you are trying to do in getting some youth in but I think that side is horribly undersized even against Carlton. I don't think Dunn has the size to play on Rowe or Hampson. Same up forward where you are leaving it for Fitzpatrick and Watts to man the key positions, both of who really get most of their ball on the run not by strong overhead marks. I do like the idea later in the season to trial Fitzpatrick and Gawn as a combination. I just wouldn't do it without a Clark or Dawes up and about to give the forward line a big body. So for that reason I'd live Fitzy out and go back to Jamar and Pedersen.

Setanta 5 goals, Leunberger 3 both matches including multiple goals early in the match when the teams were pretty even. Not to mention McDonald's disposal which has gone from bad to worse at the moment. And another goal was created for a simple mark he dropped from a kick out. Sellar on the other hand has only been given one shot in defense this year which was for a half against West Coast and he did a nice job. He's not old and he shouldn't have a limit on him as a defender. I know when used as a forward/ruck he struggles but down back he's yet to have a decent run. When he came over from Adelaide the club and a bunch of Adelaide supporters said this guy has no confidence up forward but is a big body and a decent athlete and will make a good back up defender. How many goals does McDonald have to concede before its time to give our back up defender a run.

FB: Terlich Frawley Garland HB: Grimes Sellar Dunn C: Evans Jones Byrnes HF: Sylvia Dawes Watts FF: Howe Gawn Tapscott Foll: Jamar Bail Trengove Int: Viney, Rodan, Strauss S: M. Jones Out: Blease, McDonald, McKenzie, Davey, Pedersen In: Viney, Sellar, Dunn, Strauss, Dawes Ok so I had a second thought on things. I still think we need Sellar in to replace Tom McDonald. He's really struggling right now on big forwards who play him deep as Sentanta and Leuy have. And Strauss and Dunn to come back in. My biggest rethink has been on Watts. My instincts all say drop him but if it comes down to him, Blease or Rodan for a half forward role maybe we stick with Jack. Playing against Carlton is a really good test of his mental effort. I've tried to rejig the midfield. What we've seen in the last few games is that Byrnes is one of our best game runners and at finding the ball. Its time for him to play much more a wing, particularly the left footer wing. I've also put Bail into the midfield to tag one of Judd or Murphy. He's been our most physical player lately and won a few nice hard ball gets before burning team mates on the weekend when he's goal hungry. Maybe getting him up the ground makes him think about his disposal more. Finally I don't see the point in using Davey as an impact player when we are likely to be 10 goals down. And it will be doing nothing for his fitness. I'd like to see Matt Jones have a trial run as the sub to give him a bit of a lighter week and also to challenge him to play as an impact player. I think if the player can play well the sub can be a tool to actually bring back form. If we send Jones in when others are tired he could really find how well he can cover the ground and add physicality to his game with tackling and other things.