DeeSpencer

The fact that Watts is the 13th best defender when really he's closer to 13th best defender at Melbourne shows how screwed these are! They clearly haven't been able to accurately record how many touches and what impact your opponent has or things like contests you stand and watch. It's the physical things that Watts doesn't do that can't be measured

you wish!

Yeah let's wait a week! Hell we could even win this week, imagine that! But if spencer isn't dropped this week he will be next

Neeld obviously putting a lot of faith in McKenzie, Viney, Dunn, Matt Jones and Evans to get the job done in the midfield around Jones and Sylvia. Whether thats clever or not we will see. To everyone else Magner seems like a smarter choice.

Comment on overall intensity and skill level RG? The last training I went to was about a 4/10 for intensity and a 2/10 for skill level that was before the Brisbane game. I hope they've improved since.

He is our second saviour. Our first in big Mitch is currently injured. Our third saviour in the Hulk Hogan is currently restricted to Casey. He's also a big bustling power forward with limited overhead marking skills. However being big, bustling and providing a contest might be more than whoever else we have to offer can provide.

OUT: Grimes (clavicle), Trengove (Calf), Spencer (Spud), McDonald (remedial kicking school) IN: Jetta, Dawes, Fitzpatrick, Sellar FB: Terlich Frawley Garland HB: Strauss Sellar, Jetta C: Evans Jones Jones HF: Bail Dawes Howe FF: Tapscott Fitzy Byrnes Foll: Gawn , Viney Dunn Int: McKenzie, Sylvia, Nicholson S: Kent

No rookie upgrade this week = no Magner. Big week for him and Couch this week in the VFL (oh wait there is no VFL this week)! To be honest I think Clisby would be in the picture as well, he hasn't racked up the big numbers like Terlich did in his one VFL game but Clisby is another speedy and skilled type that could be a chance if Nicholson or Strauss play poorly.

The area we need to hope in most is the midfield. We just need to pray that something happens and all of a sudden instead of Jones alone we can sudden develop a range of quality players to support Nath. Then all of a sudden I feel we'd go form horrible to at least competitive and with a proper future. There's still plenty more young midfield potential on our list compared to most other teams besides Geelong and the expansion teams in my mind. Most other sides have their best midfielders playing and playing well and aren't stocked in their reserves with future good midfielders. Guys like Sylvia, Howe, Tapscott, Bail, Kent all have that rotational midfield quality that hasn't been harnessed yet because they don't play in a good side. Throw in Viney, Blease, Toumpas, Evans, Taggert that's a nice amount of talent. Can a good preseason change McKenzie, Magner, Couch, Matt Jones and Trengove from below league level to at or above league level, you'd be silly to right them off. And then we for once get it right/lucky on draft day and get a Sidebottom/Beams pairing that play from day one and do well. Then we need a miracle in a guy to step in straight away and be one of our top guys. Whether its a mature ager like Barlow or a trade like Josh Kennedy we just need a bit of magic. The talls, the small defenders and small forwards (even minus a gun crumber) will all take care of themselves because we've got talent at those positions. But we need a midfield miracle to save us come this years list turnover.

Only problem I have C+B is I thought we had something to work on with: FF: Jurrah Petterd Wona HF: Maric Bate C: Morton Gysberts HB: Bennell Buckley FB: Bartram Foll: Moloney We invested a heap of time with guys just like the above and we even won some games in 2010 and still beat so not too bad teams in 2011 with these guys. Even 08 and 09 looked brighter than now does. Half of them ended up playing for other clubs or at least got a look in training at other clubs so we weren't the only ones who thought there was talent there. I'm not sure how Neeld plays the kids and handles losing especially thanks to his own doing he has or will have guys like Sellar (in for Tom McDonald), Pedersen (in for Gawn/Fitzy), Magner/Rodan/Couch (in for midfielders) available to him. Will Neeld be accepting that we've fallen so far back again that the only move to make is that we have beat GWS at their own game of playing kids? Because I just think how bad can this Melbourne team be even though the midfield is rubbish are we a consistently 10 goal worse side than everyone barring the expansion sides?

It's not I don't believe you but answer this question - If the lisfranc injury Clark had was a fracture/dislocation involving many bones moving from their original location how isn't there a lot of tendons and ligaments disrupted and how can we know they are healed until they are tested over the course of a full season or longer. To me the foot seems such a complex thing. Little bones and ligaments and tendons going everywhere and they all get 100+kg put on them running in a 1000 directions. That's why I'm skeptical of even the best Orthopods and Physio's providing guarantees.

Does that mean they are shafting Good Friday as well?

Wallace wasn't the worst match day coach of all time he just always wanted a quick fix. Put him in and I think we become a much better team for 2013 but at what cost, plus I doubt he's good enough to win a flag. Matthew Knights wasn't too bad either, Essendon are reaping the rewards of what he sowed now.

For a comparison on the twilight North got 22,000 against Brisbane (who draw some in Melb) at Etihad 2 weeks ago. Against GWS (in a game slightly more positive than this) we got 20,000. Late in the year last year against Gold Coast we got 18,000 So it's fair to say our chances of anywhere above 18,000 are slim, minus I'd say 4,000 for twilight footy makes 14,000 and maybe take a 1,000 off for Mothers day, most people who would want to go the footy could probably have finalised their mothers day stuff by then. I'd be looking at 13,231 for the real crowd but the AFL might help us out and report it above 15.000 to save face.

Doesn't anyone feel sorry for the players? I know athletes have a responsiblity under the WADA code but these guys aren't Olympic athletes and no one has really even contemplated drug cheating yet alone thinking someone like Hird would set them up to drug cheat. Then they get letters to sign saying its all above board. You guys do know that the NFL aren't even signed on to WADA because they aren't interested in having these overbearing and largely incompetent bodies oversee them. I think a fair and proper result from this would be a deal being made for the players. Now I want to see Essendon suffer for their biochemistry experiment - the president has put himself up for re-election and the head of football is gone but I think the CEO and Danny Corcoran should go and Hird should be sanctioned somehow, but if the players really have had untested substances used on them then thats enough punishment.

Who would tip in dollars? City of Casey don't have the resources to make it 20,000 capacity. The other option would be to make it 10,000 with some temporary seating and things and make it a one of type match with sponsorship from City of Casey but then it wouldn't be long term. I don't see the problem with only 2 stadiums in Melbourne. We just need every team to thrive and reasonable stadium deals. Hawthorn and North have good deals in place with Tasmania. Essendon, Richmond, Carlton, Collingwood shouldn't need additional funds from alternative venues. St Kilda are having a go at New Zealand which I think makes a heap of success. It's really the Western Bulldogs and us who are out on a limb here. The dogs are in particular trouble due to a horrible deal with Etihad. But the closer it gets to the AFL takeover of Etihad the better chance they have of a good stadium deal with the stadium that is closest to their demographic of supporters. I always thought that if two teams were going to own Etihad it would be North and the bulldogs who's supporters come in from trains in that direction. We seem to be betting on Darwin at the moment. Long term I don't like the idea. I don't think Darwin is attractive as a corporate or membership point of view and I think it really hurts the players having a match up there and then backing up. Casey could be a better investment from a memberships basis and much easier on the players to travel to our VFL home ground not 3 hours flight and then humidity. But without the corporate money and with only a small crowd without long term investment I wonder how much we could gain from it. That's my question I guess. If the AFL announced tomorrow our match this Sunday had moved from the MCG to Casey what kind of $$ would we be looking at? 100,000 from an attendance of 10,000 plus people after you take the cost price and maybe 50,000 tipped in from the city of Casey for benefits to the area?

By the way this seems to be written by Tony Sheahan according to his twitter. So adds at least a tiny bit of weight to it more than being a total rumour.

I mainly agree. Except what if Magner becomes eligible surely he's done enough to come in. And I'd swap Fitzpatrick with Spencer in a heartbeat because I just don't see potential with Spencer. But yes I'm not sure how Nicholson or Strauss as 2 good examples will improve with limited exposure.

Because you don't drop good players from one bad game where he played on a bigger opponent and the ball never came down. As for Davey if we have to pick a guy to be the sub why not Kent over Davey. Both don't have the tank for a full game but one is physical and young the other is old (and still skilled) but deficient in a lot of areas. I'd like Kent to have another chance. If he does well give him a full game if he doesn't back to the VFL and resume Davey as the sub.

Read his other articles: - Fevola was going to make a comeback for Sydney prior to Tippett - yeah right! - Sydney is a better city than Melbourne because all Melbournians are snobs who talk about what school they went to although he happens to mention he grew up in affluent suburbs and likely attended one of those schools - umm also dont think so, I know theres a bit of that in those areas but venture North, West or the outer East of Melbourne and no one cares and in that area people often ask because they'll know your friends! Or lack thereof

He missed that one didn't he but kicked a very similar one on the run. But I agree. He's a forward who isn't afraid to lead and run into space. He did it a couple of times but horrible kicking meant he didn't on the end of it. With his speed and good reading of the play I think he's a more natural forward than Tapsoctt/Bail/Blease.

Brett Kirk was a natural footballer though. In and under and hard. He wouldn't fumble as much in his entire career as Nicholson does in one game. Nicholson to me is a poor mans Stanton. Elite endurance, shonky kick. The difference is Stanton is at least always in the right spots. Another comparable player with Nicholson would be Harry O'. They've moved him to a win because he can't defend and his endurance and speed make his handy.

Common problem, no one in our forward line has got a kick when we've been smashed. I think Byrnes deserves the chance. They may have been lesser opposition but who else played well for 3/4 against gws or brisbane

Hard to pick a player not on the list before the season. I'm thinking Gawn, Jetta, Strauss, Tapscott and Fitzpatrick are all having better seasons. But the one I'd go with so far is Evans.

Get with the times. It makes the game much better ok tv and sells more jumpers. If we need a particular couloir to play well then we really are stuffed.