DeeSpencer

Go the Fitz!!! Good to see Wona on the scoreboard.

That's a good point. Although I wouldn't be disappointed to see them bring in Martin to play ruck and forward, giving Jamar more rest. I'd suggest Dunn goes to a medium forward position and Bennell might have to come out. I still think we could provide strong enough forward pressure.I want to win every game, but I still think we have to look after Jamar and develop ruck and forward options for the long term. Dunn is not a long term back up ruck option.

I really like Bartram. I hope for his sake and the clubs he can keep improving to hold his spot. If a guy is playing well when he comes into the side then he isn't a list clogger. If Bartram keeps the pressure on Strauss and Bennell to earn his spot as the small defender then I'm happy with him. Dunn still needs to find a gear as a forward or midfielder, because I don't think he has the height to be a long term second ruck option. Then again he just has moments of clean skill, a good goal sense and a really strong body. He has to keep striving to find the improvement needed. Worse players than both have won premierships.

I'm not too keen on giving away a good pick for a ruckman, but I'd seriously look at big White from Sydney. He could be a suitable back up for Jamar and then the big body up forward to let other players develop around. All I know is that at the end of the year we will have to make a call on some of our big guys. Hopefully by then they have sealed their fate one way or another. I still have some faith in Spencer, he has really nice size and can win a hit out, he has some potential. I've really gone cold on Martin as he had a big chance leading up to round 1 to seal his placed and failed. I'd love to see Meesen get back, I like what I saw from him in his games last year.

Oh wow, you clearly missed the sarcasm. That's a good report. If he keeps having games like that then I'm happy we've got a guy who can play a bit! Jordy McKenzie probably had similar reports all last year until he got a game, and he's coming along nicely after a preseason. I think its a real boost that we have these guys who win their own ball. They all just have to keep harnessing the experience of Junior and Scotty West.

Deevoted we will need to do a backflip on youth at some stage. Whilst next year will most likely be too soon, at some stage we should add some experienced players if they are at the right price. For example Hawthorn got their timing exactly right on Dew. If they waited another year before adding the experience to their youth you could argue that they wouldn't have won the flag. Just like how the dogs could have done with Barry Hall for the last 2 seasons. Really now they have him the boat may have sailed as Aka, Johno and others slow up.

Casey 2's for Wona if passed fit I would think. Due to the fact that it is unfair to play guys who can only be available for half a game in a senior side. Take him slowly, slowly because its been since 2008 that he's played an AFL game. That said I really hope that in 4 weeks time he's been able to get enough form and fitness to play up in Darwin.

It's been a pleasant change has it not?

He's not too old. As long as his knee is right then he has 4 years of good footy left. If this group of kids is going to take us anywhere then it will be very close to doing it in the next 4 years. But I'm not sure he will be worth the price to get him. That's what it all comes down to for mine, both the draft pick we have to give up and the $$$ we have to pay him.

Astbury got one goal from rubbish manning up, another from a turnover caused by Warnock that should have been a free to Grimes as he got crunched front on and kicked a beauty of a third which I believe came from an out on the full. Watts could certainly do likewise, except that Melbourne are no longer in the business of rolling over and getting done by 10 goals each week. We also don't have 4 guys out with club suspensions. You now have to earn the right to play for us and hopefully Jack will soon. He's gathering form and fitness, not rotting away. I'm sure once Watts does make it into the team Bailey will give him ample opportunity to stay there for a long period.

You obviously weren't at the preseason Melbourne V WC game at Casey. Martin was horrible. He jumped at shadows and didn't look like taking a mark up forward. He may have kicked a few in the VFL but goals alone can be deceptive of his performance. Martin would not have given as much as Dunn up forward and through the middle in these last 3 weeks.One thing we have to be careful of next week in changing our style too much to counter Brisbane's talls. Against Collingwood they had plenty of talls but we backed Newton/Dunn as second rucks, and Bruce/Joel MacDonald to play tall and we should have won the game. We might not be able to afford to give up our runners that have been so effective in executing the pressure on the opposition.

If they hadn't already given it to him in round 2.NicNat is a sure thing. A good performance in a winning team on a Friday night, combined with being the overall favourite for the award, combined with good performances in all his other games. He's got it locked up.

To be honest I don't think you need the 'perfect' set up in terms of playing stocks to be top 4. We certainly need someone to help out Jamar, but the bulldogs have shown you can get to the top 4 without big forwards. The main thing we need is more players capable of executing under immense pressure. Mainly I mean using the ball, because that is the critical area, but I also mean position specific skills - taking marks, kicking goals, breaking the lines, winning hitouts, spoiling in the backline. If you look at Hawthorn last night too many of their blokes just couldn't do it. It was the same story for us in round 1. As we got our pressure up to a required level, the pressure on us eased, which resulted in the reasonable results in the last 2 games. When I think of Melbourne players able to do this I think of Frawley, Grimes, Green, Sylvia, the skipper. At their best I don't think Petterd and Bate are far away. It's a bit different for a ruckman but I feel Jamar is starting to do this. Scully and Trengove look like they will. Morton is probably able to do this, Garland too. Bartram is only a 10% improve in his kicking to be really useful. Jurrah is a freak who only needs a small gap to be able to hit the scoreboard. Davey, Moloney and Bruce aren't bad either. To get more players able to do this we need to get the games into them. Scully, Trengove, Watts, Bennell, Strauss and whoever else from the untried brigade who step up (Blease, Gysberts, Tapscott, Gawn etc) need that 40 or more games.

I wonder if Miller will try the move to the backline to save his career option again. Also not sure about this Watts on the wing business. I know they want to get him match fit and into games but we've got better options on the wing for Melbourne, what we don't have is key forwards. Come on Blease! Get on the park.

Maybe they think we will get ahead of ourselves and be showed up by an absolutely desperate Richmond side. It's not really out of the equation when you think that the reason we've played well the last 2 weeks has been our pressure and intensity more than our skills.

That weight has been their since the day he got drafted. There is not a chance he is heavier than Moloney who is listed at 182cm and 86kg. For his height and position (not that I'm sure of his ideal position but he certainly looks more of a running player than an inside mid) I'd be surprised if they wanted him over 84kg. I'd guess that he weighs somewhere in the low 80's. Interesting that he is 21 nearly 22 so despite being late into the AFL system he should be nearing his peak physically, and his peak form shouldn't be far away. So he really has to earn his next contract for mine, but he is doing a great job of it.

Cousins out is a boost as are the others to a degree, but not massively. Richmond's problems is not that they are out of players but that each week they field 10 or so who are lucky to be getting a game (I'd say we field about 1-3 each week at the dees this year). The 10 or so guys who are up to AFL (Newman, Deledio, Cousins, Martin etc.) are some very good players, but aren't exactly a mature and star studded group like Geelong or StKilda's top 10 and can't cover the others. The same thing happens with our senior players - Davey, Moloney, Green, McDonald not being able to cover our deficiencies at times, but as pretty much everyone who has got a game has contributed in the last 2 weeks we've looked the goods. If everyone runs hard, tackles hard and plays for the team then I expect a solid win, but anything could happen if they don't.

And at the end of the day we won!Also at half time we really should have been 3 or 4 goals. The wind wasn't that bad to kick 1.8 or whatever it was.

Players: Backline - already solid and should be difficult to fit them all in the team in the future Midfield - plenty of options, would love to develop some real speedsters but certainly should have a core group capable of going places Forward line - some real talent here with the mid sizers and smalls. Talls the concern. There is still a heap of pressure on Watts and Jurrah to be our saviours Rucks - Have a good one in Jamar. Need to find 2 more out of PJ, Meesen, Spencer, Martin, Gawn, Fitz. Team: Shown a real desire to compete, tackle and play for each other. Still not sure what exactly the game plan is but a zone is coming into it, the kickouts are coming along and I feel there seems to be an idea about a game that involves team defence, run and carry, swift ball movement to hit up forwards and so on.

I'm sorry Mr Rivers, you will have to return via the 2's. Sylvia is the only one who deserves to come straight in. The only guy who has played 2 bad weeks in a row from the midfield or small/medium sized forwards is.... Tom Scully. Give him a week or two in the VFL.

On the Melbourne website Newton is named 4th in order in front of Bate. Jamar rucking all day against Maric and Tippett is just as hard as Jolly and Fraser. He needs at least 15% off a game, and really for his longevity in a season I'd be looking at 25%. That combined with the fact that Newton (FF) and Dunn (CHF) compared to Dunn (FF) and Bate (CHF) is a very small loss with the way Bate has been playing suggests to me that Newton must play. Not sure why Jones has to feel the heat after 2 good ordinary games. Yes we want more from experienced players - but no one really had a dominant display last week (beside Ricky up forward) - it was more the combination of what happens when ever senior player pulls their weight. Jones did that. Oh, that is deluded. Bartram was very solid last week. Why drop him for Cheney and if you were going to drop him, why not for Col Garland.News flash - James McDonald is our best midfield. He plays in the midfield. Cam Bruce has played with good success in the backline for the last 2 seasons as well if you haven't noticed. Also Spencer and Newton is an interesting call. But where has Dunn gone wrong. He played a solid game last week. Also how has Spencer proved that he has more to offer than what he did in round 1. Spencer might give a little more in the ruck than the Newton at centre bounces, Dunn around the ground combo, but he isn't going to kick the 2 goals that Dunn did when he went forward.

Bruce often plays similar games to Jack Grimes off a half back flank. Except when Grimes plays a good one we all hear about how fantastic he is. When he is a bit down we hear nothing. Bruce is completely the other way. Through the midfield Bruce really lost his way in many games (maybe around 2007/08), but I think Dean Bailey has found a great spot for him to play out his career. Hopefully he lasts long enough to really get to see some success (maybe finals 2011, or am I dreaming!).

With Strauss out we need both an extra defender and preferably a tall defender at that. If he's fit they will have to think long and hard about playing Garland. He's been running for what, over a month now? Played in 2 competitive games. He's ideally suited to Walker and could be an option for Dangerfield or the Porpoise. From there it has to be Newton (need the ruck and forward back up), Jones, McKenzie. Which is bad news for Bate, but if he does get dropped I'd expect him to bounce back very quickly.

Of course we will finish top 4, probably losing the flag to Freo because they have Micky Barlow, Steve Silvagni, Pav, Chopper Mayne, Hayden Ballentyne, a really tall guy, Taz and no undie Mundy. Not to mention they are coached by Mark Harvey, who in the space of 2 weeks has gone from the man (fairly or unfairly) widely regarded as the worst in the business to a respectable coach. If you think the comments about Freo are stupid, then think about your comments about Melbourne. We won't make the 8, we'll be lucky to be above 12th. About 13 other teams put out equally skilled teams as us with bucket loads more experience. We also genuinely lack a fit key forward of any note. No matter how hard our boys work, we won't be able to do a number on top 8 sides repeatedly enough to make the 8. We couldn't even get past an extremely flat Collingwood (who have always shown to have flat games and be beatable early in the season).

I would say it might be a fair compromise to let Melbourne clubs train on the G when they play an interstate team (as they get a training session on the G). But really I'm happy with our players training at Casey, and hopefully the oval are producing at the moment next to the rectangular stadium is in tip top condition when we move.