Rogue

This is a strawman argument. You're misrepresenting Freak's comment - you don't need to be dominating, or even competitive, to show pace. I hope we're not so precious that nothing that could be deemed as negative will be accepted.

I've never understood the way some people view Green. Regardless of whether their view was warranted when he started his career, I think the fact that people have held firm with their 'soft' tag year after year is evidence that when faced with information that challenges their views, people are more likely to discard it than change their own. It often takes a while to change someone's views and I'm glad the number of times Green's gone back with the flight of the ball while playing behind the ball a bit more later in his career has dispelled the 'soft' tag in the views of most. Same here. I wouldn't have been too surprised to see a head-size hole in the turf after he got up.

Don't mention the war, hey? I was quite close to that and it was a pretty disappointing effort. I'm with you on both points. I do like Martin, but there's a big question mark over his kicking. I actually thought his kicking was better when he first came onto the scene, but he seems to have lost confidence - in a thread a few weeks back I mentioned his first and second options were to give-off. There's plenty to like about Martin but his kicking was very poor on occassion and it is something that needs to be rectified if he's going to be a success.

This is a huge asset. I really liked his aggression. It must have been great to see him do well last night. I agree. I thought he needed to work on his pace, and apparently he'd done that pre-season and was set for a big year. It's really disappointing that he's been so injury-plagued so far this year.

Maybe his disposal hasn't been forgotten. Has pace and is willing to take the game on at times, but needs to be better with the ball (and work hard defensively on a consistent basis).

He made a few bad errors that surprised me. I was stuck in a pocket so I didn't get a great feel for how he went overall.

Yeah, prety good crowd. I actually thought the turnout of Melbourne people seemed pretty poor though, but maybe it was just around me.

^ This just in from Demonland's fabio.

44,509. PS. I doubt Jurrah's debut is going to add to the crowd in any significant way. Those who will be most excited that Jurrah is debuting are probably the type of fans that will have been attending the game anyway.

CC mentioned that Brock's been suffering from injuries (although he didn't explicitly say that McLean was carrying an injury, only that he'd been impacted by injuries and had missed the pre-season etc).

Sounds like the money went to a good cause either way, but this report - also from the Herald Sun - suggests McLean bought the U2-signed guitar at a Reach event:

I thought the same thing. Makes me wonder why some people were saying this was the match of the decade It was always going to be more fun to watch Watts in a couple of years time.

What's his season been like? It's not just his Collingwood game... He came from the 2002 draft, has played over 50 games and turns 25 next week - he's at or over the halfway mark of his career (assuming he lasts that long) - he's hardly a baby.

I do agree that a turnaround on-field is likely to be reflected more in crowds than memberships. I'd be staggered (in a good way) if your membership projections for when we start winning are accurate. Hawthorn have had a massive boost but some other clubs with success, like North, haven't had the same increase in memberships. I'm not sure we have a huge dormant supporter base, and I'd guess that if success was going to lead to more supporters it might more likely impact on youngsters, and therefore that wouldn't be reflected in significant membership increases for a while. A couple of quick comments on other clubs - WB and St. Kilda tallies are disappointing, particularly given their on-field fortunes. St. Kilda's never talked about as being 'in the gun' but they were bust a few years back and they've played the 'save our saints' card a couple of times now, haven't they? On a positive note, North's membership tally has held up better than I expected it to.

Dunn and Petterd are both listed as emergencies. Other players could be moved into the midfield if you didn't want those guys there though (ie. Morton, who's spent time in defence lately, Green, who has seems to have spent time forward since returning from injury, perhaps run Grimes through there, etc.).

No way - the game's become so much quicker since last year, when he was a leading contender for our 2008 best and fairest and then got injured! Ahem. I figured I'd save Rhino Richards from adding to his impressive post count

Team balance. Maric isn't being kept out of the team by Wheels. I'm not sure he's vying with Robbo either. Yeah, Jamar out is actually pretty disappointing - I don't expect I've said that too often.

~24 hours after you posted this there were still plenty of seats on level one (gen adm). As of 9AM today there were still some seasts available for AFL members on level one. First, you can rock up on the night, yes. Second, you will very likely get a seat for no charge (level 3) unless they're all taken. With the AFL membership you don't need to give them a cent for a seat on level 3 (providing they're not all taken, of course). Just turn up on the night and show your AFL membership at the ticket box.

It's highly unlikely Green will make it to 300.

I imagine it'd be the same site as everyone else - Ticketek. If there's a discount available choose the relevant option and have your card handy so you can enter the barcode #. Alternatively, you can rock up on the night and get a ticket 'at the door'. The cost'll be free for level 3 (a booking fee will be charged if you reserve seats). I reckon it's mythologised a bit. Some guy mentioned the physical intimidation factor, but I'm not sure the terrible facilities and lack of seating at many grounds has been mentioned. Sure, today's not perfect, but lets not get carried away.

Hi Damian, Welcome to Demonland. I know you want a senior coaching gig, but this is going a bit far - I know you're only an assistant, but in this climate some might say you're lucky to have any job! Anyway, good luck with it all. PS. I can see why you didn't go into journalism!

If he was a class user of the ball he'd be worth a spot on the list.

Like many, I'm pretty surprised.

Every single other player could also be considered. In the scenario you've outlined there's no way Sylvia could not be considered. That doesn't mean he'll be a contender and shortlisting him is another thing. Including him in the leadership group yet another. A better question is whether he 'should'.

You're setting up a scenario whereby a player - in this case Sylvia, but it could be extended to every single player on the list - ticks every box for leadership group criteria and then asking whether that player could be in the leadership group. It's like asking whether Sylvia could be captaincy material if he was the second coming of Barassi. Sure, he - or any other player who has been around while, strung some good games together and has the respect and trust of their teammates - could be considered. As I said: ...because 'could' doesn't mean should. No, you read my post ...I didn't assert that you did.