Rogue

I did indeed take 'genuine' to mean that it is genuinely made up of North supporters, since that's how deanox defined the use of the word 'genuine' in his post

What makes you say that? deanox has defined 'genuine' as 'proper Nth Melb supporters', and anecdotal evidence I've seen suggests that he's right - it seems a significant number of people who don't follow North have been forking out for memberships. I think that Nth has a higher rate of non-Nth fans as members than you'd see at other Clubs.

In some respects I agree with you, but on balance, I don't think postponing matches is a better option that using D/L. As a contest, it's less than ideal to postpone - for one, the conditions can change markedly from day to day, and they have such a big impact (ie. bowling on an overcast day with soggy outfield, and then batting on a sunny day with quick outfield). I also think it'd be unsatisfying for fans, who are keen to see a result. However, the major issue is logistical - travel itineraries, broadcasting, ground hire, staffing, etc. A bit vague comment. Care to share? I hope Katich gets a run in the Test matches. If he does, he'll need to capitalise. Likewise, Hodge who I think will be finished at that level unless he performs extraordinarily well (in which case he may forestall the end). The bowling will be the more interesting - and potentially painful - aspect, though. I think it'll be a good test for Mitchell Johnson, in particular (ignoring the spinner, likely to be Cullen).

I wouldn't write off Grimes' chances just yet. I'd agree with that, but not so much your previous comments There are certainly some exciting prospects, but lets not count the chickens already.

McDonald and Morton are the most likely ins from where I'm sitting. What's McDonald's injury like? As for outs, Bode seems to be treading water a little bit. There's a fair bit of water under the bridge before the WB game though - there's a Sandy game next week, for starters. I think we won in the week before the bye last season, too. Could be wrong though - just my recollection.

I rate Wheatley, and feel you're right when you say he's probably one of the more under-rated guys at MFC. However, there are some valid criticisms: As has been mentioned above, I don't think he'd ever be described as hard or tough, in AFL terms. This is the main reason I like to see him playing up the ground a bit. The other major criticism is that for a guy who can use the ball well by foot at times, and kick long, he fails to hit a target too often. However, I think he's in our best 22, and he's been playing reasonably well for the entire season.

What do you find odd? Given the number of wickets Aus had remaining, if Aus had known it was a 40-over game they could have played more aggressively, thus making a bigger score than 175 (41 overs at 4.28). D/L is generally okay, although the lower the overs get, the more oddities it can throw up.

Fwiw, the rest of our Sunday games in Vic are at 2:10.

Just needs the David Attenborough voiceover

It's not just the AFL - plenty of fans on here and Demonology take a crack at the 'fickle' Demons supporters. We may have less supporters, but I don't see how Demons supporters are any more fickle than those of many other sides.

Haha

Bad luck! Thanks for the report, though.

No, it wouldn't. He hasn't shown signs that he'll be an elite mid, nor that he'll be able to be a KP forward, despite 'playing tall'. His trade value might be quite high come the end of the year. Virtually everyone's trade-able.

...so did the Club. The 'Demon' was still used in some merchandise etc.

Miller was very good for us today. I think he's sold short when people are rating him outside our top 6 vs Brisbane. It's great to see him playing with the confidence to kick the ball. The latter I thought the vibe in the crowd was really good - the poor umpiring seemed to fire the Dees fans up. To be fair, it's pretty frustrating when you can't see the game because people are standing up in front when the match is on (particularly if you have kids with you, or are pretty short).

Yeah, a Melbourne couple in front of me left at that point, around the 30-min mark. I thought we were gone too - the quarter went much longer than I - and them, no doubt! - expected.

Not too sure about the latter - was on the deck more than many. I agree with you regarding his disposal today, though. Bode was the invisible man today, to me at least. Martin looked pretty mobile, which was good.

I think the Club should keep pushing to get people new to Melbourne (the area) involved, as footy is a great 'in' when it comes to the culture of this place. It gives you a talking point etc. It may also get more people interested in attending.

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Correct

Same. Regardless, I thought he was good, and has been since coming into the side. I agree - it was something he said himself in the post-match interview on one of the radio stations when they commented on his high # of disposals.

The umpiring was terrible. Second quarter we got murdered by the men in yellow.

Absolutely.

I agree. Not taking anything away from his game today, but he's still got a fair way to go.

I thought Buckley's game today was much better than his early season games. Most of the guys contributed, which was good.