Rogue

Tbh, I'm a little disappointed by that. Good to know, though - I wondered why it hadn't arrived.

Have a think about who Lyon is writing for when he pens articles for the Herald Sun - Demonlanders aren't the target audience.

Yeah. That said, I had a quick look at some of the other 'blogs', and they didn't offer too much either. For starters, the formatting etc. could do with some work - the 'wall of text' makes it difficult to approach, and I found the somewhat random capitalisation of letters/words a little off-putting. Good luck with it. PS. How'd you get the gig, and are you paid/reimbursed?

Considering they're rookies, you'd think that even if we had a LTI, these two should be way down the pecking order when it comes to a spot in the 22. That said, I voted for Valenti. I watched the Geelong and North pre-season matches, and Aussie didn't make the same impression he must have done on others. Valenti looked alright versus Geelong.

Nice call.

Having such a mysterious subject title and first post doesn't help.

...and he also has the skills to go the other way, having spent most of his 100-odd games as a defender.

A man after my own heart.

I didn't see this Sandringham game. That said, I would have thought Wheatley's foot skills were decent, and particularly over long distances. I've always felt he's lacked that 'hard edge' as a defender, and that's where room for improvement was needed (if he was to be played as a defender, ofc - I'd like to see him played more up the ground). Certainly good news.

"We currently have 19,712 members, which puts us ahead of our membership tally at the same time last year."* At the same time last year, we were coming off an appearance in the second round of finals, with many touting us as one of the best Victorian chances in the coming season. *source - MFC member e-newsletter

Is there some sort of monthly payment system available for MFC membership? There is for AFL Membership. You'll end up forking out more $ in ticket prices than you would buying a membership, but I understand it can be tough to pay it all in a lump sum. If there isn't some method of paying the membership off over the season, perhaps bring that up with the Club - I know your situation isn't unique.

It's when he did his best work Note that I have little idea about Nick Smith's footy talents, and absolutely no idea about Nick Smith's extra-curricular activities.

Well said. For the second time today, I agree.

How does that prove that going out and staying up until all hours getting smashed is okay? Well said. I agree entirely.

I agree - won't be far off.

I was at the game yesterday, but didn't see the first quarter. It also seemed I was on the wrong side of the ground, as the majority of the play seemed to be on the 'grandstand' side of the ground. Anyhow, some brief thoughts - It's interesting to see that many have pointed out poor decision-making and chipping it around etc as a major problem. While I don't necessarily disagree, I think it's more a symptom than a cause. So often we'd break down when moving the ball attacking side of the wing, because there were limited / no options. I also went to the Geelong game down at SS a couple of weeks ago, and thought we had the same problem. I thought the forward line struggled, with Neitz and Newton pretty static - it's no good just standing there, or putting your hand above your head. I know Miller has his flaws as an AFL footballer, but I have to admit that sometimes I was hoping to see his long leads up the ground to present for the ball carrier.Sylvia seemed to play forward a fair bit, and did some alright things. Yze and Green both butchered the ball by foot on multiple occassions. I thought Carroll did alright though. Despite the scoreline indicating our backs got walloped. I'm not sure who he was playing on, but he took a few decent marks / made some spoils, and was also prepared to run offensively and offer an option up the ground too. Buckley found the ball a fair bit, but the 'one-sided' comments are right. I also thought he decided to let the opposition make the play when he could probably have put in a contest, instead of conceding the loose ball and trying to corral the Roos player. Jones also got the ball a bit, and looked to have more poise than most when he did so. PJ looked alright at times too, with some decent skills.

We're already playing two rucks. I guess, considering the extended interchange bench, we could have played three, but if I were them I wouldn't be looking for a new job just yet. I don't think Warnock - nor many fans - would be surprised that he's on the fringe. As for Holland, we know what he can do, and I imagine Bailey has a fair idea too.

Haha.

What were those ideas? If it's covering old ground, feel free to just link me to the relevant thread(s)

Haha, that's great. Shame about the quality of the Dees stuff, though!

Smooth. As for the ute query, they're not exactly marketed as simply a tradesmans car these days. Oh, and I don't imagine too many AFL footballers drive the Toyota HiLux. The driver buys [or chooses/accepts, in the case of sponsors/gifts] the car. The car doesn't buy the driver. What I mean is thatBrock's attitude/mindset etc had led to him driving the ute, he didn't somehow get a ute and then have it influence his attitudes etc There are plenty of roads in Vic which have a 100 km/hr speed limit. Would you say that they are all as safe as each other? Are they less safe than roads in other statees that have a 110 km/hr speed limit? X speed on Y road is simply an arbitrary figure. I tend to agree with Hannabal's logic, if not his argument. Anyhow.

Strange - today I received two mail items from the MFC. One was a letter imploring me to sign up as a member. I understand there can be a lag, fair enough - I renewed ~3 weeks ago. However, on the same day, the second mail item from the MFC I received includeda pack with two items - a pen and lanyard(?), so they're obviously aware I'm a member. Alas, I didn't receive any form of letter thanking me for joining, and nor did I receive a membership card - from the posts above, the card/acknowledgement letter came with the pack for most of you? That's terrible. Have you contacted the Club, and what did they say? I imagine they'd do something for you...

Next weekend we're playing at 'Casey Fields' ~ Cranbourne. I assume that's the Kangaroos game next weekend :D

Good to hear Bartram's close to a return, after some of the doom and gloom threads of late. There's a bit of a 'I'll believe it when I see it', though, given the quality of injury-related info we get. Disappointing to hear about Whelan - I enjoy watching him play for us. What sort of injury?

Melbourne gets to see ~16 weeks during the season, and Geelong/Bendigo aren't that far if you're keen. Plenty of people travel for an hour or more to see H&A games. I for one think it's good to see teams go to regional areas in the Nab Challenge, although I live in the Melb metro area. I was at the Melb v Geelong game, and there were two guys there watching the game very closely and taking notes / recording some thoughts on the game. Maybe they were just really keen though Regardless, the games are open to the public. Hardly secret