big tuna

"I am the most unluckiest person on earth. In fact, my negativity at this predicament reflects in all my posts tonight" Actually, earlier tonight I was reading one of your posts Pringle & thinking to myself "what a misery guts this bloke is". Now I understand... and would probably react the same way or maybe tease a small child. Chin up pal... round 6 is against North and we are in with a show.

Yes alot of J's... I like the look of that side on paper... if in fact they do line up in those exact positions. A few surprises thrown in with Junior starting at half forward, Grimes at half back, Miller Green Trengove forward line & the inclusion of Strauss Spencer Dunn & McKenzie. I guess Junior is up there to create forward pressure & not for his goal kicking prowess. Grimes spent most of his game time in the backline last year so not a total shock, however, most figured he would play more in the midfield this year(still may). I like Green close to goal to take advantage of his accurate kick. I like Miller close to goal because he is a good size and can take a grab. Also I think that it simplifies the game for him. He doesn't have a natural footballers instincts and is always slow or unsure of himself when he takes posession further up the ground. At least at full forward he should get his touches inside 50m(preferably within 30m) and just go back for a set shot and not worry about being out of range or playing on. Trengove will provide some added forward pressure and from all reports is a good mark for his size and can slot the occasional goal so thats another tick. Dunn may be used as a tagger as in the past and hopefully use his big frame to soften up a few of their mids and create space for ours. Does this mean Spencer & McKenzie have been elevated onto the senior list? Haven't seen much of McKenzie or Strauss so will reserve judgement & if Spencer can win his share of the ruck and manage to land the ball on his boot this year I will be quite content. Hope they all get amongst it and provide the 1st boil-over of the year.

Does whiskey count as beer?

I have already jinxed Jurrah (betting a mate that he would kick more goals than Gumbleton in 2010) and Sylvia (backing him for the Brownlow at $501) before the season starts. Therefore, for the sake of Scully and fellow Dees supporters I will predict that this kid is over-rated, slow and a bad kick and will break down during the season. Now that is paranoia... hurts just to type this about the young bloke.

Can't argue with Dandeemans first 5 "high ceiling" players... but I am still not sold on Bennell just yet. He has pace and footskills but I must have missed the games where he really stood out and showed big potential. Yes he may prove valuable by releasing Davey up the ground but the inclusion of Joel MacDonald should allow this to happen anyway. Joel doesn't have the speed of Bennell but I would imagine he will act as the quarterback setting up play across the backline. Agree that Garland & Wonna will make a massive difference if they can stay on the park and will be like 2 new recruits after missing last year. While Brad Green has already shown us his best over the years I think he will put it all together this season (the way Davey did last year) and consistantly play top class footy... finally getting the recognition he deserves from the media and footy public.

If Frawley is to become an elite defender (Scarlett is the level he should be aiming for... better to set the bar too high) one area he needs to improve is his kicking. Frawley has some very good attributes like being able to close down his opponent and win the ball in tight situations then clear with run and handballing. But he has an awkward kicking style so is probably never going to be great by foot (like a Davey or Gilbee) but I will be happy enough if he gets to the stage where he makes the right decision and hits the target under pressure every time. Scarlett doesn't have a fluent kick or even a long kick but has developed it over his career to the point that I am genuinely surprised if he makes a mistake or turns it over. Rivers has shown at times that he can shut down the oppositions 2nd or 3rd tall and at others that he can help out his team mates on the last line. What I want to see from him is that he can consistantly keep his man quiet for 4 quarters and still be the 3rd man up to provide help for Warnock & Frawley with the bigger forwards like Brown, Fevola, Hall etc. Now that he is back to full fitness and a full season under his belt there is no reason he can't return to his Rising Star form.

Maybe the FD felt that giving the SA boys 3 years provides them more security and allows them to settle in and be happy with their new life before the next contract negotiations. Not too many top 20 draft picks are discarded after only 2 years & you would think that given the poor draft choices we will get in the coming seasons these 2 recruits will only have to show glimpses of their talent in the seniors to justify persevering with. I think the Bell and Newton experiment has tainted peoples thinking about longer deals for the unproven... probably fair enough.

How long are draftees usually contracted for? It makes sense to sign up the SA boys to longer contracts so they can fully commit to a new life in Melbourne and are happy to stay when their next contract comes around. You would think that if Scully or Gysberts show even glimpses of their talent in the seniors this year they will also be signed for 3 years.

Spent about 20 mins jotting down some names before taking the quiz and got 83. Missed out on a few fringe current players and must have permanently wiped my memory of Grgic.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsart...47/default.aspx Good to hear he is finally back running and kicking after such a long time out. Sounds like he could not have broken a worse bone in his body given his recovery time. MFC will probably nurse him along this year so I don't expect him to play too many games in 2010. I hope his dirkhead mate that slung him down realises how far he set Sam back in footy & schoolwork in what was a crucial time in his life. At some stage in the future AFL clubs will take full control of kids once they are drafted and give them private tutors or minders to protect their investment from stupid accidents like this.

I would be surprised/disappointed if Green only kicked 20 the same as Miller. If Miller is in our best 22 then I would expect him to play further up the ground limiting his shots on goal and his range is not great at the best of times. Green is expected to rotate through the forward line so given his level of accuracy he should really kick over 30 goals. I don't expect Scully & Trengove to kick 30 goals between them but it is centainly not beyond them if they play 15+ games each. Being 1st year players they may be more inclined to hit targets up forward & do the team thing rather than blaze away at goal, which might limit their goal output. Would loved to be proved wrong on this and for them to have the confidence and skill to finish. Tappscott is probably the best chance of all the recruits to kick us a bag of goals. Looks to have pretty good goal sense and a thumping kick.

Beaker is absolute gold... "you got a team of monkeys working around the clock on this?" The only scenario where I could see Miller being required to go into the ruck is if Jamar (or PJ if Jamar not available) was selected as the sole ruckman got injured and Martin was either also injured or too vital in the backline or forward line to be moved. This scenario could occur but it is unlikely that Martin would be kicking a bag up front or required in the backline as our 3rd/4th best tall to shut somebody down. However, he is a much better option than risking LJ or Watts who have height & agility but would get crushed in the contest and no doubt injured themselves.

Have thought the same thing about Jones the last couple of years and have been burnt badly by picking him in my supercoach team. With some added pace and skill around him this year hopefully he will become a very damaging player. Wonaeamirri should make a big impact in the forward line this year. From all reports last preseason he was super fit and set for a big year until struck down by injury. This year, if injury free, I would expect him to be rusty early on but then come home strong in the 2nd half of the season. He will probably make it hard for a guy like Jetta to get a regular game if he is firing because he has better leg speed and goal sense. This is all assuming that he hasn't lost too much of his acceleration due to his injuries. On a side note... I just hope what happened to Wona doesn't happen to LJ this year (touch wood/fingers crossed etc.). After a great debut season Wona trained his guts out and ended up breaking down before the season. While I know that LJ needs to build his endurance and improve his strength to play as a KPF I just hope they don't try and fix something which ain't broke.

There are 6 games that the MFC should have pencilled in for a win next season. These are Port (Darwin), WC, Swans, North & Tiges (twice) all at home. There are another 7 games that are possible wins. Port & Freo (away) & Ess, Carl, Bris, Adel (all at the MCG) & North (Etihad) are winable games. I consider these games 50/50 because the opposition are closer to us in talent/experience. Bris & Adel are the exception but I have taken home ground advantage into consideration. These 7 games will decide whether we have an outstanding year and sneak into the finals or just make a slight improvement over the past 3 seasons. I believe we can win 2 of these 50/50 games and finish with 8 wins. Therefore, 8 wins would be a realistic goal for 2010. I will be stunned by any result over 10 wins or under 6. I don't think the list is quite in the same position as it was in 1998 so am not anticipating a massive rise up the ladder and smashing teams in the finals. Back then we had a more mature core group of players and the Ox was almost like a new recruit after recovering from injury. The current list probably has more raw talent and will be more successful but will take 3 to 4 years to be fully realised.