Yokozuna

What a great clip. Just reminds me of what great times I have had watching the mighty Demons. I just hope it is not too long until I can get exited, inspired and bloody happy to go and watch them. In terms of my favourite moments, it is hard to call. I too was at the game for G. Lyon's snap, as a youngster, I also saw Farmer's goal, which I loved, as I loved watching him at the Demon's. Also noted that Gary was a step ladder for many great grabs.

Lets hope they are right, and our youngsters are the "Superstars of Tomorrow". But really, are Collingwood Superstars? I dont think they have won anything lately and who are there stars "Daisy Thomas"!!!

They probably will be in for a long afternoon, but as long as they have a dip, and take the game on, I cant complain too much. I watched him carefully in a few of our practice matches, and I think he showed he is a capable player. He generally read the ball well, attcked the ball and the player and got plenty of the ball. I think his biggest weakness may be his kicking disposal. However, as I said, as long as he goes in and tries (sad that we have to hope they try!!!) I will be happy.

I think Carlton smased the Lions in the clearances last night. When either Kruizer or Warnock were in there. So I guess he did well in his first job, winning hit outs to his team. However.... he does nothing around the ground. I will wait for my final judgement in a couple of years, as he is still young and raw, and at least he is playing and maybe developing. People saying Gawn will be better have no legs to stand on, he has yet to play and is injured. Warnock is learning in the AFL every week. Nevertheless, I am still happy enough we did not get him, but in 2 years we could all be saying something different. On the other hand, I would love Kruizer in our team. Will be a STAR player.

Has always been a pet hate of mine. Sheedy was the worst. Pick a player, play them half a game and then drop them. Nothing more annoying than seeing a young bloke for a couple of games, and then when they make a couple of errors thay are off the ground and dropped. While the more experienced players get chance after chance, or the players who played more game time in a losing team stay in the team above a player who gets less time. (speaking from personal experience too, very painful!) Melbourne is hell bent on game time into the young players, and I know we cant play them all, but when we do, give them at least 70% game time, and give them 5 games at least. You cant get much from one game, no matter how bad or well they play. Many young players are still scared to take the game on, are not used to the pace, or dont want to take risks. They may feel the pressure to not make mistakes with the fear of being dragged. You need to give them the confidence and the chances, and then hopefully they will stand up and play well. So, to answer the actual post, I would love to have some forwards like Bradshaw in the team, cos we bloody well need them. but we dont have them, so just play the kids and keep playing them. If it does not work, I am guessing the new coach will come in and change the team again anyway.

I know people are frustrated with the result of last week, as I am, but I love seeing some calm and sane responses on here. There is no way we will be close to making the finals this year, and most likely next year. Some people actually thought it was a possibility this year! People who get frustrated with things need to know: * our senior players in general are not good enough, and never have been. They would be fine in a better team, and that is not us at the moment. Green and J Mac lead the way, but that is where it stops. * our middle aged players show some good signs, but have yet to give us any A graders. Davey would be closest, and then Syliva from one season. Players like Bate and Petterd will be very good once the younger players develop and he has better players around him. * our young players show promise, and may give us some elite players we are craving, but that is not guaranteed, we can only hope! If you think somehow we would go from crap to fantastic in one pre season and a few recruits, you are dillusional or not very smart. And if you think a different coach would be making a big difference, you again are dillusional. And if you think recruiting Cousins, Hall and some other players of the like to help us be more competitive would be better, then you are dillusional again. Just put up with another tough season or two and pray that these young draft picks will be as good as hoped. If we are still in the same position in 2012, with no improvement, than I may have to join the choruses of discontent.

And when Bailey goes, who do we bring in? Bring in a new coach and wait 3 years for their plans to start working. I am not saying he is a great coach or a bad one, but we need to give him time with a team which is now trying to develop and hopefully win games. Given that they out and out tried to lose almost every game in the second half of last year, he needs some time to see how he goes this year. I agree he should not be signed for next year yet, but I dont want a replacement coach/interim coach half way through this year.

Much easier fot Travis and Brock to play well when they have better players around them. Im agine Travis still at Melbourne. He would still be annoying us as usual, but when he did use his great skill, he would he be kicking it too in the forward line, not Brown and Fevola. And for Brock, he has several very good midfielders around him, many A graders, and of course he can get the ball out to them. We always new he would show more this year, but I think many average players look much better in a good team!

Silvagni or Bell? Interesting question with a very simple answer. I would have neither of them, but I reckon Bell will finish with more AFL games to his name than Silvagni. Whether that means anything though I am not sure.

"Burn in Hell", you state you with Bailey until this year. Is one round all you give him and the players? What happens if and hopefully when they start to play well, will you be back on him again? If we went on one game of football, Freo would be one of the flag favourites at this moment, and we know that is not true!

Cranky, I know that people like to query whether Bailey can coach or not, and I am one of them. I am still giving him achance, and as I have stated before, I will wait and see what happens over the next 2 years (not just round 1). Just wanting to know what you think a different coach, such as Malthouse or Sheedy, or even a Hardwick, would be doing with our list? People always use the old lines such as Bailey not getting enough out of the players and for not instilling passion or not having the respect of players. All statements which we know nothing about, as we are not in the inner sanctum. Maybe he does all the right things, just the players cant follow through with them. I dont know the answers, but I do love reading how everyone thinks others could be doing better.

He had 33 possessions with 79% effectiveness, only 2 other players in that game got to 30 or more touches and they're effectiveness was 72% and 75%. I'm not sure who your sources are, but they are seriously misinformed.

Excellent Post. Very thoughtful and insightful, it is what many people have been saying on this site, but too many people expect things to change in one season. If you look at most teams (maybe with the exceptions of Collingwood and Sydney) they have all had a rebuilding phase. Some are shorter than others, because they have some elite players to build around. We don't. Once our draft picks of the past few seasons become A graders (hopefuly), then we can expect a turnaround. I just hope that it actually works, and our rebuilding is for a reason, and I can finally go to the footy with that nervous feeling, wondering if we will win! I have not had that feeling for so long I actually forget what it means. If we are still this crap in 3 seasons, then I will jump on the club bashing bandwagon.

As many have previously stated, we cant draft everyone. That is what we pay people for, to make the decisions of who to take, and who not to take. Honestly, I cant understand why people are getting so excited about Barlow and Silvagni, and why we did not pick them up, after 1 game. Silvagni showed a little, but it was not hard to in a team that dominated, and we have better defenders than him anyway. Barlow, well he amassed possessions, and some were good, but his disposal is average at best (probably fits right in with our midfield!!). Either way, if they are both starring every week, for the entire year, I will be very surprised, and therefore quite happy that neither are on our list.

If we were to get a coach to replace Bailey, which I am not advocating, do you think he would really want to stick around and be a Developmemt/Assistant coach?

How about we wait and see if any of these "upgraded" rookies from the other clubs are any good first. You are claiming we missed out on these players this year, but I have yet to see them play well week in, week out. If that happens, then I may agree slightly with you cranky. Also, are the players that are being upgradedgoing to be playing in our team? Are they filling the spots we require? Back on the original topic. I dont really rate Healy, but have not seen much, so hard to judge. I do rate Hughes, and have watched him closely for a whle, as I have known him since he was young (so I am a bit biased). He shows a lot, but will struggle to replace the players in his position, but I would like to see him given a few games this year.

I too ventured to the game. As per usual, it is always interesting to read what other people think, and how they viewed the game. I dont want to say anything negative about other peoples opinions, but I am surprised by some of them. So here are my thoughts on the players. Bate: Played a very impressive second half. Outmarked his opponent on a few times, and showed the difference between VFL players and AFL players. He kicked at least 3, should have kicked more as he missed a couple he would normally put through. He is lacking in atch fitness, but I think he i guaranteed a spot in Round 1. Put simply, we need him, as he is better than all the other forwards. He is a very solid build, and at times looks ungainly and slow, but he is extremely important to us, and he will be a dominant player for us when everyone is up and firing in a couple of years. Newton: I was impressed with him tonight. Kicked a few, handed off a few with good pick ups and good hands. He battled hard and showed some good tackling and desperation. He also showed some good body language when he dropped a speccie, tackled an opponent, but was called for too high. He punched the ground in anger and was pretty annoyed. Just thought he showed a bit, that being said though, he should, as he is a very good VFL player. Garland: He played down back, and showed he still has the ability to close down opponents and get his fist to the ball when most players would not. I was more impressed with his run and carry, as he got 2/3 possessions in one run of play on a few occassions. He set up wellfrom defense, and I would not be surprised if he got a game in the first round or two. Spencer: Others did not think much, but I think he was very good. He dominated the ruck. He may have slipped up once, as stated by another poster, but other than that he and our midfielders dominated. He needs to improve his skills, but he has one hell of a dip. He is faster to dive on the ground than most midfielders and he got more touches today than usual. Hughes: Thought he was great. Played up forward and on a wing, where he provided plenty of leads, marks and runs. If he can stay fit, I think he may well get a go some time this year, especially if we have more injuries. Gysberts: He has great hands. He gave out 5/6 grat quick handpasses to get other players free. He also took them on a few times, got caught once or twice, but showed dash. He looks like he will be very good with more experience. Watts: Only played half, and probably spent more time on the bench than the ground. He kicked a lovely goal (courtsey of my hand pass! when i returned the ball to him from on the full) He had a couple of really quick handballs to get out of trouble. Could not show much, but I am not worried. Give him time and he will be all we expect. (and he was not injured, had a chat to him, and he said it was all planned) Fitzpatrick: Played forward, back and ruck. He took one nice pack mark. He got quite a few touches, but his kicking still needs plenty of work. He is an athlete, and should be given time to develop, but he does show promise. McNamara: Did not notice him much. He took a few good marks, and then dropped some he should have marked. He too only played a half and is working his way back. Healy: Did not see much of him. Played in defense most of the game but he did one nice piece of play. Ran hard with the flight, got smashed but got up to lay a tackle and then pick the ball up and dodge a player. Not sure of him, need to see more. Casey look like they will be around the mark again. They have some good players on their list. 2 players I have not seen with them before were #6 (nicholls I think) and #19(not sure of his name) were very impressive. Both smaller players, but they dominated. I think it should be another good year for Casey, as long as Melbourne players stay fit and we can provide them with some players.

I too would like dinner with the ladies, but I think the wife would not be too happy!!! Guess I have to make do with a dinner with some future Demon guns.

Just thought I would let everyone know that my brother is sponsoring none other than Jack Trengove. I know how excited you all are about him. My brother met him at the player sponsor function the other night, and said he was a great young man. Very polite, friendly and humble. Jack was said to be very happy and excited about Melbourne, and is very positive in his belief of the future for the club. My brother was introduced to Luke Tapscott by Jack, and said he was very similar to Jack, just disappointed about his injury. They were both so happy with my brother that they have been happy to exchange numbers and are going to stay in touch and maybe go over to his place for dinner. (just thought I would get some of you guys jealous re: the number swap/dinner offer!) PS. I am just hoping I can get a gig to one of the functions my brother is going to! Have to get ahead of his GF!

I will just be happy when Col plays for the club again, in any position. That being said, I find it funny how so many people want him played forward. I know we need some forwards, but we cant just chuck people there because we think they may be good there. (see Stef Martin, who is a much better defneder than forward, but is being continually pushed forward) Col has shown he is a very good defender, both on talls and smalls, and there will always be a spot for him down back. Realistically I could see him taking over Frawley's place, as Frawley gets bigger/stronger/more experienced and takes over from Warnock (who is just a good/ honest footballer)

It is always easy in hindsight, now that we have some injuries. We need to give others opportunities, and Robbo would have helped us, but will not be required when we are back at the top. Hopefully the years we get into Bate, Watts and all the other younger KP players will help us in a couple of years. On a side note, I was talking to someone at the Melbourne v Essendon game, who is close friends with Jack. He said that he expected to play by early in the year, and was hoping to play over 10 games for the year. He was also finding it amusing all the comparisons between him and Nic Natunui, despite the fact he has hardly played.

I'm on record as saying that we'll start the season 0-7 (with a breakthrough win V's WCE in rd 8) and finish up 3-19 for the season. Richmond will end up with 4 or 5 wins. Do you think we are seriously going to have a worse season than last year? I know we are all entitled to our opinion, and I must say I disagree with you this time, but I hope you are wrong. I will be extremely annoyed/disappointed/frustrated etc. etc. if we dont improve on our performances and win total from last year. I would be hoping we win 6-8 games for the year.

Not only did it look like they had 5 extra players around the contest, it was also about what happened when the first player received the ball. If we got it, it was a quick boot forward, hoping to go near a target. When they got it, they had 2/3 options to handpass it to. It really looked like junior players playing against grown men at times, not only the bodies, but the mindset and skill.

I think that we all expect more from him simplly because of where he was drafted, and rightly so. He showed us what he is capable of in several games last year. I can recall Bruce McAvaney saying that Davey will wini our B+F, but Sylvia's best footy was by far the best by any Melbourne player last year. (during R22 game, where ha and Jurrah dominated the Saints in the 1st half). I am not sure if it is me, but I think he played his best footy against the godd teams, not racking up easy possessions late in the game when the game is one. He WILL be a match winner for us and WILL be one of our 5 best players for the next 5 years!.................. I hope. Just hope he can cope with a tagger cos he will be watched more carefully this year.

As many people have stated, there is no rule to say you have to shake hands, it is up to the individual. Does that make him any worse a person? I dont think so. Some people get "white line fever" when they enter the field, and the most mind mannered man becomes a ruthless/angry player. He was focussed on the gme and did not want to do it, so thats his choice. And like any other TV/Radio coverage they decided to harp on it because the standard of the game was so bad!!! There was nothing else to talk about so they chose that. In regards to his game, it was only one game. Why people choose to write off or write up people after 1 game is beyond me. Give the player 10 games and then you have some idea, give him a couple of seasons and then you can really justify your criticism.