P-man

I don't think I've ever agreed with a single thing you've said. No, not agreed. Complete disagreement in fact.

In this instance, I tend to agree.

The longer he goes on without playing with his teammates, the longer the delay in him building up any meaningful association with the club and the greater the likelihood of him heading west once his contract finishes. Might sound alarmist but it's an uncomfortable truth as I see it. Him not playing this season would be a disaster in terms of trying to keep him here. Not to mention in terms of the season itself.

Or not.

If Hogan is out for the year I won't be held accountable for my actions.

I'm in Watts' corner but at the moment he's about as far away from Goodes as it gets. He needs to step up this week and I have a feeling that he will.

An illustrious career in crowd control awaits.

I suggested witchy, given we've already had a wizard. Didn't take flight.

Any word on what his nickname is yet? A name like Christian Salem deserves an awesome nickname. ...and it'll probably end up being "Sales".

He will at least give our mids more opportunity to get their hands on the pill. Spencil has been good with the tackling and one percenters but Jamar is an upgrade in what is the fundamental role of a ruckman. Him and Salem are pretty exciting ins for mine.

Great post and nice to hear where his heart lies.

I take it that O'Keefe is pretty enough for you then..

He's 33. His time is up. Will bow out with a career of which he can be extremely proud.

Understatement.

If we continue on the current trajectory, the wins will come. It was never going to be turned around in one season. I do agree that without a win in the next four (Syd, Crows, Dogs and Tiges), there is a real risk of players retreating into their shells again. Grabbing at least one win out of those four games is important, if only to maintain the belief.

At this stage it's just a pass. The lack of forward options in the first few games really hurt and almost certainly cost us a win against the Saints. If we had grabbed a win out of Saints or Suns I'd bump it up to a credit. The fact is we didn't. But the improvement on last season is there for anyone with their eyes open to see.

I've seen the arguments against which are valid, but personally I'd have no qualms seeing him run out this weekend. Let's keep in mind that it wasn't just a good performance, it was a clear BOG. He has qualities that we need. Badly. I also see little point in waiting for lesser opposition. I'll back Roos' judgement.

All three are worthy additions. Cross has actually exceeded my expectations. What a champ. We need him out there until his body says no more.

Might be harsh but I make no apologies for what I've said. I have a tipping point with WYL's constant negativity and he went past it in this thread.

I couldn't give a rat's clacker if you've been around since the pre-war era mate. Your attitude stinks and I'm sick of it, if that wasn't obvious. YOU are what's wrong with the club. Naysayers who sit in their lounge chairs and can't be stuffed even watching a game, let alone attending one, but are more than willing to jump to your keyboard and slam everyone who is putting an ounce of effort in. There is a place for criticism, but what do you contribute that's positive? Nothing. Zip. Even now when we finally have a CEO and senior coach to place genuine faith into, all you ever do is [censored] and moan, bag all the players, and generally bring the mood down whilst seemingly demanding instant change and success. Meanwhile your visions of doom have become a thing of parody. And for the last time, your appraisal of GC is painfully outdated, but you wouldn't know that because you don't watch any footy. Go to the mirror and stop acting like such a damn fool.

I love how you say the 2nd quarter was sub standard as if that is some breakthrough statement. No [censored] it was sub standard. Yet again, you miss the point. Roos' private discussions will differ from what he says in public? Wow. Thanks for that insight Mr TV Industry. It won't matter who we bring in to you. Apparently Cross and his performances aren't a positive. Tyson isn't a positive. There are no positives. It will just be a fresh bunch of recruits for you to rant on and on about being overpaid and responsible for the club being at death's door. Again. You're a joke, WYL. The worst kind of supporter. Attend a game once in a while. Hell, watch one. Then get back to me.

Grimes was the biggest disappointment for me over the weekend, coming off the back of the week before. In particular, to not lay a single tackle as captain of the club is inexcusable. His ball use has improved, but I can't help feel we will need better players than him in order to take a significant step forward. How much improvement does he have left in him at this stage?

A few reasons: 1) You can not play well and still be competitive. In the past when the team hasn't played well, they've been blown away regardless of the opposition. We were actually the better team in the second half. How often has a Melbourne side IMPROVED as the game wore on? I can think of a couple of games in all of Neeld's tenure where that was the case. Generally we just progressively got worse. 2) It is not one game in isolation. The week before it was 90% of the team who got a pass mark or better. I am looking at improvements over the 5 rounds. I agree with Steve to the extent that the list needs another turn over, but there are some who just had an off day. T Mac being a prime example. 3) The margin simply can't be dismissed. Even perpetual moaners like WYL say that the score is what matters. 8 points against a side that, like it or not, is seen as a finals contender, is an improvement. If 5 or 6 players lift another gear, we win that game. Inconsistencies come when you're a crap side. We are still a crap side. But we are now an improving side, which was not the case this time last year.

I don't buy into shoulda wouldas. The final margin was 8 points. Both sides were wayward with their chances . It wasn't an acceptable performance, and I was filthy for the large part, but the fact that 90% of the team didn't play well yet probably should've won it is inarguably progress. Last year the bundle would have been well and truly dropped in the second half and it would have been a 10+ goal defeat. WYL is doing his usual routine of sky is falling, hope is lost, nothing is gained. Side with that if you like, by all means. The bloke doesn't even watch the damn games, yet comes on here to spread his doom and gloom afterward. It's pathetic and turning a blind eye to the progress being made, which thankfully most supporters can acknowledge. I also didn't say GC were any good on the day, I said that calling them "Ablett and a bunch of kids" is idiotic and exhibits extreme naivety about the quality of their team.

My future expectations or my immediate expectations? There is a big difference. I'm not happy with many parts of the performance, particularly in contrast to the week before, but that dpesn't mean I am oblivious to the improvements that are being made. The little wins, as Roos calls them. You are bitter and broken, and it increasingly appears that no-one can help you there.