satyricon

This is what makes this board so good for discussion, we all see things differently Frawley was outstanding in a defence under siege, Warnock similar, he kept Roughead to 3 or 4 I think, the way the ball was coming in he could have had 10. Jones - yes I cannot fault his endeavour, but agree with another poster he is not Ablett, his turnovers cost us dearly, he was back to a couple of years ago, trying too hard......

NicNat is the favourite at the moment, as Rich was last season, the difference, Rich was surrounded by old heads who led the way for him and nearly played the whole season. Cox is a bit fragile at the moment and if he goes down, and NicNat does it alone, he will be physically battered, I don't see him figuring although he might get a momination, he is just good marketing..he didn't set the game alight in the last praccy match did he?

Sorry hadn't looked at the site since he started, didn't realise he had no life and could look at it every few seconds, another alternative which I think a lot of boards should try to send out a lesson, is report it to Polica, there are offences about using a carriage service, not sure whether it is covered though, but worth a try.

It is quite easy to deal with the problem, either ignore the post, so it sits there with 0 replies, end of problem, or take the [censored] and then ignore, they soon get sick of being ignored, they may be sociopathic but they need the attention also

Cranky, the reason some posters salivate is that they have seen the player as a junior, agreed that this does not necessarily equate to a good senior footy career, and that then leads to the poster being disappointed in not seeing the perceived potential realised. As for Strauss, watched a lot of him as a junior, yes please if he can bring at least half of that to senior level. Le't have a bit of optimism as well for the season, it is good for us, Rising Star nomination chances for us, Scully Trengove, Watts, Strauss, Blease (if he can get up and running), Gysberts (who will force his way into the team)

I think the one thing we all seem to be forgetting, we have 9 on the injury list (if it is to be believed, which makes 31 with the 22 that are picked this week, that means 15 will be mssing out, that is 3/4 of a team, if you don't play well this week, despite what Bailey says about getting games into players, there is somebody waiting to take you spot, I still think we have a reasonable chance of beating Hawthorn, I hope we do, but will not be shattered if we lose as long as I said in previous post we have a crack. I won't leave the game early, but I don't want to see us 6 or 7 goals down at the end of the 1st.

I just thought I would put my two bob's worth in. I left posting to this site last year, because of the way it was going, it seemed to me personally, that the site was being hijacked by a small group of posters, who would not let anybody have an opinion different to theirs without abusing them. I kept reading and found that this was being controlled and that the behavious only happens very rarely. It is quite easy to hide behind an anonymous username and abuse others, some do it for gratification, others to mask their own inadequacies, and I read what others have said, I just don't read the post it is abusive (of course I have to read the first bit to see it is going that way) or react to it, unless I can do it humourously. Unfortunately Denonlogy is suffering from no new input from new members, so it has been hijacked by a small group of people, this board at the moment absolutely kills it for 'real' discussion on all things Melbournefc and footy. As an old fart though, just a note, age does not necessarily mean conservatism, as you grow older it's just your [censored] detector works a lot better.

I fully believe we will 22 guys going out on Saturday to win, they have had a gutful of being the laughing stock, and everybody saying the only part of the club that is not going forward is them, we may not win, we may fall down in the skills area, but I will go home happy if I see everybody having a crack and being completely spent by the end of the game. We only need to get a good start and the confidence will grow, the longer we stay with Hawthorn the better it will get.

If Melbourne manage to record a win with Miller kicking a bag - number of times he will still be called useless in posts during the following weeks - Too numerous to count How many times Miller wishes Newton was in the 22 - Too numerous to count How many supporters views of the game are clouded by alcohol - Judging by some of the posts, too numerous to count

We need to now what the opposition is doing, what if they haven't got a second tall forward and they pick a small speedster, has been seen training in all the drills....do we drop Warnock or take a risk.......as for the game.....Bailey needs every bit of information he can get........I am sure because for the last couple of years we have been so predictable...he would like to throw a curve ball at Hawthorn from the opening bounce.....and I am sure Hawthorn would love to know what it is........every club does it.......

I am 100% sure C&B is right

It was actually Bell who did a lot of the tagging in nthe Bombers match, Bartram did not much at all, have been a fan of his, but doesn't seem to have improved and the game may be passing him by. I mentioned Bail as the bench player, he seems to be developing and this is what Bailey is looking for. He is also a utility, is quite strong bodied, wou;dn't surprise me if he got a bit of tagging job if it is required

I think Bail will be in place of Bartram, and Jim Stynes in his phone message made only mention of 2 debutants, but that could just be smoke and mirrors, so Strauss is ok

Apart from the scarf being traditional, it is also the most practical, ie can be worn by everyone, the problem with a cap or hat iw what style do you make it, personally I don't wear the peaked caps, beanie yes, a lot of the female members would not wear a peaked cap either I am sure, so would we have to make a few designs, which would cost money we don't have at the moment.........I think there are enough caps/hats on sale at the Megastore which are reasonably priced with the members discount for those who want to wear them, during the cold days my partner wears a bright red beanie with devils horns on it we found in a Heavy Metal shop in Canberra, it is the only headgear she will wear.

I was speaking to Marketing guy at the club, he basically said that the scarf is traditional and the 'traditionalists' withinn the Club's membership don't want a change......so I assume from that they have investigated

...it's actually in contention whether I did stray off topic, as I had raised a contentious issue in the first place, so contentiously I thought I would deviate slightly, before uncontentiously bringing the thread back on topic.

The new stickers 'should be' with the Season Preview which is due in the next couple of days, the stickers were replaced at no cost to the Club, company who manufactured had to cover (From Membership meeting I attended)

Somebody was asking the question on Ology, but can't get on there to post, Scarves will be available for pickup from Gates 1, 3 and 5 at the G on the day, alongside the Membership tent, if you come to 5 it will probably be me handing over the new hooped beauty, had mine since Visy Practice Game

Looking at the four clubs you have named, even a player who is destined for a season in their VFL feeder club would still not be enthralled about joining us in our present position, in two or three years time the only danger we will have is other clubs trying to poach our talent, this is what we need to put all our efforts into, retaining them. I can't see the need to even look at, the couple of players we have picked up through trades, Meesen - if he was fit and not cursed I reckon he would be flying and Joel Mc were both needs, we have the rest covered, what we need to buy is time

I have only just returned to posting on this board, after leaving because a lot of the posts actually got away from the actual topic and arguements and name calling started. I thought I would start a contentious topic to see if a discussion could be held were all points of view were aired and a healthy robust discourse took place, minus the insults, name calling etc... it lasted two days. If you chat to the players, you will find they are actively discouraged from reading any of the boards, as they are told that a lot of it is only destructive.

I am at a bit of a loss as to why people are so down on Josh Mahoney, we have not exactly had a settled forward line in the last two years, That said, apart from the players natural talent, we have seen improvement in Bate, for his consistency, positioning etc, Petterd, who kicked 8 goals in two practice games, Aussie who set the game alight when he arrived, even Stef Martin who is showing glimpses, Maric showing soemthing, they are all being coached by Josh.......coaching is not all about game day, it is developing the players also. Nice consistent delivery into the forward fifty would also be good, with everybody from Dean Bailey down acknowledging we don't do it often enough, with a better midfield set up and supposedly better kicks in the side let't see how we go this season, before the public hanging

Exactly what I was trying to say, let's give them both a go, on another point it was Barry Prendergast who had Lewis Jetta sitting in front of him whiles he was waiting to interivew Neville before drafting, it was Neville's mum who was pumping up Lewis's tyres to Barry. But because he was sight unseen and hadn't really got any form on the boards, Barry had to bypass, lo and behold he has a break out year in the West and pops up on everybody's radar. As for the other rookies, agree let's see how many stand out in the 'real' footy.

Hello, Rather than lament what we potentially missed out on, could you actually comment on what I actually said in my original post, I was actually trying to put forward an argument as to why both players were retained on nthe rookie list. Rookie lists are there to provide an opportunity for players who may or may not be capable of playing AFL footy, I suppose it was wrong for Geelong to rookie Podsliasdly. I have not qualms about the List Management at the moment, as it is run by professionals who have a lot better idea than me what is required of any AFL footballer.

This is just a couple of thoughts re both players. They are both on the rookie list, so there is 'no hurry', if after the three years, if they 'have not made it' then they can be released, if you haven't seen them play, how can you make a comment on their ability or otherwise as to whether they should be on the list Hughes - have spoken to him and seen him in quite a few VFL games. Was rookied by Melbourne and then succumbed to a serious problem with his hips. Rerookied after he spent considerable time getting his hips right. He can take a mark, is fast and can kick goals (he kicked a few for Casey last year), he has spent considerable time and effort and so has the club getting him right so the club must see something in him, in last years review Sean Wellman was quoted as saying 'he is a difficult matchup' For people to judge off one practice game (his first against AFL players) is amazing. We have a few mid size forward, Miller, Bate, Petterd, so Hughes will have to perform really well at Casey to displace them in the side, and after a taste I am sure he will see the opportunity and go for it this season now he has his body right Healey - again I have spoken to him and watched him in games, he came from the Bendigo Pioneers where he was the top possession getter, but his disposal was a bit iffy. He also succumbed to a serious quad injury last season. The club is builing him into a more rounded player, he has played midfied, defence and forward, so from a good inside mid with no disposal skills, he is becoming a utility who can play both defence (as in Last Friday) or a goal kicking mid as in the week before. As Bailey has stated they like building bodies and everybody has noticed that Healy's shape and core strength is changing, could be a ready made player with a couple of preseasons under his belt when the drafts become a bit thin in the next couple of years. We have seen time and time again, good players coming off rookie lists, so as with everything about the club at the moment be patient

To anybody that is interested, and is considering going to the Darwin game, the tickets went on sale on Tuesday 17th March, to sit in the grandstand is $33, general admission which is sitting on the grass is around $25, didn't really check, you book through the Darwin Entertainment Centre, either online or phone, and there is a lot of interest.