Webber

Agree agree agree.....how does Stef becomes the whipping boy to some here based on yesterday??????????? Just amazingly wrongheaded.

6. Jones 5. Martin 4. Frawley 3. Sylvia 2. Watts 1. The umpires, for being brave enough to stay out there despite being a total embarrassment to the notions of consistency and logic.

Totally wholeheartedly agree on Stef Martin......his development as a ruckman in the space of less than 10 games has been excellent, and a rapid development curve, albeit overshadowed by the fact that we are a woeful football team. Did anybody notice how he roved his own hitouts in the first quarter? If they leave him in the ones and stop stuffing around with him at Casey, within 2 to 3 years he will become one of the league's best versatile talls.....LET HIM DEVELOP IN THE AFL!!!!!!!!!

The MOST disappointing thing from today is that it shows where we sit by comparison to other clubs on the same/similar arc of renewal or rebuild. West Coast, North Melbourne, Richmond and Essendon would have been our points of comparison based on last year. We WILL be beaten WELL by all of them this year, and they will all finish ahead of us on the ladder at year's end. This is because they are better teams, and are developing in line with expectations or better. Clearly, it should be argued that the MFC are not even holding ground. We ARE on an arc......it's an arc of perpetual sub-mediocrity. There can be no argument about this, suspensions, injuries or all manner of whinge-worthy misfortunes taken into account. Being completely objective for a moment, there is no possibility that Dean Bailey will survive. Putting aside any feelings about his performance either way, the law of the AFL jungle will see him depart the MFC, simply because there is no justification for him remaining. Would that it were not so, but that's life.

North were 1-5 because of who they had played. They are just a better football team than Melbourne, with equal injury concerns. They will finish ahead of us this year, and they will deserve to. We are beyond brittle, as evidenced by excuse making through injury. We don't have the ability to suck it up often enough when it counts, and today it counted. The goose of our year is cooked, and it's just sad.

St. Kilda will be absolutely licking their lips at the thought that we are going to resurrect their season....10 goal loss easy. We are rubbish, and I soooo wish it wasn't so.

The inconsistency from game to game and umpire to umpire has never been greater than this season....e.g hands in/on the back, chopping arms in the mark, prior opportunity, correct disposal...all of the above are basically open to an interpretation which bears a striking resemblance to a raffle. It makes the game very hard to watch at times, and even when we're winning.

Today was our chance to prove something REAL after last week's redemption....but we were outclassed, outmuscled, wildly outrun, outgutsed and outcoached. For me, it was truly the game to show us where we are going to be this season. Somehow, up until now it's been hard to get a handle on our true status. Now it is true to say we are absolutely at the same level as Brisbane, Port and Adelaide, who would be our competition for the spoon if it weren't for GC. Anybody who believes we are at the Richmond and North Melbourne level is kidding themselves. Both are simply clearly better sides, who have had a tough intro to the season. They will slip above us on the ladder shortly and with very little trouble. It's a sad reality, but WE JUST AREN'T ANY GOOD, and most disturbingly, we have NO CONSISTENT HEART to compensate for that fact. It's tiring and frustrating to keep looking for reasons why this is so, but whatever they are, it's just the truth. We are going to get some serious thumpings this year, and for better or worse it's hard not to believe there will be some big changes in the coaching and playing personnel as a result. Today was NOT about personnel, it was about the TEAM, and they wilted in the worst way. I literally shudder to think what the rest of the season holds....2 or 3 more wins will be see our season out, and by any estimation, that is a massive disappointment based on the draw, and all of our most fervent wishes for improvement. It's tough not to be able to offer anything constructive or hopeful, but today there is nothing to offer.

Can we get any isolated footage of this Varcoe tackle, and make it available as a direct comparison to the Trengove tackle, perhaps to headline the 'Free Jack' Facebook page?

Jetta or Joel Mac for Jack? I'm thinking either would be a risk, because of their hard tackling...

As above...clear, concise, logical.

Utter garbage! He had been a revelation this year until West Coast, and he was dropped for balance as much as form against Adelaide.

Depends if they think they need to 'set a precedent'.....I fear the horns on Jack's head may be morphing from demon to goat.

It's going to be very interesting with Tom, the patella is under enormous load with running. This isn't the first time he has had problems with it. There'll be a lot of nervous people seeing how his patella joint surface holds up to the increased load. Not to be a doomsdayer, but his ultimate return is not an assured thing. Cruelly, joint surfaces can start to degenerate early under repeated damage. Fingers crossed.

If it is Stef's ribs, as vaguely reported, then it's one of two situations...fractured or bruised. I'm assuming bruised. That being the case, the only prohibition to him playing is pain. There is no greater risk of injury or other consequences to playing with bruised ribs, so if he can do what he needs to do within the pain, he's good to go. He will of course have an injection. Suck it up Stef, and kick some kangaroo!

I reckon now would be the time to drop Moloney, just to really teach him a lesson

Out: Trengove (for perfect tackling), Jamar (for being indispensable), Grimes (so he doesn't get cocky, thinking he can string more than 6 uninjured games together), Moloney (cos if you're being cruelled by the footy gods, then you might as well play along) Possible Ins :Rivers (now we just know he's NOT gonna come up now) Martin (what, him too?), Spencer (OOPS), Fitzpatrick (hang on...), Campbell (is he on the playing list, or coaching staff?) Real Ins: MacDonald (so he can hurt someone, and make us all feel better), Bennell and Morton (to give us someone to blame if North keep their habit of Dee-beatings) Evans or Nicholson (so we can unearth the next great hope and then debate their worth as trade bait over the next couple of years), Newton (and I NEVER thought I'd see myself write this!!!!)

Not Nathan Jones? Surely not? But he's a C-grader, gets caught in tackles and has poor vision and disposal. Could it be that demonland is beginning to see the Jones of 2010/11 (and the one that the FD rate), and shake the stain of 2007/08?

Hoo-bloody-ray!!!!! you're at least the first DemonWA to give Jones credit for the improvement in his game. Well done, I hope it spreads.

Hands up the 'Brent Moloney's a C-grader' brigade. Well that C-grader just dominated the midfield of an AFL football match....doesn't seem right, does it?

This post highlights a consistent demonland problem....memories of the past tainting opinions of the now. Footballers change. Some progress rapidly or hit the ground running...Jack Trengove, Jordan Gysberts. Most (not all) get better year to year, but too slow for some. Witness Brent Moloney, Nathan Jones, and dare I say it....Jack Watts. Some don't really improve, and get cut...Brad Miller, Paul Johnson.

Too true....more and more, every time Jack Watts gets a touch or gets involved, it's smart and creative. And his first 20 yards is blistering. They still need to kick to him more though, but it's gradually happening.

'that's the problem'.....RUBBISH. How many times has Jones been free-kicked for holding the ball this year? I would suggest none.

The Good...1. Beamer breaking tackles and dodging and weaving on the members wing in the 3rd, before delivering lace out to the half forward line. 2. Jonesy's tackle breaking, dummy selling 40 metre goal...never more deserved. The Ugly....those demonlanders who think they are C-graders. Oh boy. Oh, the other good.....Jack Trengove's gather in the last, riding the tackle and delivering the sweetest little handball to set up another goal ( to Sylvia?)

Likewise again.....but isn't he a C-grader?