Slartibartfast

He didn't do a full preseason. Every time I went to training he was walking the boundary.

Until Spencer or Jamar are fit. But I agree, perhaps we just run with one ruckman and pinch hit as you say. PJ has offered nothing. I'd cut Bate some slack because 1) he's showed in previous year he can play and 2) this year he's playing a new role much deeper in attack and the ball is just not coming in.

He did on the track but he hasn't struck a blow on the ground. He was injured in the first quarter in the first NAB cup game and I think I'm right in saying that he's played two games with Casey; last week and yesterday. King ruffled his feathers yesterday and he didn't stand up. He needs a fair bit of time at Casey for mine. Belly was in fair form prior to breaking his thumb and I'm pretty sure he would have been in our best 22. Back last week where he suffered concussion and he was strong at the ball yesterday and did a lot of the hard work. Won't be back next week I wouldn't think but will get a chance this year at some stage. I can't see Newton back BR. I reckon Bails will make him put in three or four strong performances for Casey.

It may not have come to your attention but Bodhan is no longer on the conditioning or medical team. The injuries this year are nothing to do with him.

Then take offense, that's your choice. If anybody posts about a players serious injury without knowing it to be true then they will be banned if it is subsequently proven to be wrong. That's the responsibility of posting. Just for the record we have banned posters for a year when they have done similar things. Think yourself lucky.

Different role, significantly reduced opportunity, terrible delivery into forward line, loss of confidence. Disappointing nonetheless.

Well if you think ridiculing the MFC is fun go ahead, I just happen to disagree. And if you want to set your standards by what else is posted here that's fine by me. What is fun for you Jaded is tasteless to me. It's bad enough when opposition supporters make fun of us, but our own supporters?? It's also fair to say I read very very little of this forum now (I wonder why) but I wouldn't call you the most positive supporter at the moment. It's just one man's perspective and will probably represent perhaps a small minority of readers, but it's a view nonetheless.

You really do represent the best and worst don't you!! Thanks for your support for the club in an otherwise pretty tasteless thread. A shame you undo all the good work with your attacks on Bruce.

People who dislike Brereton dislike form over substance. I find listening to Dermie painful but he has a very interesting take on footy and IMO is well worth listening to (if you can)!!

Well I'll buck the trend Typical Demon and say that I think it's a shame that supporters of opposition clubs are not respected and welcomed by those that post on this forum. Your points are well made and your tone so much better than many here. But the nature of footy forum debate is childish adolescent "mine is bigger than yours" and many feel better if they can convince themselves that they are not "the worst". It's a shame they don't strive to be the best. Melbourne has nothing to brag about and for as poor as Freo have been we are not in a position to gloat. Good luck for the rest of the season, we all know what you are going through and it's not much fun. And for the record the KKK episode is a storm in a tea cup.

One of the mysteries of life YM. BTW Simpson is no longer with us. Approve???

I've deleted his/her/it's membership. Thanks

YM Bohdan Babijczuk it the athletic development coach, he has NOTHING to do with conditioning, physiotherapy or medical. This means he has NOTHING to do with Aussie's training schedule or his rehabilitation. Accordingly he has NOTHING to do with Aussies hammy. On this occasion you're not surprised because you're ill informed.

I reckon the trade was a classic win win situation. Trav was never going to be a part of any success we have in the future and Grimes will be playing football for us long after Trav retires, hopefully. And the move has been very good for Trav as a person. I watched him last night and putting the frustrations of the past aside (because however you look at it he didn't produce for us) I recognized just how much I like watching this bloke play. He has a style and methodology which is almost unique and when its working its fantastic. While many talk of his foot skills what is not mentioned are his hands which are so clean at pace. Personally I hope he has a fantastic season and realizes all the potential he has. It would help him as a person, it would be fantastic to watch and it won't hurt us.

You can't win <_<

Congratulations Andrew you've put together a relationship that will certainly help our club and I sincerely hope helps Kaspersky. I'm wondering if you'd outline just what the timing was. I've read the Age article which outlines the process but what was the time between your first meeting with the club and the signing of the agreement? How long does it generally take to put these sort of sponsorship arrangements in place? Also I'm unsure how you say "Kaspersky".... any hints?? Anyway I hope this sponsorship proves so successful it is the start of a relationship that runs for much longer than the initial 3 years. Well done. cheers Fan

If you didn't want to call me a suck hole you shouldn't have. Does it matter if Hazy and RFW know each other? Does that make their contributions any less relevant? I think not but everyone is able to make their own decisions on that. Do they have some connections to the Board? I hope so, it would be good to get that sort of input. Do I agree with them in this instance. Mostly no although I do think any Board and CEO should be held accountable. If we shot everyone because they had a particularly strong view on something very few of the interesting posters would be left, including you and me probably.

I believe that the approach taken by Hazy and RFlowerwing is correct. They are questioning the performance of our Board and our CEO. Not only is that their right it is necessary as complacency can lead to trouble. For those familiar with the concept of "groupthink" it is very important to have diversity of thought and Hazy and RFW have presented their views articulately and intelligently. Moreover they did it without any criticism of any member of this forum, a courtesy that was not extended to them. I've followed football for a long time but probably only followed the "political" side since 1996. I tire of it now because football is no different to any other business and I've seen Chairman of clubs (and I think I'm right in saying MFC does NOT have a President, we have a Chairman) begin their Chairmanships with the best of intentions only to find that after time they start to run their own agendas. In my opinion this has been the case of every Chairman we have had since 1996. I hope that Stynes and his Board don't fall into this trap, but having been bitten on so may occasions I have no confidence that it won't happen again. I therefore support Hazy and RFW. It doesn't mean that I agree with their stance but we must have intelligent and articulate people scrutinizing our clubs management. Thanks guys and well done particularly in light of the avalanche of opposition you've received.

You're doing a great job DD. I've pinned it and with luck this could become a wonderful reference thread. Thanks for your efforts!

I'm of the opinion that this thread has nearly run its race. Could we keep to the topic please. Thanks. By the way Hazy, I doubt you'll ever be accused of Groupthink!!

Thanks Casey. Does social club membership mean you can stand and watch the game in the upstairs area on the balcony? How crowded is that on gameday?

Daniel Hughes was walking laps with Paul Wheatley on Wednesday at training. I think he's on the injured list and doubt we'll see him for a while. I don't know what's wrong with him. He was certainly in full training in January and the beginning of Feb.

Say what you like about Hall's aggression but he did it because he was frustrated and he did it because it was the only way he could influence the game. If he'd kicked 5 goals he wouldn't have done it. I reckon he's still a very good player but the game is passing him by and I don't think he has the passion to play in a team that doesn't contend. He also wants to box and may make a lot of money from it. A bad start to the season, a few frustrations and I reckon Hall may not see out the year.

That's where we differ. I think he put together two months of solid football last year. Where people damn him is they judge him against his draft pick and I don't argue that against that measure he's disappointed to date. But once you are on a list that measure is irrelevent, what is relevent is what you do. And on that measure he is a servicable footballer and on the improve.

How many games have "mattered" in the last two years? At the end of last year Col was one of our better players and was standing up when most of the rest of the club wasn't. I'd say he stood up when it mattered then. He's a small forward who has played in the shadow of Neitz and Robertson for most of his career. Knowing what you do about footy you'll understand that being a small forward is a hard gig particularly when you're probably 4th in the "go to" player. I'm not suggesting he's "made it" or he's a "very good footballer" and his game against the Hawks was disappointing. But his response yesterday was very good and from my point of view he's played one shocker in his last 9 games (in the last 7 games last year he averaged 20 possessions and considering how bad we were and the fact he played mainly forward represents a pretty good performance I'd have thought). But I understand people's frustration and measured against expectation he has not performed. But I've not written him off.