Deetective Sgt. Taggert

I think the best argument in a few years will be to point at Gold Coast and GWS and the concessions they received but couldn't capitalise on (assuming neither win a premiership in their first 5 years in the comp which I think its likely) Otherwise the old adage should suffice "a championship team will also beat a team of champions" Exhibit A Carlton, Exhibit B Geelong in the late 1980s an early 1990s? Stars and draft picks is only one part of the premiership equation.

I don't think Slyvia kicking 12 goals is the opposite of being suspended for 12 weeks...you need to come up with something better than that. Slyvia being awarded 12 fifty meter penalties perhaps?

I think we still lack the attacking rebound defenders with devastating kicking skills which hopefully strauss, grimes or someone else can become but thats not to say its looking like a dam goo unit already, but that will be the icing on the proverbial cake.

Its been crunch game for the Lions for a while now and they haven't delivered - you would have backed them to beat Richmond but they lost (admittedly with a weaker Brissy Team minus both Black and Brown if I recall correctly) - so I think it's more a question of what game Melbourne brings next week as posters above have already pointed out that will be the key to this game.

Yeah, I loved that bit of play and the confidence he showed to back himself and sprint away from his opponent and kick it too the hot spot. From memory he play a key role in another goal in the first quarter with a silky smooth pick up of a somewaht wayward Davey pass and then a centering kick into the forward 50. Definate potential in this kid to become a part of a premiership side

Yeah I agree, I think it has been a very wise move for Bailey to coach from the bench, especially while the team is still in 'development' mode. I can imagine a player (especially the younger guys) being far more receptive adn responsive to advice from a coach that is delivered face to face, rather than over the phone.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/98954/default.aspx Interesting article. The author seemed to only rate Melbourne out the teams in the bottom eight as having a half chance of sneaking in to the finals. It's really pointless to think about finals when you have only won 6 and a half games (and there's still rounds to go) but we definitely have an easier run home than Sydney or Carlton, but we would probably have to win at least 4 of 5 and hope either of them to only win 1 of 5 which is unlikely. I don't think it would do much for the team to make they eight (they would most likely face Freo at Subiaco in an elimination final) and I'll be happy if they can play a consistent brand of competitive and exciting football to finish off the year and grab a few more wins along the way building towards a more genuine finals crack in 2011

With the 6 days turnaround I'm sure they will consider resting some of the younger guys so I expect to see some 'general soreness' omissions this week if McDonald and/or Moloney are fit to come back in.

I could be totally wrong (and naive) but to me it's hard to imagine a young guy like Watts who appears to still be coming to terms with the fact that he's an AFL footballer would be at all interested in chasing the dollars or moving to a club in a different state.

A good observation about Slyvia there. I know people have talked about Tapscott being a future Chapman-style player in a Premiership side for MFC, but to me Slyvia is already our equivalent of Chapman. Lets hope he get his chance in a GF one day too...

Yeah I'm shattered I didn't end up going to the game - had free tix on offer. That first quarter was incredible and can't remember being so excited watching a game since our comeback vs Bulldogs in round 7. From what I saw of Maric I thought he looked decent enough, although missed a golden opportunity for a goal in the first quarter I think, but deserves another crack next week. But agree it will be tough at the selection table next week. Great to see we really starting to develop a strong home ground advantage (even seem to be getting a good run with the umpires too - that poster from Green - but you gotta take what you can get when you've been down for so long)

Yeah I agree. Perhaps he has been caryinbg an injury, but he does provide a target and seems to help organise the forwards so will be missed.

MARIC in for BATE. Hope he take's his chance! Glad to see Moloney still in but hope he doesn't play injured...We'll need his leadership and strength out there

Yeah its very basic. I think the away top looks better with the wave rather than the plain stripes on the side

I must say, I usually have some interest on Thursday to see what the team selection will be but its less interesting when they don't actually announce any changes just an extended bench...I guess that the curse of playing so many games on a Sunday

Yeah I agree. It could potentially be decided in roudn 21 or 22. On current form its hard to guess how many of the remaining games will play out. To me this weeks game could go a long way towards shaping our final ladder position. A win this week would build confidence and could see the club win another 2 more games afterwards (most likely the 2 home games against rich and north) whereas a bad loss may see the confidence drop a little. At the same time just two more wins could see us finish as high as 11th and would be a satisfactory peformance I would think if we don't suffer any major thrashings.

Just scoped it out then. They did beat Hawthorn back in round 5 when they Hawks were struggling for form, but not a bad scalp to claim given it was in Tassie and hawks had Franklin back by then. Other than that they have been thrashed comprehensively by every other top side including a couple of massive maulings at the hands of St Kilda, Collingwood and the Bulldogs, which makes them an interesting comparison given they also have a young list. Even though they have won more games, I think we should be happier with the Dees efforts against some of the top 5 sides. I would back us to beat them at the 'G in the last round if we don't get any more injuries and don't fall asleep in the first quarter...

It was interesting to see North post a big win against the Tigers. They seem to do the opposite to us in that they perform well against the lower sides but not so great against the top eight teams. I think they have only beaten Carlton to date from the top eight? And that victory seems a lesser scalp with Carlton looking to be just making up the numbers at this stage...

I'll be happy if we win our three remaining winnable home games (Syd, Rich and North). Anything else would be a bonus but anything less would be somewhat dissapointing (but not surprising given our inconsistancy to date).

Haha, would totally be a great song, most of the newer AFL clubs have terrible songs (some of the older ones too..)

I only just had a chance to watch some of the reply of the Freo game last night. Watching the last shot at goal by Watts in the fourth, I would have backed him to kick that one from what I have seen so far, so it's a shame he couldn't slot it as it would have been a huge boost for himself and the team. He probably could have taken a little bit longer to settle and catch his breath before taking the shot, but its not like he kicked it out on the full so with time I'm sure the team would be able to rely on him to do a Michael Jordan and nail the last minute shots to win the game

It's official. Bail and Morton IN, Cheney OUT. Fairly predictable and common sense to include two runners for subiaco and omitting a slower defender. Don't think it should be seen as anything against Cheney, just picking to suit the conditions.

iiiiYeah I agree with you and think you probably correct, but still wondering what happened in the West Coast game...guess it doesn't always go to plan. I sure hope we don't dish up the same [censored] to Sydney.

Great call...gave me a good chuckle at work

Yeah fair call. But by the sounds of it, Col has been limited by the toe injury for most of the year, so that explains why he hasn't yet captured the form from 2009. Lets hope he can keep this up the rest of the year now...