Grandson of a gun

I don't classify Green or Jurrah as talls given their mobility and crumbing abilities. And with Watts' mobility, he is so flexible that he can play wing just as well as CHF. Howe is more of a flanker too. Injuries aside, i believe our round one team will contain Watts, Clark, Jamar, Martin, Frawley, Garland, Sellar and Rivers as our talls. Maybe not Sellar? That's not overly top heavy IMO. As highlighted above, the mobility of these big men is also a big key and is why i don't think Neeld would have any issues playing them all.

Given Max's injury and Neeld's clear desire for a team that is the hardest to play against i believe that the elevations at the start of the year (barring no more LTI's) will be: Nicholson and Magner. I believe Magner will just edge out Couch on his strength and tackling ability but would not be surprised if Couch did sneak in. Leigh Williams has already been told to make his aim the Casey 1's this year so i believe he and Jai Sheehan won't be in the red and blue this year until they have proven themselves at Casey. I still think Lawrence has a way to go and Evans is stiff but just needs to keep working on his skills and decision making. I then would think that barring injuries the other of Couch and Magner will be elevated mid season to assist the midfield in the latter half of the year.

1- Jimmy 2- Hairy Gary 3- The Ox 4- Jacko 5- Stinga 6- Chippa 7- Nate Jones 8- Good Times Grimes 9- The Whiz 10- LJ

Don't worry about Clark 'looking' like a natural forward. He certainly is one. I believe that last year at Brisbane there is a stat something along the lines of he had the most score involvements of anyone in the team last year (ie involved in the passage of play) or they went through him the most or something like that. It's more about our ability to get it to him frequently enough.....

Two highlighted quotes that encompass everyone's opinion of Jimmy. I have never met the man but in passing at the G but i sincerely love Jimmy. I really feel for and think of his beautiful family at this time and hope they have but a fraction of his internal strength to help them get through this horrible situation. As a man who usually keeps everything bottled up and likes to think he is a typical Aussie Bloke, i sincerely offer my love and best thoughts for Jim and his family...

J is for all our Jack's!!!

Beat me to it PSD but in answer to you Bob Bob, developing elite fitness will have a direct result on skills under pressure in a game. I can speak both from a personal experience through the under 18 system (albeit a fair while ago) and from learned knowledge. In todays game we have players running at flat out speeds (burst running) for a few minutes before being rotated through the bench. In this time, they might require 4, 5 or 6 high intensity repeat efforts before they get a lull in the game that allows them a longer recovery time. In that time lactic acid build up in your muscles and in particular your legs can get to the point where you can barely kick over a jam tin let alone hit up a target close to the boundary 35 meters away. By building the best possible fitness base, we allow the players to maintain their best for longer, meaning the lactic acid build up isn't as severe, that their recovery is quicker and that they can sustain more of these efforts before a drop in energy levels affects their skills. I am all for developing the skills of our players as intensly as the fitness base, but make no mistake the fitness base is a massive point in this.

Our own Jake Spencer is well up there on the unco scale... Gysberts looks a bit ungainly when running too. And for some reason every time i watch Port Adelaide i laugh at Justin Westhoff- he just doesn't look right???

Gold............and because what many outside MFC forget is that this is the kick that delivered us Jack Trengove. We were always going to take Scully first. This goal allowed us to get the bloke many believe will be our next long term captain.........

Thanks boys. Just what we all wanted to hear.........and now the proof will be in the pudding. One word will sum up this next 12 months...........HARD.

Accountable in a team with an average 10 goal winning margin. It was made much easier by who he was playing with- don't lose sight of that. Likewise Maxwell but that is a topic for another thread. But when the acid was applied to this team- he was one of the ones who failed dismally and he has a career track record of it. He was bad in both H & A losses to Geelong, he was bad in the Prelim against Hawthorn and once again poor in a grand final. Credit to him for having such a long career and making the most of his abilities, but unfortunately he was repeatedly found wanting when it mattered and i do not want that kind of player brought to our club for any length of time whatsoever. There's no pretty way to paint it. That is the lasting memory of his career.

Went missing..... He disappeared off the face of the planet. Just like in 2010, 2009, 2008...........2002, 2001

He is a senior player and yes he has a mature body but if you honestly believe this bloke is the leader the team has been crying out for then you are delusional. Finals football is where the real leaders stand up. It is where the men are sorted from the boys. It is where a leader, when the acid is applied, stands up and wins. Leon Davis has had many opportunities in his career to be a leader. And every time he has faced an acid test he has failed horribly. That is not the type of player i want at Melbourne. And i'm pretty sure that is the view of 95% around here. Perhaps the opposite is true Watt & Howe, perhaps it is your thought of actually considering him which is the 'funny'. (And this is no personal attack on you W&H)

First Fev and now Leon..........Give me a break. Is this a serious topic? Recruit Leon if- 1- You want to clog the list; 2- You want to inhibit the development of a Blease or a Tapscott or someone else; 3- You want to give our players another example of a mentally soft footballer who turns to water when the acid is applied (and don't give me the AA crap, name a grand final, or even a final that was tough or that mattered in which he has actually played well) Hopefully my thoughts are clear. But just in case................... NO FREAKING WAY!

If Blease gets fitter and stronger I see he and Tappy on the flanks. That frees up Bail and Grimes to play through the middle more. I'm a big fan of Gysberts and with more muscle and endurance I reckon he is still capable of elite status in the future. I also like the idea of Morton playing through the guts in patches. Getting these young kids fitter and stronger will still take time and we may still struggle at times this year, but by playing these Gus more through these positions they can still learn and improve until they get the requisite strong bodies. And good post Bhima....

Correct me if i am wrong, but didn't they give GWS selection number 4 which they had for finishing last this year??? Not a compensatory pick, just a regular draft pick.

Jack watts didn't set Casey on fire either. Hardly reason after one year to off load him. And what if god forbid Jack or Mitch go down for an extended period? Who is the player to replace them as a focal point. Getting size on him over preseason will be very important and I believe it will make a huge difference next year. The biggest thing will be getting rid of Fevola so Cook can be a focal point at Casey and develop better.

Check the latest Herald-Sun update on the Caddy article Sloonie. That will answer your questions.......

The latest hearld sun article on the Caddy trade highlights the suspicious nature of the dealings. Caddy wanted to come to Melbourne for his sick dad but were told to do a deal with Essendon EXCLUSIVELY. Hence no joy for MFC or the Tiggers. And so the truth comes out. Another example of the underhanded, manner in which Essendon like to conduct business these days. I couldn't be happier with the result when everything is considered.....!

.......cough........cough...........i'm in agreeance with RobbieF on this one! I have seen nothing factual to suggest Cameron has done anything but bleed for our club and try to put them in the strongest position possible. Whether he overstepped or not- no one here knows and will unlikely ever know. But what we know is that ever since 186 and more importantly, in the last 4 weeks, our club has shown that it can be strong, decisive, get their men on multiple occasions and will do whatever it takes to achieve it's goals. All without a leak in sight. I will keep beating the same drum- i have absolute faith in the current administration of this club and what they are working to achieve. I have not seen one reason to think otherwise.

Wish people would get our compo picks right when they talk. We have a mid first round pick and a pick straight after our first selection. NOT "end of 1st round". It actually makes our picks MORE valuable... And yes I believe Caddy would be a good choice if we could snare him with our mid first rounder and Warnock/Spencer... But will that satisfy GC?

I don't reckon we take Dick. Work on the blokes we have and draft in a couple more specialists to put pressure on and make better players of all of them.

I agree that Petterd is a dangerous forward pocket. But I'm talking about a player with genuine pace, and a natural goal kicking ability. Think Betts, Milne, Stokes, Cyril, Krakour etc. Think Aaron Davey when he first came to the club. It's that genuine ability to be a danger every time they're near the ball, offensively and defensively. I love Wonna, but I'm not sure if he will make it back. I don't hold such high hopes for the other small blokes on the list. It's not to say that one or two of the blokes we have won't fill that void but given our draft position I believe it is a punt now worth taking. At the very least it will create some good pressure for spots which is what all great teams have.

The Dees got their man in Clark. At only 24 he can still be an 8-10 year player for us. Along with the fact we spent last year drafting big blokes Cook, McDonald and Davis plus Watts, Gawn and Fitzpatrick with Jamar, Martin and maybe Spencer, outbid man stocks are good. We also have a number of young and mid 20's mids coming along with Jack Viney and possibly 2 compo picks still to use on securing more elite mids. I really reckon we should now take a punt in this years draft on small pacy crumbing forwards. We're not going to have any high picks and with the draft pool not rated that great outside the top 10, we really have nothing to lose. It is a big hole in our list given Wonna has issues and the others aren't up to it. Then Neeld can work with a group where we have players for all positions and spend next year onwards fixing up any other deficiencies. My 2 cents anyway.

Where are the Harrington / Prendergast knockers now? Just goes to show that the vast majority have NFI when it comes to what the club is actually doing and they'd be better off putting faith in them and priaising their work rather than the constant negative drivel that gets spewed up here far too often!