Grandson of a gun

Thanks for remembering the little people JVM and Demonland

Agree Belzebub. And he might just teach Tapscott a thing or two in the process.

Agreed. I think in summing them up..... Nic Nats highlight reel will always look far more spectacular. But his stats and input to the team won't. Jack is the polar opposite and thank god he is a Demon!

Viney looks to be the goods at this stage of his career. Much the same as Scully did when he was at a similar age. Presuming another club nominates that they would take him first round and MFC will have to use their first round pick, he still looks to be awesome value for what will probably be a high teens pick (given he may well be a top 5 or 10 player). I'm always a little sceptical about draft class and draft depth though considering so many gun players have actually been late picks. Scully, Trengove, McKenzie, Gysberts, Viney, Blease, Tapscott, Moloney, Jones, Davey, Dunn, Sylvia, Jamar, Gawn. That's a midfield group capable of making anyone firm. Then i think about..... Watts, Jurrah, Petterd, Bennell, Bate, Morton, Green, Wona, Jetta, Fitzpatrick with some of those midfielders resting / rotating forward. And.......... Frawley, Grimes, Garland, Bartram, Rivers, Warnock, Bail, Strauss again with some of those midfielders playing off half back. And i'm more than a little excited without even looking at draft prosepects (Viney aside). Patience and hard work to follow now.

Yeah i was probably a little extreme the other end Hannabal. A moment of weakness. Good luck to Nic Nat but hope he wins a million wooden spoons while Big Bad Bustling Jack is holding aloft Melbourne's fourth premiership cup in a row!!!!

Fingers, toes, eyes and testicles crossed he will be a Demon very soon!!!

Doesn't mean anything. Surprising about Junior but then again he has missed a fair bit of footy.

We don't need a team of stars. Just a star team. I don't care if Watts becomes better than Brown, Reiwoldt and Carey combined or if he is just a serviceable forward who provides a good structure. As long as we win flags!!! FWIW- Watts will be great (at the least) at CHF. Fitzpatrick is the second big bloke earmarked for down forward. I agree the club needs another back-up and that's where drafting in another big kid should be the aim. Petterd, Jurrah, Green, Davey, Sylvia, Bennell, Wona et al will all then rotate through. Don't forget one L. Tapscott either. Coupled with a sturdy defence and a class midfield i am happy with the clubs recruiting and development. No need for knee-jerk reactions or paying overs for "average" players in other teams who struggle to get a game but you think might be stars at MFC. Just learn patience people. The only time to start trading in players for specific needs is when we are WELL and TRULY IN the premiership window, ie 2013 on. Until then just sit back, relax and enjoy watching these kids develop!

And what people outside Melbourne seem to forget is that after Neita retired and with several other players coming to the end of their career, Melbourne desperately needed a young key forward. But the press and outsiders think it's sexy to keep comparing them and arguing over who should have taken who. Hodge, Ball, Judd ring any bells.... I hope Nic Nat and Wattsy both play 300 games, win brownlows and multiple flags. Couldn't give a stuff about anything else!!!!!

I think Maric will come in for either Moloney (most likely) or Green (less likely). I hope for his own sake that he makes a good fist of it. He has shown nothing at a consistent level in his few previous games at the top level or in his many games at Casey over the last 18 months that inspires any confidence but sometimes players just need to be given a chance. Good luck Addam. Prove me wrong.

This weeks game is going to be much closer than some outsiders predict and will come down in the most part to 4 key matchups for each team. For Sydney it's all about starving Davey, Green, Sylvia and Watts of the ball. They know that if they can block up the corridor and crowd Davey then he won't be able to sythe through them like hot butter (a la Pies and Bulldogs). I see McVeigh taking him first. Likewise if they can prevent Watts from working up as a target and using his good field kicking to hit targets inside Melbourne's 50 then they are well on their way. (I expect Grundy to have first crack). Sylvia and Green both have the potential to blow games apart and if they are well held then Melbourne will really struggle to kick a winning score. Malceski for Sylvia and Kennelly for Green. For Melbourne it's all about Goodes, Grundy, O'Keefe and Shaw. Goodes has hit form, he is a star when he is on song and Melbourne desperately need to shut down his drive. Dunn will get first crack in the midfield. Frawley if he goes forward. Grundy is their backline general and coupled to a lesser extent with Malceski, gives them the run and carry. Expect him to line up on Watts or perhaps even try and expose Jurrah defensively. Melbourne have to play through his man at every opportunity to make him accountable. O'keefe is the Paul Champman of Sydney and is seriously dangerous when he gets going. Jones to take him if he goes into the middle at the start. Garland if he slides down forward. Finally, Rhyce Shaw. He has played forward recently with great effect. 6 goals in 6 quarters of footy up forward. All of a sudden he has another string to his bow and gives potency to their sometimes impotent forward line. A big job for Bartram here. Taking his scalp will go a long way to a Demon win! This may also be known as the NAB Rising Star Cup as probably the two biggest favorites go head to head. Hannebury v Scully. It would be great to see them line up mono e mono and just go for it. I'll back the Scull to run rings around him (literally). I see a shock upset and the Demons coming home with a 9 point win.

Yeah but never believe what you see on TV or hear from the players mouths in that situation. He was always going to keep the cards close to his chest. He has already been ruled out on the MFC website. If Moloney doesn't get up (which i think is going to be the case) then McDonald will come in (if he passes the fitness test). If McDonald fails to come up then Maric will probably have to come in as it will mean someone like Sylvia is ging to have to play more time in the guts.

That's typical of the Lalor Football Club. They have a shocking history of violence and abuse at all levels. I believe that the umpires are hamstrung by the rules committee and the crazy interpretations that Geischen hands down. Until you get an ex-player in there as the umpires boss with the balls to tell the umpires not to pay anything but the blatantly obvious, nothing will change.

Richmond. The bubble may have burst and with the run home they might not win many more games. As for the Demons. People talk about them beating Brisbane and Sydney. I think Sydney showed last week what they are capable of and it will take a very good Melbourne (who actually play 4 quarters) to beat them. As for Brisbane, they have had a long losing streak, they play Geelong in Geelong this week which will no doubt be a flogging. I reckon that they may well work themselves up into a lather playing Melbourne at home and i wouldn't be surprised if they knock us off there too (especially if Brown and Fev get a bit of the ball). I hope Melbourne win that one but i don't expect it. The Tigers at the G will be a good test given Richmond's recent form and the fact Melbourne haven't handled the favorites tag very well this year. Richmond will be out for revenge so expect a close one there. We will get smashed by the Hawks. They have the wood on us. Port in Port doesn't enthuse me either given our atrocious record at AAMI. Again if we have continued to develop then this year then we SHOULD win this one but whether they take their brains across to AAMI is another question. As for the final round, i back us in but look out if North are still a chance for the finals! End result- MFC to win 2, maybe 3 more but certainly nothing more. Should be enough to avoid the spoon.

Exacery. Exacery Correct Roost. But Watts was also coming in to a position that we had an obvious deficiency in. On the other hand, Maric has some fierce competition for the position and role in which he plays. It is up to him to apply himself enough to show enough to overtake the incumbents. Disagree. Up until he got dropped recently, Jetta not only got as much of the ball as Maric, he also put the defensive pressure on the opposition that Maric didn't. Today's game demands this from small forwards and to date Maric hasn't shown enough of this. I believe he is close but he has to continually perform. He has had a few years now and he hasn't yet shown enough mental application. Now he is paying the price for being lazy or not 100% mentally committed and he has to work harder as the coaching staff won't gift him a game or bring him in for "development" like they have with other youngsters.

Some back grumbles i suspect. Interesting that Trengove is still another week away. Bearing this list in mind i would suggest that the only change we may see is McDonald in for Beamer.

Jones to have 26 possessions.

Yeah agree with ya Belzebub. Bailey has said as much. Melbourne has a fair stockpile of good quality mids and young backs. They can take the risk this year with their earliest pick to take the best available big bloke (preferably one with a big body). With Viney in mind as a father son next year or the year after, they could probably use both picks this year for the big man purpose and then speculate on another hb kicker with the last pick. Also, we have Tapscott who by all accounts could very well fill that role in the very near future.

The MRP are more erratic than Melbourne's first quarters.....................

Good point Darkhorse. Morton didn't start there. It's just that Freo kicked their goals so quickly that he was there early. What was most disappointing about yesterday's first quarter i believe was that it wasn't Fremantle being that much better than us, it was that 4 of their first 5 goals came from free kicks or 50 meter penalties. That is just stupidity and a lack of mental application.

Good to see people starting to believe. This kid is growing and improving with every match and i couldn't be happier. His kicking is usually pretty good and i'm glad he was so dirty on himself. As others have said it shows his hunger and desire. ALL I PRAY FOR IS A FULL PRE SEASON DEVOID OF INJURIES. Beware if he gets a full pre season in to him. Then people will really start to see his talents.

I concur. Dunn has the tank and the strength. If he goes forward then i will back in Chip. Perhaps........ Definately not at the moment but as per the poster above, it might be the challenge he needs. If Rhyce Shaw plays forward then Bartram will probably take first crack. If Shaw plays off half back then i think Morton may also be an option for him there as a defensive forward- again, might be the challenge he needs. We also need to shut down the run of Reg Grundy and Nick Malceski.

Given they talked about Moloney's leg really blowing up and him having to stay back, i reckon he is a 30% chance at best. Out- Moloney (Inj), In- McDonald. PJ is there as back up and needs to stay to help Jamar. Dunn has been really effective since returning and has earnt his place. Bate (whilst exhibiting poor disposal on Sun) is still a valuable member of that forward set up. He will always look laconic people, its just the way he is, and it is the same for Morton. Bail did enough to stay. Bennell was fantastic. The MFC site mentioned Trengove as only a 50-50. If Trengove is fit then it may be that Morton makes way. Still think Maric needs to do more to earn a place in the team. People also need to remember that stability and a show of faith by the coaching staff is important. Have a look at that Essendon rabble. With 4 changes every week their players have no confidence and the team never settles.

Understand your frustration when they over handball but it also comes down to Davey running to the right positions. When we are playing well he is one of the best field kicks in the competition and even though he may look awkward or rushed, he hits the target nearly every time. We just have to take risks and move it quick.

Great. Bit of an overstatement. Yes BOG this week. Prior to that he missed because he was first emergency and the games prior to that i believe that he either wasn't in the best or was only just in. He has been sporadic this year at Casey. He hasn't been consistent. I agree they probably need to give him a go to work out whether to keep him next year or not but to say he has been GREAT is a dramatic over statement. Disagree that Bennell looks spent but then again if they are going to bring Maric in, it has to be for that type of player. He would need to show lots to win me (and i think the vast majority, over)