binman

The Trac for mine. I am as excited about what he might bring to the table as i was with Hogan. Because he is not a KPP i don't think people have really considered how big an impact he might have, unlike Hogan who everybody thought would impact straight away (admittedly also because of his big year at Casey not just he was KPP). I really think, if he remains fir, he could be huge factor for us in rising up the ladder. He will be a really difficult match up on the HF with his size and strength and us loading up on talls in the forward line will make the match up even trickier. And they will have to blanket him because he will damage sides if not. He also an X factor and all teams need one or two of those in the forward half. Kent is a close second, for much the same reasons actually and in particular because he also has an X factor. He also has a bit of a strut and a bit of mongrel about him.

Funnily enough the nab games are more meaningful now that there is no charade. Important practice matches. No more no less

A nice bold, big Ben Hur Shiraz? Or perhaps a Sharp Hannibal syrah?

Thanks to all who made the effort to do reports. DL at its best. Reports all quite consistent. Some really interesting insights. Some good signs but our disposal remains an issue and if we do attack more will be exposed. Which is one reason we have a fair way to go

Looks great but it appears Wagner still able to dispose of the ball so an ineffective tackle.

Many thanks Deeznutz for a comprehensive first post. I have taken the liberty of editing my quote of your post it so it is a bit easier to read

Agree. It keeps him in the forward half where his excellent filed kicking can do most damage but also with this pace off the mark suits the long lead up style (that Lynch and tex walker for that matter does so well) in that he can get a break on his opponent. He also has good hands on the lead. I see your point on forward pressure but perhaps the focus there is trapping it in from kick outs by covering talls and spoiling pack marks. However even though he won't be hunting the ball into the back half (assuming he plays high HF) i'd still like him to get more possessions than he does. I reckon 17-20 possessions should be the KPI. Perhaps a bit ambitious given he will be depending on others feeding it to him but we really want the ball in his hands.

From MFC twitter quoting Viney (who gave a post match presser) Melbourne FC ‏@melbournefc 3m3 minutes ago Viney says he expects to see Bernie Vince and Nathan Jones soon - it's just a matter of managing loads.

In which case 30 goals is unrealistic as a KPI. If he plays a high half forward who leads out and delivers to the deep forwards (as he seems to have played to according to Tappysquads) then 20 goal would be a reasonable KPI. His key measures would then be goal assists, forward pressure and score involvements.

Good call. Really interesting that this year they have been very public about specific roles players will play eg Watts deeper forward, VB in forard line, Frost ditto, Salem sweeping half back, Gawn ruck (a joke joyce) and before his suspension the Melk as rebounding HB. There must some thought behind this, perhaps it helps to get players ready. I guess that they always tell players what role they might expect to play but the transparency seems novel.

Jaded you have a brilliant opportunity to combine your farewell with love of the dees. Get down there and make your colleagues come. After all its your farewell!

Could not agree more. Total respect to Kyle for carving out a career in the AFL. Played some important games for the Hawks during his time there, played his role and was important depth. Doing similar things with the Crows. Not bad for a bloke the dees, who were at the bottom of the ladder at the time, thought was not good enough for a game and was traded for SFA. Love players who get the most out of they have and as you rightly say he is the sort of fella who might carve out a successful coaching career. The best coaches, with a few exceptions that prove the rule (i'm thinking Barrassi, Matthews and Blight) are more often than not exactly such journey men who have extracted the max out of their ability.

‘‘He (Roos) was one of my favourite coaches with what he did at Sydney, and I was hoping to be drafted to Melbourne so I could learn from him so it’s all a bit surreal." Two words. Destination club.

I do. He will be a gun and I'm predicting will have a significant impact on our fortunes. Rising Star.

Again who gives a toss? Still gossip not news. The amount of media coverage of this is an embarrassment. Just shows how far journalism has fallen in Australia. Anyway i'll leave it there also.

Its sad state of affairs that story has got so much media time, I mean really who gives a toss? It's gossip not news, and as gossip goes not particularly interesting. The news seems to be that GL is a dog for deigning to have a relationship with a mates ex partner. Geez Louise. And as this excellent article points out there has been precious little consideration of how wither of the women involved (or their children) might be feeling. Bro's not hoes as Clementine Ford puts it: http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/what-footys-outrage-double-standard-reveals-about-attitudes-to-women-20160215-gmuma2.html The story though has given me one good laugh. An news.com articel that talked about Slobbo's anger Channel 9 had shown care to GL and none to Billy (who apparently loves a frothy according to Slobbo, the wives not mentioned of course) described him as Australia's most respected football journalist. Seriously. Now that's funny.

And its Dunn holding off the handball to draw the player and pop it over the top to a player who hits either Watt or Harmes on the lead 60 out.

Ok. I will cease my arguing lest it derail an otherwise harmonious training thread. Would be a great story for Terls to fight his way back to the seniors.

For those who haven't seen it this is brilliant: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2016-02-15/drone-at-match-simulation

Over the journey he has been bagged quite a deal on DL - turnover specialist etc etc. But more recently there have been at least 2 comments suggesting if he gets picked for the seniors it means we are going backwards. Which is silly because it is much more likely to mean terlich has raised his standards to a level where Ross will pick him. Indications are he is giving it a good crack.

He probably thinks he has the right to bare arms as well

It says something about disastrous a pick Cool was at 12 that your comment was a joke.

I agree dazzle. I thought he played some terrific games under Neeld and i thought his ability to run and carry and take some risks of HB were real positives. Yes his skills let him down sometimes, particularly when trying to cross the ball to the fat side but i suspect that is not the reason roos has not picked him. Put bluntly his fitness has been nowhere near the level required but if as Pro Dee suggests he is working hard on that then all power to him. Like PD i also don't get the hate for him, nor for that matter Matt Jones. And comments suggesting either being selected are indicators we are going backwards are just plain dumb. Such comments suggest players in their mid twenties can not go up a level, which may well be true in a general sense but there are any number of exceptions. Jobe Watson is one. A more relevant example is Kyle Cheney who we traded out for zilch. Kyle has gone on to carve out a good career with the hawks and the Crows. Jamie Benell is another.

Did he kick any goals?

So will i. And not only because of the bet. If he can get 30 goals (which if he plays 22 games should be more than possible), Hoges can kick 60, Garlett can get 25 and Kent and Petraaca can both get 15-20 we should be pushing the top 10.