Dockett 32

Win/Loss ratio is a meaurement method. Your position on the ladder at the end of the season reflects how you went against the competion, your previous season and nearness to playing finals etc etc , so I don't think you can ignore it. Having said that, the season is only 1/2 way and I would have thought 10 wins or there abouts at the end of the season would have been a reasonable target showing improvement on the previous season. ( Only bareley however, due to the favourable draw and 2 outings against the GCS). So in a sense that doesn't worry me at this time (It might at the end of the year). What bothers me right now is how we manage to get done by 88 points and that we only register 6 goals with only three goal scorers. That's just a whopping margin ,a huge black mark and the same yoke that's been hanging around our neck for quite a while. Ok the coach blames the midfield and signals changes. Nup. 6 goals with three goal scorers cant all be a midfield problem in my view. How about we compare the size, strength and grunt of the respective forward set ups of the top sides. We have a number of outside finishers, whilst Collingwood, Geelong, Hawthorn and others have big bodied types who can hold their ground, are capable of taking pack marks and are generally capable of using their size to exploit us with dish offs and getting people out of the road etc. The club has had 4 years to do something about this aspect ( trade, recruit, develop whatever) but as far as I'm concerned we are still going round with a massively disadvantaged (and primarily small) set up and still get beaten up regularly. I have the small man complex at the moment. Ok enough of the problem, I believe its time for the forward structure to be totally revisited. I exempt Howe from my tirade having played only two games, I would like to see some imagination and at the very least some new options considered. eg Maybe Garland back in Frawley sent forward , maybe Tom McDonald given a role in a new structure somewhere. But please no more of the same undersized key position approach and lets set about creating the model for the future. P.S. Recruiters more players over 195 please and preferably those that can also run. We have enough small quick blokes on the list for the moment.

Dunn - elsewhere Bate - elsewhere Petterd - MFC Morton - MFC +1

Probably could also throw Carlton with the lot you mention old 55. But you have to have a few challenges in life, just too easy to support Collingwood and the rest of them. I mean they are just are the safe option for the front runners. Supporting the Demons or Bulldogs on the other hand is a vastly different proposition and takes you to all sorts of new difficult places and experiences. Good for the soul!

If you have a problem with him turn down the volume.

Thankyou deeluded you are correct. Anyhow he was played ok for Sandy. Tommy Mac runs around and looks a bit untidy at times, but he has a crack. Some nice heavy work today. I like him too. Good size and I hope he comes on. Still learning for sure, but sometimes with these bigger blokes they can take a bit longer.

Will be a great test for the 4 of them next week , they have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. They've stacked up so far when they've all been in it together.

I assume 53 was Troy Davis and I thought he showed promise also. Good leg speed for a big bloke ( not that much difference in size with McDonald ). I have to say that whilst they are still green, they seem to know how to play the game, throw their bodies in and when they fill out could be a very handy couple of bigger bodies. No doubt Cook has the footy smarts but I thought his first half was only so so. Second half much better with more grunt/purpose and less 'pretty stuff'. Thought Blease vg with high work rate and Maric more than ok too. Warnock and Bate kill it at this level. Red Nut has some toe and thinks, works hard and you can see why they took him. I liked his energy. Xavier Clark a good player for Sandy.

If we play like we did last night we'll give them something to think about. Tom Scully will be better for the run and Malthouse's recent spray wont hurt us. We're a chance.

Thats true but what a difference Jordie,TS and JT mean to us. They just straighten us up a bit. Honourable mentions to Strauss, Howe & Gawn also. It was a great night to be there and I hope we get a bumper crowd for Jimmy and the boys on Queens Birthday.

All a bit subjective re Jones. Jury still out for me. Would love to see him actually take a game by the scruff of the neck and dominate like Selwood, Judd, Hodge & co., even Maloney, but I've been waiting a while.

Agree with Hangon 007 comments. We have an overabundance of "small" lightly framed outside running players on the senior and rookie list. We need bigger bodies who can run, don't get brushed aside and have a bit of unsociability about them. Hawthorn, Geelong or Collingwood style if you like. Recruiting the high draft picks is a no brainer and they get a tick for Tapscott, but not comfortable with a number of middle and later picks who have played to date. I'm hoping Davis, Howe, Gawn and McDonald will have a bit more grunt when they get their chance and I hope they are ready soon.

Expose them. They have been recruited for duties higher than the VFL and will have to cope with the AFL heat sooner or later. The cream will rise to the top. Most of the kids being referred to are high draft picks and have already earned this rating so why not let them have a crack at the next step. It seems a number are knocking on the door. The coach has asked his players to be brave and take the game on how about he does the same. Necessity is the mother of invention or something like that.....

We've been served up the value of getting games into young players for the last three years,( which upon looking at how things stand appears to be a bit of a croc) so bring it on with the next batch. At least give the supporters something to get a little excited about. They can be no worse than what we have recently been subjected to.

If we are now in looking to 'next year' mode, the first three picked next week should be Gawn, Cook & Howe with McDonald & Blease also chances. At least we could start getting our structure looking like an AFL team rather than something from Snow White.

Juice & Bennell not operating with the head over the ball (two goals) , following on from Davey last week (another goal) is spiritless and very frustrating.You want to make excuses for them, but you just cant.Shouldn't happen at AFL level.

Looks like young Davis is back on the trail as well. Good luck to Scull & Troy.

I believe we are $4.90 head to head in a two horse race. Funny things can happen when you don't have much to lose and what sort of a win would it be.

If this rubbish re the Russian where to happen and I very much hope it doesn't, I note McEvoy is languishing in St.Kilda reserves. Maybe he could use a fresh start.

Ok so others will go after Jamar and probably Silvia under FA - old news and hopefully the club is accross this, but who will we be going after? We have a realatively small (in comparison to others) protection side as previously mentioned, but don't we also have a much wider development side? Understand the GWS and Suns are well placed in all of this, but l hope we are too, if in fact, we want to be all that active. Bit of a balancing act I guess. The club probably thinks its on the right track with most of the kids they have already invested in, and so to load up now on 25yo+ might not have a heavy weighting in the plan. Maybe just a couple of real hard, take no prisoners 'rifle shots' at one or two we desperately need. Some clubs at the upper end of the ladder must be facing some salary cap issues shortly, not to mention those coming out of contract. Seems to me it might be nice to be on the other side of the fence for a change, but in any negotiation you have to give something to get something. In relation to the topic I would hope Jamar , Silvia & Co get fairly compensated by the MFC and are smart enough to stick around for the party.

Our problem wasn't with the backline.

"Call me a masochist but I find Newton entertaining to watch. I mean, that shot he missed from 10 metres out was something to behold. It put a smile on my face. Made me take it all a bit less seriously. Thanks Juice." Ah you're a sick puppy RR, but I'm still laughing.

Looking forward to playing Richmond and Essendon, could be handy performance indicators for us.

Nowhere near rock bottom and plenty of upside, but the cull clearly isn't quite finished. I have been wondering who would have to make way for the required new intake next year. We found two or three yesterday if they weren't there already, so that's made things a bit easier for list management crew. So I'll take that, plus Evans and Watts as my positives from the game, with apologies to Silvia and Maloney who I thought also busted their guts as they pretty much always do. Re Dean Bailey I give him credit for taking on the aging carcass left by Daniher and disposing of it. Re the next step - Last year we had 8 1/2 wins. With our favourable draw and introduction of the Suns, around 10 wins should be our benchmark or another 6 1/2 wins to indicate improvement. We have 14 rounds to do it. I don't believe there are any excuses not to achieve this. We simply have to toughen up and get the job done. Some will use injuries as a croc just as I'm sure if we don't improve next year it will probably be excused by some due to a tougher draw or 5 interstate trips or something. I don't think it could have been much easier for us than this year and we should be prepared from the outset for all the challenges a season brings. Anything less than 10 wins is a fail for me.

Probably a good way to look at it in trying and retain one's sanity.

"At least two, possibly three of those players would not be in our best 22 if we had a full list to choose from." Maybe so Nasher, but I find it difficult to totally cop that sort of comment in relation to our performance. It's just such an easy croc to go with and fall back on week after week. In the case of Bate and Newton, both have been at the club since Abraham played fullback for Jerusalem and neither have reached anywhere near the level I'm sure the club had for them. I'm not going to go on about them, suffice to say they just haven't made a worthwhile impact for the MFC and have had numerous chances. Frankly it surprises me why they would be selected ahead of say Cook in our current position, as we pretty much know how things will pan out with them and these blokes aren't likely to get any better. Bate has the turning circle of a B Double and Juice doesn't have enough of the footy smarts or grit. I realise Cook is young and raw, but so was Watts and he's coming along quite ok and a young rookie in Evans was a surprise packet today. So if a Rookie can put his hand up , show the right stuff and embarrass some of his older team mates with his attitude, why cant an all Australian first rounder be expected to respond in a similar manner when he gets his chance? Sooner or later you have to expose these kids and my view would be make it sooner rather than later if the other option simply doesn't work and it doesn't appear to. All clubs get injuries and you just have to win games inspite of them. There is nowhere to hide over the seasons journey and our season is slowly slipping away. St. Kilda for instance had Lenny Hayes out and kids in Cripps and Winmar in, they turfed out Mc Evoy so I don't think we had much of an excuse at all today. There were some good things today for sure, but not much in the forward half. This has been a problem for a long time and I would like to see some more imagination.