Pates

The Richmond game I'm willing to give a pass on because of the loss of Spencer and Smith. We were out on our feet and the tiger smelled blood, we'd held Martin the whole game but smashed us that final quarter. The Hawthorn and Freo games are the two that we shouldn't have given up. The Geelong game we kicked ourselves out of it and again ran out of steam with Gawn off.

I can't remember the full set of circumstances but Travis Johnstone kicked an absolute beauty against Adelaide in the 2002 finals. Aaron Davey selling some candy twice to Freo and nailing it from outside 50 in our massive come from behind win at the G is another.

It's not the thwarting I'm concerned with. I actually feel our intelligence for preempting attacks on us are quite good, it's more the response when attacks/incidents occur. Even look at the Bourke street incident, now again I'm not criticising the police and their actions but it needs to be (and I'm sure is being) reviewed about how they proceeded and whether in the future incidents like that can be resolved more effective. It's no different to how air crashes are investigated, you gather as much information as you can and decide whether things can be improved for the future.

13.20 Port could've really done a number on them. I've said this a lot but if we miss finals it will be the Freo and Hawks games are look back on shaking our heads. Freo got done by 100pts last week and Hawks we kept goalless in the first half against Port. We have to stop losing to these teams.

If that is the case then as I said earlier a review into how this was handled is very important. We should consider ourselves lucky that the first time anyone has tried anything like this turned out to be a nutter with a set of bluetooth speakers.

Look honestly that would be my first thought. The passengers and crew had him subdued, at the very least I would've thought they could at least evacuate parts of the plane once on the ground. I would think without credible evidence that this man was coordinating with someone else that getting the passengers away from the plan would be the first reaction. But as Beetle elegantly put it, we are not experts in police tactics and decision making. The most important thing that comes from this is a thorough review on whether this protocol would work had there been more immediate danger. Truthfully I think we would be very slow on the uptake were there to be a serious terrorist attack in Australia.

I remember Neita having a day out against St Kilda and he was nailing them from everywhere. One was right in front of the members stand 50m out on the boundary line. When his radar was on, boy was it on! And those hands could clutch any ball coming his way! That combination of Neitz, Schwartz, Lyon, and Farmer in 1998 will be the best forward line I'll ever see lineup for Melbourne. Throw in that Robbo was a young developing kid at that stage too! Was sad that he had to go out with that neck injury, we seemed to have a bad run of players suddenly retiring. I think that was what spooked the club into moving Junior on. Just quickly he's also doing really good things trying to raise money for MND research with the beer Brewmanity.

So a friend of mine was on that plane, I haven't spoken to him yet though I'm just glad it all worked out ok. I think the response time of the police and the time on the ground once they landed was too long but I'm sure all the steps they took were 100% going with protocol to ensure the safety of the passengers. Even though they were probably sure it was one man who was just a nutter and posed no threat of course they would need to go through the check list to make sure he wasn't acting in consort with someone else and that storming the plane won't put lives at risk. A security analyst mentioned that one of the delays was probably waiting for tactical response teams, maybe we need to consider having a contingent of tactical response units at the airport in the same way we have the fire crew there on site. 99.99% of the time they won't ever be needed, but for that one incident where they are then they are already there. Much like the Lindt cafe siege this needs to be properly reviewed to decide how we deal with any future situations. This doesn't mean drag the officers and leaders over hot coals but just that we should always look to improve.

Hibberd and Nev would be the only other two I'd think are around the mark. Hibberd has only been back briefly though, and both of them play for a team that constantly gets shoved to the side.

Wouldn't Viney come under the VIC banner? He was born and bred in Victoria until Todd brought them the SA.

Best of luck to him and well done to him on acknowledging he needed time out. I've never had any personal connection to depression but I feel that accepting you need to look after yourself must be a difficult decision.

Why'd they have to choose the goal against us after the siren first up?! I was shattered when he left, him winning the game against us with a kick after the siren was just the dagger in the heart! But they definitely got the rest right. He was the wizard at Melbourne but Jeffery Farmer at Freo. His 9 goals in one half springs to mind first for me, but 8 goals in a prelim is phenomenal. There are very few who could say they have done that. I was at the game but still in the corridors when he took that amazing mark, he was totally robbed of MOTY but he got GOTY for that run against the Hawks. I think back then you got a car for both so they couldn't give him both!

100% Schwab should've gone the same day. I love Jimmy and remember him with great fondness but I feel like he protected Schwab because he was a mate, when in reality he was a huge part of the problem. Like Whispering Jack said, it'd be a very interesting examination of how events can build up to the perfect storm. I feel it would make for a great episode of Open Mike to great a 3 way discussion of it between Brad, Schwab/Don McLardy, and maybe one of the assist coaches at the time. To hear all the layers of the build up to that week, and the feelings going through those layers. We were such a fractured club back then. Horrible as it was, we well and truly hit rock bottom, but have now built ourselves up again almost as a completely new club. Very few players and administrators are still at the club now.

So on this latest injury list it had Spencer ahead of Gawn by one week. How is Spencer tracking, is there any chance he might be in line for a call up vs the Pies?

I think it would be good thing for the club to actually say to Jesse they won't consider him in contention for QB. Ease the pressure on him and have him (and Gawn for that matter) focused on a return vs the Bulldogs. That way the club can prepare with clear minds rather than the media circus of "will he/won't he play".

There was criticism on his weight when he first arrived and when he came back for his second pre-season, but we have no idea how things might've gone for him had he not suffered the sudden tragedy of losing his father. He wanted to quite immediately after he got home for the funeral and was convinced to return by Aaron Davey, I suspect his heart wasn't in it after that. I think you're being very cold to what Austin went through.

Sadly I do agree, I remember that line being trotted out by the AFL of "win games". I get that point, I mean at that time we weren't winning games and were an embarrassment to watch. But as you have pointed out, despite a better ladder position than Richmond, Carlton, Collingwood, and Essendon we still aren't given better time slots. If we make finals this year, our club should press really hard for better FTA exposure.

Definitely. I can vaguely remember a chase down he did (I think it was against Richmond) where he started his chase from our forward line, ran past TWO of our players who were giving half hearted chases and brought the guy down on our half back line. I think it was only his second game as well. I don't think his impact is underestimated by Demons fans but I'm sure it is in the wider footy community. He definitely changed the definition of forward pressure.

Interesting, I've always viewed Aussie's time at Melbourne with fondness but I feel like he wasn't going to endure at a player. Obviously there's no way of knowing now, losing both his father and Maurice Rioli was obviously very tough on him.

Wow yeah if that includes Alice that's a really good effort. Hopefully channel Seven start to notice a bit more of us and put us on FTA more.

Would be a massive effort by the big fella, like all injuries/medical issues I just want him to come back when he's right but in the case I'd also like it to be a mentally right deal. Getting out there might well be the best thing for him psychologically, then again it could be the worst thing. I'll trust that he and the club will make the best call for him.

Thanks for the interview write up, sounds like he's got his head screwed on right. Has recognised he didn't put in a good enough pre-season and is trying make up for it now (how will he be when he DOES do a good pre-season!?), amazing story going from expecting a rookie spot to being taken pick 4. Most top 5 draftees would be already penciling themselves in at potential suitors a fair distance out from the draft, and he was hoping for a rookie spot! Top pick up Taylor!

6-4 is what I hoped for at this stage, and really it's what we should be. Seeing Freo get smashed by Adelaide.....we should've "found a way" to get over the line. That and the Hawks game will be the ones that come back to haunt us if we miss out by one game. The second question is interesting, because if you take out every teams 1st and 2nd ruck, and their no 1 FF then they would struggle to win games. We've been in positions to win in every game this year, but for various reasons haven't got across the line. Whether it was injuries, poise, leadership, running out of gas, or inaccuracy. For that reason I'm not satisfied we're at 5-5. It's a frustrating 5-5 because honestly we could be 8-2 with a bit of luck. I've said no to us making finals for two reasons: 1) we lack consistency, we need to get a run on of wins to make the finals and it appears the players can't back up good performances. 2) I seem to be a bit of a jinx for Melbourne, so if I say we're not going to make the finals hopefully it'll work the other way!

I don't think there's anyone at the club happier to have the bye. He's been rucking so much more than expected and he's held his own, but he must be nursing some pretty sore legs. Having said that in the third quarter he was one that really helped turn it for us. He wasn't brilliant but he was competitive when he needed to be and mostly pretty clean. He's still one of our best ball users even when he's having an off night.

The Wizard and Jurrah are the two that come to mind when I think of indigenous round. Both were able to produce some great highlight reels. I'll never forget Jeffrey's 9 goals in one half again the Pies. He had an absolute mare of a first half but boy did he turn it on in the second. Everything he touched turned to gold, was even better because it was against the Pies! He was also completely robbed of the mark of the year for his incredible leap against Richmond in 1998. But he did get goal of the year! Liams short time at the club was a mix, the highs were oh so high, but the lows were as low as you can get. He was something special but he could've been more. I'll always look back on his time and think about what he could've become had he been able to absorb the pressures of the AFL world and his world back home. Had things worked out, I feel like he could have become one of the greats. I also want to mention Marty Whelan, I know there's a lot of love for Wheels on this forum but I sometimes feel like indigenous round gets dominated by the flashy small forwards. Not only was he a tough as nuts, reliable defender, but he was a great leader around the club. He was instrumental in helping Flash (another of my favourites) to settle into life at Melbourne and could not have been a better mentor.