Pates

My thought gut tells me Rocket is in more trouble then Bailey, a top 4 side last year to being humiliated to the tune of 123 points by last years spooners is worse than what we're dishing up at the moment. As gutted as I was about the loss on the weekend, at least I saw a bit of fight, in the end I just don't think we had the quality out there to get the job done, and since we're talking coaching I think Baily actually coached better than Lyon.

Agree with most of that although I don't think Jmac was as bad as everybody reckons (aside from the idiotic play on in the last). The irony of bringing Bennell in for Davey would be quite funny, but I'm pretty resigned to a belting this week so we might as well mix it up because there are some players that look way to comfortable. Gawn coming in would be a great positive for us, and surely would be better in the ruck than Newton.

Judd Bartel Pendlebury

He should be fine, there was no second action and the player got up (albeit a little groggy). I think the bigger issue here is the fake turf on the side, if that'd been on grass he would've been fine.

Yeah I noticed that as well, he was working bloody hard all day to create options and it was very rarely rewarded, that kinda thing would make a bloke start thinking "what's the point?"

Ok my thoughts on the game aren't completely out of whack with everyone else. Pros: - I thought we were more competitive (Bailey's favourite word) for longer today, we crash and bashed and match intensity for much of the the game. First 5 minutes of the 4th quarter were disappointing given how close we were but at least we didn't let it blow out. Given how depleted we are it could've been worse. - Jetta showed he can actually play a role if he wishes to, needs to be backed up next week but it was a good step forward. - Pickles had a very good debut, he didn't look at all daunted and has certainly earned a retention next week. - Watts. The bloke ran his ass off all day and did some very good things, he looked like a footballer and will no doubt be relishing getting his hands on the footy more and more. The next step is for him to kick 3+ goals in a game. - Stef Martin is holding up in the ruck, in fact he's better than holding up. This is not only a positive for him but for the Russian as he won't feel like he's got the whole rucking duties resting on his shoulders when he returns. Cons: - SKILLS!!!! Fricken woeful at times today. Not just that but the decision making while disposing of it was terrible, we bled goals and good chances for US to kick goals from simple stupid errors that simply should not happen. - Jurrah, going to cut him some slack as everyone's entitled to an off day but when he's not on he needs to work on 1) body language and 2) 2nd efforts, both were disgusting to watch today. - Bate, used to really like him but bugger me he was a liability today. WOG for mine. Dunn's out for one more week, he'd better show something soon or he'll be Matthew-trade-Bait at the end of the year. - Petterd, love watching the bloke, he can be one of my favourite players but he seems to have lost the competitive spirit that made him so good last year. Hope he'll come back from this. - Newton, no explanation needed. He's simply not up to it, but he's there because we have no choice. As soon as Gawn's ready to go, get him out. I could go on and on, but for me what it comes down to is the team out there is simply not good enough. I'd almost commend them for staying in touch for so long today, if i didn't see for myself how down on confidence the saints are. We could've won today, but i get the feeling this will be the last close call we have for a while. I also agree with the original posters thoughts on Bailey, I see no use in giving him the flick during this year and there's no point in hounding to club to do it. He has very average team to work with at the moment so it's impossible to judge him properly, and calling for the axe will only create more negative pressure on our club.

If we get out of the blocks early hopefully we can play on their low confidence, but honestly i don't know what to expect this week.

I swear i remember hearing that late last year (in the off-season), it's quite possible to issue is ongoing but i honestly couldn't say for sure. It's an interesting article, certainly much has been said about the likes of Aussie and Liam coming from such a different culture, and the difficulties they've had adapting. It's a credit to Matty Whelan that we have such a close indigenous group at Melbourne, when Flash came it was Matty that took him under his wing (so much so i felt Aaron even played better early on when Whelan was out there). And that legacy has been passed on to Aaron, who from all reports has been particularly integral for both Aussie and Jurrah getting settled here. Hopefully this is something that will continue on in perpetuity with all indigenous players that come to Melbourne.

Many of us were praising the decision to make Green captain last year, I was one of them, and I'm not going to say it was a mistake. But he does seem to be struggling with how to play under the banner of "captain". Is it just me though, or is he being played completely differently to last year, i mean i get that our midfield stocks are taking a big hit at the moment but the way he got the nod was by playing as a forward, why change that? On Bailey, I see very little point in sacking him at this time of year, it would only destabilise the club and serve as a distraction to the players. I think the next few weeks will be an incredible challenge for him and a real chance to prove to himself and the football world that he's not just a development coach. Good coaches can coach great players, but great coaches can make average players play above themselves.

I was incensed when the umpire payed high contact in (i think) the third quarter when the North couldn't have more clearly ducked his head, no excuse for that one there was no one blocking his line of sight, it was an unquestionable stuff up. (And how bad were the bounces ALL DAY)

Boy Petterd was showing his "appreciation" after that ridiculous free that was not payed for over the shoulder, chopping the arms, AND hold the man. Honest to god one of the most incredible misses i've ever seen from an umpire.

It may be nothing, but Jonesy hurt himself in the first quarter and to me he seemed ginger all day. I know he's not the fastest player in our side but he seemed even slower today, so he may be given a week off as well.

It's definitely mental, we were all over them in the first and allowed a few junk time goals, suddenly when they had a few early in the second the players started thinking "here we go again". I was looking forward to seeing the likes of Bennell and Jetta take an opportunity and run with it, but my god Jetta looked useless out there today, and Bennell came on early enough to get himself I to the game, but simply didn't. I think what really did us in was as not taking our chances, we had simple shots on goal in the 3rd quarter to really put pressure back on North, but we missed them and then it went up the other end and they scored. Extremely disappointed, now we've got a tough run ahead with injuries coming out of our ears and low confidence.

Yep saw it, must be brought in front of the MRP or else they'll surely be labeled as hypocrites.

Some players are going to have to step up massively over the next 4-6 weeks while we slowly get some of our team back. Big opportunity for the likes of Jetta and Bennell who have both been thereabouts in our best 25, also a big load for Stef to bare until the Red Russian is back. Some interesting times ahead.

Yeah I had to switch off the radio when he came on, he doesn't even TRY to see the other point of view and continuously cut people off during their argument to make them seem foolish (mind you many people who ring in can sound pretty foolish on their own!). Case in point, one listener started to say that Trengoves tackle was an accidental part of the game and as soon as he said the word accidental....BAM! KB cut him off and said, "well it wasn't accidental, it was incidental as stated my the MRP", just because they say something is doesn't make it so Bartlett. People are allowed to have opinions.

I'd be in for this one as well.

It would be awesome if we could get the kangas fans to come in on this as well to show that it is an across the board fan position and not just the bleatings of disgruntled Melbourne fans.

I'm liking the armbands idea as it is simple and visible, but I this is something we should do as fans and let the players get on with the job. I'm not sure about going to the ground but not entering because the boys need our support and I'm sure hearing our roar lifts their spirits.

Feel free to call me a [censored] with this idea, but I'm thinking that since the club backed Trengove up and we've back him online, I reckon if we want to make a real statement that this decision is wrong not just for Jack but for the game itself we should do some kind of protest before the game on Saturday. The only reference I can think of that we can start from is the Melbourne victory fans turning their backs on the ground prior to a game (v NZ from memory). I'm not saying this the one we specifically go for but if anyone has ideas and wants to do this I'm open to it. It's a shame it's not at the G where our fans would've been more prominent and stood out.

I hope the club tells the players to leave them up and they'll cover the fines.

Basically it's seemed Jack has been guilty until proven innocent.

It sickens me but does not surprise me. Trengove, a thus far very fair player, has been punished for doing exactly what he's taught to do and thugs like Brown get away with bloody murder playing outside the rules. AFL....you are now officially a disgrace. And we'd better take this as far as it can go, untimely what do we have to lose now?

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/113441/default.aspx This is a fantastic thing to happen at our home game, I hope everyone get out to show our colours but to also give generously to Olivia Newton-John's charity.

Man i want to let lose every expletive i know!!! Really sucks, last year it was Petterd that went down early this year it's Grimes. All the best with your recovery Jacky boy, look forward to you tearing it up when you get back.