Pates

I reckon the position the club has taken has actually leaves the door open for him to be reinstated for the second half of the year, he's pledged to the club that he will do everything he can to win back the respect of his teammates and get himself back into the leadership group.

That's very disappointing to hear, I would've thought the players more than anyone would understand it's harsh to punish a larger group because of a few idiots. Particularly when that larger group is deprived of opportunities to see the boys up close and chat to them.

I'm satisfied with the clubs response to this it has been swift, brutal and transparent. I'm expected and would've been comfortable with giving him a week off, but if that's the result I reckon he'll be gutted he's out of the leadership group. Not happy Beamer!

Completely agree with you, Beamer is one of my favourite players but if what's alleged proves to be true he should be given a holiday, possibly even stepped down from being a VC. We still have a very young team and we must steadfastly stick to our player conduct policies, which this would certainly be a breach. Of course, at the moment all we have is a caller from Tripple M so I'm sure the club will do a thorough investigation.

Play the bugle once when we're raising "the grand (new) old flag", we get the team song when they come out and that's enough for me. That second rendition was just sickening to hear, and to be honest ruined a bit of the atmosphere for me, I don't know if it was the trumpeter of the PA system but I hope they take that as a sign.

I particularly liked the analogy with golf in there because it showed the club is under no illusions of him doing great things, Par is just spot on of where he's at in my books as well. Hoping for a few birdies this year, but i fully expect there'll be some bogies as well. The unfortunate thing with him is when he does great things most of the comments i hear are, "that's what where expecting of him", but when he makes a mistake boy it makes him looks very average!

I couldn't agree more, I want us to absolutely ruthless this weekend.

I wasn't/am not a "Bruce Lover", but as good as Tapscott has been in taking up his position I have absolutely no doubt Bruces experience (and Juniors as I also alluded to in my post) would've been extremely helpful during the torrent of forward pressure in the third quarter. Would they have stopped it? Probably not. But the second half was a reality check for us fans, and hopefully the players. Experience can be an integral part of a side, it is what the young players look to when times get tough and unfortunately the ball just wasn't getting to our older generation during that time but Bruce would've been playing in defence and Junior would've been around there as well. Don't take this as me saying the FD did the wrong thing, I agreed with them tapping Junior on the shoulder and I certainly agreed with them playing hard ball with Bruce, but I have a feeling there will be times throughout the year when we will miss the older heads of Bruce and Junior. Sunday was one of those times. Bottom line is players will have to step up and take responsibility.

Losing Bruce and Junior was always going to leave a hole, particularly early in the year against more seasoned teams, but I have no doubt that other players will step up to fill that void through the year. I agree that although the scoreline is better, we were worse this year than last V Hawks. BUT the Hawks are better and I think that is the bigger point, I haven't seen Melbourne be that thoroughly beaten in once quarter since the days of 2007 and when the Hawks stepped up a gear (and actually put it through the big sticks) we seemed to go right back into our 2007-esque shell. That is a concern, one that Baily must address this week. I have no doubt that the players will put in a proper performance next week V Lions, because I reckon quite a few of them will be filthy that we took a step back this week. I also reckon there'll be some changes, and hopefully some players put on notice. I fully expect us to come out hungry after such an insipid second half, and we should be going into the bye with two wins and a draw to our names.

If it's the one i'm thinking of, Jetta's drop just prior to the onslaught was worse. I actually thought Bennell played OK today, not saying he was a standout but he at least showed some of the traits that makes me think he'll be a pretty good player for us.

Of everything tonight, this was the thing that [censored] me off to no end. The hawks were hitting us the ball back, and while I recognise that it isn't an easy job, we made 100x harder for ourselves! Blind freddy could've seen that the initial plan in place was not working, why keep doing it?!?!? Of the 26 behinds I reckon 80% of them were just long bombs to noone in particular, and all it did was give them another opportunity to kick a goal (which mercifully they just kick another point with it!). This MUST be looked at this week!

I must say, I was one that opposed the rule but thus far I can't fault it. It's given the clubs the opportunity to take someone off without being down an interchange player and if lucky enough to not have an injury (as we were last week) it can be used to great tactical advantage. Still early days, but so far it seems everyone was panicking over nothing.

Workrate, it's all about workrate. If we play as hard, intense, and relentless as we have shown we can last year then I think we're a big chance for an upset. BUT if we are one microbe off our game I think the Hawks have the potential to make us pay. They'll be majorly [censored] with their loss last week, we should be [censored] we couldn't get the job done against the Swans. The big thing will be if we are able to keep with them in the midfield. All I can say is, I've got a feeling......

Short but very true, we were bloody good when we belted them last year and they weren't on their game. This game they were much more switched on, but we still managed to keep in touch the whole match. I've been reflecting on it and much as it pained me missing out of the full four points, it felt kinda good to know that we didn't let the game fully slip away from us and when they started to kick away we dug in and fought back. Would've been a sweet and memorable win but it's a truckload better than a loss!

As much as i don't want him at Casey, if he embraced the club and the people in it rather than seeing it as a means to an end than i actually think it could be a fantastic support network. But as said previously i don't think he has hit rock bottom yet, which is a serious concern. FWIW i too have actually heard glowing reports about Fev prior to the Brownlow debacle.

Stating the obvious here, but that guy is seriously messed up. If he really has that much of an ego where he isn't willing to comply with the coach and club's decision on where to play him, especially after what sounds like an ineffective game, than he is clearly delusional! It seems like for every step forward, he then takes two steps back. I don't doubt he's trying to get himself right but I don't know that football is the answer, especially given how people were saying before hand it'll get him back into a disciplined structure. He's played one game and already he's breaking away from the clubs rules! Get him the f--- back to rehab, because he clearly ain't right.

I always laugh at those who think that Beamer will be pushed out of our premiership-potential team, without a doubt if we are to make it we need the likes of him to be winning the ball out and doing all the rough and tough stuff. Top class game from him yesterday.

Bit harsh to pin it on one moment in both games, but yes both those incidents prove that Warnock is both definitely depth at best. Scully definitely has better disposal that Bartram, I like his (Bartram's) game but when he has the ball my heart skips a few beats because i can't be certain it'll hit the target. I agree it's probably Tom's main deficiency, at the moment but it comes with confidence and it certainly got better as the year wore on in 2010.

I agree, I felt that Trengove settled into the pace of the game quicker, but Scully just felt the pressure a bit more and coughed it up a few times in this game early in the year. The WB game was where we saw what he was capable of, but in this game it was a case (for a lot of the younger players) that when the heat was on a few errors crept in. That said, the senior players made plenty of errors themselves; Joel Mac, Bate, and Warnock all had critical mistakes in the final 5 minutes of play. This game, though, still both excites and devastates me. That last plunge by Bail to Petterd, he was SO close to having a shot to win us the game after the siren and the frustration on his face tells me how much playing (and winning) for Melbourne means to him. It's a great example of what we are capable of, but intensity is the first step. The Pies players had no time on the ball and that is why they made so many mistakes. MAN I'M PUMPED! BRING ON SYDNEY!!!!!

Jesus Christ that photo makes him look as beefed as a wrestler! Congrats Luke, hopefully an early Rising Star nomination!

Massive blow, but hopfully it'll give another player a chance to shine. Gysberts perhaps? At least Trenners is good to go for rnd1.

Jimmy's smart enough to realise the situation we're in and see that if we don't put a positive spin on it it'll just keep getting worse and we'll just look like whiners. Fev won't be playing for us next year, I reckon there'd be more chance of Neita coming out of retirement, fact is though we're stuck with him so why not try to use it to get positive press?

Well said, I'm definitely against Casey's decision to possibly get Fev but I can't see them taking protests and boycotts of Melbourne supporters (who get in free to their games anyway) into account when it comes to making this decision. Schwabby has made his and the club's position clear to Casey, and if that's not going to change their minds than I reckon it's just about a done deal (barring Fev turning up to his trial hungover). This will not affect whether I decide to go down and check out our young guns tearing up the VFL.

The annoying thing I keep hearing is everyone comparing the Scully situation to GC poaching Ablett. There is a MASSIVE difference. Ablett has been the core component of a Geelong side the has yielded two (should've been three) premierships, one year he won the Brownlow. My point is he has serviced the club well in his time there, he may have left the club but he has left his own legacy there that is arguably equal to that of his father. IF Scully goes, which my gut tells me he won't, but if he does we will have got two years of good service (first year awesome but still a good/average player on numbers alone, and hoping for no 2nd year blues) and a likely lesser 1st round pick, as something tells me if the AFL weren't going to take the no.1 pick from GC for Ablett they won't do it for us. FWIW as i said, i don't think he will go but only time will tell.

Can anyone name the last time Melbourne had a NAB Cup game in Melbourne? Kinda looking forward to it (and not just because it's my birthday!), with the likely opponent being St Kilda it'll be a good hit out for the pre-season.