Pates

I remember Gazza saying on Footy Classified that they were showing what Channel 7 didn't, pretty poor from the host broadcaster to not show it but i ain't surprised one bit. Funny though how they always managed to show it in the good old days.

Players i defend: Moloney, I've always liked his style and defended him when he was out injured saying that he'll come back and dominate. McLean, Never said a bad thing about him (except when he did his silly things over the summer, but still defended him!) Robbo, I criticise him but i defended him when people were saying his singing was impacting on his game. Plus i still think he loves the club and when he's on he can be one of the hardest forwards to match up on (i just wish he'd stop falling over!) Jones, I love this kid and although there hasn't been much to criticise him about but when that time comes i will be there! Players i critcise: Miller, still refuse to eat humble pie about him despite his game on the weekend. It'll take a while before i erase the memories of the last 2 years of him however credit to him he is on his way to doing so. CJ, really don't rate him. Simple as that. Sylvia, I've been waiting and waiting, and i still don't know what's to come of him. Have high hopes, but i'm not going to defend him after so much time and very little to show. (Yes i know injuries have made it difficult, but enough is enough)

What the hell was PG doing announcing the Olympic park upgrade as a win for MFC, he even said this is one of the most important days for us. I've been defending him, but he really just seems to be losing the plot. Still Gosch's paddock (i suggest a re-name!) all to ourselves is still a win on some level.

Whatever happens, the AFL MUST compensate whichever team comes last. The thing about getting those early draft picks is that it's not just the future on the field but off the field as supporters get excited when their team gets first crack at the talent pool. And I'm not talking measly $10K or so i'm talking 300-400,000 PER POTENTIAL PICK lost. It's the only way the AFL can bring this in and be fair to the teams that should be getting the leg up (unless it's Collingwood). It really sucks this whole situation we're in, but hopefully we won't cop the full brunt of it.

I'm in the same bote as you, vanlo. Uni student that would love to go but can't even consider it with the amount of money i've got, what is their target audience for this event? It's silly to even think that an average member would be willing to pay that amount. I hope it gets a full turn out, sounds like it'll be a great night.

Miller is one player that Baily seems to rate, i just don't see it. Works hard but he just doesn't have a good enough footy brain. I think you're being pretty hard on most of the players you mentioned, especially Brock who at 22 is pretty much our key midfielder. Dunn could do with a stint in the forward line, it's where i prefer he'd be. Bartram is returning from a a long period of injuries, he's young and finding his feet again.

This is confusing, if Bate is OK then play him, if he's not then why put him down as an emergency? If they want to give him a run in the VFL then be done with it. Doesn't make any sense.

If this does happen, the AFL should compensate the team that would've got those bottom picks, it's only fair and that way they would have the potential to be able to trade to get better players. Typical that it happens right when we're the worst i've seen in the whole time of supporting Melbourne.

This is not about judging people's loyalty or discussing our teams success in the past or future. It's a research poll for a project i'm doing at university, however i am also interesting in some responses as to the reason of the choice.

One of the greatest players to don the red and blue. Hard to classify him as THE greatest as Lyon and Stynes are the only other great players i've seen, certainly one of the hardest working players in the history of the club. Will be hard to watch him go.

Stupid thing to say, sang his guts out and did an excellent job of it. He may be in the twilight of his career and not playing well but he's bled Red & Blue for his entire time at Melbourne and IMO has been a great servant of this club, it's no wonder club greats distance themselves from us once their careers over, every supporter stomps all over you when your time's up. Congrats to him on getting to the Grand Final, at least someone at the clubs having some success.

As a local to Sandy i would be sad to see a parting of the ways between Melbourne and the Zebras, but of course that's a selfish viewpoint. If we are going to make Casey a summer training base, it is logical to make our VFL alliance with them and we would be entering a growing community. However at this stage St Kilda are allied with Casey so until that changes Sandringham is the best any team could hope for.

This is massive for us, if we win this week (bearing in mind it is Carlton, atm the second worst team in the AFL) it will at least give us a bit of confidence to go on for the rest of the year. Plus we need our supporters to come out and make a noise this week, to show that we're still behind them. Melbourne by 4 points in a thriller.

When was that on TV, i think it's fantastic! They should've used the same footage and marketing campaign to get members this year, personally i thought it was very well made. Tugged at all the right heart strings!

I think it's time for transparency, i'm sick of getting the information about our clubs predicament in small streams through Caro. Everytime a new piece of information about where we are at comes out i'm thinking, "why can't the club just be honest with us"? I know it's their job to keep faith with the members but perhaps they are underestimating how much faith we have given them, and how much we care for this club. A year or two ago PG was always on the front foot, getting into new ideas and being excited about our club, now he seems to be on the back foot and being questioned about things that he has concealed from the supporters. At the end of 2007 the Kangas board came out and told exactly what needed to be done in order for their club to survive, the supporters responded and now they have over 30,000 members. I hope when the time come that Melbourne says, "we need your help" it won't be too late. TELL US HOW WE CAN HELP!!!

Just was i was thinking, every week supporters on here winge that we don't have any past players and legends giving us help and support, and now possibly one of the GAME'S greatest legends and one of our own calls for support and everyone is questioning his intentions! Perhaps this is one of our (many) problems, we're not trusting enough to accept help. It's always a conspiricy, just take his kindness and assistance and thank him for it! Thanks Ron, and well done.

- Cameron Bruce is soft and overpaid and must be traded at the end of the year, preferably for a top 20 pick. You cant run around getting cheap kicks, and play two good games a year on Brad Johnson while being ion 500K. A shining exanple of why our club is up [censored] creek. (In VFL/AFL history, has there ever been a 28 year old with 160 games that has failed to lay one hip and shoulder or do something physical? I doubt it) He's looked better across HBF. And i can name a few incidents where he's been physical, albeit way back in 2002! - Brad Miller has no place in a Demon jumper. Leading up the ground and taking a few uncontested grabs in another 10 goal loss is not cause for optimism. Wake up and realise this. Average footballer, most around here know this, he has looked better in his last few matches but these are in losses. - Colin Sylvia is a gun, and one of the few players on the list than can use the footy. Has great foot skills, and is a great overhead grab. If the coaches finally give him a spot to settle, he will dominate. Not sold on him and considering how harsh you're being on other players i'm surprised you're letting him off the hook so easily. If he gets his attitude right, we may have the player you see. - Nathan Carroll , despite being a [censored], is actually a pretty good footballer. BUT he is not good enough to be the main man at full back. If he was our 3rd defensive option he would have a field day and be a damaging player for us. Bottom line is we need a full back, and if Frawley was any good he would be in the side. We are in trouble. Well put, he should not be our first choice FB, he must be due to our lack of quality KPP. - Chris Johnson has no potential, no future and simply cant play the game. If you want evidence, watch when he took the advantage and played on, then had no idea what to do with the footy. Instead of drilling a goal from 40, he kicked it straight to a Kanga. Out of his depth. I have never seen anything of him to make me think he'll make it as a player, hell be an excellent VFL player, nothing more. - We have unearthed two future superstars in Cale Morton and Austin Wonemarri, who look like the second coming of Hird and Pickett. I know real talent when I see it. So while you people cream yourself over some very average players, I will continue to spot the gems. Love the look of Morton, Aussie i'm not convinced on but i am optimistic about it. - Daniel Bell is not very good. I had high hopes for Belly. He has been around long anough now to be a backline general, and calm the troops in times of trouble. At one stage he even looked like a future All-Australian. But he has not improved his poor awareness, and its probably something that will never change. Damn shame. Endeavor's there, he'll be around for a while. Not much we can do about it. - Nathan Jones has a dip, but has a very slow footy brain. Gets caught to easily, take way too long to dispose of the footy. Probably wont ever become an A-grade midfielder. He's got something many on our team don't have, heart. He'll be our new Jmac for the next 10 years. - We have more rubbish players on our list than any other team, besides maybe Carlton. Miller, Jamar, C.Johnson, Warnock, Garland. Off the top of my head. Agree. - Dean Bailey will be a great coach, and we will be good again once he builds the list he wants. It will take another couple of draft/trade periods, but he will get it right and we will be much better off than with any list we had in the Daniher era. We will even see some key position players in the ranks, thank God. Agree. - Our ruck position is in dire straits. White is finished. Jamar is a dud. PJ is not a ruckman, depite his great work aroud the ground. Meesen is in the wilderness, and is more of a PJ type player anyway. And to look at Brisbane and see their 1-2 punch of Leunberger-Charman. We are a long way behind a few teams in this critical area. Not all the best teams have had dominating, just one's that can hold their own. If we get a good enough midfield, this will not matter as much. Now love me or hate me, everything I say is true. if you dont agree with the above, you should toughen up or find another sport to follow. Just because you say it, doesn't make it true or fact. You have an opinion, nothing more, nothing less. I don't agree with you, many here won't, i'm gonna follow the Dees until the end of existence, i don't need need to toughen up because i don't have to agree with you to follow the MFC.

We won our first quarter for the year. Apart from that, Whelan's back!

What he said. If you care about the club then now is when the club NEEDS your support.

I get the feeling that the crowd sizes for Sandy will grow as the Melbourne crowds get smaller.

I will sit back and watch it on TV with a bottle of bourbon. Perhaps i'll play a drinking game, every time Geelong scores i take a swig. I'll have alcohol poisoning by quarter time!

This really should be a year that Brock takes the next step. We've seem patches and glimpses of what he's capable, 2007 was ruined by injury, but IMO at this point i think he's trying to do too much. I think he recognises that we need someone to step up but he's not there yet. He should just go back to basics, first option and kick the bloody thing. He does or did have good disposal, it's just his footy mind seems to be out of wack at the moment.

One of my biggest concerns with this is that we've pumped a lot of time and money in the Olympic park project, we have been told that this will make all the difference on and off the field. I don't think this is an entirely stupid idea, and we certainly need to look outside the box to stay alive, but i need to know that this investment hasn't been for nothing. The MCG needs to remain our home IMO, but this is a possibility to force ourselves into a growning area and still stay in Victoria.

OH MY GOD!!!! WHEN WILL HE LEARN!? YM, STOP TIPPING US! STOP TELLING US WE'RE GOING TO WIN! JUST STOP!