deeko

The secret to Garlett's success, as Nev Jetta so succinctly put it to me, the [censored] [censored] is always on the move

To answer the Terlich question, he wasn't on Garlett, and yes he had a solid game for a first hit out, as BB said in the beginning, nobody was horrible so it bodes wekk fir competition for places

Gday Sat,

Who played on Jeffy? Was it a Scorps player or someone on the list?

Did Terlich play in the pocket or was he roaming up the ground a bit? I think I am one of few who likes Terls, hard as a cats scone and tries to take the game on but I don't think he is quite there now that Jetta, Salem and probably HL will be played there this year.

Yes, good get and news to me.

Surprising when he appears to have quite a bit to do with the Geelong Cats.

Dangers Sr is certainly more qualified than Scully Sr for such a position.

I know nothing about him or what he does, just got told the news from someone I'd back in. Maybe he just watches the Falcons train and sends some details through to the Crows... ala Saty

I'd love to know how many of these jobs happen in the league and how its monitored or if its possible to monitor. How many players out there could have there missus pealing oranges for the club on half a mil?

Not sure if its been mentioned on the 101 pages so far, but I believe that Dangers old man is on the crows recruitment staff or has been offered a role in a deal similar to Scully's old man.

Just learnt this today and thought it was a interesting

Who told you that?

Someone is pulling your leg.

No, it's wrong.

Have a number of associates who know Mr Danger well.

Was pretty happy when I read this today

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/adelaide-confirm-patrick-dangerfields-father-works-in-clubs-recruiting-team/story-fndv862c-1227224566881

I think Matt Jones is a good solid player but I expect guys like Salem and toumpas to overtake him, he allows them to develop rather than play too much too early

This I think is the value of Matt here. He is a just a good depth player and will not be playing two's without a fight.

Him in the ones means a Salem, Viv, Toump, Track and Brayshaw must be getting plenty of the pill in the pre-season or the twos early enough so they get a taste at his expense. No more playing guys on there potential which is fantastic.

Although I sincerely doubt he would make a top 4 team at the moment he is good enough depth for me.

If we can't beat St Kilda this year what hope do we have of winning any game.

I'd like to think that we will beat them but wouldn't be surprised if it was a similar result to round 1 last year.

There mids in Joey, Jack and Armitage are as good as ours and Riewoldt is still playing good footy so I am not getting to confident.

With our recent additions in Oscar and Frost and the new & improved Dunn guessin that he wouldn't be high on our agenda.

Rather keep an eye on the Dangers, Selwoods and other quality mids in the the world

I cant help but feel sorry for Col's inability to knuckle down.

My demons supporting cousin coached him under age up on the Murray

He said he had never seen a more rounded match winner. Speed, power, light years above others. Made it sound like Gary Ablett senior at Myrtleford.

He has disappointed many people.

I'll admit, I was seduced by the player I hoped Col to become and kept the faith until the end. (I also had faith in Cale to become a player.... thats costly)

It wasn't until I moved to MIldura 18 months ago when I learnt about the real Col and how much of a goose he can be. I saw a couple months ago when he was home, looked super strong but really bulky/heavy. It seems all mids these days are leaning down on top and getting that big arse/core area for strength there. Col looks the opposite and seems to be happier showing off his beach rig. Still, anyways, had a good chat with him and he seemed in good spirits. Seems like he is just a big kid who loves life.

Unfortunately his love of life saw him having a few fairly decent cracks on the sauce when he was in Melbourne in the early new year as well with a mutual friend I learnt recently.

Shame with Col, has all the tools but one to be a good player. That tool is the scone on his shoulders!

If he plays anywhere this year I will be very surprised.

If he does not play this year he is then out of contract what happens then?

Surely he would be at least offered another contract for 12 months. I know we don't want to be seen as a retirement home or a lost dogs home (thanks Crossy) but as if any other team in the comp would pass up the opportunity to take a punt on a kid with such wonderful attributes.

At his very best with some leg speed restored and with the ability to again kick 50m he would be a walk up start in our best 22. He has shown the ability to be a very, very good AFL player.

Jack has been badly let down by both his body and luck given the what this club has dished up over the course of his career here. Being Co-Captain of the MFC at 20 during the Neeld era couldn't have been an easy gig. He showed maturity and leadership beyond his years

But the chances of Jack returning to his very best? Remote or at least unlikely you would imagine. But then if he does get fully fit again and can complete the fairy tale comeback it would be wonderful.

His first two seasons we had a good quality player coming through who we all had high expectations for. He was massive in the 2011 in some of our wins playing some cracking games against the Bombers and Crows.

His body and the utterly stupid decision to make a kid captain are both the significant factors here.

Watched the replay against the Eagles the other night when it was on fox where we got pumped. I forgot how awfully slow he looked in that game looking like his body had let him down probably along with his confidence. Surely if we get his foot right we will get a look at the old Jack again.

He could be that little cherry on top if we start getting competitive again forgetting how good of a player we have on the side lines.

Very happy with the group of experienced, hard and proven players. Would love for Grimesy to return to his best footy and get the football worlds respect back but I am sure he still has it from his team mates.

Its a good group which I think if any of them had something to say to there team mates, the team mates would listen. A far cry from out of form kids taking the responsibility of a team with has beens in Rodan and Byrnes supported further by ol'mate Clark.

Stoked also that there was no silly youth inclusions as well such as Viney, Tyson, McDonald etc. I am sure these three and others have exceptional leadership qualities but lets just let them find there own feet in the footy world prior to being a leader at our beloved club.

Well done Roosy and the MFC!

Sorry , had something to do before I could do this

Just plain selfish

Despite the list changes (25% turnover) we have four new players with previous AFL experience coming in Heritier Lumumba, Jeff Garlett, Sam Frost and Ben Newton (the later with only four games) to replace James Frawley and Mitch Clark (who didn't play at all in 2014).

Is that enough to bring us to a brand new dawn?

I can't see anything exceptional happening this year but hoping for say 7 wins and for us to maybe knock off a top team for a bit of a thrill.

As for the list, clearly looks stronger. Quite exciting that players who played rd 1 last year like Georgiou, Byrnes, Spencer, Fitz and Terlich will most likely be out for HL, jeffy, Hogan, a fit rush and hopefully newton.

Be quite nice also if Petracca/Brayshaw have a cheeky little impact early as well

Ok, I'm ready for the insults now. (You know, evey time I hear the word season I think of cooking!)

For the pre-season comp I really couldn't care what they do, just as long as our boys get through injury free and play some decent footy.

16 a team (say removing the wings) would see games open up a lot faster and the return of multiple large goal kicking full forwards which is one thing I miss from the late 80's and 90's. Everyone loved ripping into the opposition FF and every week it seemed there were guys slotting through bags of 7 - 12 every week.

As long as we leave the real stuff alone I really dont mind

I'm more interested in the roles that players will have this year and will they have a positive impact. Such as:

- Will Dunn stay at full back on the key forwards again like last year. Or does the recruitment of Frost free Dunn up as an attacking defender?

- Does HL really play in the guts, the wing or back to the old faithful HBF?

- Does Grimes get a game if all are fit?

- Will Petracca or Brayshaw have any impact?

- WIth a full pre-season will the Toump justify his high position in his draft?

- Are Newton / Mitchie / Pigdog actually good recruits and another Roos genius move or are they busts.

- Will Maxy pass over Jamar?

- Will Hogan ever play for us? Can he play? Will he suffer the same injury cursed career of so many forwards before him.

- Is Jeffy worth the punt?

One things for sure its going to be exciting for a while anyway.

It's really impossible to pick a best 22 at this stage and thats a great thing imo.

Hogan, all smiles, still on his modified program, no issues at the moment

Hi Sat, thanks again for your good work.

Can you tell me what a modified program looks like for Hogan? Is it for his back injury? Is he doing any running at all or just a bit of light kick to kick?

I'm just surprised if he is doing much as I thought most of his time would be pool/bike based to let things heal.

I honestly know nothing about the treatment of these type of injuries so quite curious.

Cheers bud

That would seem to be about the right level for Tapscott. I don't recall him ever dominating in the VFL.

I was a massive fan of the kid early but he really didn't show much/anything at the highest level other than a glimpse here or there.

I was at the game he kicked 6 in the twos a couple seasons back and he killed it that day. A couple of games last year he played really well in the hard contested stuff for the Scorps but never took many games apart.

The only win out of this I thought was the fact we no longer seem to be keeping players on the list based on potential anymore. If they aren't getting on the park or not showing enough on it looks like its all over.

Max Gawn needs to clunk his marks.

I think Maxy is getting a lot better at this. Started really dominating the VFL last year with his contested grabs around the ground and up forward.

I know it was only VFL standard but it was promising for a 22 year old to do so.

He started clunking a couple towards the end of the year in the ones and I am confident he will continue to improve and be a player for us.

The rucks actually the one spot of the ground I that doesnt concern at present.

Jamar is the fittest he has ever been, Gawn is due for some luck and Spencer just competes and that's all we can ask for.

I'd much rather wait until a proven player comes available who isn't getting much game time much like how the Crows got Sauce, GWS/Syd getting Mumford, Tiges and Maric etc. They can then take Jamars #1 spot in 2016 or after.

Seems to be a lot less riskier to wait a few years, see if there bodies hold up and they have the aggression and skill to be competent rather than running the gauntlet with kids who ruck.

There is the "Kiss of Death" deeko

Sure to go down with an injury now.

Hahaha, I know it does worry me but surely I am due for one!!

I should have placed the 'surprise packet expectations' on Clark, Scully, Bennell, Pettard and Stef!

My previous predictions include Tappy, Sylvia and Fitz. Hopefully I'm not providing a curse here.

My prediction for the surprise packet is Gawn. He dominated the VFL last year clunking grabs everywhere. I think its time for him to start clunking a few in the ones.

I like it how Jamar isnt giving up his spot without a massive fight. Will make Gawn and the Snake lift and work harder.

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't he start having calf trouble on his attempted return at Melbourne? I know it was a soft tissue issue, I remember hamstring trouble as well, but this has a familiarity to it. Only this time I am very happy with the news. EAD you faker and fraudulent poser.

I went and watched a training at Gosch's really early on when he was returning from a string I believe.

He was beaming being out on the track with the boys and doing some run throughs at good pace while kicking a few pills around. You could see he was just loving being out with the lads and you could see the team mates all being right behind him chirping it up. It was nearly right in front of me when his calf went pop and he went down.

He hit the ground a few times and looked absolutely devastated to the fact I thought he might have been crying, not in pain but just devastation and frustration. As lame as it is I nearly teared up as well as he looked an emotional reck and was clearly shattered.

I don't think Mitch is necessarily a bad person for leaving us as we will never know what really happened.

- Maybe he is just an emotional bipolar suffering crazy man who Roos and co thought it would be safer to get rid of instead of his team mates and us waiting for the return of our messiah.

- Maybe also, he is a dog, used the club to get fit again and ditched us for another chance at glory.

- Maybe he's just a 12 year old in the body of a potential superstar who put to much pressure on himself to single handedly lift a club and his body forbid this causing his dark days.

I actually hope he has a good year and his body holds up as he is a wonderful player and the game needs more like him when he is at his best however I hope the cats massively bottom out and we leap frog them on the ladder.

Would be glorious.

Thanks to all for the reports and the photos. Great job and really appreciating it.

Well this is an oddly positive thread! Liking it.

I love the Dom for the fact Miss Deeko loves the Dom.

That means that unlike years gone past when Miss Deeko has wanted to do something else other than watching the dees (doesnt understand the game, her only fault) she now wants to watch so she can watch the kid and no longer gives me grief about it.

I'm happy with this although I'm never going to a dees function with her if the Dom is going to attend.

That HFF position is the competitive one, with the likes of Kent and Salem having a lot of upside that would slot perfectly in to that position.

To me, JH is our most overated player, and one I would have at the top of my list to trade. I'm not saying he's a dud, he's an ok footballer, but I think some, Melbourne supporters included, value him a lot higher than his worth. I guess to justify/support my view, I rate both Kent and Howe on a similar level. We wouldn't be offered anywhere near as much for Kent as we would for Howe.

You're a tough judge on him billy I'll give you that!

I think supporters serious under rate Howe forgetting how good he was in a team that was so (soooooooooo) bad and forgetting the fact he played in a spot that he never has before in his life this season.

We over rate Kent and Salem a lot more in my opinion at present. Both will be fine players I believe but they have shown little more than snippets in there careers so far. I do really like both of these two but Howe offers a hell of a lot more

My definites if available:

FB: Jetta. Dunn. ****

HB. ****** McDonald. Lumumba

C: Vince. Jones. ****

HF: Howe. Dawes. ****

FF: Garlett. Hogan. ****

R: Jamar. Tyson. Cross

Everyone else still has a fair bit to prove in my opinion before deserving there name in the best 22. I don't care who fills up the spaces or sits on the pine but at present this is all I could say I would definitely take into round 1.

Hogan obviously gets in.

I love the fact Toump, Watts, Kent, JKH, Petracca, Viney, Brayshaw, Stretch will all be competing with the desperados in Bail, Michie, Garland, Grimes, Riley, Newman etc.

It's two seasons up forward under Neeld, one down back under Roos. It seems like Roos is keen to move him forward, and I'll trust that he'll get the best out of him.

To be honest, apart from the marking, IMO Howe is a pretty conventional player (i.e. not outside the box, rather than avg) - he often provides a hard leading target from up forward.

The player who replaces Jeremy in our backline will do a comparable job. I'm not sure if anyone has quite the ability to do the same in the fwd line. Guys who kick goals are just very valuable - kicked 30 goals in one of the most depressing sides to play since 1859.

In bold sums it up pitchfork.

I think we have a few players who can play that extra defender and intercept player. Now that we have Frost, who most believe is best 22, I feel Dunn could be that player. Also, would be nice that we might see Judy get back to his best with completing a full pre-season.

Howe can hit the scoreboard and is a massive point of difference in the forward line.

If (and its a big if!) we ever get our full squad on the park we would see most likely Hoges, Dawes, a rest Maxy/Jamar down forward. Howe would have to get the 4th defender and also not get double teamed like years gone by as the defenders would have to worry about the other 3.

One on one the guys a beast. His contested marking stats confirm it.