Good Times Grimes

Unfortunately the rivalry between Toronto and Ottawa isn't very strong anymore because it's been so long since we've been good enough to go further than them in the playoffs. Many Toronto fans will go for the team playing Ottawa, but more often than not you will find people are indifferent. Picks for this round: Blues in 6-- I'd like to see the Kings win but I'm not overly fussed. Rangers in 6-- They need to contain Ovechkin/Semin/Backstrom but I think Lundqvist is worlds better than Holtby. Predators in 5-- Should be too good. Flyers in 5-- If Philadelphia can sort our their goaltending they should have no problems. Giroux and Co will be too much for NJ to handle.

NYR have beaten Ottawa 2-1. Very exciting game, and a great result. I'll now be content with any team that wins. NJ leads Florida 1-0 after the 1st period.

He definitely wasn't our worst, but 4 possessions is 4 possessions. He needs to impose himself on the game more if he wants to be a part of our team for the long haul.

Agreed. Too bad we didn't have him last season, he would have fit right in to our Round 19 side with a performance like that!

I think we have enough good forwards as it is, our problem is getting the ball to them. Sylvia is our best hope at being the solution to this problem.

Good to see Cook back in, even if he does play in the Casey reserves. Also looking forward to hearing about Taggert.

And the reigning champs have been eliminated! Washington win Game 7 2-1 in OT.

That's almost as annoying as Ellie McKenzie doing it in DeeTV interviews. Almost.

I have absolutely no doubt that we will take him, it's just a matter of WHEN we will take him. I hope we are able to let him drop to our 2nd round pick, but I think it's unlikely. Either way, we'll have the equivalent to 3 first rounders which puts us in a good position to build a strong young midfield.

3 game 7's over the next two days. Hoping for Washington, NYR and Florida.

I know it's been said that he'll need significant time in the VFL before pushing for AFL selection, but does anyone think that due to our early season struggles Jurrah could be back in the team sooner than we think?

I think you might be missing the point of this thread...

We don't have anyone called Mitch Clarke...

Thanks for the report. How did Viney go?

Do you have any thoughts on the topic, JnrMac? Pointless posting if you're not going to contribute anything.

You raise some good points, but I find it hard to believe that players like Davey and Green would stop trying and risk their careers just to prove a point to the board. I think the end of this season will bring quite a large list overhaul starting with some of our senior players. I can't see Davey or Green playing a part in our future unless they can recapture their pre-2010 form, which I think is unlikely. By doing this we still won't solve our leadership problem, and that is why I think that during the trade period we really need to target some mature players to fill the void that we are missing. It sounds like you know a lot more about the scenes that caused 186 than I do, but I still think CS is a vital part of the MFC. Maybe if I knew what you did, I would have a different point of view. Also, Garland was thrown into the midfield against the dogs for a little while. He actually didn't do too badly. FU Aker.

Sorry, I misinterpreted what you were saying.

You're right, our midfield isn't good enough. The point I was trying to make though is that it is not the CEOs fault. It is not his job to recruit, develop, motivate and monitor players. I think it's unfair for you to say Trengove is still learning while writing off Blease, Gysberts, Strauss and Tapscott. They were all drafted either in the same year or a year apart from each other and they are ALL still learning. I think the new coach will be able to help move these players along much faster and to heights that Bailey never would have. That being said, something needs to be done about our current midfield. If we recruit a gun midfielder or 3 at the draft they won't be stars right away. It'll take time to develop them and turn them into good AFL players. That is why we can't give up on the players you suggested.

On a similar note, did anybody else notice that video that the AFL put up of all the weekend's injuries? Some of them compete with Strauss.

I still grimace each time I see it. What an awful landing. He was very luck his head didn't go the other way, otherwise he would have broken his neck.

Framing Schappelle Corby. And the Bali 9.

It's hardly the board's fault that the players aren't performing. The club is in the best financial position it has been in in years. We have some of the best facilities in the AFL. The main reason that we aren't doing well is because we aren't fit enough through the midfield. All of our midfielders, bar Jones, have missed significant amounts of football over the course of the past 12 months. Moloney missed round 2 & 3 and when he came back in he made an immediate difference to our midfield. Bate barely played AFL last year. McKenzie missed the majority of the preseason. Trengove had injuries interrupt his preseason. This is Magner's first season in the AFL. Sylvia still hasn't played due to his back injury. As a result of this we are being forced to play other players in the midfield who are not naturally midfielders (Garland, Watts, Howe). The reason we were better in 2010 than we are now is because we had senior players who actually played like they deserved to be on an AFL list. Davey, Bruce, Green, McDonald, even Brad Miller at times provided leadership for our younger players. They did things that would lift the team around them. We had an exciting young list that included the likes of Scully, Trengove, Watts, Frawley, Grimes, Gawn, Gysberts Jurrah...the list goes on. Since 2010, though, Bruce has departed, McDonald and Miller got the sack, and Davey and Green look like they're past it. Scully is the only young 'gun' to leave, so we essentially have same young players and no senior leadership. Was sacking McDonald the right thing to do? Who knows. He was in and out of the side in his last year with injuries, and perhaps he needed a year off to let his body recuperate. How was the board to know Bruce would walk? How was the board to know Green and Davey would fall off the face of the earth? Last year it was evident that our rebuild was struggling and our senior players were not stepping up to fill their roles. Because of this, the board stepped in and sacked Bailey to bring in a new coach with a new vision. He has had four games. Don't blame the CEO for problems that exist on the field. It is in the players' and coaches' hands as to what happens on gameday, not Cam Schwab's. Give Neeld a chance to instil the attitudes and behaviours in our players that they need in order to be successful AFL players. Sacking Cam Schwab will win us a premiership. EDIT: Sorry for going off topic; Jason Akermanis sucks.

Interesting that Frawley is the only player from that team that will remain in our 'spine'.

Just because a player gives 100% doesn't mean that they deserve to play. I'd give 100% week in and week out, yet for some reason I keep getting overlooked on draft day. Strange...

It would be great if they could pull off the upset. I don't think their goaltending is good enough to take them much further than the second round though. Absolutely crazy bill! I would love to have that sort of disposable income...