jimcor

Whether Morton is ever going to be a good footballer or not is almost immaterial. I'm not surprised that a journo would have a look at D'land if they were putting a story together on someone like Morton or Watts. As high draft picks, the story is about them not living up to their potential rather than, in the case of low draft picks, exceeding expectations eg Howe, Magner. Nothing surprising there at all. I suspect everyone knows that there has been a fair bit of deserved criticism from the supporters. My issue was that: Are the best interests of the footy club served by our coach, on match day, being publicly seen to deliver a rocket to a player? I was uncomfortable last year when a premiership-winning coach (Malthouse) did the same thing to a young-ish player (Simon Buckley) and I'm more uncomfortable with a first year senior coach doing the same thing. It's just wrong and (I'm filled with dread to use the term) makes MN just look like a schoolyard bully. Where's the consistency when other players did exactly the same thing in the game but didn't receive the same rocket. I've long been a critic of Morton but, up to the clanger, I thought he was one of or best. He tackled, he chased, he ran both ways. The other question is would the story have been written without the spray and has this improved Morton's chance of minimizing his areas of concern. Only time will tell, I guess

And knowing this, you still try to hurt my feelings! Shame,BH, shame!!

It was public and, from what I saw on TV, in my opinion it was humiliating. As you know, it's often the way that something is said that has far more significance than the actual content. I don't think anything was gained from the display other than to raise some man-management questions.

Jamar & Moloney's performance is very weird this year. I think I understand that Neeld has made it a non-negotiable that our midfield focuses firstly on it's defensive approach but surely this wouldn't be at the expense of the opportunity to be first at the ball? Why then, did we get absolutely thrashed at the centre clearances? Jamar & Moloney have been playing together for so long, they surely know where the ball needs to be directed and where it's going to go to? What isn't working and why doesn't it seem to be being worked on?

Given (as I said earlier) that I think that one of Cale's major issues is self-confidence, I don't think that public humiliation by the coach is a productive approach. As much as I can empathise with Neeld's frustration (I've been frustrated by MFC performance for a hell of a lot longer!), I think these sorts of obvious horror moments are better dealt with away from the cameras. Fear is certainly a motivator but it's seldom the best one. Need is paid a big quid to provide leadership and I'm not sure this qualifies as such. In the fullness of time, Neeld will be measured by the performance he manages to extract from all players and in the form of premierships won. His talent isn't demonstrated by the effort he gets from the players that have either or both of the natural skills and the commitment to his plan, it's what he gets from the others i.e. those who lack the natural skills or the ability to understand what he wants them to do. Generally, I like Neeld's approach and much prefer it to Bailey's but he's a first year senior coach and he is obviously learning a bit as he goes along, as well. I suspect he wouldn't be thrilled to be similarly humiliated.

I was also a bit embarrassed by the toxic reception that Morton received. To me, he looks like the polar opposite of Jack Watts in that JW always looks as if he knows exactly what to do (even when it's about to go pear-shaped!) whereas Cale almost always looks as though he's terminally confused about what he should do. This wouldn't be helped by 5 years of criticism from the likes of us - me, very much included. I think he might still turn into a pretty good player if he ever manages to get some self- confidence. Also, I would also probably include him in my Top 6 today in spite of that horrible turnover.

Good call. No further comment from me other than to say that the reason I included the remark in the report was that, for a while, I wondered if he was injured because I hadn't noticed him at all in over an hour. I finally only spotted him as he left the field. That would never have been the case in the past.

I think it's a matter of balance. I think it's good that he's toned it down a notch or two because it allows others to have some impact and, frankly, this season his performance on the field (up to last week) hasn't been that great. Having said all that, I would be really happy for his on-field leadership to continue to return in line with his performance. I can understand his feelings & reaction but he will want to be remembered as a winner and a key part of a great team. Everyone knows that he's capable of a bit more and this week, more than most, I will be really happy to see him soar. I know Nathan Jones wasn't dropped from the leadership group but the example he has set for everyone else has been phenomenal. I see Beamer as being a player with similar abilities who needs to use NJ as his benchmark.

Saw this as well and thought it interesting how intense the exercise was. I thought there was a bit of 'mongrel'-baiting going on and Jack certainly seemed to be taking it seriously. Rawlings was physical with all of the other players he was working with but,IMO, not as physical as he was with Watts. No harm done, all will help him become a better player. To put it in a context, Jack had a kick-to-kick with a 5 year old girl at the end of training and didn't king hit her by way of compensation. Also pleasing to see Jake Spencer getting a deal of one on one attention by various coaches. One other thing that I've noticed is how quiet Moloney is during the sessions by comparison with previous years. Obviously, it's still hurting and the sooner he gets fully over it, the better.

I meant to say that I thought Dan Nicholson's performance was very reminiscent of Aaron Davey's early days. Davey could put the foot down whether defending or attacking and used to terrify the opposition. How great would it be if we had a Byron Pickett-esque player who could terrify the opposition in other ways! Regardles, what a great prospect for the coming years provided he can work on his foot skills.

Even if I knew how Hurley performed every week, it would still be a difficult comparison because, as I understand it, Hurley is essentially a CHF whereas Watts is currently is playing as one of the backs. It would be like comparing James Frawley with Mitch Clark. The different requirements of the rolessurely tends to make the comparison virtually meaningless. Even if the thread said 'Jack Watts has more potential than Hurley', it would still be an educated (?) guess. I think Jack Watts is a good player who will become a great player and maybe the same thing could be said about Hurley. The best comparison will be if/when Watts plays on Hurley but even then it might depend on the support either player gets from his team mates.

I don't think I saw any significant change in the game plan. For me, the difference was that the players seemed to be learning that there is a 'right' time to spread and doing it more effectively. It was remarkable (for me) to see the number of successful passes by foot because players created enough space for themselves. It then followed that it was unlikely that the Dons could get a fist to the ball. In past games, foot (and hand) passes almost always seemed to put players under pressure - particularly under Bailey. We are maybe seeing the benefit of ten weeks of intense practice.

6/ Jack Watts - And he's looking even better now that players are learning to spread and provide a target. By hand or foot, no-one else in the team matches him. 5/ Jared Rivers - How many times as he been written off and then confounded the critics? 4/ Dan Nicholson - His solid pre-season paying off in that he was still running strongly in the 4th. 3/ Mark Jamar - Rucked strongly (no surprise) but also started to impose himself in open play. 2/ Nathan Jones - Just keeps on doing it! 1/ James Sellar - Showed that he definitely has something to offer. Will be interesting to see if he can deliver again on Monday if he's picked.

I thought he was really good yesterday - certainly amongst my best. He made some crucial interceptions when we were under the gun and, given the absence of Frawley & Garland in the defence, deserves a lot of credit. Having said that, all of the defence stood up - without exception. Also love the passion, commitment & intensity that Joel MacD brings to the game. Only mentioned those two by name because they have often been singled out on here as under-performers. In Sellars case, it was probably justified but we sometimes forget that he's also learning a new game plan and, asmany players have shown, it's noy that easy. Rivers was also fantastic (probably the best in my opinion) and Tommy Mc continues to impress. As always, looking forward to next Queens Birthday with the hope that the improvement will be maintained.

It would need to be consensual, contextual text. I wouldn't like it putting words in my mouth without agreement.

I predict this exchange has exceeded it's prescribed duration. Over & out.

I emailed the club asking why Jetta's injury was indefinite and why they were unable to put a return date. I got nothing back! Funnily enough, I wasn't surprised. I'm not sure what that means, if anything.

Yes. Good but hard, particularly in this setting.

Could it be that my 'predictive' text is being converted to 'prescriptive' text by my predictive text?

Who knows how to turn it off on an I pad?

That's probably right. I thought our disposals skills in the first three qtrs against Carlton were much, much better than in previous weeks. Balls hitting our players on the chest rather than being floated in overhead. A couple of horrendous errors obviously but fewer than in cement history.

Indeed, but I'm not sure that he's across his role (to say the least) and everyone says that big blokes take a while longer to develop. He's still only young and he's obviously seen as delivering something by the coaches. He's been pretty lucky (or should that be unlucky??) to get a good run in the firsts while Martin is on the sidelines. He might actually enjoy a some R & R in the twos for a couple of weeks to practice his skills.

Now that would be a Smart Phone worth the investment!

You're right of course. I just slipped this in to see if you re concentrating. It might have been Brad Hodge trying his luck at a new sport having finally realized he was not going to be picked for the Ashes tour! I knew it didn't look right but went ahead anyway. Serves me right. Ps he missed the set shot I watched him take. Glad he's got that out of his system as we don't want him doing that in a real game. Just thought of another excuse, prescriptive text?????

Got there around 10.15 and wondered and wondered if one of the horsemen had arrived in the form of bird flu. There were very few 'firsts' on the track with the exception of Jones, Jamar, Magner, Hodge and may be a couple of others I've missed. Anyway, it turns out that they hadn't been struck down, simply a matter of a shorter session due to the 6 day break. Makes sense given how tired they must be. Stefan M wasn't participating with the rest of the remaining main group - being the Casey players who have probably had a bit of a rest. He was getting some one on one. Dunn, Green, Magner (training machine!), Hodge were practicing their kicking for goal with Leigh Brown and getting one on one guidance. Also being practiced in pushing off players and going multiple times. Also saw Dave Misson training Couch & Cook (I think) in sprint starts so there's obviously a feeling that this is an area for improvement. Honorable mention to Sellars, he certainly puts in at training. Gysberts & Strauss were training with this group as well.