Maldonboy38

It is worse than round 1 2012 because "the boys" trained their backsides off for 5 months according to certain principles, structures etc... and then played with no urgency or intensity at all. So many times the commentators called "the Melbourne players stayed off and the Port player took the ball uncontested". Since Neeld was appointed, I have stayed committed to the view that I would review him as a coach at round 11 2013. It is only round 1 but he is beginning to look shaky. Can he game day coach? Can he inspire? No signs of this yet after two preseasons.

There's a pig at full forward - Sandy Roberts

The only one I really struggle with is Nicholson instead of Jetta. Excluding injuries, Dawes, Trengove and McDonald should come back in next week. Probably means Gillies,Matt Jones and Pedersen/Sellar will make way for them.

We have Dawes, Trengove, McDonald and Gawn all to come back from injury, and they will all probably move into the 22 during this season. We have Davey, Evans, Terlich, Strauss and Jetta who will also press for selection - actually they already have done so via the preseason. I also believe that Tynan and Taggert will improve vastly this year. At last some genuine selection dilemmas. It has been a while.

The speculation from media "experts", including past players and coaches who should know better, is driving me nuts. I know they have to do tipping but some of the reasons or insights being given are pathetic. As for Maclure - I put him in the Ashley Hansen category. He was a below average player in an outstanding team, and now has the bragging rights as if actually contributed to any of Carlton's success!! I place him only 1cm below Greg Denham when commenting on the Dees. I agree with dazzledavey36 - Maclure is the biggest [censored] ever. I love the ABC commentary and game discussion but Maclure almost makes me switch off.

Definitely Gawn. This boy has both size and talent - if he can work through injuries. Don't be fooled by the amicable personality and the goofy grin. He is a strong mark and not a bad kick (forgetting his first ever shot on goal!!!). Spencer is the no. 2 at the moment, but I reckon we will recruit another ruckman at the end of this season.

You may have noticed at training that part of the warm up is standing 15m apart and kicking from a standing position. Then move apart to 25m, and then to about 40 m.This is about ball drop and leg action technique. You can definitely alter your technique through repetitive new muscle-memory drills. I agree about Davis, Bail, Nicho, Joel Mac have to work extra hard because their natural efficiency stats come from a poor base. Young Viney is another candidate. However, I agree with a post above about natural hand-eye coordination. Hird was an outstanding kick and yet had one of those "both-hands-off the-ball-and-let-it-drop" kind of actions. His hand-eye coordination was exceptional. If you want a training manual for a kicking action, look at Fevola, Barry Hall, Ablett snr and jnr, Leigh MAtthews, Carey, and of course Robbie.

I discovered Monday that I cannot go due to work commitments. Devastated. My kids particularly unhappy, as we had slotted this is as one of the important ones for 2013. Can't get to a TV or computer until about 4pm.

I am in the car every Friday when Greg Denham talks to KB. I had to turn it off and listen to ABC classic FM instead - that's how bad it became. I wonder if some Melbourne official stole his play lunch at Kinder: he is embarrassing in his vitriolic hatred of the Dees. Mitch Robinson - surely a man that ugly has already been hit in the head a few times. Scully. I know lots of people change clubs, but the total lack of integrity by him and his dad is a new low point in the modern era. Buckley did the same thing to Brisbane.

Feels like deja vu all over again.

Well I really enjoyed it. Adelaide's van Berlo saying "you are the reason cave men carved into walls" is actually funny. Gary Ablett in the surf Well done. Corny - you bet. But who gives a rat's toss-bag.

I can't believe the rubbish written about the blazers. Pointing to the past, some say? Who wears a tie? They have been around in some form for thousands of years, and in the modern form for at least 100 years. Who wears jeans? Invented on the Californian gold fields in the 1840's. The blazers are not about how they look but what they represent. Our heritage. Our unity A symbol of success Club colours. Would you rather missing teeth, moccasins, flannelette shirts and K-Mart jeans like the filth?

Quite apart from all his punting etc... he is a small step below Robbie Flower as my favourite player of all time. He had it all. Superstar. Unfortunately, his kind of intuitive, mercurial brilliance cannot always be taught or coached. Some like the Red Fox Norm Smith, Leigh Matthews, even Robert Walls could. But the mercurial players like Skilton, Carey, Bartlett, Ablett could not. I don't reckon Schwartz has the attention to detail needed for coaching. And his addictive personality could mean coaching senss him nuts. But to come alongside Dawes, Clark, Hogan etc... in some one-on-one coaching advice - YES PLEASE!!!

I like this move and see it as part of a very clear strategy. Over the past few years, as the Dees left the horror of the Junction Oval behind, MFC administration have gone all-out to put the MFC "brand" in places of population growth and expansion. City of Casey: a strong strategic move to place our name, jumper and brand into one of the fastest growth corridors in Australia. I live down this way and my son plays footy here and in 2012 I saw more kids in Dees jumpers than I thought I would ever see. The "Read like a Demon" initiative at local schools and library means tons of young kids meet our players and buy into our club. And they are. This is working. Once Casey Fields pulls its finger out and completes its redevelopment this move will show its merit. Now, we strengthen our ties in Darwin - another place of huge population growth and government investment. And we get a sponsorship out of it. As our players train in the NT and play there more often this will turn into 2 lock-in wins each season. The AFL, MFC and NT have to ensure we play outside the wet season and play in the right time-slot, and if all this occurs this is a huge Coup for the MFC. I see that many are concerned about it pushing us away from the MCG. We play both home and away games there so I reckon we get a good run on the MCG, all things considered. And I don't give a toss what Carlton are doing. They can become addicted to sniffing money in brown paper bags, or eating chicken wings to celebrate their Messiah - they are irrelevant to me. The Dees in the NT is a win-win for mine.

This young bloke is impressive in the same way Zorko is for the Lions. If we can add him and Hogan next year, our list will be in good shape for a tilt at the finals. The question for me is "do we go for Prestia or Daisy Thomas or both?" If we can afford it - both.

I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the official injury list from the MFC website - it is a vague gauge at best and rarely accurate when it goes over 2 weeks. Having said that, injuries will play a huge part in determining round 1. B Jetta - Frawley - Garland HB - Dunn - McDonald - Watts C - Howe - Rodan - Grimes HF - Kent - Dawes - Evans F - Byrnes - Sellar - Tapscott R - Jamar - Sylvia - N. Jones I - Spencer - Viney - McKenzie sub - Toumpas Terlich, Davey and Magner could easily find their way into round 1. I expect Blease to be available for round 2. Trengove, and Clark available for round 3.

The GC match remains a practice match and should be taken as such. First - what was our biggest error in the 2nd quarter against the Saints? Defensive running, work rate and positioning/structures. Practice these things. Second - have those players vying for a position in round one see if they can earn a spot. Players such as Pedersen, Viney, Toumpas, Strauss, Jetta, Tapscott, Evans, Terlich, M Jones, etc... should be the main focus.

Disagree. Jack always had a smirk, but he never believed in Bosustow as anything more than a good ordinary player. He defended this view many times after being questioned on this.

Jack Dyer once called Carlton's Peter Bosustow - who was a flash in and out spectacular player - a "good, ordinary footballer". He was spot on. Col Sylvia is exactly the same. He has all the skills, flair and look of an absolute gun but in reality, is just a good, ordinary footballer. We have held our breath for too long for him and now we look to Blease, Toumpas, Viney, etc... Howe is a beauty. We haven't played a real game this year. Wait and see. He will show his worth again.

The simple answer is no. We have a B+ back line that has options to float through like Jetta, Strauss, and I reckon Tynan will be a fine footballer. Our forward line looks strong, but we need a small crumbing forward - I hope Byrnes fires up for this role - and we need a mid-size forward like LeCras to provide further, dangerous options. Howe is potentially a great player but we need more options. Probably rate our forward line a B-. Our midfield remains the hotspot. Probably rate it a C or C- . Jones is wonderful and now we need Viney, Toumpas, Blease and Trengove to shine. Looking back over recent years I maintain my opinion that although our recruiting could have been better, it was our player development that was our downfall. Colin Sylvia remains a perfect example. At Geelong, Hawthorn or the Filth he would be a premiership player, and all-Australian, and maybe even a Brownlow medalist. We need our 50-games-or-less players to be developed well, adn then we can press for finals. Our X-factor is Neale Craig. His player development work at the crows is showing fruit now and it looks first class. I predict our last 11 games this season will show some great signs of development, and finals in 2014.

The more I think about it, Brian Wilson and Shane Woewodin need more respect from Dees fans. Granted - Brian Wilson could be a sook and a [censored] at times - but his best was outstanding and he lasted for a fair while in a good side. Woewodin was very good (B++)for a few years and had that blinder in 2000. There were no presses or "structuring up" like there is today and in that environment he was a reason to go and watch the footy. I still can't believe we let him go. And while I am at it, if our backline was not as solid as it seems now, I would take Brett Lovett also. Impossible to tackle, hard as nails, a bit slow but could run all day, heart of a lion, and good old fashioned aggression. And a curly mullett. What more could you want?

From 1990 onwards - Ox or Tingay (maybe Farmer?) From the 80's - Flower or Grinter From the 70's Alves or Hardeman Boy have we wasted some talent over the years.

Yep, the tackling against PA on Sunday was superb from most players.

OK then. Do you mind if we indulge in some harmless speculation? Wouldn't it have been easier to groan into your computer rather than type into a forum on hypotheticals that you don't want to participate in hypotheticals?

Viney is a lock-in. Blease at his price is a must - pity about his injury but he will fly this year. I wasn't considering Kent or Evans but NAB cup form makes both likely candidates to start, earn some dollars and sell them by round 4 or 5.