Maldonboy38

This is great news. At the middle point of last year I had him outside our best 25 and not in our plans. I could not be happier to eat a truck load of humble pie. His influence and impact on games is very high, yet remains understated. Viney and N Jones might get tagged, and Hogan has been triple-teamed, but Watts seems not to be noticed in opposition planning. Not for much longer though. Clubs will soon see his influence and plan to neutralise him. When he has the ball and is able to kick, our players now think " ok, here we go". And he is taking contested marks, which rounds out his game. He has become one of those players who makes you want to watch the game. The club did stick by him when he was producing some horrible footy, but at the same time the club totally hindered his development. It was a two way street. If our club had been functional at any level, Jack would have hit this form around 2010-2011. We really did stuff up so many palyers development. To see Watts, Gawn and N Jones come through this period and produce the footy they are playing in 2016 is a miracle.

My son is an umpire so I almost always go in to bat for them - a very hard job in any level of competition. But the umpiring in the Port v Hawks game has been very poor and without any doubt, favouring the Hawks. The ruck infringement for blocking - how can you block in the ruck without making any contact? Hodge running back and lifting his knee causing a major injury, all before he made contact with the ball - no free kick at all. Somethin not right here.

Once again we challenged a top team, and got a similar result: a close loss. And the main reason? Class. Both teams fumbled and missed targets all day, but we seemed to do it when under little or no pressure, and killing whatever momentum we could find. Class shows in three areas - 1) disposal under pressure 2) decision making 3) finishing off in front of goal We desperately need Brayshaw, Oliver, Wagner and one of Hulett or Weideman to develop well over this summer. These blokes have demonstrated a strong class element in their game, along with Hunt, Petracca, Jetta, and Hogan. Bugg, M Jones (who has been great this year) and Kennedy lack class and it shows against top teams. Add Kent and Harmes who have gone off the boil a bit. I am beginning to notice that opposition now often double-team N Jones, Hogan, and sometimes Viney, and am surprised they haven't started doing it to Watts. They obviously know that outside these players, our class is absent, or remains as potential in our younger players.

Does anyone remember what happened at Adelaide when Blight took over? Almost immediately he got rid of McDermot, McGuiness and one other bloke. Three great servants who bled for their club. Harsh, abrupt but VERYeffective. If these kind of decisions are to happen at Melbourne, and I can see similar conversations happening to Dunn and Garland along with Grimes, then I hope we do it with some grace, thankfulness and dignity. Grimes in particular deserves to depart with a high degree of club appreciation.

Huge Nev fan - I am rapt with the news of his re-signing. I know he doesn't have the flash and brilliance of a Betts or Bontempelli but in terns of effectiveness during game play I consider him one of our classier players. Good kick, often initiates run and carry out of defence, a decent side step, brutal tackler. A lot to like.

100% spot on LH. This is where the game will be won or lost - the defensive effort and work rate of our midfield. The game against St. Kilda was a classic example. Also, one-on-one, the Crows forward personnel are a class above our developing defenders. If our midfield does not work super hard, it could be a horrible result. Add Bugg to Sloane, and ensure our half forwards are awake and aware of the drive the Crows get from half back and we should match it with them.

No one deserves a game - everyone has to earn them one by one. Grimes is not in our best 25 at the moment and the high pressured modern game seems to have gone past him. I would love to see him get 100 games up and I hope he earns it through form, not sentimentality. But I am furious at our club for their decade-long systematic destruction of good footballers through dysfunctional player development, and their misguided humiliation of captains and leaders. Grimes' lack of excellence comes from a being at our club for 8 years, and being central within the Neeld debacle. Grimes might get stuck on 98 games, but I will always be grateful for the poise and character during his time as captain when we were a basket case.

The more this week unfolds, the more unsure I am of how best to approach Adelaide. Their forward play is brilliant to watch, defense effective, and midfield has large very experienced bodies. We are a very good contested marking team now but so are the Crows. I sense a really close game, with our inexperience possibly costing us in key moments being the difference. Maybe bring in Garlett and Brayshaw and try to win it with outside pace?

I have been out of the loop for a day or two - is it humanly possible for anyone to explain the Hawk's jumper? I am guessing sposnsorship or awareness campaign but their history of the worst ever jumpers continues unchallenged.

Not underrated at all by me. I spoke to him for about 20 mins at a club function about 5 years ago, just when he had major shoulder surgery. I became a real fan of his then and was disappointed when he was rookie listed. He has been a real gem under Roos' leadership a d he is definitely one of th best small defenders in the game. I just don't consider hom elite.

Nthan Jones is a perfect representation of where our club has been, where it is6now, and where it is heading. He seemed to be a good natural footballer with limitations who improved faster than expected and became the most consistent, reliable and loved player. He was overlooked for the captaincy when many realised he should have benn at least co-captain. The club was a tragic image of an old suit-and-tie boys club more suited to the1960s. Many of the players around Nathan Jones were VFL standard, or playing atthat level because of the culture. The Bartlett, PJ, Roos era begins. Nathan is elected captain but is massively challenged about the nature of leadership by Roos and becomes an outstanding captain, leader and embodiment of our new hope and direction. He developed a media ablity and represented a whole new culture of excellence, winning and success, at least in terms of planning and future direction. His inspiration on the field turned into a new feel about our club. Now, he is the face and leader of a club that has set high standards, has outstanding personnel on every line and department, little or no unmanageable debt, has a great list, and is competitive in most games. I consider him one of the best cpatains in the AFL and the fact that MFC is improving at the same rate of his leadership is no surprise to me at all. Keep watching him if you want to know where we are heading.

Elite sems to imply that the player consistently plays at such a brilliant level that other club fans both love and hate them, and they would find a place in any other team. Current. Gawn. Any club would salivate over his current abilities and match impact. Very near. Viney. Contested ball, third and fourth efforts, tackling machine, skills constantly improving, ruthlessly and fealessly stands up for his team mates when theaggression and biffo starts. A Joel Selwood type that coaches, fans and players love. Potential. Hogan, Petracca. Smokey. Hunt.

I haven't had a chance to see any of the game and don't think I will bother. I agree with many posters above that the club and list have made some definite improvements and advancements. The football we generally play is really good, and our best footy matches it with most. It is losses like this one against the Swans that are just so frustrating - when we do so many basic things wrong like kicking and marking in the wet, tackles being easily broken, and the Melbourne classic of handballing too much (which used to also include to stationary team mates).

I reckon we will give it a red hot crack, but there is still a big class difference between us and the Swans. Most of our class is visible and emerging, but still in the developing potential stage. The Swans have class on every line and a midfield that is huge in body size. Maybe the Swans lowest ranked 5 players are not as good as they used to be and our lowest ranked 5 are much better than they have been in years, but I can still see a 30 point loss coming up. Gawn, Hogan and TMac are our vital three. And Buddy is in the form of his life and could murder us.

Wow, Pineapple, you have jumped back almost 40 years there! I remember Van Der Hum so well because my racing fanatic grandfather called it a certainty and convinced me to put some money on it. Now THAT was a wet track.

Do we have any genuine mud runners, those who excel in wet, slippery or muddy conditions?

I have to admit to not being a fan. The strutting, the ridiculous hair do, the push on Riewoldt all had me grimacing every time he was in the play. But I can now definitely see his place in our 22 and I reckon Roos loves his attitude. His work on Frontbum on the weekend was first rate, and his team play is far better than many other "better" footballers in our team.

Dawes' impact is in our forward line. Pedo's is in his utility - he can play all over the ground and his gut running is first rate. As much as I really like what Pedo provides, the difference in our forward 50 with Dawes playing there is immense. His concrete hands and lack of general marking ability frustrate me no end, but his pace, tackling and presence give Hogan and Watts more time and space and provide Kent, VDB and others with someone to play off. Hogan is our Rib Eye steak, Watts our cheese and greens platter, and Dawes is our meat and three veg.

6. Gawn 5. Vince 4. Tyson 3. Hogan 2. N Jones 1. TMac.

Are you the grumpy cat from the internet?

This is my Dees highlight of 2016. I am a huge fan of Trenners, and watching him kick that goal gives me a huge dose of satisfaction. The game today must have felt so good to N Jones, Watts and Trenners after all the carp they have put up with at our club.

I got a bit worried late in the third quarter, when we repeatedly turned over the ball coming through half forward, with no pressure on the player kicking. But Collingwood are sooooo bad, they couldn't capitalise. Apart from this hiccup, we simply out played, out tackled, out pressured and out marked them. Even when we made errors, and we made some shockers, our players charged back in and made it difficult for the Pies to get forward. We were bloody ferocious at the contest, and how good was our pack marking - brilliant.

2 clear needs. 1. A key position defender with size, paceand experience and who is ready to go. Brown from Collingwood fits the bill. 2. Outside pace midfielder, probably to play off half-back. Someone like Shaw from GWS, Rohan from Swans, Johanissen from Bulldogs. Hunt will become this in 2 years but we need pace now.

I dont reckon either of Hulett or Weideman will play this year, with Hogan cemented and Dawes back. But I expect huge development during the next pre season and love the potential whuch both of them demonstrate. I also want to add another name into this list of emerging key position playing potential. Sean Smith's son Joel was taken as a left-field rookie but Plapp had already given a great rap on his quick development over 2016. I'm not sure where he sits in the Casey mix at present. I did live 15 minutes away from Casey Fields for the past 7 years but moved away, and witnessed a lot of poor games from Melbourne mlisted players. Would love to be watching the Casey games now.

I loved our spine against the Hawks - TMac, Frost, N Jones, Dawes, Hogan. If that group can find some consistency then our developing midfield has a strong foundation to work from. I think Pedo is a vital swingman and we need his utility, but can we fit him onto the bench with that spine in place, Gawn in Ruck, and a very tall Watts playing as a tall forward? Not too sure. Harmes appears to be the one out of touch. Kent has lost his attack on the ball and tackling pressure. These two out, but unsure who to bring in. Probably need Dunn for Cloke.