Maldonboy38

His physical presence and maturity in our backline is what allows MacDonald to fly formarks, Jetta to dodge around people, and players like Wagner and Hunt to develop. I love him as a player and reckon he would be a fairly decent human being as well. Daniher almost single-handedly stuffed his career up, and to see where Dunny is today is a huge tick for hard work, perseverance and resilience. I wish the Dees had some more like him. Is he Matthew Scarlett as a full back? No, but then Matthew Scarlett was the only Matthew Scarlett. We are so much bett3r with Dunn in our 22.

Out of all the the things we could be worried about, Salem is not one of them: how about McDonald's kicking, our 2nd tall forward, our 2nd ruck, the coaching transition, who steps aside for Petracca etc... He will make mistakes and get beaten in one-on-one contests but Salem is reliable. By hand and by foot we can trust him, and he is young. Nothing to see here, move along.

6. Viney 5. Gawn 4. Tyson 3. Garlett 2. MacDonald 1. Vince

Our weakness against Tiges was horrific unpressured turnovers across half back, not midfield or forward. Wagner will miss I reckon and Oliver will come in which means Bugg and Hunt at half back. Brayshaw's game was very fumbly but is Petracca the right replacement?

Having moved to the country in January, this will be my first game for the year. I went last year and it was an amazing pre-Anzac day celebration, and a great win. Hogan took some amazing contested marks last year. I love what is happening around our club at the moment but I still feel trepidation about every game we play. We can win well and match top four teams but we continue to wobble when confident. Our small forwards will win us the game (Garlett, Kent, Kennedy) and I can't see who they will play on Watts. I hope it is Chaplin because Watts will run off him. Put Bugg on Dustbin Martin and watch the fireworks. The best thing about tonight is the form of Richmond. They are probably playing the worst footy of any club at the moment. Dees by 4 goals.

Elite refers to players who have skills and/or presence that can make or break a game. At the moment players like Robbie Gray, Aaron Hall, Lynch, Luke Palmer etc... Right now and on 2016 form, probably only Viney and Gawn would be mentioned next to this lot but are not genuinely elite. However, we do have an emerging list of genuine A-graders: Viney Gawn Hogan Oliver Possibly: TMac Petracca And I can't wait to see Weideman.

Frost's role as 2nd/3rd forward and helping out in the ruck is a vital part of a modern team, but I have had him well behind Pedersen in this role. He surprised me a lot today with his attack on the contest and steadiness with the ball. His marking is a worry but he has only played about 30 games or so, the marking can improve. Look at Gawn, TMac and how they can mark a ball now. But Frost has to put 5+ games together with improved marking to de emnt nis spot.

Vince and Garlett make the team even better than it was today so they come straight back in. Rest Oliver. And unfortunately I reckon Hunt misses out. A bit tough on him but he was a fill in for this game. But I would not like to be the selectors this week - some tough decisions to make.

Man O Man that was satisfying. Our midfield can actually play! I cant believe that I can type that and believe it. Our forward 50 entries in the last quarter were horrible but our effort around the ball all day was simply stunning. Very soon opposition teams will have to tag Watts and Viney - these two boys are causing headaches every week. And we beat the filth.

2 weeks for that. Almost 2 steps after the player kicked the ball, deliberate, high, and dont fool yourself that that didn't hurt.

Have you lost your medication? Is it a full moon? Are you a closet Pies supporter looking for a dentist? We all know your pain andat one time or another all have required alcohol, valium or leeching, but we are not Richmond - we do not eat our own. We whinge, complain, moan and breast-beat but we leave cannibalism at the door.

Watts - learn to mark Dunn - makes defence better Vince - stop polishing elbows M Jones / N Jones - look before kicking Anyone - stand near Harvey

Players will be dropped in relation to our opponent - Collingwood, who are dominated by a whole pack of B grade midfielders. I would love Peders in for Frost, but we need Frost's height and speed as a DEFENDER to counter Moore so this change is unlikely. Garlett comes in for sure but I can only think of Bugg to be dropped and they play so differently it is not a good swap. Bernie will go for a few weeks, so Brayshaw comes back in.

An amazing, frustrating, exhilarating, heart stopping game of footy. Lots to love, lots to despair of. I know we will play a couple more howlers this year just like the Essendon one, probably at Etihad or against the Lions etc... But for the most part, I can enjoy watching the Dees play again. Who remembers just after the Neeld sacking - our % was in the 50's. Yep, the 50's. Today, after 2 losses, it is in the 90's. We are IN almost every game we play, even if we get 7 goals behind. We lack polish but we are at the contest, fighting, clawing, tackling and busting our guts. I hate losing and am sick of it. But at least I am enjoying the game again.

For some reason I am feeling good about today's game. Without Garlett our out of form forwards might struggle for goals, but North win by being hard at the contest and this is also our strength at present. My main concern is can we stop Waite and Petrie? If we restrict th3m to four goals between them, I reckon we win.

Hall is tearing it apart this year and I love watching him play. And right alongside him is Jack Martin. These two, in partnership with Ablett, make footy a joy to watch. We so much need the class, pace and skills of these three. And I am a great fan of Eade. No holds barred, straight talker who can give a good spray, yet behind the scenes is a very good people-manager and players seem to reach their peak under his leadership. In January I picked GC for the top four, and then a week or so before the season proper wasn't sure. Maybe I was right.

I reckon we do have a game plan. When there is a ball up, or transition through the corridor, you can see repeated running patterns from our midfielders etc... Our forward systems are not working well yet but wd are getting goals from general play rather than marks inside 50. The issue remains our basic kicking and handball skills. We win possession of the ball, the players begin spreading and running, and the kick misses the target, favours the opposition, or the mainstay of MFC football - we handball behind the player who has to stop running to pick it up and he gets tackled. We have fixed the issue of getting the ball by recruiting heaps of inside players who can compete and win the ball, and I am glad we have done so. But our basic skiĺls, under pressure or free and running, remain the worst in the league. Grimes, Bail, and most of them are being moved on but the replacements haven't improved things. Tyson, Tmac, Viney, Harmes, Garland etc... And I can't see much scope for improvement at this stage. I hope 2016 proves me wrong.

We Demonlanders are often surprised about the outs and replacements. Wagner is another prime example, as is the omission of ANB. I wonder if the consistent things Roos and the selectors are looking for are not possessions and/or goals but a list of attitudes and on-field acts that go unnoticed by us but are of paramount importance to them? ANB has had good games, and one beauty last week, but is that consistency? Do any of the Casey watchers (I tried to be one last couple of years but have moved to the country) have any info on what consistency Wagner has displayed? Has Dunn's game shown consistency in NAB challenge and at Casey? This weekend's game is almost impossible to pick. The team balance looks slightly off still, but we notoriously play well in thesd situations, even if we don't win.

No to Weideman ... yet. The Hawthorn model is by far the best. Some of their players are drafted at 18 and don't get a game in the seniors until they are 20 - 22, because they emphasise development over talent. There are 100 players in city and country footy who are tall, can run and take a pack mark. That does NOT immediately transfer over into AFL footy. Weideman will play 5-6 games later this year, once Frost, Pederson and Dawes show the lkmits of their usefulness.

Yes. Some unexpected losses infirst half of season, some unexpected wins in second half of season. 10 wins approx.

Garlett - very, very fumbly Hogan - lazy petulant toddler Roos - badly outcoached today Selection committee - absolute friggin shocker Kent - not giving anything Salem - where's he gone?

Roos said that only 6 players at the most earned the respect of the coaching group, and that it will be a detailed and hard review. He also had some leeway for the younger players who seemed tired (p..s poor ex use if you ask me). I reckon Kent, Harmes and Brayshaw are in the spotlight. For whatever reason, the rest are probably safe unfortunately. Hogan will probably miss with an ankle but he needs to be reviewed very harshly for being petulant and lazy.

Wow. I speak for a living and can't find words for this. I know we will lose some games we thought we would win and win some I thought we would lose, but never did I think we could not beat Essendon in 2016. I feel embarrassed.

Richmond are short on genuine talent, but they can play good team footy. That gets them unexpected wins. It is always the same thing for them - brain fades and ridiculous decision making at vital moments, especially late in games. When they are on song I love their brand of footy but they do not have a premiership-winning list, andHardwick is not a pemiership-winning coach.

On Saturday, a number of times (Kent goal a specific example) Frost got to a contest, didn't get a possessioin but knocked the ball to another Dees player for our advantage. Dawes continually drops balls that hit his hands on the lead, bounce 20 metres away, and get swept away by the quarterback-type players from other teams. Murphy, Suckling, etc... Yes, I am suggesting that Dawes continually drops easy marks so badly, they end up an advantage to the opposition. I don't have video evidence, nor the ability to compile it, but I am fairly sure this is the majjor fault in his game.