Maldonboy38

I was at the game last night and this is my first opportunity to post. Sat near the interchange bench and it was a great experience. The players interchange at precise moments according to computer GPS readings of time spent on the ground, all co-ordinated by Dave Misson. First time driving to Etihad and got a bit lost, meaning we had to park under the ground. Bugger me, it's expensive! $8 at the MCG but $30 at Etihad. Stafford's work with the rucks coming on and off the ground was brilliant - he is a really good acquisition. First NAB cup game I have ever been to. Very different. More interested and looking at new players, game plan that the emotional barracking I get into during real season. Notes from the game. Strauss, Barry, Nicho and Spencer made some mistakes but their other hard work made up for it. Evans was very quiet, probably the only player who didn't contribute to the overall team performance although some of his tackling and blocking was good (e.g.JKH goal) People all around kept on yelling out "kick it long, don't go backwards" etc... when the players were kicking exactly the same patterns they have been doing at training. Some of the kicking skills were poor. Welcome back Ro Bail. Two years ago I had him as my favourite player on the rise (remember the two games under Bailey against Essendon and the Swans) but thought his concussions meant the end of his career. Very glad I was wrong. Man crush re-emerging. OUr mid-field was magnificent, but defensive spread needs a little attention We won the possession count - wow! Frawley's reading of play etc... was excellent, his decision making ok, but execution often dreadful. Our backline were outstanding. Trengove will be an absolute bolter this year. a big 2014 looms for him. Round 1 from here likely to include Bail and JKH. Persevere with Blease. I get out of my seat every time he runs near the ball. He will get more of it. I have no rsied the bar on my expectations, but hope just might be rekindling.

No, it's very easy really. The whole club is built on John Wren's filthy money from the early 1900's, a time during which every social and political advance was held back by his corruption, stand-over, money laundering and every other scum trick available. Collingwood fc became the sporting embodiment of his ethos, and their success in the 1920's rests firmly on his horrible money. Their in-bred supporters, and successes remain connected to these roots. Think 1958 grand final. Think 1976 when the despised Weideman led them to the wooden spoon (beautiful, poetic justice) Think of the Herald Sun's addiction to them. Think Malthouse coach and Buckley captain. So it is very easy to not like them.

Clark, Tyson and Frawley for me. With a (hopefully) improved defensive mindset including midfielders spreading back to help out, this will release Frawley's attacking flair and he will average 80+ this year.

Enjoyed reading it - insightful and encouraging - but I am not changing my view of waiting until rounds 8 - 11 to make my first decision on whether the Roos plan is working. I particularly loved what he said about Toumpas, Viney and Hogan. They are not the saviours of the club who have to perform from day 1. He has recruited Cross and Vince to join in with N Jones to "take a few hits" for these younger players who can develop their first 30 games free of immediate selection, pressure and expectation. And at the least it sounds like Trengove and Watts are understood as footballers. My opinion of the first 6 rounds is quickly changing after watching some pre-season training and reading this article. It appears that the issues of game plan and morale will take some weeks to heal, and it is probably reasonable to expect only 1 win in the first 6 weeks, and possibly only 3 in the first half of the season. I hope for better than this, but the path to improvement is starting from a long way back.

Harmes for me. He is training really well and seems able to match it in everything except fitness. His skills and balance look AFL ready. The other three are position insurance.

Adelaide - used to admire them greatly but couldn't care less about them now Brisbane - loved Voss and his enduring connection but that's gone so... couldn't care less Carlton - grew up in the old Carlton zone and hate them with a hard-edged vitriol. This is a pure, unaffected hate built upon years of them winning cups, us winning spoons in the 70's. Collingwood - genetic hate built up over 3 generations prior to mine. Admire Buckley as a coach and hate myself for it. Essendon - ever since 2000 GF, these are scum: pure, pure scum that has them as my no. 1 hated club/team. Fremantle - Like them a lot, or did until Lyon took over. Geelong - At their best over past 7 years they were scintillating to watch. Still the hangbaggers, though. Gold Coast - Love their footy, but don't like the fact they entered the comp before Tassie. GWS - a failed footy experiment. My family now celebrate an annual "Boo Scully Day" when we attend Dees v GWS game specifically to boo his every touch. Hawthorn - arrogant b******s, and I hate them, but their club has to be admired for its continual success. North Melbourne - these guys really get my goat. How have they survived? Port Adelaide - a real turnaround from me. They were South Australian bogan scum but now they are a very good club with an exciting brand of footy. Richmond - They are the weird gambling uncle of the comp who always "almost wins". Sad, funny and amusing. St Kilda - Probably the owners of Sexyland and some porn film production company. Hate their recent brand of footy. Sydney - Admire them, but now really annoyed at the Buddy deal. West Coast - Were a true wow factor in early 90's but almost irrelevant since. Western Bulldogs - poor buggers.

Just back from training, got there at 10am left at 11:45am. I am not going to give a full report on drills etc ... because they have all been reported on at length in previous training posts. Instead just a few reflections/opinions on how I saw some things today. Based on the four pre-season sessions I have seen so far for season 2014: Frawley, Dunn and Strauss are lock-ins for backline positions. They were sharp, precise and focused today and super impressive. The wide running receiver position(s) are open - wide open. Blease, Evans, Barry, Bail, Vince and probably others are all training well. Small forward. JKH is impressive. At full pace he picks up wobbling half-volleys and turns on a five cent piece. Was evading some of the best tacklers in the team. Will be considered for round 1. Tackling: Cross is amazing in the tackling drill. When approaching to be tackled he doesn't brace his body, he just plows in all open and sort of splats into the opponent. Very effective method. Watts was tackling very well but still seems very soft when being tackled. The kicking today, considering the wind, was really sharp. The occasional kick was missed by most players but the delivery to a moving target seemed clean cut. There was a lot of ball on ground, close in work today with a huge group of players around the ball. Considering this is how the modern game is played, good to see the emphasis at training.

His contribution to indigenous advancement is not limited to going off at a mouthy spectator - it is simply not broad or deep enough to give him a priority for his indigenous work over the hundreds of others who do far more than he does.

Goodes is an amazing footballer whose best is up there with the very best of the game. One of my favourite players to watch of all time. He also happens to be an articulate, passionate, thoughtful and famous advocate for a racial minority that is beginning to heal and reconcile with the multi-racial majority. But an AOTY he is not. He has responded to racial abuse incidents: he has not been a broad based, hard-working advocate for the broader indigenous community for long enough. The young man with the bottled water program, or the man working with the bionic eye program seem to have been overlooked due to a lack of fame and a lack of political power in their sphere of influence. Fame and form have triumphed over substance yet again.

I remember really good sponsors from the past, the first being Mayne Nickless from the 80's. But AHG are doing things I have not seen before from sponsors, except maybe Pies, Hawks, Bombers, maybe Geelong & Ford. I am not easily impressed (at least I don't think so) but this is very good news for MFC - a sponsor actually willing to cross-pollinate a little bit. I know he is not mentioned much but President Bartlett needs a big thank-you for this. I can see his fingerprint all over it.

The captain has to be the best LEADER. The test is simple. Look at the player(s) the other players follow. That is the clearest definition of a leader: someone whom others follow. As for the comment about Jones having no elite skills, that is unobservant tripe. He has two clear exceptional skills. 1) Perseverance despite the score. 2) A magnificent kick, especially on the run. But the best leader at the club IMO remains Jack Grimes. How about a leadership group of 5, consisting of: Captain: Jack Grimes Back leader: Colin Garland Mid leader: Nathan Jones Forward leader: Chris Dawes Apprentice leader: Jack Viney

I rate both these players outside our best 22 and am therefore a bit surprised, mostly for M Jones. However, it is a very very strong and decisive move from the coach and list managers. They clearly see an upside on locking these two on our list, having seen two months training. I also reckon that it is probable/likely that some players on the fringe - I don't know who but possible players like Pederson, Byrnes, Nicholson, Bail - will get little to no game time. The emphasis on midfield continues, and it is moving away from those who have been tried over and over in a mediocre team and have been inconsistent or under-skilled. Question: do they have to get all contracts completed prior to the season beginning, in terms of list numbers and salary cap?

How about this: Captain Forward leader Midfield Leader Defense Leader Younger player being 'apprenticed'. This would equate to: Grimes Dawes Jones Garland Viney

IMPROVERS Trengove T McDonald Toumpas SLIDERS Bail Byrnes M Jones

A lot of players these days are pushed out of clubs, due to the club believing there are better options are available, the player no longer fits the clubs plans, or a myriad of other reasons. Most of them are good decisions and make good sense. I believe though, that many AFL clubs including MFC have been a bit slow in picking up ready-made players from other club's delistings. Roos has been deliberate and forthright in targeting delisted players who fit our needs and other clubs should take notice of how he has got the job done. Vince is a great fit as a replacement for Sylvia. Cross is just a great get. Put these two together and the potential lift for MFC is huge. But until a ball is kicked in action it remains potential.

All the best rjay and family: I hope you get some time to remember a good woman with lots of fond memories. For Christmas at our place we always got our kids a major gift, a minor gift, and a tiny little token thing. So - Big gift. Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon and Hawthorn to be the bottom four teams for 20 years. Let me sit back and watch them become the Dees, Doggies, Lions and Saints of the 70's & 80's. Hopefully, one of them would have to merge or relocate to survive. Minor gift. Footy Journalists begin to actually report on the GAME; not the club/AFL politics, not unimportant night habits of famous players, not giving opinion as if it is fact, and actually not reporting rumour, speculation, and social media fairy-floss. Just report on the best game in the world. Token gift. For James Hird to travel to Darwin for holiday, and for Matty Whelan to line him up in a shopping centre and lay him out just like that great bump in the Elimination final in 2006.

I just listened to Paul Roos on the club website, and love this quote about the new, young recruits: " they have to train hard, learn good habits... If they play one game in their first year it's a bonus. For us, if we are a good organisation and a good team, young players find it hard to get into really good sides. We want to be a really good side, that for young players no matter where they are drafted at, struggle to get a game." Match those words up against Watts, Scully, Trengove etc... and their introduction to AFL over the past few years. Now this is "getting it right".

I don't see the need for bigger screens - I actually go to the game TO WATCH THE FOOTY LIVE!!! If they turn the volume up on the loudspeakers to accompany the bigger screens, and we have to hear more from that half-time announcing nuisance, I will both scream and vomit. And please, no more betfair commercials or whatever gambling institution the AFL chooses for the 2014 season.

Exactly right. The more I reflect on Bailey as a coach the more I am convinced he was actually a good coach. The recruiting & developing staff around him were atrocious (he should have seen this) and the administration was mind-boggling poor, but Bailey's attacking football was exhilarating to watch. If he could have got them fit enough for the modern two way run it might have worked. We will never know.

Looking forward to March 8th. And I agree about entry/exit to Casey Fields. When you consider the money and planning that are going into this area, surely they can see the need for better parking, traffic control, and traffic flow. Last time I was down there though, it was still the same, even with a double lane entrance.

I loved the quick fire shots of kicking actions. A very balanced Jack Watts with a copybook kicking action, until he gets to the follow through! What is it with so many modern footballers swinging their leg across the body in the follow through? It is a simple thing. 1. move straight toward target. 2. While in motion drop ball from one hand as close to foot as is practical. 3. Follow through with foot toward target. This really frustrates me. Someone go get Barry Hall - best kicking action ever I am a developing a very quick man-crush on Cross. He looks so focused and intent all the time. Every year I am reminded that I would hate to face Frawley for tackling practice. He seriously is a monster now.

The list highlights two glaring realities. 1. We have wasted so many high draft picks, or we have not developed them. So many of our players have played less than 40 games and we still really don't know if they can or can't play strong, consistent footy at the top level (Strauss, Tappy, Blease etc...) 2. We are in prime position A to improve. The amount of 22 - 26 year olds on that list is very strong. But it remains potential. I am so sick of potential.

Roos' basics will be very similar to Neeld's - you can count on it. And the Sydney Roos game plan will be the blueprint for ours. But there is one major difference. We have what is potentially an amazing forward line. Roos never had that at Sydney. At Sydney his forward/goal scoring was based around Hall inside 50, with Goodes and O'Keefe running inside 50. With Clark, Dawes, Hogan, Fitzy and Howe, along with Watts playing something like a Goodes role, this will change the plan considerably. Not sure in what way yet, but it will have to be very different. Midfield and defensively we will see stoppages and boundary line play just like the Swans 2005 - 2012.

Tyson - our first touch of class in a long time. Looks smooth and ready to fire. Fitzy - he will be the surprise packet of 2014. Constant improvement for every year at the club, clunking every mark at training. Frawley - watch this space. If (a big, risky if I know) our midfield can learn defensive spread and help out our overworked backline, Chip will be an absolute star and a monty for AA. A huge dose of mongrel, a new team ethic around him, the confidence to push opposition forwards out of the way as he rebounds out of defensive 50. Man crush readily re-developing. Evans, Strauss, Tappy and Blease will also be fascinating to watch. Roughie: Barry. His training has got me looking at him a lot. Looking good.

This bloke is an annoying [censored]. He has some big issues in his head and identity is a big thing. If rediscovering his name and heritage helps him get through life, helps him bring peace to whatever his inner turmoil is, then I am all for it. Good on hum. I genuinely hope he can reconcile his past to his present. But he is still a [censored]. PS: I didn't know a rearrange of the word "golf" was rude and offensive!