La Dee-vina Comedia

But...it would be nice to see a tanking story about something other than (1) Melbourne and (2) draft picks.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. That he should or he shouldn't take a long term view?

I think the "no record, good or bad" means the player hasn't got a five year history.

I'm surprised with Dunn getting votes. I thought he looked good in the first quarter but really struggled when the pressure was on (and in defense of the backmen, it was really on big time after half way through the second quarter). He seemed lost and unaccountable to me and had some poor disposals. I admit I've never been a Dunn fan but while he was not the worst yesterday, I didn't think he was in the top 15.

A few others have been mentioned, but I want to add Rohan Bail to the list. Massive heart and provides run all day long. Like to see him eliminate some clangers (generally in two categories - clumsy tackling and poor disposal after a long run). And I'll add my support to Mark Neeld. I see a positive future after many years of darkness because of his holistic approach.

I agree. And it's not just the two and a bit hours of game time each week. The real measure is how determined and competitive they are the rest of the week. Talent will only take you so far.

6. Sylvia 5. Jones 4. Bail 3. Sellar 2. McKenzie 1. Tapscott And I feel really sorry for the defenders. The midfield and half- forward line were absolutely smashed so the backline was under siege all day/night.

I saw a team which has strength, size, speed and skill. Adelaide is what Melbourne should be aspiring to. Even Adelaide's quickest players, such as Dangerfield, have legs like tree trunks. No wonder Watts, Frawley and Tregove were smashed. Comparatively, they've got legs like matchsticks. And now I think I understand why Mark Neeld brought Neil Craig to Melbourne. Only three Melbourne players were physically the size of the Adelaide players - Sylvia, Sellar and MacDonald. None of them had their primary development years under Dean Bailey and his fitness team. And I thought Sylvia and Sellar could hold their heads up high. Sellar is not the most skilled player but he at least matched his opponents for physical strength and won many contested marks because of it. Two more years of pain while we build up the strength and size of our players should put us in a much better position.

Maybe not. Looks like Jamar is in the Casey 2s and Moloney in the Casey 1s.

So, can we put him on a weekly contract that expires every Monday? Seriously, I'm stunned that there is 80% yay and 20% nay in this poll. I was a nay, but Demonlanders have clearly spoken.

To me, Dunn has engine, long kick and...not much more. He seems to me to be more of an athlete than a footballer. In my view he doesn't have a natural football brain so doesn't really know where to run to or how to defend. And if he's at that stage of his development after 8 years, I see no value in keeping him. His colleague, Matthew Bate, on the other hand, does appear to have a football brain but not enough skill to go with it. So, I'd move them both on. And if "waving arms around" does become an Olympic sport, Dunn's got the gold medal sewn up already.

I think there is one other reason why we may have not chosen Darling. He's about the same height as Dunn and Bate which means he's not really big enough to be a KPF. If we were looking for a third tall to complement two monster KPFs already in the team, he may have been ideal. But I don't think he's the right size to be the first or second KPF.

Why?

I'm paraphrasing, but it seems plenty of posters have determined that because none of the players drafted by Melbourne in the last decade have become stars, its a statistical certainty that the fault must lie in recruitment. Why isn't the same credence given to the argument that all those players have been developed and coached at Melbourne and therefore it's a statistical certainty that the flaw is in development and coaching? For what it's worth, in a system which has been designed to level the playing field in recruitment (draft, salary cap) but not in coaching and development, I believe most kids drafted have similar amounts of ability when drafted but some clubs just develop them better (Hawthorn, Collingwood, West Coast, Adelaide, Sydney) than others (Melbourne, Fremantle, Western Bulldogs, Richmond).

Was that a clash strip or a skill problem? Unfortunately, I suspect it was the latter more often than not.

Watching on TV I had no problem at all picking up who was who. But maybe it was different live at the ground. I suspect if we had worn our traditional jumper, there may have been a hint of difficulty looking from the back (both dark colours). I don't really see a need for clash jumpers, but more importantly, I don't think this is a big issue, either. Of course, I'm old enough to have watched football replay in black and white when Collingwood and North Melbourne basically looked the same except for the colour of the shorts. And the clash between Melbourne and Fitzroy was worse. And I didn't have a problem working out who was who then, either. Repeat after me...this is not a big issue. Either way.

6. Blease 5. Spencer 4. Jones 3. Grimes 2. Rivers 1. Bate I hope 'waving arms around' becomes an Olympic sport in 2016. Lynden Dunn could win gold for Australia.

Latest news: Frawley out (quad); Bate in. Preseumably Rivers now goes to the backline and Bate plays forward

There is generally a choice of two statements when players retire. When they retire earlier than expected, people say "Why did he retire?". When they play on for one year too many, people say "Why didn't he retire?" Brad Green has taken the first option and was a wise man for doing so.

MFC just tweeted press conference this morning with Green, Neeld and McClardy. Retirement announcement, perhaps?

Soft as butter? And I thought our problem was our inability to spread... (And I think your assessment is way off. With all the psychological trauma he's been through over many years, I suspect he's one of the mentally toughest players on our list.)

Maybe they meant he'd been kneed in the shoulder...

On SEN yesterday they mentioned a number of times that he'd taken the fifth most contested marks in the AFL this year*. But I wouldn't say he's the best ever. I'd certainly have Wayne Carey and Jonathon Brown ahead of him. But I'm very happy with what I see out there. I recall in Dean Bailey's first game as coach we had one contested mark for the whole game (Kyle Cheney). How the gameplan has changed! *SEN didn't say who the four above him are. My guess: Pavlich, Hawkins, maybe Roughead (Hawthorn's, of course) and J Brown?

Not an expression I've heard before but fits into the same category as "p1ss1ng in your pocket". Somehow both are meant to mean...er, what are they meant to mean, again?

On the first read through I thought you wrote, "Get her to focus on the Pies and Cloke. A much safer bet. And she might want to return." Thought you were thinking Cloke would come to Melbourne and then your daughter would transfer her support with him.