Jaded No More

CJ signed a new 2-year deal last year. Not sure about PJ. By the way, there is nothing stopping us from trading Newton (he has to agree of course, but he'd be an idiot to stay if we offered him up for trade). In fact, him being contracted is better for us as it means he can't leave for nothing. Very happy about the other signings. Anyone know the contract status of Moloney?

Completely throws my routine out to the window. Work has to change, meetings have to be re-organised. I didn't even realise it was a Saturday game until Tuesday afternoon when I had to book a meeting with a client. P.S.- Olympic ceremonies are a disgrace to sport. Who wants to watch 786 nations walking into a stadium with a flag, wearing some idiotic uniform? The MFC > Namibia's squash team!

He's struggling, and he needs a chance to work on his disposal minus the pressure of AFL. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being dropped in your second year of football. He is 19 and has taken on a massive workload and it's not helping him IMO. A break will be good for him.

Co-captains: Miller & McLean

Sure I'd trade CJ, for a second round pick. Who the hell will give us a second round pick for him? Nobody. Given that we've put 5 years into him, and picked him up with a third round pick, trading him for his current market value seems like a completely futile exercise. The likelihood of getting someone better than CJ with a third/fourth round pick (what he is roughly worth), is slim. There was a heated debate last year when CJ was put on the table during trade week. I argued that I do not want to get rid of him for the rumoured deal (late third round pick from memory), and I'm glad the club agreed. What we have in CJ may not be perfect, but the value he represents within the MFC far exceeds the value he represents in the open market, and hence he should and will stay.

If Schwab wants it, it's hard to see how he won't get it. IMO Fox is better suited for the job. Lets hope it's not mates-rates hour at the MFC.

Pashmina is fine hand-woven cashmere wool, or at least it used to be before every vendor in China discovered they can make 'pashmina' from man-made fibres (viscose) and now we've adopted the word to describe anything that has a soft, lightweight hand and looks like a shawl (you didn't really want to know, did you? :D)

[censored], Pamela Anderson has had longer marriages than that! I've thought about this question some more (sitting in traffic makes you do that), and it occurred to me that while I do love the game itself, if my club died I couldn't possibly support it. I'd resent, make that hate, the AFL for letting my club die and I would not want to support the competition that did not support my team. So you know what, I agree with whoever said that if there's no MFC the whole AFL might as well go up in flames for all I care (especially the clowns in charge).

His disposal has been questionable for 3 years now, and he has often gone missing when the pressure is on and we're struggling. I support anyone who wears the red and blue, but that doesn't mean I ignore their flaws. Bruce has a number of problems that often make him a liability, and IMHO (and many will disagree) we should try and trade him at the end of the season. That doesn't make me a Bruce hater/basher, it just means I want to get the best possible value out of him going forward, and I believe we can do that by trading him.

You can't be serious! Miller is not as talented as Juice, but he has ALWAYS been a team player. He sacrificed his own game to help out a depleted backline, and was brought into the leadership group at the tender age of 22. Newton could learn a thing or two from Miller about workrate and unselfish play. That's why Miller is still at the club at 24, and has been given every opportunity to prove himself, while Newton is skating on thin ice after 14 games.

Hard to make the play when you can't hit a target by hand or foot. He is an incredibly hard worker, he runs all day and he can play in a number of positions, but he's gone missing this season and his disposal has continued to decline. I really love Bruce, his attitude is fantastic and he has never put a foot wrong off the field, but he is struggling and it's not just because of the quality of players surrounding him. I'm surprised that you, of all people, refuse to see his flaws for what they are and instead choose to make excuses for him.

I'm certainly not someone who gets stuck into younger players, I'm all for playing them in fact. But as you've mentioned, a lack of intensity and pressure is not acceptable no matter how inexperienced you are. That's what disappointed me most about yesterday. It felt like the players are already thinking about their holidays in September. Shame our senior players are not pulling their weight in that regard. Green is desperately needed there!

Can't disagree with that. At least Bell is not our captain.

I expect him not to play like someone who thinks he is better than he is. I hate watching Buddy Franklin because he's an arrogant arse, but at least he has a reason to be. When you've played 14 matches and achieved a grand total of nothing, you should be working hard to prove you're worthy of a spot in the team. Newton dropping sitters, pointing to other players to pick up his man and making lame tackling attempts is not the sort of display of intensity you expect from someone trying to make their way in AFL. Newton might be a really lovely, down to earth guy, but his football persona and attitude is completely disproportionate to his achievements thus far. If he can't get a grip on reality, he will waste all of his talent away (of which he has plenty).

I agree completely, and as such I am a fan. In fact, I'm a fan of 'pure' footballers (hence my love for McLean) because the pace fad will come and go, but a skilled, smart, tough footballer is always in fashion. And you can never have too many ball-magnets, even if they are D-Graders

Hey, I said he's getting better!

That doesn't make him fast, it just makes him not very very slow :D I actually don't have an issue with his pace, because I think he's smart enough to get around that (unlike say, Jones), but if he had the pace of Buckley he'd be an A-Grade midfielder.

I think some of us are letting his past injuries cloud our judgment. Oh poor Sylvia, he's never done a full-pre season. Give me a break, Brad Miller hasn't done a full pre-season in 3 years (until this season), but that never stood in the way of him being a team player. Sylvia's skills are not the issue, and never have been. It's his attitude and selfishness that kills him as a footballer. When he clashed and broke Ferguson's ribs a few seasons ago, we forgave him because he was "young and enthusiastic". 3 seasons on and he's still doing the same stupid things he's done since day one. He has all the attributes to be a fantastic player, and that we settle on him being "a handy, strong bodied forward" just goes to show that we all know he'll never take the next step because his attitude won't let him. What a waste of talent (number 3 pick or not!).

Pros: Can find the ball, can use the ball well, has football smarts and understands the play, decent tackler Cons: Lacks pace, very small He doesn't have that touch of class about him, but neither do the likes of Sam Mitchell. If he can become a handy replacement for Junior and take some heat away from the likes of McLean (currently our only effective midfielder, even with a broken ankle), we would have done very well for our investment. If you rate Junior as a C-Grade midfielder, than I guess your assessment is right. C-Grade/Battler to me says "Godfrey", which IMO he is miles ahead of.

:D He's getting a little better, but he's no Jamar (our ruck stocks= depressing)

Dunn may have struggled, and he may even be selfish (he isn't IMO) but at least he is not a diving cheat who has a cry everytime someone lays a finger on him. You may suck idiots like McLaren in, but I doubt anyone at the tribunal will give you any awards for your acting. What a hero he is, coming out and attacking a young player learning the game

My comments were in relation to Dean Bailey employing a REAL youth-policy, not a half-arsed one. I appreciate all that Yze, Holland and White have done for our club and like I said they may even get a token farewell game in Round 22, but thank god Bailey doesn't revert back to our NQR senior players at the very first hurdle, because that would completely defeat the purpose of developing a team for the future. As for your comments regarding Bell, what a stupid thing to say. If Bell is not getting a game in the bottom team, he won't be getting a game anywhere else either.

What the hell is the point of playing players who will be gone in 5 weeks, when they have no trade value, and when we're not trying to win?? Maybe you can explain it to me and Dean Bailey I have no issues with dropping Newton or Bell, especially Newton, but I have an issue with replacing someone like Jamar with Jeff White. That to me really does go against everything we are trying to get out of this season. No, but from where I was sitting he layed a pretty crude bump on an opponent in the goal square. Does he have carry-over points?

Agreed. We were lazy, we lacked intensity, our lack of tackling was pathetic, our ability to win clearances was non-existant, we couldn't hit a target by hand or by foot, and we played incredibly dumb (sometimes selfish) football. The worst part of the day was that our 2 most senior players, and captains, were nowhere to be seen and had an absolute shocker. Add to that the creepy attack of the seagulls all over the ground, the freezing weather and the pathetic morons who get paid to umpire the game, and it was not a good day for football.

Newton might cop a suspension, if he doesn't, he can get dropped regardless. Sylvia is on very VERY thin ice. I guess a lot will depend on the fitness of Green and Petterd, as both deserve to play if available. Jamar will not and should not get dropped for Jeff White. White is done, and we are not in a winning position anyway (in fact, we're better off losing), so what is the point of playing him when we can develop a young ruckman instead? Bailey won't play White, Yze, Holland or Carroll until possibly Round 22, if at all, and thank god for that.