Jaded No More

It's good to believe in your players, but what I want to know is at whos expense is Yze getting a game? There are a handful of kids who have had a very good pre-season and worked very hard, and deserve to get a game. Yze doesn't play a vital role in the side anymore, and IMO could easily be replaced by a number of promising candidates. What really annoys me is that a lot of supporters are very unhappy about Miller possibly getting a game ahead of Dunn, and yet they are happy to include Yze in our side ahead of CJ or Buckley etc...

West Coast would trade for Brock + TJ + draft picks, but we would never pay such a high price. I don't think that acquiring his services is completely out of the question, but with suggestions like Miller, Yze, Ferguson, Godfrey, Ward etc... it certainly won't happen. As I said, the only way to get Judd to Melbourne, is if he requests to come to our club (like Aka), and West Coast decided to do the right thing by him and honour his request. Knowing West Coast though, it won't happen.

This is a completely pointless discussion, but still, there is no way we're trading McLean. He is the only untouchable in the side. Sylvia, 2 picks, and then maybe rubbish sweetners like Miller and Yze (ffs people, are you serious... YZE? ) will not do. 15 clubs will be throwing their house, left leg and eyeballs at West Coast. Unless Judd says "make a deal happen with Melbourne", the chances of us getting him are tiny.

Unless we tank and win the spoon, Judd being a 'free agent' does nothing for us. If Judd decides to leave West Coast, we need not only big cards for negotiations, but also Salary Cap space and money to throw at him.

I wasn't talking about you in particular, but generally about people who claim Thompson left due to lack of game time. Do you have any evidence that suggest he is actually a traitor?

Your post was spot on until the last sentence. The club begged him to stay because they didn't want to lose him. Letting him walk out without a fight wasn't an option, no matter the circumstances. But in the end the club did the right thing by accepting a good offer from Adelaide, and then using pick 12 to acquire Moloney. Losing a good player is not ideal, but it's a real shame that the club's hard work in securing Thompson and our club an equally good trade is often tarnished by rubbish accusations.

They've both played 4 pre-season games, which makes them the only 2 (along with Bruce and Yze*) senior players to have played all practice games. They deserve/ require a rest. *Yze will get his rest with Sandy in a couple of weeks time

Correct, and don't get excited about Bartram either. His ankle may have healed, but he has a fair few weeks of fitness training before he's ready to play. He will most likely play a couple of half games at Sandy, before they contemplate selecting him in the side. As for Sylvia, Round 8 would be a good result.

Agreed. Assuming he gets through Saturday's game, he will be there Round 1. Playing him is the only way to get him match fit. When looking at the opposition for Round 1, I don't see where Bizzell may fit in. If Kosi and Reiwoldt both play (unlikely), we'll need Holland. If one of those don't play, we may decide to go with 2 talls, and 4 medium running type players, which is where Bizzell may come in. He could be a temporary solution while Frawley is learning at Sandy. Then it is one of Ward or Brown, as Godfrey really won't be needed with the return of Moloney (hopefully). Miller is another certainty. He'll line up at CHF, but if the Saints stock up their forward line with talls, he may be moved to defence.

It's because apart from a very small pocket of supporters (probably the thousand or so who visit this place regularly), the rest of our 'supporters' are fickle, disloyal and jump off the bandwagon quicker than Paris Hilton jumps into bed. I'm sure many of them expected a flag last year or the year before, and when that didn't happen, many of them jumped off. I'm sure they'll be lining up for Grand Final tickets though

Since when has that ever been a consideration? We've taken his feelings, records and 'injuries' into consideration for long enough. If what you say is really true, than his future with us is in more trouble than I thought.

And he will play Round 1. I don't doubt that for a minute. A half-fit Byron is better than his possible replacements on the HFF.

No worries. Glad you're signing up, we need all the members we can get. I'm in the Northen Stand. Couldn't stand being stuck behind the goals with the cheersquad, the atmosphere may be good, but the view is shocking.

You don't need to show a concession card, or have a concession card number when buying the membership. Occasionally they'll ask you to show your concession card as you walk into the stadium and validate your membership.

I promise you that barring injury this weekend, Moloney will most certainly play Round 1. Pickett may not be 100% fit, but at least he is 100% committed, which is more than I can say for his likely forward flank replacement in Yze. It will take Pickett about 3 or 4 fair-dinkum AFL matches to get back to his ideal playing weight (or near enough). Playing him is the only way to get him match fit.

That's not bad, but you need to look at our opposition. For starters, Holland is a must. The Saints have 3 permanent talls, and will no doubt rest a ruckman up forward to stretch us. This is where Miller might have to be thrown down back. Yze does not make my team, and whether you choose Brown or Ward the result will be the same. Ward gets the nod for his superior speed. You also forgot Pickett and Moloney. My side: B: Whelan Carroll Holland HB: Bell Rivers C Johnson C: Johnstone Green Bate HF: Bruce Miller Pickett F: Robertson Neitz Davey Ruck: White McLean McDonald Int: Jamar Jones Moloney Ward

Always had a soft spot for Thommo, and I still watch him closely (I enjoy watching Adelaide regardless). Unlike a lot of Melbourne supporters, I don't begrudge him for going home. But yes, I will have a smile on my face if we beat Adelaide in a GF and Beamer wins the NSM Wish him all the best for the season and his new life as a dad.

I don't know why I'm bothering, but here goes... You say Neitz doesn't deserve to be our leading game player, but what does that even mean? He's played the most games for the MFC, hence he holds the record, hence he deserves it. You say he is vital to our team, thereby proving that he deserves to get a game each week. This is how he earnt himself the title you realise. It's a very straight forward thing. Everyone has their favourites and their least favourites, it's only natural, but your reasoning for not respecting Neitz doesn't make any sense.

Yes, but playing there means actually having to set foot in Geelong. That alone is grounds for disgust. I'll back us to beat them at the G', besides Skilled is a meaningless ground as you never play finals there. It's a waste of time playing there if you ask me. The only ones who benefit are Geelong, therefore they should only play interstate clubs there. To make Victorian fans have to travel to Geelong to watch a game of footy is idiotic, especially when the game is always a sell-out and we have two other perfectly good grounds available.

If I stick my fingers in my ears, close my eyes and say repeatedly "I see no evil, and hear no evil", will that help?

Very true. Just like his game against Freo at Subiaco. He suits big open spaces, the wider the better.

How can you 'hate' anyone who plays for you club? Hate is a very strong word, and to use it against our captain, and games/goals record holder, is really quite disrespectful. Also, I doubt Daniher really cares how you, or any of the supporters feel about Yze. If he did, Yze would have been dropped, maybe even traded, years ago. I really do not see a reason to play Yze in Round 1. St. Kilda is not a weak side, so there is no chance he'll rock up with a lazy 5 goal performance against an average team . There are plenty of young guys dying for a well-earned opportunity to play senior footy, and going on pre-season form, Yze hasn't earnt a spot. If we're going to be a strong, unrelenting side in 2007, we must start by being ruthless in our own backyard. Dropping Yze is my last hope of waking him up... nothing else has helped, and he is well and truly out of chances this time around. The most frustrating thing for me, is that the team has made a conscious effort to improve their mental strength, hunger and willingness to get the ball in 2006, and everyone but Yze changed their game even in the smallest of ways (you only need to look at Green for evidence). I don't get why Yze should have a different set of team rules to follow. He is not above the team, and for me, he doesn't make the team either.

Good point. Thankfully we don't have to play there this year though. That ground is evil! :angry:

Thank you everyone for the detailed reports. The most important thing is again, no injuries (that we know of). Really pleased to hear that my boys Belly and CJ are killing it. I love that Bell is slowing proving all of his critics wrong, that boy can seriously play! A question regarding Bruce, how was his kicking today?

Doesn't matter how long you've been around this site, this sort of irrational behaviour never ceases to surprise you. Success in the pre-season means nothing come round 1, in fact, minimum exersion can lead to positive outcomes at the end of the season. If it was up to me, our top 10 players wouldn't play until the very last week before the season proper, just to give them a bit of a run. I find it nerve-wrecking that so many of our star players might go out there, try too hard and suffer injuries as a consequence. Believe me, you'll remember a season-ending injury for longer than you'll remember the scoreline for these things.