Jaded No More

Here's a thought, the coaching staff are trying to bring a new side to our game which involves a lot of handballs (this may prove to be a winning formula interstate). Since Melbourne is mainly a kicking team, a lot of practice is needed in order to prefect this tactic. So the brain trusts at Melbourne figured they'll give the whole senior list a go this pre-season, and encourage all the players to handball as much as possible to adjust to the difference in game style. So far, it's only been mildly successful, giving our coaching panel plenty of time to modify this tactic, so that hopefully by Round 1 the balance between kicking and handballing is as it should be. I rather we stuff up now, and learn from our mistakes when it doesn't cost us premiership points. Radical hey? By the way, weren't you the one who got all defensive about our 'keepings off' tactics early in 2006? And didn't that game plan win us a number of crucial games? And wouldn't it be nice if all this pre-season practice means we're fully prepared for Plans A, B & C in Round 1 (unlike last year perhaps)? Yeah, I'm sticking with our coaches on this one. Gees, I think I forgot after all this time just how much hysteria is bred on this site

For what it's worth, West Coast went down to Essendon by 58 points today (100-42). That's two pre-season games for two losses. I wonder if their supporters are slashing their wrists as well... they can come join the masses at Demonland P.S.- Adelaide > Essendon

Rivers? Still, that's our two main forwards, our FB and the 2 best midfielders we've got. If anyone is actually worried about the results, they need a quick reality check. These matches are played purely for the purpose of fitness and experimentation.

Rd 17- Port Adelaide. Not a bad draw that.... Then again, according to half the posts in this thread, by Round 17 we'll be hot favourites for the spoon, so it won't even matter

Haha, this is gold! We are losing a practice match? Oh no, I think I might rip up my membership and go skiing. I care about one thing, and one thing only, that everyone comes out of the game injury-free. If Moloney got through the match and doesn't pull up sore, than already we've won. Will anyone remember this game in September?

FFS, give it a rest already! Season hasn't even started, so how about we ban pointless bagging of players until we play at least one game.

And Davey, although this is a 28-men squad so we don't know whether they'll actually play.

The MFC is not alone. All clubs (apart from Essendon), have done the same. Apperantly Telstra pays us to have a horrible home page, and we're not exactly swimming in money to turn it down.

Very nicely done! I love your backline, but I'd swap CJ with one of Bartram/Green/Bruce/Holland or Miller (or even Sylvia) depending on the opposition. Sunday night's match proved that CJ is an attacking player, and is best utilised on the wing or forward flank.

Gold! I just got an email as well!

The website is absolutely disgusting! It doesn't even look like the Melbourne homepage. I absolutely hate it.

Thanks doctor, but I'll believe people who are actually in the know, over you. Freak, were you disappointed by recruiting of McLean or Davey or Bate over the last few years? How about your precious Colin Sylvia? It's so easy to pass judgement after one pre-season game. Remember Andrew Walker's debut game? ...Well I'm still waiting for the kid to hit a target. How about we reserve our highly-sought after judgement to say 2008/2009 when we can start having a real discussion on the merits of our recruiting.

Just keep reminding yourself that we're better off being fit in September, than March. Sylvia and Bartram will have delayed starts to the season, meaning they'll be in better physical condition in September (if they don't get injured of course). As for McLean, we're protecting him from any possible harm, as we should. But let's face it, if we were playing in a Grand Final tomorrow, he'd play and probably get BOG honours. There is just no point risking even a grade 1 strain, at this early stages. I'm personally more worried about Moloney, and I hope that all his hard pre-season work hasn't gone to waste with another flare of OP.

Nope. I'm with Optus, and I haven't received any letters asking me to donate to the 'rebuilding fund of Princess Park', or to join the CFC. I'm really interested to know how they got hold of our names

Haven't you heard? West Coast players are above the law.

Couldn't agree with you more. Yes, we need a fast-paced, line-breaking defender, but they also need to have good disposal and good decision making. It's great that Ward can run fast, but that's where it generally stops. He made so many poor decisions on Sunday, and to top it off, most of his kicks went straight into Hawthorn's hands. I'd like to see Green and Buckley rotate through there, or possibly Bruce if there is a good match-up for him (ie- Tarrant). Three tall backs- Rivers, Carroll and Miller/Holland (Holland still has a role to play, and I have no idea what else we can do with Miller). Three small backs- Whelan, Bell and one of Green/Buckley/Bruce/Bartram who will rotate depending on the midfield rotation.

I thought I was the only one! It was a very formal letter, and it was addressed to me. I don't know how they got hold of my name. Needless to say I spat on it, tore it up and threw it in the bin. Ugh, I felt dirty for just having read it.

It could be a blessing in disguise....

You can't argue with that, but let's go back a few years... did you witness some of Carroll's work pre 2005? Like for example, that game in Geelong where Kent 'I'm a dud' Kingsley kicked 8 goals on him? It was the most deplorable performance by a defender I remember seeing. In fact, many thought he was gone at the start of 2005, and it wasn't until he became fit and got the opportunity to play a significant run of games, that he became the defender that he is today. Now compare that to Bell, he we know has struggled with OP for over a year now. He hasn't had the opportunity that Carroll has had over the last year, until the very end of 2006. And I would like you to name one game since Bell became free of his OP, where he was clearly beaten by his opponent. Honestly, I can't remember even one. He was great in both finals, as was Carroll, and he was better on Sunday. BTW, this is in no way me having a go at Carroll. I'm just trying to prove to you that given the same opportunity, Bell could be just as successful as Carroll (and he has better disposal too). Not every player makes an impact straight away. I think we forget how many years the club invested in the likes of Carroll, Robbo, Junior and even Bruce before they became decent players. It just does not happen over-night... unless you're a freak like Brock McLean, and he's obviously made us all very spoilt.

Well what can I say other than... great minds! Glad I've got you to drive the Belly Bandwagon

You don't like Bell, we get it. But you provide zero evidence to support you comments, especially the second one. Bell is playing as a defender, he is not meant to be a polished finisher in the mould of CJ. To compare one to the other is like comparing Robbo to Whelan. As far as his defensive game is concerned, he's proven late last year and on Sunday that he's more than capable of stopping good players. He did a superb job on Farmer in a final where Freo smashed us after half-time, and we both know how easy Farmer can kick a bag when the team is on a roll. For what its worth, I thought his drive out of the backline was good too. He made one mistake from memory, and given our desire to handball as much as possible, he was not alone that night. He has very nice disposal, aggression and speed. I don't know what else you'd want from a defender. And I don't know about you, but I rather my defenders defend first, and do fancy things with the ball second... unless you're a fan of the Wards and Bizzells of this world, in which case you're clearly not keen on seeing us make the top 4.

At least Daniher acknowledged in the article that we went a little 'handball crazy'. But he also made it clear that we were concentrating on this particular tactic and obviously we executed it well, with 45 more handballs than kicks.

You just had to go there, didn't you? Now we're sure to lose! <_<

That is a very unfair comparison. Robbo puts himself in the contest everytime, and he did a couple of clever taps when he couldn't get the ball himself. When he is fit, he is our second best forward. I really can't understand how you can compare him to Yze, when he's stood up for us in finals and has won us a fair number of games in 2005 when everyone else went missing. Yes, 2005 was a while ago, but Robbo deserves to be given a second chance given the way he struggled with injuries last year.

Of course I agree that Ward is out and CJ is in, but I'd hate to see CJ in the backline again. He is more suited to a wing/ forward role IMO. He's had some average games when given a defensive role, whereas last night he really shone when given permission to go get the ball. So in that regard, one is not a direct replacement for the other. However the point stand... bring on CJ!