Jaded No More

I never said I didn't believe you. But I think it's naive to think that Bizzell actually made Rivers a good player. No doubt he helped him along the way, but Bizzell couldn't have helped him if he wasn't a great player to begin with. With our without Bizzell, Rivers would still be a good player. I was being serious when I said that he can stay on the list, and help the kids, but I was being even more serious when I said that he needs to do that while playing for Sandy. Do you disagree with my summary of your opinion?

Spot on. There are plenty of players in the side who haven't earnt their spot, and continue to make a mockery of our jumper and our club with their weekly performances. We're flogging several dead horses

I'm worried that Neaves doesn't see a lot of action in the Sandy side. This has been the case for a few months now, with Jamar playing most of the year down at TBO. I hope they elevate him at the end of the year regardless, or re-rookie him at the very least.

Your point is that Rivers is a better player because of Bizzell, and Bizzell has a lot to teach the younger players coming through, is it not? Wonderful, but can he please do all that at Sandringham and not take away a spot from a kid who has a long term future at this club? Oh, and if you really believe that Rivers' talents have anything to do with Bizzell, than I'm not sure I should bother. Rivers made Rivers the player he is, not Bizzell. Dear god, are we clutching at straws or what?

Brilliantly put. Great match review, especially because there was no mention of the actual game

Bruce 2-3 weeks? Haha, surely "Bruce-season" would suffice... don't see us rushing him back for our must lose match in Round 22. In fact, apart from Bate and Warnock, everyone on that list should be given the rest of the season to recover. Edit: What's the go with Frawley?

I'm shocked that Riley hasn't been given a similar instruction to the one Ratten has received. "Play the kids, lose the game". Surely, it's not that difficult.

We are not playing the untried kids and developing them, we're playing kids that are in our best 22 regardless of their age. We're playing guys like McLean, Bate, Jones, Sylvia and Bell, but they'd be getting a game regardless of our position and injury status. We have another 4 weeks of suffering humiliating losses and pathetic efforts. Why not make the most of that time, and try out everyone on the list? We've seen every single senior fringe player, and none of them have blown us away. We've given Newton a go and he's been excellent, as has Petterd. Buckley is raw and is given the game time he sorely needs, same goes for Frawley. What I can't make sense of, is why the hell Dunn is playing at Sandy. Why CJ gets dropped after every game he plays. Why we elevate Bode but don't play him. Why we continue to persist with guys like Ferguson and Ward and don't play Warnock. We have NOTHING to lose anymore, except for precious experience and some good insight into what these players can do. I go every week although I know we'll get smashed. I put off everything else I have to do because I can't bare the thought of missing a game, despite hating what I see. And the reason I do it is because I love this club and I will support it regardless of its ladder position, but frankly, I can't blame people who find better things to do with their time than go and watch the likes of Ward and Brown turn the ball over. Supporters are sick of seeing the same old tired faces getting us nowhere. We have 4 weeks to throw caution to the wind and play the remaining few youngsters who have done their time at Sandy. Play them, and give us something to smile about.

Who wouldn't want a small forward who consistently kicks around 40 goals a year, is great to watch, and very difficult to match up on? West Coast, Geelong, Hawthorn, Kangas and the list goes on and on. Most clubs would jump at the opportunity to take Robbo. To say he is chronically injured is rubbish. Until last year, he has never had a long term injury. And any injury he's had since has been an impact injury. Rhino, I think you underestimate Bruce's value. You forget that he is incredibly overrated by the football world. We know his flaws, but he is seen as a very versatile and talented player, and he could fill gaps at almost all clubs. He'll demand a good price, as will TJ and Robbo. We won't get much for White or Green, although I still maintain that Green would kick 80+ goals a season if he played as a premanent forward for West Coast. I hope our new coach sees that his best position is up forward, and plays him there on a regular basis. His talents are going to waste in the midfield, where he has minimal impact most games.

42 touches? He'll surely get a game this week then. Good test against a fast-paced Doggies team.

Some crazy suggestions going on in this thread. White? He's been in the leadership group for years, and was recently taken out. No thanks. Bruce? Being a good player doesn't make you a good leader. Does anyone have any evidence of him actually being a good on-field leader? Was he a leader in junior footy? Has he ever expressed a strong desire to be a captain? Davey? You have got to be kidding me. Last year I would have said maybe, but not after the way he's performed this year. Goes missing too often, losses his cool and is too inconsistent. No thanks. The fact of the matter is, our best leaders (Neita and Junior aside) will come from the younger players. McLean has leadership qualities coming out of his behind, and was a leader in junior footy. Same goes for Jones and Rivers. They lead by example, and they embody the sort of playing qualities that we all admire. If Godfrey was a better footballer, you can bet he'd be in the leadership group. McLean may not be absolutely ready next year, but sometimes circumstances force our hand. I like the idea of co-captains, but I'm not sure the club would go for a set-up like that. At the end of the day, we need to appoint someone who we know will be a long-term candidate. Bruce, White, Junior, even Green will only be keeping the seats warm for Brock, Rivers, Jones and so on. Neita wasn't necessarily ready to be captain, and he grew into the role. There is nothing to suggest Brock won't.

This is what I'd like to know. From Sunday's team, how many youngsters who AREN'T in our best 22, were actually played? Newton (would be borderline best 22 by now) and Buckley. From the same team, how many senior players who aren't in our best 22 were played? Ferguson, Brown, Holland, Godfrey, Ward, even Pickett would be on the cusp. Does this make sense to anyone? Holland played well, and Ferguson and Godfrey always give their all, but if we're serious about this 'youth policy', we should start playing kids who need the development time. I don't consider Jones, Bate, Sylvia, Bell or McLean as being part of the youth policy, as all 5 are easily in our best 22. We need to play guys like Dunn, CJ, Warnock, Bode. Would we be worse off with them in the side? No, we'll still lose each week, but at least we'll be gaining something in the long term.

McLean. Hands down the best man for the job, but ONLY if Neita chooses to hand it over himself. If he wants to captain next year, he deserves to. I hate the idea of having a caretaker captain. McLean may not be 100% ready, but he'll grow into the role, and is our best long-term option. In theory, he should still have plenty of support from his senior players (but as Homer Simpson would say "in theory, Communism works ) Leadership group for 2008: McLean © Green (VC) Rivers ... throw in a couple of other names (Junior for one more year?, Bate? Jones? Bell?)

Not true at all. Lyon said that Sheedy and Essendon should part company, not that he hated Sheedy or that Sheedy was a bad coach. In fact, he's since stated publicly, more than once, that we should get Sheedy to Melbourne. He'll be pushing his case strongly.

I hope for his sake and the club's sake that that's not the case. He deserves to be part of our 150th year celebrations, and he deserves to finish his career on a high, not playing in a crap team that couldn't win if they played an under 9's side.

He was very very bad 2 years ago, and has improved out of sight. I don't think I was alone in wanting him, or at the very least expecting him to be gone. He is a good lesson in why young players need to be given as long as possible to develop. He showed close to nothing for a fair while, but they stuck with him and it paid off. I hope we do the same with CJ and Miller, and they can match Carroll's improvement. Goodoil, we're not one-dimensional, we're one-paced, there's a difference. We need hard ball winners, and we need outsiders with pace. We've got the ball winners area covered (when Junior retires, Jones will become even more important), now we need to improve the pace and skills. Sadly, most of our silky ball users are inconsistent. Sylvia and Moloney both have a lot of time on their side to improve, following a long battle with OP. It's hard to dominate when you can't turn or run at full pace. It's a credit to Moloney that he is even playing at the moment, given he spent half the season on the sidelines. Jones will never be a superstar, but he's got the strength and leadership (amongst other things) that we sorely lack. Don't think you can hold it against Melbourne supporters for being excited by him. We have very little other enjoyment.

I'm pretty confident that Rivers was a good player before he met Clint Bizzell, and will continue to be a good player long after Bizzell has retired. Keep him on to help the kids if you like. We've got so many other players we need to cut, he might just survive and enjoy a year down at Sandy.

I'm pleased to introduce the best player in our defence... easily... by an absolute mile:

He's not a fashionable player, but every club needs a Jones. Sydney have plenty (minus the unaccountability bit, which is a plague at the MFC). Kicking is something that can be fixed in most cases. Also, many of his kicks are under pressure, we need to remember that. I'll take the ever-reliable hard man who gets his hands on the footy and is on the bottom of every pack, over a fancy down-hill skier anyday. It speaks volumes of his character that he's out there trying his guts out every week when most around him are dreaming of their end of season holiday. Dappa Dan, I think Scott West is another good example.

This topic comes up at least once a season. No, he hasn't reached the end of the road, he is actually UNFIT! Also, he is surrounded by a bunch of people who don't possess the ability to hit him on the chest. Yes, he dropped some sitters, but he also had a lot of balls bounce wide, high etc etc... He was very good at the start of the season before he injured his knee. He did a full pre-season and his body was looking and feeling good. The only thing that will end Neita's career prematurely (i.e.- this season), is if they keep playing him and he sustains a serious injury because he's not 100% fit to begin with. I understand that the club wants to get his to his 300th ASAP, and give us at least one good memory from this horrible season, but I think it's too much of a risk. He certainly shouldn't play after Round 20.

Should have gone to watch Sandy, instead of wasting my time watching an imitation of the MFC I'm sure TJ had a lot to do with those Sautner goals. Can't wait to finally have someone in the side who can hit a forward on the chest!!!

Carroll- unfairly dropped last week Still can't believe Riley send him to the VFL. He did a fantastic job on Hall today, especially given the lack of midfield pressure from Melbourne. As far as I'm concerned, there is always room for him in our backline. He is a good mark, has reasonable pace, courage and is as tough as they come. Ferguson, Ward, Brown, Jamar- Finished Newton, Jones- shinning lights McLean- learning good lessons

Juice is having a great last quarter!

New plan; instead of throwing my shoe at the TV, I will go to the game next week and throw my shoes at the Melbourne players to wake them up to the fact that their opponent is half-way down the ground. What the hell is going on at this club? How can so many Sydney players be on their own, consistently, for 3 quarters. Forget our kicking, marking, clearances etc etc... just man-up for the love of god. It's probably the easiest and first instruction you get when taking up the game at 3 years of age. At least we're still going in hard at the contest, and Miller just snapped a goal around his body!

If I throw my other shoe at the TV, will they MAN-UP? JUST MAN-UP! If you can't kick, and you can't mark, at least stop your opponents from doing it!