Jaded No More

I think we had this argument before and I found quotes of you saying Bell was hopeless. CJ hasn't had a lot of opportunities to show anything. How many games did Sylvia play before he started to come good? Bell? Carroll? Did you know Wheatley has been on our list for 8 years? I thought CJ was reasonable yesterday, but we can't expect these kids to walk into a side and straight away show us they belong at this level. As I said already, play him till the end of the season, if he doesn't improve, trade him. But don't die wondering.

What's the point of him going into the PSD and taking a gamble, when we could arrange a deal for him where he gets to go to a club who will give him a lot of opportunities, and we get something in return? And I agree on Ward. Pace alone is saving his career. Although you have to admit, for a 30 year old, he's pretty damn quick!

Clint Bartram played one game this year after overcoming his ankle injury, then did his knee at training! Of the players who haven't played this year, 4 are rookies who can't be elevated as we've missed the cut-off date. Weetra has been injured most of the season, and Neville is still playing in the Sandy reserves. We're pretty much down to 24 players to select from this weekend.

I agree with everything you said, except this. I'd rather keep Jamar and Ward over Bizzell. Ward infuriates me, but his pace is something we sorely lack, especially coming out of the backline. His accountability lately has been much improved too. As for Jamar, he'll go because we'll probably get a good trade for him, but back-up ruckmans who can actually ruck are far more valuable than 30 year old loose defenders.

Kennedy. I'm pretty sure you were saying the same thing about Bell last year. You might want to see someone about all these premature reactions.

His disposal isn't perfect, but I raise you Ward, Carroll, Brown... half our backline can't dispose of a footy. I just watched the replay and wanted to add that Miller was indeed good. Punched the ball when necessary, got some tricky handballs away to keep the play moving and managed to shut down his opponent very effectively. Made one stupid kicking error, but apart from that had a relatively clanger-free match. CJ, while he didn't have a huge amount of the ball, I thought was OK for not having played a senior match for so long. The thing that let him down was his kicking, which is uncharacteristic as his disposal is normally one of his strengths. Definitely worth persisting with, and I'm a firm believer in his ability to translate his skills to this level. He IS good enough to be an AFL footballer. Bate was magnificent. He outran 5 opponents and I think he's really found his spot at CHF. One of the most powerful marks/kicks/run combinations I've seen in a player in a long time. Also, when Sylvia and Jones tackle you, you stay tackled. Overall, and as Tim Watson so kindly pointed out, we have some really exciting future prospects who we must persist with. I saw Neita, Green, Bruce, Whelan, Yze and TJ (who I'm sure was asleep) sitting in the stands, and it didn't bother me because their on-field replacements were more than filling their shoes. These young players will carry us towards that elusive premiership better than any Melbourne side in recent times.

Just finished watching the replay and was about to start a thread about a similar topic. McLean is now getting heavily tagged, to the point where he is held, scragged and dragged at every single bounce. The thing that worries me is, not that he struggles through that (who wouldn't?), but that his teammates don't feel the need to go out and help him. He needs to be protected, in the same way Judd is. I saw his opponent literally hold onto his jumper and push him aside as the ball was bounced, which really makes you wonder how he ever gets his hands on the footy. But here's the thing, our expectations of him, are far too high. He has played 52 games, missed 8 weeks with a broken foot, came back to have a significant impact, and is now clearly feeling the effects of having missed 8 weeks worth of match conditioning. Not only that, he hurt himself in the third, limped around for a good 5 minutes before coming off. He is too brave for his own good, and I have no doubt he is having his foot heavily worked on before each match. We have become Brock-centric. We expect him to dominate every single game, but the reality is, he won't. Nobody does. The fact that we think he should, demonstrates how highly regarded he is. Every single Melbourne player this year has had poor matches, and we let those slide because it is part of football. That we highlight McLean's average performances is a credit to his amazing consistency in the face of some bad luck with injuries and heavy opposition attention. If nothing else, he frees up guys like McDonland and Jones. He is the David Neitz of our midfield, in the sense that even when he doesn't get 20+ possessions and 10 clearances, his presence alone lifts the side's performance. In short, he's carrying the expectations of the entire MFC on his shoulders and they must be getting sore.

1- Warnock has been playing well in the VFL this year, and he showed a bit when given a run earlier in the year (ahead of Bizzell in case you forgot). We promoted him off the rookie list for a reason. 2- CJ too has been playing very well at Sandy all year, and deserves an opportunity to show us whether or not he can make it at senior level. If he does nothing to impress by the end of the season, then trade him, don't die wondering. 3- I'm not alone with my praise of Bell. He's been our most consistent defender this year. 4- I never said they weren't playing the kids, they are. But the bottom line is, will Brown or Ward or Bizzell be around when we win a premiership, or more to the point, could they help us win a premiership (Neita, Junior, White etc.. certainly can/will)? If the answer is no, than I'm sorry but I can't get excited by their performances, not when we're second last. I thought Brown was appaling last week and deserved to be dropped, but as I noted before, he did very little wrong today. Ward did a great job on a very dangerous Betts, and his pace is something we sadly lack. Bizzell was Bizzell, did nothing extraodinary, nothing shockingly bad either. He got beaten by his opponents one on one, but came into his own when each team had a loose player in their defensive 50.

Predictable answer. Not everything was Daniher's fault. We played very well while Bizzell wasn't in the side, and nobody was complaining then. Show me your best 22 and how Bizzell fits in there.

Is he really? Who's in your best 22 then, and if he is in our best 22, when didn't he play finals in 2005 when he was fit? And why wasn't he playing in Round 1 when we had a full list available?

Would you like to give me some examples, or do you figure that by paying me out needlessly I'll start agreeing with you? Bizzell had two very good seasons for the MFC. One of those seasons we finished 14th. I'm happy for him that he's playing well, because he will continue to get a game as long as half of our backline is out injured. BTW, he was fit at the end of 2005 when we played finals. He just couldn't cut it.

I rather Bell, Bartram, Petterd etc... Bizzell has a year, max, left in the game. Whether or not he gets a contract extension is irrelevant, as with a fully fit side, he won't be getting a game. I'm sorry but I can't get excited by 30 year olds who decide to come to life when their careers are finished. Nobody here is raving about Ward shutting down Betts, and IMO he was just as good/poor as Bizzell today. Good on Bizzell for making the most of his opportunities, he deserves to finish his career on a high.

I never said he was a terrible player. A very good player? That's stretching it. You are clearly blinded by the fact that he is obviously a favourite of yours, which is fine, we are all guilty of that sometimes. He is an ordinary defender, if he wasn't, he wouldn't have spent over a year at Sandy. His disposal is ok, he knows how to zone off and help the other defenders, but one on one he gets beaten more often than not. He doesn't have the strength to play on big forwards, or the pace to keep up with small forwards. He does what he can, he works hard, he is courageous, but more often than not he gets caught behind his opponent, and that's not good enough when he is playing CHB. I remember what happened to us when Robbo was playing CHF and Bizzell was at CHB... we came 14th.

I'm going to watch the replay later on, but from what I saw out on the ground, Miller didn't make any stupid stuff-ups, he didn't panic when he had the ball, he even made some meaningful kicking decisions. He also did a good job on a pretty good opponent in Fisher. Bizzell had a few shockers, and went through a number of opponents. As a third man up, he's good, but he is very poor one on one. The reality is, he is only getting a game because so many others are injured. I want Warnock to get a game next week, and it doesn't matter if Ward, Brown or Bizzell get the chop for him. Having said that, Brown did little wrong today.

Yeah and I was happy to see Riley using him all over, instead of rotating him between half back and the bench. With Ricky now out for the season, there is no reason why we shouldn't play CJ and give him a serious chance to prove himself.

He could easily do what Bruce does, and play all over the ground. IMO his best position is on the wing pushing forward. Was stiff to get dropped, and should now get the opportunity to play every match for the rest of the season. With him on the wing and Miller down back, there should be no issue with playing those two alongside Newton, Bate and Neita when he returns.

I thought Brad Miller was actually pretty good. Give him a break, if he's going to become a permanent defender, he deserves time to settle into it. He showed good composure IMO, whereas I thought Bizzell's defensive work was very poor. He is good at creating attacking play, but he has no idea how to shut down an opponent. Ward infuriates me, but he has been surprisingly accountable recently. Bate, Sylvia, Jones, Newton and Dunn were just fantastic today, and a big congratulations to Riley for instructing us to play on in the last instead of shutting down the match and inevitably losing.

I wish him a full and speedy recovery! Poor kid, he was really coming along nicely....

He was great, especially in the first half. Missed a few gettable shots, but overall worked hard, kept his feet, marked well and looked like he really felt comfortable at FF. He is just a natural forward and you can see that he thinks through the play, which is a rare commodity in our forward line.

Did I say that? I said he has a favourite in mind, just like the rest of us, but that does not mean the club will put a stop to the process. They will interview everyone and anyone and a whole host of people will come to a decision.

Cheers for the reports. News on Dunn, did he or didn't he play... anyone?

That is brilliant! :D Do we know what's in the Juice Newton? I'm on the hunt for a 21st venue too....

Karma's a b***h.

But Gardner has a favourite in mind...

Yeah, and you can bet that if CJ was picked up at #3, he'd be getting equal treatment to Sylvia because the club would feel compelled to prove their draft selection was correct.