Jaded No More

True, and watch how teams never man him up, and just let him get the ball as often as he likes... because they know he won't hurt them. I wouldn't mind if he was an accountable defender, who had heart and guts and occassionally turned the ball over. But he cannot play the link man down back, when he can't kick. It's killing our forward thrust and causing turnover after turnover. The same goes for Ward. I loved seeing Bell kick the ball to a leading forward yesterday. His kicks were spot on, and hit the target. He is someone who is capable of playing that sort of role, not Brown. Sadly, because our backline lacks accountability, we can't afford for him to leave his position too often.

Because I have been watching Melbourne play for like 9 years, and I have never EVER seen David Neitz handball to a teammate under pressure when he is 40m out from goal. That is not a natural instinct of a forward, especially a key forward capable of kicking 60m goals. I doubt very much the players came together before the game and said "hey, remember how in Round 1 we over-possessed the footy and lost? Yeah, lets do that again!". Funny how the only two players in the side who refused to follow the 'handball at all costs' instruction were Brock and Jones. Give me 20 possessions from those two, over 50 from the likes of Bruce, Junior, Brown etc etc. I could not believe how many times we handballed UP FORWARD when it was completely unnecessary. Playing on at all costs is fine, if playing on gets the ball moving forward, and not backwards, sideways and into the opposition's hands. The more you over-possess the footy, the more likely you are to stuff up, and given how poor our skills are, the less we muck around with the ball, the better. Besides, even they didn't handball under his instructions, he should have made them stop doing it in the first quarter break, not the third! And never mind, I'm used to being called a 'he' around here

He'll get off because he'll get up and say "Hi, my name is Chris Judd, you might remember me from my on-field heroics at the WEST COAST EAGLES".

And yet for 5 years we have struggled to clear the ball out of defence. When we stuff up that simple action 4 out of 5 times, how can he expect us to maintain possession when the heat is on? We have got to work on that and we have got to get better at it. I don't know how many times a season someone brings this topic up on these boards, and if we can see it, I'm sure the coaching staff can too. Also, as usual, no accountability for the first three quarters in which he instructed his players to handball at all costs. We have stuffed up our most basic game plan at the MCG, a plan which has won us all but one game there last year.

I don't think we can blame Godfrey for this. Yes, he is a pest and he annoys his opponent, which is what tough taggers do! But I have never seen him hit, punch or scrag his opponent in an illegal way, and you can be sure the umpires would be all over it, if he did. Brent Harvey is yet another weak opponent who couldn't handle the heat, but this is not a 5 year olds playground, you don't get to hit someone if they annoy you. Gees, these are grown footballers, they should be able to beat their opponent without having to resort to... well...beating them.

Does poor Simon Godfrey have a target on his stomach that says "punch me, I'm a tagger"? I know his disposal is awful, but you gotta respect a man who gets up every time he is hit behind the play and goes about his business like nothing happened. Lesser men would start a fight and get in trouble. He just gets up and carries on.

Disgrace! Wheels is great, but he is no Brock. I just love the reaction of all the Melbourne supporters to McLean. It is similar to when Davey is running someone down, or streaming towards goal. Even when he is catching his breath on the boundary, people are still yelling at him to get out there. I am yet to meet a Melbourne fan who doesn't think that the sun shines out of McLean's proverbial.

We all die a little inside when we go watch Melbourne play. They suck the life right out of you. For every close loss we have, I lose about 2 years of my life. In all seriousness, PJ is actually coming along better than I expected. His ruckwork makes me laugh, only because he seems to have very little idea how to go about it, but given where we are with our season and with our rucking situation, I wouldn't mind seeing him ruck for 50% of the game. In the past, when Jeff White wasn't rucking, it was very noticeable. These days, I'll see White running on the boundary, and it would only then register that he isn't taking the centre bounces. It makes little difference to our clearance-winning. One of PJ or Jamar will need to get the flick at the end of the year. Jamar has had 2 years to prove himself, now it's PJs turn. So far, we know who is winning the 'influence around the ground' votes. Mind you, PJ doesn't do a whole lot. But I do cheer when he takes a contested over-head mark, and I let everyone around me know about it. Sure, they all think I'm crazy, but it warms my heart :D

Brock actually hurt himself (surprised anyone? ) in the last which slowed him down. But I agree, he wasn't 100% fit, more like 60%, and yet even at 60% fitness he is better than 98% of our team. At least he was out there running his guts out for 4 quarters, taking on multiple opponents and showing his desperation. The look on his face when the siren went was heartbreaking. I have no issue with Jones bombing the ball long from outside 50 if there are no open targets up forward, because then at least he is a shot at kicking it, and if not, we get the ball closer to our goals and we can hope for someone to mark or crumb it down there. Beats the hell out of handballing it backwards and in a circle 7 times then turning it over. God that makes me want to shoot myself when I see us [censored] farting around with the ball like that!!!

Those 2 'crapola' quarters were probably the most disgraceful quarters of footy we played all year. Every week I go and watch us play, and every week I tell my dad "we can't play worse than this", yet every week they surprise me! What makes it even more painful, is that we prepare ourselves for a loss, then suddenly a completely different side comes out and plays well and we get teased with a win. How can a team play so badly for three quarters, and so well for one? When the final siren went today, I had to try hard to stop myself from crying. Not because I was upset that we lost (I saw it coming from a mile away), but because it was just so incredibly frustrating. The guys behind me just started yelling swear words randomly, they were that frustrated. I swear I love being a Melbourne supporter, the fun just never stop!

True, but you wouldn't see them in the same backline because what Bizzell can do, Rivers can do much better. Bizzell is essentially a loose man in defence. He is the third man up, which is fine, except Rivers can both shut down his direct opponent and help out his teammates. Plus, he has pace to break the lines. In the absence of Rivers, our best defender by an absolute mile it is quite frightening, Bizzell's inclusion is logical. However, there are so many players who could play that loose defensive role. It is probably one of the easiest positions on the ground.... as long as you don't have to be accountable for a man. Bizzell struggles to be accountable, even on an ordinary player like Jones. We just can't afford to play Ward, Bizzell and Brown all in the same back half. If the Kangaroos kicked straight today, the backline wouldn't be getting so much praise. Apart from Carroll and Bell who are solid and accountable, the rest were loose today. I'm still trying to figure out where the Grant vs. Green match-up came from?!

Yes, he won the free and the Kangaroos player wouldn't give him the ball back. He got frustrated, snatched the ball away and gave the opponent a little shove. There was nothing in it, and really only the fool that is McLaren could see that as a reason to reverse a free kick. Honestly, there was just nothing in it. You cannot drag someone for wanting to get on with it. He was right to try and get the ball back quickly, and besides, if Daniher ever dragged McLean the fans would go torch the box (I'll be leading the troops). Did you hear the cheer we gave him when he ran on for the first time in 7 weeks? He is god and nobody messes with god :D

What's the deal with people wanting to drop Dunn? He is learning a brand new position, one which he has never played before. I thought he was excellent in the first quarter when playing on the wing, then Daniher inexplicably sent him to the bench and played him randomly up forward. How is anyone supposed to get into the match this way? He has what it takes to make it, and we need to stick with him and let him learn his craft on the wing, or just stick him up forward for 120 minutes. Dropping him would be pointless, especially when we are yet to win a match and our season is over. Also, can't drop Frawley. He needs at least 3 or 4 games to get settled. I imagine that being a young key defender is probably the hardest thing, especially when your side is getting spanked. When you're a midfielder or even a forward, and you're new, you get thrown out there, the opposition give you no respect and you can get a feel of the footy. But poor Frawley wasn't given a defensive match-up, and when you are a key position defender coming into a team for the first time, there is very little you can do to impress straight away. I hope they give him a job next week and let him play for most of the game.

Agreed. The first 3 quarters today were as bad as I've seen Melbourne play all year. If anyone is fooled by the fact that we lost by a point, they really are kidding themselves. The media will pity us, and the criticism will subside because 'oh, they were so close again and oh, they have so many injuries'. But the truth is, we were woeful, we struggled to hit a target and kick goals for 3 quarters and only bothered to turn it on in the last, then proceeded to stuff it up completely with less than 2 minutes to go. We deserve to be criticised because we have been pathetic all year. Injuries are a valid excuse for losing against top teams, they are not a valid excuse for not hitting targets and for not turning up to play for more than half the match. If we played well in the second and third quarters, even half as well as we played in the last, we would have won.

Bruce is the most overrated player at the MFC. It doesn't mean he is a bad player, far from it, but too many supporters see him as some of star, which he never was and never will be. His disposal is ordinary, he struggles to win his own contested ball, and he goes missing a fair bit. If it wasn't for his ability to play in different positions, he wouldn't be rated so highly. This is not a criticism, just fact. We can't judge anyone in our team on the number of possessions they've won, we need to judge them on efficiency. Bruce kicked quite a few shockers today, and didn't have nearly as much influence as someone like Jones or even Carroll, who didn't get as much of the ball.

Expect to see him back at Sandy when Rivers returns. He played well in the last quarter when the Roos had an open forward line and there was little pressure on the defenders as we were constantly winning the ball forward of the centre. The argument was never that he shouldn't play because he is an awful player, the argument is, that he shouldn't be getting a game ahead of youngsters who will still be there when we challenge for a flag. Then again, if Ward and Brown can get a game every week, why the hell not Bizzell?

Holland? I am far from his biggest fan but he is a very solid defender, and when he has a job to do, he plays and does well to shut down his opponent. His disposal isn't brilliant, but he is not really a line breaker, so it doesn't matter. Carroll's disposal is as bad as Holland's, but that is not their primary role.

What about that out of bounds on the full, when he had no pressure on him? He did well up forward, but I agree, he has to go out there and compete in the contests. Currently, he is only looking for the receives. Even TJ spends more time on the bottom of packs than Bruce. His endurance and ability to play in many positions is probably the only thing that separates him from a lot of other good-ordinary players. However, he has become the jack of all trades and the master of none. He has always been at his best in the midfield, so we either play him there for 80% of the game, or not at all.

Any ideas what is wrong with Bate? The changes will once again depend on who pulls up injured this week, and who is ready to return. Sylvia, Bate, RIVERS, Whelan, Moloney and Yze are all possibilities for this week. Once we know who is right to go, then we can start formulating a side. Frawley has to stay for at least another game. He got very limited ground time to show his stuff, and it would be a confidence blow to drop him after one game.

Loose? How many goals did his various opponents kick? His forward thrust was brilliant today. As for Robbo, he had as much influence as he possibly could have given the ball got nowhere near our forwards for 3 quarters. It was a good return match. Ward and Brown are symptomatic of Melbourne at the moment. Lots of possessions for no return.

The first 3 quarters were the most frustrating 90 minutes of my entire life. It was an absolute joke the way we continuously handballed to stagnant players, instead of moving the ball long. There was no confidence to kick to a contest, so instead the players handballed in circles. And, the more you over-possess the footy, the more your shocking skills are exposed. We had too much ball and did too little with it. And surprise surprise, when we took chances in the last and didn't blindly handball to nobody, we smashed them. When you have a forward line consisting of Neita and Robbo, you HAVE to get the ball to them quickly. Seeing David Neitz handball to Ricky who had 2 opponents on him in the forward 50, instead of kicking long to the goal square, was clearly not a natural instinct for him. He was following instructions, and they were some dumb instructions. For once, I would like the coach to come out and take some level of responsibility. It is not good enough to say that we lost because we played poorly for three quarters, there needs to be accountability and an explanation as to WHY we still have no idea how to carry out a game plan in Round 9. If it's not working, ditch it.

Even when playing at 50% fitness for only 50% of the game, he still manages to amaze me. The way he nearly won the ball on the wing against 2 opponents, and how he nearly broke his neck running backwards into the contest. He bleeds for this football club, and if he is not appointed as our next captain, it would be a big big mistake. Also, Jones plays a hell of a lot better when he has McLean there to take the heat off him. We have found two extremely special players, and we should nurture them and help them become the stars that we've been looking for.

Stupidest match-up of the season. DANIEL BELL. Why did they not play our most accountable medium defender on him? The game plan and the match-ups and the team selection are just a complete mystery to me half the time.

Massive gun with a huge heart.... Discuss :D

We nearly pulled a victory out of a certain defeat. We didn't deserve to win, but god it hurts to go down by less than a goal yet again.