Jaded No More

Yay or Nay? For me, excellent first quarter on the wing, and really got into the game and made some impact. I think he is not strong enough overhead to be a key forward just yet, and using him in the middle, where he can use his run and beautiful skills below the knees, is a good move. We could use another marking midfielder, and if nothing else, it would be a good learning curve for Dunny to be made accountable for a quality opponent.

Rubbish. Neita's horrific form and stupid 50m penalty, Jones' sloppy tackle that was paid in the back, players missing easy shots on goal yet again... that cost us the game. Davey was brilliant today, and his run off the half-back line was the main reason we could compete with the Dogs.

Yep, unlucky and yet another heartbreak, but I agree completely, where was the flood? Should have left Sylvia, Yze and Neita up forward and everyone else should have gone back. We could have gotten enough drive out of Davey and Green and White to get it up forward. I pity our defenders. They were screaming for back-up with 2 minutes to go, and yet we went one-on-one. Sure, you want to back your players in, but not when you are 0-6 and desperately seeking a victory. We should have played ugly for 2 minutes... thats all it would have taken. Had Jared Rivers played today, we would have won. I'm absolutely certain of that. Goddamn injuries!!! :angry:

Great game from him, really excellent. He wanted it, and he was hungry and that is the best sign of all. Clearly he is still struggling with his groin, and the surface at TD would have only made it worse, but he fought it out and that mark in the last was just brilliant. It was probably the first time today where he really looked pumped up and he ran beautifully and covered lots of ground. I love him at CHF, as I said last week. It gives him the opportunity to kick goals and also make an impact further up the ground. Well done Kid!

This better be coming from a sauce that has passed its use-by date! Carroll shouldn't play on Johnson, Bell should. He has the pace and the strength to go with him (he is both taller and heavier), even if he leads further up the ground. Carroll on Darcy is a far better match-up.

Please, you know that my genes will only make the kid a crappier footballer. I'll go the other 2 though

Employ umpires full-time and make them fully professional. Problem solved. The fact that the AFL is a multi-million dollar industry, and yet it won't hire its umpires full-time, is symptomatic of the way this corporation is run.

My head hurts But you're right, there are no straight- forward answers, there never are when you are dealing with people, personalities and careers. However, my point still stands that Ward should not be getting a game ahead of CJ, given our current position. If the only change this week was Green for Petterd, I wouldn't have an issue with CJ being made to play in Sandy reserves. I just can't come up with a good enough reason as to why we should play an unaccountable, 28 year old who is going nowhere fast at this level, ahead of a 21 year old who has had 4 years to develop his game. If he gets reasonable game time and is proven to not be up to it, fine. But we already know where Ward stands. Either way, we need to make a decision about CJ and this is the year to do it.

CJ has been fairly consistent at Sandy, and from what I gather from the match reports we get here, last week was the first time he has played at Sandy and not been named in the best. That is a pretty good effort! He is allowed to have one ordinary game, especially given the circumstances of his demotion. He was one of three omissions from a side that got belted. The other 2 were Jamar, who has had plenty of time to prove he is struggling, and Garland who probably shouldn't have played to begin with. In my mind, given that we are 0-6 and that we have a long injury list, there is no reason not to play CJ. Certainly he should be getting a game ahead of someone who we know is not up to scratch, and probably won't survive another year on the list.

2 Points: 1. Can you blame him for not putting in when he has been shown so little faith by the coaching department? 2. Garland I'm not saying CJ necessarily deserves a game based on the way he played last week at Sandy, but given his form in the NAB Cup, and the fact that he's done his time at Sandy, you would think that now would be the time to play him. BTW, he never should have been dropped after one game to begin with.

No, it's a bit like trading a can of Coke and a hot-dog for Judd. (Even the real Hot Dogs won't cut it!) West Coast wouldn't take that deal. What the hell do they need CJ for? If he can't get a game at Melbourne, how will he get a game at the Eagles? We might get a third round pick for him, if we're lucky, which is precisely why we need to stick with him. His trade value is virtually zero, and yet he has the potential to be a very good player. I'm completely at a loss here as to why he isn't getting a game. Give me CJ over Ward anyday/everyday/for eternity.

Your analysis of the CJ situation is spot on. For the life of me I can't work out why he is receiving the treatment that he is. Surely we could use someone with reasonable pace and good disposal. Yes, he's been quiet when given a run, but he deserves a number of weeks to show what he can do, rather than the customary 40 minute runs. I'm pretty disappointed actually, because I expected big things from him this year. I have a feeling that if things don't change, we won't see him at Melbourne next season.

When has the team sheet ever resembled the actual line-up? I trust that if they are playing Beamer, he is fit to play. And no, he won't be spending the afternoon in the forward pocket, so the point about Newton is irrelevant. People are wasting their energy bemoaning the fact that Newton isn't getting a game... how about redirecting it to the fact that Ward IS getting a game. I hope he proves me wrong and has a blinder, but I'm not holding my breath.

Yep, that would make sense... except for the part where Ward is getting a run, but we knew that yesterday. Pickett needs to get himself fit ASAP. He is an important part of the side, when he can run for more than 10 minutes that is.

According to Ch.10, Brock is another 2 weeks away (and so is Robbo) Probably because they won't take him to Perth next week.

Injuries and loss of form are sure things in football. I'd prefer for Newton to debut alongside Neita and Robbo anyways, in a properly functioning forward line. I just don't see how people can get so confused by the non-inclusion of Newton this week. With Neita, Miller, Dunn and the form of Bate at CHF last week, how can we possibly afford yet another tall? There is playing the kids (which I'm a big fan of), then there is creaming your pants over someone you've hardly ever seen and demanding he gets a game even if that stuffs up your team structure completely. Buckley isn't a key forward, and he played very well in the NAB Cup. Newton didn't play at all.

That's more like it, but you forgot 'Frawley to debut and start his claim for the 2007 Brownlow'

Frawley won't play this week anyways, so the point about him coming straight into the side is irrelevant. The club rates him highly and so they should, they spent their first round draft pick on him. Even with our entire defence up and running (except Wheels/Bartram who play a different role anyways), we still need an extra tall. Warnock was played out of desperation, and he did well under the circumstances. When Frawley has gained match fitness, he'll play because there are no other BETTER candidates for the role of the third tall/ rebounding defender. And I find it funny how two weeks ago we were all praising Miller for his hard work this season, and yet after one bad game where he had minimal opportunities, we want to see the back of him just to promote a kid who has had 2 good games at Sandy? Back-stabbing at its highest. I have news for you, we won't win a premiership with or without Miller, not this year anyways. Newton will get his chance, but as I said, we can't fit him into the side at the present moment. It would be pathetic team-managment if we dumped our best key forward for the year in favour of an unknown. I want to see him play just like everyone else does, but this week is not the right time. His opportunity was there when Neita got injured, but his form wasn't up to scratch. Now that it is, he can keep working away and learn the value of hard work. Is if fair when you compare that to the treatment Frawley is getting? probably not. Is it justified? yep. P.S.- I don't see any "Where the hell is Buckley, and why is Ward still getting a game" threads. I wonder why that is? Could it be that people are getting sucked into the hype surrounding Newton (how many people have actually seen him play I wonder)? Are we not desperate for some speed through the middle moreso than another tall forward?

Maybe, or maybe they'll understand that Frawley is a key defender, which is something we are desperately missing, whereas the others play positions that we have covered at this stage. He was also a first round pick, and would have played Round 1 if he didn't get injured. As for Hughes, he is a rookie so he's ineligible for selection regardless. We will see Newton before the end of the year, I'm sure of it. But there are other key forwards who deserve selection ahead of him at this stage. No doubt the next injury is just around the corner, so I wouldn't worry too much <_<

It's within the AFL I'm pretty sure, and well done to her. To raise the kids on her own, must have been very difficult. If you watched the Footy Show, they read out the application form that Aaron and Alwyn sent in. It was a really good indication of how much they love and appriciate everything she has done for them.

Can't exactly call that a small body. Looks about the same as Jonesy in that picture. I might just go examine it further <_<

He's had one bad game this year, and we're 0-6 so he can be excused. If Miller gets dropped just so we can debut someone who is untried and raw, that will achieve absolutely nothing. Nobody is advocating dropping experienced players who are playing alright, for the sake of playing the kids. If Miller gets injured, or if his form drops, then you can talk about taking him out of the side. As it stands, Miller gets preference over Newton and so he should.

Well it won't rain, that's for sure.

I don't think you'll find a bigger advocate for playing the kids, than myself. However, I don't see how a forward line consisting of Neita, Miller, Dunn and Newton is going to work better. That is too many talls in an already disfunctional forward 50. This means that in order for Juice to get a game, you need to drop one of Miller or Dunn, and neither of them deserve to be dropped at this stage. I too find it concerning, this lack of media talk by Daniher about Newton, but at the moment we just can't fit him into the side. If he was a small forward, or a crumber, he'd be getting a game. If one of Neita, Dunn or Miller go down injured (lets hope not!) or if the last two are down on form, then I'm sure they will be forced to consider Newton. I hope for the club's sake that he sticks around and develops into a very good AFL player. Maybe the thing to do, will be to sign him before the end of the season as a vote of confidence... that is, if the club does have confidence in his ability to make the transition from VFL to AFL. After all, we have no idea what goes on behind closed doors.

So I just saw Ward is in the starting 18. I know that with Petterd, Wheels and Bartram out, we are missing that drive out of the backline, but given that Ward is Mr.Unaccountable, and given that he can't kick, wouldn't it be worth trying Buckley in the back pocket? Does he have a single defensive bone in his body? Who knows. Is it worth finding out since we're 0-6 and no chance? Absolutely. Hell, give me Bizzell over Ward! Now that my rant is over, I'm going to assume that Holland, Pickett and Frawley will miss out. Clearly Jones, PJ and Dunn are needed, and lets hope that Warnock is given another game.