Jaded No More

Not true. He is neither our best player skills-wise, nor is he our most important player. He is a good footballer because he is so versatile, but his disposal is extremely questionable, and so are his leadership skills. I can name at least 3 players who are better or more important than Bruce. Bruce doesn't deserve some of the criticism that comes his way most of the time, but on the whole he is overrated by Melbourne supporters.

Since TJ loves to give directions so much, surely he could have screamed at one of his team-mates to go cover his man. We were doing well to man-up all game, but lost it in the crucial last few minutes. You would think we would have learnt something from last week. This never would have happened if Rodney Eade was coaching us. That's all I'm going to say.

I agree that Carroll was outclassed by Johnson, but why wasn't Bell given the job on him? Like I said pre- match, Belly has the speed, the size and the aggression to go with him. Carroll isn't quick or smart enough, but he did do well.... much better than Bruce who should never have played there to begin with. Belly has shut down every opponent he's had so far. I think he has earnt the right to play on the big guns.

One player who definitely needs a rest is Beamer. I feel sorry for him as he clearly just cannot run and compete at the level that he is used to. Season is gone, we might as well give him some time off to recover.

Holland Ward Brown Bizzell Wheatley Ferguson Neita (will retire next year) Junior (ditto) Yze Jamar CJ (not unless he is given some game time) Whitey will be touch and go And one of Bruce or Travis Johnstone. It won't be pretty, but someone needs to have the balls to do something drastic and either land us a huge name, or a brilliant draft selection. So that's 13 for you, and there are probably more.

He would have made the forward line even more crowded and I reckon we would have seen Neita implode and just belt the living crap out of anyone and everyone. If we want to play him, at least one tall has to go first. Rivers, McLean and Wheels would have made a huge difference today. Newton wouldn't have.

As I said, he has good pace and he is not too bad below the knees. He gets completely lost in the contest though, but so did Daniel Bell once upon a time. I'm happy to stick with him and see what he can do. Certainly he should play if Rivers if not right next week.

Ward and Brown are first to go. I know they both had reasonable games today, but we are going nowhere if those two, as well as Holland and Godders are all in the side. Holland was there to cover for Rivers. Hopefully Frawley is ready to debut soon, eliminating the horror show that is Holland going for a chase *shudder* Godfrey is there to do a job, and so far, he is doing it well. He is also the youngest of the 4, so he has quite a bit of life in him yet. His fitness and aerobic capacity are invaluable at the moment. If Petterd is ok for next week, we must dump one of Ward or Brown for him. It will be a good experience, although not a pleasant one, for him to play against the Eagles. I'd play Frawley ahead of Warnock too if he's ready, although I like Warnock's pace and desire to carry the ball a bit. At least the endeavor is there. Come the end of the season though, one big name will have to go. Not sure who yet, but we'll need to do something drastic to get this side delivering. Disclaimer: I actually enjoy Ben Holland down back, because he is a smart player, but watching him run is painful.

Come on, Neita has one bad game and all of a sudden he is a rubbish leader and not inspirational? Shame on anyone who calls themselves a Melbourne supporter, if they judge Neita on one poor performance. He has more runs on the board than our entire side put together. Go find someone else to take your frustrations out on. FFS!

West got frustrated, because Godders was being a pest and following him around like bad breath. I think he just gave him a little wack, Goodes style. Well done Godders, that's 3 out of 3... and dare I say it, his 9 disposals were probably all to advantage too!

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.