Jaded No More

Oh god. He was... well... I'm trying to be nice, because I'm sure he tries hard, but he is an awfully poor footballer. We couldn't win a clearance while he rucked, and he couldn't take an uncontested mark to save himself. He is only getting a game because we have no other healthy options. IMO we are better off with Dunn helping in the ruck and having an extra set of legs with someone like Bail. Oh and he is not, in any way, better than Martin, who is younger, and a far better mark of the ball. Martin was holding down a defensive position successfully before being made to change due to necessity. PJ has no strings to his bow, and he isn't even very good at his primary job as a ruckman.

This was not a crack at Dunn, just a mere observation that that passage of play was the last real crack we had all quarter. I think Bennell was the one who stuffed up that contest though. He should have turned and slotted it straight through. Dunn did the right thing by passing it on (mind you, a clean handball would have made life easier for Bennell, rather than a ground dribble). Gees some people are sensitive souls. Love that you defend Dunn when I didn't say anything negative about him, yet take a swipe at Watts. Pot. Kettle. Black

Some supporters clearly go to the game and pick up on every mistake he makes, instead of looking at how much he improves each week. He used to get lost on the field, now he runs into the right positions. He used to lose his feet, now he is keeping strong in the contest. He was fairly criticised for lacking aggression at the contest, but today got crunched several times to help his teammates. He is a beautiful user of the ball, he has great speed and agility, and he is 12 years old. What the f' was Jack Reiwoldt doing 4 years ago?

Absolutely. That last quarter really put a sour note on the game. There was no reason for us to let them kick on like that. We had a full bench and seemed to be running well. Yet somehow it all went to shite once Dunn fluffed a kick to Bennell in the goal square who, instead of slotting it through, did a 360 degree turn and kicked it over his head out on the full. Then Jamar came off and we let the seagulls take our place on the field. If I was Bailey I'd be pretty furious with that last quarter effort. A top team does not lack the sort of killer instinct that we seem to, and in the end it made Essendon look better than they were, and took away a lot of our good work early on.

I love Chip. He is awesomeness wrapped in goodness packaged in win. And Garland was giant today. Did Monfries get a kick? Also fantastic to see Sylvia back dominating. He is a pleasure to watch when he is on. Definite low lights today were PJ (will he ever take a mark?) and I thought Cheney got lost way too many times. Rivers did some great things, but his opponent who is a no-name kid got 3 on him, which was disappointing. MacDonald is another one who does some great things, then turns around and hits an opponent on the chest with a 12m kick. Maybe it's because we've become spoilt with the likes of Chip, Garland and Grimes in our backline, but these defenders leave much to be desired. Certainly there is room to push one of them out and bring back Warnock, who may not be the most talented guy in the world, but has plenty of pace and strength. Watts showed today something that he hasn't shown yet, which was aggression at the ball. He laid some nice bumps and got smashed in the goal-assist of the day. However the highlight for me was when he intercepted an Essendon handball in our forwardline and weaved his way through 3 opponents. Sadly he didn't have the confidence to back himself for the goal, but that evasiveness is rare in someone so tall. It was Buddy-like!

6- Green 5- Sylvia 4- Jamar 3- Bruce 2- Garland 1- Trengove Jamar is a machine. We completely died in the arse when he came off in the last and PJ took over in the ruck.

PJ- the less said the better

Post fail. Watts was good and showed some seriously exciting glimpses, but the victory was pretty hollow. The last quarter ruined what was a good game otherwise. Maybe one day we'll win 4 quarter

Just like North, Essendon and Richmond now, we had a really good run of games where we showed plenty and had the whole footy world talking (round 2 through to 6 where we won 3 in a row, and lost by the narrowest of margins to the Pies and Dogs). The thing with young developing teams are that they are inconsistent and once they get on a roll, be it losing or winning, it takes them a long time to change the cycle. Richmond are full of energy and confidence at the moment, but they will soon run out of puff, just as we did. We've also had some injuries to the team that has cut out a lot of our momentum. Petterd and Bail were huge loses to our running game and robbed us of crucial forward targets, and we have definitely struggled without our captain. We are relying on very young kids to carry the midfield, which is always very difficult (whereas North and Richmond have the likes of Harvey and Cousins who are bona fide superstars). But most importantly, we lack senior leadership. Our older players are inconsistent and that hurts a team full of kids who need support around them. On the plus side, I think our defense is without a doubt the best of those teams you mentioned. Frawley is as good as they come, and we have great flexibility with Garland and Grimes. We also have the making of an elite midfield, and that's without seeing Blease or Tapscott yet. I'm very comfortable with Bailey at the moment, because at the moment the actual number of wins is of little significance. The game plan we are trying to execute takes longer to prefect than perhaps the defensive game of North or the all out attack of Essendon, but it is also the most potentially damaging game plan of all (see Geelong). Better to learn now and win big later. As for Freo, they are in a completely different position to us. Have been building for years and years and have some very good mature players (and stars) in their side. When we're challenging for a premiership they'll be struggling without Pavlich and Sandilands.

Final Teams: Teams Melbourne B: Jamie Bennell, Jared Rivers, Clint Bartram HB: Col Garland, James Frawley, Tom Scully C: Nathan Jones, Jack Trengove, Brad Green HF: Lynden Dunn, Jack Watts, Cameron Bruce F: Colin Sylvia, Matthew Bate, Jordie McKenzie FOLL: Mark Jamar, Brent Moloney, Aaron Davey I/C: Joel Macdonald, Kyle Cheney, Paul Johnson, Liam Jurrah EMG: Rohan Bail, Addam Maric, Neville Jetta In: Johnson, Sylvia, Jurrah Out: Grimes (hamstring), Spencer (back), Jetta Essendon B: Andrew Welsh, Cale Hooker, Heath Hocking HB: Mark McVeigh, Michael Hurley, Kyle Reimers C: Leroy Jetta, Jobe Watson, Courtenay Dempsey HF: Brent Stanton, Scott Gumbleton, Angus Monfries F: Alwyn Davey, Jay Neagle, David Zaharakis FOLL: Paddy Ryder, Jason Winderlich, Ben Howlett I/C (from): Ricky Dyson, Brent Prismall, Sam Lonergan, Tom Bellchambers, Travis Colyer, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Jake Melksham In: Dyson, Dempsey, Monfries, Howlett, Neagle, Colyer Out: Henry Slattery (soreness), Tyson Slattery, Michael Quinn

Exactly. What matters is that our supporters think we are a great club, and continue to support us. I've never seen us be a really successful club but it hasn't prevented me from going every week and financially supporting the club every year. I couldn't continue to do that if I didn't believe our club was great. To some that may be dellusional, but I'd rather live my life enjoying what I have than complaining about what I don't and being sour and angry, which is why Jim is a great representation of our club. He continues to fight the good fight even when things are against him. As supporters, I hope we all do the same.

To me, our club is the greatest in the world. You may disagree, and others may disagree, but we are still the oldest professional sporting club in the world and we have a rich and very successful history. As a club we have done a lot for the AFL, pioneered the game, the international rookie and also gave the football world some of the greatest players in history. I feel proud to be a Melbourne supporter, even when we are on the bottom of the ladder. I've never denied who I barrack for or been ashamed to admit it.

The man is a legend, an inspiration, and a big part of what makes ours, the best goddamn football club in the world. We are destined for greatness once more, and it is my one wish that Jim gets to enjoy all the success which he has had a hand in.

People are shite, I'm sorry, but you read this sort of thing and you think how do we get to a point where gutless pricks just bash people for their own bloody enjoyment. I hope the offenders get to spend the rest of their miserable lives rotting in jail, because they are clearly a waste of space in society. Good luck Kyle!

I WANT A FORWARD LINE DAMMIT! That is all.

The glee is more about the fact that young players are choosing to stick with the club rather than chase the money, which is a great indication of where we are heading. Also, Garland could very well become a bona fide star

Marketing is now missing a page from their newpaper. That picture is sitting nicely alongside my financial calendars and fabric swatches. Fits so well!

From now on, only the World Cup octopus is allowed to make these sorts of calls.

Get off your high horse. The comments here were tongue in cheek, but I don't believe anyone would actually be foolish enough not to think that if this did eventuate, it wouldn't be a big win for us. At 31 players are rarely sought after or traded for, especially players of Bruce's ilk (not KP, not a superstar), so lets not sit back and pretend that the club wouldn't jump at this opportunity if it was presented and Bruce was actually keen to leave. Seriously, why is everyone having a hissy fit?

What is up everyone's bum today?! This is clearly a ridiculous rumour and is being treated as such. Mind you, since when do we abuse posters for having trade discussions on Demonland?

If he wants out, then why should we be loyal? The reality is that Bruce will most likely finish his career at Melbourne, but if at 31 he gets to move to the GC and extend his career and we get a draft pick and a possible 10 year player, then everybody wins (and by everybody I mean us )

I'm sensing another KOTD moment for the MFC then

Jurrah - Watts - Sylvia

It's clearly Tom Scully. Everybody panic.