Jaded No More

I've sat through a lot of crap in my Melbourne supporting life, but I have to say that this day takes the cake.

Is it wrong that I'm over this season already? Our midfield is killing me. So many battlers. At least the weather is beautiful.

Is that not what I said?! Moloney would consistently win more clearances then Cotchin, but he doesn't hurt you like Cotchin does, because he is a pure inside mid, and Cotchin is equally good both inside and outside. We don't need to degrade Moloney, because he is very good at what he does, and would be in the top 20 or so clearance players in the AFL, but he has serious disposal and foot speed flaws which make him a good player, but not a great player.

I'd say for pure clearance abilities, Moloney and Cotchin are on par, but Cotchin is a lot classier, a better user of the ball, a better mark, and quicker. Moloney is grunt, Cotchin is class. It's like comparing Sam Mitchell and Chris Judd. Both great extractors, but one is a superb finisher.

I must say that this is the least excited I have ever been for the start of a season. So much so, that all week I kept forgetting we were playing, made plans, then had to cancel them. Maybe it's the result of years of bitter disappointments, maybe it's me just being an old grumpy [censored]. Bottom line is, what I expect from this season is redemption. Redemption for wooden spoons, redemption for 186, redemption for Jimmy passing away before he experienced the success he so richly deserved. If at the end of the season I am no longer bitter about all of the above, then it would have been a successful season. Of course having said all that, I'll be dragging my sorry arse to the game today despite doctor's orders to stay in bed and rest. No rest for the delusional Melbourne supporter I say!

Mmmmmm.... potentially-awesome-fooballer-yet-to-be-destroyed-by-unrealistic-Demonland-expectations. Mmmmm!

He's very special. So I call an 18 week toe injury, or at the very least a 4-6 week paper cut. Thinking of starting another "weeks played without death" signature counter. Worked a treat for Rivers. Clearly I'm a magical signature healer!

Anything that involves Robbo and Steph Martin gets two thumbs up from me. Max Gawn is a pisser, even in real life. Talks a lot of crap, but very very amusing!

Wash your mouth out! Grimes will play. He'll play for 5 minutes before somehow breaking 8 toes and not resurfacing for 18 rounds.

I am all for blind optimism, but come on, Cotchin is already as good as Moloney and will be much better in a year or two. I love Moloney, but he is no world beater.

True, but their midfield sh*ts all over ours. I'd give my left knee to have Martin, Cotchin and Delidio running around in our midfield. Sure beats having to resort to the likes of Bate. No offence to Bate.

Great. Now trade period will be 2 weeks and 4 days of no action, instead of 4 days of no action.

Not surprised that McDonald is in ahead of Sellar. Sellar is very one dimensional, and with no Brown, he really has no opponent. He will only play when we come up against a big forward line. Think Hawthorn, Collingwood, North. McDonald can play much smaller and is much faster. I don't mind him defensively, just FFS don't give him the footy. It's a good line up, and I'm sure the listed positions are not correct, but I do worry about a lack of good foot skills down back. Bartram, McDonald, Bail, they are all average users. No doubt Blease and Grimes will play a more sweeping role. Bate is bloody lucky. I tell you what, 6 months ago I thought he was gone. Clearly Neeld like him, but he needs a damn good game because Petterd, Strauss, Tapscott and Sylvia will all be available shortly, and all 4 are better players. P.S.- Morton continues to let me down.

Poor, dumb, exceptionally talented and attractive Benny. He had everything, fame, money, success, perfect facial and abdominal features, and he threw it all away because he couldn't kick the drug habit. I don't feel sorry for him anymore, I feel sorry for his family and mostly his kid, because that kid won't have a father for very long if Cousins continues to behave like an irresponsible superstar.

I think it's great to see so many young guns showing loyalty and signing big contracts with their current club. Tom Scully, you are an even bigger f'ing d'ckhead now than you were last year. Hope you spend the rest of your career struggling on the sidelines.

Channel 7 talking about Jack Watts during the coverage of Jim's funeral made my blood boil. FFS, can we all just find something else to talk about?!

The club could not have done a better job today. Beautifully represented, both inside and outside the church. A united front, just like Jim envisioned when he first took the job of president. He must be very proud looking down today.

I'm sure they would. But any excuse to kick in some more money to the club. I figure something good might as well come out of a car accident.

Given some moron drove into and destroyed the back of my car last week, thus ruining my precious stickers, I am thinking I might buy a 3 game membership so I can get my replacement stickers. Sad, but necessary.

Wish he asked him what it felt like lying to Jim Stynes' face. Little piece of sh*t that he is.

Forward can mean MANY things. If the club thought Watts was a crash and bash physical FF, they wouldn't have recruited Mitch Clark. There is no doubt that at 20, Watts has loads of work to do, but no matter how much we stamp our feet, he will never be the gorilla FF some people are delusionally hoping he will. I doubt the club ever thought that's how he'll turn out, in fact, I'm sure he was earmarked as a roaming CHF. And few, if any his size, have the skills, agility or smarts to do a better job in a modern day set up. Nobody is more valuable to a team than a tall link player who can hit a FF on the chest. That is what Watts will do for us. He will also kick goals, take good contested marks and roam the packs. He won't ever smash his opponent physically, crash packs or break skulls. He is the Garland of our forward line, as opposed to the Frawley. That is why Mitch Clark is here, and why McDonald is being developed as a forward.

Junior was holding nobody back. He was loved by all the players and set a wonderful example. He sure would have been a better captain than Green was last year. I am all for the youth policy, but it amazes me how many ordinary players we've held onto, guys like Bate, Dunn, even Newton FFS, but Junior was not given the right to put an end to his own career. He could have easily gone around again last year, and I bet we would have been better off. For such a wonderful servant of the club, he was treated appallingly. Dean Bailey admitted as much. I'm very happy for him that he's managed to get another gig, but it's sad to see him running around in that disgusting jumper. He deserved a better end to his career, and he deserved for it to be at the MFC.

Good on Junior. We treated him like crap and tonight shows that he still has some value. Very sad that we pushed him to play for this disgraceful joke of a club. He is definitely the only redeeming feature about this orange monstrosity. And the [censored] isn't even playing yet! On a side note, how utterly ridiculous is the commentary?? They are orgasming over a 4 goal performance. So stupid.

I would like to offer my heart felt, sincere apology, for generalising lapsed members as fat, lazy and possessing a set of balls. I now realise that many lapsed members could also in fact be skinny, idiotic and in possessing of a set of boobs. My deepest regrets.

Nothing like working a 12 hour day then coming home to read such warm, positive, thoughtful words. I love this website P.S.- GRIMES!