Jaded No More

So is it possible that Quarterbrain confused Morton with Petterd? If Morton is signed (I have no recollection of that, but I'm sure you're right), why would GC approach him? Frawley and Petterd are extremely close, so if one chooses to stay I think the other might seriously consider it too.

Dud. For the scrap heap along with Watts. As if we didn't take Luke Ball at pick 11. Disgrace.

Hands down the best news I've heard since finding out Jordan McMahon was being traded to Richmond

Saw Jack Watts on the weekend, and I'm positive he was hanging out with Vickery from Richmond (unless he has a tall skinny friend with horrendous hair), but the point is he looks noticeably bigger and broader across the upper body and if he was indeed hanging out with Vickery, he was comfortably the same height as him. He doesn't look like a 12 year old kid anymore, although I suppose that in the context of the game when pinned against mature men, he probably would still look on the skinny side, but there is a good build under his frame, which is a great sign.

Oh for the love of all that is red and blue, can we just give this Jack Watts thing a rest? If it helps you sleep at night, believe we made a mistake, beat yourself and the club up after every game that Naitanui plays, and go on thinking that we are forever doomed to pick dud KPF. Or alternatively, calm down, and STFU about Jack Watts until he is 23 and has 50 games under his belt. Thank you.

He didn't have a huge challenge physically, because he is bigger and more talented than most of the Richmoond players who were out there on Sunday, but the mental challenge of going in hard at every contest after having suffered a broken jaw was embraced beautifully I thought. It took him a half to warm up, as you would expect, but he stood up physically when it counted, which was great to see. Plus he gives us a much needed forward target.

Going to the GC might have its perks, but these players have suffered years of bottom dwelling and list development, and will be going back to that should they choose to leave. It's a different story for guys like Ablett who has already done everything there is to do in footy, and will enjoy the cash and lifestyle GC will offer. But young players want, first and foremost, success. It will be a number of years before they'll have that at the new club.

Absolutely. Nobody deserves to get the flick, which is why I didn't consider dropping guys to make room for Rivers. But as you said, we can't ask Jamar to go alone against two quality rucks, and we are playing with fire by doing so. If he goes down, we are unbelievably screwed. He needs help and Dunn won't cut it. Having seen the replay, Dunn tries hard but his decision making at times is laughable. He probably isn't part of our future, but the health of Jamar is. I can't believe people want to drop Bartram. He has been fantastic in the last 3 weeks, and you can't go into a match without small defenders. Bartram is very good defensively and in no way deserves to be dropped, nor will he be.

Probably the forwardline which is dominating the race for the Coleman With all due respect, Jonathan Brown shits all over anything Melbourne has in a way of a forward. I hope Warnock/Frawley smash him, but I can't lie and say I'm not looking forward to seeing him play live. Fevola on the other hand can get stuffed, and I hope Frawley smacks him around good.

I don't think anybody wanted him dropped because he was no good. I certainly think that he let the pressure get to him over the past 3 weeks (giving away poor frees, dropping marks etc), and it was only a matter of time before he started to feel comfortable at this level and dominate. There was never ever a question of talent or application. Having said that, the best thing we can do to our team is play them and Scully was awesome today, and I'm glad he got to play against poorer opposition to give him the ability to get a lot of the ball and build his confidence going forward. He is awesome.

There was one play in our forward pocket (Punt Rd end), where the ball was loose and Bruce seemed really slow to chase it. The ball ended up going over the line, when in reality he should have grabbed it and kicked it into the square. I don't think any player ever goes out onto the field with a "CBF" attitude, but that moment did seem very weird to me. It was like he didn't want to chase the ball or completely lost his concentration. His disposal count was greatly inflated today by the amount of one-two handballing that went on in our defensive zone (this can only happen against crap teams like Richmond btw). He was on the receiving end of about 10-15 quick give offs and then gave them right back as we set up the free link.

In: Martin, Rivers Out: Dunn, Beamer (if suspended) If Beamer gets off *fingers crossed*, I'd just swap Dunn with Martin. I'd play an extra man in defense (god knows we usually only play 3 forwards anyway), and have Martin zoning off to help Frawley (Fevola) and Warnock (Brown). In the middle, Junior will need to go with Power and I'd actually give the job of Black to Bruce. Get him out of the backline for next round, please! If we can get away with a 3-4 goal loss that would be great, but I wouldn't be surprised if we lose by 10 goals if the Fevola-Brown show takes off. We have to keep the midfield pressure on and hope that this will lessen the quality of the delivery to these two, to give our defenders a fighting chance. In an ironic and delicious move, I hope to see Grimes play on, and beat, Travis "Jesus" Johnstone

Tribunal decision pending on Beamer, I'd still like to see Martin in for Dunn. It's farcical to have Dunn competing in the ruck, when we have Martin kicking goals and rucking in the VFL. I don't see what we lose if we swap Dunn with Martin, but I've been banging on about this for 3 weeks and I've failed every time, so I give up! Next week is the week of the backline. I wouldn't drop Bruce, but by god we need somebody more defensive than him down there to help Warnock and Frawley take on Fevola and Brown. In an ideal world you'd have Rivers returning to his glory days as a loose man in defense, allowing Garland and Mac2 to cover their other forwards and hopefully set up the play as well. Otherwise I fear that we'll be so conscious of the Fevola-Brown duo (as we should), that our defenders will be worried to leave their direct opponent to attack the game, instead always looking to block the hole and double team those two.

And it's not junk possessions either, the sort of possessions some young players might get playing as a loose man in defense or standing outside the packs. Both had 8/9 contested touches today. Scully's handballs freak me out. They are more powerful than some players' kicks!

I'd love to have Rivers replace Bruce down back, and have Bruce playing from the forwardline, where his sometimes poor decision making and disposals won't be so disastrous On Mac2, he has been a revelation and Luke Ball can get stuffed! B)

Junior is like the Sydney Football Club, every year you think their time has come, and every year they find a way to sustain success. Junior is a remarkable footballer, because he is a top player and a top leader, but is probably one of the least talented players in our side. He is living proof that heart and the will to be great is more important than top skills. I thought he should have retired, but I'd be thrilled if he went again in 2011. He is great for our young team, because he is the best leader by example.

I am a feral monster at the football, and probably make shocking, angry, uneducated calls in the heat of the battle. And I would never sit in the upper tier of the G.

For me the real turning point was today, because Melbourne of old would have turned up expecting to win, lost their shite after the Tigers kicked 2 goals to open the game, and probably dragged themselves across the line by a couple of goals. To see us methodically destroy them was arrogant, it was brutal and it was absolutely awesome. We'll lose next week to Brisbane, I don't doubt that, but that won't matter one little bit. We are on the right track, for the first time in my life as a Melbourne supporter.

So good to have Sylvia back. I take back all my years of angst and disgust directed towards him! B)

I know we only beat the worst team going around, and I know we are not very good as of yet, but the tide seems to be turning and this is the first time in my life that I have real confidence that we are going to see a premiership team in the near future. It's a beautiful time to be a Melbourne supporter, and I hope my fellow supporters really enjoy and embrace this ride, no matter how many bumps we hit along the way, because we ARE coming. GO DEES!!!

I think Frawley wasn't well today, and there were rumours circulating (as another poster suggested in a separate thread), that one of the defenders was ill coming into the match. He really couldn't run and he was rotated far more heavily than he usually is. Edit: Scully- bloody friggin brilliant

I actually believe the opening post, because Frawley certainly didn't look right today. It's possible he was ill.

Round 20 vs. Hawthorn

I watched 5 minutes and I want to shoot myself. Terrible!

I'm all for dropping Newton, but Jamar can't play 100% game time, so who helps out in the ruck? This is why I don't understand the absence of Martin, who by all reports was good for Casey last week. It is possible they'll drop Joel McDonald due to match-ups, but that would be extremely harsh as he has been very good.