Jaded No More

The only two logical outs for Sylvia appear to be Newton, because he isn't very good, or Scully because he needs a break. It would be a shame to drop Scully, when he is a part of our future and Newton isn't, but if you drop Newton who helps Jamar?

I'm not sure, but do you think Jordie was promoted for Morton? I would have thought he was promoted for Tapscott, because the club knows he is on a long recovery track. I think Newton was promoted for Morton. Also does it matter who a player is elevated for? Can't we return any one of our promoted rookies back to the rookie list when Morton returns (ie- Newton or Spencer)? I always thought that all you have to do is balance the senior and rookie lists, but it doesn't matter which player comes in and which goes out. Jordie stayed with the club on the premise that he would be the first rookie elevated, so I have no doubt he will remain on our senior list for the rest of the season and will get officially promoted for 2011.

I might be making this up, but I'm pretty sure you are now able to permanently promote a rookie onto your senior list in the middle of the year, and not have it be at the expense of a LTI. Is that right?

I think The Standard has set the standard for crap journalism. Morton is another month away, at least.

The James Frawley Death Grip

TBC = We're not telling you, so [censored] off

As if you didn't choose Grimes. We can no longer be friend. Such fail!

Jetta is already 10 times the player Weetra never was. I'm not saying Jetta will make the grade, but a comparison to Weetra is crazy!

To be fair, that attack is missing Jurrah, Sylvia, Morton and Watts. These 4 players will be part of our forwardline for the next 10 seasons hopefully. But until they are fit and ready, we will continue to struggle to kick a decent score.

I know that this is the wrong place to rant about this, because I'm sure 99% of Demonland members are also paid up members, but if you are one of those unsigned members from last year, for the love of god please get off your fat behind and renew! I understand that for some people there are extenuating circumstances which are stopping them from renewing, but I bet about 6980 of those unsigned members are just weak fans who are waiting for us to climb up the ladder before they bother handing over their cash. If you fall into that category, please grow a set and go get a membership and help fund our meteoric rise. Because you'll want to tell your friends/kids/neighbours that you were there when Scullgove, Frawley, Grimes, Watts and so forth became AFL superstars.

It's laughable to suggest we drop Garland. He has spent a year out of the action, and all we've been waiting for is to see him back on the field. It is natural and expected that it will take him some time to adjust to the pace of the game once more, and to again have confidence in his body. He has come back from one of the more serious injuries a player can sustain, so just to have him out there is a bloody miracle. As long as he is fit and feeling good, he should play, and if he is slow off the mark to begin with, so be it. Besides, he had a good defensive game. He shut down his opponent, and was very vocal down back, directing traffic and helping to set up the play. The attacking part of his game will slowly return as well. Dropping him will do nothing for his progress.

All it means is if we lose, I'm just going to have to kill myself from the shame! Seriously though, we can't underestimate any team. One of the biggest problems our club has faced since 2000, is succumbing to the weight of expectations and getting ahead of ourselves. How many times have we seen our team put in terrible performances when we were expected to win? The last few rounds of 2004 says it all really. The worst mindset a team could ever have, is one of "we're going to win this easily". There are no easy games and I want us to come out and beat them in the most ruthless of fashions. On paper, we should win comfortably by about 5 goals, but if we put forward the same effort from the last 2 weeks, we could win by 10. That is what we should be expecting.

Epic photo of our man Frawles!

Last year after I started the counter, Rivers went on to play the entire season uninjured. I removed the counter at the start of 2010, and when he went down with this apparent knee injury, I had people asking me to start it up again... I succumbed to the peer pressure! I can start an Aussie counter instead maybe

At the moment, being a defender at the club makes it very hard to get a spot. This is bloody brilliant for the team, but it's hard for the likes of Cheney and McNamara, and probably most of all for Martin. I think McNamara is only going to cement a spot in our side if he can make a successful move up forward, because right now he is behind so many guys who are proven AFL defenders. I'd love to see him tried up forward with Casey, the way Martin has been played as a forward.

I'm in love!

You know what they say about great minds... I think realistically that will be the only change, but Newton is giving us little to nothing. Martin can at least compete in the ruck, and is a better mark than Newton IMHO. Plus we can't expect Jamar to continue to ruck 98% of the game. We'll run him into the ground and onto the injury list.

I still think we're playing with fire not giving Jamar any ruck support, plus Martin was apparently very good for Casey as a forward target on Saturday night. With that in mind: In: Sylvia (finally?!), Martin Out: Newton, Dunn

Another vote for Bartram from me. He is not and will never be a class player, but is a very good tagger and it's good that now being surrounded by quality players, he can be used solely to shut down his opponent, which he does very reliably. We shouldn't underestimate the importance of the small defender, and Bartram has done a great job two weeks in a row now. Not everyone can be superstars, and as long as we don't rely on Bartram to create the play, he has a spot in the side.

Yep, for anyone who ever had to sit through the Nicholson-Holland-Carroll hat-trick of crapness... this one is for you

His first game in a year and we win... coincidence?

Chest beating and man hugs aside, I thought Garland did very well today considering he hasn't played in over a year. Hasn't lost his agility, pace or smarts and is still a delight to have out on the ground. Would love to see him tried up forward at some point this season.

Don't think this beast of a man-child is getting enough love on here. He has to be one of the best young KP defenders in the AFL. Week in week out he takes on a variety of players and consistently beats them, then has the balls to back himself and break the lines to set up the play. Frawley is the sort of player that makes me so excited to be a Melbourne supporter. Bloody brilliant!

It was an ugly win, but for a team that haven't won for so long, an ugly win is sometimes the best kind. We had to fight all day, first to get in front, then to maintain our lead, and we did it. Adelaide were battered and bruised, but they are a good team. Their midfield was nearly at full force, and yet we SMASHED, that's right, SMASHED them in the clearances. I'm sorry, say what, Melbourne dominating clearances 2 weeks in a row?! When half the players are standing inside the circle singing the song, because they are yet to experience a win, you understand how important the victory was. It's amazing how this young team is so reliant on confidence, and there is no doubt they'll take so much out of this. Brilliant day, capped off with the sort of mind-blowingly brilliant performances of young stars like Frawley, Grimes, Trengove and Bail. The future is so bright!

Everyone played a part today, but Bruce was terrible on Burton and is not cut out to play a key defensive role. Why he was on Burton to begin with, when we had a full selection of defenders to choose from, I don't know. Dunn made infuriating mistakes which are unacceptable, given he has been around for so long. Newton, IMO is a lost cause. He tries hard, no doubt about it, but he is nowhere near good enough to be an AFL player. Frawley and Grimes are outstanding! :wub: