Jaded No More

Coming up after yet another Ramsay show in a few minutes...

I missed Saturday's game (first Victorian match I've missed in about 6 years I think) because I was really sick and I have a very important presentation coming up so didn't want to risk getting worse. However, nothing will keep me away from this match. In fact, if the Essendon match was our home game I would have dragged myself out of bed, because I know how desperate we are for numbers. Already notified work I'm leaving an hour early this Friday

Junior pretty much won all of our clearances. He had a massive influence on the match, but as usually Junior goes unheralded.

What now? He did a good job on McPhee, and from memory had one really poor kick. Layed some fantastic tackles too. What is the deal with people hating Daniel Bell all of a sudden?

I just think that calling someone who is clearly working hard and improving "one of the dumbest players this decade" is completely unnecessary. And I never ever said that handballing to stationary players is not stupid, I was just pointing out that this is an issue with a lot of our players (probably as they are still adapting to Bailey's game plan), and we shouldn't hang some for it but not others.

Both did their hamstrings apperantly, although it looked to me like Davey had his ankle iced, so who knows. Foxtel commentary is useless, they couldn't even tell who Maric was, they still thought Bartram wore the #19 jumper

Yeah, because he's the only players in the team that handballs to stationary players. Have you met our captain? Look Jamar is an ordinary player, but he makes the most of what he has. He plays within his limitations, he certainly uses his body well and at the moment he is significantly helping our midfield win the clearances, which is a ruckman's first and most important job. That he stuffed up a couple of handballs is hardly a massive issue. Morton's disposal wasn't great either, but people are still giving him votes.

There really is no love for Jamar on Demonland, is there. Seriously, he was the best ruckman on the ground today by a fair margin. He did stuff up in the goal square, but he works hard and IMO has a very good understanding of where to tap the ball, and how to help out his midfielders. We had a lot more tap-outs to advantage than Essendon did, and it was all thanks to Jamar. He definitely deserves at least 2 votes. I respect players who are not naturally gifted but work their backside off to help out the team. Jamar has really grown since White was sent to Sandy, and that's a credit to him.

For the first time in a long long time I had to stay home and watch the game on TV as I'm sick. I therefore had the great pleasure of listening to the Foxtel commentary (do these people ever just shut up? and can Shaw PLEASE learn how to properly pronounce players' names?!). Even the commentators were appalled at the disgraceful display of umpiring, that's how terrible they were. The inconsistencies and the fact that half the time they miss obvious things but pick up on a player sneezing 100 meters away on the opposite side just blows me away.

Jamar was simply outstanding in the middle. That fluffed kick at goal in the square broke my heart, because he so deserved to kick that goal. He is quite an ordinary footballer, but he works so hard and he really does know how to help the little blokes under him. His rucking today was superb and he took some good marks up forward. Sylvia's lazy attempt at stepping around 3 Essendon players in the first quarter instead of going in to lay the tackle ruined his day for me, but to his credit he did improve. I can't stand him when he plays like a millionaire and his brain fades and arrogance are costly, but he is talented and he can play and that can never be disputed. Garland was good again, Martin had a great last quarter and Bell kept McPhee quiet after he was on fire early against Garland.

And after all that I'm really sick and can't go. Stupid Saturday game!

CJ signed a new 2-year deal last year. Not sure about PJ. By the way, there is nothing stopping us from trading Newton (he has to agree of course, but he'd be an idiot to stay if we offered him up for trade). In fact, him being contracted is better for us as it means he can't leave for nothing. Very happy about the other signings. Anyone know the contract status of Moloney?

Completely throws my routine out to the window. Work has to change, meetings have to be re-organised. I didn't even realise it was a Saturday game until Tuesday afternoon when I had to book a meeting with a client. P.S.- Olympic ceremonies are a disgrace to sport. Who wants to watch 786 nations walking into a stadium with a flag, wearing some idiotic uniform? The MFC > Namibia's squash team!

He's struggling, and he needs a chance to work on his disposal minus the pressure of AFL. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being dropped in your second year of football. He is 19 and has taken on a massive workload and it's not helping him IMO. A break will be good for him.

Co-captains: Miller & McLean

Sure I'd trade CJ, for a second round pick. Who the hell will give us a second round pick for him? Nobody. Given that we've put 5 years into him, and picked him up with a third round pick, trading him for his current market value seems like a completely futile exercise. The likelihood of getting someone better than CJ with a third/fourth round pick (what he is roughly worth), is slim. There was a heated debate last year when CJ was put on the table during trade week. I argued that I do not want to get rid of him for the rumoured deal (late third round pick from memory), and I'm glad the club agreed. What we have in CJ may not be perfect, but the value he represents within the MFC far exceeds the value he represents in the open market, and hence he should and will stay.

If Schwab wants it, it's hard to see how he won't get it. IMO Fox is better suited for the job. Lets hope it's not mates-rates hour at the MFC.

Pashmina is fine hand-woven cashmere wool, or at least it used to be before every vendor in China discovered they can make 'pashmina' from man-made fibres (viscose) and now we've adopted the word to describe anything that has a soft, lightweight hand and looks like a shawl (you didn't really want to know, did you? :D)

[censored], Pamela Anderson has had longer marriages than that! I've thought about this question some more (sitting in traffic makes you do that), and it occurred to me that while I do love the game itself, if my club died I couldn't possibly support it. I'd resent, make that hate, the AFL for letting my club die and I would not want to support the competition that did not support my team. So you know what, I agree with whoever said that if there's no MFC the whole AFL might as well go up in flames for all I care (especially the clowns in charge).

His disposal has been questionable for 3 years now, and he has often gone missing when the pressure is on and we're struggling. I support anyone who wears the red and blue, but that doesn't mean I ignore their flaws. Bruce has a number of problems that often make him a liability, and IMHO (and many will disagree) we should try and trade him at the end of the season. That doesn't make me a Bruce hater/basher, it just means I want to get the best possible value out of him going forward, and I believe we can do that by trading him.

You can't be serious! Miller is not as talented as Juice, but he has ALWAYS been a team player. He sacrificed his own game to help out a depleted backline, and was brought into the leadership group at the tender age of 22. Newton could learn a thing or two from Miller about workrate and unselfish play. That's why Miller is still at the club at 24, and has been given every opportunity to prove himself, while Newton is skating on thin ice after 14 games.

Hard to make the play when you can't hit a target by hand or foot. He is an incredibly hard worker, he runs all day and he can play in a number of positions, but he's gone missing this season and his disposal has continued to decline. I really love Bruce, his attitude is fantastic and he has never put a foot wrong off the field, but he is struggling and it's not just because of the quality of players surrounding him. I'm surprised that you, of all people, refuse to see his flaws for what they are and instead choose to make excuses for him.

I'm certainly not someone who gets stuck into younger players, I'm all for playing them in fact. But as you've mentioned, a lack of intensity and pressure is not acceptable no matter how inexperienced you are. That's what disappointed me most about yesterday. It felt like the players are already thinking about their holidays in September. Shame our senior players are not pulling their weight in that regard. Green is desperately needed there!

Can't disagree with that. At least Bell is not our captain.

I expect him not to play like someone who thinks he is better than he is. I hate watching Buddy Franklin because he's an arrogant arse, but at least he has a reason to be. When you've played 14 matches and achieved a grand total of nothing, you should be working hard to prove you're worthy of a spot in the team. Newton dropping sitters, pointing to other players to pick up his man and making lame tackling attempts is not the sort of display of intensity you expect from someone trying to make their way in AFL. Newton might be a really lovely, down to earth guy, but his football persona and attitude is completely disproportionate to his achievements thus far. If he can't get a grip on reality, he will waste all of his talent away (of which he has plenty).