Jaded No More

I think that for years we've been crying out for a decent backline. Garland is excelling down there, and his pace is a real asset to our relatively slow defence. We need to keep him there and develop other forward options. Garland reminds me so much of Rivers, but with more pace. Just out of interest, do family genetics point to him getting bigger with time?

At least he doesn't let his direct opponent run up and the ground and kick a goal, and he doesn't try to pull of miracle goals instead of doing the team thing I think your assessment of his capabilities is correct. He gives a contest, he creates opportunities for goal (knows his limitations) and he is more calm now under pressure so he makes some decent decisions instead of always looking for the quick handpass. Was better than Bate yesterday, that's for sure. His gather on the goal line and handpass to Sylvia was excellent.

Another case of reporters looking at the top stat- getters and naming them in the best. Bruce can get a million possessions a game, but if he keeps wasting them and giving away stupid handballs that put teammates under pressure, he will continue to be a liability. I still can't get over the fact that he's our captain!

He's not our coach and I don't give a shite what he thinks about our club. It is not up to him to raise questions. He should be happy he got away with a win and talk about this club, not ours. I am not suggesting that what he said about us is wrong, but seriously having a sook because your team plays too many blockbusters? And he was also insinuating that the only reason we beat them on Queens Birthday is because we prepare ourselves for this game and it's our biggest match of the year. Well guess what Malthouse, we beat you because we're better than you. Get over it. As I said, he's diverting the attention away from the fact that after two massive victories, his side could barely beat a team sitting pretty on the bottom of the ladder with 1 win... and he has the nerves to accuse us of being mentally soft!

Only had 36 disposals, 12 of them contested (that's a third, if you're trying to work it out), and 9 clearances. He really did lack intensity, which is why Malthouse gave him top votes on Footy Classifieds last night (5 out of 5) He can set the world on fire, and still some people will find faults in his game. Amazing. P.S.- disposal efficiency= 72%

Mick Malthouse should concentrate on his own team, instead of making comments about other clubs. He is the master of diversion. And if he really doesn't want to be part of blockbuster games because his precious players can't handle the pressure, he can [censored] off and take his idiot president with him. We'll have blockbusters every week, please! Besides, Queens Birthday match or not, the Pies will have to play us regardless. At least this way they get more exposure for their sponsors. To suggest that our recent track record against them can only be attributed to the occasion, is silly. When you smash a team 4 years in a row, it's because you are better than them, not because 65,000 people are watching. I bet he'd be the first to cry to the media if the AFL ever dared to give his club more than 4 interstate games a season, because "we're Collingwood and we're oh so worthy of being a part of every blockbuster match"

Agreed. People have very short memories when it comes to certain players. He was one of the best medium-sized defenders last year, before that sickening collision with Johnson. Funny how supporters are willing to cut Sylvia all the slack in the world, but Bell has a bad start to the season and all of a sudden its time to remove him from the club completely. Of course trading him is not out of the question as he is certainly not untouchable, but gees at least he has the right foundation when it comes to his character and willingness to work hard. Sometimes you can fall into a rut, not just in football but life in general, and it's very difficult to get out of. He needs time in Sandy to rip it up and get some of his confidence back. He must be devastated to have finally found form, only to go backwards this season. Sticking the boot in and calling him a hack or a dud is really oh so helpful :angry:

Cry me a river Malthouse. You've clearly run out of things to complain about. Now you just sound like a spoilt brat who drives a BMW but wants a Ferrari. Idiot.

Garland has been simply phenomenal. I'd be surprised if he's conceded more than 10 goals this season. He was on 7 following the Hawks game. Speaking of which, Garland kept Buddy to his second lowest score of the season, conceding just 3 goals (he kicked 1.7 against the Tigers). Plus we know Buddy got lucky on at least one occasion when he was on the end of some good work by his teammates. For Garland to not only be able to defend against the likes of Franklin, but then to go onto the wing and play on Didak, is truly fantastic. I'm wondering where all of his knockers have gone. Wasn't it two rounds into the season when people were happily putting a line through him? Warnock has also been a revelation. Went from 'automatic delist' to 'possible CHB for the next 10 years'. What he's shown in the past few weeks, which he has never shown before, is awareness. His speed for his size is decent, but what he lacked was awareness and an ability to read the play. He smashed Cloke, who I rate very highly for both his aerobic capacity and athleticism. As for smalls, I haven't given up on Bell or Bartram and we still have Petterd & Cheney coming through. For the first time in a long time, our backline actually looks better than our forward line.

I can't believe universities can be so cruel and schedule exams on Queens Birthday. What pricks! I love my uni :D

Split his head open, but that's all. And what a [censored] weak excuse for not turning up... I too have exams mister. Weak!

I've deleted all the rubbish posts on this thread. Take a hint guys!

Most embarrassing sign I saw today... "Didak is my hero". Dear god!

The sign of a player who believes he is bigger than the club. He has talent, nobody is doubting that, but he plays for himself.

We MUST get the first pick. If you don't finish first, you may as well finish last.

I've always wanted him to play in the midfield, and I believe that's the position he was drafted for. He is really really struggling, especially with his disposal under pressure and he needs time back at Sandy. Maybe he can get some game time in the midfield with Sandy, and return to replace Moloney in a few weeks?

Yze_Magic, get your damn hand off it. How can you give Sylvia more votes than McLean and Garland? He kicked 3 goals, and missed 2 seaters. Big deal. Yes he was good but if it wasn't for McLean's 9 clearances Sylvia wouldn't have got a single possession. McLean, Garland and Warnock were the standouts today. Colin Garland is awesome!

From where I was sitting it felt as though the crowd was split 50-50. Melbourne supporters certainly turned up. Not a chance this [censored] is going to take the game off us because we fell 400 short of 60,000.

Ch.10 said Moloney had a wrist injury. Rivers looked to have re-injured his hip. Would someone please give him a break!!!

Very strange that Nathan Brown didn't make the team, but some other ordinary players did. In all my time watching the MFC, few players have shown as much passion or dedication as Brown has. He is really someone who embodies what football, and indeed our club, is all about. Very surprised he didn't make it but someone like TJ did.

I want this club to be successful and to grow as much as any of you, and I respect Jimmy's contribution to both our club and the community, but I am terrified that we are losing a business-savvy president for someone who has little understanding of how a multi-million dollar organisation needs to be run. I will support whoever is in charge of this club, but this might not end up being the fairytale that some people are hoping for.

That is gold! The three evils of the world Sounds like it was a fantastic night. It's great every once in a while just to reflect on the fact that our club has created an Australian tradition that is now an integral part for so many Australians' lives.

Bell might be struggling for form, but Bell has NEVER shown anything but 100% commitment. And if Yze, Bruce and White are getting a game this week, Bell is not the only lucky one.

Don't tell me Colin Sylvia has taken out an AVO against Yze_Magic....

Fair enough. In 2 years Rivers has been mostly injured, and Davey mostly disappointing (recent form aside). I still would rather keep them both ahead of Sylvia or Green. Sylvia has done nothing and Green won't be around in 5-7 years time. Our window to trade him is running out. Rivers is still young and trading him could be an option in one or two years as well, especially if we're traveling well and we are desperate for an early pick (Sylvia may not be at the club in 2 years the way he's traveling). We'll have 3 picks inside the top 20 as it is, another one would be great but not completely crucial. There is absolutely no guarantee that a top 10 pick will yield the superstar you crave for. At least I know that Rivers will be, at the very least, serviceable for the next 10 years. I would also love to try him as a forward before we decide to put him on the market. If a club offered us a top 10 pick for Rivers then it would be irresponsible for us not to look at a trade. Anything outside the top 10 is not really worth the risk IMO, especially if we could get a top 20 pick for trading less valuable players. Again, this all comes down to which clubs end up with early picks, whether any of them are willing to even contemplate parting with it and what we think we can get with another top 10 pick. Put it this way, if the shoe was on the other foot I wouldn't want my club trading away a top 10 pick for someone who has OP and is apperantly slow (although I completely disagree that this is a weakness of his). At the moment I believe that Rivers is more valuable to our club than to other clubs, as opposed to someone like Travis Johnstone who was never going to do anything while at the MFC. Maybe the same is true for Sylvia too.