Jaded No More

At his age, there is no guarantee that Davey will be around when we're challenging. If he is, he could be in decline. I specifically chose young player who I think will provide the core group of players that will potentially lead us to a flag. This is no indication of Davey's talent or importance to the team, just my general view of who I would least like to lose and which players I believe are the most irreplaceable.

The glaring lack of love for Garland in this thread shows how underrated this kid is. A true modern-day key position player, with all the defensive and attacking talent you could ever wish for. 1- Watts 2- Grimes 3- Garland 4- Jurrah 5- Morton

In bad news for us this week, the Pav and Sandilands will apparently be back this week to take on West Coast, while we know that Cox and Kerr are out 'indefinitely' with broken nails/chlamydia/tank flu. Suddenly the Dockers are a real chance, although West Coast are still the better team and should win.

I've changed the title of this topic, so please post relevant information in this thread, instead of starting a new one. Enjoy!

:D Edit: Hopefully the Grimes thing is a fake, or at the very least very very minimal soreness. Good management regardless.

Amen!

Our midfield is rubbish, so no issues there. Our inside 50 numbers are terrible too, but our forwards really do seem to be converting those opportunities now (thanks Jurrah! <_< ). So more than dropping players, we need to push our main forward threats into the middle, and create serious mismatches in our backline, which is where we excel. That means Jurrah and Bate onto the wing. PJ to ruck and Jamar up forward. Put Warnock on smaller, faster forwards, Frawley on big resting ruckman. Make both of these guys take the kick-ins. All of these moves are perfectly legitimate and can be labeled as 'list development and experimentation', but are likely to cause us to lose. It's really about changing what happens down back that is the key, because that is our biggest strength and what keeps us from getting smashed most weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if Bailey gave Frawley a run up forward as well. The intriguing one for me is Robbo. He is not playing well, but could easily kick a bag against crap teams like Richmond and Freo. Do we push him up the ground and play him as a defensive forward (the one thing he refuses to do), or do we drop him in what is likely his final season? Of course on top of all that, we need to really push the guys out on the track during the week and hope for some niggles. Anyone with a cough, a cramp or a sniffle takes a week or two off. We need to hold on for the next 3 weeks, and we can then go all out and absolutely obliterate Freo. Giving us all something to smile about, plus Scully and pick 3.' Edit: GO WEST COAST GO!!!

Every midfielder should be capable of winning their own ball and every midfielder should be capable of disposing the ball consistently well by hand and foot. Those qualities are not negotiable if you're looking to build a strong midfield. But of course there will always be those players who excel in winning the contested ball in tight situations, like McLean, and those who are finishers and excel in moving the ball by hand and foot and creating forward movement, like Morton and Sylvia. Players who can do both equally well, are A graders or elite. Those who struggle in one area or another, can still be part of a successful midfield, given that they have quality around them. Players that can't win a lot of their own ball in contested situations can be brought into the game, in the way that we bring Davey or Morton into the game. However those players also need to possess an ability to position themselves in the right spots to be on the receiving end. Dunn is someone who struggles to win his own ball, and while he can use it very well and has a great long kick on him, he rarely gets a lot of it because he does not position himself in the 'hot spots' where winning possession will advantage the side. The inside and outside label is just that, a label. Aside from the ruck, do we really still have defined positions on the ground? We might have 2 players on each forward flank and no CHF. You might play two guys out of the square at FF. Warnock might play CHB one week, and in the back pocket then to FB the next. Versatility is becoming hugely important nowadays, particularly given the increase in rotations. You have to have players capable of playing in a number of roles, and that applies to midfielders more than anyone else (since they have the highest percentage of rotations). But of course, each player will have their own unique strength and will most often play in a position which reflects that (unless you are errr... list managing and happen to put Jetta at FB )

At the risk of starting this argument again, Brock came second in the B&F last year. How can that be labeled a "mediocre performance"? He has had a poor season by his standards, but this is the first truly mediocre season that he has had, and for a 23 year old that's not too bad. That he is the first one getting tagged at the bounce is an issue. We need to get some quality around him ASAP, but that goes without saying. Our midfield sucks.

He tapped it towards Davey. It was one of the most beautifully instinctive and smart things I've seen anyone in a Melbourne jumper do in a long time. He knew Davey was behind him, he judged the bounce of the ball and tapped it backwards over his head. It was insane just how smart it was in the heat of the moment with 2 guys on his tail. In Jurrah and Watts we have two very intelligent player who will complement one another really well.

That'll make for some interesting media appearances Reporter: *insert dumb, irrelevant question* LJ: *death stare* We need to make that happen!

If Jurrah and I were the only two people on the field in a Melbourne jumper, Freo would still lose... and that's taking into account that I can't kick, mark, handball or run, and am likely to get completely psyched out if any of those pesky MCG seagulls came near me. In other words, Freo will be lucky to win one more game for the year, but that matters little as long as we don't win more than 1 as well. I'd rather avoid the spoon if we can still get ourselves pick 1 and 3! Another draw in the derby next week will be perfect, otherwise we should all be barracking hard for West Coast.

What the hell are you on about? I can see things in Watts that are beyond unbelievable for someone his size. He possess skills and an innate football ability that few do, and those are the sorts of things that will make him a star. Plenty of young tall kids grow a body and become good player, few become stars/elite. Watts has those extra things, like awareness, smarts, the ability to find time and space and a great blind turn, that will make him a unique talent. FFS, you sit here and tell us that Dunn has aggression, Newton should be ahead of Watts and that Grimes and Morton can't kick, and you think I have no idea about judging talent? That you've seen Watts and Newton in action so much, and that you still make the calls that you do, is a perfect summary of why most of what you say turns out to be false.

Well he already has a higher goals-per-game average than Bate, Newton and Robbo, so he's doing alright But he might want to bump up his goal average from 2 to say 4, because somehow I can't see him playing 500 games...

In 5 years time, Newton will be long forgotten, and Watts will be a star. The only laughable thing is that you are too dimwitted to get that.

She is awful. Annoying voice, doesn't know half the players' names and couldn't get her rhythm right. She joins an elite group of hopeless, crap commentators.

Because he played big chunks of the game in the ruck... What the hell? He had a good game, took some good contested marks, and made the most of every one of his opportunities. To label a player passionless is so silly, particularly a 19 year old who has not put a foot wrong since debut. Fluffed one kick badly, but this kid operates under pressure constantly and hardly turns it over. A player who has kicking concerns does not take the kick-outs every single time.

I thought that despite both collecting plenty of the ball, Bruce and Green really let us down with their disposal. Green's kicking today was really poor, and Bruce had his usual quota of dud disposals. Our backline deserves massive recognition as well, particularly Frawley. 6) Moloney 5) Grimes (first time in years that Chapman didn't kill us) 4) Frawley 3) Morton 2) Green 1) Petterd Jurrah, Jetta and Bennell also showed plenty.

Yep a great result. The first quarter was the thing that killed us, because from there we won two of the three remaining quarters and really did well shutting Geelong's attack off the half back line... except for bloody Scarlett, who might be the only defender that needs to be defended! The best aspect of today was that Jurrah, Grimes, Bennell and Morton showed the most exciting glimpses out on the ground, which gives us a lot of hope. Jurrah and Grimes are on their way to superstardom, and Morton up forward is definitely a good future prospect. To our credit we didn't completely crap ourselves after the first quarter and stood up. The margin is about right when the worst team in the competition (apologies to Freo), play the best team in the competition.

What a beautifully written article of what sounds like an amazing night for the football club, and the indigenous community.

Reading this topic makes me want to jump into a bathtub with a toaster Mind you, it could be worse, we could be talking about our best defenders!

Same. And it's going to be a great way to keep myself from finding out the results early and attempt to watch the match 'live'. Watts followed by Jurrah and Grimes. Awesome!

I've gone over this many times, but here are the instructions again. Blocking a poster means you are no longer able to see any of their posts. To do this: 1. Select My Controls up in the right hand corner of the screen 2. On the right hand side of the My Control screen, you will find under Options Manage Ignored Users 3. Select that option and type the name of the poster you want to block in the box then click Update Ignored Users 4. Rinse and repeat Since this is an option, nobody should be whinging or complaining that a certain poster's opinion is annoying them. Put them on the Ignore list and move on.

On what planet are we a chance to beat Geelong in Geelong? The inclusions of Ablett, Scarlett, Milburn, Mackie, Ling and Varcoe not enough for you? Geelong are obviously rotating their list to make sure everyone is rested for the finals. What a luxury! The only area on the ground where we might win, is in the ruck.

We shall get torn a new one!