Jaded No More

The only criticism that would hurt a player, is one that is personal. If we highlight that player A is struggling to make an impact, or has poor disposal, chances are player A has been told that a million times by the coach. However, if you comment that player B is a useless hack, heartless, selfish, etc..., than that is simply insulting and would hurt players. Constructive criticism is something I would guess most players thrive on, and none would think they are perfect (you would hope). But to be insulted by nameless individuals on a website would be pretty devastating, particularly for young players. I know we can all play a role in that, but in general Demonland doesn't allow for that sort of thing to take place. I've always maintained that it is not what you say, but how you say it. Sorry to derail this topic, just thought I'd pick you up on that because I'm sure we've discussed this in the past.

According to Brock, he will be an absolute star for the MFC... and I promise me and Brock did not coordinate that conversation in advance

The most interesting thing he said was that he has lost 3-4 kilos in the past few weeks, because he went overboard in the gym over summer (how does the club let this happen??), and got a bit too big. He realises that he needs to lose muscle without losing strength to enable him to run out games better. Also mentioned that he couldn't run until after Christmas because of the ankle reconstruction, so is lagging behind. Quarters asked him if he's the fittest he's ever been, and he said no. Seems to have grown up a lot and recognises that his past indiscretions were the wake up calls that he needed. Should captain this club as of next year IMHO.

If Carlton win a flag before we do, I have to give her my entire shoe collection, which she constantly borrows from anyway (and which is worth a small fortune ). If Melbourne win a flag before they do, she has to buy a Melbourne membership for the following 10 years. We each named our price, she chose selfishly, I was thinking about the greater good. Just for that, karma should ensure I win!

Out: Petterd, Whelan In: Bell (to play a tagging role on Ball), Jamar I love Whelan, but he is just not accountable enough, and that hurts us. Cheney could be a good replacement, but I'm content to let Bennell and Grimes play the small attacking defender role for now.

I saw the mark, then the Hawks were off and I didn't understand why. I was sitting on the opposite side of the ground, so it was very hard to see what the hell was going on. I assumed he dropped the ball on the way down, and the umps called play on.

Precisely. He is NOT a bad kick for goal, he isn't. He nailed some very big goals in all of our wins in the past 2 years (all 4 of them ), so he is capable. The problem is, he just does not back himself. It's interesting that Sylvia will rarely nail goals from set shots, so he chooses to run on after a mark for a long goal. That is his comfort zone. Miller needs to find his goal-kicking zone and go for it. His constant handballing makes me think that he is terrified of letting the boys down by missing the goal, which is obviously an ingrained issue and not helped by the fact that somehow he always ends up the scapegoat amongst our supporters.

How did Bell go? And did Bartram play?

Young teams are prone to be inconsistent. As long as our effort... and wait for it, competitiveness, is consistent, that is all we can really hope for right now. Mistakes are costing us games and earning us priority picks. It's all going according to plan.

Rioli has an AMAZING bag of tricks, but so do plenty of other indigenous players. Rioli will only be an elite player if he can sustain his fitness to become a ball winning midfielder, which I think he will. However at the moment everyone is in awe of his tricks and his great goals, but that's polish on top of what is a very good team around him. In a crap team, Rioli would struggle to make the same impact. Morton is dominating in a terrible team, which is a credit to him. Both will be brilliant, but Morton's size and versatility will make him a winner in the long term (hopefully)

I would just like to make three points: 1- McLean had 8 clearances today (that's one more than Moloney & Jones combined, and 4 more than Sam Mitchell). If we were to trade him, where are those 8 clearances going to come from? Our midfield is already struggling when it comes to getting first use of the footy. Take out McLean and we may as well shut up shop 2- McLean is worth more to us, than he is to other clubs. For the pick you'll get for him, you will most likely end up with an ordinary footballer, in what is an ordinary draft. To the MFC, McLean is an incredibly valuable asset, on and off the field 3-

That's the point though, Miller is NOT a key position player. He needs two other strong talls around him, and he needs to be the third target. I'd certainly have him over Bate as a third tall, because at least he is agile enough to pick the ball off the deck and run. In the same manner that Rivers is not a key position player, and is a lot better as a third defensive tall, the same can be said for Miller. Just because someone isn't suited to a KP role, does not mean they are a bad player. Miller handballs deep in attack too much due to a lack of confidence, but we have seen him nail some big goals, and he rarely gets beaten one on one. Had Bate and Robbo both kicked those goals, he would have had 2 extra goal assists next to his name and everyone would be happy.

Can someone tell me what happened with this Robbo incident? It must have happened on the opposite side of the ground, because I don't remember seeing him do anything particularly bad...

I agree in a sense. The first half was the worst I have seen us play in a long long time, certainly this season. We blew our chances in the first with dumb forward movement and easy shots on goal being missed left right and centre. The second quarter was pathetic. However, it has to be said that, in previous years (even back in the days when we were playing finals), a half time margin like the one we saw today, would have meant a complete thrashing. For a young team to come out and actually fight out a game that was essentially lost, and keep on taking chances, was great to see. That was the most pleasing aspect of today... apart from Stef's forwardline brilliance

These crap threads come up at least once a year, because apparently every other Melbourne player is allowed to have poor games, but Miller isn't. For the record, Miller had 8 contested possessions tonight (out of 14), and worked extremely hard. He is not an A grader, he never will be, but show me a team that doesn't have a fair few reliable B graders that do their job each week and contribute. At the end of the day Miller needs quality around him. On his own, he can't be a dominant CHF. His lack of confidence in his kicking is a big issue, and one that he must rectify, but on the whole he has been one of our best this season and people need to stop using him as a scapegoat. Highlight poor performances sure, but to say that he is lucky to be getting a game is rubbish. He absolutely deserves his spot in the team, and with a bit more support in the form of a functioning FF line, he will prove to be very important.

Spot on. Brilliant today, in a display that actually justified his talent and high draft position. Now if only he can back it up...

:rolleyes:

Just to clarify, if we only win 4, but Richmond finish 16th (and we finish 15th, presumably on %), will we end up with picks 1+3 or 2+3?

Here is the problem; Carlton's best 6, are as good as any, outside of their top 6, they have a whole collection of absolute crap. They have no backline, and no forwardline outside of Fev. Our top 6 would struggle to get a game at most clubs, and are not A graders (with the possible exception of Davey/Green), but we are a lot more even across the board and have a great developing backline and some nice forward prospects. That's why, I believe, we will win a flag before Carlton (I have a huge bet going with my best friend, so I truly hope I'm right on this!)

:o :o And he doesn't even try... Ridiculous!

While this makes perfect sense, and Bartram deserves times off if he needs it, why was he named in the Casey squad for this week?

Great team. Definitely the best one we've fielded all season. Cheney stiff, but not as stiff as Bartram, who has done a great job this season under the most difficult circumstances. This will be the first time that Bartram has ever played seconds while at the MFC, which is a testament to the great services he has given us in his short career. If we can keep Buddy and Roughead to under 5 goals combined, we'll win. GO DEES!

Two things: 1- Ablett's skills are amazing. Not sure how the hell you could argue otherwise. 2- Franklin is not the best player in the competition, and on current form, would struggle to make it into the top 20. On a slightly separate note, Rioli is a great footballer with great skills, and could well be the best player of his draft. However, Morton too has the potential to be a superstar, and his size (height, not weight), makes him a truly unique midfield/forward proposition (think Pavlich). Besides, no recruiter would take a punt on a small forward with a top 5 pick. While Rioli will end up as a midfielder, he was recruited as a skillful goal sneak. We were never going to take him with pick 4, so the comparison is silly.

I had a teddy that sang the Melbourne theme song. I gave it to my cousins. Teddy then died in a tragic toilet accident (the little one went through a phase where he was fascinated with throwing things in the toilet and flushing the water) My next plan of attack is to take them to a kids clinic. Does anyone know if they give them cheese at these things?

To be fair, when I was working in childcare I too tried to brainwash the kids. When I was working in occasional care there were a couple of boys who barracked for Melbourne, and they always got extra special treatment for being brave enough to wear our jumper in public I seem to have a lot more success with men than with kids though. I am yet to influence any child to follow Melbourne. I've been brainwashing my cousin since the day he was born, and at 19 months, when I tell him to say "Go Dees", he looks at me with a confused face and asks for cheese I'm hoping that when I start taking him and his sister to games, they'll fall in love with Melbourne (either that, or they'll realise pretty quickly that if they want their awesome cousin to take them to the park, let them watch endless amounts of DVDs and buy them all sorts of crap, they better start following the Dees ) And I definitely agree that it is far better to be in a relationship with someone who barracks for an opposition side, than someone who doesn't care about football and doesn't understand the importance of it. I can't think of anything worse than being with someone who tells me "but it's just a game, who care", or tries to tell me I should swap teams. Ugh!