Macca

Brilliant song JJ , here's one from "The Monkees" in memory of the sad passing of Davy Jones . Macca 6.5

Yeah , it was terrific to see . Browny looked a bit taken aback as well . It really looked like a few of our blokes were out to impress the coach . We've done quite well over the years with our rookie's and this bloke was a breath of fresh air with his attack on the ball . Hoping Magner can go on with it but so far , so good . He had 14 touches over the 2 games which was our 2nd highest . Matty had 24 . Cheers ®

As somebody else pointed out - with the new interchange rules the 2nd ruckman quite often has to stay on the ground . The 3 on the interchange are primarily running types / midfielders . So Jamar and Martin have to be of some value elsewhere other than the ruck . If Clark plays deep then Jamar and Martin might have different roles up forward or down back . Martin could be used occasionally as a Ruck/Rover . Think it was 'Jackie' that suggested that . I can see Neeld rotating our big blokes in the forward line . Geelong do it a bit . And it's been done in the past . It's not a new thing . Cheers ®

Yeah , I reckon he can do a job down forward . Maybe on a rotational basis . He knows how to play in front ( which is half the battle ) Or at least he has done so in the limited time he has spent forward . What we desperately need are big forwards who play in front , always get to the contest , create opportunities for others and never give up . They don't have to be superstars . Earl Spalding was terrific for us way back when . We were a poorer side when he went to Carlton . Stef moves a bit like the Earl . I see a good future . Cheers ®

Having decent key forwards who always play in front will help whoever we have as small/mid forwards . We've got Clark who will hopefully fill the bill but we need at least 1 or 2 more . Lets face it , our forward line has been largely dysfunctional for the last few years so we've got a fair way to go . Big strong targets should be our 1st priority . If we get that right the rest should fall into place . For instance , Jeff Farmer was probably a better player because he mainly played with good key forwards . I reckon we've got a number of blokes who could play the small forward role quite well , we just need our key forwards to fire . Oh , and our delivery to the forward line needs to be more accurate and direct . Yeah , I know I'm probably dreaming , but I prefer them over nightmare's ! Cheers ®

5 - 6 wins . But 1 of those wins may be a surprise win which might have our fans pencilling in September ! I've tipped us to make the finals ( 8th , 7th ? ) so anything less than 5 wins and we might struggle to get there . Cheers ®

Ah , lost in translation 'HG' . Apologies if you've taken the word "attitude" the wrong way . Didn't mean it in a confrontational way . I'm a bit "old school" and don't view the word "attitude" in a nasty way . Substitute the word attitude for the word "opinion" . I've corrected my earlier post . And if you meant the "distressed people" as a bit as tongue in cheek we can put that down to another "lost in translation" . Just curious about the 2 wins bit though . Where do the 2 wins come from ? Who can't we beat ? Cheers ®

Predicticting 4 - 6 wins is a realistic approach in my opinion . 6 - 8 wins would be optimistic . Here's how I view things , if we beat Richmond in round 3 we could drop a game against the Doggies or Saints . But if we lose to the Tigers we could win both those games . That's often how footy works . Cheers ®

Yeah it's a tough 1st half of the year 'furious' but in my opinion we'll get more than 2 wins out of our games against Brisbane , Richmond , St Kilda , Bulldogs , Essendon and Sydney Winning at least 4 of those 6 is not unrealistic . A win against any of the top 5 right now is a bit of a stretch . Also , there's nearly always one of the top sides that comes back to the field . Your guess is as good as mine on who that might be but it often happens . Injuries can play a big part as well . Last year St Kilda , Fremantle and the Bulldogs dropped off the pace . The year before it was Adelaide and Brisbane . Here's the ladder from 2009 ........... http://stats.rleague.com/afl/seas/2009.html#lad Cheers ®

The question is - what happens to all your "Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image" thing-a-me-bobs when we log on ? They mysteriously disappear (slowly) Cheers ®

And is that physicality going to happen ? What if it doesn't ? We all want it to happen but maybe we have to start accepting Jack for who he is - A highly skilled athlete who is best suited as a Utilty / Rebounding backman / Pinch hitting forward . Not a CHF , not yet anyway . Sellar or Martin could be our best bets at CHF . Rotating these 2 with Watts in a pinch hitting role at CHF may be the best case scenario . My opinion on Jack is not based on last nights game , though I didn't see anything different from the last 3 years . Cheers ®

Good video Franky and a good combo . Liked the song as well obviously . Was watching the Wales/England 6 nations match this morning on replay and there was Tom , looking resplendent in the crowd ! Beaming smile in the end as well . Cheers ®

Macca 6.4

Bate was excellent . Thank goodness we didn't trade him . Huge positive . Grimes looked good as well . Liked the look of all our new players and Nicho and Bail had a dip . Our 2nd half was quite good considering it was our "4th" half . We ran the game out well . Thought our attack on the ball was quite good . It looked like the players were under instruction to get the ball forward quickly by foot . Thought we had more time to dispose of it properly but it took until the 2nd half of the 2nd game to do so . All in all a reasonable effort . The positives being our new players . Sellar's courageous effort was somehow paid the other way . Cheers

If we get up here it will give new meaning to "Winning ugly"

And their fans were talking "Dynasty" after 2010 . Not going to happen . Can't stand GW$ but I hope they throw the kitchen sink at Pendlebury . We might have a go at Travis . That'll teach 'em Cheers

All I ever get is elevator music .

It might take a while for Mark to implement his game plan . Having a more defensive mindset , the forward press , more accountability , more long kicks , harder at the ball , more grunt etc etc are all things that he may demand from our playing group . We're coming from a fair way back in a lot of those aspects so it may take a little bit of time . Whilst I reckon we can play finals this year , we may not be playing the "Neeld" style until about 2/3rds of the way into the season . We may catch a glimpse of it tonight . Looks like it's going to be wet tonight so the big thing I'll be looking for is a decent attack on the ball . If we do that we'll probably win both games . Cheers

Yep , spot on . Thomas takes an age to sign , Pendlebury signs a 1 year only deal , Cloke hasn't extended his contract and is a free agent at years end , Swan talks about retirement , they've sacked their premiership coach and according to Eddie , Nathan has to deliver a flag in his 1st year . They had a great thing going and now look . If they lose Pendlebury and/or Cloke , their window is shut IMO . Cheers

Yeah , maybe 'dl' . We're not strong in the midfield though we have a couple of likely lads in Trengove and Viney that should be alright . And there are other up and comer's in that area . Our forward line in the last 4 years has been awful really . I know a lot of people believe Watts is going to be a gun forward but he's not there yet . Wouldn't it be great if Watts was the 3rd (floating) forward with 2 decent big blokes holding down the 2 key forward spots ? We'd be hard to beat with that set-up . CHF requires a lot of hard yakka . Constant battering , whacks in the back of the head , knees in the kidneys , Back injuries and issues . And with the odd exception a big body is needed .

It would be a lot , we've got room in our salary cap (or should have) . We could at least force the Pies to pay "overs" . Clark and Cloke - sounds good to me . We should be a player during the free agency trade period . And a proven gun key forward is what we badly need . Clark is a step in the right direction and Watts still has a bit to prove but hopefully will be a star .

The way Eddie was talking there it sounded like we might have approached one of their players . Cloke ? Just a bit of speculation there on my part but our club has a bit of a history of going after a big name ( pre draft and salary cap ) Everyone seems to think that the big money is on offer from GW$ but Travis is a restricted free agent at years end . Just a thought .

That'd make a certain Demon midfielder a veritable ladies man then .

Have seen 2001 so many times - great sci-fi . Richard Strauss' original was magnificent but the funky version was great as well . Here's some more funky jazz from the "Down to the Bone" crew . Think they're still kickin around too . Macca 2.1

Are you sure Wyl ? You're normally a players man . I reckon Brent will have another good year this season . And I can't see many of our midfielders going past him . Maybe Trengove . Honestly , we can ill afford to lose him . He's our best "goer" at the moment IMO . If you check the stats on "Contested possessions" he's a fair way ahead of 2nd best . Moloney 271 , next best Sylvia 180 . Contested possessions is about the only stat I bother to look at with any real interest . And ........ it's connected to "Bruise free" . We've got a fair bit of work to do to shake that tag . So the Bombers may of made an approach to Brent ? Hird and Thompson rate him ? Maybe they need some grunt and contested footy out of their midfield ? Some here would let him go . Edit : I was a little surprised that Sylvia was 2nd best in our "contested possessions" count . Trengove had 164 and Jones 161 . Afl site provides the stats for those interested .