poita

Just to clarify, Jack Fitzpatrick was overlooked all year for senior action (aside from two fleeting appearances) and was clearly not part of Neeld's plans at any stage, but come VFL finals time he is such an integral part of the MFC that he must be rushed into surgery immediately. Similarly, we would not have seen Jake Spencer at senior level this year, if Jamar had not been injured, but Spencer must be taken out of action as soon as we tick into September to protect such a valued commodity. As other have said, the best thing for young players is to be getting experience in big games and it is a disgrace that the MFC is so eager to shaft Casey each year.

Team needs - a heart and some testicles for every player on our list, excluding Jones & Clark.

Anyone who thought that the small forward role was covered by Aussie, Maric, Davey, Bennell and Tapscott was kidding themselves. Z-graders the lot of them. I agree though that the goals are going to be very hard to get next year, particularly if Clark doesn't play most games. Not sure why we want Howe to spend most of his time away from the forward line, and I will be severely p'ed off if Watts is played down back next year.

I hope he had a nice paid holiday in Western Sydney. Suspensions in his first and last games pretty much sum up to me where he is at as a footballer. Overstayed his welcome at Melbourne by 12 months and certainly would not have helped us one iota in the past two years. No denying his career until 2009 was first rate though, and he would be welcome as an assistant coach at any time.

Well done to Tom, but sadly that is his true level. I will be very interested to see if Magner can elevate his game beyond that of a very good VFL player next year. Totally agree that Valenti has both Couch & Magner covered.

The only players who will be attracted to the MFC are the same types that are already prevalent amongst our playing list, ie good, honest battlers. They are the ones who will turn up to every session, have a crack at every contest, and generally stink up the joint with lack of skills and football nous. But Neeldy will pat them on the back, and say good effort mate, whilst turning away the few players on our list who have actually shown some ability. How Mitch Clark slipped through the cracks is beyond me, but thank Tom Cruise that he did.

I'm sure I'll get howled down for this, but this club is a joke. Ricky has shown on numerous occasions he can play, but Neeld has been unable to get anything out of him this year. Why? Because playing as a medium sized forward in a team that averages about 30 inside 50s a week is a terribly hard job. I still don't understand why Ricky wasn't given opportunities on a wing or at half back to get him into the play, same as Watts, Bennell and any number of others. I will be really disappointed if Ricky goes, given the number of players on our list who have no discernable ability whatsoever.

I'm no fan of Lucas Cook, but all this means is that we are going to get lumped with a bunch of confirmed duds for another 1 - 2 years (Bennell, Jetta, Strauss, etc), instead of backing ourselves in to develop Lucas into a decent player. So far we have ditched / lost our 2011 B&F, 2011 leading goalkicker, 2010 B&F, and 2010 No.1 draft pick. When do we start tackling those who have no ability whatsoever? As for Gysberts, it would be an absolute disgrace if we let him go for anything less than a first round pick.

So basically there is nobody at Casey doing anything of note at present? I have been a pretty big fan of our VFL alliances (Sandy in particular), but we are just not getting any player improvement out of Casey any more. When Magner, Couch and Bate are the best players week in, week out, it is a real worry. I am yet to see guys like Tapscott, Strauss and Jetta perform consistently at VFL level, and it shows in their AFL performances. As for Cook, what a waste of space he is.

We have far bigger problems than Jordie McKenzie, and I am comfortable that he would be on a wage that is below the competition average. I said at the time that the decision to sign Jamar for three years was a disgrace, and he has done nothing since to prove me wrong. We are basically a player short every time Jamar is on the field - 14 games this year for 8.3 disposals, 2.1 marks and 1.6 tackles a game, plus a single goal for the entire season. (By comparison, Jake Spencer 8 games for 9.3 disposals, 2.5 marks and 3.8 tackles a game, plus two goals.) The worst thing is that Jamar would almost certainly be in our top 25% highest paid players.

The problem is that Melbourne players think it is tough to crunch a defenceless player in a marking contest (Tapscott v Collingwood), throw a player into the fence (Bail v Adelaide) or elbow a player in the head (Jetta v North), whereas these actions are actually just cheap shots. If our players started performing truly tough acts such as standing in the hole in front of a leading forward, or winning contested football in the centre, they would be rewarded accordingly.

I would delist Lucas Cook at year end and see if a spell on the rookie list makes him wake up. If another club is deluded enough to grab him before we have a suitable pick, good luck to them. I hope Jack Fitzpatrick plays this week against Freo and then throughout the pre season comp. I think he has plenty to offer as a third tall forward / back up ruckman, and hope he gets the chance to show it. He will also benefit from playing a full finals campaign for Casey so, if the club has any sense at all, they will make him available for the next month.

22 players taking the field each week who actually want to be out there, and who have done something, anything to in the past month to justify their position (James Strauss, I'm looking at you).

There is more to football than merely getting your hands on the footy. Macdonald has poor decision making and ball skills, and Dunn is a real worry in a one-on-one contest. At some stage we will need to purge our list of the clear C and D graders, hopefully this year.

I thought 2011 was a painful season to endure, but 2012 has been far, far worse. As said above, our season was shot to pieces by round 1 and, aside from the fleeting enjoyment provided by the Essendon game, every game since has been a real struggle to watch, let along enjoy. Our style of play is horrible to watch, and it hard to ever see it blossoming into something that will allow us to even compete with, let alone beat, the better sides. The only player who ever backs himself is Blease, and he then gets lambasted and ultimately dropped for being selfish. As good as Jones and Clark have been, and as promising that the signs are from McDonald and Howe, these would be the only four players to receive a pass mark this year. Most of our senior players have gone miles backwards, particularly Jamar and Moloney, and Davey has continued his putrid performances of the previous two years. Not only are these players unable to perform at the level required, they appear to have no interest in trying to do so. What really hurts though is seeing the likes of Dunn, Macdonald and Magner being regulars, despite being genuine C or D graders, plus further confirmation of our wasted investment in Strauss, Tapscott, Cook and about a dozen others. Notwithstanding our strong draft hand, I cannot see any prospect of improvement in 2013, and would not be surprised if we finish below at least one of the expansion teams.

So, by my count, we have 16 players unavailable this week? Our inability to get our players on the field is breathtaking.

Still see nothing of value in this bloke. Some people see him as a midfielder, but he struggles to get double figures for possessions most weeks. Other see him as a forward, but he has zero goal sense. Add in his regular injuries, and you have a genuine list clogger. Next, please.

The lack of consistency and the obvious playing of favourites from our selectors is just mind boggling. What has Strauss done (ever) that is better than what Gysberts can contribute, even below full fitness? Why do we try duds like Bennell in 15 different positions looking for one he can cope with, when Petterd gets left in a forward pocket each week and then dropped the week after? Why are Z-graders such as Dunn and Jetta rushed backed in after suspension, whilst those that do the right thing wallow at Casey? Why can't the club be honest with its injury list, instead of just releasing tripe each week? Don't tell us Jack Watts is a chance to play against Richmond when he still isn't right a month later. Oh, and if you are going to bother elevating rookies, maybe you should play actually them when you do so.

I'd love someone to point out anything that Jamar has done this year that Spencer hasn't, other than getting himself injured repeatedly. Jamar (11th AFL season) - 13 games for ave 8.6 disposals, 2.2 marks, 1.5 tackles & 1 goal for the season Spencer (5th AFL season) - 5 games for ave 7.2 disposals, 2.2 marks, 3.8 tackles & 1 goal for the season. Considering Jake has played mainly as a second ruckman, I would suggest he outrates Jamar on all categories per time on ground.

There were plenty of people around me beside themselves with glee when Cale went off. Not only do our "supporters" get excited about yesterday's abysmal performance, now they are glad to see our players get injured. I can't wait to the end of this season if this sort of rubbish is going to continue. For what its worth, I thought Cale was okay early yesterday. Ablett had a million possessions in the first quarter, none of which was worth a dime. Ablett was far more effective after Cale went off.

Anyone who in any way tries to excuse the pitifully weak and gutless performances of the MFC in 2012 should take themselves off to the nearest Auskick session on Saturday and see how many kids they can find wearing MFC jumpers. If you find 1 in a 100 that would be a good result. We have one of the oldest supporter bases in the competition and have not even come close to replacing the last few generations as they die off. We lost the last generation of potential supporters, are losing the current generation, and will lose their kids and probably their kids' kids too. My son is two and I am trying to brainwash him, but I wouldn't blame him for a second if he decided to support a decent team. This club has got about three years to become relevant and competitive or you can basically guarantee that there will not be a Melbourne Demons in the 2016 competition.

I have traditionally been a fairly big fan of the VFL / AFL alliances, but the VFL competition has been an absolute joke this year. I understand that the VFL want the competition to run on its own merits and under its own steam, but to have four byes in a 22 round fixture, plus a break for the state game is unacceptable. For some teams, that has meant five weeks off in the space of about three months. As for the Foxtel Cup, is it only stand alone teams that qualify, or is it possible that Casey could play next year if it wins the premiership? Are our players eligible to play? Does this mean we could have players returning from injury flying around the country playing in a joke competition? If Melbourne is serious about developing its young players and assisting the returns from injury of senior players, it needs to field a team (either aligned or stand alone) in a competition which allows our players to play regularly.

Congratulations Brad on a fine career and a big milestone. I can't see the wisdom in you carrying on next year, so I hope you have a strong finish to the year and go out on a high.

I'm all for loading up on midfielders, but can we please make sure they have the tools to become elite players, not a James Strauss who looks like a superstar at training but who wilts under the slightest pressure, or a Luke Tapscott who is a solid unit with no football nous.

Mark Neeld has done a lot of good things this year, but playing our better forwards away from the forward line has not been one of them. Watts has done some nice things in defence, but he is wasted in a back pocket. We are setting back his develeopment as a forward a year for every month he spends away from the forward line. Dunn is woeful in defence, but at least looks remotely like AFL standard in the forward line. Howe doesn't consistently get enough of the footy in the middle and is useless as stoppages. At least he looks dangerous every time he gets the ball around the goal. Bate is another who is wasted when he gets more than seventy metres from goal. All we need is someone to provide a target initally and then a contest when the ball actually arrives. Sellar could be that player if he loses some weight so he can make enough contests. I also suspect Miller would be playing a part in our forward line if he was still around.