rjay

Give 'em an inch.....

Not sure myself 'old', last year was his first real hit up in the middle and first almost injury free season. Would like to see some further development this season and also see how his kicking is with some forward targets.

On the first level I think what you say about engineering outcomes could well be what happens. A bit of the "don't have an enquiry if you don't know the outcome" here I think, particularly with an Essendon person in charge. To my mind it doesn't take an enquiry to tell you there has been a governance issue so this is about providing a sacrificial lamb who I would be sure is already in the gun. The second level is a concern, so far Essendon have stuck tight, a bit of their famous arrogance at work here but if things don't go their way then it would be near impossible for the big 4, Hird, Robson, Thompson and Corcoran to stay at the club and the possibility that Evans would fall on his sword would be likely. Their attempt at whitewashing with a sacrificial lamb won't wash. On another level 'Jack', would the players have a right to take legal action against the club? Would what they signed off on have a barring on their right to take action?

I'm pretty sure you are wide of the mark here. Manly are now in the firing line in Sydney and they are the top of the heap as far as A league clubs go in league territory. The dons day will come and the ignorance defence will have worn thin by then, ASADA don't deal in get out of jail cards.

They will probably survive long term but I think they are in deep at the moment and the AFL will not be able to bail them out. What happens if they are found guilty of using banned substances? what about the unfair advantage they will have going into this season if it is the case? How do the AFL deal with games already played? Maybe they should be suspended until a decision has been made, at the least the club or personnel at the club should be suspended for bringing the game into disrepute.

Trengove will be an A grader, too much talent and works too hard not to be. Being marked to hard on last season.

The club has had a failed rebuild under the current admin, I think they should have been held responsible but the decision has been made to let them try again. The reasons for this seem to be based on off field performance so lets just let them get on with the job. I hope they get it right this time.

I think you guys are wrong on the media here and should check out what the Essendon supporters think of Pat Smith and CW's views that Hird, Thompson and Robson should be sacked. Part of the issue here is that ASSADA don't leak like the AFL and it's harder to come by a story. Cronulla is the story at the moment because things are moving, Essendon will have it's day and the S...will hit the fan have no doubt about that. It's not a conspiracy against us although I do think we were very hard done by on the tanking issue.

Spot on, just making a statement with not much to back it up like someone else did. 2 young players at the start of their careers with what looks like a promising future ahead of them given that neither has played a senior AFL game of football. Looking forward to see how it all their careers develop. Wish them both every success but of course Viney the ultimate success with the MFC.

Thanks 'Jack', thought you would come up with the right words.

We haven't played a game yet. For what it's worth I think Viney will be the pick of the bunch, harder at it than Wines, better break away pace and a better kick.

??????

Said it before and will say it again about Silvia, he lacks awareness, vision and decision making and it's why what you see is what you are getting. Let's see if the FD can harness what he does have and make him a valuable contributor.

Runner up in B&F last year, first full injury free year, only MFC player rated elite by the dodgy brothers. I think he's going ok.

I would hope to see him up the ground and in the rotations when the season proper starts, to me this is where his real value is to the team and he gives us much more than Col. You're spot on about it not being an easy gig playing in what used to be called starvation corner.

I would not put Howe in the same boat as Sylvia, no way, he is a 2 year player coming into his 3rd for a start. Playing with Casey he showed enough to push into the senior team half way through his first season and developed further last year putting in a consistent season. Don't mistake his spectacular marking for a lack of effort in other parts of his game, he works hard at it, he runs, he chases, he tackles, he trains hard. To me he is exactly where he should be as a player at the moment and I would expect to see him improve further this season.

...and that's a sad tale but true 'old'. 4 years wasted, 1 year sorting out the mess and this year ground zero. The only positive is the ones who are still around from last year have a decent year of training under the belt, maybe slightly ahead of ground zero.

Blease will be better for us up the ground, he can kick goals but is not going to be a Betts or Milne, he can be a goal kicking mid like the Sydney crew. Howey will play a mix of mid and forward and gives us something and whilst it would be good to have that opportunist forward they have not been instrumental in the big one. They can help get you there but more often than not they can be stopped when the going gets tough. Stevie J is another and since he has spent more time moving between forward and mid, well it makes him really hard to stop, nearly impossible. We need goal kicking mids, class players who make the most of their opportunities. I think with Hogan, Clark , Dawes we will have the tall side covered.

Given that Hogan is not on the list yet I would say we are close to having the core we need and then of course there will be the yearly changes that are a part of football. Hogan plus another good first rounder added to the list next year along with ongoing development and I would think the core is there.

I think the FD would be disappointed that he came into the pre season a little underdone. There seemed to be something not right with him at North and I hope it is not attitude and preparation or he won't last under Neeld.

Context 'Roger', context....

Here's my take on it. If Watts plays back which I think he will it will be as an offensive rebounder, he won't be marked to play against any particular opponent pygmie or tall, that decision will be made by the opposition coach and will be in most cases their most effective defensive forward. Opposition teams won't want the ball in Watts' hands because he is one of the few in our team that can use the ball well and create scoring opportunities.

Pearce Hanley is a very good footballer, would love to have him at Melbourne.

...and that's how it should be, he is not a walk up start.

Frawley is already one of the competitions best backs, he's just not Scarlett or Fletcher. Not many are. Watching a WC game last season when things weren't going their way, the defence was under a lot of pressure and Glass who has been a top line defender for a long time had the same brain fades. Frawley hasn't been able to give us the run and carry he did in the AA year but the game has changed, don't blame him for that.