rjay

I'm sure you will agree 'Ben' that it really doesn't matter where he would have been drafted but what value he is to the club from here on in. He could well end up being the big steal of this draft.

I hope not 'Jack' as we will also have one or two others looking at those key forward posts. He is also said to be a rather unusual character, not sure he would suit our elite mantra. ...anyway the Casey money issue might be enough to keep him away.

He should have to reapply to get his accreditation back, it is not a right I would have thought.

A lot of things don't make sense.

Fev mark II, this is where they go off the rails. It only pushes the MFC to go stand alone, neither club really need that to happen so I hope they wake up to themselves.

He did lose speed and distance off his kick, any ideas how that happened if he wasn't carrying something like osteitis. Only an opinion but I think he was injured and that's also why he spent less time in the middle.

21yo going on 22 this season, he seems to have grown up quite a bit so I think we will start to see it on ground over the next couple of seasons. Not every kid comes in as mature and balanced as Trengove.

Some really good points made; was thinking the same about the endurance, if it was Sammy Blease it would be more of an issue but with Jack he does have the tank already. It will be a setback but I'm sure he will be showing something as the season moves on and a lot of the doubters will eat their words.

I have no doubt about Welsh's pedigree and think he is a good appointment but I am interested to know if the article is on the money or not. Do you have information that it isn't or is it your opinion. I would think it would be in the interests of the MFC to fund the coach particularly if that was the sticking point to getting a full-time coach with the correct credentials or even getting Welsh on as a full-time coach and part of the MFC FD.

Thanks 'dazzle'. We need to get on top of this relationship, it certainly doesn't appear to be healthy.

Good info, thanks 'bandicoot'.

Was the job offered by Casey? I doubt Melbourne would want a playing coach in this position. Maybe this is why Josh turned it down.

That's a NAB cup game. We will have an intra club before our first NAB hit out on Feb 22, That's the mystery game.

You don't lose speed as a 20yo unless you are carrying an injury. I think you've answered your own doubts here.

Another one from me, out they go altogether as far as I'm concerned but unfortunately it is only certain brands they are looking at banning. I heard someone with a good suggestion saying that if you wear a glove then you have to leave it on when kicking for goal. The glove interferes with the ball drop, if you want the advantage in a marking contest then you get the disadvantage in the kick. Interesting idea.

It doesn't look good from an MFC perspective if the article is right that we wanted a full-time coach and got rolled. The relationship does not seem to be harmonious. Can you shed any light on that KC?

The big thing I have noticed is when this FD came on board during last years pre season they were continually on his back about his work rate (he wasn't the only one there), he would kick the ball and just wonder off like some dopey player in the local comp then wonder what all the yelling was about. This year I haven't noticed this at all, he seems to be training like a real AFL footballer, the transformation must have happened during the season or he would not be on the list. Time will tell if he makes it but at least he has pulled his finger out and is giving himself a chance.

He made a comment at an early press conference that would have me believe he did. Asked if he was surprised by the (poor) result he answered no. He needed to weed out the players he wanted to keep and the players he wanted gone, that was what last year was all about. Is that tanking? who knows, one thing I know is that you can't get a batch of new players half way into the season. We've used our compo picks, have our father son pick and have turned the list over so now it's time to start moving up the ladder. Good recruiting from here on should ensure we are able to build on a strong foundation.

Hadn't really thought about it until now 'Fan'. It depends on the old definition chestnut but in a way I think we did. Neeld wanted to have a look at a lot of players on the list before making big changes. Many players didn't deserve games on performance and others were moved to uncharacteristic positions so last season could be seen as an exercise in list management with an eye to the future. It certainly didn't hurt us at draft time with Viney, Toumpas, Barry, Dawes and Hogan. If we didn't have pick 3 then chances are Viney would have been our first round pick, there would be no Hogan in the wings and Toumpas would be lining up in other colours, who knows what would have happened to Barry. Would we have had enough currency to trade for Dawes? The cards fell pretty well for us.

The MFC had him at 78kg a week or so ago when I last looked so they have changed their details. It was pretty obvious to any of the observers, and many remarked on this site that he would be more likely around 68kg so 70kg seems about right.

No it's not, a lot of attack now comes from deep in defence. Scarlett and Fletcher are prime examples, yes I know they haven't been taking the key forwards but they have been set up to attack from deep in defence. The game is so quick and the ball moves rapidly from end to end that you can't afford the luxury of having someone who is not able to exert the required pressure. Do you think Clark would stand there and watch an opponent run off him? I've said that the only way to match condition is by playing as you've also pointed out but he won't be played until he has the fitness to get through a match, apart from the above it only opens him to further injury. So lets go back to your point of when he gets into full training, that's the critical thing now. He needs to get some run in the legs, is there enough time to get enough miles before game one. I hope so but I'm sure he won't go in under done with the hope he might pluck one or two from the square.

Talking to a Collingwood supporter today who watched a bit of Melbourne training on his way to the tennis last week and said he didn't realise how big Watts was and said he was really impressed with a mark he took running flat out with the flight of the ball into a pack of players coming the other way. I hope this is a sign of the season to come.

He will need to build match fitness and the only way is playing but will need to come in with a good level of fitness to start with. The game these days doesn't allow anyone the luxury of playing out of the square, defenders will take advantage and run him into the ground. Your caveat was his training to ramp up soon, if it doesn't and they are being conservative there is no way he will play to build up his fitness base.

I think there will be a lot of anxiety at Tigerland this year, there seems to be a belief that they will take the next step. Can't see it myself, they are getting ahead of themselves again. Apart from that who knows, I wouldn't make a prediction on us until I see the new group on the field, to many changes. Feels good at the moment though.

Well I know you think Hogan and Barry will be and I think Viney and Toumpas will so we have nothing to worry about. ...but I get the point, we haven't had one since Flower and that's a long time ago now. We can't take the big step unless a few of these guys come up to the mark. *now wait for the posters on our last one....