obbafan

Like the Rigoni comparison.

Remember picking up the members scarf at the tent outside the MCG and they had non selected players for that game glad handing. Could not believe how short Magner was.

Plenty of muscle mind you but I was looking down at him from an ordinary 6ft,

This guy vanwhereeveryouputthecapitals is tall, strong and calm!

God bless him.

For me Luke Hodge is the most complete team player in the game and has been for at least the past 5 years. GAJ has been the outstanding individual.

Bob Murphy for heart and soul for his club and Roughead is just a unit.

And Paul Kelly was an MFC supporter prior to the advent of the Crows who stole his Adelaide heart.

His articles in the Age during the 1987 finals run are some of the best writings from a supporter's point of view ever published.

AC/DC, INXS, Nick Cave (in various bands - try Red Right Hand), David Bridie (an MFC supporter) and My Friend the Chocolate Cake, Daddy Cool, Augie March, Cruel Sea, Custard, the Church, Died Pretty, DIG, The Dingoes, the Go-Betweens and on and on.

We do not need to have Bon Jovi crap and the like imposed upon us as we await the game.

Would 'Our Kylie' singing I Should Be So Lucky do it for you obbafan? Maybe Joe Dolce doing Shuduppa Ya Face?

Facetious I hope. .

Midnight Oil, Hunters and Collectors, Dan Sultan, Paul Kelly the Loved Ones and on and on.

Why do I have to listen to English and US music prior to a game of AUSTRALIAN Rules Football?

Not to mention the royalty payments.

Have skimmed through this so may be repeating but if we are to have music booming out why cannot it be Australian?

I am distressed when I see bogans clad in flags on Australia Day but we can be justifiably proud of our outrageously good bands.

A set sequence of building intensity to the bounce of immortal songs that belong to us.

I do agree they get a bit much and far too personal and I don't usually get involved. I am not in any camp, I draw my own conclusions.

You won't get a balanced view from TDI on here, and that is by his own admission... unless he has suddenly changed his philosophy.

The part that I and I think others find incredibly annoying is TDI attempting to quash any reasonable discussions of a player's weaknesses and I have seen this happen many times.

It is just silly.

What is a balanced view? If someone reports that a player for whom you have little regard is working his guts out and looking good in the pre season is that unbalanced?

We all approach this with an intensely personal perspective that substantially compromises logic - absolute truth does not exist in this universe (unless you are recording disappointment).

Thanks TDI. Much appreciated.

agree on both statements. this site like others is just a representation of the biases, knowledge differences and divergent views of society. There is your right wing, left wing and moderates, including a few offbeat independants.

these sites are what they are. you read or don't read depending on your interest and whether you can take a light hearted view towards the silly stuff. it's like going to a bullfight. you can put up with the gory bits like when the bull puts his horns through the horse but you admire the bull and the skills of the matador. despite it all, the training reports are great and there a lot of well informed posters which make for interesting reading. gotta be a tragic though.

Ernest, is that really you?

Thanks for posting the pics. Much appreciated.

And that post was more belligerent than I have been advocating. Apologies.

All of this loaded judgement!

How do we know he even knew about this?

And here he is being flogged to death.

Let us all be thankful that we are not sufficiently talented at this particular sport to be held to a standard that our teenage much less our early twenties years would have gained us public respect through universal public exposure.

Interesting point.

Dawes missed considerable training but that is not the essence of my argument.

In reply to your derogatory statements I would content that there has been no other forward at the MFC who has spent more time chasing defenders than Dawes.

Were you there?

The midfield delivery was atrocious.

He was not in form (as are disappointing golfers / cricketers / jockeys or soccerists, whatever sport)

Your harsh and judgmental tone suggests bravado

or more disappointingly no experience at all.

oh boy! that's like the third one today :D

What?

Obtuse

Perhaps you are suggesting that full preseason is unnecessary and therefore all AFL players are overworked and do not need the training.

Or perhaps that injuries that require at best weeks if not months have no subsequent effect upon performance during a season that includes at least 22 games where the average player runs about 13 Ks a game week after week .

I will be happier when he leads up at the ball and makes the play. Yes he will chase but he's not quick enough to catch in most cases unless he is chasing a statue or they are caught unawares. Yes he will have words but often they are not backed up by his actions. For instance having a go at JKH for not giving off when he has done the same on numerous occasions.

Appreciate your point but how grateful are we mere mortals that the more stressful moments of our professional lives are not immortalized on film/video/digital/whatever.

I am not saying he is Jesus Christ but that he is a good citizen and we have lacked good experienced citizens recently.

With the number of young players we have at the club Roos has clearly pursued the dual purpose of worthy and useful experience and talented youth.

I suspect he was very happy that Dawes was at the club.

He was not recruited as a defensive forward. He more often than not backs away rather than leading up at the play. He needs to make the play not take the easy option.

Having Cloke at Collingwood he sees himself as a 2nd stringer, well he needs to get over this and impose himself on the game consistently.

Are you sure? You may well have insight that I do not but my understanding at the time of his recruitment was that he would do for Clarke as he had done for Cloke without the the forward line rucking.

I do not believe he is an "easy option" player in the way he has applied himself. I agree that a greater output is desirable.

He came off a limited pre season last year so how about we give him a little grace, if only for effort, and wait to see what full preparation, a competent midfield and forward support will bring.

Can I add that he won me when he chased a defender to close to the wing and, upon returning, had words with the forwards who had stood by and spectated rather than make the effort to do their job and intervene.

I willingly concede that his form was not great this year but form at no stage diminished effort. How many players in any sport can you say that about?

As we progress he will be a significant asset.

And we will progress.

with or without clark I don't think anyone would have been happy with 20 goals from 18 matches when he was recruited

does not do a hell of a lot apart from kick goals either (apart from smashing blokes, which I do enjoy)

He works his backside off. He competes, he chases, offers opportunities and never backs away. He was recruited to be the muscle to back up a star forward. He is a shining example to his team mates as to what effort looks like. I would love him to be Jono Brown or any number of other physically imposing goalkickers but there was never any prospect of that.

I am very happy we have him because his approach is exactly what we have lacked and there is now a requirement to replicate it. With a lead forward to support again he will be a significant asset.

Positive, skilled, aggressive, determined, experienced, athletic, professional.

JOY!!!

An entirely logical argument but my point would be that they offer no possibility for advancement, that young talent should be given some exposure at this stage of the club's development.

The degree of list turnover provides an opportunity to expose raw talent to (hopefully) elite coaching.

However much I admire the effort of these players their departure will mark the step forward that the MFC has to take.

Bigfooty is often far superior to Demonland, just gotta know.Where to look and which posters (or team supporters) to ignore which you get used to very quickly.

Two points-

Don't care about Bigfooty and

Where do you people find the time?

I agree and contend that that is the very definition of our problem. I applaud their endevour and value their contribution but feel that if that level of skill, regardless of effort, is getting you a contract extension you are playing in a mediocre team.

We must aspire to greater improvement and the harsh reality is that these players, regardless of their admirable commitment, would not be on a top eight list.

As I have posted before I hope the players do not visit this site.

I very much appreciate the dedication that these players have committed to the MFC but if they are in our best 30 we cannot be looking at finals footy.

Just responding to the snakes and rabbits critique;

Have you seen what the snakes did to Guam?

Now there's spiders everywhere too.

Ugly feeds ugly.

And belligerence is ugly. Save it for those who aren't on your side.

I don't think he'll be fast. Not many 188cm solidly built white blokes playing local footy are!

I don't think coming off a shoulder injury and having never spent time at a state league, TAC or AFL club that he'll be fit either. A 10 minute 3km is a good sign. But a lot of draftees run good 3km times but then have a lot of work to do building up to AFL level with repeat efforts etc.

I don't think he'll have perfect skills either. His skills look very reasonable, but even our poorly skilled players look good at VFL yet alone NEAFL.

What he does look like is a competitor and very good at finding the footy. He links up, he reads the drop of the ball. I think those skills will transfer at least to VFL. If he hits form early next year in the VFL then I think he's young enough to step up and make it at AFL still. But in terms of impact next year I think that will depend on if he can get a kick playing forward as well.

Agree but skill development is what (highly paid and credentialed) coaches are for. We complain here about the attitude of high draft picks but skills can be honed. His approach is clearly determined.

Great potential it would seem for a less than major investment, Good choice.

The story of 2014 was no one to kick to.

Who could have foretold the Hogan and Clark misfortune. How often did we see players running through the midfield confronted with the prospect of a double or triple manned tall forward who then went sideways or back?

Our midfield will be substantially strengthened and we will score because we will, for the first time in quite some time, have a forward line.

The gods be praised!

I am still astounded that Terlich and M Jones were given contract extensions.

If we are to advance these guys cannot be realistic choices for our best team or even a team with injuries. Great effort but turnover kings.

Then there are McKenzie and Riley who are hard at it but seem to lack the skills that a finals team demands (I hope I am wrong about Riley).

The excellent new picks need a buffer before they are fully deployed but Toumpas and Salem are the ones who will be stepping up this year with a skill level that the aforementioned can only dream of.

Everytime I post something like this I really hope the players do not visit this site,