Lucifers Hero

General comment: As our 8 injured players come back in unfortunately it will be the 'depth' players that will be dropped. The best 25 need to play together as much as possible to build the synergy all good teams have. There is a bigger picture happening here and the team will be selected accordingly. This doesn't help the 'depth' players who will only get cameo games when needed to cover injuries or to rotate young players. But there is plenty of room in the best 25 for the likes of Spencer, Fitzy and [Pedersen] for a few years yet. Ins this week: Jetta has a good chance of being selected as he has been able to do full 'non contact' training. Viney less so as his leg injury stopped him from weight bearing training. Sub maybe. Roos said in his presser Tyson and Dawes are unlikely inclusions next week. Outs this week: M Jones then probably Bail not because of performance. Or whoever has the most niggles as Roos has said he wants the freshest, fittest team. We will need the freshest and fittest as its forecast to be 29 temp, is a day game, maybe showers, with high humidity. Energy sapping stuff.

The official word! http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2015-05-24/petracca-signs-new-deal

I don't know why coaches say 'we didn't see it coming'. It basically says: we didn't do our homework! Or worse: we under- estimated the opposition! The last time a rookie coach said that was Mark Neeld after the first game of 2013. Beveridge is learning about coaching life when the honeymoon is over! I bet he won't be bragging about not playing a bona fide ruckman anymore. It was dumb to advertise it after the Freo game. As if Paul Roos wouldn't find a strategy to exploit it. Brought him completely unstuck yesterday. Beveridge was out-coached big time, by the one and only Mr

Love all the optimism. Moses. Loaves and Fishes. Straight from the bible! Good to have the blessing of the big 'G'! 'The Reverend' moniker is quite apt!

Its a shame they don't count the number of times a player goes up with the pack and brings the ball to ground. Hogan did that many times (as he has in all his games), to make a contest and give teammates a chance to score. Hogan would win this week, hands down! I would like to see him get one just to see his beaming smile! You know, the one that lit up when Hulk Hogan had him in headlock.

Brayshaw: . “It could’ve gone one or two ways there. They could’ve kicked on or we could’ve dug in … and that’s what we did" Great summary from the young man!

Don't like to 'boo' other posters but which game were you watching?

The dogs: beat the teams who are 2nd and 3rd on the ladder and gave the top team a run for their money. Half our side played at Casey in rnd 1. So, not bad then to beat the dogs, I reckon. A real confidence boosting win! A bit of trivia: Every team we have played has been in the top 8 at the time we played them (except rnd 1 GCS who were touted as a top 8 side). We are tracking OK.

I thought Dunn had a good game too. In the nicest possible way I am glad Tommy Mc wasn't best for us. He played well but it means others carried their fair share of the burden.

Finally, there is no chat here about Watts' mistakes...probably because he didn't make any He played fairly well I thought. Not high possessions but he made each one count. Took his time and waited for the right option then made perfect passes. Helped set up a few goals. I really liked that in the pregame interview Roos gave him a bit of praise with: 'We need Jack's skills and class...you don't miss someone until they are not there and last week we missed him...glad he is back' or words like that. A few more games like that and people won't be so critical. I hope purple was watching, having made such a d... of himself with his stupid comments!

Wouldn't read too much into the pic...Viney isn't there either. He would be part of any nucleous...unless that is Viney front and centre but it looks more like Newton to me.

Maybe Roos has seen the writing on the wall and expects Howe to walk at eos So, he is getting Fitzy ready to take over his role as defender/swingman. This makes good sense while Oscar is developing and they are finding the right spot for Frost. Fitzy doesn't take species like Howe but he can play a swingman role. Its hard to see Fitzy doing any worse than Howe. Howe isn't showing many signs of improving his game. Lets go with Fitzy, at least he tries.

Hawks had more to lose last night as now they are 2 games behind Syd. An early hold on 2nd spot of the final ladder was at stake. It means the Hawks won't be able to rest/rotate their aging players later in the season. That has been a vital part of their strategy in the last 2 premiership wins. Good chance they will finish 2nd/3rd but which way round? It will probably come down to percentage. Neither wants to finish 4th as it is off to Freo for their first final. Given the current ladder if Hawks don't finish top 2 their 1st final will be interstate. It will be a must win final as they will need the weeks rest for their aging team. So, a lot more at stake for the Hawks last night than first meets the eye. They may well rue last night's inaccurate kicking, come season's end. Their rematch in rnd 16 will be a beauty. It maybe one of the few highlights to come given how one sided most games are.

Don't care! Just hope they keep away from McCartney! He has a great reputation as a development coach and that is what they need. But so do we!

The AFL may applaud the success of GWS. BUT, they should be worried by all the one-sided games. Last week 6 of the 9 games were never in doubt from the beginning. Big winning margins. This week: Geel d Carl: 140 to 63 WC d StK: 131 to 78 GWS d Adel: 108 to 84 (after GWS started to cruise in the last allowing Adel to kick a few) Coll seems to be off to a smashing start vs GCS. Are the AFL worried? I doubt it. They want 9 games per week for their tv rights. Then the tv networks dictate what games get telecast FTA and time slots. Good teams get good time slots, poor teams...well...you know the drill. AFL footy is becoming dead set boring.

Saints catching up in the 2nd qtr. Good fightback kicked 5.2 to 1.1 in the 2nd to trail by only 12 pts Interesting to see if they can keep it going. Even if Saints don't win their fight and resilience is growing with each game.

Along with all the friday night games their draw in the first part has been highly winnable games. All stage managed to get them off to a fantastic start. Fill the coffers etc The opposite to us but then I'm just jealous. They have come down with a thud and now the day of reckoning arrives: They are yet to play the top 8 and the contenders for the top 8. A world of pain is yet to come their way. Re Carlton board connections, I assume you mean the AFL variety rather than shady ones with persuasive means, that lurk around its neighbourhood!

I saw the pre game interview with MM and he looked and sounded completely shot. There was not one iota of confidence in anything he said. There wasn't even any sense of any hope in his team or the game. Whatever his faults its a bit sad to see a doyen of the game go out this way.

That post is probably where Barrett got his material. Disgraceful! Clearly Jack was dropped. Why Roos went thru the 'he dropped himself' charade I will never know. It has backfired badly and Jack is paying the price with more negative publicity. Jack is an easy target and Barrett has stooped to a new low as he knows Jack was dropped. I have just developed a new loathing for Barrett. I hope Roos figures out a way to get this back on track and starts protecting Jack.

Have just clarified the Mitchie inclusioin - he is in the squad. The onfield replacement to be decided. Whoever comes into the 22, the points everyone has made re a fit player is better than an injured Tyson and its an opportunity for replacement to stand up are still valid.

http://www.news.com.au/national/dean-robinson-key-figure-in-essendon-supplements-scandal-lands-top-job-with-kpmg/story-e6frfkp9-1227364221641 I am speechless!: "DEAN Robinson, a key figure in the Essendon supplements scandal, has landed a plum job with financial services giant KPMG — the AFL’s official auditor. Armed with a new MBA, Robinson started with the multinational firm on Wednesday, working in its agribusiness division. It’s believed some staff are concerned at how the appointment might look, given the AFL is an important client." The implication of the last sentence is that the AFL might be upset by the appointment but I wonder? Some people might think the opposite: Have the AFL used their influence to get him this job! I wonder what he is going to do in the agribusiness division? Inject supplements to cattle and sheep!!

Sorry to be bearer of bad news: Tyson out Mitchie in. Edit: Maybe Mitchie can shut down Cory Dickson who kicked 7 last week. I hope someone can as their on-ballers are kicking a lot of goals lately

Roy Masters is well known for being exceptionally meticulous in his research so I'm not sure its fair to accuse him of being 'quite absurd'. He doesn't list all those that are not eligible to sit on the panel but he does list the 3 that are and so far there has been no contradiction of his assessment. He may even have got the list from the CAS Sydney office. Its one thing to poor scorn on some of the journos reporting of EFC/ASADA saga but Masters isn't one of them.

You could be right there. Had thought he had pinch hit in the ruck at Richmond as they used him all over the place. Not sure tho. Even as 'just a forward' I would be happy. Much better option than Dawes to line up along side Jesse.

Anyone for Schulz, a forward who can ruck. Has my vote! http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-05-21/power-star-jay-schulz-in-contract-limbo-amid-salary-cap-squeeze?utm_medium=RSS