Captain_Jack

I hear nothing but the highest possible praise for Leigh Tudor, he'd be my first choice.

Don't hate him because he has enough ability to attract hundreds of thousands of dollars for doing what he does. If you had a talent for anything other than shooting your mouth off on internet forums, somebody might pay you for your services... they don't, with good reason.

Jack Watts needs to be released from this horribly managed club, that has thrown the kid to the wolves once too often... It started when he was played against Colllingwood, well before he was ready, as a skinny year 12 student, as a marketing ploy by the club. Since then he has been the poster boy for pretty much every colossal failure (of which there have been an extraordinary amount) the club has bumbled their way into. Last night was the final straw for me... there is no way, a kid, who has lived their adolescent years under pressure that would test a seasoned veteran, appear on national TV, at a time when there is speculation from every angle about his future. The fact that he clearly wasn't properly briefed on the most obvious of questions is yet another failing of the club's administration and has turned up the heat on him tenfold for no good reason. Jack is a nice kid, an exceptional sporting talent and a potential asset to any club. Jack is not a leader or a ruthless competitor, he's never pretended to be and people need to stop expecting it of him. If Jack doesn't get out of that place soon, a really nice kid, just trying to find his place in the world like anyone else, is going to wind up in a padded cell. There are more important things than Melbourne getting full value for their number one pick, especially since the club has let him and others down so many times. The kid deserves better!

I don't disagree, just throwing out the hypothetical.

HYPOTHETICAL: If Malthouse threw up a direct swap; Watts for Yarran - Who would take it? Yarran is out of favour and Malthouse loves Watts apparently...

When Melbourne seemed obsessed with getting Pederson I genuinely hoped they knew something I didn't, he never looked like being a player and the fact that he's blown out since certainly hasn't helped... He was even touted as a backup ruckman... He's not much taller than Rohan Bail and if they think his Naitinui like leap will get the job done, i'd suggest he strips 7 - 8 kilos to be an even chance of leaving the ground. How about we recruit a starting ruckman rather than the current list we have of backups to the backups...

Reference to your comment previous to that. Now not wanting to one of those types who fritters their time away bickering on an online forum, let's agree to agree.

You're probably right, I am curious though as to why someone armed with this knowledge would reply with a sarcastic remark.

The detection of facetiousness is not a strength of yours is it...

I'm tipping when Grimes returns they'll retain Jones and have 3 captains, like Hall, Kirk, Barry at the Swans... this has Roos' fingerprints all over it...!

Agree. Jimmy Bartel was in and out of the Geelong side and thought to be too slow in 2006. By the end of 2007, he was a premiership player and a Brownlow medallist. The injection of some pace and class into a midfield that lacks it can make a massive difference to a player like Trengove.

If Jack Watts is still on our list in 2016, he'll be spending more time in a padded cell than on a football field.

This club is so badly run and its administration so incompetent, that being drafted to the Melbourne Football Club could be considered restraint of trade for players. The board and the administration have been so derelict in their capacity to carry out the basic functions of a football club that I don't believe any player wishing to be immediately released from their contract, should be precluded from doing so. As fans, our relationship with the club does not exist on paper, we can walk whenever we want and I'm sure plenty already have. Our relationship with the club is an emotional one which when broken, can never be repaired. I am trying to separate my feelings towards those who have so incompetently lied, mislead and destroyed the fabric of the club I love, from the club itself, but I like I'm sure many others, am almost at the end of my tether.

I am also happy with this appointment. At the very least he will be in a position to cast an unbiased, critical eye over every area of the club. Having said that, when he left Essendon in 2009 they weren't in great shape. He also re-signed Knights on a 3 year deal, approximately 9 months of which he served.

Not related to training but I had a look in the paper and unless I've missed something, I couldn't see Watts' name in the Casey line-up... Does anyone know anything about that? I'm hoping it's a misprint.

My fear is that sacking the coach might be like changing the oil because you have a flat tyre. I don't disagree that Neeld needs help, I'm not convinced Craig is the man to provide it. 2 people filling the players heads with statistics and analysis, can only take you so far. At some point, players need to feel inspired and like what they are doing means something beyond the stats sheet. Brad Scott and Neil Craig or Brad Scott and Mark Neeld as an assistant, would be a very effective combination IMHO. It's not about the individuals, I think it's about the combination.

I don't dispute that AFL 360 is a quality program, I think you may have missed my point. My point is that Adelaide, particularly in 2011, when they were playing well below their best and Walker, Vince and Maric spent most of the year in the 2's, were a shadow of what that list was capable of and seemed to have little or no appetite for the contest or understanding of their game-plan. I'm just saying I find the similarities between that and where we are at, with Craig the common denominator, a little alarming.

I cannot shake the feeling that Neil Craig, albeit with the best of intentions, is a huge part of the problem. I think he has too much influence over Neeld and they're too similar in personality and management style. It's like having 2 Gerard Whateley's on AFL360, great as long as you've got the contrast of a Robbo banging the desk and getting fired up but mind numbingly boring and uninspiring as a stand alone proposition. This Melbourne side stinks of Adelaide in 2011 for mine. An overly complicated, ultra defensive game-plan and good players who don't seem to know how to execute it so playing well below their best - Not unlike, Bernie Vince, Taylor Walker, Ivan Maric and even Patty Dangerfield in 2011. Ask anyone in South Australia and they'll tell you, Neil Craig is a lovely, hard working bloke but they cannot understand why he's so highly rated in Victoria.

If Neeld had come on board and maintained the status quo of a bad game plan, horrible culture and list that no longer reflected the direction the game had taken, in the name of incremental, short term improvement, I would have been and would be extremely disappointed. Neeld had the courage to make the tough calls, under extreme pressure, in the knowledge that some short term pain was necessary for long term gain. Agree completely that the improved output this year of several key players and the club in general will be a key indicator that we're headed down the right path, but I don't think analysis of last year are all that relevant to where we want to get to longer term. Rightly or wrongly, what I like about Neeld is that I get the impression he has a premiership or bust mentality. He won't die wondering and he won't be satisfied by hanging around the top 8 or even on the fringes of the top 4 to justify his job. Bailey seemed to think hard work involved bringing a group of talented individuals together and the rest would take care of itself, clearly that didn't work out so well. I couldn't be more pleased that Neeld has set off in the opposite direction, even though last year was almost unbearable to watch.

Announcement from the AFL on the outcome of the investigation this afternoon I believe.

Unfortunately while we're at the bottom of the table we'll be an easy target for bullies like Denham, Caro and Barrett. The club can put themselves in a position where any journalist that takes cheap pot shots, makes themselves look foolish, by winning more games and establishing a long term culture of success. I believe the current FD knows this and that is what they are focussed on. As long as the club as a whole remains focussed on what they can control, I'll be satisfied and the gutter journos can say what they like.

I was there too and was equally impressed with Barry, everything he does oozes class. I genuinely think the FD have high hopes that he'll get plenty of game time this year. In the stoppage work they were doing he seemed to be the go to guy on the outside and designated kicker. Jones and Viney were doing the inside work and they were rotating blokes in the fluero vests specifically to block for Barry. It's clear they'd love for him to play a Lewis Jetta type roll and be free to create. A lot will come down to the ability of the blokes around him to keep him free and still win the ball themselves. We don't have midfield grunt of Sydney just yet to be able to structure our stoppage set up around one first year player and not get picked off by the top sides. I suspect this will be one of few strategies they'll test this year but would be great if they can make it work, he is extremely creative with the footy in hand and time to use it.

I had a quick look too and a few things that stood out to me: I love how tight Jack Viney and Jimmy Toumpas are, thick as thieves and really took charge in a few of the handball drills. You Can see Toumpas naturally takes charge of the younger blokes in a really good way. They did some stoppage work and Dom Barry was ultra impressive. He was in everything, very clean and NEVER misses a target. Pencil thin as we all know and I can't see him ever getting a whole lot bigger but has some serious class about him. I've been reading some of the reports about Sylvia and have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I thought he looked fit, sharp and there's no doubt about it, he's the cleanest player on the list IMO. Jamar, Pederson, Spencer and Fitzpatrick did some contested marking work close to where I was standing. Spencer was the standout for mine, plucking everything. His kick still looks as though he will be a compulsory handball to a runner type his whole career. The feeling in the group pleased me more than anything. No doubt they were up and about being the last session before Christmas but it just seemed like they were loving being there, a really tight group and were up for the challenge ahead. Plenty of talk, encouragement of one another and a positive vibe throughout.

They're setting him up, body and engine wise, to be able to use his strengths to their fullest and gradually improve his weaknesses. He's not a born, ruthless competitor like a Viney, that's just the way it is, but once he feels like he can impose himself on games the way he did in under 18's, his confidence and competitiveness will follow. I also love that he and Trenners are best mates these days, Trenners' determination and dedication can only be a positive influence on Wattsy.

I've had the same procedure, along with most players in the AFL. It's more a prevention thing to make sure the ball of your hip fits perfectly into the socket mitigating wear and tear down the line. It the reason why you rarely hear of osteitis pubis anymore, they found the cause so they prevent it to avoid needing to cure. Absolutely not a problem.