TGR

Thought Andrew Welsh was spot on. Our midfielders are combattive with no forward momentum and no real goal-kicking potential. This is not a slight on them as we have gone from E-grade to C-grade midfield in one hit. Combattive midfielders plus depleted forward-line = low score. We really need speed outside these mids. JKH aint lightening, but he made us look quicker. Blease must come in now surely. Looks like we need to be patient again; but with Roos at the helm our patience will be rewarded.

Cross - Bleeds for jumper

But his second efforts were the best for a ruckman since Stynes. I have said that he aint AFL standard, but my hats off to him, Stafford and Roos; for the effort last Saturday night. From where we come from (54%) and where we are (massive injury list and injuries during game), the effort and intensity and September game style was there. Nearly every KPI we succeeded in.

Don't recall watching a Melbourne team that was harder contest after contest inside. Tackling was good also. Paradox was that I can't recall one smother. Mitchie had an easy chance to smother and didn't bother. Other than the smothering, 9/10 for the hard stuff. Rohan Bail dissapointed me. Spencer gave his all. Frawley confirms my long-held thought that the guy runs like a chook with his head cut-off. No awareness at all. Runs to handball-receive right into trouble. Georgiou was bloody good. Good to see Watts taking them on a bit more. Instinctively hasn't got the repeat contest in him yet. But he doesn't waste a kick. Tyson looks in control and smooth; but his short passing aint A+ grade Our mids are slow, so when we hesitate with ball in hand, we will get tackled. We will pay for the Neeld selections of Pedo, Byrnes, Gillies etc.. for years and years and years. We seem to forget that hole that has been dug. The obvious is that we need forward targets. But we need a dash of speed (Blease must play) and some strong overhead (In an ideal world, Clark would play ruck) around the ground.

Mark Thompson will be in a padded cell by round 17. I agree with Caro; the guy is edgy.

I agree with Charlton.

He also likes players that have an impact H. Byrnes has shown that when the going is easy, he might show up for 2 or 3 goals. JKH will get the nod surely; and so should Blease. Blease should be the most rotated player at Melbourne. Our midfield is gaining respect, but gee-whiz it is one-paced. Vince, Cross, Jones, Jones, Trenners aren't quick; and I'd put Tyson in a similar category. Blease must play now, even though he doesn't have the "tank" that Roos says is needed on 360 last Monday. Our best game in the pre-season was undoubtedly Richmond. Only Blease and JKH split them open at Etihad. No brainer

I thought that the biggest shock to Collingwood was Freo's new blitzkrieg transition and outside spread, once they got possession of the ball. Furthermore, they were willing to look long and/or in-board as well.

When Roos was whistling on the boundary, and horse was up in the coaches box with a headset on barking instructions....I think the writing was on the wall.

Caroline Wilson cops a lot of stick from dumb "kick-it-long" MFC supporters. Yes she has had a go at this club over the past 10 years; but guess what, if the club responded to serious doubts over its admin and decision-making, rather than looking for cozy pats-on-the-back we wouldn't be in dire straits. Most of us just accepted the dribble coming out of the club over the past decade. Fact. Wilson is the closest thing to a footy journo (probably Whately) without mates, without conflict and with a cupboard full of ethics. Another case-in-point was that she had the names of the Essendon gang of injectees months ago; but this wasn't public until the gutter journalism of Mark Robinson wanted a lazy scoop. Then he had the gall to pretend to be respectful of Mitch Clark and his current saga on 360. Most of the short-term me-thinking Australian public deserve the Murdoch Press. Most of the dumb SEN blokey football public deserve your Mark Robinson's over your Wilson's. As for the success-plan? She is spot on. The "rush" to get in the 'anointed one' last summer was "old-Melbourne". Roos has signed for 2-3 years. Lets just sit back for once, and canvass our options.

What most of us are not considering is that Watts' time as a forward at Melbourne was as an 18, 19, 20 year old; in a team with the worst supply in the history of the game. We finally have a midfield that is capable of decent supply. The guy is an A-grade kick at the big sticks. Freo could have done with the ball in his hands GF 2013.

Training all summer as a mid will help him 2 ways. 1. His contested ball and defensive pressure must have improved 2. Engine would be better Our eyes have been very low in our 3 practice games. Will be easier to crowd the ball carrier and defend against. We haven't had the luxury of that 40-50m hit-up or contest.

No Clark, No Dawes, No Hogan. Rucks under-done. No. 4 should play forward. We lose an experimental midfielder for one week. Small price. We need to straighten up. Watts is the logical choice.

Disagree again Fan. Lyon's Freo play tough uncompromising footy. Like Roos' Sydney teams. Last night's match showed an attacking tweak which will provide more enjoyment from those that hate soccer like scores. Last year's grand final was robbed by Freo's yips in front of goal. Full stop. As for Collingwood, MFC supporters should be concerned. Buckley did what Danners and Co could never do, which was sacrifice today for a future. The decision to cull a name ruckman in Jolly took guts. Instead he put all his faith in an 8-game veteran in Grundy, who will be a superstar. Collingwood's tackling pressure was fantastic 1st quarter last night. You put Jesse White and Ben Reid up forward and they are a different proposition; bit like us with Dawes Clark & Hogan forward. Buckley has been ultra courageous in getting rid of dead wood that will cost them this year. He will have to wear a bit of flack until then though.

Brett Kirk has to be the one IMO. The next guy must be familiar with the Roos/Stone/Sydney model. He is midfield coach of Freo and spent 2 years under Rossy Lyon. A bit wishy-washy as a commentator 2 years ago, but Ross Lyon would have objectified him I reckon. Must be the one.

Didn't surprise me that Frawley is not even in our top 10 as far as 2013 or 2014 payments go. The guy is a turnover merchant and is basically a one-position player. I know he had a front-ended contract, but he wouldn't be in my top 10 at the club. Roos probably rates him at this stage, as he nearly had a coronary when he thought Frawley did a knee on the weekend. I reckon he will go. Another club will be able to pay him over the odds and guarantee finals in 2015. Depending on the Watts experiment in the midfield in 2014, a Frawley exit might mean that Watts and McDonald become the 2 pillars of an MFC defence IMO. Watts doesn't turn the ball over.

He just didn't look right to me during Training 26th Feb "Pedo did his left hamstring (grade 1) and shouldn't play Friday. Hogan right low-back-buttock soreness, but continued on modified." The fact that he then played a fair-dinkum game, and all of the sudden he has a back injury that might keep him out for a while. Some think injuries are just bad luck. pTGR

Gee wiz. Small mindedness in questioning this pissy role. Haven't we moved on since Terry did Talking Footy? Our sponsors must love the fact that Roos will show up to this show, I assume, wearing Melbourne's uniform. If Allison, or Miller are on Fox, good for them. But if Roos is on, I won't miss it. Full stop. Andrew Demetriou made nearly 3.8 million last year; and this clown belly-laughed at a dwarf with a burning buttock! Mark Neeld earnt 800,000 last year when you really think about it. The football world will soon work out that the 1.5 million Roos will earn this year, will be well-earnt, and almost under-payment for the hardest job in league football. pTGR

Interesting thing from his brief discussions was: Roos felt "pressure" coaching Melbourne in the NAB, whereas during his Sydney days, there was absolutely none during NAB. I guess he realised that the membership needs hope, and the players need to believe quickly. The other thing was his take about the modern game. Zones are out of favour as scoring is too easy if you can get through it. Man-on-man has returned more so. BUT, he was adamant that Melbourne's first task is to get "what always has been constant" right first. In other words I'm assuming, the basics....the contested stuff, the spreading, the pressure, the 2-way running etc. Does someone have an app that can pixel-ate Yobbo's head and bleep out his simpleton, blokey, pub-talking bulldust? If you do, PM me at [email protected]

Toumpas showed a heap of courage, when he sat under the ball twice and didn't flinch. First time copped a reckless forearm. Viv just looks like a footballer to me. Daniel Cross is just going to fit right in. His field kicking might be getting better with age…finally. Dom looks like one of those rare quickish players that have the hardness and build for the contest. Hogan just presents well. That run-up for a set shot won't last surely. We will rely a lot on a Sam Blease, because he represents all of our line-breaking in one player. He must come on for us to achieve and over-achieve this year. Without having aerial targets (Clark/Dawes/Ruckman), it forced us to chip a bit. If Melbourne were worried about this NAB 2 game, Watts would played high forward. But they are really playing them to develop roles. Our lack of height played into Geelong's hands, who tightened their zone toward us after half-time. Scoreboard flattered us, but then again, our turnovers gifted them. We obviously run backward with handball from the contest. Will be interesting to see whether St.Kilda really bring a few forwards up to crowd this area, leaving Maister (good record v. Melbourne) one out. We are on track for 6-9 victories this year…by the look of it. A loss to St.Kilda brings that back to 4-7, as the first game is worth 2 for us IMO.

A. Grade 1 isn't too bad. B. He wont play.

Best way to sum it up on here is.... I have ball in hand at left half-back. You are standing in centre circle. You first run (away) toward left half-forward (same side), then dart back for the hit up toward me. I am going to ring up SEN and ask your question in relation to "structures"; the most over-referred to...least understood terminology in football.

Pedo did his left hamstring (grade 1) and shouldn't play Friday. Hogan right low-back-buttock soreness, but continued on modified. Good drills...learnt a bit today. Lot of "v-leading" near the boundary. Lot of half and full ground running drills. They also share the ball, but not to the point of inefficiency. They look for the handball receiver on the move. The defenders are often asked to close down space as well. Stafford did a bit with the rucks for the whole time; boundary throw-ins, and contested stuff deep near forward 30. Roos just in encouraging mode. Clapping effort...even after clangers.

Neeld's recruitment of dad's army second-handers just showed you the guy couldn't pick talent from the phone-book. That said, Pedo put his body on the line in a NAB Challenge first rounder. Even though he aint in my first 22, he gets a gig if he puts his body on the line regularly. Super-hands named a hotel after him by the way.

Chook remembers that Neeldy's demons beat the reigning premier in week 1 of NAB cup too….perhaps. But this is different….surely.