Pello

The good - He is mobile for his size and a good kick. The bad - He drops too many marks and is not hard enough at the ball or the contest. He will let you down in big games particularly when he is getting some attention from opponents. I hope for the sake of the MFC I am wrong but nothing I saw this year changed an opinion I have held for a few years now.

2004 was a bad year.

Hence why it is imperative we draft two midfielders with our first two picks. The Brisbane Lions have 2 of the best key forwards in the game but couldn't get past week 2 of the finals because their midfield has lost its effectiveness from earlier this decade. You can develop all sorts of plans and strategies about getting the ball to your forwards and I am sure DB will be working on that over summer. However, a very simple way to score more is to get it inside 50 more. You may end up having a lower strike rate but overall you will score more.

Great work KJ - keep it coming. I'm at LA airport waiting for a flight back home and its great reading this.

This is our last chance to win this season. It would be nice to snag one more win for the year which is one more than last year. Winning is always important particularly when you have been down and out as long as we have. Beating Freo with less than half a team will be a good foundation and confidence builder leading into next year. It we get smashed in this game Rds 21 & 22 are going to be shockers. It might be a case of "warning - look away now as the following content may offend!

No way. As has been said by the time we are ready to challenge for a flag he will be retiring. And besides how much influence does he really have on a game? I think his type are a dying breed. You need mobile, hard running, high jumping ruckman these days and he will struggle in the future. You can exploit his lack of mobility and speed by having his opponent sprint down deep into the forward line when there is a turnover in the back half. Stef Martin is the future as he has all these attributes other than the hard running and after a few more pre-seasons this will come.

We have a lot of injuries. Don't assume beating the Dockers is a forgone conclusion. We may well end up with only 3 wins for the year which is the same as last year! Can we win? http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tab...54/default.aspx

I think it is presumptious to believe that we can switch our form off and on based on where we are on the ladder and how many wins we have. Its not that easy particularly with the fit players we have to choose from. All I want to see in the last three games is the MFC going flat out to win all three games but only win one! We won't need to tank against the Blues or Saints to be left on our desired 4 wins - we're not that good. The last 2 weeks have done my head in. First it was players trying while the coaches orchestrated a loss and yesterday it was half hearted efforts by both. Let's get back to having a red hot go and give the Blues and Saints something to think about before their finals campaign.

Yesterday was well and truly tanking from the coaching box. The players had a real crack and you could see and feel their disappointment after the game. Experimentation is one thing but forwards to back, backs to forward, ruckman to backline, centre half forward to ruck, and Newton who has played most of his short career as full forward left on the wing for most of the day - come on. Let's get fair dinkum - Bailey was tanking and I congratulate him for it. It needed to be done for the long term benefit of the MFC. The problem was that Richmond were so bloody useless that notwithstanding all of the "help" we were giving them they nearly lost the unloseable game. However, whilst I agree with the tactic I do have one big concern though and I'd be interested in others views on this. How does Bailey front up to his players and show leadership, gain respect and continue to motivate them in the future when players who have had a red hot go know that they were not supported in their efforts by the coaches who used them like pawns on a chess board to manufacture a loss? This issue worries me and I hope that Bailey doesn't "lose" the players over this who may no longer trust the coaching panel or lose some respect. What do you think?

I thought you were referring to lack of courage. Anyway your point is taken up to a point! He certainly got away with some of the things you mention under the Daniher era but DB has been hot on chasing and pressuring and he has improved a lot in that area. Its no picnic being a forward at the MFC and lack of opportunities due to the low number of entries into the forward 50 and lack of midfield skill have meant that players who play deep struggle to have an impact. Robbo deserves another year as his comeback from such a serious injury hasn't been too bad after considering all of this. There are plenty of kids getting opportunities and if Robbo can chime in for 40 goals next year whilst Jurrah, Watts and co find their feet then that will take some of the focus away from them and allow them to develop and prepare for life post Robbo.

The prospect of tanking will never be completely eliminated even if the PP was removed. Teams would still tank to get to the bottom of the ladder to get the 1st pick. It's just that the tanking issue would not be so widespread and maybe only 1 or 2 teams will be interested in tanking. I think the PP should remain but only be given in limited circumstances such as when a team finishes last 2 seasons in a row. Otherwise no other PP's.

How has he proven he lacks the leadership to foster young talent? Play the kids you say - that's what we are doing but as I said we can't have a team with just kids. There needs to be some balance. I agree his kicking accuracy and depth have been off but he has lost none of his speed. A full pre-season and he will still have something to offer.

Ridiculous statement - no one plays at AFL level for 10 years and kicks around 400 goals and has no heart! Wake up to yourself.

Most are young in games though!

Here we go again wanting to abruptly end another career of a great servant of our club. Robbo has come back from a serious injury, he had no pre-season, he has played 10 games and is second on our goal kicking. Bate is first with 3 more goals and and 5 more games. Agreed the numbers are pathetically low but that about explains where we are. He will be 31 when he plays next year and this is not ancient in the context of some other players going around in the AFL that are still playing well. With his limited preparation he has done remarkably well playing in a forward line that would frustrate the best given the limited opportunities he gets due to the relative small number of times the ball enters our forward 50 or the poor delivery. It's OK to want to retire off Whelan, Wheatley and Junior but we also need some senior players to be left on the list to mentor/guide/develop the young players. A forward line with Watts, Jurrah, Wonna, Maric will also need a mix of senior players such as Robbo and Sylvia. Like any good team we need a mix of all types of players and that includes age and experience.

I think the last couple of drafts have been shown on Foxtel on Saturday although I can't recall if it was live or not. Anyway, the whole top 10 countdown thing trying to build excitement won't work. When was the last time pick number 1 was a surprise to all? Each year pick one is known by all and sundry - there are no surprises in that regard.

It's easy to overlook a ruckman when considering midfielders but Jimmy was a brilliant ruck rover with massive endurance. He rucked unassisted for almost 10 years and picked up heaps of possession and kicked quite a few goals. He's my number one followed by Viney at 2 and Stinga at 3 (what a shame we didn't see more of him).

LJ doesn't have the fitness base to play up the ground at the moment. It does the beg the question about the future - who will play full forward - Watts or LJ? The beauty is that they both will not be one positional players so they could be swapped around regularly which only adds another dimension to our attack. By the way I agree Newton deserves to play and for the rest of the year. I think he has been harshly dealt with and deserves another crack. If nothing else he adds some presence to our forward line with his "potential" marking abilities.

Wow - what a great response - thank you! That's so reassuring as I think LJ could become an AFL elite player if he continues to develop and work hard. From an outsider looking in it seems Aaron Davey in particular is to be congratulated for the support and mentoring he is giving Liam.

The concern I have with LJ is, that as I understand it, he was given permission by his tribe to come to Melbourne and play footy. I also understand that he has been earmarked as the future tribe leader. I don't profess to know anything about aboriginal culture or customs but does this mean he could be summoned at any time to go back home to resume his tribe duties and that the career of our champion player in the making could come to an abrupt end?

How would that change the tanking issue? The bottom team would get the first pick anyway. The ONLY way to stop tanking is to make radical changes to the system. Agree the PP must go but a marble system or something similar where the bottom four teams have the chance to get pick one might improve the situation with the bottom team getting four marbles, 15th gets three and so on. The draft then resumes as per normal from 12th position upwards. Still has its flaws but better than the current mess. This discussion comes up EVERY year and makes for good newspaper headlines and talk back radio discussion.

Vlad thinks the draft system works well and teams don't tank. Head in the sand stuff! So unlikely there will be any changes to the current system whilst he's in the chair. I don't think players tank but coaches do. I won't be picking West Coast to win any more games for the rest of the year in my footy tipping.

I couldn't have put it any better!

Geez I hope numb nuts is not in the cheer squad and has any input!