Pello

HT there is one high profile poster on Land that consistently wants him delisted and there are others that I won't name. Just need to go back into past threads and you will find the answer. All I'd like to see is some balance to the Bruce discussion and those that have had a crack at him in the past also concede that does continues to perform each week. It seems we are so quick to want to delist any player at or over the age of 30 without any consideration to the value they add to the team. If they are playing well they deserve their spot on the list - its as simple as that. Also with all the kids developing we need some senior players as well to help and guide their development both on and off the field. Back to back B&F's would certainly keep a few eating humble pie. Go Cam!

Well done to Cam Bruce once again for another great game. For most of the year he has shown great poise, skill, hard running and leadership and I love the way he goes about his game. Yes he turns it over from time to time but who doesn't at Melbourne. He has copped so much unfair criticism in the past but each week he just keeps going and is our most consistent performer again this year. Its time a few of you critics accepted this!

This whole argument is a joke! Win a game of footy, sing the song and enjoy the week only to see us get smashed against Geelong next week and we'll come back down to earth with a thud! The other side of the argument is that we fight out competitive losses for the rest of the year and recruit the clear number 1 pick in Scully (no one is challenging him at the moment for this crown) and hopefully we get pick 2 or 3 as well. Scenario one we all enjoy a win and it is shortlived. Scenario two we continue to build a team that will give us a shot at a premiership finally after 45 years plus. A thought for the day - Don't expect a different result if you continue to do the same thing!

Well done HT - love your work. List management is something we clearly have not been good at in the past particularly when Daniher and CAC were there. However, even good lists need luck. We have had quality teams in the past that were struck down due to injuries to key players such as O'Dwyer, Prymke, Schwarz, Glenn Lovett, Lyon and Tingay to name a few. Even with a great list and great coaches you need a load of luck to win a premiership as well! The best thing though about our current position is that there is only one way to go.

Get well soon Jimma - you need to be our president when we win our next flag! If he approaches this illness with the same fierce determination that he has shown both on an off the field the big "C" doesn't stand a chance!

The stop start chipping has been prevalent the past season and a half not just the last 3 weeks. If DB truly wants the players to play on at all costs and he is truly a teaching coach as we've all been told then perhaps he should be sacked now. Because after 35 matches his message isn't getting through. It doesn't matter how bad or inexperienced a player is or how bad their disposal is once they get the ball they should be able to play on at all costs!. Sure they will get caught and they will make mistakes but when it does work we will get more entries into the forward 50 much quicker and before the opposition have set up the zone. Even if our forwards get beaten in a one on one or two or two contest the more times we pump the ball in the more often we have a chance to score. Our forwards won't be beaten every time if the contest is even particularly if the kick is kicked to their "general advantage" without having to hit them lace out on the chest. And when every player in the team knows that their team mate is going to play on they will know they have to run to support them or lead to space straight away. Like I said from the outset - Keep the game plan simple while players are still developing. More forward entries means more scoring opportunities - its not rocket surgery!

The media will come down on us hard if we lose on Saturday, and if we don't play a brand of football that doesn't make you want to walk out of the ground. That's why I think we need to win this week.

Yes, Yes and Yes! We all would love a win. But find something to bite down on and take the loss this week. Then we are free to chase down a couple of wins before the seasons end and not worry about losing draft selections. Look at the big picture!

You missed my point. I said: 1. Move the ball quickly 2. Run hard 3. Don't give the opposition time to set up the zone 4. Kick long to an even contest (not 2 on 3 or 4 as we so often do). If the ball is kicked to the advantage of a forward in an even contest we have a better than 50% chance of scoring even if they don't mark it. The current game plan is not working because: 1. The current crop of players don't have the ability to execute it. 2. We simply don't get the ball into the forward 50 enough to kick a winning score. 3. We move the ball too slowly. The stop - start football is crap! None of my suggestions could be any worse than what is going on at the moment. We had only kicked 2 goals to 3/4 time last game. We are the lowest scoring team in the league and have the least number of forward entries. It is clear that DB's game plan is not working. Until we have the quality of players capable of executing it keep the game plan simple and try to score and at least be competitive. What is wrong with that?

He's something radical. Why don't we play on at all costs and kick the ball long into our forward line as quick as possible to a one on one or two on two contest. Let's run hard, move the ball quickly and not give the opposition time to set up their zone behind the ball. If nothing else it will reduce the number of potential turnovers (as we will have less possesions) and increase the number of times we get the ball into our forward 50 therefore increasing our chances of scoring. Radical I know - what do you think?

You're a ray of f#$%*# sunshine aren't you. Things will improve no doubt - off field we have got our act together and on field improvements will come - there's no doubt about that.

In the context of the grand scheme of things we must lose this week and ensure the first 2 picks. A loss this week will be forgotten in a short time but if we miss picking up a player that will help shape our future then this will be a no brainer win. I think we will win because WCE would also be dumb to miss out on a priority pick for the sake of a pointless win. If nothing else the game should be an intriguing one.

What's important from here is how the players respond. Up until the Collingwood game I thought our intensity levels were high and it was skill errors and stupid decision making that killed us. At times during the last 2 games we were just insepid. We want to be competitive but at the moment there is so much daylight between us and the rest of the competition. Leigh Matthews said last Friday night that it was hard to see when Melbourne will even begin their climb up the ladder. That is so depressing to hear that. Say what you want about Matthews but he is an astute football commentator and is one of the all time great coaches. You have to respect what he says. I hate losing, hate the lack of respect we have and hate the fact that we are the laughing stock of the AFL. We have some games coming up that we have the opportunity to win but still not hurt our draft pick position. We need to win a couple of those games and win them well and show everyone that there is hope and we are on the right course.

Chris Connolly has said that DB should not be judged until next year. I accept that. As far as I'm concerned DB starts with a clean coaching sheet from R1 2010. Regardless of anything else though we must show good signs of improvement next year and not win another spoon. Improvement must be measured in terms of wins, percentage and ladder position. Any lack of improvement in these three areas will be obvious by round 14 -15 next year and if that is the case he must go.

I was at a dinner recently where DB spoke and he said that Cale has actually grown 2cms and is now 194 cms. He said that ultimately he will end up in a KP. However, until then he is deliberately playing him on the backline to get him experience so that when he plays in the midfield and gets tagged heavily and is having a bad day he can put him down back and he will be familar with that position. Personally I think he has had enough experience there for the time being and he should be playing in the midfield. He has an amazing engine and he should be allowed to exploit opponents with his gut running allowing him to set up forward entries and kick the odd goal. This is another example of DB being a very defensive coach and always looking to defend and "manage" losses rather than kick a winning score. Maybe that is deliberate but we simply can't win games with the number of times we get it into the forward 50. But I digress - sorry!

Great courage, does the team think and always gives you a 100%. He is doing a useful job for us at the moment but the reality is that with his poor skills he can't be part of our future beyond the end of his current contract (whenever that is).

Opposition coaches target Davey as he has been our best player this year and his kicking efficiency can hurt them. Bailey needs to mix it up with him and not be so predictable. Davey needs to rotate through the midfield (love to see him spend a full quarter or two on the wing), forward line, back line and on the bench. Mix it up - he's proved that he can play many positions and if you move him around enough times we will get the mismatch we want and he will be damaging long enough hopefully to make a difference.

I smell something fishy - so many changes from "injuries". Is this what they call "Win/Loss Management'?

The current priority pick rules have been in place since 2006. Since 2006 the teams that have had wins "just over" the required 4 wins have been: 2006 - Nth Melb (7 wins) 2007 - Melb (5 wins) 2008 - Freo (6 wins) Prior to 2006 a team needed less than 5 1/2 wins to gain a priority pick before the first round. Teams that have had wins "just over" that required threshold have been: 2005 - Essendon 8 (Collingwood/Hawthorn both had 5 wins that year) 2004 - Collingwood 8 (WB 5, Haw/Rich 4) 2003 - Richmond 7 (Melb 5, Carl 4, WB 3) 2002 - Richmond 7 (StK 5, Carl 3) 2001 - NM & Geel 9 (WCE 5, Stk 4, Freo 2) 2000 - WCE, Port Adel, Coll 7, (Stk 2) My point here is that Melbourne in 2007 just missed out on the 4 wins and the priority whilst other clubs have cleverly managed their wins. Although you could argue Freo were a little dumb in some of their late season wins last year. That could have been a symptom of where the coach was at anyway. In the years 2000 - 2005 all the teams had wins well over the required 5 wins and that probably meant that they thought they were a chance to make the finals at some stage. To me the stats are a strong indicator that all clubs have tanked in one form or another to get priority picks. Aside from Melb in 2007 no club has got wins "just over" the required threshold to miss out on a priority pick. That's more than a coincidence to me. I would hate to see the MFC deliberately lose a game and yet I wanted them to lose that Carlton game R22 2007. I didn't go to that game simply because, I am ashamed to say, that I wanted Carlton to win and I couldn't bear to watch it. I agree with others that lets put a team on the park that are hard at it and geniuinely want to win. But lets rest key players, send them to rehab or whatever so we do not win more than 4 games. I want to barrack hard and support the players that are playing and hope they put in a geniuine contest - but like others a competitive loss will be fine!

If we finish last in 2010 DB may hold a new VFL/AFL record of only coaching for three seasons with consecutive wooden spoons!

Agree Rivers should stay as too should PJ. If he gets his disposal on target he will be a valuable asset as he gets the ball so often for a ruckman and he is useful back up ruckman and is handy on the forward line. Players to go in my opinion are: - McDonald (Retire) - Wheatley (Retire) - Bell (Delist) - Bate (Trade) - Valenti (Delist) - Dunn (Trade/Delist) Bate still has some trade value but it is diminishing all the time. He is hopeless below his knees, has a turning circle bigger than the Queen Mary and constantly pulls out of contests. The opposition are aware of his weaknesses and his form reflects that (except for a few moments when he finds some space and Davey makes him look good). The rest of the selections speak for themselves and 6 draft choices should be sufficient. No point in taking selection 66 in what is considered a shallow draft. In fact even 50 may not be worth taking but rather promote a rookie.

You can't drop McLean. Whilst his form has been average he doesn't warrant getting dropped. He gives us toughness around the ball and that will be an asset against a much smaller Essendon midfield. PJ shouldn't go either. His best is very good and his worst is very bad. Agree his skill errors are killing us but he gets the ball more than most ruckman and he will improve. His size will worry Ryder as well. Three changes: In: Bennell, Jurrah & Miller and Out: Bell, Bate and Maric. I actually think JMac should be dropped instead of Maric but he is the captain afterall! Perhaps his "knee" may play up again and he can miss out through injury rather than suffer the embarrassment of being dropped.

This kid will make it don't worry about that. It has been tough for him and a little unfair. He has played less than 20 games and has already played at full back, centre half back, full forward and ruck. He is a late starter to the game and it would have been in his best interests to put him in a position and leave him there as he learns the game and gets his "footy brain" into gear. Unfortunately circumstances have not allowed that to happen. But he will be back and definitely will be part of our future plans.

Every coach analyses their players stats and their opposition stats each week so clearly they think they are important. I agree that stats on an individual kick or handball may be misleading or irrelevant. However, over the course of a game and a season the stats will sort themselves out and the "swings and roundabouts" principle will come into play.

Oh what a shame! Then we may have a problem. Thanks for the update Rhino.