Ash35

Essendon only have an extra 5 days and have to travel (admittedly only to Adelaide). Still much prefer that than bloody Collingwood having a whole weekend to themselves again.

Yeah true. Still, I'm sure the likes of James Hird and a couple of our older blokes would be thankful for the extra 5 days break.

watched the dons v west coast and sydney in the last 2 weeks and it will be a bloody hard game, if we have rivs back we are a decent chance

And designate someone to man up Dustin Fletcher. He is in career best form. You can't let him play loose.

Can't wait for the Davey show. Aaron and Alwyn on the same field together. Should be exciting.

Do you guys think it is unfair that Essendon play this week, and Melb the second week of the split round, thus giving us 2 weeks off compared to your 7 day break? Or is 7 days enough no matter how long the opposition has had.

Kreuzer - Big, agile ruckman who can go forward. Considered by many to be the best ruckman for many years.

I know very little about it, but I reckon that's what the experts said about Leuenberger last year.

I may be in the minority, but as always my views ae 100% right

Yeah man, you're right.

Sack BB now and get someone else in. I hear the St Kilda fitness bloke will be available at the end of the year.

Richo is an easy target because of the way he carries on when things don't go his/Richmonds way but......I was at Richmond v Essendon at the G last year when Richo went off his head and kicked 12 goals (I think) and took around 20 marks and set up at least 4 other goals, I thought James Hird was the best player I had ever seen until that game, Richo was simply AWESOME. His commitment to the club can't be questioned especially when he played last week with a fractured eye socket, we could only hope for team men like him.

Yeah he was good that night, although it was closer to 9 goals and 18 marks, but he killed us. That was the night Kepler Bradley played on him all night. Hmmmm...........

Anyway, Richo is a star. Has consistently carried his teammates in a terribly performed team. Imagine how crap the tigers would be if he wasn't playing for them. He has won alot of games for them. His performance the other night, even to just play, was very inspirational.

I, like most here, love the fact that Buckley has missed the premiership boat. But love him or hate him, he is a champion player and deserves to be on the list of champions who won't play in a premiership.

Chances are that not only Neitz, but :

Chris Grant

Robert Harvey

Nathan Buckley

Shane Crawford

Matthew Richardson

Scott West

.....will never play in a premiership team.

That's on top of the likes of Bob Skilton, Robert Flower, Gary Ablett, Tony Lockett, Jim Stynes, Gary Lyon etc

I almost blew my top when I stood up for 10 seconds to put my jumper on and some guy behind me told me to hurry up sit down.

Would it have anything to do with the fact that it was a Kangaroos jumper you were putting on?

It's pretty obvious that Y-M just says dumb things to make a name for himself.

Good luck to him, I've stopped taking anything he says seriously long ago.

I'm very surprised they didn't go to the tribunal.

Wayne Carey mentioned something last night along the lines that Kerr is a bit sore and might need a couple of weeks off, but I doubt that is the reason behind them taking the two weeks.

Daniher said McLean pulled up sore last friday at training, and was probably never going to play against WCE.

By the sounds of it, he is probably 50/50 to play this week.

Yeah, 2 weeks with an early plea. They'll fight that at the tribunal, no doubt.

Even a reprimand though will mean he can't win the Brownlow.

Plese ignore this thread

What the [censored] was I thinking

Wow, you got this one wrong.

What a surprise.

Be careful with your Kangaroos prediction this week, you don't want your 90% accuracy strike rate to drop.

Both will struggle in finals pressure football.

Quite possibily.

Aaron has at least played finals, it will be a couple of years before Alwyn gets a chance.

While I fully understand all the comparisons due to how similar the brothers are in skills and appearance, at this stage it is a waste of time even thinking about it.

Aaron Davey has played 72 games, Alwyn has played 8. Anyone who says Alwyn will be better is just guessing. But to say Aaron will always be streets ahead of him is also speculative.

The one thing I have noticed though is that Alwyns tackles seem to stick more than Aarons do.

There's a huge difference.

Agreed. And I think that's where Melbourne and St Kilda have been hardest hit, to their key players.

If we assume St Kildas top 5 are : Riewoldt, Hayes, Ball, Hudghton & Dal Santo.

Riewoldt 5/7

Hayes 5/7

Ball 5/7

Hudghton 1/7

Dal Santo 7/7

Total 23/35

You could add Maguire at 1/7 and Hamil at 0/7.

I acknowledge he is a good coach and I also understand that part of my attitude towards him are because of a couple of incedents that he's been involved in, and these are:

- The throat slicing gesture. Completely unprofessional.

- His stance towards the MFC wanting to add a player to our list after Troy died and then seeing him publicly campaign for Rama's rookie listing, complete hypocrisy

- His comments re: flooding. Sheedy was one of the first coaches to use the tactics, examples of this was his tactics against Allen Jakovich

Needless to say I have a very poor opinion of him, I think he is a hypocrite, but I have to agree with you he is one of the top coaches.

- throat slashing : I think he did this to show his players that he was right there with them. But I don't know for sure. He probably didn't need to do it, but in the heat of battle, emotions running high, one of his players put down behind play etc etc. He paid for it with a heavy fine.

- Can't remember exactly what he said re Troy. I thought it was along the lines of Troy should be replaced with a mature aged player instead of a rookie, or vice versa. Not sure. Look obviously coaches are going to look out for their clubs best interests. And in doing this, they tend to get hypocritical, this is nothing new. He wasn't the first, and won't be the last. But I can understand how this gets to you when your club and Troy were involved.

- Well, it didn't work did it. Jakovich used to kick bags against us. Back then, flooding wasn't a massive issue. I think now, Sheedy recognises the threat that sports like Soccer and Basketball pose to AFL football, and wants to keep the game attractive. That may be whats behind his anti flooding comments.

I understand your anti Sheedy attitude. He isn't Mr Popular with every footy fan around the country. I suppose from my point of view, I love the guy. I have good friends who barrack for the Bulldogs and Geelong. I work with a mad keen Richmond supporter who bearly remembers 1980. My wife and her family are fanatical Melbourne supporters. I'm sure there are St Kilda supporters I know as well. I'm 32 years old, and I've been lucky enough to see 4 premierships, thanks mainly to K.Sheedy. So yeah, I love the guy.

Malthouse is an interesting one, at the Eagles he virtually had a state team, they were that good. But at Collingwood I think he managed to get an avearge side playing good, consistent football.

I think Malthouse has done an excellent job at Collingwood. No one thought they would play in 2002 Grand Final. They lost a close one, and everyone just assumed they'd had their shot at it, and would slip away quietly. But buggar me, they pop up in the 2003 Grand Final. They have a couple of lean years, perhaps partly due to injuries, then finish 5th in 2006 with 14 wins. They lose to the Bulldogs by 7 goals, and again everyone thinks they will slip back but Malthouse has them looking good for finals again this year.

I actually don't think he gets enough credit for their performances with the list he has. Perhaps I underestimate Collingwoods list. But if I had a choice between Melbournes list and Collingwoods, I'd take the Demons.

But what he does have at Collingwood is finance and facilities. The Lexus center is amazing, and if he needs something, he gets it. What would Danihers record look like if he the facilities at his disposal that Malthouse or Sheedy have? Not that it's their fault they are fortunate enough to coach these clubs, but it would be an interesting scenario to put ND in their shoes.

The Unavailability ladder they have in that article [below], obviously is all about quantity, not quality.

Unavailability ladder after seven rounds:

1 – Port Adelaide – (27 absences)

2 – Carlton (38)

3 – Kangaroos (39)

Equal 4 – Sydney (43)

Equal 4 – Western Bulldogs (43)

6 – Geelong (50)

7 – Fremantle (52)

8 – West Coast (54)

9 – Essendon (59)

Equal 10 – Collingwood (61)

Equal 10 – Melbourne (61)

12 – St Kilda (62)

13 – Richmond (64)

14 – Hawthorn (66)

15 – Brisbane Lions (81)

16 – Adelaide (90)

St Kilda is the club that interests me. Not only do they have lots of injuries, but injuries to key players. Hughton, Hayes, Maguire, Hamil, Raph Clarke, Thompson, Sam Fisher, Ball, Gardiner and now Goddard have all missed games so far this season, yet they keep producing good performances.

The issue is that I believe he will never risk his reputation that he has built during his time at Essendon by coaching a poor club like Melbourne, the Bulldogs or the Kangaroos. He won't go to one of these clubs because of financial reasons, both personal salary package and the restrictions that would be inforced on him with his coaching staff.

Are you sure you aren't Robert Walls?

I see where you are coming from, but I don't think that should count against Sheedy. He has never coached a "poor" club cos he has always been good enough to stay at Essendon, which largely due to him, is not a "poor" club.

OK, I'll take what your saying as fact, that Sheeds has no interest in coaching one of the lesser financed clubs. What do you think he will do if he and Essendon part ways at seasons end?

I doubt he'll coach interstate. Collingwood don't need coach. Carlton are just getting back on it's feet, they can't afford him. He won't go to Richmond while Greg Miller is there. But he has said he's like to continue coaching. Perhaps he'll have no alternative but challenge himself and see how the other half lives.

PS : Where does Malthouse come into this discussion. Apart from his early stint in the mid 80's at the Bulldogs, he seems to have steered clear of the poorer clubs. Yet he also is a successful coach. Perhaps it's not so much the coach, but the financial status of the clubs that dictates success.

What about Gary O'Donnell, he has coached under both Matthews and Sheedy. In your opinion Ash would he be a good choice?

Being an assistant to those two reads very well on O'Donnells CV, but I get the feeling he might struggle as head coach. Mark Harvey comes across as a stronger candidate, as does John Longmire. Not that I know any of these blokes that well, it's just the impression I get.

Your other point is a good one about whether to sign Daniher again, and I think the club is making the right kind of noises in that regard. I'm sure Melbourne will wait to the end of the season, assess in it's entirety where the team and Daniher is at, and then make a decision. The season might be over the Melbourne [well finals are], but every game and every decision is vital for the future of Neale Daniher.

Hit a nerve Ash?

No, not at all.

Both Sheedy and Matthews, in my opinion, are tremendous coaches who both have great records. Both have coached four premiership and played in several in their playing days. Both know what it takes to win a flag. I was just merely putting forward the point of view that Sheedy hasn't always had it so easy at Essendon, and Matthews hasn't always had it tough in his coaching career.

Brisbane a shambles on the field when Matthews took over?

1995 - Played finals, lost a close Elimination final to eventual Premier Carlton.

1996 - Again played finals, this time reaching the Preliminary final.

1997 - Finals yet again, losing to eventual runners up St Kilda.

1998 - Injuries hit hard, finish 16th. Most observers recognise that injuries are the cause, and Brisbane is a better team than the wooden spoon suggests.

1999 - Matthews takes over, make another Preliminary final.

Hardly a shambles.

I've had this sort of discussion with stacks of people who don't rate Sheedy. Only 4 flags in 26 years? What other Victorian club matches that? Carlton, Hawthorn and who? In fact Collingwood and the Kangaroos are the only other Victorian clubs to win a flag in that period. Even if you draw a line through the VFL stuff, and only count the two flags he's won since the competition truely became national [let's say 1991, when the Crows came in], that's two flags in 16 years. Show me a Victorian club that can be guaranted to win 2 premierships in the next 16 years.

Agreed, Matthews is a super coach, but since I can't see Matthews leaving Brisbane any time soon, Melbourne could do alot worse than Kevin Sheedy as coach.

He has more to lose by taking a chance with a poor club, which is the reason why I rate guys like Matthews higher, they were prepared to go to an unsuccessful club and putting everything on the line.

Is that the Leigh Matthews who coached the "poor" Collingwood Football Club, or the Leigh Matthews who coached the struggling "$600,000 extra in the salary cap" Brisbane Lions?

When Sheedy took over at Essendon in 1981, we were a shambles, with terrible facilities and no money. He is the main reason, along with some excellent administration, we have developed into the club he currently coaches. We hadn't won a flag since 1965, Sheeds took over in 1981, played finals in 81 & 82, we were in the grand final in 1983 and won back to back premierships in 1984-85.

wonder what ASH would make of this?? lol

Sheedy might not have a say in what happens, but I get the feeling he is pretty excited with the batch of young players we have at the moment. I for one, would like to see what he can do with them in the next couple of years. So that would be a no from me, but as I said, it's not up to me or Sheeds.

If Essendon do decide to change coaches, Sheedy would be a great acquisition for any club, especially a club like Melbourne. Surely a bit of Sheedy hype would boost your membership over 30,000.

I actually thought Melbourne would go alright this week, but you make so many valid points. You've convinced me. I think you might be on the money this week Y_M.

Although West Coast don't tend to smash teams too often by massive margins.

The feeling around town is that the winless Demons could pull off a big upset over in the West.

Which town is that exactly?