btdemon

With JT out I think NevJet is the next best alternative around packs. Trengove has been doing so much work in close and really is looking like he will be our Jimmy Bartel. He quietly goes about doing the right things and in the most honest way. Jetta doesn't have his skill or class but he does have that willingness for the contest. I'm glad he has come in as a possible inside stoppage player for the next couple of weeks, or at least until JT and Jordie are back. I like Jetta's grunt. If you read the new article on the club website it seems that the FD do too.

As much as I don't want to see Trengove suspended, I don't think the MRP had much alternative than to acknowledge the injury to Pat Pangerfield. The type of tackling where players arms or hands are pinned and they are defenceless, is very dangerous and needs to be looked at closely. Think about that incident when Guerra pinned Bruce's arms and rammed him into the ground. It ruined a season that had begun brilliantly for Bruce and probably destroyed any appetite that he did have for the contest in the future. Remember how we bayed for Guerra's blood. The fact is, chicken wing tackles are going to result in a tragedy and the AFL needs to get fair dinkum in addressing it. It has become clear that a great emphasis had been placed on tackling pressure and technique during the week. I do think Trengove has been really stiff and I loved the way he played on Sunday. He was doing exactly what he was told to do. That technique has been taught. He made every tackle stick and worked his butt off. At the game you could see that he wanted the Adelaide players to really know they had been tackled. He is a gem. Unfortunately, I don't think we have a hope in hell as far as winning the appeal is concerned. The AFL cannot afford to backflip. Unless our legal team can produce some very clever evidence it seems like a the MRP's ruling will stick.

Adam would have dominated in that position because he wouldn't have had an opponent. He was the only man on earth. Unless he lined up against Eve. I'm not sure who would have won that one.....haven't seen the players stats on either of them. On past history she would probably outsmarted him.

In the words of the great Chester Burnett (AKA Howlin' Wolf).... "I aint superstitious, but a black cat crossed my trail".

Just replaced Jamar with Goldstein in my DT. Is that wrong?

If ever there was a game where Dee supporters needed to show up, that was it. Under 20,000 was embarrassing and we wonder why Melbourne supporters are the butt of everyone's jokes. All those people who spat the dummy and stayed home should be ashamed.

I'll be going on Sunday because I want this club to survive, succeed and flourish. The love of football and a football team is built on hope and promise. The emotional roller coaster is part of it. There will always be drama. Yes I would like the Dees to be a consistently great team but the fact is, they are not at the moment. I, like every other Dees supporter, was gutted and deflated after the Weagles game. It seemed like the worst performance in the last three years because we now have the players with potential. I am still not convinced that Bailey is no good. I've seen enough to think that he may know what he is doing. He still has the remainder of the year to establish his credentials. This Sunday is important. The most important game in Bailey's coaching tenure to date. It is even more important to the club and those players who performed poorly last week. I don't subscribe to the idea that the recruiters have got it all wrong and all of our draft choices have been second rate. I do still think that Morton is soft and we could have done better but I've seen enough of the rest to think that we have a potentially great list. So this next week begins the rest of the season and the future (a statement of the bleedin' obvious, I know). Its the opportunity for people like Davey, who we know is brilliant, to overcome his recent tagging problems. for Frawley to find some confidence, for Watts to continue that kind of angry demeanour that saw him go harder last week, for Jurrah to chase harder, for Moloney to recapture the great form he has showed, for Grimes to begin to take them on again etc.etc.etc. Do we really think that these players are no good? I certainly don't. I will be there hoping like hell that they can play with skill, passion and team cohesion and that we will begin to trend upwards again.

Rubbish! He is a professional and passionate footballer that would take great pride in his performance. Footballers generally don't play at that level for money. They play because its their major source of expression and joy. While they negotiate the highest paycheque possible once that is done I'm sure they don't spend much time thinking about it. Davey may not be playing well atm, (not Robinson Crusoe here), but he would be doing everything possible to rectify this.

Unfortunately Tappy may be the first out. Aside from that Morton HAS TO GO!

I joined this forum about four years ago because I felt so pssed off. Everyone at the club says things are different but it feels just the same. I'm so sick of players who think they're better than they are. I don't want to mention names 'cos I'm sick of it but we have so many selfish player who only play well when we're in front. SELFISH OPPORTUNISTS!!!!!

Too many people at Melbourne who are too happy with themselves. from Connolly and Schwab down.

Does this mean Kill Morton Now!

It was John Kennedy. But you're right.

In fact, in relation to Morton,,, TRADE THE WEAK [censored]!!!!! (my karma will be really shot now)

I was going to say that Morton makes Watts look like a hard arse. In fact Watts has been in our best, with Garland, Jamar and Trengove. Watts will only get better, Morton is always going to be the new Cameron Bruce. I feel very cross at the moment and will probably regret my very negative sentiments. Its not very Zen at all. I'M JUST SO SICK OF THESE PATHETIC STARTS. WE ALWAYS DO THIS INTERSTATE. ARE WE MENTALLY PATHETIC??

Lift your heads you weak pricks

I'll say it again. Morton is the softest [censored] ever to play for the Dees in my memory.

I'm so fkn over this sort of sht!!!!!!!!!!! Pss Weak!!!!!!!!! AAAAAGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [censored] ME!! Morton is the biggest soft [censored] to ever play for Melbourne!

I agree. It was the big mids, Sewell, Mitchell, Lewis etc. that really killed us during the third quarter. I was always worried about going into that game without Mckenzie and Scully. Gysberts hadn't played yet and I saw us as not having the inside 'extractors'.

On the same topic, Moloney, Sylvia and Jones are all employing 'tackle busting' techniques. This was very evident against GCS, where the opposition didn't have either the strength or the tackling technique to stop them. i was a little concerned about this as I thought that playing against 'boys' might give these players a false sense of their ability. But after Watching Hawthorn v Geelong yesterday I noticed the same tactic being used constantly. Brisbane at their peak used to do it to perfection. Stand up in the tackle, get the ball up in the air and handpass it off. It seems to be coming back this year, maybe because players are so loathed to go to ground now. You need a big strong body and the ability to keep your arms from being pinned. ATM we have three mids with the strength to do it. Tapscott certainly has also and Trengove will be their in a couple of years. This midfield grunt and intimidation is what made Brisbane, and later Geelong, so difficult to stop. McKenzie, Scully and Gysberts are more 'extractors' of the ball. Quick brains and hands combined with that 'ball hunting' habit. The big-bodied mid will never go out of fashion providing they are not too slow. PS. Evans might be one to look at in the next year or so.

Damn straight!

A couple of years ago I posted on here say how frustrating I found Brent Moloney's game. He was predictable and one dimensional, easy for opposition players to read and had one trick - barge through, hold on to the ball too long and bomb long into the forward line with a floater. This was because he didn't kick through the ball. It was inaccurate and easy to spoil. Things seemed to have changed. He is still bullocking his way out of stoppages but now with great effect. He seems to have a much wider range of options once he is clear. His disposal by hand has been really smart and usually put to the team's advantage and his awareness has broadened considerably. The short accurate pass inside the 50 was rare but now we see this regularly. The long bomb is still there, but he seems to be using it better. His shots on goal from stoppages have been brilliant. He still occasionally comes unstuck when trying to bullock out of trouble deep in the backline but this is less usual. I know he constantly struggled with soft tissue problems and has now had a more consistent run of games but I wonder whether his substantial improvement is more due to the tuition of Scotty West? Quite possibly, I suspect. Especially when you consider the way West played. As a result, Moloney has become our most important midfielder. This is reflected in his standing in most of the media awards. Very timely considering the absence of McKenzie and Scully. I would also contend that Nathan Jones's game has improved considerably in a similar vein. He seems to have found a yard of pace and is making generally much better decisions and topping it off with good disposal. Whaddya reckon?

I was talking to a long time Geelong supporter today (we often discuss football in depth). He was saying that he was confident that Geelong would be in the top four because although they have lost Ablett they still have great depth. More important than that, it was his view that Geelong had proved themselves very good at working out how to win games as they unfolded. That they could work out amongst themselves how to combat the oppositon tactics. The Geelong players certainly had confidence in each other that they could do this. They have a combination of smart players who have a had great deal of pressure game experience together. It will take time for the Dees to develop this. That's assuming that we have the players with the skill, brains and temperament to do so. When I look at Scully, Trengove, Frawley, McKenzie, Gysberts, Grimes, Tapscott and co, I suspect we might. I don't expect too much this year, maybe 11th-7th. Bailey can't be judged yet and if people continually build the noise and speculation around his performance we my well destablize the football dept. and derail the progress.

Weagles worry me. I think they have some elements that we will struggle to cover. Cox and NikNat for two. At least Le Cras won't be there. He has carved us up recently.

Petterd must come in. He should never have been dropped. I don't know who goes out but Morton still needs to find some touch. He has the selfishness of Cam Bruce when shooting for goal and some of his flaccid kicking drives me insane. I do recognise that he has great potential and is can be a ball magnet when he is on.