Earl Hood

Another Trengove scenario? Young player loses speed and is left with not enough weapons at AFL level; he is not big or an inside ball magnet and there is a knock on his skills with the ball as well, in that they are not absolute silk. Not sure about how hips effect speed? Can he get it back?

Scott Morrison is an abomination! Now we are condoning torture, anything to keep the boat people at bay. Has anyone told Scott to have a look at the airports? That is where everybody is coming in, that is if you are worried about a so called foreign invasion.

NB we got done for thinking about it as I remember. We didn't do anything on game day, no it was that Bails had bad thoughts and didn't choose the best side for game day. Look you best talk to Gillion Mc for the full story, he had to deliver the verdict at the time. And he was less than convincing.

When I read the VFL review I think there is not a lot thereto work with. How many seasons are needed to tell some players to work on their defensive side? Is it really that hard? From Allison's reports it seems to be a real issue. it is hard for me because I was a battling, defensive type player at Metro level, few skills but could usually shut a more talented player down. Cannot see why it takes so long to instill in some players the need to run both ways. That is the modern way.

Yes those holiday photos with his family that the prosecution put forward were pretty daming after all! Really what is going on?The President says he will not be putting forward pardons because he does not want to interfere with the independent judiciary. Well really I think he may have already been in the judge's ear. The judgements show that. The verdicts are absurd. Give us a break. Egypt is going nowhere fast.

But the truth is we have a 100% loss rate on free agency. As long as we get compensated I can live with FA but in the long run we need to become a club where players want to stay. if we are to survive, we need to combat moves where compensation will cease if for the only reason that someone like Eddie will decide it needs to be.

I watched Plough Wallace do some analysis on the TAC show on Ch 9 on Sunday. He looked at the success rate of the top 10 draft picks from 10 drafts between 2001 and 2010. He rated the picks as pass, fail, question mark? Of the 10 number 1 picks everyone passed except Kreuser, Watts and Scully of whom he said the jury is still out. Probably a fair call at this stage. I gathered his pass mark is that the player is a good consistent AFL player, not necessarily the best player from that draft. Thus Delidio is a pass at number 1 although he was not the best player in that 2004 draft. Needless to say his analysis showed that 2001, 2004 and 2006 were great drafts. As we know 2003 was the worst! There is luck involved in all this draft business. But interestingly to me, he then categorised the 100 top draftees into inside mids, outside mid/flankers, rucks and key position players. The success rate he reported was a whooping 85% for genuine top 10 inside mids. For rucks it drops to 30%, for key position players I think it was 34% and for outsiders again it was 30 or 34% I think. I can't vouch for the rigour behind Plough's analysis but it rings true to me. A top 10 inside mid is likely to have certain attributes in addition to underage talent, that is a strong body, aggression and leadership skills as they have probably captained sides in under age. No guarantee of success but the odds are in your favour. Outside mids, flankers at top 10 will be very talented athletically but of lighter build and maybe not suited to intense physical pressure perhaps, on average. If you ignore them you run the risk of missing some of the elite indigenous players like Cyril Rioli and others. But it depends where your list is at the time of each draft. I believe the Hawks could afford the risks involved in choosing Rioli but at that stage MFC could not, even if we thought he was a potential star. Our need wasn't for a small forward,but if we had known, oh well! And many have argued here that you don't burn early picks on ruckman and even key position players as there is equivalent talent later in the draft from those who mature later and some young boy-men have dominated underage just because of their size and stall when they get to seniors etc. So to sum up, if we play the odds we should be chasing an inside mid for our first pick and I wonder where we would be if we had been playing those odds since the 2007 draft?

Fair call BB but Doull was a class act as my local Newsagent. I also had triple premiership Carlton centre man Ian Robertson as my local newsagent in Box Hill South when I was a kid but he could not hold a candle to Doully when it came to flogging the daily Hun or the Rage. They were both pretty handy footballers though.

Big call BB Doull not having class? I will take whatever he had, however you define it. I say he was an extraordinary footballer and he was my local newsagent for a while as well. Never said much though.

Yes I agree. To simplify the complexities discussed here I think one or two classy half backs who can get the ball, break the lines and kick (think Birchell, Yarran, Stratten) would do wonders. Add another big bodied ball magnet in the middle and a fit Hogan up forward and things would start to really happen. Plus of course continued development of everyone under Roos and co for another two seasons to build fitness and the ability to run both ways for 120 minutes. Then maybe we start to really compete with the big boys.

What I saw of Watts today he is no way perfect, especially in defence but in offence he is a revelation on what I saw. In a great side he would be the icing. Today he did some great manoeuvres to get the ball to a forward. At least Jack is on the up.

Can't backman be taught to kick accurately over 20 or 30 metres, I don't get it. Some have it naturally but surely you can practice this. But yes there were some howlers today but often not under any pressure, that is what I find inexplicable at times.

N Jones, not a good game but is not his wife due tomorrow, he may not have his mind focused? That is my take. Salem a week off. Maybe Tyson a break as well, but not to Casey. Maybe Viney to sub? Need to freshen up some kids. Remember Garland had no preseason and he tried hard today I thought. In the end we didn't play o our own game plan but maybe that was because Bernie was having a blinder in the first half? And special mention to Jack Watts who as we all know could always seem to do more but some of his stuff today was top shelf, setting up plays, holding the ball until there was an option, but yes there was the odd missed opportunity in there as well, but that is Jack.

Jamar smashed?? 41 hit outs, a great mark that set up a goal, I think three centre clearances. Yes he can do better but smashed? Jetta battled on, N Jones was off today and that had an impact on our performance. We were over run by numbers, North had heaps of running players inside and outside. We often had inside numbers but no one on the outside to receive, carry and deliver at speed to a forward. That is a why our boys need to learn but we do need more genuine runners. Yes I believe Salem, maybe even Tyson need a break but it is general soreness and a week off. Not Casey where no one is gaining any confidence. They are a rabble on yesterday's effort.

And I counted three throws out of packs to Norfs advantage, two resulted in goals. I must watch the replay to confirm I suppose but really at the time your first impression was the player could not have had two hands free to get such a crisp ball out to a receiver on the run.

But why did we make that pick? If anyone knew Wines' attributes and potential it was Todd Viney yet he let him slip by and add to that the need factor at the time as Roos has since verified, genuine midfielders and more midfielders, please.

Great thanks Compton, that narrows down the options.

Ditto I love this guy, he really wants to be as good ad he can but has had to battle injury every year. Not the most gifted but very determined to be his best. That is all we can ask.

I am back out there in Collingwood, but what does Scarlett J look like?

Special mention to Neville great game and to Kent took it on in the second half. Great to see some of our lesser players turn it on when the pressure was on.

Reckon it was my day to day. Go to the Gee watch our worst first halves of footy since last year but somehow the Bombers keep us in it, missing sitters left, right and centre. I had all but given up hope wondering wherebthis list is at. Then against all odds we somehow snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Amazing stuff. I then walk home down Smith Street Collingwood, no pies supporters to be seen, strangely enough; several people stop to congratulate the MFC on our win, I stop to buy a bottle of red to celebrate and high five two fellow Demon supporters in the bottle shop then walk on past two people who asked me for money but I have the radio on and pretend not to understand ( yes I am a tight arse but I see these people everyday) but 100 metres down the road outside the Smith Street supermarket I see two ten dollar notes on the footpath. I pick them up and look around but there is no one to give it too! and I would have if there was a beggar around. I give up it is just my day, the planets are aligned! Go Dees.

I wonder why?

Like it myself but I think there is a knock on the ground for its lack of size and shape as compared to the MFC. I think that is the Saints complaint. In the past I am not sure it helped us when we won 3 flags in a row down there.

I will take three or four star mids if we could do it. And let's face it we should have with our draft picks between 2007 and now. But anyway let's move on.

Must admit I would be happy if we realigned with a club closer to the city somehow but not sure how. How about Port? I would at least get to some games. I won't go to Casey, not because it is so far away but really because it is a shocker of a ground for viewing a match, parking a car and if it is not raining, then a gale is blowing. Never seen a good match of footy there myself out of the 5 or 6 I have been to. However if our original strategy is working, that we would become the prominent AFL club in a major growth area that would help our membership, then I am happy to stay with it. Does anyone know if we are making in roads into that growth area as the team to follow?