Pre Season SnapShot - Melbourne

[HTM]

MELBOURNE

Medical room: Ricky Petterd continues to make steady progress in his comeback from a shoulder operation. He was being closely considered for October's match against the Brisbane Lions in China before the medical staff chose the more conservative path. Neville Jetta, Joel Macdonald and Stefan Martin have all battled with hip problems but like Petterd, they are back in full training.

Who's burning: Tom Scully has only been in the AFL system for little over 12 months but his work ethic has already become the stuff of legend. Nathan Jones suffered a heavy back injury in the last game of the season but has bounced back as strong as ever. He and Scully have been leading the way at all the time trials with Jones setting a near-record pace in the two kilometre run. Jamie Bennell's fitness has improved significantly from past pre-seasons while Colin Garland is another to take his running to a new level.

Draftee watch: This time last year Daniel Nicholson was watching VAFA club University Blues go through their paces while he sat on the sidelines wearing his St Patrick's Ballarat jumper. "A bloke from Uni Blues had played for St Pat's and told him he was welcome to have a kick with the team. He ended up having such a good season there that he ended up with a spot on our rookie list," assistant coach Josh Mahoney said. "He's adjusted well to the system because he's 20 years old and has a more mature body than most draftees."

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/106476/default.aspx

[Junktimer]

Dees on my radar:
Green
Sylvia

[MTTY]

The ones on my radar are-

Grimes
Sylvia
McDonald
Scully- Hes ripping it up in training, and i reckon Davey, Grimes and a few more will cop the tag before him, probably wont pick him but if he rips it up in nab will come under consideration

[Junktimer]

as a dees man do you really see McDonald getting games?

Jamar, Campbell, Fitzpatrick, Spencer and Gawn seem to all be ahead of him, correct me if I'm wrong?

[MTTY]

as a dees man do you really see McDonald getting games?

Jamar, Campbell, Fitzpatrick, Spencer and Gawn seem to all be ahead of him, correct me if I'm wrong?

i reckon he will be mainly as a forward

[Junktimer]

ok, what about Jurrah, Watts, Cook?

sorry if i appear like I'm busting your chops, but I just want answers.

[MTTY]

ok, what about Jurrah, Watts, Cook?

sorry if i appear like I'm busting your chops, but I just want answers.

i reckon Bails will do what he did with Watts to Cook debut him late in the season get him to find his form before he makes his AFL debut and play McDonald as a pinch hitter


Wonaeamirri  Jurrah  Bate
Watts  Green  Petterd

Bench forward- McDonald

[MajorLazer]

I'm looking at Green and maybe Robbie Campbell.

[nas]

Petterd & MacDonald for me

[Barlow 21]

Green and Grimes are the only real standouts I feel.

[Maca24]

green, grimes, jurrah, tapscott.

[Fletch74]

Grimes, Gysberts, and Tapscott for me this year.

[Gooner]

As a dees fan, I may be looking at the team with rose tinted glasses, but I think the dees are set for a big year this year.  I tipped them to finish 12th last year, which ended up being correct.  I think they're a more talented side than Freo, particularly in the mids, and could replicate the year that Freo had last year.

I think players to watch are:

Rookies:
Blease, Tapscott, Gawn, Spencer, Campbell, Fitzpatrick

Midpricers:
Gysberts, Morton, Pettard, Scully,

Premiums:
Grimes, Green, Frawley, Sylvia

[ossie85]

Frawley, while a Premium in real life, is most definately not a premium in SC :)

KPB... no thank ye

[Gooner]

Frawley, while a Premium in real life, is most definately not a premium in SC :)

KPB... no thank ye

Don't be surprised to see him average 90 this year.  It's a risk, but you're picking a guy who improved his average by 17 points last year and could win All-Australian selection this year.  With Warnock and Garland in the team and Bruce leaving for Hawthorn, he could get a fair bit of run off half-back.

He's a bit of a gamble and a unique pick, but he's not to be discounted.