David Rodan joins Melbourne

[Purple 77]

Moloneys' departure is nothing. He was a sub because he sucked. Can't say that is a big out when he doesn't perform. Same said with green.

Rivers is really the only departure that hurts the demons. Gysberts, sure I would have prefered to keep him, but again, his departure impact is minimal. Stef Martin I thought was a big out, but with dawes and pederson, his departure is also now minimal.

Rodan, yeah fine, maybe not the best, but what did he cost us? Pick 88, which turned out to be Morton. so basically nothing. So why not?

Which brings me to this point.....

THE HEAVENS HAVE ANSWERED OUR PRAYERS AND MORTON IS GONE!!! WOOOHHHHHOOOOOOOOO!

Dawes is FAR from bad. He was only made out to be bad coz he was playing ruck! Worst CHF going around? Seriously? I'd take Dawes over sooooo many forwards. When he was just a pure forward, he was a great player. Obviously good enought to play in a premiership team.

Byrnes also cost us nothing, well, actually you could argue that, with the compensation picks, but sill, why not?

teams need experience, that is what melb have provided. nothing special, just the core of any team, experience.

Viney, Hogan and Barry provide SOME long term excitement as well, so really, Melbourne have won heaps in this trade period.

The only note-worthy outs were Rivers and Gysberts IMO

[PowerBug]

Dawes is FAR from bad. He was only made out to be bad coz he was playing ruck! Worst CHF going around? Seriously? I'd take Dawes over sooooo many forwards. When he was just a pure forward, he was a great player. Obviously good enought to play in a premiership team.

Agree with you here, Dawes is undervalued.


To the Dees fans, where does Pedersen sit in the best 22? And what will be your forward line setup? :)


SS.

[Barra17]

I reckon he will pretty much be lining up round 1 to be honest.

[quinny88]

12 months ago Moloney was your best midfielder and one of the best clearance players in the game. You would have all been raving and ranting about what a gun he is and now you pretend like you never liked him and he's alwasy been a dud. He became a dud when Neeld's game plan that won you 4 games for the year didnt suit him as a player and he was used as a sub and dropped frequently.

Swapping Gysberts baffles me because when he does play he has shown great signs of being a ball magnet. He's 21 and a high draft pick. Pedersen is 26 and played 2 games in 2011 injury free.

Rodan pick isnt a bad one but he's just going to keep a kid out of the side as well as Byrnes. They arent that good that they are worth taking 2 young developing players spots.

Dawes was never playing in the ruck.. I dont know why people say that?? He did some pinch hitting in the ruck when Jolly was resting. Maybe 10% of the game. Thats not an excuse for playing rubbish all year. Dawes has had one good year in his career and it was 2010 when Collingwood were on a hot streak. They all looked like stars that year. He wont be getting that delivery from the Melbourne mids I can assure you.

It has been said by a lot of Melbourne supporters that Melbourne are trading like they are in a premiership window.
Neelds trying to save his own ass im afraid

[PowerBug]

I would say that Neeld believes that they need someone like Pedersen over someone like Gysberts. Having guys like Couch, Magner, Jones, Blease, McKenzie all running through there maybe he feels that Gysberts was the expendable one. There must be a reason for it. ;)

Dawes was never playing in the ruck.. I dont know why people say that?? He did some pinch hitting in the ruck when Jolly was resting. Maybe 10% of the game. Thats not an excuse for playing rubbish all year. Dawes has had one good year in his career and it was 2010 when Collingwood were on a hot streak. They all looked like stars that year. He wont be getting that delivery from the Melbourne mids I can assure you.

Sorry mate, i'm going to disagree with you here. In 2010 Dawes was a key forward, and Leigh Brown was the 2nd ruck. This year, with no Leigh Brown, Dawes was the 2nd ruck. Yes you are correct when you say when Jolly was resting, but I'm confident that Jolly didn't spend 90% of the time on the field, and even if he did, it wouldn't all be in the ruck. :)

12 months ago Moloney was your best midfielder and one of the best clearance players in the game. You would have all been raving and ranting about what a gun he is and now you pretend like you never liked him and he's alwasy been a dud. He became a dud when Neeld's game plan that won you 4 games for the year didnt suit him as a player and he was used as a sub and dropped frequently.

Moloney relied alot on Jamar in 2011, he gave them alot. That didn't happen in 2012 unfortunately. Moloney left as a free-agent anyway right, maybe Melbourne figured that he wasn't worth the money put to him. :\


Each to their own though I guess, everyone's allowed an opinion. :)

[Ziplock]

pedo was recruited to fill rivers spot.

[PowerBug]

pedo was recruited to fill rivers spot.

*facepalm* How silly of me. :-[

[Demon_131]

12 months ago Moloney was your best midfielder and one of the best clearance players in the game. You would have all been raving and ranting about what a gun he is and now you pretend like you never liked him and he's alwasy been a dud. He became a dud when Neeld's game plan that won you 4 games for the year didnt suit him as a player and he was used as a sub and dropped frequently.

Swapping Gysberts baffles me because when he does play he has shown great signs of being a ball magnet. He's 21 and a high draft pick. Pedersen is 26 and played 2 games in 2011 injury free.

Rodan pick isnt a bad one but he's just going to keep a kid out of the side as well as Byrnes. They arent that good that they are worth taking 2 young developing players spots.

Dawes was never playing in the ruck.. I dont know why people say that?? He did some pinch hitting in the ruck when Jolly was resting. Maybe 10% of the game. Thats not an excuse for playing rubbish all year. Dawes has had one good year in his career and it was 2010 when Collingwood were on a hot streak. They all looked like stars that year. He wont be getting that delivery from the Melbourne mids I can assure you.

It has been said by a lot of Melbourne supporters that Melbourne are trading like they are in a premiership window.
Neelds trying to save his own ass im afraid

Just have to completely disagree with you here quinny.

Moloney: Moloney's change of form was not due to Neeld's game plan, it was due to teams actually tagging him. Yes he was Melbourne's best midfielder leading into the season, hence why he was given so much attention and Jones was left to run riot. The reason Neeld dropped him was not because he hated him, it was because he could not handle a tag and unlike Bailey Neeld actually drops players that can not perform in their roles. This lead to Moloney leaving because he could not break into the team again. The reason he was subbed so often was once again to do with tagging, Neeld tried him in this role in an attempt to give him a few quarters of being fresher than others on the field and hence learning how to break a tag slowly (This did not work).

Gysberts: Ask any Dees supporter that shows up to pre-season and they'll tell you he does not deserve to play regular football for any club. Shows up to everything thinking that he is better than everybody and hence does not listen to advice coaches give him in an attempt to put on weight, add strength etc. As far as i'm concerned we traded a player who does not want to play football for a player that plays a position we needed (and was starved of oppurtunities this year) in Pedersen.

Rodan: Have you watched GWS recently? they need mature players to help the kids in an attempt to lower the defeats and the scorelines. We have far too many young players and this will balance out the squad, no matter what the skill level of these players are. I re-call Richmond doing a similar thing with Miller and Maric, and even Knights this season.


Dawes: I honestly don't care why he didnt perform this season whether it was simply skill, his knuckle or pinch hitting. I've seen his best and if he can do that on a regular basis i'm happy. You say he is one of the worst CHF's? He will not be playing there for Melbourne (Does not have the fitness base but has elite marking skills) he will be at FF. I can name atleast half a dozen CHF's that are worst then him however.


Neeld clearly has a plan where he wants to balance out the youth with mature players as to not be flogged from week to week, of which i for one am happy to see. Playing flat out youth failed, and i am glad to see a trade strategy similar to the Sydney Swans in recent seasons taking place.

[Mailman the 2nd]

I'll be honest I never took the combination of Ward, Cornes etc. seriously when they started the year but they really helped the younger GWS guys improve a lot more than the flashy Riscetelli or Brennan did for the GC counterparts.

It'll be the youngsters that shine, but that's due from the backup work ;)

[Purple 77]

Bailey is gone, Neeld is in. Neeld is now and the future. Moloney not playing well under Neeld means he is no use in the future.

12 months ago Moloney was your best midfielder and one of the best clearance players in the game. You would have all been raving and ranting about what a gun he is and now you pretend like you never liked him and he's alwasy been a dud. He became a dud when Neeld's game plan that won you 4 games for the year didnt suit him as a player and he was used as a sub and dropped frequently.

Swapping Gysberts baffles me because when he does play he has shown great signs of being a ball magnet. He's 21 and a high draft pick. Pedersen is 26 and played 2 games in 2011 injury free.

Rodan pick isnt a bad one but he's just going to keep a kid out of the side as well as Byrnes. They arent that good that they are worth taking 2 young developing players spots.

Dawes was never playing in the ruck.. I dont know why people say that?? He did some pinch hitting in the ruck when Jolly was resting. Maybe 10% of the game. Thats not an excuse for playing rubbish all year. Dawes has had one good year in his career and it was 2010 when Collingwood were on a hot streak. They all looked like stars that year. He wont be getting that delivery from the Melbourne mids I can assure you.

It has been said by a lot of Melbourne supporters that Melbourne are trading like they are in a premiership window.
Neelds trying to save his own ass im afraid

Just have to completely disagree with you here quinny.

Moloney: Moloney's change of form was not due to Neeld's game plan, it was due to teams actually tagging him. Yes he was Melbourne's best midfielder leading into the season, hence why he was given so much attention and Jones was left to run riot. The reason Neeld dropped him was not because he hated him, it was because he could not handle a tag and unlike Bailey Neeld actually drops players that can not perform in their roles. This lead to Moloney leaving because he could not break into the team again. The reason he was subbed so often was once again to do with tagging, Neeld tried him in this role in an attempt to give him a few quarters of being fresher than others on the field and hence learning how to break a tag slowly (This did not work).

Gysberts: Ask any Dees supporter that shows up to pre-season and they'll tell you he does not deserve to play regular football for any club. Shows up to everything thinking that he is better than everybody and hence does not listen to advice coaches give him in an attempt to put on weight, add strength etc. As far as i'm concerned we traded a player who does not want to play football for a player that plays a position we needed (and was starved of oppurtunities this year) in Pedersen.

Rodan: Have you watched GWS recently? they need mature players to help the kids in an attempt to lower the defeats and the scorelines. We have far too many young players and this will balance out the squad, no matter what the skill level of these players are. I re-call Richmond doing a similar thing with Miller and Maric, and even Knights this season.


Dawes: I honestly don't care why he didnt perform this season whether it was simply skill, his knuckle or pinch hitting. I've seen his best and if he can do that on a regular basis i'm happy. You say he is one of the worst CHF's? He will not be playing there for Melbourne (Does not have the fitness base but has elite marking skills) he will be at FF. I can name atleast half a dozen CHF's that are worst then him however.


Neeld clearly has a plan where he wants to balance out the youth with mature players as to not be flogged from week to week, of which i for one am happy to see. Playing flat out youth failed, and i am glad to see a trade strategy similar to the Sydney Swans in recent seasons taking place.

Nail on the head! That's exactly right  :)

I'll be honest I never took the combination of Ward, Cornes etc. seriously when they started the year but they really helped the younger GWS guys improve a lot more than the flashy Riscetelli or Brennan did for the GC counterparts.

It'll be the youngsters that shine, but that's due from the backup work ;)

Perfect example. Young mids, and other young players, do not shine with no experience or backup from the older, tougher, more experienced players.

It has been said by a lot of Melbourne supporters that Melbourne are trading like they are in a premiership window.
Neelds trying to save his own ass im afraid

Neeld trying to save his own ass....... I am flabbergasted by that, wow. I am certain Dawes, Pederson, Viney, Hogan and Barry won't be around in 3 years............ only quick fixes hey?

How else do teams develop? You will not find one team that was successful in a quick time period that was full of 18-23 year olds only. Neeld is doing the EXACT thing that melbourne should be doing; finding these experienced, not neccessarily all that great players, that will be the core of success.

[quinny88]

Haha well clearly im in the wrong place to be bagging out the decisions of Neeld and the recruitment team at Melbourne. Time will tell but dont say I didnt tell ya so

Rodan: Have you watched GWS recently? they need mature players to help the kids in an attempt to lower the defeats and the scorelines. We have far too many young players and this will balance out the squad, no matter what the skill level of these players are. I re-call Richmond doing a similar thing with Miller and Maric, and even Knights this season.

This part is just completley wrong though. You cant compare yourself with GWS. They have been around 1 year and are all 18 year olds bar the handful of players they need so they dont loose by 200 points every week.
Your comparisons with Richmond are completely off the mark.
Miller was recruited to give the forward line more experience yes. But even he only played if someone was injured or out of form. He wasn't a walk up start.
Maric was recruited because our #1 ruckman was Graham (a spud) it had nothing to do with experience its just a guy that could be our ruckman.
Knights was gained because we didn't have a medium sized forward and Chaplin because we needed a CHB. We had stated the positions we needed to fill before trade period and grabbed them. Melbourne just went after whoever popped up at the time. They needed a forward yes, but that forward they wanted was Cloke. One of the best when in form. Dawes is hardly a close 2nd to that.Hopefully he proves me wrong though.
As for Byrnes and Rodan, they were just knee jerk reactions by a coach trying to save his job. Nothing players that are of little use to Melbourne and wont be there when Melbourne play finals next.

[Mailman the 2nd]

Chad Cornes and Luke Power were never going to be in GWS's next Premiership team

Why would Sheedy bother getting him?

[quinny88]

Chad Cornes and Luke Power were never going to be in GWS's next Premiership team

Why would Sheedy bother getting him?

Like I said above. You cant compare melbourne with gws, a first year club. They recruited anyone that was happy to play for them so they didnt get flogged. Are melbourne in that bad of a position that thats what they need to do?

[quinny88]

Im not just saying this to attack melbourne. I actually believe they are making some bad moves.
You only have to read through the hundreds of comments on the melbourne facebook page to see that 50% of your supporters feel the same way. Its been a month of poor knee jerk trading and a terrible lack of negotiation.

Another one I couldnt believe was steff martin for picks 50 something and 70 something. Which genious had that offered to them and thought, "yep thats a great deal, where do I sign".
Or morton for pick 80 something? Morton has showed very little but he was pick #4. Why trade him for a pick that will never be used

[Purple 77]

Im not just saying this to attack melbourne. I actually believe they are making some bad moves.
You only have to read through the hundreds of comments on the melbourne facebook page to see that 50% of your supporters feel the same way. Its been a month of poor knee jerk trading and a terrible lack of negotiation.

Another one I couldnt believe was steff martin for picks 50 something and 70 something. Which genious had that offered to them and thought, "yep thats a great deal, where do I sign".
Or morton for pick 80 something? Morton has showed very little but he was pick #4. Why trade him for a pick that will never be used

This is professional sport! You say Neeld is apparently "trying to save his job" by getting these players. So does that mean Don McLardy, Cameron Schwab, Todd Viney etc have had no say in these decisions? That Neeld is acting on his own? That everyone at the Melbourne football don't want these players as well?

I respect your opinion quinny, and although I strongly disagree with you on every thing you have said, you may very well be right on everything you have said, and I still respect your opinion. But you accusing Neeld of just trying to save his own ass; a playground act, just rubs me the wrong way. These so-called "solo escapades" doesn't happen in professional sport anymore.

Haha well clearly im in the wrong place to be bagging out the decisions of Neeld and the recruitment team at Melbourne. Time will tell but dont say I didnt tell ya so

Did you really think you would get a different reaction? Especially in this Melbourne section?

Im not just saying this to attack melbourne.

Well based on the previous quote I think it is a strong focus from you.....

I'm sorry if I sound rude, it's just I don't like it when people bag out the football team I support and love.