Just got back from the function.

Great night tonight at the Mates of Melbourne function at Melbourne City Volvo.

Where do i start?

Over 2 hours of pure football.

Speakers included Cameron Schwabb, David Neitz, Chris Connolly, Dean Bailey and Barry Prendergast.

Barry Prendergast and Chris Connolly together spoke about the draft and players up on the podium and they confirmed our first pick will definitely be either Jack Watts or Naitinui.

At one stage they asked for a show of hands from the crowd of 130 or so as to who the crowd thought we should take.

The overwhelming majority raised their hands for Jack Watts, with a few people giving a cheer.

With picks 17 & 19 we have 5 players earmarked as likely to drop to us that we would be very happy to get 2 of, however BP didn't want to name them.

He was hopeful that other clubs may rate the players differently around the mid teens, which may mean we might very well get a player we rate higher.

That is the hope.

At question time, one very astute and knowledgeable supporter asked Barry where he thought Swift and Zaharakis might get picked in the draft.

BP said he thought Swift would be picked before our pick 17 and thought Zaharakis would go top 25.

Some muppet asked if we were interested in Cousins, at which point Connolly called Bailey up to the podium to answer that question.

Bailey was quite brutal, passionate and to the point.

"We will not be drafting Cousins whatsoever, make no mistake. I am here to recruit young players to the club that will be here for 10 years. We have Scott West as the midfield coach to teach our young mids how to play, we dont need Cousins at our club." He was very vocal and deliberate with what he said.

It was definitely the most definitive opinion expressed of the night.

Connolly is a funny bastard.

Cracked quite a few jokes.

He is definitely a great choice as football manager. Like him a lot.

I got to have a chat to both Schwabby, Bailey and BP at separate times and asked a million questions about anything and everything to all 3.

I couldn't get who we were taking with pick 1 out of any of them, though we asked all of them in a number of different ways. We poked and proded and joked, but to no avail.

However i have convinced myself, and my friends in attendance have convinced themselves, that we are taking Watts.

Bailey told us that Newton is in the gym full time trying to put upper body strength on and has put on 1.5kg already.

BP is a really good bloke and has a good sense of humour. We really did our absolute utmost to get it out of him.

We really did fire about every single question imaginable at him about Watts and Naitinui and he barely flinched, besides just chuckling.

But i reckon i got some good body language on one question that might have given me the answer.

After a good 12-15 minutes chatting with BP, my instincts tell me Watts is the man, though i am still not 100% categorically convinced.

I was told a few other things that i will refrain from posting as they were told in confidence, needless to say the AFL are not the most popular at the moment with a few in high places at the MFC, though they are working close with us on other more important matters as is the MCC, which was positive to here.

Connolly is a funny bloke.

The more i get to chat with Bailey, the more i like him, I get the feeling he dislikes me and my questioning and he is exactly what our club needs at the moment as a coach.

He is a hard arse.

Oh and Schwabby is very passionate, happy to be back and up for the challenge.

Great great night. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Pure football talk at its best.

Congrats MFC and Mates of Melbourne.

cheers for the info Haydo, keep up the good work.

Many thanks for your informative and timely post Haydo.

Haydo saved me a lot of trouble. He has nailed down most of what was said over the evening on the public side and his report is accurate and illuminating.

I also stayed back and chatted with Cameron Schwab and Dean Bailey but missed out on speaking privately with Barry Prendergast (Haydo must have button holed him in a corner).

I'm assuming nothing that was said during our discussions was off the record so I'll reiterate that BP and CC were extremely careful not to give away the # 1 selection but if they went on the sentiment in the room which was 98% for Jack Watts then it's a foregone conclusion. However, I personally wouldn't be disappointed with Naitanui - BP spoke glowingly of his abilities, what he can do and how he might revolutionise the game by the way he plays. In answer to a question about the go home factor, BP said it didn't concern him and noted that NN's mother had pointed out that while they've been living in Perth for a number of years, Melbourne is a lot closer to Fiji (which they visit from time to time). He also gave his assessment of who some of the other clubs might select in the first round.

In answer to a question I asked DB about development of our younger players he said Kelly O'Donnell, our development coach, was dedicated to the improving and developing our players. He also said that the early start to the pre season was important this year because it was necessary to teach the players how to go about their pre season. Last year we had a disrupted pre season but this year it's different. We have for e.g. a new weights coach, a Bulgarian, who started off just teaching the players how to do their weight training. It was only when they learned how to properly hold and lift the weights etc that they could gain maximum benefit from their programme. He is already seeing a number of positive results with people like Matty Bate and Michael Newton.

DB also indicated that it was unlikely that we will be taking any recycled players on Saturday (and that rules out Tom Hislop). It's youth all the way.

Cameron Schwab is very impressive. He said that the club will develop a business plan to become successful off the field - it won't be the same plan adopted at Freo. We have to be patient with sponsorships but he's confident we will end up with a good sponsor.

Great read! Good to hear you're asking the 'tough questions' I'm very nervous about Saturday morning, this is a pivotal point in our rebuilding stage so we have to get it right. By the sound of most of the people at this night, they're happy with the way the club is heading, which makes me happy

Too good Haydo, too good.

You cannot possibly imagine what it means as a passionate interstate reporter to get the news you can often provide.

Don't quite know what I'd do without the effort and generosity of so many that post here.

Cheers.

Too good Haydo, too good.

Cheers.

Yep, big props to Haydo and WJ. Quality work as usual you blokes.

Now if I can just find a way to make Friday disappear, and cut straight to Saturday, 10AM...is that a bottle of Glenmorangie I see...

Many thanks to Haydo & Whispering Jack for those sterling recaps.

Haydo - thats the know-it-all inside info I was looking for, good on ya mate

Saturday can't come quick enough

Many thanks to Haydo & Whispering Jack for those sterling recaps.

Haydo - thats the know-it-all inside info I was looking for, good on ya mate

Good news, but I worry on the sponsorship front.

If they can't find a sponsor before the draft where the potential sponsor is guaranteed lots of exposure, then I can't see it getting any easier given we will get very little positive exposure probably until next years draft.

I also spoke to Bailey at the function about Riv, who said he was well and truly back on track.

He has gone from not being able to squat at all, to now doing squats with weights and being able to clean as well.

This is in addition to running etc.

He said he was not sure if he would play round 1, as they wanted to take a very softly softly approach, in order to get him right for the long-term.

We will not have a major sponsor for Saturday. Fact.

While this might be covering some old ground here's some info for those super-keen:

The event was held at Melbourne City Volvo, with name tags & drinks providede upon arrival. After some pimping of sponsors - Volvo and Tyrell(?) wins - and Mates of Melbourne Neitz handed the mic over to Cameron Schwab.

Schwab's speech didn't share much that was new and it probably wasn't his most engaging speech. He spoke a little about how he started in recruitment and then talked about his newest recruits to the management team, the COO and CFO. He mentioned that the Club was putting together a blueprint on and off the field, and CC brought this up later when he said that the reasons the Club made decisions would be very transparent once this was the case.

Neitz then handed over the MC duties to CC who introduced Barry Prendergast. CC stated that our choice was down to Watts and Natanui but that we would need to read between the lines as the Club wouldn't be announcing the #1 pick. To the side of the stage there was a TV with some vision of likely top picks - Watts, Natanui, Rich, etc.

BP started off by explaining a little about recruitment - that we had many people working on it across the country. BP asserted that WA had a heap of talent and cited Yarran, Rich, and NN as three guys touted as potential top picks early on. According to CC we spend $500K on recruiting p/year and BP mentioned that he'd been to Perth something like 10 times (maybe 8, can't quite remember).

BP spoke a fair bit about Watts and Natanui. He said that NN was an amazing athlete and referred to his draft camp results and his great high jump ability. BP suggested that NN could be at the cutting edge of the revolution in rucks, noting his unique capabilities that would mean many would mean others wouldn't be able to play in the same way.

BP spoke of Watts' versatility as a player, noting that he could play in the midfield and up forward. He did disagree with the notion that Watts was a 'power forward' atm, but implied that he may become one. BP also highlighted Watts' pace and lateral movement.

CC then took questions from the audience. Most were directed at BP and touched on what some other Clubs might do. There was a rundown of the likely top 10 but I wasn't particularly interested. There wasn't much insight into what we're likely to do later in the draft, just the assertion that we hope some people take some guys early that we don't rate as first-rounders so some top-rated guys fall to us at 17 and 19.

There was also some chat about making sure that after the first 16 we get the two guys we most highly rate at 17 and 19 by ensuring that we're smart about who we pick at 17. We want to make sure that at 17 nab the guy WCE are most likely to go for so we can get the two we want.

A question regarding the 'great' Ben Cousins was handed over to DB, who was very brutal as he asserted 'I don't want Ben Cousins at this football Club'. DB said that he wanted to build a team from the ground up with youth and was looking for players who'd play 10 years for Melbourne. However, he also stressed that he was looking for good people who were Melbourne people. DB also highlighted the fact that we have West as someone that can teach our young midfielders.

Fwiw, apparently DB wasn't required to come to the function but said he'd be there and just skip an AFL function the following night. While CC was happy that DB was coming to the draft preview, he jokingly explained that he'd counselled DB against missing the AFL function, given the Club's situation.

Thank you so much guys for your reports!

Heres hoping in 24 hours we have Jack Watts in the red and blue!

Will just add two little items to Haydo, Roque and WJ's reports which were very good.

When Scoop Jnr and I spoke to Bailey he agreed that some of our players needed more strength and that the results so far had been very good and will continue to improve. I mentioned Juice and Dunn and he said they were two of the best so far.

He also said Aussie will be fitter this year.

I thought Cameron Schwab has clearly matured since he was with us last time and I just like the way he speaks. He doesn't have notes, he exhibits passion and committment and he is fluid in his delivery. I get the feeling that the continued success of his club is his only aim and that he will achieve it.

It was also great to see Neita heavily involved and the comment was made that he feels he still owes the club. He is a great Melbourne person.

It was an enjoyable night.

Clearly they are building suspense on our first selection, and good on 'em, it makes tomorrow's selection all the more exciting.

Thanks for the informative and interesting reports from all who were there. Very useful.

Putting the draft aside,

What a great job all seem to be doing at the moment. For the first time in a long time the club seems to be going in the right direction, the right mix b/w coaching/operations/etc seems to have finally been achieved. Bailey being called a "hard ass", well thats music to my ears, everything I hear about bailey is positive.

1 more night and things will get even better again for us!

One thing that struck me about Dean Bailey was his steely determination to do things according to his plan to build the club from the ground up with youth and that came out clearly in his very blunt and definitive statement about Ben Cousins.

To some extent he was giving the same message that St. Kilda gave a couple of days earlier in their explanation as to why they weren't taking him except Bailey has been resolute on this issue from day one when he first walked into the club while the Saints have, for several months during the Cousins saga, been acting as if quite the opposite applied. This is what gives Bails a huge tick in the credibility box which, given that he has to deal with a list of 44 or 46 young men from different backgrounds, will be a major plus for the club in the long run. This doesn't necessarily guarantee success as a coach – his coaching style will only be truly tested when the team he is building develops more down the track - but the building blocks are definitely there.

Bailey also reiterated his disappointment with Chris Johnson and his decision to leave the club. What disappointed him was the simple fact that, in a one on one situation, CJ simply would not commit himself to playing for the club, thinking he had better opportunities elsewhere. I really believe the dramatic events of the day when CJ left were more for the benefit of the Melbourne team – to instil in them the importance of a high level of commitment which their coach demands from his players – than for CJ who was, by then, clearly a lost cause.

I’m puzzled about how CJ came to the conclusion that he had more opportunities at a club like Carlton which is openly boasting about its pretensions to be a top four club than at Melbourne which is the current wooden spooner and, according to the pundits, is favourite for next year's spoon as well. Perhaps CJ has been dealing with people who may not be as honest and as forthright as our coach?

On tomorrow's draft, BP made an interesting observation on the Fremantle situation with its apparent dilemma over taking Rich or Hill. He held the view that it was difficult to understand why the Dockers were thinking that way based on the roles of each player at the national carnival. Rich was always the main midfielder who was first to get a tag while Hill was the one who was doing the tagging for WA. I found that an interesting way to look at the situation.

Thanks for the informative and interesting reports from all who were there. Very useful.

Ditto! Thanks guys.

Brilliant info, thanks guys.

That alone is enough for me to part with some hard earned and join MoM.

Well said Jack. I feel quite the same about DB, he has had a firm agenda since arriving. Throughout this year it has been difficult for us to see where that agenda was taking us. But the scale of overhaul we are currently going through (rebuild) was never going to look pretty on the field straight away.

I don't have too many high expectations for next year, but i do believe we will start to see parts of Bailey's plan emerge and take shape on field.

Whilst we digress once more to CJ, I must stop and ask, does anyone see him holding down a regular spot in the carlton backline?

To some extent he was giving the same message that St. Kilda gave a couple of days earlier in their explanation as to why they weren't taking him except Bailey has been resolute on this issue from day one when he first walked into the club while the Saints have, for several months during the Cousins saga, been acting as if quite the opposite applied.

The difference between us and the Saints is that we didnt pick Gardiner, Birss, Dempster, Scneider and co in the last 2 years....There is more underlying StKildas decision than "a youth policy".

I’m puzzled about how CJ came to the conclusion that he had more opportunities at a club like Carlton which is openly boasting about its pretensions to be a top four club than at Melbourne which is the current wooden spooner and, according to the pundits, is favourite for next year's spoon as well. Perhaps CJ has been dealing with people who may not be as honest and as forthright as our coach?

I would tend to agree that he will get more opportunities ar Carltank. I would say that our depth has been better than Calrtons. We also have a alot of players who could play the half back/wingmans role where as Carlton do not.

I’m puzzled about how CJ came to the conclusion that he had more opportunities at a club like Carlton which is openly boasting about its pretensions to be a top four club than at Melbourne which is the current wooden spooner and, according to the pundits, is favourite for next year's spoon as well. Perhaps CJ has been dealing with people who may not be as honest and as forthright as our coach?

Good post Jack.

I dont want this to become a CJ thread. Had too many of those already. However if you take Judd, Fev, Kruzer, Gibbs, Murphy, Stevens out of their list the rest look rather pedestrian and CJ may have been convinced that he would have chance there. If Carlton are going to make the finals in 2009, they need their leading lights (Judd and Fev) to have big years, the young No 1s (Gibbs, Murphy and Kruzer) to step and Warnock to earn his expensive keep and the rest to play solid supporting roles. I guess CJ sees himself filling one of those supporting roles. I reckon he'll be watching on from the side lines most of the time.

I am glad DB and co were forthright and honest in the communication of the Club's position on the topical issues of the day. Its worthy to keep members and supporters in the loop.

Thanks again for the updates.

I’m puzzled about how CJ came to the conclusion that he had more opportunities at a club like Carlton which is openly boasting about its pretensions to be a top four club than at Melbourne which is the current wooden spooner and, according to the pundits, is favourite for next year's spoon as well. Perhaps CJ has been dealing with people who may not be as honest and as forthright as our coach?

Whilst Carlton's top 8-10 players are clearly superior to our top end talent, they have terrible issues with depth. They had a 99 goal full forward, arguably the premier midfielder in the game, and a few super talented kids but still finished 11th. I've no doubt that CJ sees a more secure role on a half back flank in Carlton's team than Melbourne's. And I agree with him. Throw in a little more money, a past relationship with Riley and Ratten, feeling wanted, ...

I also spoke to Bailey at the function about Riv, who said he was well and truly back on track.

He has gone from not being able to squat at all, to now doing squats with weights and being able to clean as well.

This is in addition to running etc.

He said he was not sure if he would play round 1, as they wanted to take a very softly softly approach, in order to get him right for the long-term.

Thanks for the reports Haydo and WJ, but I find this comment disconcerting. I fail to see how Rivers can be back on track when he's unlikely to play round 1, which is 4 months away. We've taken a softly softly approach with him for the past 2 seasons, and he's broken down each time. I really hope that next season is different, but somehow, I've got my doubts.