Melbourne Rats

[heartbeatstrue 57]

Back in my uni days the group I got around with were largely MFC supporters. There was one exception, a bombers' supporter with a prodigious memory, he could reel off the scores from all the Essendon games he'd ever been to (which was lots). For many including finals he also could give you the qtr and half time scores as well. Anyway, we had a saying, there's no rat like a Melbourne rat. There were a few back then too, sadly.

I think I heard of another Melb rat on last night's TV broadcast of the Tassie Hawks game. Did I hear right, that Buddy grew up a Demons supporter over in Perth?

They mentioned the biggest rat of all, of course. Judd, who had the opportunity to follow his heart and fulfill his childhood passion of being a MFC champion. He chose Carltank's filthy lucre. None bigger, sadly.

[praha 11,236]

I don't think calling a player a rat because they used to go for Melbourne and then get drafted unwillingly to another club is fair. Judd, maybe. But not Franklin.

[heartbeatstrue 57]

You're right (about Buddy). You could even argue that growing up supporting Melb as a kid over in Perth was quite heroic, if true.

[cooko 124]

i think judd was after the cash.. didnt his mum get a job out of it.. he also got some dodgy deal where he is working for a company that he only has to show up twice a year and gets 250,000 or something mental? (all set up by carlton) ..plus he probably saw all of there early draft picks and thought it would be a better option then us... still dodgy.. but understandable!

[Einstein 1]

You're right (about Buddy). You could even argue that growing up supporting Melb as a kid over in Perth was quite heroic, if true.

It's true. I've seen a photo of Buddy at a footy clinic when he was little kid in his Melbourne jumper.

Nathan Buckley was also a Melbourne supporter, although I don't think he was all that keen. The story is that he was living at a boarding school (I think it was in Sunbury) and one of the teachers was a big Dees fan. Buckley barracked for Melbourne in order to go to the games with him.

Now, if only we could get one of these guys to actually play for the club, that would be something.

[MelbournePassion 7]

If I was Chris Judd I would of been at the dees in a heartbeat.

[heartbeatstrue 57]

If I was Chris Judd I would of been at the dees in a heartbeat.

Same. The irony will be if (as I truly believe) we are ultimately more successful during his playing career in finals. I am hardly even game to suggest the ultimate irony, if Carltank don't go near to winning a flag but this group of young Dees do!

Just a little added incentivation! GO DEES!!

[MO FINE 166]

If I was Chris Judd I would of been at the dees in a heartbeat.

Just in case nobody's noticed, football these days is a professional sport and there's very little room there for sentiment.

Judd was bought by Carlton's filthy lucre and so was Warnock Junior. I have no argument with that, it's a free country. What I disliked about Judd was his behaviour when allegedly making up his mind about choosing Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon or Melbourne. He jerked us all around because, according to Carlton insiders, he had already made up his mind (make that hi$ mind had already been made up for him) well before then.

[Hannabal 4]

If I was Chris Judd I would of been at the dees in a heartbeat.

You'd like to think so, but you don't know this.

[H_T 3,043]

Just in case nobody's noticed, football these days is a professional sport and there's very little room there for sentiment.

Judd was bought by Carlton's filthy lucre and so was Warnock Junior. I have no argument with that, it's a free country. What I disliked about Judd was his behaviour when allegedly making up his mind about choosing Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon or Melbourne. He jerked us all around because, according to Carlton insiders, he had already made up his mind (make that hi$ mind had already been made up for him) well before then.

You'd like to think there would be some sentiment involved. Unfortunately, in this day and age, money talks..........if there is enough going around.

[Einstein 1]

Same. The irony will be if (as I truly believe) we are ultimately more successful during his playing career in finals. I am hardly even game to suggest the ultimate irony, if Carltank don't go near to winning a flag but this group of young Dees do!

Just a little added incentivation! GO DEES!!

It would be amusing. A bit like Buckley leaving Brisbane for 'success' at Collingwood.

But I'm over the whole 'Judd didn't come to the Dees' thing really. To get him we would have had to have likely given up the draft picks that got us Morton, Grimes and Maric. Yes we would have Chris Judd, but our list would be a year behind and with the GC17 draft coming up, we'd likely be an ordinary team with Chris Judd for a few years to come. The great prize of a premiership would be further away than it is now.

As much as I wanted to get Judd at the time, I think it's all turned out for the best.

[SJX 6]

You're right (about Buddy). You could even argue that growing up supporting Melb as a kid over in Perth was quite heroic, if true.

I did, but live in Melbourne now, but yeah, it was TOUGH!

[rpfc 28,261]

I'm not going to get into the argument of wether Carlton would be better off with Kennedy, Masten, and Notte instead of Judd.

But...

If we were to get him we would not have Morton, Grimes, and (attempting to predict who they would have wanted) Jones.

Judd or Morton, Grimes, and Jones.

It's a no-brainer for mine, so can we stop being petty about Judd.

We're better off, end of story.

[Junior 46]

From what I understand Chris Judd is employed by Visy as an 'environmental ambassador' and is on a salary of $500k/year. Is this accurate?

As much as I am a very passionate Dees supporter...it would be tough to turn down an extra $500k just to play for the team you support.

[Little Goffy 14,447]

Yep, it really is a no brainer as far as the choice between Morton, Grimes, Jones and Judd. Those are three quality players and people, and that little bit younger, too.

As for football being a professional sport..

What are these [censored] planning that means they still need a wallop more cash after they are earning $800,000 while still having time to do part time study?

One year, house, second year, retirement fund sorted out, third year... get boring term deposits and go on a round the world trip on the proceeds every few months, maybe a fourth year you can buy a pub/farm/restaurant outright, fit it out and never actually need to do better than break even since you've got no debt on it.

It really worries me the way people start to lose perspective once their salary climbs into the hundreds of thousands. 'Marginal utility'; the next dollar just isn't as important as the first.

[Ryan Dee 140]

Judd is a smart man. Why would he not want to go to a club like carlton who have so many good kids coming through and will push for a flag soon. He is a perfect age to suit carlton and he is getting far far more then he would ever get at Melbourne.

[two sheds jackson 3]

I agree with Mo Fine; nobody can judge Chris Judd as a person for coming to Melbourne instead of Carlton. It's his business and his choice, and he obviously thought the benefits of playing at Carlton (e.g. $$$, a permanent training base, a list that had just finished a long bottoming out process instead of entering one as we were) was too much to knock back. Most people would have done the same thing in his position. It's his public conduct in between the time he announced he was leaving West Coast, up until the time he announced he was joining Carlton, that reflects badly on him.

In retrospect, I agree that we're better off. To add to rpfc and Einstein's points, on top of losing a quality player to West Coast, and missing out on Morton and Grimes, we also would have won a few more games last year, and missed out on Watts (and all our other draft picks, unless we'd used an earlier pick for them). We also wouldn't be in a position to possibly get the first two picks this year.

I think Judd has worked out fantasticall for Carlton. I also think when a marque player under 24 is up for grabs you need to do all you can to get them and not worry too much about what it will cost you in terms of draft picks. But considering what we have now, and wouldn't have had with Judd (i.e. Morton and Watts), in retrospect we're in a better position than we would have been had we got him.

[Adam The God 30,126]

Yeah, there are photos of Franklin in what looks like a Demon jumper. It is a Demon jumper, but it's the jumper of West Perth (Dennis Commetti's old team and hence his support for Melbourne), so it's more than likely Buddy (being a younger bloke) went for one of the Western Australia teams. As for Judd, he went to my school, so I know he certainly barracked for Melbourne (but in the end went to Carltank for money).

[Einstein 1]

Yeah, there are photos of Franklin in what looks like a Demon jumper. It is a Demon jumper, but it's the jumper of West Perth (Dennis Commetti's old team and hence his support for Melbourne), so it's more than likely Buddy (being a younger bloke) went for one of the Western Australia teams. As for Judd, he went to my school, so I know he certainly barracked for Melbourne (but in the end went to Carltank for money).

West Perth are the Falcons. They are red and blue, but it's a red jumper with a blue diagonal stripe. Their club song is 'It's a grand old flag.' And yes, Dennis Cometti played for and coached them.

Perth are the Demons. They wear an 'Essendon' jumper. Lance Franklin played for Perth.

And he was a Melbourne supporter.

[praha 11,236]

The way I look at it:

Judd at Melbourne = 9th-12th place finish in 2008 and no Jack Watts. No priority picks this year (if we do indeed get them)

Judd at Carlton = Jack Watts + Bleese plus possible (and likely) priority picks

[1.21 GigaWatts 1]

Pretty sure it was last year that Garry Lyon interviewed Buddy on the footy show and asked what number he wore on his back as a kid. Buddy laughed and said he wore Garry's as he was a dees supporter as a kid. It made me so upset to hear that, thinking that both Judd and Franklin barracked for Melbourne as kids but only through envy.

Weighing into the Judd debate I actually heard that he would've cost us Frawley in a trade to St. Kilda for their 1st round pick to then be tuned over to WCE. I love seeing Judd play and I'm sad he didn't choose us but at the end of the day he came at a price I wouldn't pay through the benefit of hindsight. He made the correct decision for himself. As I heard Brock McLean say (after the Adelaide game?) it's the first year he'd been there that they'd had a full time weights coach! To be honest I'd believe my services would be a plug in one of many leaks and what benefit would it be to the club or player?

[Rogue 585]

Once you're in the industry I don't believe you'd view it with anything like the childhood idolisation of your younger years.

I find it odd that people can't see it that way (even if they feel they would act differently in the same circumstance).

[Adam The God 30,126]

West Perth are the Falcons. They are red and blue, but it's a red jumper with a blue diagonal stripe. Their club song is 'It's a grand old flag.' And yes, Dennis Cometti played for and coached them.

Perth are the Demons. They wear an 'Essendon' jumper. Lance Franklin played for Perth.

And he was a Melbourne supporter.

Well, I stand corrected.:D I have been seriously misinformed.

[Adam The God 30,126]

Once you're in the industry I don't believe you'd view it with anything like the childhood idolisation of your younger years.

I find it odd that people can't see it that way.

I see it, but personally, I'd like to think I would think that no matter where I was drafted, I'd keep a soft spot for my childhood team. Who's to say players don't, but it just doesn't come up very often.

[dreamin' man 0]

When he was at West Coast Judd's image was of someone who had class off the field, too -- perhaps not as money-driven as some. Based on that I -- & others -- believed he might do the romantic or superior thing & play for the club he supported. How wrong we were! Money was his prime concern & then he proved what an ordinary person he is by messing around w. us although he was always going to go to the Blue$$$$ & had was been fibbing about his intentions all season. To top it off he turned up his smug nose at the MFC because of "the facilities". A real rat.

Re W. Perth, aka the Falcons, they when I was growing up they were the Cardinals (a name that was deemed too old fashioned). When the Dees first wore the red away strip, a friend rang me to say he'd turned on the TV & thought it was the Cardies running around.