It sure helps though. Scully, Trengove and Ball(?) will make us a better team add the hopeful improvement from the likes of Jurrah, Grimes, Watts, Sylvia, Frawley, Morton etc and suddenly we could surprise a lot of people.

Pretty reasnoable side with all those names in it. If they could all gell together position 8 next year is not impossible.

These people who speak of 5-6 years away are to conservative.

We have already done 3 years hard labour....

Luke Ball in the PSD would be a great Mentor to all our new Recruits

& it means in "Real" Terms we got Pick 11 for nothing. Best piece of Drafting all week

My mail is that Ball/Connors are absolutely furious with St. Kilda/Lyon. No chance to be at St. Kilda in 2010 given he was promised that at worst case, he would be organized in a trade.

Yep it makes sense, Lyon could have got him to where he wanted to go.

He made a point about what St.Kilda would accept but it was at Balls expense.

It's not Ball's fault that, as the whole industry knows, Collingwood are almost impossible to deal with.

We arent the basket case of recent times. Our whole demeanor has changed. Our clawing back of debt our restructure at club level , our remarraige of sorts to the MCC together with a pretty good bunch of draftees now and to be make us a completely different fish.

I forecast here and now that much of the press leading into season '10 will be positive. We'll be the team to watch.

Now Im sure the MFC can do that same spin on Ball

Really??

http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players...enn_Lovett.html

What about the others?

That 1 game he played made a massive difference to us in '98. We should of have won the premiership that year not saying we will do that but I think we should improve a fair bit maybe even sneak into the finals especially if we can get a quality player like Ball.

has luck finally turned melb's way, are we finally gonna get a decent player for next to nothing.

melb has declared it is interested in luke, we can only hope we can convince him to come play for us

come on lukey come n play for a real club in the demons.

come Luke....

Who would win a foot race between Luke Ball & Brock Mclean over 50m ?

Pretty reasnoable side with all those names in it. If they could all gell together position 8 next year is not impossible.

These people who speak of 5-6 years away are to conservative.

We have already done 3 years hard labour....

Luke Ball in the PSD would be a great Mentor to all our new Recruits

& it means in "Real" Terms we got Pick 11 for nothing. Best piece of Drafting all week

I agree.

Who would win a foot race between Luke Ball & Brock Mclean over 50m ?

would Brock make the 50 ?

lyon hardly sounded excited to still have him when interviewed straight after

that is crap. not contracted. your mate is either a dummy or delusional

Well technically he is contracted but his contract finishes on 31st October when he will become uncontracted if he hasn't signed with another club.

We'll get him.

You're dreaming if you think its fooled Ball like it has you.

I have come to the conclusion Rhino, you have no idea about football. We made sure we didn't win more than four games, our list is a lot more advanced than you think.

I have come to the conclusion Rhino, you have no idea about football. We made sure we didn't win more than four games, our list is a lot more advanced than you think.

It better be more advanced than what Rhino thinks cause I think he can't see us making the finals for the next 50 years.

so if he doesn't nominate for the ND, he's our yeh?

We arent the basket case of recent times. Our whole demeanor has changed. Our clawing back of debt our restructure at club level , our remarraige of sorts to the MCC together with a pretty good bunch of draftees now and to be make us a completely different fish.

I forecast here and now that much of the press leading into season '10 will be positive. We'll be the team to watch.

Now Im sure the MFC can do that same spin on Ball

Way too optimistic, sure we're improving, but from an outsider's perspective....we have finished bottom 3 last 3 years and we are a complete basket case. Of course this isnt the reality, but that preconception needs to be changed before anything.

Way too optimistic, sure we're improving, but from an outsider's perspective....we have finished bottom 3 last 3 years and we are a complete basket case. Of course this isnt the reality, but that preconception needs to be changed before anything.

Dont think so...not at all.. Anyone with any nouse at all knows we didnt have to finish bottom...we chose to.. We took the bull by the horns and wrestled those picks. We are determined.. We are proactive now not limping reactionaries.

My talkings with friends who arent Melbourne all suggest and acknowledge weve played it pretty smart.

Optimistic ? yes...Too optimisitc ? NO

so if he doesn't nominate for the ND, he's our yeh?

As long as we pay his payment demands.

If we do get him, and I really hope we do!

We front load his contract!

As long as we pay his payment demands.

If we do get him, and I really hope we do!

We front load his contract!

forgot about that...he may be a saving grace in more than one way :D

I will be bitterly dissapointed if we don't ge Luke Ball & not because of his on field/off field benefits to the club.

It would be a massive slap in the face to the MFC if he does not want to come to us, we have no1 PSD pick, room in the cap , he is guaranteed major playing time and the MFC want him.

We are a few years away from a flag and -here's the thing- when our list actually does start really coming together, Ball's a fair chance to get pushed out of the side. Even in the short-term, we'll want to get as many games as possible into Scully, Trengove, Strauss and Blease next year, with Jones, Moloney and McDonald no chance of being dropped unless they hit seriously bad form and with guys like Sylvia, Grimes, and even Aussie and Maric a chance to get extended runs in the midfield next year. I'm sure Ball would make our best 22 next year, but I don't think he'd be "guaranteed major playing time"; certainly other teams would be able to provide him more. In that sense, even the positives about Melbourne arent so positive from Ball's perspective.

I'd love to get him in the PSD- he'd be a perfect replacement for McLean, and his experience and physical maturity would be invaluable right now, but I can see why he might not be keen, and without having a go at you personally (because it seems to be a reasonably widespread concern on here), I think some of the people who keep shouting this whole "oh noez no1 wanz to cum to uz dizrespect fo da club!" line of reasoning, need to settle down bit and think things through.

We are a few years away from a flag and -here's the thing- when our list actually does start really coming together, Ball's a fair chance to get pushed out of the side. Even in the short-term, we'll want to get as many games as possible into Scully, Trengove, Strauss and Blease next year, with Jones, Moloney and McDonald no chance of being dropped unless they hit seriously bad form and with guys like Sylvia, Grimes, and even Aussie and Maric a chance to get extended runs in the midfield next year. I'm sure Ball would make our best 22 next year, but I don't think he'd be "guaranteed major playing time"; certainly other teams would be able to provide him more. In that sense, even the positives about Melbourne arent so positive from Ball's perspective.

I'd love to get him in the PSD- he'd be a perfect replacement for McLean, and his experience and physical maturity would be invaluable right now, but I can see why he might not be keen, and without having a go at you personally (because it seems to be a reasonably widespread concern on here), I think some of the people who keep shouting this whole "oh noez no1 wanz to cum to uz dizrespect fo da club!" line of reasoning, need to settle down bit and think things through.

If he can't get game time with us he can't get game time anywhere. Strauss and Blease don't even play his position. He's better than Jones, Moloney and McDonald and we should wait to see if Sylvia can even get a clearance, we should wait and see if Grimes and Aussie can get over their injuries first and should wait and see if Maric can actually get a kick before we think that he can replace any of our midfielders. Too much pie in the sky stuff none of them have proven anything in the middle Ball has.

Throw out that copy..........show Ball this one for the presentation.....along with a cardboard cut-out of Ross Lyon in the room.

Magnificent.

Whats the chance Luke Ball decides to sign a 1 year deal with the Saints ...

Advantages to Ball ie 1/ 100% chance to play finals football 2/ Gives him a chance to get to Collingwood next year.

Saints agree because the alternative is to lose him for nothing.

You've either totally misunderstood, or deliberately misrepresented, what I said. I'm not saying "let's not get him because we already have enough promising midfielders", in fact, I said we should get him if we can.

What I'm saying is, and I'll make it as simple as possible: from Luke Ball's perspective (that's Luke Ball's perspective, not the Melbourne Football Club's), Melbourne are a club whose midfield is in it's formative stages. They have four promising midfielders coming in next year, who may not play the same role as Luke Ball but they do play the same position, i.e., the midfield, where there are only so many spots available hence the amount of gametime they get will impact on the amount of gametime given to Luke Ball. Likewise, as you said, Melbourne will need to see if players like Sylvia, Grimes, Aussie and Maric are any good in the midfield. They will do this, believe it or not, by giving them stints in the midfield. This will also impact on the amount of gametime given to Luke Ball. If some of these players succeed in the midfield, they will be given a more permanent role there, which will impact on the amount of gametime given to Luke Ball. Somewhere like Collingwood, with a more settled midfield structure and without four or five promising new midfielders coming in, Ball's long-term place in the side is more secure and he can be given a solid answer as to how much gametime he can expect in the short-term, at Melbourne it's a bit more hazy. I want him, but for this reason and others I'll understand if he doesn't want to come, and I won't put it down to the football department being a bunch of wankers. I hope that's cleared it up.

Edited October 9, 200916 yr by two sheds jackson

Love to see the bloke at the club. Great leader.

I guess it will reopen the old chestnut "Can we play with Moloney, Jones, and Brock/Ball?"

Doesn't worry me for one reason, and it is a very selective idea - Ball is an in-and-under clearance player, and Brock is not(Ball had 6+ clearance in 7 occasions out of 17 during the regular season). McLean was a Lenny Hayes style accumulator of possessions.

I would prefer to have Beamer as the 80m player he used to be - get the handball receive, run 25m and kick it 55m.

We'll see...

I would prefer to have Beamer as the 80m player he used to be - get the handball receive, run 25m and kick it 55m.

I wouldn't