Good pick up. A cats mate on mine had this to say

By all counts coming out of the Geelong camp he was fit as a fiddle and performing well in the VFL this year, he was an emergency in most games and primarily didn't play AFL because Christensen & Motlop needed developing and were doing well enough to keep their spots... they reckon he has improved his forward pressure this year and was a great leader for the young guys in their VFL team (which won the premiership I might add)...

Ah is is just so great for us to have so many really positive true supporters.

So, he may not have been able to break into the strong Cats team, but he is renowned as a hard worker and has big match experience, so should add to the MFC lineup.

But there is no pleasing some folk.

And welcome Shannon - we are not all negative tossers by the way.

WTF are you on about?

I said nothing against him, I just find it hard to get excited about bit players.

Get Tippet then I will jump for joy.

Byrnes is a good short term get, but he isn't going to help us climb out of the shithole we currently reside in.

As I mentioned, it would be great if he succeeds and I wish him the absolute best of luck. I'm just not falling off my chair in excitement.

Maybe years of being rubbish have driven me to permanent apathy?

Yeah maybe he can show them how it's done at Casey seeing he had such a stellar year in the magoos at Geelong.

lol are you serious? hahaha

geelong is maybe a step or 2 ahead of melb, i think he will make our best 22 quite easily.

I think one of the main reasons he and wojo weren't played regularly is because they weren't geelongs future, so they got games into there young guys instead.

geelong don't require him for his attitude, they already have it as a club.

we on the other hand could benefit from byrnes work ethic and attitude that he brings to the field - playing for demons... not the scorpions.

Picked for his attitude and ability to set an example for our younger players as much as anything else.

A great trainer, even in his school days in Shepparton, and from all reports he's maintained this and his fitness.

I'm ambivalent about this signing but can guess at what the club sees as upside.

Nevertheless, good luck Shannon.

Byrnes is a good short term get, but he isn't going to help us climb out of the shithole we currently reside in.

Not by himself, any more than any single player would, but you build a house brick by brick, and he's a more than useful brick to have, both onfield and off. We've all been calling out for strong, experienced, older players at the club, and he seems to tick all those boxes. Neeld, Craig and co. know what they're doing.

WTF are you on about?

I said nothing against him, I just find it hard to get excited about bit players.

Get Tippet then I will jump for joy.

Byrnes is a good short term get, but he isn't going to help us climb out of the shithole we currently reside in.

As I mentioned, it would be great if he succeeds and I wish him the absolute best of luck. I'm just not falling off my chair in excitement.

Maybe years of being rubbish have driven me to permanent apathy?

If you can entice tippet, go for it.

not happening right now.

byrnes is a step in the right direction, encouraging the sort of club attitude we require to entice players of tippets calibre in the future.

we can't go from below par to amazing with the click of our fingers... although i would like this.

now that we have secured our first FA can we start banging on about how we will make top 4 like bloody tigers supporters have been doing to me? God they give me the Sh!ts.

Great to get a 2 time 2 time premiership player on the list!

Not expecting a world-beater but the experience and class he'll bring to this squad is invaluable.

And not to mention he's already the best forward pocket at the club.

No niceties Shannon, My hope is you can help us help our club, & it's players, to be better AFL players.

We need to climb with a winning attitude.

Good luck Shannon

2 Flags & 2 Nab Cups i think. Should help the slow rise of the demon.

Good get FD.

Shannon Byrnes #17 Geelong Cats Age: 28yr 5mth Games: 108 Born: April 7, 1984 Height: 175cm Weight: 77kg Position: Forward Last Drafted: Round 3, Pick #40 2002 Rookie Draft Last Drafted By: Geelong Cats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K38tOrHa2c

Let's face the facts, it would be impossible for the MFC to trade downwards, considering the stock we are presently holding.

My brother played bushies with him and byrnes was co captain at the time. said his leadership is unbelieveable in the way that he has time for everyone and will help out as much as possible.

will be a beauty old shannon!

This guy is a very average finisher when it comes to kicking goals. Not overly impressed with drafting Byrnes at all.

Happy with this move.

We desperately need some experience and a small forward, 2 boxes ticked. A hard trainer, a natural leader from a very successful club. Sure he isn't a world beater but if he can pass on much of what he has learnt over his journey these benefits will outweigh anything he does on the ground.

Good get IMO.

Happy now. This is the one FA I liked the look of as a fit for us. Now can we sit the rest of FA out and concentrate on trading and maximising our compo?

No disrespect to you Jaded, but even if he does play out his career at Casey, which I doubt, his contribution to the club from herein onwards, will undoubtedly outweigh any offering you have dished, whether it be' Demonland' or our once proud club.

Yeshua! Get a clue!

Fox

Welcome Shannon. Glad you are at the MFC. Fills a need and from all accounts an outstanding leader and someone who given his playing background, can teach our kids a great deal...

It's a good pick up for us just purely as an experienced body who's been at a club choc full of recent success. He's not going to win the B&F, he's not going to be the difference between us finishing top 4 of bottom 4, but he's here to do a specific role and I believe he'll be good for a player like Bleese.

Welcome to the MFC.

He will help blease ,sam was our only small forward who kicked goals this year, now we have two small forwards kicking who can kick goals, all we need is another tall target, if rivers leaves the we will need garland down back.

Welcome aboard Mr Byrnes.

Just watched his presser. Seems a solid citizen with his head screwed on. This is what Neeld is after. Great get i reckon.

Edited October 4, 201212 yr by binman

Who was the last premiership player we had on our list? Dual premiership player I might add.

He's an exemplary character with a strong work ethic coming out of the best team in the current era. He got overtaken by young guns like Christiansen and Motlop - no shame there. He will play a role where our previous options were Davey and Bennell, and he's proven he can play that role at Flag grade. We're desperate for senior players with leadership as we seem to be in a permanent spiral of our list getting younger. He comes for free.

I'm amazed people can't see the upside here. No, he's not Tippett. But if you're looking for that one player who's going to lift us above his shoulders and carry us from our current misery to glory then you're going to be spending the rest of your life disappointed.

Well said Nasher, well said.

Tell me who you would rather have that we could realistically convince to come to our club during this free agency period.

As you've pointed out with this comment above.

He's nothing special.

But hey, let me state right now that I do wish him all the best. He will bring experience and will add value in some way.