AGM and Members Information Night - Wednesday 6th February, 2013 @ 6.30pm

[darkhorse72 1,920]

I thought the AGM was a well run and professional affair but if anyone went there to learn something new in this age of the internet, social media, twitter et al, forget it. Notwithstanding that, I left with a little warm and fuzzy feeling about the future.

Notable to me was the fact that nothing particularly critical came up from the audience in question time and there was not a single attempt to muzzle any questioner and all questions were answered in a forthright and as far as I could judge honest manner. So to those critics who were cynical about one or two questions being avoided last year for sensitive reasons, that didn't happen tonight. Perhaps the audience used their discretion in some areas but there should be no complaints.

Conspicuously absent were those who bag the way the club is run from the top in terms of finances. I expected someone to get up and eplain why it was better for the club to be $5million in debt (as we were when the Stynes board came in) than $6.4 million in surplus as we are today. It didn't happen.

Personally the most pleasing aspect from my point of view was Mark Neeld's comment that the club still has people who are in touch with Liam Jurrah and offering them our support even though he left the club because he wasn't in the right space to be concentrating on his AFL career. Of course, the second part didn't give me comfort but the fact that as a club we remain loyal to a former player in trouble is a mark of what we should be aspiring for (and that's not a comment on all of things of which he's been accused. He's a troubled person from a troubled community and it's good to see the club wishing only the best for him.

A brief comment was made in relation to the enquiry into Essendon over the use of prohibited supplements. The club has done it's own internal investigation and does not believe it has anything to worry about. Phew, phew.

I didn't make notes tonight but I'll report some points later (with the aid of some tweets I've read on Twitter.

Anyway, as I said above, I remain warm and fuzzy and I really believe that the club's in good hands.

And by the way, the young 11 year old who asked the first question in question time is a relation of mine. He's my cousin's grandson and it's the second year in a row that he asked Mark Neeld a question. This time it was whether he thought we'd improve. He's already working on next year's question but in all modesty I say he's an even better footballer than questioner and he's likely to be the first family member to play AFL.

Go Dees!

Any other significant comments or statements from the AGM, being in Perth I couldn't make it

[Dee Fan 3,247]

A defining comment

And another, this to me looks as if we will assist Bailey in his defence, as we should.

"We will continue to defend the rights of all our past and present club employees where we believe it is necessary to do so.

[DirtyDees DDC 176]

Neeld mentioned that supporters going to training would notice that the team is now doing things faster for longer. He noted that the players are now challenging themselves at training, instead of merely hoping to get through the session. He said the workload for the players had increased by 15% this year (and another good result is the low number of players in the rehab group. The club seems to be managing their workloads better). As usual no predictions were made re number of wins per year, but the club is in contact with Liam Jurrah to provide support (not necessarily financial).

One observation re Don's comment 'for anyone to suggest that our players did not give their all every time they ran onto the field is not acceptable to us'.

He used the word 'players'. He did not refer to coaches or administrators. I think it was CS who mentioned that the club was also supporting former players and officials in the investigation.

[Slartibartfast 17,336]

One observation re Don's comment 'for anyone to suggest that our players did not give their all every time they ran onto the field is not acceptable to us'.

He used the word 'players'. He did not refer to coaches or administrators. I think it was CS who mentioned that the club was also supporting former players and officials in the investigation.

I said it was defining because he basically defined "tanking". I've never doubted for a minute that this was the case.

[DirtyDees DDC 176]

It was good to see a full house of members there...but where was the club song at the end of the meeting?

[whelan45 203]

I went along. Very professional and well run night. A few interesting points that I liked:

• The gaming revenue generated by the Bentleigh Club and the other club we own (sorry forgot the name of the second one) exceeds the cost of debt, which was pleasing to hear. I think the value of the asset was appox $5mil greater than the debt as well.
• Schwab said the potential Docklands training base would need to be very compelling for us to move to it. Got a strong vibe that we are very unlikely to pursue it, as we do not want to be separated from the MCG precinct.
• We are still maintaining connections in China. There is confidence that as we maintain these relationships, they will benefit us in time.

A good night. I have plenty of confidence in the group running our club. It is not an easy job, and I think they do it quite well.

[daisycutter 29,622]

anyone notice a guy there with a tea-towel on his head called bob?

[diesel 420]

One observation re Don's comment 'for anyone to suggest that our players did not give their all every time they ran onto the field is not acceptable to us'.

He used the word 'players'. He did not refer to coaches or administrators. I think it was CS who mentioned that the club was also supporting former players and officials in the investigation.

It was definitely Don talking about both DD, and he was spot on to say accusations of players not trying are not acceptable. I actually think it's offensive based on the evidence presented and I hope we get the opportunity to shove it right back up Clothier and whoever else conducted the games review.

Edited February 6, 2013 by diesel

[DirtyDees DDC 176]

It was definitely Don talking about both DD, and he was spot on to say accusations of players not trying are not acceptable. I actually think it's offensive based on the evidnec presented and I hope we get the opportunity to shove it right back up Clothier and whoever else conducted this games review.

Yes correction needed here. Don said "We will continue to defend the rights of all our past and present club employees where we believe it is necessary to do so."

[Barney Rubble 1,576]

I didn't ask the question I was going to ask.

That was about whether there were any more skeletons in the closet

relating to what has happened in the past 48 hours. I just didn't think the atmosphere warranted it

But I did have a conversation with Toddles on the way to the station.

His answer convinced me we are clean.

[Thehardtackler 785]

Spoke to several coaching staff and players at the AGM. Paul Satterley particularly impressed me. He said that Jimmy Toumpas and Jack Viney would possibly improve enough by the end of the year to negate the need to target a player like Daisy Thomas in theTrade Period. He said we probably only needed one more premiership player from another club in Trade Week to help us push towards a future premiership. He also suggested that we might be more interested in a player like Buddy Franklin in trade week. Maybe we are only going for one big name in the Trade Week at the end of the year and we will use the draft for the remainder of our requirements. Anyway it will be interesting to see how the year unfolds and the AGM was impressive at every level.

[CBDees 3,167]

It was good to see a full house of members there...but where was the club song at the end of the meeting?

Very disappointed that the Club song was not sung (both verses) and that it was not initiated from the stage!

[rjay 24,981]

I went along. Very professional and well run night. A few interesting points that I liked:

• The gaming revenue generated by the Bentleigh Club and the other club we own (sorry forgot the name of the second one) exceeds the cost of debt, which was pleasing to hear. I think the value of the asset was appox $5mil greater than the debt as well.
• Schwab said the potential Docklands training base would need to be very compelling for us to move to it. Got a strong vibe that we are very unlikely to pursue it, as we do not want to be separated from the MCG precinct.
• We are still maintaining connections in China. There is confidence that as we maintain these relationships, they will benefit us in time.

A good night. I have plenty of confidence in the group running our club. It is not an easy job, and I think they do it quite well.

Good to hear, I have been wondering about the club revenues and whether we have had to prop up the assets with cash flow. It appears we don't.

Not a fan of the Dockland idea and now with Carlton trying to get in on the act it is even more crucial to me that we lock in the MCG precinct. We do need a club and full blown training facility.

China is a long term strategy, it's good to keep it on the go.

[CBDees 3,167]

I went along. Very professional and well run night. A few interesting points that I liked:

• The gaming revenue generated by the Bentleigh Club and the other club we own (sorry forgot the name of the second one) exceeds the cost of debt, which was pleasing to hear. I think the value of the asset was appox $5mil greater than the debt as well.
• Schwab said the potential Docklands training base would need to be very compelling for us to move to it. Got a strong vibe that we are very unlikely to pursue it, as we do not want to be separated from the MCG precinct.
• We are still maintaining connections in China. There is confidence that as we maintain these relationships, they will benefit us in time.

A good night. I have plenty of confidence in the group running our club. It is not an easy job, and I think they do it quite well.

What you did not say was that we are not pursueing China for members but for sponsors as Chinese firms use us as a springboard into the USA and Europe (such as LG did some years ago. p.s. the other venue is the Leighoak

[Whispering_Jack 30,237]

* Russell Howcroft did a bit of a warm up plugging the mfc.com.au site and the club's face book page but he loses marks for his failure to mention Demonland - for heaven's sakes man, get your act in order

* Club Chaplin Cam Butler was awarded the Volunteer Award for his service to the club since 1997. Great effort for a bloke who started off as a Bulldog supporter. Spiritually, we're in good hands.

* We learned that the MFC has the highest rate of conversion of supporters to members in the AFL. Knowing this will help me win a trivia competition one of these days.

* Board member John Trotter (also an accountant with Deloittes?) went through the accounts. We made a modest profit, had a positive cash flow and our balance sheet looks healthy. Our level of expenditure is trending upward from the bottom two or three to the middle of the pack but still well behind the big spenders. The audience was so bedazzled by the presentation that there were no questions. This is usual at football club AGMs - we all sit around like stunned mullets waiting for the footy stuff.

* Don McLardy talked in brief about our tough year and the issues we faced. The AFL investigation in particular, has been costly and hard on the club and the people asdociated with it. He said that despite the troubles, we have a settled, united and focused club and football department.

* Cam Schwab was interesting and as articulate as ever. He went through our main objectives, spoke about the continued investment in the football department, in particular recruiting and explained the concept of "first and forever". It recognises that we created the game but our absolute objective is to finish first and that when this is achieved it is a lasting notion. He also said there is something special and unique about how our members and supporters relate to our Club. Redleg who was sitting on my left said, "Amen".

* At this staged I checked the cricket score on my iPhone and the Bravos were causing some flutters with their run chase against Australia's big score.

* Todd Viney was next up and thanked the loyal supporters and members for their generous support to help them recruit to the best of their ability. He then introduced 12 of the 14 newcomers to the club. Absent were Dom Barry who is with the indigenous training camp in Alice Springs (along with Aaron & Nev) and Dean Terlich who was in SA attending a funeral. There was a big of by play between the shorter players led by DRod, Shannon Byrnes and Jimmy T and Jack V (the latter isn't as small as I thought - perhaps he's grown a couple of cm's?).

* Revelations of the evening - Jesse Hogan will possibly play in a NAB Cup game this year and both he an Jimmy T are living at the Viney home. On that basis, I reckon Todd's wife is crucial to the club's future and I hope she's a good cook (male chauvinist comment # 1).

* Mark Neeld was interviewed and wasn't keen to give much away but he did say we were doing things faster and longer at training this year and the intensity was 15% greater. There was more purpose in the way we trained. He said that we were still well behind the leading clubs in terms of vital games played. Swans averaged 130 in the grand final, Hawks 113 - we're not even close to that. Neeld said he's not selling fairy tales but is looking at getting better. He explained that the club put in significant research before deciding on Darwin for the training camp. The camp tested the players both physically and mentally.

* There was a wide range of questions that covered everything from the players' facial hair, a female chauvinist () comment about how good looking the players were to questions about our improvement, the future of indigenous players in the game (brilliantly answered by Neil Craig), our continuing role in China and the fate of the Hankook and Kaspersky sponsorships. All handled well and, as I mentioned above, no avoidance of any issues.

* We were reminded about the first intraclub practice match on the morning of Friday 15 February at Casey Fields, the Family Day @ Luna Park on the morning of Saturday 23rd February and ... oh, we happen to be playing our first NAB Cup game the night before that.

* got home to watch us beat the Windies.

And in the end there were no revelations about the tanking inquisition (although I can say that tempers are fraying among some of the supporters at the way we've been treated by the AFL). Nobody sang the club song at the end either which was a first but I don't mind that. We can sing the song when we win a flag, not when we win four games, three against Mickey Mouse teams and one against a club being investigated for using something that might be prohibited.

[Whispering_Jack 30,237]

Glad I didn't actually make notes.

[Grandson of a gun 276]

Great job WJ. Thanks for that.

Edit: Did they give any indication on when they thought the AFL may make a decision on the investigation? I know it's kind of like asking how long a piece of string is but figured they would likely have a fairly good grasp of the timeframe...

Edited February 6, 2013 by Grandson of a gun

[Rogue 585]

* We learned that the MFC has the highest rate of conversion of supporters to members in the AFL. Knowing this will help me win a trivia competition one of these days.

I - and others, I imagine - have mentioned this on Demonland multiple times over the years.

Keep a close eye on our posts and the jugs, chickens, or whatever it is that you win at trivia competitions, will be all yours.

[ChaserJ 5,098]

NIce work WJ.

Also noted that Neeld said that the boys were training faster, and maintaining that speed for longer than this time last year. The mentality of the boys seems more football focused and they're actively looking at ways to improve.

Neeld also acknowledged that 14 players was a high turnover (by MFC standards), and that the Sydney loss was a catalyst for change (I believe he was referring to the list and players who could execute the game plan, but could also have intimated a tweak in game style).

When asked whether MFC would be targetting any premiership players in the free agency period, Neeld didn't think Tim Harrington and Viney would even have thought about that yet (I don't believe that for a second).

Cam Schwab acknowledged Todd Viney as a good breeder, also said that MFC want to be at the forefront of the equalisation debate. No surprise there, we stand to either gain or lose greatly depending on how things fall. Also said that while it's a great achievment to have moved into the mid tier range of teams (in relation to football dept spend), the gap between the top 4 and the rest is growing very quickly.

Also mentioned that he believed that Casey is back on track.

[Guest José Mourinho]

Any mention of the junior development progress of young Max Viney..?

[ChaserJ 5,098]

From a financial point of view, Trotter reported that a financial surplus is a good result considering the challenges faced this year and the increase in football dept spend.

As far as next year is concerned, MFC are budgeting conservatively. They joked that they're expecting Neeld to march into the Board meeting and ask for further funding to expand the Darwin experiment further (perhaps a half joke).

Apparently the Bentleigh Club is paying off it's mortgage repayments in positive cash flow. The social and moral conflicts associated with profits gained from poker machines were ackowledged, but it was said that fiscal realities nessescitated the use of gaming venues to raise revenue for football clubs. We are also looking at acquiring a third gaming venue in the long term.

[Satyriconhome 10,879]

I actually thought the question on the future of Indigenous players was brilliantly asked as well, but I am biased, and agree answered brilliantly, told Craig that after meeting ended

May get a poll started on here about the benefits of playing with facial hair, Rangey can u see to that please

I think they want the song to ring out when we win, doing everytime we get together will devalue it....we are all finally on the same page....no rallying cry needed

WJ make sure u take notes next time...that report is very scant on detail haha (twitter touch)

[Akum 2,660]

... May get a poll started on here about the benefits of playing with facial hair ...

Seemed to work for the Swans, some of the worst facial fuzz since W.G. Grace.

Come to think of it, worked well for W.G. too!

[hardtack 10,555]

* Club Chaplin Cam Butler was awarded the Volunteer Award for his service to the club since 1997. Great effort for a bloke who started off as a Bulldog supporter. Spiritually, we're in good hands.

Hmmm...the only club to have had a longer wait between premierships than us is the Bulldogs...are you sure we are in good hands, or does this tell us there is no god?

[Demon Disciple 12,180]

might just be me, but when Mark Neeld first came to the club, in the videos uploaded on the MFC website he would often remark "the Melbourne Football Club", whereas now he says "we".