I would hope that the club (appropriate person) sits down with Aaron and they discuss his future with a view to having him onboard for one more season where he will take on more of a mentoring/development role. Perhaps this discussion may have already taken place 12 months ago? I would hate to see him summarily dumped after the years of quality service he gave us, regardless of his form and desire seemingly dropping off as his body finds it harder to cope with the rigours of today's game.

I concur. Take a pay cut and stay on with a one year contract to provide leadership. Hopefully he is happy to do that and sticks with the club to help guide our younger players.

I concur. Take a pay cut and stay on with a one year contract to provide leadership. Hopefully he is happy to do that and sticks with the club to help guide our younger players.

Win win for both.

Has a lot to offer - but more off field.

He's said he wants to play on so if it's his last game then it's the club that's letting him go.

Will wait for an official source on this one.

Also, 'rjay' do you really need the quotation marks every time you use someone's username?

I've wondered the same thing myself 'Yossarian'. I suppose we all have our quirks.

I would have thought leadership and quite often role modelling are two things Davey is weak in.

I am not sure he is necessarily the "Melbourne" I think we should retain.

But there is no doubt whatsoever that he should be exited gracefully and respectfully at year end. It's certainly something the previous administration did poorly.

just how do you judge his leadership qualities?

and ROLE MODELLING?

Sadly, Aaron mugged us for four years in 2009. Probably because Melbourne did not want to lose him AND Brock McLean in the one hit. Cannot think of too many more disastrous signings. Jonathan Hay, perhaps?

The great days of The Flash burning off opponents and shooting a low flat pass to CHF are gone sadly.

Davey needs to hang up the boots and be proud of his career.

Hasn't dominated a game for years.

I would have thought leadership and quite often role modelling are two things Davey is weak in.

I am not sure he is necessarily the "Melbourne" I think we should retain.

But there is no doubt whatsoever that he should be exited gracefully and respectfully at year end. It's certainly something the previous administration did poorly.

On what are you basing your opinion on?

I have always got a good impression from Davey. Modest, speaks very highly of team mates and when alot of people wrote him off combined with a lazy culture at the club he was one of the few this year that got back into shape and improved.

EDIT: spelling

Edited August 13, 201312 yr by PJ_12345

I don't know about Davey, but list management decisions are being made as early as two weeks ago.

You can't leave these sort of things until October - players are humans that need to treated with dignity and respect and the club has to plan for the off-season - with or without a coach, a FD head, assistant coaches, et al.

On what are you basing your opinion on?

I have always got a good impression from Davey. Modest, speaks very highly of team mates and when alot of people wrote him off combined with a lazy culture at the club he was one of the few this year that got back into shape and improved.

From watching him play. His story is a wonderful story of coming of the rookie list to win a B&F. But his past occurrences on field tantrums and brain bursts coupled with the inability to cope with a hard tag especially happening when he was an appointed leader was poor form. The observed events reflected a lack of maturity, leadership and poor example to younger players. Unfortunately his lack of attributes in those areas was symptomatic of some of the issues at the Club.

And over the past year, I don't think it's a lazy culture at MFC. There has been a chronic lack of leadership that was poorly coached within a list that lacks AFL standard quality in a number of key areas.

From watching him play. His story is a wonderful story of coming of the rookie list to win a B&F. But his past occurrences on field tantrums and brain bursts coupled with the inability to cope with a hard tag especially happening when he was an appointed leader was poor form. The observed events reflected a lack of maturity, leadership and poor example to younger players. Unfortunately his lack of attributes in those areas was symptomatic of some of the issues at the Club.

If one is unbiased and realistic this is pretty much the case.

Lets not gt too mushy when looking back with those rosey revisionist brand goggles. Often things are what they are.. Aarons star shone brilliantly but not for a particularly long time before all but disappearing off the stellar map.

I for one thought he could aspire to great leadership at the club but it never seemed to materialise. I can only assume for a very simple reason, it just wasnt there.

I agree with RR in that its not really the players decision as to which game, but I can also see that given our precarious location at the lower end of the ladder its not going to matter a great deal if he is afforded one last hurrah, at the G. Let's be magnanimous.

Edited August 13, 201312 yr by belzebub59

From watching him play. His story is a wonderful story of coming of the rookie list to win a B&F. But his past occurrences on field tantrums and brain bursts coupled with the inability to cope with a hard tag especially happening when he was an appointed leader was poor form. The observed events reflected a lack of maturity, leadership and poor example to younger players. Unfortunately his lack of attributes in those areas was symptomatic of some of the issues at the Club.

And over the past year, I don't think it's a lazy culture at MFC. There has been a chronic lack of leadership that was poorly coached within a list that lacks AFL standard quality in a number of key areas.

glad your basing your opinion on watching him play

I will leave it at that, and not go any further with this

The fact is Davey is a very good leader and role model. What RR is failing to recognise is the position Davey has in the indigenous community. Davey has worked hard to become an AFL player and has succeeded in a very harsh environment. He is a pioneer with forward line pressure, and coming via lower AFL leagues (SANFL/VFL). Two areas that are in vogue with all AFL clubs.

Recent history shows how hard it is to assess the leadership of many at the club when the Board, Football Dept and Administration failing abysmally with its own leadership. We are experiencing one of the worst periods in ths clubs history. Everything looks bad ATM.

I don't understand why Aaron is attacked on this board for being weak. He is slight in build and was never going to play a role in being physically intimidating. He it's an outside midfielder/forward. In his day he had speed to burn and he intimidated the opposition with this speed. There are many forms of intimidation other than the physical kind. It takes all types of people to make up a football team, and leadership comes in many forms.

The fact is Davey is a very good leader and role model. What RR is failing to recognise is the position Davey has in the indigenous community. Davey has worked hard to become an AFL player and has succeeded in a very harsh environment. He is a pioneer with forward line pressure, and coming via lower AFL leagues (SANFL/VFL). Two areas that are in vogue with all AFL clubs.

Recent history shows how hard it is to assess the leadership of many at the club when the Board, Football Dept and Administration failing abysmally with its own leadership. We are experiencing one of the worst periods in ths clubs history. Everything looks bad ATM.

I don't understand why Aaron is attacked on this board for being weak. He is slight in build and was never going to play a role in being physically intimidating. He it's an outside midfielder/forward. In his day he had speed to burn and he intimidated the opposition with this speed. There are many forms of intimidation other than the physical kind. It takes all types of people to make up a football team, and leadership comes in many forms.

what you say Willis !!!

Hes not a huge lad but nice guns .

He had half the league jumping at shadows at one point , scared pantsless they would be all but dacked by him as he commanded the forward region looking for victims. He was THAT good.

Now heres the thing.. he WAS...WAS that good and now isnt and hasnt been for quite a few years ( Some cynics might suggest a corrolation between when he got his good deal and when things went a bit quiet ) Would i suggest that

I hear ya with tha Brudderhood thing but I really wonder if people are want to overplay all this. Its about the football

Bub,, as many don't want to recognise, there is more to life than football. If this is Davey's last home ground game, the thing to do would be turn up and celebrate his career. There were many good times.

Instead, ppl just wanna kick the boots in.

From watching him play. His story is a wonderful story of coming of the rookie list to win a B&F. But his past occurrences on field tantrums and brain bursts coupled with the inability to cope with a hard tag especially happening when he was an appointed leader was poor form. The observed events reflected a lack of maturity, leadership and poor example to younger players. Unfortunately his lack of attributes in those areas was symptomatic of some of the issues at the Club.

And over the past year, I don't think it's a lazy culture at MFC. There has been a chronic lack of leadership that was poorly coached within a list that lacks AFL standard quality in a number of key areas.

I met him in 2011 and got the completely opposite impression.

He went backwards quite a bit with his football. His chasing got shorter, less competitive, pickier and eventually struggled to play a full game (something which Silvia still does).

All that aside, will there be enough room on the list for him with Byrnes, Rodan, Blease and Kent next year? Probably not, but it depends on the next coach.

Either way I'd like to see the end of other clubs getting the benefits of our good retired players and would like to see the club have him at some capacity with that kick of his.

I met him in 2011 and got the completely opposite impression.

He went backwards quite a bit with his football. His chasing got shorter, less competitive, pickier and eventually struggled to play a full game (something which Silvia still does).

All that aside, will there be enough room on the list for him with Byrnes, Rodan, Blease and Kent next year? Probably not, but it depends on the next coach.

Either way I'd like to see the end of other clubs getting the benefits of our good retired players and would like to see the club have him at some capacity with that kick of his.

I have no doubt he is nice guy. I think some of his competitors like Rodan and Blease may not be around either. I think the only player we really lost the benefit of early was Junior. And as PJ has said people we have in our FD have to be right/ best person for the role. If Davey fulfills that criteria then I have no issue with a future role. I am not sure his future is in AFL

The fact is Davey is a very good leader and role model. What RR is failing to recognise is the position Davey has in the indigenous community. Davey has worked hard to become an AFL player and has succeeded in a very harsh environment. He is a pioneer with forward line pressure, and coming via lower AFL leagues (SANFL/VFL). Two areas that are in vogue with all AFL clubs.

Recent history shows how hard it is to assess the leadership of many at the club when the Board, Football Dept and Administration failing abysmally with its own leadership. We are experiencing one of the worst periods in ths clubs history. Everything looks bad ATM.

I don't understand why Aaron is attacked on this board for being weak. He is slight in build and was never going to play a role in being physically intimidating. He it's an outside midfielder/forward. In his day he had speed to burn and he intimidated the opposition with this speed. There are many forms of intimidation other than the physical kind. It takes all types of people to make up a football team, and leadership comes in many forms.

His admirable work in the indigenous community does not lend itself to valid criteria to leadership in the football club. And on field where it is critical he has shown himself at key times to sulking, temperamental and truculent on the field to the detriment of the team. His failures on field were key to the Club demoting from the leadership group.

It's absurd to hide behind generalisations of other issues at the Club to exonerate his failings in areas.

And his slight build is indeed an issue in today's game. Players that cannot provide pressure defensively via proper body contact for the contested ball or when the opposition has the ball are at a disadvantage in today's game. It was great to note Daveys impact with pace when he started but that dimmed in the past 3 years its poor proxy for bring able to physically pressure the ball carrier.

As I said Daveys rise has been a great story for the MFC and he deserves if deemed fit by the Club to be exited with good grace. But let's not get teary eyed and build it up as something it ain't.

Why would we move him on when there are clearly so many before him that should go first. We have for the last five years continualymoved older players on, on the hope of others to come through when they haven't. Who on our list is better in his position and how many have we got. Clearly mids are a priority over small forwards in this off season, so while Barry continues to improve and maybe one other he remains our best bet even if it is to play only in the first half of next year and then drift out for Barry.

Dam I wanted to come over to one game this season at the G.

Left it too late for the 2013 season.