WELCOME TO THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - HARLEY BENNELL

[Pennant St Dee 13,473]

No, stay well clear, he hasn't given himself the best chance to recover and perform 

[watchtheeyes 1,429]

Surely worth consideration as a rookie.. what do we lose?

[DeeSpencer 26,717]

Would be silly to give him a contract but I'd be fine with the club giving him the Sydney Stack treatment. He can train over summer and see how it goes. Maybe the Hardwick's can provide lodging?

[Moonshadow 17,678]

2 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

Would be silly to give him a contract but I'd be fine with the club giving him the Sydney Stack treatment. He can train over summer and see how it goes. Maybe the Hardwick's can provide lodging?

Would be interesting to see what might happen if another club invited him to train over summer. Work his legs hard, see if he can stand up to it.... literally.

[Lord Nev 13,512]

Would rather take Stephen Hill if we're taking a gamble on some outside skill.

Cost us the same as Bennell, with far less risk.

Edited July 31, 2019 by Lord Nev

[picket fence 18,233]

RE HB!

Jaheeezus H 

We have now gone to 6 pages about a bloke who has of field issues, cannot get onto the park if at all'

And we are treating him like some Messiah

Chriiiiistmas give me a break!

How desperate are we

Ok, this is what I think of this player coming to MFC

ABSOLUTELY NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

Edited July 31, 2019 by picket fence

[YesitwasaWin4theAges 6,843]

How could you possibly even contemplate HB coming to our club.

FMD.

[Sir Why You Little 37,499]

Thanks for the smiles 

[monoccular 17,761]

23 hours ago, deanox said:

Goody is too safe? The coach who:

- experimented with a 4 man "diamond defense" and an 8 man back line with 4 runners into the square;

- went after the best intercept defender in the comp as part of an attacking zone game plan;

- was willing to trade out a troubled but star key forward for a gun lock down defender in response to 666 changes;

- was willing to back in a young KPF and a rookie instead of sticking wih the safe journeyman; and

- was willing to reinvent players in different positions such as Frost to the back line,  TMac forward and Lewis forward;

is too safe?

 

deanox - you make Goody sound like the coach of the century.

Maybe we need to give him (Goody) another chance, and are you implying that we should do the same for the subject of this thread?

[Moonshadow 17,678]

27 minutes ago, picket fence said:

RE HB!

Jaheeezus H 

We have now gone to 6 pages about a bloke who has of field issues, cannot get onto the park if at all'

And we are treating him like some Messiah

Chriiiiistmas give me a break!

How desperate are we

Ok, this is what I think of this player coming to MFC

ABSOLUTELY NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

So you're saying there's still a chance?

?

[Ethan Tremblay 31,396]

I can’t believe people would consider giving this guy a lifeline given all of his off-field issues and lack of effort with overcoming injury. This is the sort of player that a professional club should stay well away from. I’m flabbergasted people would give consideration to recruiting him. 

Edited July 31, 2019 by Ethan Tremblay

[TheoX 1,222]

Hell we gave a KK a 3 year deal FFS, why not give this guy a go, at least he has talent.

[Moonshadow 17,678]

13 minutes ago, TheoX said:

Hell we gave a KK a 3 year deal FFS, why not give this guy a go, at least he has talent.

Unfortunately its hard to use talent when he can't get on the field, Theo. 

[Little Goffy 14,984]

Is there just something about the Fremantle football club that makes players leave mid-season?

https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-07-31/dockers-utility-to-quit-club-after-fractured-relationship

It is starting to look like the club where football careers go to fade away.

I wont suggest we should look at picking up Kersten because the prospect of another player with chronic foot problems will just trigger everyone.

13 minutes ago, TheoX said:

Hell we gave a KK a 3 year deal FFS, why not give this guy a go, at least he has talent.

Footywire, which I rate as pretty reliable, has Kolodjashnij as being out of contract at the end of this year. Did we recently re-sign him for a couple more and footywire is out of date, or is this a kind of Mandela effect thing?

[chookrat 4,268]

1 hour ago, Little Goffy said:

Is there just something about the Fremantle football club that makes players leave mid-season?

https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-07-31/dockers-utility-to-quit-club-after-fractured-relationship

It is starting to look like the club where football careers go to fade away.

I wont suggest we should look at picking up Kersten because the prospect of another player with chronic foot problems will just trigger everyone.

Footywire, which I rate as pretty reliable, has Kolodjashnij as being out of contract at the end of this year. Did we recently re-sign him for a couple more and footywire is out of date, or is this a kind of Mandela effect thing?

Makes you wonder what sort of antics they get up to in Cockburn. 

[whatwhat say what 23,895]

1 hour ago, Little Goffy said:

Footywire, which I rate as pretty reliable, has Kolodjashnij as being out of contract at the end of this year. Did we recently re-sign him for a couple more and footywire is out of date, or is this a kind of Mandela effect thing?

from what i gather, footywire has the date of his expiring contract with gc17, rather than whatever deal he had with the demons

there doesn't seem to be a consensus in terms of his contract length with us, but like you i thought we were simply honouring the terms of his previous deal; have not seen / cannot recall seeing anything regarding updated terms with kk

[Lord Nev 13,512]

Has apparently met with a "Melbourne based club".

POSSIBLE LIFELINE FOR BENNELL

[Lord Nev 13,512]

3 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

Has apparently met with a "Melbourne based club".

POSSIBLE LIFELINE FOR BENNELL

And just adding some further info...

According to the report, specialists have identified a tendon pushing onto a nerve in both of Bennell's calves is the cause of the problem.

Bennell is adamant he still has plenty of good footy left in him and is determined to get his body right.

Importantly, surgeons are confident he will be ready to hit the track by November.

Report: Bennell to meet with Victorian club

 

[At Least I Saw a Flag 5,356]

John McEnroe summed it up best ...

[Tough Kent 2,138]

30 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

And just adding some further info...

According to the report, specialists have identified a tendon pushing onto a nerve in both of Bennell's calves is the cause of the problem.

Bennell is adamant he still has plenty of good footy left in him and is determined to get his body right.

Importantly, surgeons are confident he will be ready to hit the track by November.

Report: Bennell to meet with Victorian club

 

Why would you back your club into getting the best out of a prodigious talent like Bennell when you could keep that list spot open for a Josh Wagner or an Oscar McDonald??? 

Edited August 6, 2019 by Tough Kent

[Demon3 2,541]

Our club is so safe when it comes to these things, no risk, no reward. I completely understand the reluctance from many on HB, lets be honest he is has been a disaster since he left the Suns. But i look at this way, if you are prepared to trade first round picks for talent into the club then why not offer a prodigious talent like HB a rookie spot. Back our new man Burgess into get him up and running, get Nev Jetta, one of the AFLs most respected players to mentor and guide him,  get him to enjoy his footy. Steven May would know him i assume pretty well, , get him involved.

At some point the club has to take a risk and look outside the square, we did it with last with Liam Jurrah, ultimately it didnt work in the end but we gave it a go and we all still smile about Liam and his involvement at the club.

[Diamond_Jim 12,779]

38 minutes ago, Demon3 said:

Our club is so safe when it comes to these things, no risk, no reward. I completely understand the reluctance from many on HB, lets be honest he is has been a disaster since he left the Suns. But i look at this way, if you are prepared to trade first round picks for talent into the club then why not offer a prodigious talent like HB a rookie spot. Back our new man Burgess into get him up and running, get Nev Jetta, one of the AFLs most respected players to mentor and guide him,  get him to enjoy his footy. Steven May would know him i assume pretty well, , get him involved.

At some point the club has to take a risk and look outside the square, we did it with last with Liam Jurrah, ultimately it didnt work in the end but we gave it a go and we all still smile about Liam and his involvement at the club.

agree but we have enough risk projects at present. KK, AVB the two Smiths and arguably Stretch. Need to remove three of those before we add another one.

Also need to have clear triggers and ability to exit at mid and end season. I suspect these conditions would not be attractive to HB such that he would leave the West. Perhaps we list him and leave him in the WAFL for a few months to find form so if and when he moved east he had  a high probability of making the senior team.

As you say it's risk and managing the total risk exposure.

[Demon3 2,541]

3 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

agree but we have enough risk projects at present. KK, AVB the two Smiths and arguably Stretch. Need to remove three of those before we add another one.

Also need to have clear triggers and ability to exit at mid and end season. I suspect these conditions would not be attractive to HB such that he would leave the West. Perhaps we list him and leave him in the WAFL for a few months to find form so if and when he moved east he had  a high probability of making the senior team.

As you say it's risk and managing the total risk exposure.

Yeah its a good point re: the risk projects we have, and i suspect 1 or 2 of those mentioned might find themselves on the outer. I agree it needs to be managed carefully and expertly and professionally (something i dont think we do that well) but worth the conversation in my opinion.

[Lord Nev 13,512]

10 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

agree but we have enough risk projects at present. KK, AVB the two Smiths and arguably Stretch. Need to remove three of those before we add another one.

Stretch and both Smiths are out of contract and surely we consider paying out vB or he retires? Stretch and J.Smith both have parents who have made comments about not being happy with the club, so they're no lock to stay, and Bull will be 29 when the next season starts and is struggling to stay on the park, so I'd guess 3 of those could very well be gone, and when you add in KK's concussion problems, there's a small chance all of them could be not on our list next year.

Edited August 7, 2019 by Lord Nev

[Diamond_Jim 12,779]

1 minute ago, Lord Nev said:

Stretch and both Smiths are out of contract and surely we consider paying out vB or he retires? Stretch and J.Smith both have parents who have made comments about not being happy with the club, so they're no lock to stay, and Bull will be 29 when the next season starts and is struggling to stay on the park, so I'd guess 3 of those could very well be gone, and when you add in KK's concussion problems, there's a small chance all of them could be not on our list next year.

agree

KK is the high risk/reward player.. perhaps one more year but I am not qualified to assess the real risk

Edited August 7, 2019 by Diamond_Jim