Dear Members,

Now that all our AFL Football leaders are back to kick off their 2024 campaign, we are pleased to advise you of the return of our annual, in-person Members’ Football Forum, on Tuesday 12 December at the MCG.

This is an opportunity for our members to connect directly from the Club’s football leaders, as they reflect on the AFL and AFLW seasons that were and share insights on the improvements they will make to both programs heading into next year.

Speakers at the event include senior coaches Simon Goodwin and Mick Stinear, GM AFL Football Performance Alan Richardson, GM of AFLW and Football Operations Marcus Wagner, AFL List Manager Tim Lamb and Head of AFL High-Performance Selwyn Griffith.

This forum will focus solely on the Club’s on-field performance, the elements that drive both our AFL and AFLW football programs and how they are preparing for next season.

The Football Forum will take place on Tuesday 12 December at 6:30pm in the Member’s Dining Room at the MCG, and will also be live streamed on the Club website.

Members planning to attend in person are invited to submit questions to our senior football leaders via the link below. They will aim to respond to common themes in their presentations on the night.

2023 Members’ Football Forum
Date: Tuesday 12th December 2023
Time: 6:30pm
Location: MCC Members Dining Room, Level 2, Gate 2, MCG.
Entry: Your valid 2023 or 2024 Melbourne Football Club membership card is required for entry.
Questions: SUBMIT HERE 

Gary Pert
Chief Executive Officer
Melbourne Football Club

Genuinely thought we were bringing back the old forum footy matches..

?

Edited December 5, 20231 yr by old dee

Entry by 'membership card'.

What card?

(Just curious; can't get there...)

Is this a new thing. Don’t recall seeing this event in previous years.

any word on the family day date?

Didn’t we have one or two of theses pre covid? I remember some smart azz getting up and slagging O Mac to the coaches. 

I can’t make it so will be subbing in Schache as my replacement.

  On 05/12/2023 at 06:19, BDA said:

Is this a new thing. Don’t recall seeing this event in previous years.

any word on the family day date?

Definitely had them online during Covid.

Cant recall an in person one last year…

 

  On 05/12/2023 at 07:41, Super Sub Schache said:

I can’t make it so will be subbing in Schache as my replacement.

Well he won’t be participating as sub.

  On 05/12/2023 at 07:53, Redleg said:

Well he won’t be participating as sub.

I hate it when I forget to use the sub, oops!

Well you couldn’t work at Subway then.

  On 05/12/2023 at 05:46, dazzledavey36 said:

Genuinely thought we were bringing back the old forum footy matches..

They were good fun

If I attend, I’ll be submitting the following questions:

1) what was the rationale and perceived competitive advantage behind playing one man less than our opponent in the semi final, on a warm September night. Bearing in mind that the opposition’s sub was instrumental in setting up the winning goal.

2) Why did we play one tall defender short against Collingwood in the qualifying final when McStay kicked 2 goals on smaller opponents and 2 goals was essentially the difference. We demonstrated in the Essendon, Fremantle and Carlton (rd 22) losses that playing just 2 tall defenders is a losing formula.

3) Why did we travel back to Melbourne between our West Coast game and Gather Round, rather than setting up camp in Adelaide prior to the Essendon game? A game that proved to be our most lethargic and poorest of the year. Where was the foresight and innovation that the Dogs showed when they went from Gather Round direct to Perth (rather than heading back home) and had a solid win over Freo?

4) How is the club addressing our gross inaccuracy in the finals series, and ensuring that next year we give ourselves every opportunity to win a final rather than lamenting miss after miss.

  On 05/12/2023 at 08:46, Bring-Back-Powell said:

If I attend, I’ll be submitting the following questions:

1) what was the rationale and perceived competitive advantage behind playing one man less than our opponent in the semi final, on a warm September night. Bearing in mind that the opposition’s sub was instrumental in setting up the winning goal.

2) Why did we play one tall defender short against Collingwood in the qualifying final when McStay kicked 2 goals on smaller opponents and 2 goals was essentially the difference. We demonstrated in the Essendon, Fremantle and Carlton (rd 22) losses that playing just 2 tall defenders is a losing formula.

3) Why did we travel back to Melbourne between our West Coast game and Gather Round, rather than setting up camp in Adelaide prior to the Essendon game? A game that proved to be our most lethargic and poorest of the year. Where was the foresight and innovation that the Dogs showed when they went from Gather Round direct to Perth (rather than heading back home) and had a solid win over Freo?

4) How is the club addressing our gross inaccuracy in the finals series, and ensuring that next year we give ourselves every opportunity to win a final rather than lamenting miss after miss.

Very good questions - particularly #3, given how unifying our hubbing was in 2021.

From our Constitution:

2.8 Members’ forum

The Board may, in its absolute discretion and from time to time, establish and determine the rules for the operation and composition of a forum to act as an advisory body to the Board or to perform such other functions as determined by the Board from time to time.

Advise away.....

  On 05/12/2023 at 09:46, Hawk the Demon said:

From our Constitution:

2.8 Members’ forum

The Board may, in its absolute discretion and from time to time, establish and determine the rules for the operation and composition of a forum to act as an advisory body to the Board or to perform such other functions as determined by the Board from time to time.

Advise away.....

They need an advisory board to sit each week to run team selection through so that the mistakes highlighted by @Bring-Back-Powell don’t ever happen again.

I may have also mentioned these once or twice.

Interesting that questions should be about on field matters only. Obviously still nothing to see here about a permanent training facility. Surely the club can’t keep ducking and weaving around this for too much longer. Interesting to see if they field any questions about or address this at the forum. 

Edited December 5, 20231 yr by Dee Viney Intervention

  On 05/12/2023 at 08:46, Bring-Back-Powell said:

If I attend, I’ll be submitting the following questions:

1) what was the rationale and perceived competitive advantage behind playing one man less than our opponent in the semi final, on a warm September night. Bearing in mind that the opposition’s sub was instrumental in setting up the winning goal.

2) Why did we play one tall defender short against Collingwood in the qualifying final when McStay kicked 2 goals on smaller opponents and 2 goals was essentially the difference. We demonstrated in the Essendon, Fremantle and Carlton (rd 22) losses that playing just 2 tall defenders is a losing formula.

3) Why did we travel back to Melbourne between our West Coast game and Gather Round, rather than setting up camp in Adelaide prior to the Essendon game? A game that proved to be our most lethargic and poorest of the year. Where was the foresight and innovation that the Dogs showed when they went from Gather Round direct to Perth (rather than heading back home) and had a solid win over Freo?

4) How is the club addressing our gross inaccuracy in the finals series, and ensuring that next year we give ourselves every opportunity to win a final rather than lamenting miss after miss.

surly you don't need to ask goody for answers to these questions

1. We took in a sub who was injury cover for either forward, ruck and back. We didn't have any injury so the sub was not used.

2. we felt more run from the back was they way to go so we went a little smaller in the back half. While McStay kicked 2 quick goals he was larger infective.

3.We feet letting the players sleep in there own bed and still have some sort of weekly routine inside the football club and outside football was the best way to go.

4. we had record accuracy in the first half of the season. the coaches and players are working on goal kicking consistently and are confident what we saw at the end of the season isn't a trend.

 

  On 05/12/2023 at 11:03, Dee Viney Intervention said:

Interesting that questions should be about on field matters only. Obviously still nothing to see here about a permanent training facility. Surely the club can’t keep ducking and weaving around this for too much longer. Interesting to see if they field any questions about or address this at the forum. 

I suppose its in the heading. Football forum. its not a building forum.

  On 05/12/2023 at 22:33, BangBnagBang said:

surly you don't need to ask goody for answers to these questions

1. We took in a sub who was injury cover for either forward, ruck and back. We didn't have any injury so the sub was not used.

I'd still like an explanation as to why we wouldn't have put on a fresh player on an unseasonably warm September night (25 degrees that day) when Carlton put on a fresh and energetic Ollie Hollands who was involved in the winning transition that set up the Acres goal.

2. we felt more run from the back was they way to go so we went a little smaller in the back half. While McStay kicked 2 quick goals he was larger infective.

More run is fine but McStay's two third quarter goals resulted in a contested mark between the much smaller Rivers and McVee and the other he took an uncontested mark 30 metres out directly in front.

That tells me that our defensive structures fell apart at time that night. Without those goals we could've been less than 10 points down at 3 qtr time.

And as I mentioned earlier, we lost three games going in with a smaller defence and had to then rectify it in the semi final? Why did we go with a proven losing formula against Collingwood?

3.We feet letting the players sleep in there own bed and still have some sort of weekly routine inside the football club and outside football was the best way to go.

We could've saved ourselves two flights and created a great week of bonding in Adelaide as the fixture dictated that we had a Sunday game in Perth and then a Saturday game in Adelaide.

We then proceeded to put on our most lethargic effort of the year. 

4. we had record accuracy in the first half of the season. the coaches and players are working on goal kicking consistently and are confident what we saw at the end of the season isn't a trend.

Fair call.

I suppose its in the heading. Football forum. its not a building forum.

 

Edited December 6, 20231 yr by Bring-Back-Powell

  On 05/12/2023 at 06:14, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Entry by 'membership card'.

What card?

(Just curious; can't get there...)

Yes got the scarf but no card has arrived yet 

  On 06/12/2023 at 01:14, loges said:

Yes got the scarf but no card has arrived yet 

you needed to request a card during the sign up process

  On 06/12/2023 at 01:17, BangBnagBang said:

you needed to request a card during the sign up process

The box for a card was ticked, actually the screed that came with the scarf said card option 

  On 06/12/2023 at 01:20, loges said:

The box for a card was ticked, actually the screed that came with the scarf said card option 

are you talking season 23 or season 24??

season 23 arrived for me

if you haven't got a 23 or 24 card then take along a 23 or 24 scarf

failing that use your mfc login on phone mfc app to show your credentials

  On 05/12/2023 at 07:38, Dee Zephyr said:

Didn’t we have one or two of theses pre covid? I remember some smart azz getting up and slagging O Mac to the coaches. 

Correct. You refer to the one held in late 2019

The erson who bagged Oscar was Question 1 and was rightly booed by audience members and well handled by Pert