I'm not sure if I place any stock in these types of history lessons, but just for the record, pick 14 in the past has nabbed:

2007 - James Sellar

2006 - Grant Birchall

2005 - Angus Monfries

2004 - Fergus Watts

2003 - Daniel Bell

2002 - Ashley Watson

2001 - Daniel Harris

2000 - Travis Gaspar

1999 - Luke Penny

1998 - Shannon Watt

I'm not sure if I place any stock in these types of history lessons, but just for the record, pick 14 in the past has nabbed:

2007 - James Sellar

2006 - Grant Birchall

2005 - Angus Monfries

2004 - Fergus Watts

2003 - Daniel Bell

2002 - Ashley Watson

2001 - Daniel Harris

2000 - Travis Gaspar

1999 - Luke Penny

1998 - Shannon Watt

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, does it?

CAC's speciality is the 10-15 range pick. He has done excellently with them in the past 4-5 drafts (Bate, Dunn, Bell, Jones, etc).

Btw, has Sellar played at AFL level yet?

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, does it?

It does

One of the is an absolute gun, and he was picked by CAC

Thats all that matters

CAC's speciality is the 10-15 range pick. He has done excellently with them in the past 4-5 drafts (Bate, Dunn, Bell, Jones, etc).

Btw, has Sellar played at AFL level yet?

nope, nothing yet

Pick 14 is fair for Johnstone....we were never going to get a top 10 pick for him!

If he was 2 years younger, then maybe, but not now.

Sorry to see him go, but it is the right time.

Good luck Trapper!

I'd be more than happy with a hardnut midfielder of the Harris or Bell variety. I rate Birchall highly and Penny and Watt played many games between them in key defensive posts. Jury still out on Monfries and Sellar.

so that win over carlton cost us travis for nothing

pretty much, and his 42 touches sharpened his own axe in hindsight. even though i'm not against the trade, that leaves a sour taste.

42 possessions..most of which were uncontesed..against a [censored] side, that was tanking

but when he was on, he was on- when he's not, hes certainly off. doesnt damage sides enough, which is why it was right time for him to go

I think we deserve a better pick than 14, but then again no-one knows what will happen when it comes to the draft. I guess i'm happy for the dees to recieve another first round pick though bit sad to see Trav Johnstone go. Hopefully something good will come out of that.

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, does it?

What inspires me is that 9 of those 10 picks weren't Craig Cameron picks. Have some faith.

42 possessions..most of which were uncontesed..against a [censored] side, that was tanking

the point wasn't the 42 possies. we lose that game and we've got pick 3, 18,21 and 14 if we then traded tj, not to mention a better crack at judd or making it much harder for the blues to get him since they don't have pick 3. no wonder fans want thier side to tank. the blues pretty much get judd, we pretty much lose tj.

If the dees were to get someone as good as Birchall you should be very happy. He's an absolute gun who has just completed only his second year at an AFL club.

Not too interesting and nothing will we ever really know the answer to, but just a thought that has crossed my mind - I wonder if Travis would have stayed had we got Judd?

Not too interesting and nothing will we ever really know the answer to, but just a thought that has crossed my mind - I wonder if Travis would have stayed had we got Judd?

With a $400,000 a year salary, I highly doubt it.

Robbo would have been gone too.

BACK TO THE PRESENT

This is my way of apologising to YM.

He was always on the side of trading TJ for Grimes.

I am sorry.

This thread is an even better read than the other TJ thread.

The handwringing and histrionics by BBP and Demons 32 are a larf and a harf...

A top 15 pick for a 28 yr old with 3 years left (approx) is a good deal.

If you can't see that then you really enjoyed Travis playing his 5 excellent games a year, although you must not have been to the rest where he was awful.

Rose coloured glasses are fine during the season but only pragmatists will survive trade week.

Good call here, rpfc. And to Y_M, wd also.

Best trading move this club has made. Ever!

TJ continues to under-perform and Grimes will be a star.

In fact, for now we are the big big winners of that deal since Cameron Wood has done little to enthuse.

I thank our lucky stars that injury pushed Grimes back in the draft order and he landed in our laps.

And with the 14th pick the Melbourne Football Club selects ......

A young kid who is hungry to play AFL, has a dip and doesnt cruise along doing stuff all on $400,000 a year

BRING IT ON!!! GO DEMONS

Considering his laziness and lack of fitness, I think next year is his last chance to really do anything on the footy field

So I say he has 1 year left

In 2009 he will be 29... can you see him doing anything useful on the footy field at that age? He will fall away very quickly like Adem Yze has

Pick 14 is a great result

They complain about Danihers coaching and him playing the same players over and over (ie. Ward Godfrey, Brown etc..)

Then when Dean Bailey gets appointed coach they ask for a cleanout of players so the club can have a fresh start

Now, Bailey is cleaning the joint out and they are crying like babies

No wonder MFC supporters are never taken seriously

Ladies and gentlemen, it does not get any better than this.

Ladies and gentlemen, it does not get any better than this.

Looking foward to see what cars you have on the show tonight mate

I am soooo sick of hearing that we need to go through this phase.

DO YOU WANT YOUR TEAM TO EVEN BE AROUND WHEN THIS PHASE WILL BRING US A PREMIERSHIP!!!????

We are not Carlton, Hawthorn or Richmond. WE CANNOT AFFORD AS A CLUB TO LOOSE.

This year we built up some kids. However no one went to games, there very well may be less memberships bought next year because of this one, we cannot afford to re-build. This is pathetic. Our club will re-build a few years then we will be in talk of merging with the roos or dogs or being the team to go to Gold Coast or Tassie.

If our club isn't making money we are doomed. We need the fans to be behind the club 100%. Unfortunately, we have no chance of that happening, it's win or bust for the club.

We all talk [censored] about mediocrity and how we can't accept it, but we are willing to accept defeat for a few years in the hope we win in the future!!!???

"THE MFC CANNOT BOTTOM OUT AND SURVIVE"

I don't want to draw any ire for D32 here but 18 months ago this mindset was prevalent. The nail-biting and hand-wringing over the future seeped into every aspect of the club.

'We can't trade TJ because we have to compete every season - if we bottom out, it will be the end.'

Now this is before Jimmy came on board, and Bailey and the various recruitment/coaching staff picked and/or developed Watts, Frawley, Morton, Grimes, Maric, Garland, Cheney, Wonaeamirri, Martin, Warnock, Jetta, Bennell, Blease, and Jurrah.

Hope is an amazing elixir.

Like D32 says, this trade aided our slide to the bottom, but also aided the rejection of his theory that we would lose members because of that slide.

The fans can see a brighter future depite the troubled present.

Sport is about passion, pride, ruthless aggression, desire and most improtantly WINNING. Why play to win in future.... it's sad and is one of the reasons we are a lauging stock of the AFL. Brisbane didn't go through a phase to be looking the goods again, either did port and I don't think Fremantle will, they still have the football worlds respect, who respects Carlton, when they win it all in a few years id assume most will look back and go, cheats.

To think that any supporter wouldn't go in to every single year with premierships on their mind baffles me, hell look at Collingwood they didn't have phase. They got Pendles and Thomas from a [censored] year, but we got Brock and Sylvia a few years back. Our club will go under in a few years if we loose, we need membership up, attendance up and to do that we need to sustain sucess for as long as possible. Try for the flag every year.

I respect most of you on demonland but anyone who really wants to bow out for a few years to stock up on kids makes me so mad. You have been watching these guys for nearly 10 years and all your supposed loyal Melbourne heart can say is there, their career is not in our window so get rid of them. It's sick, it's pathetic and you are completely iggnorant to actually believe the MELBOURNE DEMONS can actually afford to not go for the big prize every single year.

Show some heart, show some loyalty and expect wins from your team for F**K' SAKE!!!

THE 'TRY AND WIN THE BLOODY THING' MINDSET

This mindset has also taken a back seat. I would love to compete finals every year, but going to watch a finals match with this nagging feeling that you can't win the flag is a brutal and draining feeling - I felt it in 98, 00, 02, 04, 05, and 06.

The need to bottom out is dependent on where your list is. If you have excellent recruiting, some fortunate Father/Son picks, and good leadership you can create a flag competing side without bottoming out.

If you have an aging middle-of-the-road side with a dearth of players hitting their prime years because of draft penalties, the risk and chance of bottoming out intensify.

Again, don't want to burn D32, I just think it is a discussion worth chatting about as we continue on the journey.

are u having a dip at a postfrom 2 years ago? lol

Disgraceful trade, if we just settle for pick 14. We're losing our silkiest and classiest player for a speculative draft pick.

I'd demand a player in the package.

I hope all you guys enjoy Trapper dominate games for Brisbane and help them get in the finals, while marvelling at our 18 year old kid play his 22 games of Surburban Footy because CAC chose another Isaac Weetra or a Heath Neville.

^^^^

Who was the idiot that wrote that

Ahhhhhhh hindsight and the interwebz........ don't go well together