A great day for the Melbourne football club

[Yze_Magic 3]

The Dean Bailey era has started off in perfect fashion.

First we got rid of the deadwood (Ward, Godfrey, Brown etc...). Then traded the laziest and most overpaid player in the competition, Travis Johnstone, for pick 14.

And now we add three sublime talents in Morton, Grime and Maric

Excuse me for getting a little excited. Our list is now talented from top to bottom. We have an abundance of gifted footballers. The pressure is squarely on the likes of Green, Bruce, White, Robertson and other senior players to play good footy and lead from the front or they wil be playing for Sandy before they can blink.

Bring on 2008!!!!!!!

[dazzledavey36 55,855]

our depth looks much much better!!

[Demon3 2,541]

Nice one ym, i agree, all of a sudden i am super pumped about 2008.

i expect to see all top 3 draft picks (ours 4,14,21) play at some stage, Mr Cheeney and the mac daddy may also play. All i can say to every potential member, sign up, this is going to be one hell of a ride.

[mo64 5,881]

our depth looks much much better!!

There's still some deadwood that needs to be culled!

[Guest unstable punt]

There's still some deadwood that needs to be culled!

spoiltsport, jeebus mate , every club has deadwood at all times

[mo64 5,881]

spoiltsport, jeebus mate , every club has deadwood at all times

Ok, i'll be more positive. We've got less deadwood than last year!

[Yencks 8]

Ok, i'll be more positive. We've got less deadwood than last year!

that's the way...one more year aswell, we trade some of the older blokes and get more fresh talent next year..can't wait

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

our depth looks much much better!!

Its our top 22 thats the problem. Stuff the depth.

Anyway our depth as always is only two consecutive losses deep.

[rpfc 28,899]

Morton could go straight onto a wing, although look to CHF in the long term maybe.

Grimes might be a show off the bench in the midfield.

Maric would be hard pressed to get into the forward line at this stage.

Cheney and McNamara would be looking at 2009 and beyond.

To sum up, don't expect these boys to deliver something they can't. At least not yet...

BTW - can people stop saying we didn't pick in KPPs in the draft. Morton is 192cm FFS!

[dazzledavey36 55,855]

actually he has grown to 194cm!

[old55 23,833]

Very happy with our picks - Morton is extremely highly rated and has the attributes to possibly be the star we crave. Grimes sounds like the quintessential guaranteed 200 gamer who will never play a bad game. Maric is a bit of an excitement machine and could become a cult figure - he apparently has the greatest accuracy for all shots on goal in recorded history, I love that. Cheney sounds like a Wheels protege - hard as nails and strong overhead. McNamara sounds like another real footballer.

Overall we appear to have gone hard for best available and hard for smart footballers ahead of pure athletes.

[Redleg 41,933]

BTW - can people stop saying we didn't pick in KPPs in the draft. Morton is 192cm FFS!

He is not a KPP, though he may become one in years to come.

At the risk of being howled down and not trying to second guess our recruiters, I am a little disappointed we haven't taken a KPP, especially a defender.

I know that the boys we drafted may all turn out to be good players but I am looking at it from the perspective of addressing our weaknesses. I see us as needing another KPP at both ends and another ruckman. I accept that this may be remedied in the PSD and Rookie draft to some extent, but that is my opinion.

I note that Geelong who are well served in this area with Hawkins, Mooney, N. Ablett, Scarlett, Harley, Egan and even Lonergan and others and rucks Ottens, Blake and West loaded up on KPP's and even a huge ruckman. I just feel we had an opportunity to take an acknowledged young KPP like Rance who we desperately need instead of adding midfielder/utility types to the likes of McLean, Jones, Green, Bartram, Petterd, Bruce, Junior, Moloney, Bate, Sylvia, Whelan, Bell, Davey, Wheatley, Bode, C. Johnson, Dunn etc.

Anyway it is easy to criticize and I have enormous respect for CAC so I wish all of the new boys great careers with the Dees.

[Little Goffy 14,750]

At the risk of being howled down and not trying to second guess our recruiters, I am a little disappointed we haven't taken a KPP, especially a defender.

Just McNamara at 66. I was definately surprised that we didn't grab Rance when available at 14, or Pears at 21. McNamara looks like great grab for 66.

Now for a super-long post, and then I'm off to watch today's 'other event'.

Grimes and Cheney will be competing in what is now a very crowded list of promising midfielders and small defenders, including Whelan, Moloney and Bartram all returning from injury. Several players in this category will be spending most of the year at Sandringham, and there should be pressure on players to keep their senior spots. GOOD! This is a particularly handy circumstance should McDonald retire soon or either of Moloney and Whelan fail to return from persistent injury troubles.

McNamara is the only addition to our tall defenders. However, Rivers, Frawley and Garland are all quite young, Carroll is mid-aged and while Holland is older he is not generally seen as a critical component so much as honest depth. What we need in defense isn't additional back-up or succession planning but the addition of a STAR. If that wasn't to be found in CACs eyes this draft, so be it. Better a smart speculation than another Molan.

I see Maric as the succession plan for Yze's present role in the forward pocket, appropriate given that Yze's other common role at HBF has been loaded up with prospects. It's been noted that despite his small size he can provide a leading target (like Hawthorn's Williams) as well as creating scoring opportunities from general play (so better than williams)

Thank Jeebus that Morton is a flexible player as well as being known for him awesomeness. Whether he eventually claims a CHF/wing role in tandem with Bate, or asserts a presence from the midfield that allows mature players like Green and Bruce to play further forward as they get older, I think his contribution will actually help our forward options, even though he's not strictly a KPP. Remember that Mebourne now has a wide slection of highly mobile 190-193cm talls available for forward duty - Newton, Dunn, Bate, Morton, and even Bruce (he did kick seven against Carlton once, gotta love that).

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Now for a super-long post, and then I'm off to watch today's 'other event'.

Long winded... You obviously haven't run into me too often...

I'm genuinely pleased about today. Actually, I'm even more excited about it than I was with last year when we picked up Frawley and Petterd who I like. I have failed to get excited about draft day this year given the Carltank situation with losing potential priority picks when we won round 22, and also getting pick 4 instead of 3 for a technical loophole.

But given the landscape of the draft we got a ripper with our last genuinely high pick in Maric. Many of the players before him I wouldn't take, and almost EVERY player after him I would look over as well. It seems we got all the christmas presents we asked for. Morton is exciting, and really I think even HAD we had pick 3 we probably would have taken him anyway, which is pleasing. I must confess I don't know much about Grimes. I'm not sure he has star quality, which is something you just have to accept given his position in the draft, in a weak year. In the end I consider us lucky to have him. Had it been LAST year that we tried to trade Trapper, no-one would have given pick 14 (or thereabouts) for him. So we made hay while the sun shone as far as I'm concerned. Also, given our need for stars, we now have Morton who has that within his reach, and Maric who has enough X-Factor with that boot of his...

I'm a little concerned about tall timber, but only really for season 2008. We may find some creative coaching sneaking in, and that's ok... there's much learning to be done in the coming years.

I look forward to next season where we lose another 4-6 dead-wood players and replace them with young-uns AGAIN.

So far, CAC has put a smile on my face... Yet again.

[Yze_Magic 3]

Maric would be hard pressed to get into the forward line at this stage.

Disagree

Maric ia a big chance to make an impact in 2008 as a crumbing forward pocket. Our forward line was utter crap in 2007, and we need some excitement, skill and goal kicking ability

Maric ticks all the boxes

[brey9186 102]

maric will play round 1 2008!!!

watch us load up the rookie list with talls, we will get a very good player with our first rookie pick, big athletic kids like gourdis and gaertner didnt get drafted

[dazzledavey36 55,855]

i dont kno if people know this but maric kicked 5 goals last year as a little 16 year old.. not bad!!

[Jaded No More 68,975]

Maric apparently has the greatest accuracy for all shots on goal in recorded history, I love that.

Maybe he should run goal-kicking practice at training. Plenty of Melbourne players could learn from him obviously!

[Yencks 8]

Our forward line was utter crap in 2007

dont say that about The JUICE!!! :angry:

[deanox 10,045]

like 80% from all types of shots or something...

[Yze_Magic 3]

The Dean Bailey era has started off in perfect fashion.

First we got rid of the deadwood (Ward, Godfrey, Brown etc...). Then traded the laziest and most overpaid player in the competition, Travis Johnstone, for pick 14.

And now we add three sublime talents in Morton, Grime and Maric

Excuse me for getting a little excited. Our list is now talented from top to bottom. We have an abundance of gifted footballers. The pressure is squarely on the likes of Green, Bruce, White, Robertson and other senior players to play good footy and lead from the front or they wil be playing for Sandy before they can blink.

Bring on 2008!!!!!!!

Well so far, the 'leaders' have failed miserably

But what else did we expect, really