Its a been a bigger carrot for MFC than other Clubs for many years but alas no cigar.

Given we have a long list of players who are not fit for the pre season, it would be ludicruous to focus resources and player development on the NAB cup at the expense of the home away season.

Carlton has shown the folly of that in past years.

Its a nice to win trophy but not at the sacrifice of more important objectives.

Everyone to their own - I understand your view, and mine is that it could potentially be an "easier road" this year (with the interchange) and it may be worth putting in a decent effort, cause you never know just how easy clubs might make it for you. We'll find out this Saturday

Winning the NAB Cup didn't seem to hurt Geelong last year.

That's right, because it is all in the head - it helps lift spirits, so it just depends on how you choose to look at it.

I suppose the main difference between Geelong and Carlton is the maturity of their list, and that could explain why the cats had the durability to keep it going though the main season.

But that's all mental aswell.

Didn't the Baby Bombers do the double?

The 32 degree heat will test how good a pre-season we've had. One would think we'd run the game out better than Geelong due to having a few more weeks of training in the tank.

I'll be disapointed if we run out of legs as fitness hasn't always been Melbourne's strong suit.