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No one officially that I have seen. He's completely paranoid. The AFL would have been better off getting Warwick Capper to front GWS. Just as nuts but at least people in Sydney know who he is.

Ban them for six games. If they really, really muck up? Ban them for ten. If they really really, really muck up? Tell 'em to hit the bricks. At the old MFC you're right, the punishment doesn't fit the crime. But this is no longer the old MFC.

I try and avoid cliches 'like the plague'...

"Blah blah blah bananas. Blah blah blah antique rock band / pop heart-throb."

Hah! You obviously never watched Bellbird

Good call by Neeld and the club. Nab cup is meaningless so it had to be home and away. Not only does this send a message to Sylvia, but it sends a message to the entire team.

The Wire and The Sopranos sit above all other dramas.

As sad and distracting as this saga has been at times right now I am loving it. The old man shoving his snout into the trough has taken it to a new level. It reminds me of something I have long wondered about: HWMNBN was ordinary this year, with little eye catching about his game other than the number on his back, and he has a dicky knee. So, why has GWS paid so far over the odds to get him? This come to mind: Sheedy is nuts and hates our guts, post his coaching interview if not before, and saw in this the chance to hurt us some more. But a twist in the tale is that the deal was done and won in the late spring of 2010, so tightly that the Giants were snared with their prey. So the kid's maybe a dud, the Giants are stuck with him - and his dad.

He'd go pretty close.

That's good - our playing group isn't qualified to select its own leaership group. Getting new draftees and 1 and 2 year players to vote is a farce.

Ridiculously premature. Contracted for 2012 and 2013 and will be given every moment to develop.

Ugh, I wasn't. As it turns out it that was how the planets aligned and I'm happy for it now, but I can never go back to that dark place you described.

Well a big heavy fine and a number of extra training sessions might have satisfied most ( esp those who didn't want Colin to miss a game ) but $5,000 is the maximum fine under the "Collective Bargaining Agreement" ( fairly sure that's right ) The hip pocket is often where a professional sportsman feels it the most but the Clubs can be hamstrung by the rules it seems .

How the f**k is getting [censored], walking away from the scene of an accident involving your own car (even if your not the driver) and not contacting the club for several hours (after the police, in fact) "showing a bit of mongrel"??? It certainly shows a great deal of terminal stupidity, but mongrel?.... nah! And the fact that the club is prepared to come down hard on him will hopefully be a sign that the pissant culture is on the way out.

He was punished by the IR squad by being left out of thr international team. Question? Would melbourne have suspended Sylvia had he not been in the IR side but simply on leave?

Obviously Col has mucked up again. But I can not understand why we suspend him. This only penalises the team and us the supporters. yes fine him $5000 and his match payment for round 1. but for petes sake make him play. hopefully missing out on playing for Australia and all the media crap will be penalty enough. the herald sun calls for blood and we fall for it. punish Col by all means but dont punish the team or us the poor long suffering supporters.

He looks like a hulking behemoth compared with what he looked like when he first got to the club. He's getting there. I don't think he'll ever be the incredible hulk, but he won't always be a skinny kid.

Both. He has the strength and power and size to play KPP, but has the speed to play mid sized. He's the same size as Frawley. He offers a huge amount of flexibility, which is important because it allows you to maintain your structure in defence no matter who the opposition picks. Unfortunately he's at the 'undraftable' 192cm mark. Cook is at least an inch taller than both. He just needs time to fill out. Patience.

There were only a few questions asked at Lunch today and most of them were covered above. He said that he will speak to the players in his office on Monday about the leadership and didn't think it was right to tell us before he told them. He also said he didn’t want the supporters to give him or the players any excuses for not performing; that is not acceptable. Both he and Neil Craig said our facilities are the best available. He also said he's not interested in 2011 he's only concerned about next year. That seems to be the theme of all the coaches. Misson said the players need a lot of work to get them up to where he wants. Craig said that at Adelaide there was an expectation of achievement that started with the top players and went all the way down to the Rookies. Todd asked the players in the last five games were they going out to play or perform, he said he could go out to play but wouldn’t be any good he needed the players to go out to perform, several told him they couldn’t, probably injured, so they were rested for the last few games. It is all good at the moment the coaches can hardly wait for the season to start and it starts Monday.

It rather bemuses me , a lot of the talk about which games are wins or losses in 2012. Not a shot has been fired nor a ball bounced to start a game and some are already writing this game or that one off. Next season will be very different. 7 teams have new coaches and theres a completely new team. The dynamics are not what they were this year.. Players have come and gone.. others will be better for another preseason. yes that goes for many a team. Who put West Coast in the top four after 2010 ?? Who really anticpated such a fall for the dogs and saints ? Probably not many. At this stage we have 22 games to go and theyre ALL winable. Doeesnt matter where. Name a venue we havent won at ? Every season's just a bit different to the one before ( or after) It all comes down to what sort of Melbourne side takes to the field. At this stage it looks pretty good . Gotta love the off season !!

So went to dinner and did have the pleasure of speaking to Mark. Got quite a few questions answered. I must say that after speaking with him there is no doubt the club is in GREAT hands. Those piecing blue eyes could kill someone on the spot! So a few answers to questions out there. 1. Perception the club is under resourced/behind with facilities. He and Neil Craig believe when compared to Collingwood and Crows Melbourne have the same if not BETTER facilities than these clubs. The club is also more resourced with people than the other two clubs mentioned. More that our people have not had role clarity and have not been working efficiently. Told the players stop thinking facilities are any excuse - big change in culture and mindset. Restructured staff - right people in the right places. They must become more efficient. 2. Mitch Clarke offer never changed from the time it was pitched to the second pitch in Brisbane. That was media make up. The amounts reported are also overstated. 3. He said numerous times - 'I only get one shot at this.' Thats why I got Mitch Clarke, thats why we are getting the best people to the club. I want to win. You get the impression this guy will stop at nothing to ensure success. 4. Clubs volume of training was HALF of what Collingwood, Adelaide and Stkilda do. Players are no where near ready to play how he wants them to play next year and reality is this will be a stepped approach to get them to where they need to be physically to play AFL. They wont be playing his game plan exactly how he wants it next year as they currently are so far off physical requirements. 5. Matthew Bate - We will need soldiers next year as most players are not ready for AFL football. He is a required player who has the potential. 6. Its a new leaf for every player at the club and they will need to show him leadership via actions during preseason, The leaders will automatically show out and he will be selecting the leadership group. ALL players will be starting from scratch he has an open mind. 7. Thinks alot of Trengove and Frawley when I posed as leaders. 8. He has had 2 days off in his first 5-6 weeks. He has been home only 4 times during that time. He is working over time to get systems and processes and structures fixed. He acknowledged so he should be - 'its what Melbourne supporters want me to do' And again 'I only get one shot at this.' 9. Didnt want to be drawn on Scully. Never had him so doesnt make any difference to Mark. 10. Colin needs to learn you represent the MFC even when you play for Aust. Drinking night before any training is not acceptable. 11. If a solid experienced player is available at pick 36 he will consider to add body strength to the playing group. 12. Melbourne couldnt get in the door for Caddy as Essendon took up the last day with mediation. 13. Views on particular players - he said we will find out Monday at training. 'I have an open mind until I see them on the track.' Reserves all judgement until then. 14. Still waiting til Monday to see if Aussie comes back from holiday to see what next steps are. Words to describe: Genuine, down to earth, confident, strong, steely, balanced and knows very clearly what he wants from himself and everyone around him. The boys ARE in for it on Monday! Go Dees!

I'm a fan. He can bring us some pace and class that we sorely lack. I'd like to eventually see him further up the ground, but a HBF is fine for now.

Bailey did the rotten dirty work to get picks. Prendergast seems to have done a good job with the bounty he was given. Jimma has done a great job getting rid of debt. And now to the "new" FD. They've done nothing yet and to say they have had little fanfare is a strange interpretation of events. They have an exceptional opportunity and have inherited fertile ground. If this footy department succeed it will be built on the work of Bailey who probably sacrificed (in part) his senior coaching dreams for our club and some good work and good fortune off field. Thanks Bails.

Why is talent wasted on the HBF? He played there this year and I think his 'dash' was not lost due to playing on the HBF, if anything it added to its effectiveness.

So the Scull dog left us because he was unhappy with the level of professionalism at the club right....? LOL how embarrassing

Like this kid. Hope he keeps his number too. No frills, runs and runs. Spreads well and can be accountable. Coach's dream player - will be one who does his job quietly under the radar (almost stealth like).

Perhaps the crowd number might be enough to fill a marquee?

Being that the cliche you have mentioned is about Tom Scully can I please ask moderators to move this to the appropriate thread.

"Won't be in our next premiership team"

Cliches aside, The most important thing is to always remember to finish what

"Bleeds red and blue" is certainly the one I loathe the most.

WINNER: A player is "soft". If you are playing AFL football, you are definitely not soft. A definite cheap shot from posters who never played the game higher than a kick to kick in the school yard. SECOND: A player would be "good trade bait". Typically this comes from a poster who regards players that have played 10 games in 5 years with a lowly club like MFC as being of some intrinsic value to a another club who will give over a 1st or 2nd round draft pick and have not discovered that the player cant think, kick, handball, mark or tackle or any of the aforementioned. The same poster will also think that if you package 2 or more of such players in a deal that Clubs will go into a lather to get an NQR showbag of mediocrity THIRD: "That was the worst exhibition of umpiring I have ever seen." This only lasts until the next week when the same dross is trotted out. Also used as a fake and ignnorant excuse that "it cost us the game" or its part of an "AFL conspiracy to destroy MFC" SPECIAL MENTION: Absolutely. Self serving mindless dross that does not establish anything. OTHER MENTION: "He wont be part of premiership side" - A truly dumb comment when there are examples ofordinary players being in the right place at the right time that get a guernsey in a flag. This issue is whether that person is critical to a flag pursuit and whether you pay over the odds to retain the player.

'A week's a long time in football' 'Chickens come home to roost' 'Take a good hard look at ourselves in the mirror'

A Thursday, must be Easter Thursday, that would be great if true, with no game on good Friday.