Leaderboard

I'm not in love with co-captains but I do love the choices. To those no longer in the leadership group ( particularly Beamer - probably the hardest done by) - it will show the character of each of them on how they perform and how they "lead" without having the official titles. Being named in a leadership group should be confirmation of the work you already do - you should be in the leadership group because you are already a leader, not try to be a leader because you were named in the group

Happy enough with the captains, would have preferred just Trengove, but congrats to both. I'm more happy about the previous "leadership" group being binned to be honest.

Don't feel sorry for Beamer. When the players nominated their choices for the leadership group. The administrators did a spell check and found we don't have a Maloney.

Optus our new sponsor, take that Demetriou

Some players are just born leaders and it doesn't matter whether they are any good on the field. Two years ago, when Jack Grimes was 20 and injured, I met with some very high ranking people at the club about a different matter. I was told then that Grimes missed out on a leadership group by a whisker. At 20 and having played less than 20 games. Some people have it, and some people don't. Bartram clearly has it by the bucket loads, and it has nothing to do with his talent. When guys like Davey are picked into the leadership group, you think, well of course, they are so bloody talented. And then you realise how terrible a decision it is to choose a leader based on their talent ranking. Davey, Green, Bruce, Yze... I can go on. All damn good players. All damn poor leaders. Junior, average player, brilliant leader.

Absolutely. We've chosen guys who fit the role not guys who fit the profile. We didn't select just our 'best' or our most experienced players, we selected the guys who best embody the values of the club. Bartram gets every inch of talent out of himself, he never takes a backwards step, and he's worked his butt off to cement a spot in the team. He had to overcome major personal adversity along the way as well. He chose to pull on a jumper and put up for his teammates the day his father passed away. If that's not being a leader and having absolute desire and dedication for the cause, I don't know what is! I'm thrilled for him, and all the other players. None of them are as naturally gifted as say Davey, or as loud as Moloney, or as experienced as Green, but they've all had to overcome obstacles in their careers and they've all been shining examples of hope in what has been a long period of adversity for the club. As for Clark, if he fills the role we hope he does, I couldn't give a [censored] if he's named co-president, let alone vice captain!

Maldonboy, i am reporting you for implying that Morton has anything resembling a positive quality. Mods! MODS!!! PS: Thanks for the writeup!

Mark Neeld has named Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove as Co-Captains.

Scully is staying ( apologies to Memphis for plagerising his comedy gold from 2 days ago)

'Mattingly!!!' Get rid of those sideburns!!!'

3rd highest avg winning margin in 2011 (after Collingwood and Geelong) seems somewhat competitive. Also had the 2nd highest losing margin. Competitive to me is just a general word that could apply to many things but what I am far more interested in is consistency. That gap between the side's best and worst is the biggest thing I want to see rectified in 2012.

I don't know if it's been mentioned before but I reckon this tweet is all class. It's from Brad Green: Well played Brad and let's hope you're back to your absolute best in 2012.

Yep ... Just watched Neelds AGM speech and also can't understand the negativity . I'm confident his bloke will deliver to me a side that I've been wanting since watching Essendon belt us around during the '80's . Tough , strong and aggressive that like him , won't die wondering . Any-one who doesn't fit the vision will not last long . Bring it on Neeldy ... I am pumped .

Fellas fellas, fellas... take it to the Trentgove thread, please!

Younger than Dench, Bunton, Dynon, Voss and Carey. As indicated by the finger gesture ... from here on in to be called TRN1 ... The Real Number 1.

I don't get why people are so bewildered by Bartram's selection. Since when do you have to be the best and most skilled player to qualify as a quality leader? Bartram works his butt off and has done so since the moment he arrived at the club. He is about as talented as bloody Nick Maxwell, and if every one of our players worked as hard as him, we would never lose by 186 points.

I love the expert opinions here on the inner workings of the club, the players thoughts and feelings and the coaches decision. Is it that hard for people here to understand that whilst we all love this club, very very few of us actually know what is going on inside. I am absolutely rapt for the Captains. And for the rest of the leadership group i think it is a wonderful statement. I do feel for Green who does bleed red and blue as does Moloney. Riv and Davey i'm sure do too but in life and in football hard decisions need to be made and this club has for too long shirked the real tough decisions. I have absolute faith in what Neeld and co have decided and that those who are not in the leadership group any more will still continue to give their all for the club.

Really? Moloney who valued the vice captaincy so highly that he went out & got smashed the night after a match? Right decision. Maybe one day people will learn there is a lot more to leadership than being vocal. And the leadership groud is about the best leaders, not the best players. He's simply not a great leader.

Funny you should say that because I've seen Moloney do exactly the same. In any case and as others have said, who are we to pass judgement on these selections? All I know is last years leadership was at times non-existent and I remember on a couple of occasions self-congratulatory such as after the win against GC early on.

Out of all of the players named in the leadership group the selection of Bartram sends the loudest message. It is a really interesting selection.

Very happy that we have gone with youth... oops: should have said "of jacks!!" oops.

Forgive me if this is already in the thread somewhere but big Maxy's twitter gave me a great afternoon chuckle gawndog37 For those @gawndog37 fans that are shattered with the news of captaincy! No need to worry i just got appointed skipper of my mums dream team

Obviously you don't know Col then do you?

Amen to that. I'm on a high of schadenfreude I must admit...

Franky, I think neither has done enough on field to be captain. Neeld may be naming them because they are closest to what he wants. There is no ideal solution. Tough on Green. Needed though.

Grimes as a co captain great news Travis who??? Trengove was made for the job as well

Jack, the problem is that this (186) is now history and I dare say that no-one knows all of what happened and why, or all the 'facts'. I'm sure though there would be no end of people claiming to know all. This issue would be full of many grey areas, emotions and speculations. There would be no black and white answers, just interpretations. That's the interesting thing about History, everyone has their own version or interpretation. Just ask David Irving. The important thing now is as you said that it brought things to a head and resulted in a massive amount of change. We will just have to trust that the current administration have made the right choices and give it enough time before a future judgement Again as you said, poring over the entrails would achieve nothing and risk much, as the club has 'acted and moved-on' dramatically from 186 I'm optimistic that it was all for the better and I have tucked away any lingering doubts over already spilt milk

Neeld seems to be making a big statement here, that this is his team now and he doesn't care the slightest about what has happened in the past before he arrived, and maybe that attitude will be good for a playing group needing a fresh start, but at the same time, it could affect individual players badly. I just can't help wondering how Beamer would feel being rated as less of a leader than Bartram or Garland after winning the b+f and getting the most brownlow votes of any Demon. If you read Martin Flanagan's pieces about the Dees last year, he was wholly convinced that Moloney was the playing group's heart and soul. I also wonder whether Clark deserves this before stepping onto the field once for us. I also worry about what that kind of attitude could mean for a Jack Watts or an Aaron Davey. I don't want to see Wattsy dropped to Casey if he has one bad week so he can get [censored] from suburban footy fans and be the opportunity of a lifetime for some hack defender to prove themselves each week. I also don't want to see Aaron Davey handled in a way that could destroy whatever is left of his confidence. I know we all want to believe that our new coach is the messiah who will lead us to the promised land, but I have to say that this decision has me a at least slightly concerned about his attitudes about himself and the playing group.

Great moves and congratulations to the new leadership group. Not surprised Green, Davey and Rivers werent there. Well done Barty. I have always wondered which MFC players dont bleed red and blue. I guess it shows the real worth of whatever bleeding red and blue means. Maybe Moloney was not chosen to be in the leadership group...period.

I dont see Rivers in the leadership because of the onfield leadership traits he displays

well its 1:30 whats the news!!??

Beamer © JT (VC) Jamar (DVC)

Football announcement. Has to be captaincy, surely.

I knew you'd say that Rhino! I just wanted to make the point that the directors were/are accountable .... and that it was open to the members to stand against them if they wished to do. One way or another we have just appointed them for the next three years - and that is where we should be expecting them to focus.(Sorry... I'll move on now!) Yes.... that is exactly how it should be!

That's wierd I thought $cully went up there and was instantly blown away by the facilities! Instantly! Because remember he hadn't signed anything and then went up there and BANG he was sold on the move! LOL, it's going to be a joy watching them get flogged every week.

100% keen. After coming from last in Round 8 to winning the Premiership UF is in my opinion the best of the 3 fantasies. The trading draft etc make it exceptional fun and I spent far more time on my UF team than other leagues. Great game and can't wait to get it going this year! Hopefully we get most of the league from last year because by the end we all had worked each other out but at the same time be more than happy to see blokes like furious d step up!

I couldn't agree with you more - the AGM is not the time or place to air the dirty linen unless the situation is dire, and it seems we've made significant progress to rectify some problems. But is everything fine now? Was the whole problem Dean Bailey all along and that's fixed now? Was Cameron Schwab saying this but no-one realised he was right until 186 and then everyone changed their mind and Cam's back as part of the furniture now? Did Don McLardy's interview of senior players in the week leading up to 186 have any impact on the outcome? These are the kind of points I imagined you had in mind when you quoted we need to understand the past to avoid repeating it. Maybe the club has addressed these questions internally - I hope that that bed's not too hard, that porridge is not too hot. I guess we just have to trust ...

It doesn't matter who possesses the pick, it is tied to the finishing position of the club that first recieved it. The pick the crows recieved for Davis was traded to GWS for Crouch in the mini draft. This pick is still directly after the crows first pick even though GWS has it now. If we trade our floating first round pick the other club still gets the pick after us. It holds no more value for lower placed clubs. We'd be mad not to activate this pick asap. If everything goes to plan it will become less valuable each year. I hope we activate both and use at least one, don't mind if we trade one, but Viney and another first rounder in a strong draft will help set us up long term. I also don't like our chances of getting involved in the mini draft this year, especially if Port, GC or Bris get a PP. Pointy end picks are a lot more valuable than what we have to offer.

"Callan And Tom turn away in disgust after being told their first home game has been transferred to the Blacktown High aths track due to lack of interest"

Just watched Neeld's speech at the AGM on MFC.com and can't for the life of me understand some of the criticisms. I like the cut of his jib.

The back drop to the boy band photo doesn't exactly look like the MCG. Will be fun running around that ground getting belted by 300 points in front of about 1,500 GWS supporters each fortnight. Not exactly the kind of stuff dreams are made of.

Really , that what we got in 2010 . We were happy that we saw our side heading in the right direction . Last year was a disgrace . This year I want more than 2010 .

I'm just excited that he wants to see "competitive football". Finally someone comes out and says Melbourne needs to be "competitive", it's a fresh change.

Seriously SavoyDee get over yourself, if you are feeling the club has no future because of the performance at the AGM then you need to reevaluate. In previous years we have talked ourselves up and done nothing on the field. I think the club ethos since 186 is no more small talk we let our on field performances speak for the club. The changes since the end of the season give me greater expectation and faith in the club and the board then people leaving the AGM feeling flat. Anyone can talk BS and make the patrons walk out feeling warm and fuzzy but salesman are not what this clubs needs anymore we are no longer desperate, we are now financial, good facilities, young promising list, future young supporters in Caset catchment and now a footy department similar to that of other clubs. Our new members will now come from our on field improvement not from shallow words of a salesman with no substance. By the way if you felt negative after last night we are not the finished article and there are still some ups and downs ahead before we become regular contenders. Have faith and enjoy the ride ahead on the dee-train

TRUST.....

What's wrong with having your age on the back of your jumper?

Sponsorship is always about awareness. Gotta spend money to make money. A simple but most poignant rule. The secret to good sponsorship from the client point of view is to target the right audience. This is where AFL is strong. People of all ages and types love the game. A chinese sponsorship of the MFC is good value, the amount of worth is probably being discussed now. I think Schwab will be able to put a strong case forward.....

I reckon WYL has arrived at the right conclusion (Jones isn't captaincy material) but for aaaaaaaaaallllllllllll the wrong reasons.

Yet if he were a what? Qantas Pilot, Rocket Surgeon, America's Cup skipper? He would be captain material.