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Worst Post ever in the History of Demonland....

The issues which Liam is dealing with are family related and are his personal business so I won't elaborate here or anywhere else. However, as he was still recovering from his wrist surgery and was a few weeks away from playing again, the club has been terrific in granting Liam some personal leave to sort some matters out back home. I expect him to return shortly eager to complete his rehab and be ready to do his bit for the team. The club should be congratulated for the understanding and support they have shown Liam.

We have a big family. I have four kids and at the moment we also have a four year old fella named Jack. Jack is a foster child and has been with us for about a year and has become part of the family in this time. I have two boys 9 and 10 y/o who love the MFC, they wear the jumpers, pretend to be Jurrah and Sylvia...you know the deal. Well it was starting to rub off on young Jack, so I figured that this year it might be a good idea to see if we could sprout an interest in footy and get him to a few games etc. He also has cystic fibrosis and excercising his lungs is very important, so we try and play as much sport as we can with him, he has just learnt how to kick a footy. Anyhow I phoned the club and explained the situation hoping to add him to our family membership in place of my eldest daughter who unfortunately has little interest in footy. The club sent me out a membership pack immediately no questions asked, so now with a bit of luck we can indoctrinate young Jack. Hopefully he will grow into a lifelong supporter. I will organise to get him a jumper and some other garb to make him feel part of the tribe. The club also sent out a membership for my daughter which I did not expect. We don't exactly have a lot of spare cash at the moment so we can't afford to get the best membership but I try to support the club in other ways picking up birthday presents etc from the shop and trying to get to as many games as I can. Well done Melbourne Footy Club on helping support my family so that we can support you in future years.

This is the first video I've ever made but I hope it gets some people signing up! Feel free to share this on Facebook or twitter wherever you think it may reach our supporters. Let's smash the 40,000 members target! Go Dees!

You say that like his motivation would purely be the money whereas the opposite would probably be true. There are plenty of workplaces which look after their valued employees, perhaps you just never had this experience. Might say more about you than Liam or the MFC?

You play it by ear. I doubt the club expects Liam to be gone for 4 weeks. It's clear the club believes this to be temporary and is treating it as such. And I think you'd be surprised how many employers would grant you paid leave if you applied in an appropriate fashion and said "I've got xxx extenuating circumstance, but I'll be back in a week and I won't ask for this again". Good employers will go out of their way to help good employees; it's a two-way relationship. , As I said, instantly drawing the hard line is a great way to go about alienating your current and future players.

Have you lost the plot? He is heading home to sort out family issues, he is not doing a runner, its fair enough that he is heading back while he is injured. did you feel the same last year when Grimes went on a holiday with his brother during the season? yeah thought so!

Totally agree; really need to win a few out of Richmond, North, Bulldogs, Saints, Essendon, and Sydney.

Had to laugh after reading through the Carlton list and the following people Mick Gatto (Repairs and Maintenance) Jason Moran (Entrepreneur) Mark Moran (Pharmacist) Tony Mokbel (Importer) Some interesting slants on professions there Essendon's list of celebrity supporters is even better Kevin Sheedy Jemima from Playschool That guy from that show that was on TV that one time

So, are the naysayers still strying to convince yourselves that Stef would be better for us playing down back? On Saturday night, he played the 2nd tall forward option very well, he presented, took contested marks, and kicked 2 goals. To think that when we are playing the "real" stuff, he will be 3rd in line as far as opposition defenders go, he will fast become a valuable member of our forward line. I've said it before, but I just hope that Watts, Clark, Stef and LJ spend the next 18 months or so getting to know each others every move. If they can build that trust, expectation and belief in each other individually and as a forward unit, it will be a beautiful thing. Being a big forward line with plenty of marking options (including Howe, Green, Petterd, etc), we can't afford to have players not playing as a unit. It's why our backline have been so good for the past 4 or 5 years, they are a group and have those qulaities I listed above.

I'm pleased with the way this ended up. Bombers deserved nothing. Saints were all class, arriving at the venue and then putting on a scratch match when their opposition didn't show.

Captain Retrospective takes to the skies again. You wont let this go.So I'll give you yet another chance. Please show me anyone - a hint will do..even an inkling who suggested that we should have taken Martin before Scully prior to the draft. Waiting.... I dont criticise the Watts vs Niknat debate because at the time the experts couldnt split the two but this obsession that we should have done better with our number one pick is rear vision mirror gazing.

Surely if he intention is the "slow the game down, tire the players" a far simpler and more effective change would be to restrict the number of interchanges severely, to maybe 15 a quarter. Coaches would have to hold back some in reserve until late in a quarter just in case. IF there is an injury after that the player is subbed out. It would still not over penalise a team with an injury, and it would not condemn some poor up and coming young player to sitting out 80 percent of a game on the bench, or two of them as proposed.

Mark neeld has done something to this club i have not seen in a long time which is bring back team spirit and fight we really do look like a new team out there and the boys over time with these type of wins will build the hunger that is needed to win flags and do whatever it takes to get there.

Currently watching FOX FOOTY classic game of Melbourne Brisbane Round 3 2011. One Mitch Clark is playing CHF start of the 4th quarter with 23 touches 10 marks 9 inside 50 and 4 or 5 scoring assists. Honestly I was under somewhat of an impression he was far better in the ruck but he has done literally everything I hope for this year. Breaking packs, bringing the ball to the ground and even more so being a presence. Watching this really makes me feel like this yea could be fun!!

Hope he plays against the Pies #7 left the door wide open for a spot if he wants it and all reports suggests running well and looking strong. Could be a comeback story that all would admire after what 6ish months since the break

I have really enjoyed all the uploaded youtube videos of some great footy memories. As I was watching a few I noticed a certain B Wilson flash through the footage and wondered what Dees people think of him all these years later? I remember so well the year he won the Brownlow medal - the channel 7 commentators were a little bit dumbfounded as it was a complete surprise to most footy watchers. A few of mates bagged me at the time that such a "nobody" could win the greatest individual prize available in footy. As I watched those youtube clips I was reminded that he was a bit slow, but he was amazing at getting to where the ball was. His reading of the play seemed as good as any others at the time. I always thought he was better than a one year wonder and that he was an important part of what happened under John Northey, but he rarely gets mentioned in the same breath as Stynes, Lyon, Greg Healey, Grinter, Sean Wight etc... So, how do you remember him? .

I find it alarming when I continue to read comments that go a little something like, "It's only NAB cup so you can't take too much out of it." I have never really understood this kind of comment, nor do I really know what the poster means when they write it. For the people who are culprits of this kind of comment, I want to know what you look for and what you do take from a NAB cup game? In my eyes, after one dry game of football against the grand finalists of last year, I feel I can see a remarkable difference in the way we set up as a team and the positional movement of players. We are so much more organised out there as a team and it seems we have not only developed an effective forward press, but also an appetite for defensive running. Two words that were missing from the Bailey era. That's a huge amount that I took from one NAB cup game. Obviously there will be individual mistakes such as kicking errors, decision making errors, two players going for the same mark etc. They are the bumps you want to smooth out before the season proper, but maybe that's what people mean when they say, "you can't take too much out of a nab cup game.' Or maybe in the past, people have been looking for individual brilliance or dominance after a long pre-season? And that's what people mean by; "You can't take too much from a nab cup game." The two answers above are probably due to the last few years under Bailey's watch, where it seemed the common theme was about getting 'games into players.' Maybe people were assuming that once a player had reached x amount of games, they should be getting this amount of possessions or that amount of goals.... I am also a culprit of this kind of thought. Who knows... After one nab cup game I can see Neeld has instilled three goals : hardness, organisation (game plan) and defensive running. He clearly knows that we have the cattle to follow this kind of theme and as long as we continue to play in the manner we did, we will be in with a shot against most teams this year. As Bailey also alluded to and what most know, the more games our younger players play, the better they will become also. Now we have two things to look forward to. Can't wait for Saturday to see us at it again. Go you mighty dees!

Mono, you need to get up from under that rock you're living under and do some learning. Ignorant, ignorant comment. Little Johnny's savings? Jeez. You and Mono better be world advocates of 'save the tax payers' if you're kicking up a fuss over this. Do some learning brother. Gain some insight into indigenous affairs and you might have a slightly different view...

Thanks for update.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, Grimes went to Queensland late last year while injured, should he have not been paid then too?

This is one of the worst posts I have seen on this website. For a start Liam is injured (read on workcare for a wrist he broke playing for Melbourne) and should be on full payment of his contract anyway. If the club is happy for Liam to go home during this time when he is unavailable to play (read work) then I have no issue at all, I just hope Liam is able to sort his issues out quickly and return to the club, because I really enjoy watching him weave his magic. All the best Liam.

Fear not ! If all the teams above us on the nab "ladder" lose and we knock off the Hawks by 15 goals we're in ! Cheers

Liam Jurrah is just 23 years old but I understand that he is regarded as a bit of a leader in his community. That he has to deal with difficult situations in that community might well be a burden for one so young but from what I have seen and read about him, I think he will be able to handle it and come out a more mature and rounded person. His wrist won't be right until early April and I'm sure he'll look after himself physically whilst he's with his people at home so there's no need for the angst here.

that's what I was going to say, and there have been some absolute howlers over the years

OHHH my god your back and still going what you just said is just plain rude and your not thinking clear. He is on leave for family reasons and i get leave if my family needs help. And what you work 5000KM from your family do you? Your being very rude he never said im going for 6 months so stop with the workplace agreement act you need to say sorry for being rude to a player who needs to support his family. Say sorry

So you don't get personal leave and annual leave payments from your work place?!

No point Liam being in melbourne when he is injured. Let him feel the red dirt for a while. I hope he comes back charged up. Time will tell

All this debate regarding Hurley & Naitanui got me wondering how much better than Watts they were last year. So I looked up the stats. (http://www.afl.com.a....aspx#page=team) Kicks (Ave) Marks (Ave) Clear (Ave) Tackles ( Ave) Goals (Ave) Hitouts D.O.B Hurley 14.4, 5.2, 0.5, 1.3, 1.5, 0.3, 01/06/90 Naitanui 13.0, 2.2, 3.9, 3.8, 0.8, 19.9, 04/05/90 Watts 16.1, 5.6, 0.4, 2.4, 1.0, 0.4, 26/03/91 I know that stats can sometimes be deceiving but on these figures I cannot understand why Hurley is being touted as such a superstar.

i hope " LJ" is a starter for round one. he breathes life into the team and will work well with Mitch. Injuries are bad news! I remember reading that Liam commented he was injury free until the "shoulder". Now a wrist and more than one OP to fix it! Demoralising for him. We need him back. Round 2-3 via Casey is the word.

Welcome to Demonland, dude. Leigh should be 3 weeks away from returning from a back injury, so too late for a run in the NAB Cup. I imagine he'll head straight to Casey and probably spend the season there unless we really start struggling with injury or he's kicking bags of 4-6 every game.

Not too worried about winning although it would be nice. More wanting to see us break even or better in the contested possession and clearance counts, and to see the press hold solid again.

I have said it before and I'll say it again. I don't think we have drafted poorly - I think we have developed our draftees poorly.

Derryn Hinch-what a waste of a liver.

Terry Wallace has an opinion but it doesn't really matter any more than the turd I flushed yesterday . Same goes with Mick Malthouse. I don't get called by Sen or any other moron riddled tabliod outfit for my opinion but Jack Watts will rip teams apart one day -I just know.

Exactly , John Northey instilled this in us back in the 80's and every-one thought he was a genius. As for the standing of the mark and putting pressure on . The 2nd rd 2010 against collingwood. Previous week we were made look a circus against the dawks . Rd2 against the pies we ran to the mark , bounced up and down on it and put serious pressure on the them all day and ended up drawing them. We played like this for a few more games untill the wheels fell off again and we fell back into bad/lazy habits .

Don't believe the Essendon hype. Hurley will be a good player but has done no more than Jack has to date. In 2011 Hurley did not once get more than 20 possession and managed more than 5 marks on only 9 occasions. In 2011 Jack got 20 plus possessions 6 times and managed more than 5 marks 16 times. All Hurley manages to do it kick a few more goals against bottom 8 teams.

Despite being a highly touted No 1 pick he has not yet risen above the level of being a good ordinary player. No matter what he says, I imagine he would be be deeply gutted when legends of the game don't rate him. The ball is in his court now, in his 4th season he has to rise to being better than average. I'am sure he will be given ample opportunities by Neeld but he won't get a free ten year ticket like Trapper got.

I like to see players defending the mark rather than standing it. I like to see our players putting pressure on the opposition standing the mark. I like to see that when we get a mark or free on the wing, players are unbelievably in the forward line and they actually presented an option. I love this... I expected to see less skill delivering the ball by foot, due to 'get it, kick it" strategies. But nup I saw skill. The dog still ran outside thinking i was yelling at him not Big Steph, but thats OK.

If we're going to do something this year, we must learn to beat the middle of the road Vic clubs like St.Kilda, Bulldogs and North Melbourne. I will hack losing to class sides like Carlton and Hawthorn but to lose to battlers like North without fail (since 06) every year shouldn't be tolerated anymore.

Just an update for those who showed an interest in young Jack. He has left our family and has gone into permanent care with a terrific family.....of Geelong supporters. As a result I have to back off my indoctrination plan, as obviously there are bigger things than footy. He was with us for nearly 2 years. It is great for him to settle permanently and we said our goodbyes to him and we plan to keep in touch with him. He is a great little fella and is doing really well with his new mum and dad.

Maybe it was our "Red Sox" that did it ?

Pinging people for holding the ball when they are tackled as they get the ball is a joke. Seriously. Prior opportunity no longer exists.

As somebody else pointed out - with the new interchange rules the 2nd ruckman quite often has to stay on the ground . The 3 on the interchange are primarily running types / midfielders . So Jamar and Martin have to be of some value elsewhere other than the ruck . If Clark plays deep then Jamar and Martin might have different roles up forward or down back . Martin could be used occasionally as a Ruck/Rover . Think it was 'Jackie' that suggested that . I can see Neeld rotating our big blokes in the forward line . Geelong do it a bit . And it's been done in the past . It's not a new thing . Cheers ®

Forwards.....not bad really.. Watts: Skill & height Clark: height & mongrel Howe: leap & good goal sense Pettard: pace & X factor on occasion Green: Experience and skill Jurrah:Leap and Goal sense Davey:freak when fit Looks good to me!!!

I was watching Mitch at the intraclub as well as the weekend V GC and BL and he gave it to everyone who was on him. He even chased down Chip along CHF and whacked him hard too after his kick! He gets in every players ear within coowee of him.. This guy is a huge presence for us! I was wrapped when i found out we were going for him as last year as I too watched a few Lions games and this guy does everything I want in a player! Got Mongrel..splits packs..kicks goals...will be worth every cent...touch wood! Thanks for picking him up Dees! I'm sure he will be a massive asset!

Great post-makes me feel much better! I have heard a lot of people say he is more suited to CHF than FF but we will wait and see. Certainly gives us hope. Something we've been missing since Neitz/Schwarz.

There is a baby possum on my window ledge staring at me as I write this. I am going to give him an offer to go to Blacktown and join GWS. I hear the possums do really well up there.

Just watched the game against West Coast at Subi in 1990. Classic scenes with him and Grinter 'saluting' the crowd.