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Just attended a business breakfast that David Schwarz spoke at, and wow... he was far more articulate than he is on radio and TV. He had the whole room's full attention for 45 minutes telling his remarkable story. Most of the talk was around his gambling addiction, and most of it was in his book but it is so much more powerful hearing it in person. Many of you will have heard or read most of this, but I find some of it quite amazing (the good and bad). Some points: - Daniher's reaction to Schwarta suggesting he may retire after whacking Andrew Welsh. Verbatim: "Good, f$%^ off." - Regrets getting his teammates mixed up with the wrong crowd, mafia etc. - Regrets only having three mates from Melbourne days - Garry Lyon, Woey and Riggers. - Talked about his education - has a Science degree from Deakin and a masters in marketing from Melbourne. Didn't know this. But he said any AFL player that finishes their career without a tertiary qualification is a "stupid dhead". - Freo offered him $1.4M at the end of '93 or '94. He took this offer to Melbourne and they matched it. $700K over the table, $700K in a paper bag. But we knew this. Played 17 out of the possible 88 games and got paid the whole lot, but such is the story - blew it all. He really has turned it all around with the support of his family, namely his Mum and wife Karen. Owns half of his Camberwell home worth $2.5M and his house at Barwon Heads. I went up to him afterwards and just said thanks for the playing highlights, something that gets overlooked in his story. Although he didn't reach the Wayne Carey pre knee heights he was a great player for the club. I think he still has regrets on his playing days, but taking into account his injuries he achieved a lot. He said he still doesn't feel comfortable with going back to the club, which is disappointing. Although he admits to being a real jerk back then, you can't help but like the fella now!

Interesting read in todays Age about Richmonds plight with Coburg & their week to week survival situation. I have no problem with the Scorps, but clearly we must aim to have our own reserve team at some time soon otherwise again we will be way behind the bigger clubs. We must budget for a stand alone reserve side. I would pay an increased membership to help fund the baby.

Rubbish, for one Lucas was no where near ready to play AFL last year.. Having Fev in the side did not hinder his development in fact helped him, imagine if he got smashed by the biggest strongest defender each week, you learn nothing from that. Look at Casey's team this week, every available Melbourne player that is fit will be playing in the firsts, we have a Melbourne person coaching all Casey do is try to get the best VFL players to top up our team. We will have 12-14 players at Casey could even be more. Even if the AFL brings back the reserves you will have 8-12 players not on your list playing as top up players. Casey is a good fit for us.

He was removed from the LG - only Jones and Grimes stayed. Your first line is correct but it also illustrates the low bar players have to reach to be a 'senior player with a professional approach.' He is playing better but the intimations that he didn't do all he could to get his body right a few years ago echo what I have heard and I am glad the 'penny has dropped' for him, I am. But I am more thankful we have Grimes, Jones, Clark, Garland, and Frawley in leadership - their pennies didn't need dropping.

No.1 P_ick!

There is nothing wrong at all with our alignment with Casey at the moment. Bringing up the past to support an argument about the future is all well and good when it is appropriate but it is not so with Casey prior to this year. If you have been to Casey games, you will see Casey playing the same game plan that MFC are trying to play. The new development coaches that MFC have added to the staff this year are, effectively, assistant coaches at Casey. Both Casey and MFC are on the same page. Brett Lovett was obviously given this brief, and is doing it very well. Then there is the bigger picture. Casey is the fastest growing municipality in the country. Casey Council and MFC have spent a lot of money upgrading Casey Fields. Casey is a big part of our future. I realise that things change but I am not about advocating the club shits in its own nest by mindlessly following what it perceives to be the current trend.

I won't factor in salary, etc, as the club deals with list management decisions, not me. Besides, that's not the OP's question. So I'll answer purely on who the more valuable player to the MFC would be. One of these players is an A grader having a bad year and the other has never had an A grade year, even though he potentially could become an A grader. One of these players is as rare as hen's teeth and the other is relatively common. One of these players improves our spine and gives us more flexibility with Clark. One of these players is the type that you build a premiership team around, in fact, said player has already been a dominant key forward in a premiership team. One of these players comes from a club that is rich in elite practice and culture. The other comes from a bottom club. Imo, one of these players gives us a better chance to build a premiership quality side. Clearly for me it's Cloke. In fact, it's a no brainer. That's not to say that I wouldn't like Boak running around for Melbourne next year, of course I would, but given a choice between the two it's an easy decision. Premiership teams are built around big quality key forwards. GWS are going to be served by Cameron and Patton for a decade, which makes them almost a certaintly to win a flag when one considers the quality young mids they already have. But if anything, GWS show that it's not impossible to quickly develop a young midfield with real potential. They're unbelievably lucky with Patton and Cameron, as you can wait a decade for two forwards of this quality to come along. Who says there's no luck in football ? I recognise that our midfield is pox. I recognise that our midfield is slow. I recognise that Boak would improve it. But I also believe that Trengove will come good, I believe that Viney will be a gun, I believe that Grimes will be better once he has a preseason where he trains as a mid, I believe that the club is going to develop Howe as a tall mid, I believe that we'll recruit at least one other young gun quick mid with pick 4 in this year's draft, I believe Gysberts still has a lot to offer, and I believe that a player like Jones will be even better in an improving midfield. I may have a different view if we were discussing Marc Murphy, or Joel Selwwod, who were in Boak's draft, because they're 'A' graders, but Boak isn't. Despite Cloke being out of form, he's the second best key forward in the competition and a giant of a man. They don't grow on trees. He's still only 25. Would Sydney have won a flag if they'd never recruited Barry Hall ? And how do the Dogs look when even an old Barry Hall retires ? They've still got Boyd, Cross, Cooney, Higgins, Picken, Liberatore, and Wallis, yet they're crud without a top line key forward. Cloke would be massive for this football club. Boak would be handy.

You're not wrong...I hope! In my opinion the banner should define the MFC values and let these be a mirror to our ex, his father, his suitor and manager........UNITY, LOYALTY, INTEGRITY

Boak, no question. And Boak to the cats is rubbish, unless they give up a Menzel, Duncan or Christensen plus picks. Any club in VIC is close enough to see his family regularly. Plenty of cats players & officials have lived in Melbourne over the years and commuted. I think the teams with the strongest hands would be us and the bulldogs. And I think we'll give it a red hot crack.

I hope he gets a few kicks on the weekend. Head Bum Nuts Shins

Hey LD - there is little medicine offers for a degenerative joint. Cartilage can be harvested and grown in the lab but is only good for repairing relatively small holes. In the future this is where stem cell harvesting will really be beneficial - being able to isolate stem cells from the patients own supply and insert them in to the damaged site. This could eventually make joint replacement surgery (the end stage of degenerative joint disease) a thing of the past. A relatively new treatment is Interleukin 1 Antagonist injections (performed right at the Demons home - Imaging @Olympic Park). This protein is isolated from the patients blood and acts as an anti-inflammatory and stops the progression of the degenerative disease. I presume the club is all over this treatment for Clint. It is certainly possible that with this treatment and correctly managed training loads CB can play again. He won't be in for a long career though - especially with a shrinking interchange bench.

F_CK _FF SC_LLY, LY_NG C_NT. Wanna use some of your $6m to buy a vowel?

I think I've got a Frawley bias but a 4 seems overly harsh. He's been taking the number 1 foward each week and thus far hasn't has more than 3 goals kicked directly on him.

Why would Jack want to be part of the Melbourne Football Club if it sold him out for two years to gain a different player? If the Footy Gods smile on us, Jack could be our next champion. Lets not look the gift horse in the mouth. We'll take him with our first pick and never regret it.

Our midfield's been terrible for years.

Can we get Scott Thompson back too? Ratten's 1 year stint as midfield coach resulting in demigod status around here never ceases to crack me up. Along with Brian Royal is the antichrist. Maybe we should invent a time machine, go back to 2000 & get that guy who turned our midfield from 14th to 2nd in a year with the loss of Todd Viney! Yeah let's get that guy - What was his name? Brian something?

You do realise that we will have Picks 3 and 4? If Whitfield is there and we have already comitted Pick 3 to Viney we will have the unbelievable misfortune of having the very next pick... So you are going to have to add one more name to this doomsday scenario.

OK - maybe I should actually read the article rather than just looking at the pics...

Definitely valid points about the scully and sheedy stuff. I listen to his radio show fairly frequently and this year he has been alot more outspoken and supportive of the club. He was quick to shut down David King and got right behind the football department when the players were not putting in. You could hear there was some real passion behind his words.

retro interview... upon learning that Scully was leaving the building various Melb players were asked to comment.. The intrepid reporter caught up to Max Gawn: Mate....whats your view on this ? Gawn ..." Spewing !!!"

I think you can guarantee that we will draft players who are hard, both mentally and physically. No matter what other characteristics are sought, these will be non negotiable.

It's amazing what happens when royal doesn't have control .... Oh wait now he's killing the mid field!

Ten pints of WHAT? There are various bodily fluids that could come out of an extremely drunk seven-foot tall descendent of Frankenstein. By the way, if someone peed, puked or even threw 10 beers on me, I'd seriously consider murdering them and/or getting as far away from that person as possible. If someone payed me six million dollars to do it, all the better. What I would not do is pretend I was making my mind up about it.

Mercado at his best. The technicolour Gawn story I heard was that the dead eyed teetotaller was asleep in bed and big Max came into the room 3 sheets, lost his bearings and unleashed 10 pints on him. What happened after that is the stuff of legend, fables and fantasy, but I'd love to know.

Tom has been exorcised Phil has never exercised

This says it all re the Tom Scully saga http://bit.ly/PnZ7Lv Bitter twisted and brilliant!

I disagree with the first part. The scaffold of a persons character is often all there at 18, it just develops further. I think back to when I was that age and we all knew who were mentally hard and going to succeed. A decade or so on and nothing's changed. Mental hardness is there to see at 18 and we should be looking for it as a prerequisite and not be seduced by 'silky skills' or physical attributes.

and its taken 9 months for these Einsteins to figure out theyve actaully been on notice all year...and that come seasons end some will get a DCM ?? bright lot...I feel so much better now !!

+1

Jared Rivers seems to be the only senior player who has anything resembling a professional approach to the game. If he was indeed one of the players [censored] off at Schwab's over-involvement in on-field affairs, it's a testament to his character that he has been able to get over it and embrace the new set-up. The fact that he was kept in the leadership group shows this.

After reading the last two interviews that J.RIv has done I think he is one player who gets what they have to do as a team and I hope the rest get it by now.

I've always been torn on Clint, love his attack and intensity but shuddered at some of his disposal. Loved him in the team though and he is the type of player every team needs. Will be a big loss if he can't come back. PS His goal against the Saints this year was brilliant, I haven't cheered louder for a goal this year except against the Bombers. Inside out banana on the run, jjust a crazy goal. Skip to 20 seconds in. [media=]

Showed some mates the Tom $cully #1 P_ick thought it hilarious youve got a winner there Lucifers Hero

Chook told it well. It happened while they were at a team building retreat in Moganshan outside of Shanghai. Place is called Naked Retreats, blissful as. No idea why the boys were on the sauce in such a way! Spewed on Scully's bed... Still, funnier things happened that weekend...

I think steele dawes and beams would add immeasurable structural integrity

You guys are having a Ball with this aren't you. Quit Swanning about.

Can you find Dawes in the structure?

"TOM SUCKED BUT HE NEVER INHALED"

I think we need to think big in this game .I want to physically crush them and smash them in all areas of the ground.I want them seriously questioning their decision to ever sign with a fake team.

Talk about kicking a man when he is down and he is a MFC player who try's his butt off for the club you love. Please dont come say thing's that are stupid why there is a poor guy at home feeling like his world is coming to the end. Just think how this kid is feeling right now. As D Hinch said SHAME SHAME SHAME.

I was actually shocked he was still playing. I was told by people in the know as far back as 2008 that he had no cartilage left in his knee. Was starting to doubt the truth of what I'd been told, since it didn't seem possible that he could still be playing. I'd imagine he's played through some serious pain in the last few years.

They haven't ...

Relax Old Dee ... He's got this ...

Hope he's fit and firing for 2013!

not sure if its been suggested previously, but I reckon we should all make a visit to the candy store and grab bags of those chocolate gold coins and hurl them down the race as he runs out. That way fat phil can be fed after. We can watch the fat [censored] pick them up one by one...

"Tom who?"

Is it me or why the hell is anyone the least bit concerned about seeming PC about any of this. Get some passion.. Give them Hell. Make not only GWS but any of its supporters know every minute they at our home...their Hell. They are welcome to the G...but on our terms.....and condition number one is there WILL be pain !!

And don't forget your Monopoly money!!

Just wondering about this smokie jayceebee. If worst comes to worst in the NT court system (and heaven forbid that it should happen!) would Herbert felon be an adequate replacement?