Leaderboard

Interesting observation that all four players that have now departed are stepping forward on their right foot, out of line with our current captain who is leading with the left. Conspiracy theorists.... GO!!!

no chance Boo the crap out of him always and then after say thankyou for the gifts you left behind he will always be the player that Lied to Jim , simple as that ,but thanks for the gifts he is and always will be a LIAR how dare he lie to Jimmy with what he was going through

It's officially over. No more choir boy stuff. As the AFL world knows, upon securing the senior gig, Mark Neeld stated: "I simply want to coach the team that is the hardest to play against in the AFL. That means all over the ground we're going to be the hardest to play against. There will be a number of components that come with that." He was ridiculed for saying this, including by some posters here. Well, who's laughing now?! He has taken to the soft players on this list like Tony Montana. And he has replaced them with hard, fiercely competitive players who are determined to succeed. This bloke is the real deal. He endured a simply ridiculous amount of carp last season, virtually from day one. Strangely, the anti-Neeld voices have gone quiet. Eerily quiet. We will only field "hard" teams from now on. Of that, have no doubt. Thank you Mark Neeld. Thanks very much. Bring on 2013.

Tipungwuti ... we need a bit of zip and X factor.

GWS were completely fraudulent to us in relation to their dealings with Tom Scully. For a long time, I loathed them for that. But, to be honest, they've actually been very reasonable to us in 2012: - Even though they stole Tom Scully from us, they did us a massive favour. I'm glad he's not on our list. Don't like him and don't particularly rate him as a top tier player. - In return for Scully, we effectively received Mitch Clark (b/c of the cash we'd kept aside for Scully), Toumpas (pick 4) and Dawes (pick 13 then moved to pick 20). On any construction, that's 'overs'. - They allowed us to recruit Jesse Hogan with pick 3 which also enabled us to recruit Jack Viney (father/son) with pick 26. Total bargain. - They picked O'Rourke and Plowman ahead of Toumpas. Toumpas will be a MFC club legend. There's no way he should've got to us at pick 4. What's there to hate? I now kind of like GWS.

I too went to training. I cant really add to much more to what the players actually did it training, but I can say that I was impressed with the skill level, the effort put in and the proffessionalism of the training session. Having watched many sessions over the years as well as coaching my own football team, i make a point of watching not only how they train, but what they do. The difference between our sessions now and in previous years are (in my opinion): * there are obviously more coaches, so they can spend more time teaching specifics, such as the big blokes doing body work while the mids do crumbing under pressure. Nothing better than being able to spend more time with individuals and being able to give direct instructions. * it does not matter how long the players have been playing AFL, they can always learn more. There is always room for improvement, especially how we have been going. * the drills look to have a real purpose and you can see how they uild from the simple stuff to full ground movement. * the skills have improved, especially under pressure and lethargy. * you can see the enjoyment and hear the voice from the players when they train, it was the loudest I have ever heard them at training yesterday. * you can see the improvement in individuals, both fitness and skills wise. Personally I can see what the coaching staff is trying to do, they are going through a system of develpoment and teaching, it may take a couple more years to show on the ground consistently, but I have faith they are doing the right thing.

I am not a fan of players switching numbers, however in this case, given the utter disgrace that was the pathetic tiny human who wore the number before and tarnished its significance, it's nice to have a cleansing of sorts. Grimes wholeheartedly deserves to wear this number, and can make it his own. He wouldn't have moved numbers if he wasn't keen. It's a huge honour for him and it restores the legacy of the number, instead of it being currently known as the number worn by the [censored] who took his fat father and [censored] off for money.

No....Just posting for info of other posters.......Don't like it????......Stiff S..t.....Don't read or comment........

Most of this wasn't Neeld's doing though - he inherited a dog turd. And, plainly, he has done his utmost to change things. Devil's advocate - but would you prefer that he did not adopt such a ruthless strategy and simply retained our senior players (eg, Moloney, Green etc) and those players like Morton, Bennell, Gysberts and Petterd in whom we'd invested quite a bit of game time but who, to date, hadn't consistently delivered? Personally, I am much more enthusiastic about the alternative approach which, thankfully, Neeld adopted. IMO Neeld can only do so much, and what he has done to date has inspired a truck load of confidence. In fact, I am amazed at what he has achieved in terms of list restructuring in such a short period of time. That being the case, I'm bloody excited. The signs are there. Hard players. Ruthless, professional, disciplined approach. This formula will drive success over time. So what's not to be excited about?! This whole "I will wait to see the results before I get excited" approach is far too convenient IMO. Players and supporters need to commit to the strategy/approach prior to the actual results being delivered for it to succeed - not merely sit on the fence and applaud it only after it has worked. That's just a flabby way to approach things.

and daisycutter = μαργαρίτα κόφτη :)

It was a near perfect morning for training. Having read the previous reports / posts on today's training it has been summed up perfectly. I will reflect back for those that never get a chance to see them training in the flesh. Going back to the Bailey era, the drills were a bit hit and miss back then. They always seemed to me, as it was the same ol, same ol, with not much thought with structures, drills and fitness. It mostly was all about reflexes - handballing in close. Lacked direction somewhat. Come last pre-season, the step up was enormous, the players were being flogged, with more considered and thoughtout training drills. It came across as they were building up their stamina,and 90% of the players were really struggling. I almost felt sorry for them. This session, a big change again from last pre-season, from my point of view. They have the players primed to take the next step up into more structured and intense sessions. Players that looked like slowing down, were told clearly and loudly not to drop off, and do the drill perfectly. Encouragement was given constantly to press that home. And most time the players were doing it right. They kept encouraging each other to go harder or at least keep to the level required. You can be sure, on the track, the players are giving everything they have. Its pretty full on, whether it was the repeat spints (100mtr x 3) short break for a min then another 100mtr x 3. Then that group moved on to another drill. No break. Went straight into, leading and hitting a running player with 30mtr passing to handballing to a running player. Lots more running, its non stop. All this over 30-40mins before they had a breather. I can add, MY (our) favorite player, No 12 has a slight injury and they are easing him through it. My thought was, 'yeah, whats new, he always seems to find an out, whether a fault of his own, or a mishap from elsewhere'. I was told, fairly bluntly, he is well aware of the need to be involved, and nobody knows better than himself. It was also added, after I dropped a subtle hint, he needs to step up, and was told Col is well aware of that, and wants to show he can perform better so perhaps a new Col this year. (if he completes all the drills, instead of being an onloooker) Pickles said he will be ready soon, He should be right to go for the third practice match. He had learnt a hard lesson, by coming back too soon. He is raring to go, is back on track, and looks like his probelms are behind him (lets hope). No Neeld, (stayed with the new recruits at the Gold Coast). No Watts, or Hogan. They were at AMMI. Magner has trimmed down, looks more like a greyhound, as do most of the players. Rodan is built like a mini bulldozer. Flash was struggling with the running drills. He looked to be moving ok, just his tank is ½ empty. Everyone else there, looked fit, and look ready to keep building on their fitness levels. Overall it was a long, intense and impressive training session. The players are all under the pump to compete, without making mistakes. If I were to put in into 4 phases, we have entered phase 2, nearly ready for phase3. The difference now with a handball drill, has changed a lot, from years past, they would almost stand toe to toe, and fire handballs to each other (and we wondered why, under pressure, they shot off a handball to a standing target, then that player would be buried) Now in groups of 10 (x2 groups), they do the keeping off, from the other group who were trying to put pressure and win the ball back for their group. If the group that had control of the ball, they had to work their way through traffic and pressure, and try to keep possession. It was full on, only the tackling wasnt slightly eased, nobody got dumped. If somebody in either group, erred, it was 10 pushups,no just for the player, but the entire training group, that happened a few times. Footnote: I stumbled across this. Always interested to hear where our ex players endup after being delisted etc. Seagulls secure Ex-Demon

They are cunning, I'll give them that. Anyone see Phil Scully at the GWS table last night? I couldn't make out the other 7 blokes behind him...

When I arrived the players were split into groups. Russian and Pedo were doing marking contests, Dunne, Spencer and Fitz doing the same. Spencer is enormous and packing a ripped six pack. Surprising. Dunne was working with the forwards. Rawlings was giving plenty of feed back on technique to avoid hands in the back. Another large group where doing kick to kick with tennis balls and soccer balls. Smaller group doing contested handball drill, receiving ball on the ground and getting hit by a bag. Blease was copping plenty from Neil Craig and made to repeat some of his efforts. Byrnes was real sharp and Craig was loving it. Flash was very clean, I still have hope even though he can't straighten his left leg. He lifts the whole group just being out there, they love him. Rodan, Jones, Tappy and Howe were having set shots. The groups then joined up, doing a full ground drill moving the ball from back pocket to full forward, with each section being filmed. Jmac cannot kick, full stop! Jamar looked great, swinging onto his left on the wing and hitting up forwards! Tappy played in the forward line. Strauss was criticized for his disposal into forward line. Rodan was really sharp across the wing, looking forward to him hitting up our talls this year. Also notices viney wearing number 7, and Magner in Moloney's 22. Spencer moved well in this drill, had me wondering if there may still be hope! Then half group split into tackling drill, working on hitting low and lifting opponent, not sure if this is a good idea. Another group where doing 3v3 handball drill, very intense. Jonesy was dominant. No one can touch him. They then split into 3 groups for running. A repeat 100m ish effort, a 30m agility group, and a full ground spreading drill where the boys got flogged. Wrestling, spread, ball work, and repeat efforts. Pedo worked hard but needs the work, Davey just ahead of him. Tappy headed in after first of 3 rotations. Forwards doing 200s along boundary combined with hard leading from the square. Hard work. Blessed blew up! Howe looked a million bucks. Gotta go now.

Good thing it's not 2007.

Hi melbourne supporters I'm a tiger supporter from Dean's local area. I have umpired school footy in this area for over 10 years. In that time I have never seen a better dual sided kick in a schoolby footballer. I am disapointed he never made it to the Tigers but I am glad he made it to the AFL and Melbourne will find it has picked up a gem with its late pick. For those interested in stats he does the 20mt sprint in 2.88 secs, he can run 2kms in sub 7 mins, his vertical leap is 64cm and despite his athletic abilities is more of a natural footballer. I hope for his sake he has a great career with Melbourne.

Not sure he left only for money. He also left to coach and other issues happening at the time. But to answer your question: I love him because he was a champion and he played hard. He loved the Club his father played for. He still smarts and hurts over the 58 GF loss. He defends anonymous girls being beaten up by their boyfriend in the middle of the street. He still loves the Dees. He loves his heritage both family and football. I love him because he came home to the Dees. He is a champion footy player and a champion bloke. Not much else to say really.

Does anyone have links they can post to him doing illicit drugs or is it known that he definitely did? I can't recall this happening. The photo of him having a dart is quite old, saw that mid season I believe. Yes its an awful look but let's not forget he is only 18 and has a very challenging upbringing most likely without a decent rolemodel/mentor that so many kids go through the system get. From all accounts he is a great kid and quite likable. The best thing for this kid would be to get out of WA and try a fresh start. Really hope he makes it somewhere but the MFC is probably not the right place at the moment to take on a full time project like this when we are really only just rebuilding ourselves

What a draft period! Couldnt have been any better really. We just got Selwood -Viney, Pendlebury -Toumpas, Jono Brown -Hogan, and Michael Long - Barry

When we stop getting beatan up and bullied by the Hawks then that will feel like the tide has turned...our matches versus them have epitomised our last several season....to weak, pushed around, bullied not good enough for anywhere near long enough...many of these clashes were round 1 and felt like they set the tone for the season. As for Neeld, I don't think anyone can really claim to have any idea if he can coach, but we do know he is prepared to make the tough calls and will do everything in his power to succeed. Now that he has a bit more of a balance and competitive (we hope) list we can start to find out if he can in fact coach.

Surely you don't purge your list of those not fully committed to go and recruit a player that embodies much of what you were trying to eliminate.

what about Guy Smiley? Pedo Bear is a dead ringer

I'd never heard of three of our national draft selections before last night, so I figure I have buckley's of picking the rookies.

Losing Scully was Probably the best thing that could have happened to us. We Basically got pick 1 and 2 in this years draft with Viney and Jimmy and Added a Tank of a forward in Hogan.

Yeah, he sounds like a great kid and very mature but seemed to just enjoy the day more than the other boys. I really can't wait to see him play - he has played a bit in the backline so that might be where he starts out. Toumpas, Viney, Dawes, Pedersen, Byrnes, Rodan, Gillies, and Terlich are all chances for Rd 1, 2013 and that's what I wanted - to improve immediately while still getting in a great deal of young talent. We have done that.

Deeeeeeeeeeeeeee Mitri!!! I am as happy as fat kid with a cupcake. The way he handled himeslf in the interviews last night...all class. Was thinking lst night, I cant wait to see Viney and Toumpas in the guts next year....lets just say the fiancee is walking funny today!

He is a real winner this kid. Check out his interview with Matt Burgan on the MFC site, it's a real pleasure to listen to this kid speak compared to the monotone BS about the 'football industry' from T$. He actually loves what he does, how about that.

The word "Toumpas in Greek actually means..."Best player in the draft who slid to 4"

My new second favourite club is GWS. Not only did they take the 'fraud' off our hands and his pay packet, but one way or another they delivered Clark, who I doubt would be with us had he stayed, Hogan, Dawes and Barry. And in the piece de resistance they inexplicably handed Jimmy "the gun" Toumpas to us on a plate. It doesn't get better than that.

And people think Melbourne tanked...

Michael Evans is pickles,

Michael Evans

The recruitment of a new player represents a huge investment by a club's football department in terms of financial resources, time and opportunity cost. From a player's perspective an AFL career is a huge opportunity, they need to be able to convince a prospective club that they recognise the opportunity and that they will fully commit to making the most of that opportunity. It's all well and good having raw natural talent, however without the requisite drive to make the best of themselves a player is likely to be found wanting at the highest level. Given that daft social media posting (a picture tells a thousand words), Garlett's now the one who needs to "harden up" if he's serious about an AFL career.

He takes more than nicotine, Biff... I don't think our group needs this kind of thing just yet.

This would be a clever ploy to manipulate the draft... if any club were to ever go to those lengths. Makes you wonder just a little. The timing and requisite blatant stupidity make it a little suspect...

I agree with you in the sense that we need to be more competitive against all sides this year, and I will be hoping we could be in a game for 4 quarters against Hawthorn, unlike our recent efforts. However in my opinion Hawthorn will be one of the top 3 sides in the AFL in 2013, with Brian Lake bolstering one of their most deficient areas, a number of key players entering their prime, Hodge potentially playing a full season and with the full list seriously hurting from last year looking to make amends. I am far more concerned with us beating teams like Port, WB, North, Essendon, Brisbane, Richmond and even Carlton before we even consider seriously challenging Hawthorn.

Thanks to everyone who goes to training and writes up these fantastic reports. Great for those of us who can't get down there to see how the boys are going.

I don't know if this has come up in various inter-mod meetings or the annual Mod Box Social but this guy is an anti-Schwab troll. Just because his crazy is coated in eloquence, it is still troll behaviour. He has no desire to join this community - only enrage it with constant references to nefarious things he never expands on and never moves on from. A troll is a troll.

I was more in favour of giving the number to one of the more mature recruits but have no concerns with it being given to Jack Grimes. He has the head to deal with the number ... and after all's said and done ... it is just a number as others have said. I do like the concept of celebrating the club's history. We weren't always as bad as we have been the last five years and sometimes you can make a better future by drawing on the richness of your history. Ron Barassi represents the very richest part of our past so why not give Jack the chance to clean up the mess made by its previous custodian.

Ron, I am man enough to put my hand up and say that I had concerns of a few things that Neeld done throughout the last 12 months, none more so than making Trengove a co-captain. He even summed it up perfectly during the year when he commented about putting blind faith in players. Well, I refuse to put blind faith in Neeld. I want wins, followed by premierships. Yes, I acknowledge the fact that he had to make changes, and those changes were going to take time. I have patience, it is a prerequisite to barrack for the MFC, but he also has a timeframe where I expect improvement. This is the year (2013) where I expect it, and the following year, and the years after that. I'm quite sure Neeld himself wouldn't want it any other way. He would want people questioning his decisions, that's not to say that he should be a puppet, but it's the sign of good management if you process the feedback you get. He's still learning, he will make mistakes, but it's what he learns from those mistakes that will decide if he is a good coach or not. Until then, I'm on the fence, and will try not to get splinters in my arse. As long as the evidence keeps coming in, like it has over the past 6-8 weeks, I'll be happy to keep an open mind about his coaching ability. The thing that I'm the happiest about is that he has/helped remove players like Petterd, Rivers, Moloney, Green. I think this was 12 months too late (I know I'm likely to cop it for that comment), and have no doubts that Neeld should've made those decisions this time last year.

Oh well Ollie, see you in two years.

Keep in mind some of those highlight clips are from last year when he was 16-17! The stats above are wrong also. He now weighs a touch under 78kgs, so he should hit the 80kg mark after pre-season. No worries at all about his build, and he'll get his own ball if he needs to. This kid has the desire and drive to succeed.

I listened on radio, because it's a better coverage and only just watched Foxtel - taped. How happy was Jimmy "the Gun" Toumpas ? I doubt I've ever seen a new draftee as excited and as exuberant. Love him already.

WOW Hi Caro

Wines is a quality footballer. A footballer's footballer. But I don't think we'll go for him. I think we'll go for a more athletic player. A high level runner and high level user. Wines is only a so-so athlete and so-so user. But he'll still be a very good player - I just doubt it'll be for us.