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Gday Fellow Dee's. As some of you might be aware I'm based in Darwin for work and have been for 8 years now. I went out for dinner with the boys up here last night and it was great to see Col as I wont get home for Xmas. All the boys seemed pretty happy & nervous from what I could gather. Everyone was joking around, especially about their 5 star (1star) accommodation!! Robertson Barracks is situated about 20kms from Darwin out the road in the middle of kinda nowhere I guess. They do have quite a full range of facilities there from what i could see. Now....the weather.... What I can tell you is the last 5-6 days are the hottest for humidity I have ever experienced. Yesterday was Darwins hottest December day in 36 years. The mercury peaked at 36'c, while that may not seem too hot it is very hard to explain the hidden heat of the humidity, the bureau up here says add 8'c generally to get a feel for what it feels like, for eg: 36'c actually feels like 44'c. This time of year is called "the build-up", it is a build of heat,pressure and humidity where it will be stinking hot all day, threaten to rain but never does until one day it will finally let go and officially kick start the wet season, this is called the knock em' down rains. We have had a little bit of rain which has only made it more humid. It is by far the hottest "build-up" Ive experienced since 2004 & all locals would agree. Sorry I havent got much footy news but it was just good to see everyone and not talk footy, if that makes sense?! Everyone is gutted about Trenners also. They are catching up with Aussie while they are here also. Now I'm not au fait with the benefits of training in humidity so if theres any doctors or sports science gurus who would like to inform us??? I just find it odd that Misson says it takes 3 years to reap the rewards of training up here but we only train once a year for 3 years up here...how does that work!!!? He's the expert though so I'm sure hes correct. They will certainly lose some weight! Anyway guys, thats all I have, sorry its not much but thought you might find the weather interesting at least. Hope you all have a great Xmas & New Year. The jungle drums are a beating & the Dee's are a comin! Cheers, Hells Gates.

I think a lot of you miss the conditioning aspect of this trip. Heavy exercise in climates like Darwin take a bit of getting used to. Not all our football is played at the MCG and several games are played in tropical or semi tropical cities (Darwin, Brisbane, Gold Coast). So when we play in those cities the team will have a better idea of how to deal with it. But, I know that as I train/run daily here in Bangkok (tropical/humid) and come back to Melbourne (miserable cold winter) and run, I have benefited from exercising in the tropics. It might sound silly, but no more silly than the rather expensive trips to be trendy and train on the top of an American mountain (could gain the same benefits at Falls Creek - just about as high). And they are not silly...just cost a lot more than going to Darwin. The point is that radical climate change brings a lot of long term benefits when you come back "down to earth" (or in this case, the MCG). I am not a doctor or a sports scientist, I just know from my own experiences, that it works. And, if also helps bring about wins in Darwin, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, because the team is more able to cope with the heat, you might find more Melbourne teams might be doing what we are doing in a couple of year's time. Melbourne being at the cutting edge of training is not something we are used to.

I'm not sure I get the counter argument here. We produce a profit by legally/morally moving things around to present our performance in the best possible light. In turn the result presents our club as well run business in a horror year. We will always need to attract new revenue streams (sponsorship, grants, relationships etc) to continue to grow (and hopefully keep up). If we did the opposite, and presented the results in their worst possible light (probably meaning a significant loss), how would that help attract new revenue streams? Surely people want to attach their brand to successful AND well run clubs. Don't they?

Do you have any idea how good Bartel and Hayes were early in their careers ? Didn't think so. After two years and 24 games Bartel, a former top 10 pick, averaged 12 possessions per game. Early in his third year he was dropped and played 7 games in the reserves. It happens with young players. Lenny Hayes after his first 3 years and 50 games averaged 13 disposals per game. It wasn't until his 4th year that he showed the player he'd become. Trengove has a big year coming up and it's a pity he's had an early setback, but his first couple of years were lightyears ahead of Hayes and Bartel. I'm surprised that so many supporters don't appreciate the quality player they have in their midst.

i'm gonna do this one in the Members, and people will be all "what a loooser" then they'll be like "na its kinda cool" then they'll be all "TOOUUUUMMMP...PASSSSS"

I gag enough at the footy already..

But MFC picked Darwin, which we have to ourselves, we get paid to play up there, we are building a good community base, the players actually like going there....what is not to like?

The Game has entered the premiership qtr. The AFL is plonking along having the wind at its back for most of the first half. They seem to have the game in their sights but have been unable to shake the Dees who have been plucky and determined in their defence even though the Umps are murdering them so far !! The Awfuls might have gone too early as the Dees seem to have plenty of puff and fight left in reserve and now as one of the AFL's stars has retired from the game they are being shown up as possible pretenders. Its a hard game to call but you just get the inkling that the mighty Demons might finish all over this upstart mob as the Red and Blue dig deep into their spirit the AwFuLs seem to be running around rather lacklustre and down on intensity. The breeze seems to have swung around to be at Melbourne's back. 3/4 time and the Dees have their nose in front. At the huddles Melbourne troops are being fully charged by their determined leaders, if body language alone was the litmus then the Dees have it in the bag as over at the over lot shoulders are drooping and one man to another they're looking around for some purpose and direction with no one seemingly able to provide it. The Awfuls seems to just be going through the motions now., just wanting this game over. Not long to the finish now ; Go Dees

I will go down the simplistic route and NOT look at the profit in isolation. I look at a $70K in relation to a year where 1/ our football was atrocious 2/ we had to replace major sponsors 3/ were never off the front pages for various reasons and none were particularly positive Being in business I fully understand that you are only as good as your last profit result. The strides we have taken under this current administration in my mind has been significant and I see no reason that given what they have accomplished in adversity will not continue - we could not get any worse onfield and made profit so even a hint of improve will help the cause. Cudo's and applause to those who made this result possible.

If you believe that the players were never told to lose - then you believe that we have done nothing wrong - and should say so. The fact that the supporters cheered McMahon's goal through is not evidence that the club committed a crime - but a demonstration of the fact that the supporters understood the AFL's incentives to bottom out ( just as Carlton supporters understood them after the Kruezer Cup) (Although I disagree with your take on the Richmond game in 2009,I reckon you are spot on putting "Hurricane" into the jester's top 5!) As I have said above , I believe that Anderson has dumped the AFL into a huge hole on this. The AFL needs this investigation out of the way as quickly as possible.The trouble is they don't how to conclude - because every which way they do it will make them look foolish. Whereas McLardy initially said we would fight for "natural justice" ,he is now saying that we will fight to "protect our integrity". I am probably reading to much into it but that sounds to me like a much stronger protest of innocence - and a much stronger warning to the AFL that it needs to get its findings right. As WJ has said - through the poison pen of people like the Wilson Woman - this saga has damaged our reputation - and Melbourne expects the AFL to help restore it. If the integrity issues of 2012 are drugs and gambling, the AFL shouldn't be tying up resources on priority pick incentives in 2009. Hurry up Mr Demetriou - Anderson has gone.

Training started with some warm up laps whilst the coaches had a kick around. Leigh Brown literally hit the fence behind the goals from the halfway line after unleashing a monster torp. Max Gawn was the most vocal during warm up. There were 3 groups of players at training: - Main group - One small group which included Clark, MacDonald, Pederson, Gillies and at times Dawes - Small group withTynan, Kent, Evans and a couple I can't remember The group with Tynan went to the other field for some speed and agility work for a while but were too far away to see anything too detailed apart from how short Kent was. When they finished, Evans came over to the main oval and did some repeat sprints around the boundary by himself. He looks at least 10kg heavier than he did on his debut and was working very hard during the running. Very impressive. Clark's group did a few little handballing drills and a bit of mucking around in good spirits. Gillies looks very settled already and was teaching them some little handball games. Dawes was running times laps at a steady pace by himself before joining in this group after a while. The main group did some full-ground circle work - leading, marking, handballing off to a running player who delivered to the next leading target and so on. Hannath displayed good hands and mobility and Matt Jones had one stand-out run down a wing at full speed with a one-two handpass and a pinpoint kick to finish, which was super impressive. Nicholson's kicking was absolutely fantastic. Viney ran hard but missed a few targets. The players did this drill with real intensity and good skills in general. Dom Barry epitomises the description cat-like. He is a very smooth mover with nice skills but will need to seriously hit the gym. Rodan and Byrnes were extremely vocal in this drill and throughout the session. The main group broke in to two groups and then in to 2 teams in each group. They did a few drills in a box about 20x20m. One drill was simply running from one side to the other while an opposition player tried to tackle you. People like Rodan and Jones were unstoppable, while Nev Jetta was a level above with his sideways movement and goose-steps fooling everybody. Watts had an extremely lack-lustre effort when he tried to pass Strauss with little to no effort and was stopped easily. They then had 3 on 3 trying to get a ball from one end to the other. Notable players were Jones, Jetta and Rodan once again while Howe and Viney were also good. Blease got smashed to the ground between Magner and Rodan after which Rodan picked him up and gave him words of encouragement. After the skills training, the main group broke in to 2 groups for running. The first group consisted of McDonald, Nicholson, Magner, Bail, Jones, Watts and surprisingly Troy Davis. They ran as far as they could for 5 minutes, then 4,3,2,1, with small breaks in between. Nicholson and McDonald were neck and neck leading the main group the first few times, with Watts and Davis finishing at the back of their group, not too far behind. After each bout, Nicholson would cough and wheeze violently before yelling words of encouragement to every other player. Coaches were yelling to Blease and Watts to 'tack-on' to a player for each run and try to beat them. On the last run, Magner blitzed them and ended up 15m in front of Nicholson and was absolutely stuffed. All in all, it was a very hard session and the standard was high. Standouts for me were Rodan, Magner, Jetta, Nicholson, McDonald.

I think all the crocs in Kakadu cleared out of there when they heard that Jack Viney was coming.

Is there a typo in your posting name?

I don't know the benefits from a sports science perspective, but the bonding that will happen over the next 10 days will make us a better team. To stay together, as a team for this period of time plus face the challenges together should bring our team closer.

It is easy to understand how frustrated supporters get when players don't live up to hype or expectations. Sylvia, Morton, that kid from the Dandenong Stingrays, Jurrah etc have rightly all caused much teeth gnashing over the past years. Trengove, on the other hand, is completely different. As mentioned previously his peers and the Footy Dept (who are striving for elite standards) thought enough of him to make him the youngest ever AFL captain. Jack's first two years were exactly what you would expect of a player going onto to being a star of the game. His 2012, by his own admission, was poor. Yet he still was rated the 8th best player of the year by the club. I don't know what was wrong with his kicking and acceleration but it was not like that in previous years. He had a kick for goal from just over 25 metres out and failed to make the distance. It was at this time that I realised he had a problem and that it wasn't the real Jack. It was kind of comforting Out of all our list there is no surer bet than Jack to become a top line player. I don't understand how others cannot see this

Satryricon, i am 100% with you on this. One of things i really hate when i go to the footy is supporters (demon or otherwise) bagging their own players and whilst DL is a forum to discuss things about the club i also hate when dees players get bagged on this site, or at least when it is over the top. Questioning form, application, attitude is ok. Bagging them unnecessarily is just rubbish And i for one cannot understand the lack of respect shown our skipper shown by several posters in this thread. As for the questions marks about his form and where he will get to again i'm left bewildered. He was the first to admit that last he didn't play as well as he had hoped but according to Neeld he met the KPI's set for each player. I thought he was terrific in the last few games and with his fantastic work ethic, attitude and approach to getting the best out of himself i am super confident he will end up being a star. What is no doubt is that he will be (and is already i reckon) a great leader for the MFC over the next decade and a player who role models to all how to go about preparing for and playing AFL footy. In case some people hadn't noticed the MFC has been in very short supply of exactly this sort of quality leader at the club for a long tome now and these qualities are exactly why Neeld made him the youngest ever AFL/VFL captain - that's 160 odd years! Unfortunately some people cannot see a player in holistic terms and as an example discuss his form last year in isolation, without considering what else he brings to the table and contributed to the team.

What's a "Scully"?

That's the one I'd like to hear in the context of this inquisition.The club's brand continues to suffer damage as a result of the misinformation and innuendo bandied abroad, mainly because of the poor treatment of stories leaked to the media. Those of us who closely study the allegations made against the club and have some knowledge of the issues and personalities involved are better able to understand that what's been presented in the media witch hunt is not evidence of wrongdoing in the context of what the AFL has defined as "tanking" in the past. Call it "list management" or "experimenting" (as Baby Blue did when questioned on OTC), or give it the descriptions Fevola and Liberatore have used in the context of Carlton who were investigated for 15 minutes over the issue. The fact remains that the only instance where tanking has been proven was in the case of the Richmond Football Club when Terry Wallace admitted to it publicly by saying he did nothing to win a game that would have deprived the Tigers of Trent Cotchin had they won (and the AFL has done nothing about this). It's damaging because most of the public simply do not study closely what's been said or written about the inquisition. I have had conversations with intelligent, well educated people who believe that Melbourne called meetings to direct its coaches and other personnel in the football department to do everything in their power including direct orders to players to lose games under sufferance of dismissal from their jobs. They seriously believe this after misreading articles written by some in the media whose agendas deviated far from the normal role of reporting or commenting on real facts. Some have formed opinions on the basis only of newspaper headlines or 10 second grabs on the news. Chalk it down as a victory for the Josef Goebbels style of journalism that's becoming all too prevalent in certain segments of our print media. The AFL can trumpet on about the inquisition having to go on its normal course but this one continues to us and the broader game much damage. At this rate, it's going to last almost as long as an entire football season eating into valuable resources and doing nothing more than bring many of the league's personnel and its investigative processes into disrepute. I agree with the OP. Demetriou needs to find a way out of this and soon.

I hear ya. It just doesn't 'prove' anything though. I could point to 100 weird positional changes. There was no instruction to deliberately lose games. Case closed.

Internet tough guys are my favourite kind of tough guy. Back on topic: Thanks to whoever posted those happy images, we can now confirm that he does indeed have teeth. Good to see him having fun with the playing group

This thread has morphed into personalities measuring appendages. Time to close.

Calm Down Walter.

He also approached the club and signed up for an extra 4 or 5 years immediately following the 186 point loss. He didn't have to, but clearly he wanted to make a statement of loyalty and commitment to the club. All the evidence is that this guy has loyalty in spades. I disagree with the post above - loyalty is not only for supporters, and it is not only reserved for matters sports-related. To the contrary, loyalty is rooted in one's character. Everyone has different settings. And that's why some here can't see why a player would remain loyal to a club in the face of extra $$$ and some can see it - in short, we're not all configured the same way. For instance, some of my mates don't understand why I give cash to the MFC and why I'm a Foundation/Debt Demolition Member etc. They think it's a complete waste of money. Yet, for me, it's an absolute no brainer. For some people, it's not all about the dough.

That sells cheap beer ,like a dirty pub .

Yeah. I was doing it with Ron Clarke, Tony Cook, John Kneen (lesser known but won the New York Marathon). Coach was a primary teacher, Frank McMahon. I remember Frank seeing De Castella as a 15yo at a Sunbury cross country meet (there were few houses then), and picked him straight off as a champ.

Buried away in a previously unremarked upon article is grist for the Fan, Hazy, ADC mill (big props for CS) and what i would consider to be a pretty positive bit about where the tanking investigation is at. Funny CW hasn't mentioned that the AFL no longer are interviewing MFC employees and or that the investigation seems to hinge on comments from that Bailey consider a joke in a two hour footy meeting (as opposed to a secret Vault tank meeting): Melbourne attempts to join the arms race with increased spending in the football department

Love the hard copy. I have years of them. Just great to pull one off the shelf, if you are sitting around talking Melbourne footy with friends. Perhaps a check box on the M'ship form if you don't want a hard copy

Letter being type as we speak. Consider it done diesel

Might buy a tigers membership if that gets me in. Good spot for after the G games Can you imagine fronting up with your red and blue scarf after we thrash them next year!

You were saying that over 3 years he had become a plodder. A plodder doesn't come at the pointy end of a club TT, matching or bettering his PB. As for the rest, you're just guessing. You have no idea what caused his foot injury, and equally because you have no idea what monitoring (or not) was being implemented, you aren't in a position to say whether that implementation was "proper" or not.

Chippy I am sorry to disagree with bb however I believe that training at altitude is about increasing the amount of red blood cells in your system. This increased level of red cells enables you to carry more oxygen and therefore increase your performance. I think it has little to do with thinning your blood. As you suggest pop an aspirin if you want thinner blood.

I wonder if Sydney will extend the farce by leaving it to take Tippett at pick 17 knowing everyone else is priced out of the market. Credit to the Swans for their success but getting an aditional leg up while others struggle, stinks.

To finish a sentence.

Knock em down rains has and always will be the very first rains of the wet season, not the last. The idea of the knock em down rains, which normally occurs in Nov/Dec, is that it knocks down all the spear grass that has grown during the dry. What you say doesnt make sense as it would already be flat from the whole wet season, someone has led you up the garden path. As for climate change, dont agree. Weather is a cycle thing that has happened for thousands of years. At the moment the weather is confused as to whether it will be an El Nino or La Nina, which is due to sea surface temps and levels in the Pacific Ocean. Whilst I agree there are holes in the ozone everywhere, these weather patterns have been happening for many years. Not trying to beat you down mate, but weather is something I do know a bit about. Enjoy your weekend.

I yell at every match. It's always positive. I'd just like the team to justify my yelling next season.

I am thinking along the lines as "TOOUUMMP...PASSssssssss...."

Nah, can't be done. You cannot dictate match selection like this, it would almost be akin to saying Adam Goodes is worth X amount of DT points, therefore he should be played at all costs. List management is crucial in the modern game. The AFL just needs to do whatever it can to ensure that clubs don't race to the bottom, once the race to the finals is out of reach in terms of not making the prize too valuable. But there should be NOTHING wrong with a club putting the queue in the rack if finals are out of reach, it's responsible to send players to get surgery if it means a full pre season, it's the best opportunity to get games into young players or try players in other positions. The point of difference with tanking is that the club with whoever they put out on the ground.... needs to be seen to be winning the game with the players on the park.

I see what you did there lol

might have to try the protein balls after the next long days bike ride ...look quite yumm

In response to Hoopla's comments where Anderson has dropped the AFL into it. I tend to agree on this, but I don't think it's true that there isn't an answer to how to get out of it from the AFL's perspective and not lose face. The best way for the AFL to do this is admit that they created an environment that could lead to the perception of tanking, and to come up with a clear definition of tanking. In addition they need to take steps to fix things... the priority draft pick was one thing, the next bit would be to do the lottery for the first 5 picks in the draft for example. The AFL will not come out of this well if they attempt to put the blame onto clubs for what was a scenario caused by the AFL itself. It would open a can of worms that might find itself in the courts which puts them on a much less secure footing.

It would be amusing if Adelaide jumped in before Sydney and used pick 10 on Kurt Tippett.

Appreciate that HG whilst sitting in air conditioned comfort. Just hoping it's an injury free trip and wishing them the best. They should have fun in the heat. *sigh*

HaHaHa, would that be nice, to have that piece of footy real estate. They have the prime position for all facilities. We must build something over @ Swan Rd, outside the (AAMI centre) across from the station. To me its the only hope. Don't listen to Rob Doyle & go west. we'll be paired up with the Doggies or Roos. Doyle is just going down one station at a time. He'll go Open Misère, soon enough.

Yes you're very much alone on that statement!!, the kid (yes currently 21 years old) is going to be an absolute gun

I'm confident that we'll escape any sort of penalty or sanctions . If that happens it then begs the question - "How and why did it take well over 4 months to come to this conclusion?" (McLean was on 'OTC' in late July IIRC) . We can only be found guilty of preparing for the next season (or seasons) . And that is not match fixing . If we do receive penalties it has to be for match fixing . What, are they going to take a draft pick off us because Paul Johnson played on Nathan Brown ? It can't stick , it just can't . I reckon what's happened is that the investigators could have closed the 'Case' a number of times but then another little 'titbit' would surface - they'd spend another week or 3 'Investigating' that until another little 'titbit' would surface . And so on and so forth . They've got nothing of any substance and their attitude might be to keep looking until they find something . Maybe the investigators haven't realised that if the smoking gun was there, they should have uncovered it by now . Maybe it's just plain stubbornness on their part . Trying (in vain) to justify their own involvement in this farce . Edit : The other thing to remember is that if we receive sanctions for reasons other than match fixing, then that will impact on what is 'Allowable' for clubs in the future (on match days) . I reckon that is where they've reached an impasse . Many of us have been focusing on what 'Other' clubs have done in the past, but it's what clubs can do in the future that's at stake here . The AFL will end up making a rod for it's own back if they're not careful . It's match fixing or nothing .

I'm suggesting that one of the major reasons we have become a backwater club over the last 40 years, is because we don't look after our supporters in this fashion, with a supporter hub/training complex, as other clubs did like the Carltons & the Bombers, Hawks & the Pies, etc. Look at the Cats now with their setup they're building. and the Tiges are building. Just catching up to where we are now isn't enough, as other clubs are bringing the rank & file back supporter back in. When the world recession hits, & big money is hard to come by, it'll be the ordinary supporter going down to the club who'll make it flourish. And keep the turnstiles clicking. Grass Roots is everything. IMO the reason we've struggled to maintain our supporters & grow new, is for this reason, and now its worse since the new Northern stand has taken the club further away & out of touch with supporters. We have a chance to fix this whilst we're overhauling this termite eaten club. Lets not stop at the footy dept, because I can tell you, it won't last long when the supporters are getting they're share of consideration. It's 'OK' for MCC members to think, 'what are they talking about', but there's the problem. It's not OK. We either need somewhere opposite the Richmond station outside AAMI stadium, or south/east of the MCG. And One place for all. not this place with 3 players visit for 15 minutes. Or that bar over there, where 5 players visit for 20 minutes. Thats not a club. Thats an organisation.

Yes but the G does not remain open to MFC members after the match unless they are also MCC members and even then it is only for a short time. Surely something at AAMI would be better than the current alternative of the Hilton?

Smoke and Mirrors are cool . Love em both . Especially the mirrors. 700k is a pi55 in the ocean from our coterie . If times get tough we will dig deeper till we get a flag . Thats what functional clubs do. We probably have the same financial resources amongst our supporter base as Collingwood does in its . Most of ours has been obtained by white collar crimes which just goes to prove the motto "Blue -Collar crime doesn't pay".

Chuck Loeb and his crew with a rendition of 'Sunny' called 'Sonnymoon' . This song currently tops the Jazz charts in the States ... Macca's jazz 5.2

J.Witts...he's got his wits about him.