Leaderboard

Fair dinkum it feels like you walk on broken glass around here sometimes.

I was in Melbourne from Sydney, so I went down to watch. The term "The Sound of One Hand Clapping" came to mind. I was the only person watching other than a Herald Sun photographer looking for the players who were ejected from the MCG at the Cricket. Seriously, get a life - it was after all, only the first and second year players. There were only nine players there. Apparently it was meant to be eleven but Jack Viney and Jimmy Toumpas couldn't change their flights. Go figure. I got there at 9.30am and they were already training, they walked off at about 10.40. Jesse Hogan was doing agility running, then just laps on his own, then sat out the final stages of the training. I asked him how he was finding it and he said "Full on." Looked a bit forlorn sitting there on his own. He had been in Perth with the family over Christmas, so I don't blame him. I know it's been said many times before but up close and personal he is a very big unit. Just hope we get a contract extension out of him when the time comes. The other eight players were the four rookies headed by Couch and Magner who was leading the group in the running drills closely shadowed by Dom Barry, who was the only other one in the group who looked like he had elite fitness. Couch wasn't keeping up with them which is interesting as he was a stand out last pre season. The two newest recruits, the rookies, Stark and Clisby were clearly struggling. Not surprising, you wouldn't want to come into this training so many weeks behind. At one stage one of them was passed by one of the coaches doing some of the laps with them. Not a good look. The group was doing some competitive hand ball games. Looked pretty scratchy but it is first day back. Then a lot of running. You need to see this up close to appreciate how hard these guys are working. It's hard. Magner had a good chuck in front of me. He was busting a gut, thats for sure. I will try to attach a couple of photos.

All you seem to do of late is come on here to moan about the repetitive threads and posts and belittle those you think are challenged. And, ironically, the belittling is becoming repetitive and not very challenging.

It's side splitting stuff. Hilarious...

While Shannon Byrnes has brought some of that famed Cattitude to Melbourne, Rivers and Petterd have taken some of that famed steely Dee professionalism to Catland and Tigerland. Win. Win.

Couldn't help myself. Brock McLean tweeted "new years eve is the biggest crock". I tweeted him back "second biggest crock just behind your comments about the Melbourne football club"

Positively knee slapping, side-splitting humour Fan. I hope you keep the standard as high as this throughout the season, even when Caro writes her next piece suggesting that everyone working in any administrative capacity at the MFC during 2009 should automatically be arrested and charged under Section 34(b) of the Summary Offences Act 1958. But don't worry. We'll send the brief to Redleg or Rumpole. They'll fix things!

we are still waiting for the afl to advise us of our best defence then it will be a cakewalk

and anyway it was Sloonies fault

Strange way of spelling obnoxious.

wyl I don't care if we put the ball through the stick 5 times once we keep the opposition to 4 I don't want us to get steamrolled anymore, I expect to beat the sides we should beat and win the majority of those who we expect to finish around us namely: Should beat Dogs, Port, Suns, Giants Win the majority of games against Bombers, Tigers, Lions, Saints, Roos if we do that and perform well against the other sides whilst sneaking a few wins I will be happy next year with a view to continued improvement in 2014. For me it's not about winning 10 games and losing 12 it's about the way we win and how competative we are in our losses, we are coming from a long way back. It doesn't mean I am setting the bar low it means I am looking at the big picture. Whenwe next make teh 8 I don't want to be there to make up the numbers

Levity? I know he was not joking when he said - "keep up the good work" about the way Wilson was doing her job. Fan missing this 'accomplished investigative journalist' may be a joke, but not the way he thinks it is.

are you taking the mickey redleg?

...and this is another reason why his position needs to be reviewed. He seems to me to like playing political games and leaking to the media whilst not getting his hands dirty sorting out real issues. Rendell, the messenger was shot and Neeld on fabricated evidence hung out to dry. The quality of the indigenous footballers passed up and the total number selected in this years draft should be setting off alarm bells at headquarters but unfortunately they seem more about image than action.

I personally think Mcqueen has stated a fact and part of the fact involves indigenous footballers. Lets be honest the number of those recruited has dwindled and the reason probably needs to be looked at by the AFL. I know for a fact Mifsud never contacted Phil Smart of Swan Districts despite the well documented case of Dayle Garlett for two years. We can't hold back on speaking the truth for fear of being labelled a racist, that time has passed and the problems need to be addressed by everyone or we will get nowhere. There are to many people taking quids whilst holding positions within the AFL, ALS and other indigenous councils without really addressing the problems. The issue goes beyond footy and is across society, problems with indigenous youth are widespread and it is only natural they will flow into the AFL. Matty Rendell was hung out to dry for basically being honest. I fully understand where he is coming from why take the risk when other options are available. There is a difference in honesty and racism

Seems to me from that B) symbol that you might know something about her return? I miss her - like I miss Niccolò Machiavelli, Atilla the Hun, Hitler and Stalin . They were all regular folk in their own way but I wouldn't pee on any of them if they were on fire.

Racial profiling is a bit rich. I was merely stating a fact but as always there a small number of posters who want to take it further and turn it into a racial debate. Would the responses have been different if I left the sentence out about anticipating criticism? Possibly. It was WJ that fired back with a barb about the "white boys." As DL7 pointed out. The amount of indigenous players is dwindling. The image portrayed by the current indigenous players needs to be one of high professional conduct in order to not only keep clubs recruiting, but to also rub off on juniors so there is more talent coming through the system and not being lost through senseless acts of violence that result in jail time. Three out of the four indiscretions I mentioned were directly related to fights outside of night clubs. PSD pointed out earlier that you only need to take a night out in Northbridge to understand that the vast majority of violent crime is committed by young Aboriginal kids. If you want to continue on with your ignorance of an obvious theme then knock yourself out. I'm quite comfortable with what I've posted.

I also was a fan of taking Rodan even for a season or two. He is a type of player we don't have, can get his own clearances, explosive off the mark, very strong, hard to tackle and stop, with games experience. If his body holds up and we can get a couple of seasons out of him it will be worth it. Bonus, he cost nothing.

im not sure I know where to start ....meh!!

No we didn't, because that could be another 5 month inquisition, this time on draft tampering. We just advised what we could do if we were in a certain position after father/son nominations and they decided what they would like to do. They obviously liked what we could do and what they could get and everyone including GC was happy with what they got as a result. No deal, no tampering, just stating options and positions.

This club have reallocated numbers often since before the first World War, nothing new there. Jack jumped at the honour of wearing the famous number 31 as I suggest most of the playing group would have given the opportunity. I don't believe his acceptance de values the number 16 at all.

It's interesting to see how the new players feel about the club and the positive influence they can have. It would be easy for a player, who only has a couple of years to go, to just coast along and get paid for minimum input, so when you see that they are keen to be involved it really gives you some confidence.

Yeah, the white boys like Scotland and our boys from bay 13 are all choir boys.

He departed Collingwood following the rookie draft and has officially joined Melbourne. Terrific scalp for the Demons to get him on board. I'm sure the Demons will get something up following the christmas holidays office closure.

2012: THE YEAR THAT WAS by Whispering Jack The great author and social critic Charles Dickens opened his epic novel A Tale of Two Cities in this way: The words ring loud and strong as I sit and ponder over a year whose end is almost upon us. More tough times for the club that founded the game and once ruled it, but has more recently perched uneasily on the tumbril heading for the guillotine while up there, in that far away city whose inhabitants barely care, the usurper reigns. The early optimism ever-present at the dawn of a season seemed justified in the very early days of Mark Neeld's AFL coaching career. On the first Saturday in March, his Demons overcame the Magpies by 9 points at Etihad Stadium. Despite the format and the experimental nature of those games, there was encouragement to be gained from the way they went about things that night but alas, it was short-lived and provided little more than a passing tinge of a promise of better things to come. The illusion was shattered within days when star forward Liam Jurrah, recuperating from a wrist injury, was arrested on charges relating to an alleged machete attack in an encampment in Alice Springs. The case became a complex saga with twists and turns that tormented the player, his community and his football club until he walked out late in the season leaving the beautiful story of his journey from Yuendumu to the big city in tatters. The end was an amicable divorce and in most years, his story would have been a mere distraction but in 2012, it was simply a distraction within a nest of distractions and deep wounds. There was much more to come. Two days after the breaking of the news about Jurrah, on the second Saturday in March, Hawthorn slaughtered Melbourne in the next NAB Cup game. The magical rebirth was over and, less than a week later, they lost in Adelaide to a less than well-respected Port Adelaide combination. The injuries were coming and the form was suddenly worse than poor. On 20 March, the iconic Jim Stynes, who had only recently stood down as club chairman, died at the young age of 45. A week later, he was buried at a state funeral held at St Paul's Cathedral, honoured by thousands including his players proudly wearing their red and blue blazers. On 31 March, the season proper began. At the MCG, a listless Melbourne succumbed in the heat by 41 points to the unfancied Brisbane Lions and suddenly, the club was under attack with the vultures in the media circling. The coach was less than convincing in post-match interviews, the attendance of the players at Stynes' funeral so close to the start of the season was now scoffed at and the stirrers became more and more vicious in their contempt of the club as the defeats came and the performances tended towards the insipid. Now, Melbourne was easy prey; fodder for all manner of opportunists with various agendas, some hidden and others kept deep below the surface. The new coach was falsely accused of discriminating against his indigenous players. The slur was traced to the AFL's community engagement manager Jason Mifsud who apologised to Neeld and offered his resignation but AFL chief Andrew Demetriou refused to accept it. Mifsud remains in his employment to this very day despite clear breaches of trust and dishonesty. The mystery remains as to the true origin of the allegations and as to whether parties other than Mifsud were behind them, for the controversy opened up more doors for the club's detractors who used it to question the manner of Neeld's appointment. Has a young coach ever in the history of the game been exposed more to the media blowtorch, much of it without justification, than this man? Worse was to come with the revelations of racist and sexist posts on the Facebook page of the CEO of the club's major sponsor Energy Watch. The club acted swiftly and decisively to sever ties with Energy Watch but the usual suspects were swifter in sinking more boots into the hapless Demons who admittedly did manage to cover most of the lost ground by securing Webjet and Opel as sponsors. The season dragged on, the injuries, the poor form and the defeats got worse amid a few dim rays of light amid the gloom. Nathan Jones was indefatigable, recruit Mitch Clark a revelation at full forward and some of the youngsters were showing good signs. After nine straight losses, the Demons had a night out at the MCG and finally broke the ice to beat the Bombers but the injury toll continued to mount. Clark's foot surgery was a major blow and the list of players injured never went below a dozen in number during the second half of 2012. The inevitable result was that wins were even harder to come by and the season's total of four victories consisted of three over new franchise teams, GWS and the Gold Coast, as well as that Round 10 upset over Essendon. Then came the thunderbolt known as the "tanking affair" which famously opened with suggestions by former player Brock McLean on the Fox Footy Channel that "you would have to be blind Freddy" not to realise that winning was less of a priority for the Demons than draft picks in his last season so he left to go to Carlton of all clubs. The Blues had three number one draft picks courtesy of the system including Matthew Kreuzer who was secured after a spectacular eleven game end of season losing streak that culminated in the farcical Kreuzer Cup and which is referred to these days in some circles as the "grand slam of tanking" but all this was missed by the panel of three supposedly wise inquisitors who were so lost for words that they failed to ask the glaringly obvious, leaving many suspecting that McLean was a mere patsy set up to embarrass his old club (or more precisely, certain officials of his old club). The politics behind the McLean revelations was also lost on the AFL's (now departed) Adrian Anderson who hastily launched a 5½ month long inquisition which drew to a close late in the year and out of which no charges have been laid to date. The enquiry was discriminatory in that it ignored other clubs whose own activities have been queried on the subject over a period of a decade and was confined to Melbourne and Melbourne alone. Incredibly, one of the club's detractors was former Chairman Paul Gardner who went public with this massive toe poke to the head, "I knew what they were doing and why they were doing it, but I didn't have to watch it any more." Information leaked to the media resulted in a storm of controversy in early November with an inflammatory and damning editorial knitted together by Melbourne Age chief football writer Caroline "Madame Defarge" Wilson and this led to a statement by President Don McLardy that the club would use every resource available to defend the integrity of the Melbourne Football Club. Ray Finkelstein, a prominent QC and former judge was appointed to handle the clubs defence. There have been suggestions that the possibility of a sanction against Melbourne or some of its officials but in the absence of similarly prolonged and through investigations of other clubs also suspected of tanking but not investigated, the AFL's integrity would be left in tatters carrying the smell of corruption. The saga is set to play itself out next month amid suggestions that face-saving deals will be done but I will leave further comment to Herald Sun journalist Warwick Green who recently wrote: The outcome of the enquiry will not be the end of the matter for the Melbourne Football Club. The board which has shown considerable strength and unity over a trying period still needs to deal with the core of the political maelstrom and the antipathy towards it from malcontents and disaffected supporters and from within certain segments of the media. These things are damaging and cannot be easily dealt with but they reflect deep-seated grievances and quarrels that have tracked the club through almost fifty years of disquiet that have destroyed many careers and good people and have held back its resurrection. At the other end of the spectrum, Sydney upset Hawthorn in a memorable grand final and, for the second time in a decade, the premiership cup went north while the oldest football club in the world remained in a state of disarray. We need to aspire to their level of solidarity, calm and experience within our ranks if we are to attain success. It was only when the playing season was over that we could experience some better times. Nathan Jones was a worthy winner of the Keith "Bluey" Truscott Memorial Trophy in recognition of him lifting his game to a point where a little more improvement next year will see him at the level of the elite, Jeremy Howe took Mark of the Year after amassing numerous nominations at the same time demonstrating that he's more than just a spring heeled Jack while the two Jacks, Grimes and Trengove had the most difficult of initiations into the world of AFL captaincy that will hold them in good stead in the years to come. Mitch Clark stuck it right up his critics with aplomb and he will be back while young Tom McDonald showed sufficient quality as a defender to warrant some striking list decisions made by the club in terms of its future defensive structure. The list changes effected in the last quarter of the calendar year was breathtaking in breadth and scope. We saw fifteen players gone including former captain and club stalwart Brad Green, Jared Rivers, Brent Moloney, Matthew Bate and some others who were good servants of the club but it was time for change. They were replaced by an eclectic mix of young and old in a sign that the football department was willing to take the steps necessary to bring about the best of times for an ailing club. The newcomers will be among the trailblazers as the team named for this great city begins its revival. Names like Viney, Dawes, Toumpas and next year Hogan will help change things forever, bringing to mind the theme of resurrection in these words, among the last to come from the unfortunate man who bears the name "Sydney" in Dickens' great tale:

That looks like the eye of some sort of voyeur, so maybe Fan has more in mind than you think? I now have to cleanse my mind and get any thoughts like that out of it.

The glee with which Fan takes this inquisition is unsettling for a person, let alone a Demon, let alone a former involved Demon.

Agree with all of this except Beamer. He had a shocker of a year because he had the sulks up with the new game plan and I believe being demoted from the leadership group. You could see most of the games he wasn't interested at all. He will have a good year at the Lions as he is the sort of character who will want to prove people wrong. In saying this though I was filthy watching him this year go at it half arsed so stoked we got rid of him. As for Martin, he is a bits and pieces player. Shows a glimpse of brilliance and then does something completely ridiculous a minute later. Those who rate him better than Jamar are kidding themselves. Yes he may get some more of the pill around the ground but he gets eaten alive in the centre square contests and boundary throw ins. Jamar is a smart cookie, he will learn to adapt to the new rules and hopefully we get to see some more of his form a couple years ago when he was jumping a lot more at contests. I'll miss Rivers as he is a just a good honest player who I always liked and was always super courageous. I have had a chat with a couple of players who love him as a team mate. He will be a bigger loss then people realise and look like a really great player with the support at the Cattery. As for the rest... umm... don't really care. Wish them luck though except when we play them

With our draw...I think we should expect a top 8 finish! How many free kicks do the AFL need to give us before we capatalise?

At least he bought our attention to the fact that the MFC is updating the website and still giving us news during the holiday period. It is too easy to forget that it was posted on the Club website on New Year's Day!

We did a deal with GWS to get Viney in the second round. They put pressure on GC not to eff around with Pick 2 as it was destined for GWS. I am sorry to a couple who will make salient points about 'not knowing for sure' but you can't judge what we did this off-season accurately if you reject that deal.

No you didn't start the thread..i did you strange little man. winning Quarters here and there or the odd stat count won't cut it for me anymore. It is about the amount of times the ball goes through the big sticks. Simple. I think these could be construed as my basic expectations for 2013 Sorry if you don't understand Mr Hur.

no..what it is saying is that this second year is going to be Neeld's most important as an AFL coach. If 2013 is not good he can kiss his career goodbye...so it will be fascinating to watch how he handles it all considering the shite he put up with in 2012. Different people on here will all have different expectations of what "success" is. What is yours Stuie?

I didn't start the thread, If I had I would have elaborated on my expectations. You just put your hands in the air. I get that you don't get it. You never do.

Perhaps not officially ... As above, we didn't use 3 and 13 on Hogan and Barry. We used 3 and 13 on Hogan, Barry AND Dawes PLUS the option to take Viney at 27 - which then enabled us to take Toumpas at 4 rather than having to take Viney there. Your scenario would never have played out. We could never have had Viney, Toumpas AND Wines without doing the Hogan deal as a sweetener to let Viney slide.

Just trying to encourage new ideas for conversation mate. Until we're at least back at training I don't think there's much more we can say about how the coach and the recruits will fare that hasn't been said A MILLION times already.

Mcqueen I worked Northbridge last night and they were are only problem. I'm hearing you lots of politics and people afraid to speak the truth. Chips on shoulders and everything is someone else's fault. It's people feathering their own nest with BS jobs who need to answer questions, MIFSUD is the first to come to mind On the other side of the coin good friends with many indigenous and they actually feel the same about the likes of MIFSUD and others in similar positions

It's just trolling pure and simple, designed to get an angry response, obviously didn't get enough attention or presents at Christmas.

I try to convince myself of this every day...

Without getting slammed or labelled a racist, it's fair to say that WA's young indigenous boys haven't done their image any favours over the last few months.Garlett Williams Bennell And prior to recent events there's of course the feel good story of a thug come Sandover medalist come MOTY winner Andy Krak.

sharknosed news hound

Taylor had input in 2012. Given I got lambasted for stating my source last time ill just leave it at that.

What an original thread....

Like everyone else seemingly, I'm excited about this guy joining us. That said, I reckon Viney, Harrington and the recruiting team did a top job this year. Landing Viney with pick 27, and then Hogan, Barry and Toumpas with our first round picks was absolutely sensational. Hats off to them.

Now we just need to poach their president. In simmering water ,with some apple , sage and red wine.

The topic of this thread is Booze. Drink up everyone and relax..

Yes, the timing is a bit of a bugger, but then again, when's a good time to lose one of your most experienced campaigners? I'll be sorry to see Mr Cricket go. He's been an amazing and ultra-reliable player over the years, especially when you consider he didn't make his test debut until he was 30. Like Matty Hayden he had to just keep amassing a mountain of runs at Shield level before the selectors had no choice but to pick him. He turned out to be a gem in all forms of the game as well, in that regard he was probably more versatile than any other player in era of Tests, ODIs and T20s. My hat goes off to him.

Yes...I'm another fan, having the complete Thunderbirds collection on DVD as well as the complete Stingray, Fireball XL5, Joe 90, Captain Scarlett and Supercar DVD sets. It's nice to be able to step back into your childhood every now and then. Thanks Gerry!

Yeah right, let's get him down there with Hogan, Barry, Kent and Stark and have him teach them his party tricks. It's pretty simple - DO NOT TOUCH.

This is simply another element in Mark Neeld's strategy of re-establishing a great culture at this club. Jack Grimes would take a bullet for this club. He's a Demon through and through, and Mark Neeld has just acknowledged it, very publicly, in a way that is a massive compliment to the young man. That being the case, what do you think the new draftees will think when Jack welcomes them to club and they see the passion in his expression and actions when he talks about the joint?! It's probably much the same as new draftees to the Cats would've thought when they first met Cameron Ling. We're setting up a good, tight club culture here. It's no longer about show pony individuals - it's about team and club. And Mark Neeld is convinced that Jack Grimes is the man to lead the charge. Perhaps a slightly left field thing to do, but I reckon this is what it's all about.