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We NEED Frawley. Why isn't this blatantly obvious to every MFC supporter?!

No matter who we draft, I'm sure we'll complain about it a few weeks into next season...

http://www.betta.com.au/ The "We won't be beaten" Company slogan is a bit unfortunate.

Before expansion Bottom team = pick 1, pick 17, pick 33 etc Top team = pick 16, pick 32, pick 48 During expansion Gold coast = 12 unlisted 17 year olds plus QLD zone selctions, plus picks 1,2,3,5,7,9 etc Bottom team = pick 4 (which minus players above = real value pick 7 ish - Josh Toy, Brandon Matera, Zac Smith etc), pick 26 = pick 35, pick 44 = pick 60. So before Gold Coast came in if you finished last you got picks 1, 17, 33 The year Gold Coast came in you got picks equal to value of 7, 35, 60. Whilst previous top teams got pick 16, 32 and 48. Ie. finishing top in 2009 got you as much reward as finishing last in 2010. It's on this basis that teams who were up the top of the ladder and had done well in the the 2007-2009 period of recruiting particularly were going to stay up the ladder. That's the effect Gold Coast had on the draft. And it's not the top end where it hurt the most, but the bottom end. You can still find a talent with your first pick but you couldn't turn over the list quick enough. Our 2010 draft: Cook, Howe, Davis, McDonald. Rookie: Nicholson, Evans, Lawrence, Cam Johnston, Rob Campbell, Tom McNamara Our 2011 draft: pick 12 (Clark), Taggert, Tynan, Sellar. Rookie: Sheehan, Couch, Magner, Williams Fair to say all we got out of these periods so far is Mitch Clark, Tom McDonald a couple of nice depth mature types in Magner and Sellar and a bit of hope in Howe, Evans and Taggert. For a team that was still a long way off in 2010 and was half a disaster in 2011 you can say we needed more than that. It just didn't make sense for the list to be undergoing massive turnover in this period because the talent wasn't there. What point would there have been to throw out half the list if this is what we'd get put in.

The "rebuild" gets longer and longer every time Melbourne lose talented senior players.

The main priority this year is to get his name on an extended contract to secure him for the next 5 years.

Betta Home Living are on board as a Gold Partner. There's some snippets of info on the MFC facebook, can only assume a proper article soon. Peter Jackson kicking goals already!

DWA you are absolutely not alone. You can put him on ignore but like a weed he keeps coming up as quotes. There have been some annoying posters on this site since i've joined and whilst t he is not as objectionable as some i think he now has taken the mantle of the most annoying DL poster. Quite some feat. His need to blindly respond to any critique of the club is strange. I have come to the conclusion he is like a reverse troll. Please fellow posters stop giving him oxygen and at the least stop quoting him so at least i don't have to see his posts.

Frawley has added to the poisonous culture we have. The guy is a guerrilla, he is quick and can take a good intercept mark but conversely he is one of the dumbest players we have which is seen through his decision making, awareness and the way he plays football. The guy has zero leadership. Every time one of our backmen kicks a goal when we are 50 points down I can see him joking and laughing with his team mate. If anyone on our team 'goes through the motions' on the footy field, it's Frawley. There is no intensity from him and we need a hell of a lot more out of someone of his physical stature. He should be directing, instructing, yelling, encouraging, getting physical every single time he steps on to the field. He doesn't. He just goes through the motions of playing footy. It's his stupidity that kills him. People are still concerned cause he had an AA year and we don't have an immediate replacement but if we could trade for a gun mid, I'd do it.

This. I understand the "not the end of the world" outlook, but anyone who thinks our quality KPP are expendable is delusional.

An amazing game.. He kicked 2 goals for the Red Team and was in the best for the Blue... Sounds like a few Melbourne players!!!

From the web: Ron Gauci was appointed Chief Executive Office for the Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club in the NRL at the end of July 2010 three months after the salary scandal engulfed the club. Gauci has held senior management and executive positions in some of the world’s largest multinational and domestic organisations including Microsoft, Telstra, IBM, and most recently Verizon Business as Vice President Aust/NZ. Gauci is also a former Director on the Board of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), a former member of the International CEO Forum and held a position on the Board of Governors for the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM). Gauci has spent the past two decades as a “fix it” businessman taking on some of the most difficult challenges. He has been described as an inspiring leader as well as the “go to” man when handling complex issues. He has a reputation for quickly ascertaining impediments to success and a knack for realising the full potential of an organisation and its people. Since arriving at Melbourne Storm, he has been involved in the restoration of the club’s brand, the transformation of its commercial business and the management of a professional and well governed organisation. From the devastating events of 2010, the club has gone on to post significant success in its off field operations and on field performances including securing the Minor Premiership and Club Championship in 2011 and most recently success as NRL Premiers in 2012. Yeah the Storm are a great team and that's a lesser issue but I think this bloke could definitely bring his skills and help us along if PJ doesn't stick around.

I must completely over rate some players after reading some of the comments in these threads for those people who think Daisy is soft and the Col is not needed. I wonder what he really has to do to earn the respect of some people here, it sounds like anything under 30 touches and 5 goals is not good enough. Let's all agree that he is never going to be that star player, he will never win a brownlow and he will probably never win a coaches award for being the king of 1 percenters like our Jordie continually does. Also, he is not a leaders boot lace but that's not his fault. Some people are born with it, others aren't. Why should be try turn him into one?? Memories of Brad Green flood back. He is a genuine HFF who has stints on the ball, ala Chappy or Stevey J and no I am not putting him anywhere near the standards of those two but his position should be similar 75% in the forward line with a chop out on the ball. Maybe if the ball was forward a bit more we would see some more Col action. Now from the half way mark last year (and after coming back from a big injury pre season) he averaged 22 touches and a goal a game which I don't think is to bad in a team that was complete filth. This year, removing the Essendon disgrace and noting our team is even worse than last year he is still averaging 20 touches and a goal. This is his limit and I don't know why so many would be happy to see a player getting these numbers leave. Most will say that he is continually kicking long to no one which watching, yes I agree, but also from being at the games he has stuff all options to kick to, we all agree there is no spread and without Clarke or Dawes I'd probably rather kick it to an opposition player than Sellar as well. We continually cry out for decent grade mids and the one player we have with some talent people are happy to see the back of.

I can understand why we get sponsors. We've clearly been the most talked about and most over exposed club since early 2012.

I could not possible agree with you anymore!. I honestly could not blame him for wanting out. Its been hard enough to support the rubbish we have produced since Chippa came let alone play in that rubbish. He needs to be persuaded that things are on the incline like the rest of us!!!. Go hard out on some quality mid fielders in the draft and trade table. If he leaves, god help us…..

I'd be shocked if he wasn't over it by now.

That is what I said two years ago about Geelong. The good sides like Geelong, Hawthorn, Collingwood and Sydney just keep reinventing themselves. They don't consider the bottoming out crap like the MFC . Anything below the top four is failure. It is a mind set the MFC has not had for nearly half a century They just get on with it

The common argument from those posters that don't support the current coach is that while the current coach is not the sole reason for our problems, he is definitely part of the problem not part of the solution going forward. Through Jackson (and the AFL) it is hoped that the problems including coaching can be identified and properly addressed. I hope Jackson realises that the part of the train wreck that Neeld is responsible for and acts professionally, respectfully and promptly in terminating Mark Neeld's tenure and concentrates on securing a top flight coach.

Why mess around with mid-table teams when he could probably walk straight into the Hawthorn side?

He is a good VFL player Could not get get more than the occasional game at North. Siimlar to Bate and Newton good at VFL level but not AFL standard.

"Five years to fix, no matter the coach, which bit don't you get?" "Sat", you might find this hard to believe, but I am no dill. I understand the realities of the market place. I have said many times on here, no coach will bring Nirvana to us. But we need to be seen to be doing something. A new face, new ideas, a new way of selling the message can do remarkable things, in terms of reviving what appears to be a carcass. "BIFF is back that should make it more attractive weve been marginalised for years anew coach wont change that" Sorry, but I am not dwelling in the past, but looking to the future. I'll say it again, Mark Neeld should not shoulder the entire blame. There needs to be a complete overhaul of the FD. But if we continue on the current path, we will lose experienced players, who will want out of this toxic culture and grasp at a chance of playing finals or even a premiership before their career ends. We then lose our core once again, erode the very fabric of this footy club, continue not to develop the stocks we have internally and the spiral will see us disappearing up our own ought. Simple as that.

We need chip and Sylvia to stay on and continue to improve with the group, loosing these types for younger pkayers we will never play finals. We need midfielders despratly and if we can pinch a cupple these two will preform even better

Highly unlikely to happen but I would love to retain Frawley ,Watts and Sylvia for 3 more years . That would give us hope of making it somewhere near the finals .

You've gotta be joking - none of Garland, McDonald or Sellar (Sellar FFS!!!) can hold a candle to Frawley. He is the best defender we've had in at least the last quarter if a century and probably half a century. He's better than Danny Hughes, Ingerson and Shanahan no-one else even comes close (although we have had such prodigies as big Al Nicholson, Phil Gilbert and Damien Gaspar).

I think he has been a huge pickup for us. Some genuine, hard leadership. His work rate on the field is first class.

FFS he is contracted till the end of 2014 he cannot go anywhere!!

I would be disappointed in the extreme if Sylvia left this club. He is an absolute must retain player. A bit of a litmus test for Neeld actually.

That is rubbish. He has played some of his best footy, including this year, against decent opposition. Typical Demonland myth.

Neeld is clinging to inexperience like a drowning man to flotsam and it is a legitimate reason for inconsistent performance. He's focussing on games inexperience which is fair enough but that's not the entire story of our list. We've got a lot of players who for injury or late start reasons have less games than players their age would have. These players should be more mentally and physically mature and should be able to play at consistent AFL level faster than say Jimmy Toumpas. Players like Strauss, Blease, Pedersen, Magner, Nicholson, Gillies, Sellar, Grimes, Evans, Tapscott, Gawn, Howe, Jetta, Spencer, Bail, M.Jones, Terlich have all played less than their age allows - they drag the games average down, while they do have greater maturity. We should be able to improve quickly.

I don't know how good this young prospect is but on an emotional level, I hope that he finds his way to our club and I've chosen him as the player to kick off our coverage of the forthcoming national championships - AFL HOPEFUL HAS MORE THAN JUST FOOTBALL HERITAGE Naturally, emotion counts for nothing when drafting footballers but I wish him well. He and I have a connection in that every day I wear a black bracelet which commemorates his great, great grandfather William Cooper.

What we are seeing is the ill thought out consquences of free agency and the gifts to the expansion clubs. Whilst the AFLPA wants to get more for players and give them a chance to play in successful teams the immediate end game seems to be to put struggling clubs on the chopping block. Draft picks simply do not make up for lost experience. It is hard (impossible) to develop talent without experienced talent to support them. This is why we see so many post here bemoaning the development differential betweeen other teams draft picks and our picks. Its created a downward spiral not just for us but other teams. Plundering the weaker teams is now entrenched and they are unable to compete on an equal footing for talent. Its a serious problem for the competition unless you are happy to lose a few Melbourne clubs .

Geelong or back to WA Forget the rest

hullo sunshine good to see you back........sick of 'ology and dr poo?

Can't be resigned to defeat now, win a few games between now and then and show him we are on the right path and match the offers from the other teams, just because another team is looking at one of our required players doesn't mean we can roll over and cry in a corner. this is a must retain player.

The crux of the matter is, if Neeld had said it would take 5 years just to be competitive from the start, i doubt whether he would have even got the job.

Precisely why things have to change and quickly. We are marginalising ourselves in the market place. The MFC needs to be seen as an attractive place to be. Clearly, we aren't at the moment.

The draft used to provide a relief from on field performances but now I just don't want to get wrapped up in the draft anymore. I just can't get really excited about a draftee now knowing that we will have to wait 5 years to see any results and even then they could be a dud! (Morton, Watts etc) ...... But this was a nice article

I expect to see this type of article written about every one of our players who meets the following criteria; Is a good player has less than 2 years left on their current contract Apart from Scully & Rivers, i think the club has been able to retain the players that they have wanted to retain in recent times. However Frawley, Watts & Sylvia are very important to our list and i see getting all 3 of these guys to recomit will be a challenge. Aaron Davey has served the club well, and whilst i dont think we should offer him a large $$ contract or a long contract extension, if he keeps up the current form i dont see why we couldnt offer him a year by year type thing. After all we were happy enough to be a retirement home for Rodan....

We do business in an 18 team market. 2 of them are so-called "expansion" teams with concessions given to them by the AFL, which you could drown in. The big 4 Victorian teams are cashed up and ready to pounce on free agents or for that matter, buy out a targeted player's contract - see Frawley. That is not to mention the cashed up WA teams. With this stark reality, we have to be seen to be moving in a positive direction. The "market" certainly does not see us that way. Effort and commitment is what we need to see and we just aren't. As I have said before, we cannot afford the luxury of persisting with re-build after re-build. We and the football world need to see discernible improvement. We are realistic enough to understand that with the current list, we will not threaten finals for sometime, but commitment, accountability and demonstrated effort is the very least you would expect from any AFL team. As for expectations!!!!!!!!!!! Just read the litany of comments from MN's own mouth since he has been at the MFC. He built the expectation. As paying members and supporters, it is not unreasonable for us to believe we would see tangible improvement. We are in fact in reverse at present.

Isn't it illegal for clubs to try and poach players in contract?? WTF has Dimwit created with his Suns and GWS monster. Rules subverted. Insane money being offered around. What a mess this will become if its a free for all.

I just want him and Sylvia to re-sign and ill be happy. Dont really mind what happens with Davey

You use every thread, regardless of the topic, as a way to slip in a snide remark about Neeld. Tiresome. And repetitive.

Put a three year contract in front of him that he can't refuse, he is vital.

how could anyone want us to lose Sylvia, we have about 3 players capable of genuine match-winning class and he is one of them

Silly post, the way i see it, the reality of the situation is that we cant afford to loso\e any of our good players. We can argue about whether he could have been better at other clubs or with a different attitude, but as it still stands he is a better player than most on our list. must keep IMO

hes a free agent, he will be linked to everyone by seasons end Hope he stays, we can ill afford to lose another senior hardened body

What about Dawes, Terlich and MJones who recruited them? Dean Bailey I suppose.. oh and how great are Petterd, Gysberts and Martin going at their new homes?

I notice you conveniently left out Clark and Dawes there. Good job distorting the facts to suit your agenda.

His best position is on the wing, playing more defensively to get the ball out of the 50 with pin point passes, and drifting forward every now and then to provide another forward option.

The best game I ever saw McKenzie play he had 19 handballs and 1 kick. he is a competent tagger, but should never be allowed to kick the ball. I scream at the Teev don't give it Mckenzie, but hey never listen !!!!