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Just read this article in the Herald Sun about Paul Roos upsetting Sydney because of trying to lure young swans academy players. Lloyd Perris etc. Personally I love this, this shows to me Roos is 100% committed to the Dees and will do anything needed to make us a formidable outfit again. I know ppl will say of course he is 100% committed but I personally thought he still had a soft spot for the swans and would steer clear of them for that reason. Also shows he isn't afraid of poaching swans players, staff etc. Thoughts?? Personally, Thumbs up Roosy ??? Sydney chairman Richard Colless slams Paul Roos for trying to lure emerging Swans prospects

In selecting him in the draft.

You guys drool all over him all year, get excited by him, talk about him, think he's something that gives up hope... then complain because his photo is on a letter. Wow. I hope you go and rip his number off the back of all the little kids jumpers next year and then tell them there's no Santa.

you see this? this is the world's smallest violin playing just for the Sydney Football Club

There are those on here who rail against others for a perceived victim mentality. We are treated the same as everyone else they say. Toughen up. I beg to differ. It seems to me that the media and other clubs delight in bagging us at every opportunity. We are perceived as weak and incapable of fighting back. If I just recall some typical examples to illustrate my point. Matlhouse nabs Buttifant and goes after Thomas, media reaction, he is a smart operator. Wellman is taken from us during an existing contract, Essendon smart operators. Roos approaches assistants who are uncontracted, he is a $1.5m AFL planted vulture and is out of line. We ask for a PP after the worst 7 years in modern footy history, all hell breaks out, though they have been given freely before, for 2 and even 1 poor year, to teams that were in the finals shortly before. Excuse given by the other clubs and the media, you wasted earlier picks and you have Roos. Other teams get advantages in the salary cap, 3rd party deals or with fixturing, the media report that as necessary and for us, that's what you get for being no good. We have been pilloried over the tanking saga, investigated for 6 months and clearly been disrupted, even though found not guilty and then even had it used as an argument against us getting a PP. On the other hand, other teams that did the same, have been dobbed in by former players and officials yet have been protected and not investigated by the AFL and escaped any media criticism. Our only number 1 PP we ever got, is poached/stolen from us, half way through his contract, with a sneaky rule created by the AFL and funded by AFL money. Result, we are derided for losing him and picking a person who would leave, albeit for the highest amount of money ever given to a young player. This player never even told the truth to us and obviously failed to give value in the second year of his contract, because his head was elsewhere. We get arguably the best Coach available in Roos and are attacked for destroying the game, for paying him $1.5m, even though Worsfold and Malthouse are believed to be on only slightly less and Roos will pay for himself easily, with increased memberships and sponsorship. All through the last few years our brand has been trashed by the media because of our poor on field performances. we have been called disgraceful and yet when we try and do something about it, we again cop it unfairly from that same media. Need I go on, there are countless other examples. IMO we toughen up and get as dirty and ruthless as possible, without breaking AFL rules and TO HELL WITH EVERYONE ELSE. I want success, I don't want to be a nice guy.

Maybe Colless hasn't been with the Swans long enough to appreciate the irony of the Sydney chairman complaining about poaching.

It's laughable. We have AFL officials and club presidents travelling on expensive overseas junkets supposedly to study methods to make their competition more even. The first thing they do on return is to fight against proposals that would help equalise the competition and maintain the status quo of inequality. They rail against an idea that half the clubs have taken advantage of over the past decade (two even won premierships) on the basis that they compromise the recruiting system but when a club approaches an 18 year old legitimately to seek placement in an open draft (and away from a position that heavily compromises the draft), this Richard Colless squeals like a stick pig. I didn't hear him whine, complain or even open his mouth when the AFL conspired with another club (heavily supported financially by ... well, er ... the AFL) to poach a teenage first draft pick when he was finishing off his first season away from Melbourne with obscene offers that we had absolutely no chance of matching. Then we're told we wasted previous priority picks (he was one of them) so we don't deserve further assistance when we're down. Go for it Paul Roos and, as for you Colless, all I can say for now is "go Dockers".

Wow... Colless reckons; - talking to an undrafted kid in an effort to convince him to enter the general draft (not some kind of direct poaching) rather than being committed to a single club where he would be behind ten other similar types of players would ruin the legacy of - transforming a club and driving it to it's first premiership in it's present incarnation, establishing a resilient high-performance culture and graciously stepping aside for a carefully developed assistant in possibly the smoothest coaching succession in the history of the game A-grade hysteria from a habitual sook. Moving on...

*cough* Tippett *cough* Draft tampering *cough*

"so Lloyd, how stoked are you that you will be playing for me at the mighty Demons?" "shhh. Mr Colless is just over there"

I have a long memory and I still hurt when I think of how Sydney poached our best up and comer, Gerard Healy way back in Doc Edelstein's time. I have never forgiven the Swans, or Healy, for that matter. Poaching Perris would be a drop in the ocean compared with what Sydney did to us, but it would be a good start towards suitable retribution.

I cringed too. There was movement.

People will come, Ray. They'll come to Melbourne for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up to Brunton Avenue not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at the MCG as innocent as children, longing for the past. "Of course, we won't mind if you look around" you'll say. It's only $200,000 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it, for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the Northern Stand, sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find that they have reserved seats somewhere on the wing, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been the Melbourne Football Club. Australia has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But the Melbourne Football Club has marked the time. This team, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that was once good and it could be again. Oh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.

Hawthorn would have gone from celebrating prematurely to crapping their dacks in the space of about fifteen minutes tonight. And I've come to the conclusion that Ross Lyon is wasted in the football industry. He should be dispatched to the Middle-East immediately, because he'd have the place sorted out before Christmas.

If other clubs are pizzed off at what we're doing, then we know we're doing the right things. Everybody hates it when someone gets in the way of their best interests, and in the AFL everyone's best interest is in winning a premiership. Therefore anyone who's mad at you is mad because you're getting ahead of them in the race to the top of the mountain. Keep it up Dees!

I didn't know about these draft concessions but it seems another factor in the un-equal competition we are a part of. Why the hell should the Swans get such access to these kids with a last pick, it's a joke. And other sides are complaining about us getting a PP, these sides get helped every year. Do we get to take kids around the Casey area on special deals? I doubt it. This comp stinks and I'm sick of it.

Of course not. The best player of all time tag belongs to Jesse Hogan but I'm sure Swallow would gladly accept second best and GCS will take a fourth rounder and Tom Couch in exchange.

are you just making that up I cant believe her name is samara

It amazes me that even though there are clubs like Melbourne, GWS and the Saints, who all need a player of his caliber but reject him coming to their club, that there are still some on here that don't get it. The associated baggage, poor influences, and potential disruption to the building of a ruthless "team first" attitude are not worth compromising. It's about long-term culture and discipline, not quick fix answers.

Kennedy and McGlynn proves sometime they get it wrong. I rate Savage, he is exactly the type of fringe mid we should be targetting.

Send him a box of Kleenex and get it made specifically with the Dees logo on it.

just got home from the prelim to find my MFC membership letter it has Jesse Hogan photoshopped in a melbourne jumper alongside Viney, Grimes, Trengove, Jones and Frawley seriously that is embarassing also stiff to Garland, Jamar, Sylvia, Watts, Clark, Dawes, McKenzie, Howe even Terlich, Matt Jones and Tommy Mac, all of whom have earnt a spot before a bloke that has never put on the jumper I know it is not a big deal, and that Hulky represents a type of potential we have not seen at the club in a very long time, but sheesh...

How about we cut Lucas some slack? He didn't ask for our extremely inept recruiting department to select him with pick 12.

He is just sticking up for his team......It's what a good president would and should do......If Sydney were taking our players and staff we would all be calling for his head.....and would want our president to be protesting....Wouldn't we????

Roos canvassed this OTC a few weeks ago. Once he is Melbourne, it is F the rest. The thing with Roos is that, to me, he seems to have a hands-on approach to the up and coming kids. Obviously, his role at the academy bolsters this. Any MFC supporters that have ever whinged about 1.5m, should have a good look at themselves. We are getting the total package. A guy that knows the straightest path to September and its style of footy. A guy that is a PR machine to football peanuts and more importantly, non-football peanuts. A guy that is a pseudo-recruiter. We are getting massive value for money. The point is, if Colless is peed-off now, wait till Sydney's season is over.

The rules for NSW and international scholarship kids are as follows: A scholarship holder can be taken with the club's last live draft pick or Alternatively, the club can offer the player a spot on its rookie list. The player can choose whether to accept the rookie list spot, or knock it back in which case he goes into the draft as normal. A club can have up to three scholarship program kids on the rookie list which do not count towards the normal number of allowable rookies. No new NSW scholarships can be awarded - the NSW kids can now sign with the GWS academy, which has rights to them as if they were father/son eligible.

LOL Nothing thread

I'm confused about that academy program with Lloyd Perris... if he is as good as they are claiming he is, why would ANY CLUB allow the swans to take this player with their last pick of the draft? To me that just sounds bloody crazy. A player as good as Kieran Jack (potentially) why wouldn't he be considered a monty for a pick in the first 2 rounds of the draft? Surely there is something here I am missing? Its starting to feel nice being despised as a club rather than pitied.

The wheel is turning. Other clubs are starting to hate us. Imagine how much worse its gunna get if we actually perform on the paddock. I am actually starting to enjoy being a Dees supporter again. Onward and upward.

So Colless reckons "taking players from the academy he has helped build is an absolute breach of protocol and a gentleman’s agreement". I reckon not aiming for the best available would be an absolute breach of his contract as senior coach the Melbourne for the next two years. Toughen up Princess Colless!!

Was told tonight that we have been in contact with Swallow more than once. Things could heat up in the coming weeks.

Dear Damien Barrett and 17 other clubs, Suck on it. Kind Regard, Melbourne "we don't give a f" Football Club

Bloody Haw another Flag coming up! Freo will get smashed & Swans 2 many injuries Sorry Hate Hawks due to damage done to me in 87 prelim & 88 GF

I wish Jamie Bennell the best of luck for the remainder of his career. It was unfortunate that we couldn't get the best out of him and that he suffered an ACL injury that put him out for the best part of a year. However, he would have to go down as one of our many recruiting disasters from that era and in particular, that draft. We took him at 35 ahead of Matthew Broadbent (38), Steven Motlop (39), Mitch Robinson (40) and Rory Sloane (44). Then we took Neville Jetta at 51 ahead of Michael Walters (53). And that was after taking Sam Blease and James Strauss ahead of Luke Shuey and either David Zaharakis or Dan Hanneberry earlier in the draft. I know its easy to say the above in retrospect and other clubs missed out as well but I suspect that better recruiting people could have exercised better judgement. Imagine how much stronger our midfield would be today if the correct recruiting decisions were made back then? This isn't going to sound too flash but I do feel some comfort in the knowledge that Bennell and Cale Morton are on the Weagles' main list.

Maybe Colless should have considered what would happen if Roos went to another club BEFORE he cut his salary by 55%.

see im actually wrong again my mistake started when I read your post oh well,another wasted moment in life

I can't for the life of me understand why anyone on here would cringe! All long suffering Melbourne supporters hope for a brighter future, and Jesse Hogan is an integral part of that hope. Smart marketing I reckon!

Correct, if they are making hand shake deals and as Richard says " gentlemans agreementes " about really talented players wouldn't that be Draft tampering and as bad as our tanking stuff?

I'm still of the opinion that Wines would not have looked as good at MFC as he did at Port this year, the support around the midfield, the leadership of the club and coaching is totally different, so from that viewpoint i am not doubting for a second taking Toumpas was the right call. Toumpas reminds me of a Travis Jonstone that works his ass off, but as others have said a huge confidence player, when he's up he will be way up, when he's down he might go missing a little but but i'm very confident he will be a star

I don't believe Caro has covered herself in glory over this at all. She slammed Martin both on television and in print, and trashed his reputation severely, even highlighting some transgressions that had hitherto only been rumoured (without questioning why Richmond had tolerated them). She painted Martin as the quintessential dickhead who no right thinking club should touch with a ten foot pole. She was full of praise about Richmond's tactic of distancing itself from him and now, she does a 360 and praises the Tigers for happily wanting him back (albeit at their own price). She pillories every other club in similar situations and hasn't held back on Dane Swan or Sam Fisher. Only the Toigs deserve praise for bringing such a character back into the fold. I strongly suspect that if this was a story about Swan or even Buddy it might be told very differently.

Nice quote WJ, and so pertinent to the constant revisionism that goes on here. When I first saw Toumpas preseason my first thought was that his hand and foot skills were an exception to all others on our list, truly elite. Then seeing patches of his best play this year, I realised that apart from the fact that being low on confidence in a tragic team can make you look lost, what we have is a faster, taller, potential Sam Mitchell. His decision making and disposal off a step is unique. With time, confidence, and more on field support, that's Jimmy Toumpas

I'm not upset with Bluey's comment, I just thought it was moronic. There's a difference.

eat [censored] Colless you absolute cry baby GO GET EM ROOSY!!!!!!!!!!

How is NOT celebrating something "arrogance?" Last time I checked, it was called "humility" (i.e. the opposite of arrogance).

Oh how I long for the day the Dees are playing finals again. It's been such a long time between drinks.

What if; Our team becomes hardened motherfckers We arnt scared of anything anymore we have had the fantasy bashed out of us we are men

What if; Watts plays midfield (Goddard/Goodes/Watson) McKenzie becomes the best tagger in the comp. Nate Jones wins a third Bluey in a row Trengove lifts the weight off his chest and plays like we know he can Viney plays like Joel Selwood Toumpas has a good pre-season Tapscott becomes a midfield enforcer Grimes wins AA half back flank Frawley wins AA CHB Blease & Howe can dominate the HFF Sylvia becomes our best player Clarke wins the Coleman Hogan makes every second kid put No1 on their back Gawn holds down the No1 ruck Garland is the best 3rd tall backman in the comp Terlich gets even better We can pick up Swallow We can pick up Z.Jones We can pick up Garlett. its all between the ears. Now that Neeld is gone, we can at last play footy again.

I hear the Bandidos are recruiting

Ralph Carr appears to be incompetent. Whilst I don't really sympathise with Martin, who's had that Richmond deal in front of him for a long time, and who has gotten himself into a lot of the trouble that is hurting his career move prospects, Carr's apparently ineptitude is destroying his value by the second.

Worst in the AFL, mate. By a country mile.