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Were you expecting Leigh Matthews or something? I was surprised too, but these development coach positions all seem to be filled by low profile/inexperienced coaches. What say we give the bloke a chance before we pan him, given that being the best player has never been a prerequisite for being a good coach.

I too am bemused at some of the comments. Miller reeks of leadership, which is why he was mooted as a potential captain and showed his class when he led the way with Trisha Broadbridge rebuilding the school damaged by the tsunami. The guy even managed to play 157 games with very minimal talent, which augurs well for a coaching career.

Cant believe the carping and sniping on this forum has started already. Surely you must give PJ and Roos some credit that they know what they are doing. You dont have to be a gun player to be a good coach you need to be smart, a good comunicator and a motivational leader. For what its worth Miller was and is a quality person who obviously, in Roos eyes has those qualities and I thought the team always looked better with him in it even if it didn't show in his stats. It wasn't just the loss of Jnr that left the club bereft of leaders. You can include, Miller, Green, Bartram and Bruce in that list as well. Great to see Brad back at the club and I thnk he has the potential under Roos to become a very good coach. PS looking forward to seeing Pia at the B&F

You are acting like a dead set peanut. Again.

Oh well, it's done. Let's move on, cop it on the chin and avoid turning into pork chops.

Wow, this thread degenerated quickly. One part pointless flaming of an honest former player, one part MFC-SS 'we'll all be ruined' wailing, throw in a bunch of wink-nudge about the player's wife, and then slide into childish sneering at eachother. Wish there was some way to automatically filter out all the brown noise on here. Anyway, Brad Miller has as good a playing record as either of this year's Grand Final coaches, so that's hardly a deciding factor, and as a player he was known for his professionalism and leadership. He is also someone that Roos has been aware of for a long time (such as through the attempt to recruit him many years ago) so this is not a spur of the moment decision.

I think that Miller was a player that got the most out of himself......A good honest player...not a great player.....I think he might be good to show our young blokes how to get the best out of themselves Just a thought....

Pros - ball winning mid who kicks the odd goal, and already has a defensive side to his game unlike many draftee mids Cons - American accent No from me.

Ironic we are a basket case during the season with every man and his dog bagging us and now because we have applied for a pp suddenly we have great players and plenty of upside. Unbelievable.

Brad, and more impotantly Pia Miller are returning to Melbourne! http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2013-09-23/miller-returns-to-demons Hopefully we'll see her around the club as much as possible! Oh and it's great Brad's back also, hopefully with no hard feelings?

People here realise Miller is coaching, not playing?

Brad Miller was tipped to be captain for a long time in his younger years. His football didn't live up to that idea, but clearly a great guy and inspirational presence inside a club. Another good call by Roos and PJ.

Our combined tally of 7 votes trails Daniel Hannebery by only 6 votes. It could still be a close finish.

To be honest I am thrilled that we now have a great midfield. Who are they, I don't know, but we must have, because the AFL told us today that we will be fine. I don't know how I got that so wrong. Maybe winning 2 games, 1 by a point and the other against the new guys, who we incidentally were the only team they could beat, should have tipped me off. Those thrashings early on when we were described as pathetic and a disgrace, should also have tipped me off to how really good we actually are. Anyway, decision made, move on. What do we do now, anything within the rules to improve. I would try and convince a very good player to come to us via the PSD. Pay him overs if you have to. Trade pick 2 for a top mid if we can and try and get a pick back that we could also trade for another not as good mid. I would start talking about FAIRNESS in the AFL and let it be known that fixturing cannot continue to be so compromised, if all clubs are to have a chance at success. You can't succeed on the field without succeeding off it and we are being given no chance to succeed off it with the current arrangements. This can be done subtly by using the media. We do what Daniher said some years ago, get RUTHLESS.

I am sick of of all this whining victim and begging bowl stuff. We got some cash in the bank, been handed Roo's on a silver platter and now time to roll the sleeves up and do some hard work. Most of the ugliness is now in the past. i don't really care about having the honour of nurturing through another potential future prima donna. Get back the respect and play some decent footy is what we need ASAP.

Get over it.

Many will get upset and in many respects understandably as we've been treated shabbily , yet again , by the often hypocritical if no inconsistent vagaries of the AFL. The first thing to note is we arent dealing with anything remotely like an even playing field here. There is no justice, no recourse to review or appeal; it's summary. Well, best we all get over it and on to the job at hand. What we now need to be is a ruthless, unsympathetic, take no prisoners type of club and dispatch all comers and bastards without a moments compassion. They want us to play hard ball....let lets get cracking. Go Dees....and fark the rest.

The AFL can time this well and slip us pick 1 at about 10.30 tonight just before an Essendon player wins the Brownlow and sparks a media riot.

Caroline Wilson at it again - to quote from her latest article responding to the priority pick being refused: "The push, which Jackson said he was compelled to do given Melbourne's recent performances, would have been vehemently opposed by the 17 other clubs given the Demons' history in having deliberately lost games in 2009 to gain early draft picks." I'm pretty sure we weren't found guilty of losing games deliberately Caroline, but by all means, don't let facts get in your way.....

we can only hope he brings the same level of quality and success that he did in 5 of his 157 games for the club

That's not correct. Pick 10 for example would be a very valuable pick and even 19 gets us another trade or another mid in the draft

Talk about living up to the hype. What an absolute gun who would die for the jumper. And he's still just 19. Two things that really stood out for me as I wasnt expecting them - his pace and kicking ability. Both were very good, I think the perception of him was he was an inside mid that could accumulate possession and maybe lacked some speed and explosiveness. Well he looked bloody fast to me.

Forget everything, Patrick Dangerfield for the win. He's already half drunk and his speech would be joyful. Go Paddy!

Depressing to relive some of the performances, I'd almost blocked out how bad we were this year!

Welcome back Brad you have to start a coaching career somewhere, so where better than the club where your career began.

Oh man. SEASON OVER!! Vikings lose to the Browns at home. Good on the Browns I always like seeing a Cleveland team win something/anything but did they have to win on the road with a QB I have never heard of? Bears and Lions are going along nicely and my Vikings are being left in the dust! 0-3 in the NFC north is asking a lot to comeback from. The vikings may have their finger on the panic button but I'm sure the Giants have smashed it already. I couldn't believe that score. Steelers look cooked as well. Dear Big Ben you would look great in purple. Is the reported RG3 and Shanahan bad relationship in the pre season starting to show? I haven't seen a skins game yet so I don't know. Strafford you must be a happy man and Pantaloons can you tell me how it feels to support a undefeated team? It must be a odd feeling compared to the despair we all felt after 3 rounds of Melbourne footy.

Miller time for Demons as ex-forward returns I don't quite understand this. Dean Bailey was the coach of the club when Miller was delisted, Junior was retired and Bruce decided to go to Hawthorn. He also coached the club in the following season and all three events were seen as a mistake during 2011 well before Mark Neeld took up the coaching reins. The historical revisionism that abounds today is nothing short of appalling.

Clark, Dawes, Hogan, Howe, Watts, Trengove, Jones, Jones, Viney, Toumpas, Sylvia, Blease, Strauss, Grimes, Frawley, Garland, McDonald, Terlich is a decent base to work from. Every club has a few crap players, now is the time to stop whinging and expecting handouts and do the hard work to get back where we want to be. Not getting a PP doesn't mean we can't be successful, it's just means we might have to work smarter and harder for longer.

When we continually pick duds like Morton,Gysberts,Cook,Strauss we don't deserve the PP. The quicker we get off the Methodone and stand on our own 2 feet the better. Prendergast picked Morton because he won the Larke Medal and had that to fall back on when Dangerfield was still available and had an amazing year at the Falcons. When your recruiting fails,you can't stick your hand out for a PP!!!

I said in the thread on the other board that Evans either thinks Roos has Coaching ability level Moses, or the fact that up until this year he was the Footy Ops head at Hawthorn has clouded hi judgment. I am sorry to say this but this will, most likely, be revisited next year. We still do not have a midfield, and the magic of Roos will only extend so far. Terrible recommendation and a cowardly decision.

Unfortunately, they aren't painting themselves anywhere. That we didn't get a PP this year will be utterly irrelevant when it comes to awarding them in the future to other clubs. Forgotten, except by the MFC. The AFL don't arbitrate objectively, they arbitrate as a reflection of how they want to be perceived.......by the public at large, and by the other clubs, particularly the cash cows. Put more simply, they make it up as they go along. That they have been spruiking the 'future' of equalisation makes a mockery of this decision, but on its own, it's very very small bananas. And you won't hear any mainstream media to the contrary. Where the AFL is going to strike resistance however is if they don't equalise substantially in other ways as per their up til now vague chatter. The combined voice (in the public and administratively) of the 'disadvantaged' clubs, or shall we say the 'unequal' clubs (us, North, Saints, Dogs,) will be substantial and game changing if the powerhouse clubs are allowed to grow richer in their advantage over the next few years. A groundswell of unhappy football supporters in Melbourne is not something Andrew Demetriou will want to face.

Got it covered well there Maldonboy. Particularly the first Paragraph. I am sure PJ and PR know way more about this game than 99% on here me included.

Let's not have yet another thread destroyed by one belligerent poster. Responding to C&B only fuels the fire.

Well I loved Brad Miller during his playing days and rapt that he is coming back to the fold. I am certain Paul Roos knows what he is doing.

It is great to have Brad Miller back at the club. While not an outstanding talent - he made more than the best of what he had. He was highly respected among the players and many were disappointed at his departure. He also had guts and would "fly the flag". I remember a game against Essendrug some years ago at Etihad. I was behind the goals and some Essendon players began monstering a skinny kid called Jack Watts. Miller intervened and let it be known that he was on the job. He was one of the few Melbourne players who would carry out such a role in recent years.

Some of you lot are funny.. Was a very highly regarded for his outstanding leadership skills and was close to being our captain at one stage. When he talks everyone sits up and listerns. People follow him and its a credit to himself that he got to play 150 games in AFL. Through sheer dedication and determination you will see it rub on to players like Hogan and Howe and even Watts. Paul Roos is also a big fan of Miller. He was chased really hard in 05 and 06 by the swans so clearly Roos sees something in him. Welcome back Brad.

OK - I know 2013 was living hell, but all this Brad Miller angst is unbelievable. He wasn't the best on our list but he was also far from our worst. Cut him some slack. PJ and Roos see something in him. Denis Pagan - average to poor footballer but great coach Tom Hafey - average footballer but great coach Alistair Clarkson - ok footballer but great coach And I would have him back as the whiteboard wiper if it meant seeing Pia around the traps again. There is prettiness, girl-next-door prettiness, voluptuous sex queen, beauty...and then there is Pia.

Miller returns to Demons welcome back Pia Brad comes in as a development coach. Welcome back Brad.

I think a few here underestimate how handy having an extra first round pick would be. It would give us another option of trading in a ready made player and there is plenty of those looking to move this trade period. I personally believe that is what we will receive and that is fine any help is good. Though I do find the article to be very hypocritical. We were bashed from pillar to post this year and everyone saying we've got a 10 year re-build and we ae no good. Now the same people are saying we have loads of potential and could turn it around quickly. What a load of BS I say f*** the media and f*** the rest of the comp. Go Dees!

Yeah, nice theory, not gonna happen. We are being conditioned by afl leaks to the media that we aren't going to get one. As I said to a hawthorn-supporting mate last night, it's not a question of 'deserves' it's a question of 'qualifies for' and 'requires'. If Melbourne don't qualify after 7 years of abject failure, who does? Essentially, i don't believe anyone should ever get one again if Melbourne doesn't.

I think the whole number thing is a bit of a furphy. Back in the day many a lad had to earn his stripes in the turds then magoos then .....then they got on the senior list. It was a tradition to wear higher numbers. Today it doesnt matter a great deal. Apart from rookies , whats the dif ? Someone has to wear a number

In a heart beat. Quicker even. He's worth pick 2 right now, and will only get better.

Oh good.....ANOTHER Jack Watts thread......

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.

What makes me cringe is when the admin of this club defend itself and advertise the club with the prostituting of draft picks and teenagers to a impatient fan base. I am ok with one fifth of a promo being a boy yet to play a game but don't sell me hope on the back of kids making their way, it's a burden they shouldn't carry and we have long been misled with.

What more can you say that hasn't already been said? "Have my babies Nathan?"

Given that there's always at least one commentator that I can't stand calling any given game, it's impossible for me to avoid them all sadly.

don't like his attitude don't like his haircut don't like the way he trains don't like his kicking action don't like his left side handball don't like his smart alec way of talking to press don't like him in the forward line don't like him in the backline hes not a midfielder why play him in the ruck hes just no good waste of a pick really other clubs laugh at our development players any threads started about this player please feel free to use my quotes,and save me posting next year almost forgot hes great I think hes there for 10 years move him up the field told you we didn't need clark/dawes how good was his 3 touches though do you think he will poll in the chas he could be our next captain do you think he should be our next captain feel free to use these quotes next year,on a weekly basis

That's astute of you to notice this fact but every year we do a player review starting from # 1 and onwards. Hogan happens to be the player who was allocated the #1 guernsey and we recognise him as a Demon in 2013.

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.