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I'm sorry but if you're drawing parallels from Michie and Magner, you clearly have little idea of the situation.I'll just bundle you in with the ignorant group who keep quoting; ' He's only played one AFL game in three seasons.' For those ignorant folk who don't know much about his situation, here's a little blurb, which will hopefully give some context for all you negative nellies. Firstly, Michie's first opportunity to play with full fitness and a body that could handle the demands of playing football was this year, a year in which we saw Freo make a grand final. His first two seasons were injury plagued and so were spent trying to get his body right. Much like Grimes for us. Effectively, this year and the 2013 pre-season was the first he had. He made one appearance against Geelong this year and I watched it. While he didn't dominate, one could see that he has some wonderful attributes and skills. Between an injury hiccup early on and then a knee injury toward the tail end of the season, Michie managed to play 16 games for Peel Thunder in the WAFL and he took out their Best and Fairest for the year. Forgive the guy for not being able to break into a grand finalists midfield for the year. If he'd pushed one of Hill, Mundy, Barlow or Fyfe out we'd be talking about the next young Judd. But we're not. Nobody is. It's obvious to many, (but maybe not to you naysayers), that clubs with strong lines and lists and a strong footy department will have a strong development program for their kids. Especially kids that have to date, really struggled to get on the park. ie - Viv Michie There are many players within the AFL and especially from strong clubs, that haven't been blooded early on and have had to spend considerable time in their VFL affiliate sides preparing themselves for a smooth transition into the AFL sot hey can become comfortable in their own ability, so that they can learn team ethos and structures, so that they can develop their body. There are many reasons. Unfortunately this is a luxury the MFC haven't been afforded due to the weak list it has had and the mismanagement of the club as a whole. Bailey's era of 'giving games to the kids' may have put some questioning into the minds of posters who are wondering why oh why Viv has managed one game. It's not common practice to gift kids games, I can assure you. Nobody that I've come across is categorising Michie as being a future star or anything of the sort. However, what some of us can see, is that there are players out there on many AFL lists who are not getting games either because of injury or because they can't quite break into a side because they're young and still developing their game and the team are very strong across that particular line. Or! A mixture of both. This fits for Viv. Michie isn't like Greenwood where he is not getting games due to his lack of ability. Freo rate him alright. I remember a young Steven Motlop playing inconsistent football for the Geelong two's a few years back. I remember Josh Kennedy not being able to crack a game for the Hawks because of their star-studded midfield. There are plenty of things to be excited about if we land this player. Especially now that we have Roos. Go dees

Two months ago, I emailed the Melbourne Demon's membership office, and told them my last membership payment wouldn't be on time. I had just moved back in with my parents after finishing college, and haven't found work yet, then my dad was in a work accident that resulted in him being in the hospital for nearly three weeks. Around that same time, I wrote a blog post for a friend about what it's like being an AFL fan in the states. I wrote about how I came to love the Demons, and how great the club has been to me. The post got circulated around the internet and eventually found its way to the Demons media team. I'd had interactions with the club on a few other times and have always been amazed at how much they care about their members and how they go the extra mile to help their members. Today, I received this package in the mail. It has a hat, a letter from one of the staff and an autographed card. As far as I can tell it's signed by Nathan Jones, Chris Dawes, Jack Trengove, Shannon Byrnes, Mitch Clark, Jordie McKenzie, Colin Garland, Jack Grimes. There's a signature in the bottom left corner that i'm not sure whose signature that is. I'm completely blown away by how much the Demons care about their members. I just had to share with you guys since I don't know many AFL fans over here. I was trying to attach photos in the post. But it didn't want to work. So here's a link. http://imgur.com/uAxUUdw,0wUxra6,rLXJqcE#0

He went on a... a h... a hol...oh, I can hardly bring myself to say it... a holiday to Europe? In his off-season break? OH THE HORROR!

Some of the comments from Freo Supporters and how much they highly rate him.. ''Congrats guys, you just picked up a 150 + game solid on baller. I'm pretty devo ATM, but well done''. ''As I said earlier. You have a best 22 player there easy. The steal of the trade period IMO''.Well done. ''you guys just got a massive bargain. he'll be as good for you in the midfield as roberton was in the saints backline''. I'm a bit disappointed. But you guys have grabbed a champ. Hard running, tough at it, beautifully skilled, and an inherent set of footy smarts. Viv will be an asset for you guys next season and really fills a gap. I'll be attending a few more Dees' games next year. ''I wouldn't say Michie is particularly quick, his main asset is reading the ball off the ruckman's hands. He'll be a very good inside mid for you guys I think, he dominates the clearances in the WAFL games I've watched live. He was just unlucky that his role is the strongest part of our team (Fyfe, Mundy and Barlow). ''Viv is a really solid, natural footy player. I'm angry that he decided to leave us and I reckon you have got a bargain''.

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-16/michie-becomes-a-demon Why does noone want to come to us.. We're still a basket case blah blah. Not only did we get him, pick 54 is a stone cold ******* steal! This is so hard to say but,.. You did something right MFC!!!!

Yeah, know what you mean... I just saw Frawley tweeting a photo of himself lazing around on his back in Paris, resting before heading up the Eifel Tower... hope to god that they delist him asap.

Can I just say that it is good for footy that 12 months after PA was where they were at they are the preferred destination for a talented SA boy coming home. That is very welcome.

It's Shiel for pick 2. Or the draft. Surely.

Here's the tip. If Garlett was ever truly rated top 10 someone would've taken a chance on him. He's small, unfit and not lightning, that combination makes it hard for you to be top 10 unless you are unbelievably good. As for Byrnes before a myriad of injuries he actually performed the best out of our small forwards in the first half of the year. He's over with some of the lads in Europe - Gawn, Evans, Frawley etc but I find it some what reassuring we have a pro from the Geelong system over their with the young guys. Remember the Geelong guys go to the US every year pretty much and now Bartel goes midseason as well. Would you not like us to have Bartel, Selwood or Ablett due to the fact they holiday? Byrnes also did enough to get into the leadership group. So yeah he's not quite up to AFL level and was probably a mistake but we had list spots to fill somehow and he did as much as any other sucker who player half forward for us all year. I don't see any reason to not support Byrnes. I'll cheer for him as much as any other player on Melbourne's list.

If you don't like photos of someone in Europe then I find it ironic you are happy to draft Dayle Garlett, the king of photos...

If we, as a club, can't back ourselves to keep our best players, we may as well shut down now. Seriously people, chill out.

Just listening to Crows list manager David Noble on 5aa. Was very interesting listening... On the topic of Bernie Vince... 5aa : "So are we in the market for Pick 2 for Vince and possibly Jarryd Lyons?" Noble : "You guys are WAY OFF the mark! Everyone in the media is way off the mark. The value of Pick 2 is huge. The Melbourne Football Club have made enquiries with a number of clubs and have made it very clear what Pick 2 is worth to them. A player 22-25 yrs of age who is a club best and fairest winner. If they give up Pick 2 over the next week or so it will be front page news." Play hard Dees! I love it!

If our midfield featured the quality of Fyfe, Hill, Mundy, Barlow, Crowley and so on and we were in the top 4 and had a coach who notoriously plays mature players over kids then you'd think the talent of guys not getting games in the reserve comp would be quite different to one of the worst teams in history. Not to mention Michie is coming off his first decent AFL preseason and is only 21 so still has a tremendous amount of development potential. I'm not calling him the saviour or expecting 22 games and him to be our 3rd best mid behind Jones and Viney but I do expect that if fit he'd play plenty of games. He also has skills and the ability to play half forward and midfield. All in all he's the kind of player we should've been drafting and developing and exactly what we need to get in so that our half forwards and depth mid positions aren't wasting each week on guys going backwards with their football - ie. Tapscott, Bail, Blease.

Only interested in dealing with GWS if it involves Dylan Shiel, otherwise no thanks. As had previously been said, to get quality you've gotta give quality. We know that they want Boyd at 1, and are really fond of Scharenberg, well they need to rightly cough up something good for us.

Ollie!

Sooo what parading in Europe got to do with this again....?

Don't USE THE "S" WORD! It kills players at our club whenever someone uses it round here. Shhhhhh, keep it down.

Confirmed. Boom!

This thread is quite humorous. I don't give a rats on the successor to Roos at this stage. I actually want to enjoy the Roos years. There is nothing happening right now. Have a rest like the players are.

I know little about Bugg and Buntine. On pure stats alone they played only 17 games between them this year and were low possession winners. They may have had injury concerns for all I know but the deal for pick 2, even with a pick 9 kick back, is like us palming off Tapscott and Strauss. There are many better judges on this board than me but this deal, as reported, sounds ridiculous

Strong rumour doing the rounds on twitter that GWS are very keen on Pick 2 and a deal is getting close. Jon Ralph, Sam Landsberger and Adam White have all mentioned it in the last half hour. No word on what GWS are offering but it looks as though it has some real potential at the minute.

my contact told me he would be first and announced early this week. Wed isn't early in the week but he was right otherwise.

Viv Michie done deal to Dees for pick 54! Will be announced soon.

I gues that's the difference between a true supporter and a fair-weather supporter.

You are a goose. I hope your boss cancels your annual leave this year - how would that go down with you?

Let's give the kid time to settle down and establish himself. Let's hope that his injuries are behind him and he becomes a genuine goer for us. And, please, please, no comparisons!

Viv is a dee as reported on trade radio just then pick 54 or something... http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-16/michie-becomes-a-demon

Not to mention, new head of commercial operations only started on the 14th.

Sounds a bit like we get a lower pick and take out their garbage for them

I heard that Bernie Vince character is on holidays as well. May or may not be Europe. If the trade goes through then we should delist him straight away. We need to be tough on them right from the start if we want to be taken seriously.

In the words of Ian Maurice...Thanks very max Michie!

Any chance of delisting Byrnes, no offence but he did FA this year and I saw photo's of him parading around in Europe...I just thought that is bullsheet, what a waste...let's get Dayle Garlett to play wing half forward .who's keen for that ?? He could stay with the Viney's with Jimmy & Hoges.

With the recent appointment of Viv Michie to the MFC, Supporters should rest easy that the club is making the right decisions without the media attention. It has been suggested by posters on demonland that the club is not reacting to the trade period however this just shows that the club is working behind closed doors and the reduced media attention may in fact assist the club is signing significant names at a bargain price. I'm happy with two or three more appointments via trade/FA established players and the remainder via the national draft. Pick 2 + Pick 19 + Blease = Shiel + Treloar Pick 21 (or Sylvia Compo pick, wherever that is) = Vince Pick 36 = Jarman Impey Pick 54 = Viv Michie Pick 72 = Clizby upgrade FA = Cross Would love to see Jamar gone and Jolly in so a trade on Jamar + Tapscott for having the ability to get Jolly would be great.

Upgrade Clisby and find another Terlich and Jones with the picks in the 60-80s and there's your three. Given the relative age of our list and the urgency of our need to improve the midfield, I'd be quite happy to trade our first 5 picks and not pick a single 18 year old this year. If our trade period turned out as described by Demonof1994, add "wet my pants" to "do back flips".

I'm glad he is laying down some truth to those fools on 5AA. We may be terribly run, stupid club with a history of bad luck and poor decisions but... I forgot where I was going with this...

Any danger of both? I'd do frigging back flips if we did. Instant midfield.

Just made me fall of the couch with joy.

Well played. I like it. But if Silvia compo is band 3 - possibly use it on Jones and use Pick 20 +36 on Vince and Lyons?

Funny the way Treloar sort of goes under the radar, but he's by far the most productive of any of GWS' kids, bar Ward and he's not really a kid on that list. He's never mentioned in dispatches about wanting to come home, though.

Hang on, Richmond are a much better side than us, played finals and Nahas played quite a few games. Kent will be playing in the middle and Taggert hasn't played an AFL game - going by that, wouldn't Nahas be a better option?

His got something very few demons on our list don't.Have creativity.

lol at those who hate the spin - what do you want the club to do? Every person/organisation/entity spins. It is simply a way of stating facts in a way that reflects the best for oneself. If you abolished all PR firms today, they would spring up again tomorrow with a new title and a compelling campaign against whoever abolished them... As for the Successor Search of 2013; we came up empty. But that's ok. That means that we are happy to admit failure rather than make a decision for its own sake. That's progress.

I don't see what the big deal is. Simpson got the gig at WC, Burns was told we weren't interested, Ling is in the media and doing a day a week with North, this season he did a bit of spare time action with us and Dew decided to stay in Sydney. So Dew is probably the only one that got cold feet, it's no big deal. You don't always get things falling your way, I think if Worsfold hadn't pulled the pin at WC then Simpson would be with us now but that's the way it goes. It's hardly him turning his back, he gets to coach 3 years earlier, thinks he is up to it and took the gig. As for Adams, he has a relationship with Buckley and wants to get to Collingwood. At least he didn't waste our time with a Judd like sham. Geelong must be beside themselves because Heath Shaw turned them down and last year they couldn't even get a local boy, Boak to join them. Must be on the nose at Geelong.

He doesn't have to sign now, there is no need for ultimatums now. Should we start acting like a decent club or should we just continue to act like the toddler of a club we have been these last 7 years? Play good footy, get players to want to stay, and don't fret the end is near when they do leave. We can meet his wage and trade him or get Pick 5 for him as comp.

umm where did you pull Zaharakis from?

PJ is well paid and of course he's accountable. It's not a case of accountability though. He needs time to get his work done. Give it to him.

2 for Shiel OR Aish/Freeman 21for Myers OR Zac Jones/ Cripps 22 for Vince OR Zac Jones/ Tsitas 36 for Lyons OR Battersby / Giles 54 for Michie OR Holman / Apeness delisted FA . Cross psd:Anthony Miles Jesse Hogan Clisby (rookie upgrade) that's 9 on to the list Sylvia, Davey, Rodan, J Macdonald, Tynan, Sellar, Gillies, Davis & (1 of Jetta/Nicho/bail) off

Frawley talks about leadership and wanting to remain in the leadership group. Well, what better way for him to display such qualities by committing to a long-term deal.

Nice cutting and pasting NSC!!!!!

I'd be more inclined to swap him for a good quality mid of the right age since it's more about filling immediate needs rather than future list building, but for a really good pick like that you;d have to go for it.