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Jesse Hogan convinced to sign a 5-year contract, but only on the provision that PJ and PR did likewise? One can dream can't they!?!?

Personally I actually don't mind the clash jumper. If they allowed us to wear blue shorts with it then it would look much better. However, if they did permit us to use red as the primary colour, then I think something like this would look decent. I really like the MFC crest. Should be utilised more often.

Hey guys, First time poster but I thought it was necessary The old man knows one of the guys high up in AHG and tomorrow's announcement will be them sponsoring us for what is thought to be 2 years! Great news considering we just lost Fujitsu to the bombers Go dees!

Melbourne Football Club – Major Announcement The Melbourne Football Club will make a major announcement tomorrow at 8.45am. Peter Jackson and Paul Roos will be available to the media. Monday 18 November 8.45am AAMI Park Lecture Theatre (Access to the Theatre is via the side door in car park). Melbourne’s full playing list, including the new recruits, will train for the first time together following the announcement. Training vision is available from 9.30am on Gosch's Paddock. There you go.

Paul Roos having second thoughts due to obvious dangerous insanity among supporter groups. Apparently someone gave him the link to demonland.

gotta keep our standards up, eh Hoges! Yassir, don't let up on the vigilance front.. An uncle of mine worked with a fella who served in the First World War, in the desert in North Africa at one stage. Walking along chatting to another digger who'd been a dentist before joining up, my uncle's mate Albert was complaining of terrible tooth ache he'd been having. "Don't let the army dentists at you," advised the dentist, "wait till you get home; then get the whole lot out and get falsies like the rest of us." So Albert trudged on, and they walked through an old battle-field with skeletons poking up through the sand. One skull had a perfect set of teeth, and Albert remarked on this, and they stopped to admire them. "Do you reckon I could take out those teeth, and get them made up into a set for meself?" Albert asked the dentist. The dentist thought this might be possible, so they set to work with bayonets and prised all the teeth out of the skull, and put them in a tobacco tin, and then resumed their march. Albert forgot all about them. After the war was over, and Albert was back in peaceful Western Australia in a train going home to see his wife and two small children, his thoughts turned to the idea of wrapping his arms around his wife, who he hadn't seen for some years; and he thought about the children standing there too, and he hardly knew them and they'd be looking at him, and no doubt a bit unsure... and all he wanted was to get his arms round his wife. What to do? He pictured them all together on the platform, and all he could think of was his wife. As he thought about it, Albert hit upon the scheme of giving the children the presents he'd brought home for them, and while they were occupied opening them he could give his wife the hug he'd been dreaming of. That would surely work... So Albert fished around in his kit-bag, to find the presents for the kids and put them at the top, and in doing so his hand closed on a tobacco tin. "What's this?" he thought, and opening it saw the dead man's teeth. Albert told my uncle that he almost vomited on the spot, and hurled them tin and all out the window and sat there shaking uncontrollably. What had seemed a perfectly reasonable and even clever idea in the context of the war, suddenly - in peaceful country Australia with a wife and children waiting for him, whom he would smile at and kiss, daily for the rest of his life - Albert wondered what sort of a monster he'd become while in that war zone. Albert was a real nice bloke, according to my uncle. Getting Liam back into Melbourne, surrounded with his other life, and supported by people who rate him and who reinforce his identity as a magician on the footy field, part of a team that is not divided and dangerous but rather supportive and focused on forming character and teamwork and achieving positive goals - it could close the door on what he did in a previous life. We who were not there as part of the other world he has lived in, we cannot have any idea - but surely we can recognise that not everyone who did terrible things in a war zone is an unredeemable monster. Let him return to a place he apparently would prefer to be in! And shuttup pretending you have never strayed to the dumb side of the harmless little situations you've found yourself in!

I retract all previous statements, and present myself as nothing more than an absolute idiot. Thankyou Shmity, I'll remove myself now!

Don McLardy put a whole heap of his OWN money in to the club, which is more than I can say for some of the crass morons that criticise him. Mclardy was responsible for Jimmy coming back to the club and without him there probably wouldn't be a club. It's assholes that never put their hand up, or do anything and never put their own money in, that usually scream the loudest.

The difference between good journalist and hack is the difference between what Emma Quayle does around draft time and what Rohan Connolly does around draft time. You can do interviews, ask questions, talk your way around the circuits, get some quotes and present a fascinating report. OR You can dredge up some 'everyone knows' generalisations and stating-the-bleeding-obvious comments, cherry-pick incomplete data from a much more complex set, and declare yourself insightful.

McLardy and Schwab ultimately paid the price and bore responsibility because of the team's abysmal performances in the opening round of this season. That was partly due to the failings of the coach and whilst I make no excuses for Neeld, he did suffer through a number of difficult circumstances which proved too great a burden for an inexperienced coach to bear. Many of these (and they're well documented) were not foreseeable when he was appointed, nor were they all of his own making. He was expected to impose a new "culture" on a brittle and dysfunctional list that was already divided and had severe shortcomings and he failed. We now expect the same from Paul Roos who has a better chance of success because he is more respected, will be given time and is less likely to suffer the uncalled for attacks from within and without that Neeld had to put up with during his brief tenure. As Graham Cornes observes today in St Kilda's disruptive antics in poaching Alan Richardson were disgraceful: The anger and the bile directed by some against McLardy, Schwab and Neeld ignores the fact their task in resurrecting our football team was made monumental by more than a decade of neglect and poor decisions for which the responsibility has to be shared by many. They were not responsible for retaining Daniher past his due date, appointing Bailey who gave us "bruise-fee" football and failed to develop a strong leadership group, for our poor recruiting after 2000, the abysmal player development standards and list management over several years that brought us to where we were at the commencement of this season so that inevitably, we faced a large financial loss and on field despair. The responsibility was a collective one but McLardy, Schwab and ultimately Neeld and others all fell on their swords. For all that, some of the hatred and scorn heaped on them is not only unwarranted, maliciously obsessive and misguided but reflects little support or understanding for our club and what it faced during a difficult period in its history. Let's hope that it's over.

apparently stone is doing another interview due to popular demand..batten down the hatches..oh come all ye sycophants

I think you'll find that's exactly what WJ was saying. FYI, McLardy was President for little more than one of those 10 years during which a lot of schyzenhausen happened at the club that was unexpected and unusual - Jimmy's passing, Jurrah, the sponsorship fiasco, the lies about Neeld and racism, the tanking investigation and a substantial amount of sniping from the penny section. Hard to do your job with that in the foreground.

Things are definitely looking up if we have indeed managed to pull in a major sponsor. Happy too that it's a stable company with local roots rather than an off shore crowd who might not deliver loyalty for loyalty as has happened in the past. If we can secure our financial position and show a healthy balance sheet, we can get back to the core business of winning games of footy.

To early to announce the captain? Re signing Frawley…Hogan extension??? Would a new sponsor be announced prior to training? Roos realises how much he has missed coaching and extends his contract??

One also has to factor in his poor disposals and clangers which means he really has to get high stats to have any impact.

Last time we recruited a player for his elite foot skills we got Strauss and I think we would be wary of again recruiting a player because he was good at one facet of the game. I'm not saying that he is only a good kick but I would like to think that we would draft a player that had multiple skills.

So far I see a consistent pattern. TS has always accumulated praise in the off season. I recall on this forum many witness reports of his powerhouse presence in pre season training and the same now at GWS to go along with his near legendary reputation at junior levels. Yet when it comes to actually playing for premiership points football he hasn't fired a decent shot yet in four seasons. I 'm not sitting on the fence with him. He will be a B grade midfielder at best for the rest of his career.

This thread is becoming ridiculous. What an absurd thing to say. You mean there is no room for mistakes in corporate life? All the successful companies I have had anything to do with had as one of their primary goals to get the best out of people. Not all people are stars, most do a solid serviceable job to the best of their ability, but you don't hang them for it. McLardy took over a broken organisation from Jim Stynes. He did his best, and he made some mistakes, the most notable being not getting rid of Schwab earlier, and employing Neeld. Overall he did not succeed, but I don't think many would have over that period. It has taken intervention by the AFL to get us back on track again, which probably should have happened five years ago when some of us saw the classic signs of a failing organisation, but it is always easy to be wise in hindsight. In successful organisations you weed out the non performers and commit to continuous improvement throughout the business, but overall you build an inclusive culture. This includes respect for the elders (ex employees). Very much the Roos philosophy I would have thought - and a very successful one it has been, and will be for us in the future too. PS usually I am not this anal retentive, but in this case I will make an exception - it is "their praises" not "there praises", and "companies broke" not "company's broke". There are a few more but that's enough!

I agree, Robbie. McLardy met Stynes because he got involved in Reach. Stynes didn't even know he barracked for Melbourne. A busy business man he decided he wanted to volunteer one day a week at Reach and from there a relationship was borne. McLardy never wanted to be President, or even go on the Board. He got involved because he was asked and thought he could help. Here's an article by Flanagan from a while back. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/two-optimistic-men-on-a-mission-in-sport-and-welfare-20100702-zu4n.html?skin=text-only To think there are turds in here that want to spew bile on a man who simply tried to do his best, but was found wanting.

I defend anyone against unfair attacks, they became less unfair as time went on, failures amassed and crises ensued. I posted that I could see Schwab being removed before his last fateful 3 year extension, but we all know what happened after that. If all you have got to do on here is gnash your teeth at McLardy, Schwab, and those that may have been mean to you - why bother? Do you really have time to waste on this hate? We have got half a midfield now, another kid coming in 5 days, Paul effing Roos as coach, and what do you want to do? Fight with all those posters that made you feel inferior. Build a bridge and come join us in the present at some point.

I don't know if anyone else caught the interview (I don't know if there is a link on the SEN site and 'm on my iPhone so can't post link sorry), but I have to say what a nice bloke and passionate supporter our man Don is. To recap, they discussed briefly: - said that when Jim passed, the club tried to show a strong and united front but it was a really difficult period for everyone; - The tanking scenario, which he highlighted went as long as the Bombers supplement investigation; and - Ox pointed out that also the Energy watch fiasco also. Things they didn't discuss but what he had to deal with as a President: - He had Schwab as a CEO. - He had to go on his knees to the AFL asking for money. - Liam Jurrah incident. - Neeld as coach and our shocking run on the field. Bloody hell, what a mess to deal with. To finish off and the thing I loved the most about the interview was his passion for the club and optimism for our future. Good on ya Don!!!!

..something I threw together recently on basis of rumours.....we'll see

Take the romance out of this scenario in what universe does this occur ?

But they where just announced as a minor sponsor, and to be on our shorts.. Why 2 weeks later would they re-sign to a major sponsor

number nine

So he should - every journo has a giggling fit when the MFC is mentioned. Win games, win the hard footy, and get on with it - the AFL is a hard breeding ground. Suck it up.

who cares what conan rockabilly thinks anyway

I would only add that to those decrying the tanking punishment that was negotiated, it could have been a hell of alot worse than a 500K fine. No draft penalties in particular was vital, and Don played a major part in all that. Finger pointing now seems pretty pointless. The club is still here, and even that was no certainty.

So that's one player that's not even in our best 22 atm with line breaking pace and that's enough for you??

Connolly is clearly wrong on Scully. There's no question he hasn't delivered any sort of value to GWS. In fact, his raw stats are demonstrably worse at a time when they should be demonstrably better. That said, I find Connolly to be a pretty fair and balanced journo in the main and put his comments on Scully down to laziness, poor reflection or lack of research.

Robbie you have forgotten Connolly is an Essendon supporter. There will be no criticism of Gummby or the bombers!

on that basis may as well get fevola too, he always kicks a bag for the pigeons

You don't make it up, but take a punt... You are guessing, maybe with some sort of idea, but unless your sister is seeing the medical scans and reports and is in hand meeting where they discuss how much workload a 25 year old with 6 preseason a under his belt and x amount of work done on this program... You are guessing and to then state will be light running by February without naming a source, did you expect a different response?

I love how they always manage to include Jack Watts but leave out Fumbleton who was selected at pick 2, just one behind and was recently traded for pick 55; it just shows the gap between 1 & 2 is enormous. Doesn't t. $cully is a very average footballer and if he was still at Melbourne Connolly would have said so, but I guess now he's at GWS we can expect a miracle and will see him soar to the top of the tree.

Schwab hate. McLardy bashing. Watts due for a breakout year. Welcome to Demonland.

If available and the medicals check out it's an easy decision. We take him.

Any more reports on the actual training?

Don was a good bloke, but he was thrust into the job for his mate and took the brunt of the work in what was possibly one of the darkest days for MFC. I respect him for giving it a go and trying to help this club. He will always be welcomed back to this club with open arms. Schwab meanwhile can go and eat a Dik. After when he came on here and said that he was glad none of us supporters were running the club only to show how much of a hypocrite he was with what he did to this club he deserves all the criticism that comes his way. Fancy a geek like him getting a sleeve tattoo...

Sooo that Friday training went well ey

Ok, I have posted this before but there is a dearth of people on my side of the argument chiming in so... Dunn has played about 3 good 'half-seasons' and has been tried in all positions with serious limitations in all areas. His work as a HBF (in the easiest position to play in the world) is not terrible, it's not great as he is not a great defender, but he can hide with The Big Three down there. But the thing that I can't stand is the faux toughness. The jumper punching, the short steps before a contest, the tough talk without the walk - I want him to stay and play well and help us get better, but I don't like the way he has gone about his footy, and I do not see a future for him past 2014/2015, especially if Grimes is pushed out of the midfield. We have this thread every year (although this is a mutated training thread) and I think it is because we still see him as an up-and-coming fringe player ready for bigger things: he is 27 next year and yet to cement a position in the 22. We have Matt Jones being dismissed as an AFL player by some on here as is too old and reached his peak. He is 6 months younger than Dunn, has played one season, and has already had a better AFL season than Dunn. Why the disconnect?

I get sick of posters crucifying our players.....Dunn is the perfect example 2013 averages Disp marks tackles DT points Frees for(overall 2013) Frees against(overall 2013 16 3.7 3.3 68 13 8 Now you can take stats anyway you like but Dunn is one of our players that seems to care about the result ....I know that he does have some brain fades but tell me one of our players that didn't during the past three years..... He takes most of our kick outs and is a terrific kick whether he is forward or back...... The bravado which at times can be over done, at least will stick up for his team mates which has been lacking in our team for a long time..... He is not the worst on our list......just the current whipping boy since Cale left......Get off his back...

Watching Demonland convince themselves Dunn is a good player....

How anyone - let alone anyone that calls themselves a demons supporter could bag Neita is beyond me. People saying he is Arrogant, Selfish, etc obviously havnt spent more then 1 second with the guy. I've been at the Childrens Hospital many times when my brother was in there for 6 months and he was the most frequent visitor out of any football player I noticed. He would rock up after training sessions still in his training gear and play video games with kids and sit and talk with parents, bring in signed gear for kids. No TV cameras or Jurnos around documenting any of this just out of his on good will. As for on the football feild, he arguably could be considered to be one of the most courageous captians of his era. He would lead from the front, stand up for team mates and would have a crack 100% of the time even if it meant he would get layed out. Sure he didnt kick as many goals as Lloyd, didnt have the polish or number of brownlow votes as Vossy, Hird, or Bucks. But he bled RED AND BLUE and you knew if he was anywhere near a contest he would try his best to make an impact for his team. As for compairing Neita and Hogan. If he can play over 300 games, Kick over 600 Goals and lead from the front like #9 did then i think we should count our lucky stars. With there being less then 70 players in the 300 games club and only 53 players in the 500 + Goals Club I think we should tone down the expectations on the kid. Let him play without the weight of expectation and If he only manages 150 games and 300 goals he will still go down as a success.

It means picking who you think is the best player and not the best type, i.e. not picking for needs. We need pace, but if you rate Sheed as a better mid than Freeman you pick Sheed. It's not picking a key position player just because you need one. For example, when we picked Molan he wasn't best available. Craig Cameron wouldn't dispute this. Clubs have ranking systems and spend a laborious amount of time rating players, from there they form their "best available".

Malthouse had Collingwood in the Grand Final in 2011 with 7 of his regulars out injured and wasn't that far away from a flag; Buckley took over the following year and you would have to think that he should have been a chance to get a flag in his first year but finished 4th. The following year he's finished 8th so they are heading in the wrong direction. They've lost a few of the players that got them to the flag and runner up and I think he will struggle, even though the general consensus is they've recruited well. It will take a while for the young ones to come on and take over from the lost senior players and there's no guarantee that they'll be as good. He seems to want to do a Neeld and get rid of any player that wants to question his authority and that worked out well didn't it.

Perhaps don't take up journalism. Or diplomacy for that matter. Your attempts at sarcasm read, ever so slightly, as mean spirited dribble that would do a shock jock proud.

He turned a blind eye to CS, and every single one of you are paying the price for it now, and to little Stuie at least I read zoo instead of the putrid disgusting things you probably certainly do with it.

I have recently spent a considerable sum for a jumper with my name, in very small print but centrally placed, upon it. It has a collar and stars as has the insurance company version and the one with the idiot energy saving sponsor on the back. Badge of honour or clear indication of personal stupidity and/or club turmoil. As a nine year old I sat at the front of the second level of the Lady's Stand and watched our last premiership. In 87 my brother and I sang the club song from early in the last quarter as we demolished North and South and then sat distraught at Waverly in the fickle hot north wind as the Hawthorn thugs stole their victory. I still have a jumper from my childhood. It is wool and has many holes around the seams and the blue is dark and the red is deep. It is not Fitzroy maroon lite it is deep blood red. Let it be so.

You saw me rpfc?

I hope they are not wasting more money on graphic designers to help 'evolve' the jumper again. Just get the blue right, put red above it, and let's try and win some games. I honestly stopped caring about the collars and stars a few embarrassing losses ago.