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Take all 3 and hope nobody notices.

Went down for a look. Quite a few players stayed inside (or I assumed they did). Absent from the outside stuff were Clark, Toumpas, Watts, Jamar, Dawes, Tapscott, Barry, Kent, Clisby, Brynes, Blease Frawley, Terlich, Gawn joined in stages. Viney did 95% as did Hogan and Michie Spencer and McDonald did laps Tyson and Garland did lap after lap running. Tyson pulled away from Garland on every lap so I reckon he ain't far away from full training Bail, Grimes, Vince, Cross, Dunn & Jetta broke away and did some timed lap running that was exhausting. Bail led them from Cross, Grimes, Vince Dunn & Jetta Strauss run laps on his own Nicholson did a very small amount of training Roos and all the coaching staff were in the middle. Solid session from where I sat went about 1and 1/2 hours if they started at 9.30am

I personally hope Jetta gets game,kicks ass and gets back on the list. That's just me-supporting guys who have done nothing bad by the club and have had a crack. His skills are good and his hands are very good. He is quick with the ball and can tackle. We have several talls so will need some little guys. Go Nev-take your shot.

I popped down for the last hour or so but have little extra to add to demonwithin's wrap up. Compared to last pre season Roos is far more "hands on" involved than Neeld was, and will show players what he wants by pulling them aside and physically showing them how he wants things done, saw him do this on a couple of occasions with Fitzy, who was making mid fielders kicks look poor through bad leads. He pulled him aside, showed him what he was doing wrong and then explained what he wanted, which Fitzy then put into action. Also noted when Gawn and Spencer were doing laps how much Max has filled out, still not the finished article but has certainly put on some size and will benefit greatly if he can complete a full pre season. Loving what I was seeing and it also looked and sounded like the players are enjoying what the new regime have brought to the table. Don't know what this will equate to in wins but I expect a reasonable upswing in our on field endeavours. Happy to answer any queries if I can.

I've heard a rumour that the Giants are keen on Boyd.

Mark Neeld was an utter catastrophe who helped bring this club to its knees and oversaw one of the worst on-field performance by a non expansion club in 100 years and I'm now meant to go easy on him ? To stop belittling him for such divisiveness ? Look, I appreciate all of the well-meaning souls that would like me to move on. I empathise with the compassionate views that have his well-being firmly at heart, but I'm afraid you can GAGF. He's a stain on our history and I'll remember him as such and make commentary as I deem appropriate. Great assistant coach, probably a great teacher and maybe a good guy, but I have no interest in those elements of his make-up. I will always see his coaching exploits in the sinister way they deserve.

Daniel Nicholson.... This thread is talking about contracts right?

Sylvia, I think he is due this year... Oh wait... Nevemind

Neville was unfit compared to other players because he has had a horrible run with injuries his whole career and hasn't had a chance to build a base fitness level yet. I hope he makes, always has a crack, which is more than you can sy for a lot of the bokes who played for us this year.

I think it's fair to say that this thread is both never going to be about Neville Jetta again, and is never going to cross the boundary back in to civility again, so I call time.

In my case it's because I find it alarming that he is passing on opinions to players expressed online when players are told explicitly to avoid these places. Also, I find his attitude of "I talk the players and you don't, therefore you don't know anything" is irritating and deserves to be called upon.

Maybe the market heard a rumour they were about to sponsor Melbourne. Note: too much sniping going on, guys. Hence my poor attempt at levity. I suggest you drop it and move on.

With respect to Ryan, we would not care if Pick 9 is ready to go, we will pick who we think will become the better player down the track because that is the point of all this.

No confidence in the recruiters Robbie?I'll support them. If they reckon Salem is best at pick 9 he must be pretty good. You should have some faith.

I do. We've had sponsors in the past whose stability to say the least left a lot to be desired, then we had some jump in to pick up cheap publicity as the white knights and now we have a sponsor who is stable and wanting to be with us for at least the next 3 years. It gives us stability at the start of the pre season, something we haven't had for a while and it matters to our football club, I don't care what other clubs give a toss about. They haven't had our level of poor administration and off field disasters leading to a total on field melt down. Good work Jackson and Bartlett. Apart from anything else it means one less forum topic for the next 3 years.

To make yourself feel better, when you sit back and analyse it, was it more a case of wanting to believe? A premiership midfield coach with a hard edge, what's not to like? I was guilty of it. I saw the approach and along with most people thought "this is what we need, a proper shake up, kick em up the arse Neeldy!" Evidently not. I feel a well founded confidence now that I haven't felt in quite a while. PJ especially could not have been more impressive in action and word. But, the job has just begun.

Many of us thought the same thing when Neeld took over. I hate myself for posting that.

I think its a bit overblown to be honest. Reality is Hannath will battle to get games with Freo next year and he'd struggle to get games with us as well and he was pretty mediocre last year. They made an error in judgment on Gillies and they got unlucky Hannath didn't fall. There was no arrogance and naivety, they didn't have a senior list spot, which was perhaps a strategic error. The PDS is a light of other days in any case - free agency has all but destroyed the need for it.

I dont quite understand the hate towards tony abbott, the man has just taken over from one of the most inept governments around and is getting the blame for everything that happened on their watch. Take tony abbott out of the situation for and consider the facts. Indonesia have made it clear that we are not friends and that they dont really want to be friends, however they are happy to take $500m in aide and 000's of visitors to bali every year who inject hundreds of millions of dollars into their economy. This is the country that invaded east timor and who no qualms in killing australian journalists along with the east timorese, who were caught themselves spying or attempting to spy on the howard governement, a country that allowed bali bomber participants and terrorists to spend less time in jail than an australian woman with a surfboard full of weed. a government that relies on australia to steam hundreds of miles/kilometers to rescue asylum seekers 40k off their coast. who are now claiming they cannot maintain their search areas under international obligation so that will leave australia to pick up the slack. a country known for its corruption and instability including support / collusion with people smugglers and terrorist groups. Now that to me is a neighbor that needs watching or should we just continue to roll over and play dead and hope that they forgive us for our sins while they enjoy the benefits of their own.

No more concerning than your often over the top condemnations that also drew strong rebukes from many. I really don't mind people offering reasonable criticism, but I am not particularly comfortable with people starting to make it too personal... and in some cases, it seems that whenever Satyriconhome now says anything, there are some who are just waiting to jump on him regardless.

One of the things that is really starting to p!ss me off on here is the schoolyard bullying that is taking place now on this forum. Satyriconhome is obviously a genuine supporter of the club and likes to share his insights into training and conversations with the players. Who cares if the players take him seriously or not? To condemn him for his support of the club and players is way way out of line. BH and WYL simply go for personal attacks that are completely unwarranted. I have had the pleasure of talking to Satyriconhome at the couple of training sessions I have been able to get along to, and he and his lady are fine people who seem to have a good rapport with the players and club officials. If he likes to talk that up here, then all power to him... why continually try to burst his bubble?

We are clearly not wishing to show our hand with our permission to train list. Last year we lost Hannath after he trained with us. Don't think we would devastated to lose Jetta.

The Filths altitude training camps were PR excercises for Emirates. Now that sponsorship has been relegated they are not going. What a suprise. Altitude training is beneficial over months not weeks. Player bonding is a positive

If we pick Salem, we should give him guernsey #3. That way we'll have a Christian and a Lyon to compare. If the Christian beats the Lyon I'm sure we'd all be happy. And I'm really looking forward to the photo of him training around witches hats so the media can use the headline "Salem witch trials".

Ridiculous. You draft the player based on talent, skills, and work ethic. Cultural background does NOT matter. Poor form.

Food for thought. What has been achieved in the last six or so months is nothing short of amazing. Plaudits to all. This all accomplished coming effectively off the floor, actually climbing through broken floor boards after having fallen through do the dank and squalid basement ( and not the type of heated underground we might prefer ) So lets give us a year of stability and competitive play, where to then ? Yes, weve got the jumper ads spoken for but whats to stop the club doing what the other 'heeled' ones do and build a substantial coterie of next in line sponsors. I know we already have a few, but would you stop there ? Melbourne was once a revered name in this competition. Its been on the nose for more than i care to remember. With the right people ( and it seems we're well on the way here ) and the right image we could once again become a magnet for those wanting something "Melbourne " about them. Opinion and popularity can be fragile commodities. But something only has to change a modicum on occasions and a few only have to get on board and suddenly you're de rigueur again. Though we can happily forget our recent years and in respect to the footy one will include this years also but in years to come we will look back on 2013 fondly. Thats when it all began. Interesting times ahead. Looking forward to next year and beyond thanks in part to the ilk of AHG and what they bring to all of this.

Interesting article on the AFL website that questions the whole value of altitude training. High altitude, low benefit, says expert Article summary: There were more effective training aids in which to invest, with the jury still out on the benefits from altitude training. $850,000 is a lot of money that could be better spent, for example on 4-5 assistant coaches. The cost benefit is not there and players could be better improved by spending the money on coaches or skills training. Players' running performance at sea level improved by 1-2% after a training camp, but the results were short-lived. The benefit lasts about four weeks and will be maintained until about Christmas when most players go off and do limited amounts of training anyway. There was no scientific evidence or documentation to support the belief that altitude training enabled players to train harder on return. There was no evidence to suggest there could be a cumulative effect from repeat ventures. (I notice Collingwood has ditched their's in favour of a cheaper in-house altitude facility.)

Fair enough. Do you mind explaining why? Is it something about his game you don't like? He seems a more 'complete' player than Freeman in my eyes. The one thing that excites me is that he can win his own ball and doesn't seem too frightened. Any player with sublime footy skills such as kicking, marking and decision making coupled with a bit of aggression is a big tick. I'm frustrating myself with the constant comparisons and who is edging out who. All I know is that it's obvious there are a handful of mids that seem very hard to separate. Each will respond, develop and grow differently at each respective club they go to. I just hope that the player we pick has a similar attitude and mentality to Jack Viney in that they are confident, self driven and have the desire to do all they can to get the best out of themselves and help the MFC rise again. I'm confident that will be a priority for Paul Roos and co.

I'd hazard a guess that it had something to do with the Global Financial Crisis and the share market crash. But to be quite honest I don't care if they are listed or not, as long as they have a strong balance sheet and the desire to sponsor us I'm happy. I raised alarm bells from the start with Energy Watch and questioned on here how they could pay us $2M per year when their turnover was only $32M.

People make claims about information all the time without giving any details about where it comes from. It's then up to the reader to decide how much weight to put on that post. Surely it's obvious why people can't say where they get their information from sometimes.

Put Jack Viney's head on Jack Watts' body and you'd have a brownlow medal.

Jimmy Toumpas has started off really well this pre season. I have a good feeling we will see the exciting player we saw during those under 18s championships.

I thought we had a cliches thread?

You admonished me for not providing the numbers for both companies. I provide the numbers for both companies, go back 3 years for both, and you are having a go at me for providing the numbers. And how is this frothing: You must see me as a passionless automaton if that is frothing. The point is they are on a sounder financial footing than any major sponsor we have had for a while and that is why Jackson mentioned the point of fact that they are in the ASX200. And why I am more comfortable with them than with EnergyWatch, Opel, and Webjet. According to their respective annual reports - AHG made a net profit after tax 10 times that of Webjet. How is that not comforting to you? And how can you sit there and judge our relief so sardonically?

I bothered to bring it up to highlight that Rookies get treated differently to those on the Primary List and it happened at the MFC and I was not happy about it, I have bit my tongue for months but thought I would share my views as we were discussing the Rookie List with regard to Jetta. I hadn't wanted to jeopardise any chances that Stark had to retain his spot, should any poor soul at the club read this site. I gave 'some level of detail' when I said the source is impeccable.

I thought the "hardest team to play against" was in response to what he wanted to make the MFC into. What would you have said, "to be a mediocre team", "to sometimes be a hard to play against, other times easy". He hoped, tried and failed. We have a new coach - time to move on. But If you're and outsider and read DL I wouldn't be surprised if you thought he hung out with CW, kicked an old lady down the stairs, was a smug racist and in his spare time kayaks out to sea and turns back the boats, slashed your tyres, was a struggling mayor of Toronto, and pooped on your car.

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.

I spent about an hour ( between pours) just watching and rewatching some vids of Freeman. What I like about him most is he's just a machine. Yes there are shinier more glam types out there but this guy just works away plying his trade in a very consistent manner. Some players go OK and do one or two 'special' things a game maybe but then they fade into shadows at times.. I dont want that. I want a well oiled combination in the guts that will in a very mechanical manner get the ball to the forward arc. let the theatrical magic happen there. Elements I really like. Vision. He sees the ball not just where it is but where it is in the larger context of where it needs to go next , and then after, often following up his own good work. Hes a thinker this lad big tick Engine.... runs....runs...runs quick...runs... runs...runs....runs up, runs down,, runs up..runs down....... Doesnt stop....another big tick..hes ready to go in the middle... Astute His disposal actually affects the game. ( in a positive and meaningful way ) Many players can rack up possessions and look good on the stats page but what did they contribute ? Watching nathan he handballs to the correct side of players.. They dont get too trapped very often . He kicks to advantage. he ll loft it over to provide run on or kick it at your chest.. No worm burners. Good size hes a little shy of where you might want a kid to be, but in 2-3 years he'll be EXACTLY the size and build to be a B+ plus mid. He may get mongrelled a little to start in AFL but as his experience builds and with encouragement from the likes of Chunk he find his feet. He'll grow a tad more and I think be exactly the hard running slightly taller style of mid Roos craves Style Nuts and Bolts, WYSIWYG. Hes not a Pendlebury, but a Shuey type i can live with Attitude He seems to have his head in the right place, confident , not cocky, hungry but realistically patient. Origin. Doesnt hurt that hes a Victorian lad For me this is the pick I want at 9.. make it happen Melbourne

However can I just add to the theme of this thread that TA is an embarrassment is the information that is coming out that Australia is now playing a destructive, spoiling role at the Warsaw climate change talks. And we know we took a stand with Canada against a Commonwealth Green Fund to help the small low lying Pacific ommunities that are going under the rise of sea levels. Abbott is anti Global Warming and represents the interests of the big carbon polluters. This is why he is more than an embarrassment, he is down right dangerous to our environment. We can have an argument on what difference we make to emissions but the problem is we are among the World's biggest coal and gas exporters. Add that in to our high per capita emissions and we are a big player in the Global emissions equation. we need to be a major player in reducing our emissions but Greg Hunts capped direct Inaction policy will go no

They know as much as you or I mate.

I'd be a bit disappointed if we took Salem.

Hawks recruiter thinks we will take Salem and Scharenberg and Freeman to Pies.

Actually you don't have to gut run yourself into the ground. It is more about having the confidence to present and re-present yourself for the slick 20 to 30 meter pass. Why is that so hard at AFL level but gee it has been absent from MFC play for the last 5 years? I can remember round 1 2011 was it? When we had a draw with the Swans at the G. We had fought tooth and nail to hold a lead and in the last minutes I remember, I think Petterd taking a mark at the 70 meter mark on the northern flank and screaming for a target. I was sitting on the opposite pocket and noticed Dunn actually run from a position in the clear to pick up a Swans defender. I could not believe it. He just needed to run straight at Petterd for the pass and a chest mark. Take it kick a point even and we win. But don't blame Dunn because he was just one, no one else presented. It has been a huge problem for us in recent years. We do not trust each other to back ourselves in the contest. I believe when we do we will see big improvement. The quality of the cattle is important but getting the herd moving as one is just as important and this is where Roos can make a big difference and quickly.

I stand by my call that the sanfl has slipped a long way as a competition and a breeding ground for young talent.

If he got to 6 I think the Pies would take him.

With my uneducated opinion I would take Scharenberg then Freeman then Salem according to availability.Scharenberg appears to be the best player. Freeman offers the pace and Salem a great kick and hardness in the Hodge mould.

I'm not interested in doing reports this year and nor do I have anything like the spare time I had last year, but I did manage to get down for an hour yesterday. Just a couple of observations, as it's obviously very early in the year: Skills were rubbish in the few centre square stoppages I witnessed. Missed handballs and kicks were on show. It's nothing concerning, more a reality at this time of year when skills are rusty. I loved seeing ROOOOSY. He operates so differently to Nerd it's not funny. Roos is a real observer. He doesn't chat too much with his fellow coaches if there's information to dissect. He studied the 200 and 400 metre run throughs intently. He was seeing who was keeping up and who was dropping off and at the beginning of the runs he was close to the group seeing who were the vocal leaders encouraging each other on. He doesn't miss a beat. During the same exercises last year Nerd was 100 metres away chatting in groups. The contrast was Stark. The other noticeable was Toumpas. i was surprised to see how fit he was. He ran with Jones the whole session and kept up to his pace right til the end. Matt Jones also shaded Trengove, but it was pretty close.

Can he kick? Today's game is about controlling the footy, my understanding is Salem is the best kick in the draft, so you have the speed of Freeman v the foot skills of Salem, at this stage give me the foot skills.

It was Brett Anderson and Nigel Carmody, the player agent from ESP. Anderson said he didn't think Melbourne would take Aish, a bit too much like Toumpas, a little bit outside, doesn't win enough inside ball. It's a toss of a coin between Salem & Freeman. A hard choice, he rated Salem slightly ahead of Freeman, but Melbourne may rate it the other way, but doesn't think Melbourne can get it wrong either way. Carmody said both are powerful players, and a good fit for where Melbourne are going. Melbourne are well placed after netting a number of mids in the trade period are set to add to that with a really good selection , will add the 4th or 5th best midfielder in the draft and, over the years, the rule of thumb is that you get a really good player with that pick. He doesn't think Melbourne can miss out if either of those guys (Salem & Freeman) are available.

Don't be a Goose.