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Totally underwhelmed by the thought of Frawls staying or going, totally underwhelmed by all things MFC at this point in another sh it truck of a lost season.

Since my query about who was going did not elicit any positives, and since it was an intimate affair of about 60 Demon obsessives, including several family groups of parents and adult kids, I guess I was the accidental Demonland rep for the event. First let me say you missed out. On a sensational gourmet pie at least. I had the lamb shoulder and vegetables teamed with a shiraz or two and it was a seriously high class pie (night). Entree was antipasto of terrines, prosciutto, salami, pickles, house chutney. Damn fine and I had to limit myself out of politeness since I was at a table with nine strangers who may not appreciate my customary two fisted eating style. Dessert was some form of brownie with caramalised banana and icecream. It was better than it sounds but I know you couldn't give a rats about the food. It was upstairs at the Duke. Robbie was MC. Gawnie the special guest but Roosy the star. What did I learn? We won't draft Wright even if available. Roosy did not exactly say this but he gave a very strong indication when the words 'won't take Wright' came out as part of an unfinished sentence. He was going on to say something else but stopped himself, but it was his comments about talls and the TAC that were most informative. He told us about the special rules for the TAC about no double teaming on talls, no players dropping back to flood and the fact that talls at that level often are mismatched for opponents. Mids on the other hand are matched evenly and it was clear he reckons a good mid at TAC level has a much higher chance of being a good mid at AFL level than a tall has of making the same progression. In other words TAC is so unlike AFL that it's not a good guide for talls. He explicitly said - "you can't judge talls in the TAC Cup". Plus he talked about the need for many mids - high half forwards who play as mids, half backs ditto, wings...you get the picture. Key message for me was we will draft mids and trade for talls. In fact I wanted to ask would he have drafted Hogan but did not get the chance, but given the Hulk's exceptional body the answer was probably yes. In summary he does not value draft picks the way some of us do: 'at Sydney we traded many draft picks because it's a lottery, the draft". He described the loss of Mitch - "probably the best player on the list" - as season changing. No news there but good to hear it. He said Howie will eventually return to the forward line better for the experience of playing back this year. Ours is a very damaged football club - the players bear that damage more than anyone - and it can only be fixed in stages. He talked about free agency as a huge impediment to clubs like ours and that ultimately most players will lose out as he (heatedly) explained to the AFLPA two weeks ago all the money will go to the elite few and mid-ranking players will drop from 250K a year to 150k. We are not after any free agents. Players with big upside are Howe and Tyson, and Salem and Toumpas need two-three years development. Improvement will come from improving the list but he also said there is 10-15% improvement from higher fitness levels which will come out of this pre-season. Then there was a raffle - signed framed guernsy, autographed footy and $100 meal vouchers for the Duke so those who got the vouchers actually got their dough back.

Dawes is currently equal 66th on the goalkicking ladder, behind such luminaries as Josh Green, Ty Vickery, Matthew White and Jordan Murdoch. GWS have 5 players who have kicked more goals than him. He's clearly worth every cent of his $500K a season - perhaps we could give him some of Mitch's salary as well.

Why don't you tell his mother how great a club we are and how welcome he would be made and that he could be part of our revival. Also while you are at it, why don't you make her a cup of coffee and throw in some choccies too. She might also like a neck rub and some flowers would be appreciated as well.

Bomber in the box, Roos on the bench, happiness in the MFC.

morton, scully, trengove, watts petracca will be a gun - I'm certain of it.

And FFS keep her off this site!

Ever since that Dee TV interview i have known he was gone. Mumbling garbage looking at the floor....

After reading a post a few weeks ago by a certain demonland member who I rate very highly (initials GNF) in conjunction with the media reports regarding Thompson's future at the Dons next year (unlikely to be alongside or back behind Hird), I certainly found his and Roos' segment on AFL 360 this week very very intriguing. During the segment when asked about his position next year whilst given a large and blatantly obvious wink by reporter Mark Robinson, Thompson responded with the usual public relations (PR) give nothing long winded response, whilst Robinson continued to throw his head back and forward between Thompson and Roos as if he knew something and was stirring the pot. AFL 360 link: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2014-08-26/paul-roos-on-afl360 Over the course of the season I have really enjoyed watching this segment and the discussions between two quality coaches, you can clearly see Roos and Thompson are on the same level and clearly enjoying bouncing off one another's thoughts. I believe it is appearing more likely (as initially suggested by GNF) that if Thompson is on the move at seasons end and that he will end up at the Dees. If this comes to fruition having two high quality coaches will be truly marvelous for our player development and game plan - one a specialist in defense with the other a specialist in attack.

Just thinking about how long we have been calling out for a true A-Grade Player at the top of his game and really believe we have one right now in Nathan Jones. The bloke is as tough as they come, an uncompromising gut-runner and leads from the front. His stats go alright too: 3rd in the league for total disposals 1st in the league for effective disposals 4th in the league for total clearance Also, top 20 in the league for: Kicks, Handballs, Tackles, Contested Possessions and Uncontested Possessions I only wish he would start to get the media attention he deserves. I know on other footy forums he is always ranked #1 by opposition supports as the most under-rated player in the league. Make sure you lap this bloke up fellow demons supports, he's an absolute champion and future legend

Wouldn't be disappointed with Laverde.

You would have a point if we were going to the draft had the club not changed: - The recruiting team and head recruiter. - The senior coach, assistant coaches and development coaches. - The list and core group of experienced players that now lead the club Nutbean. Your post, and posts of that nature are nothing but ignorant and infuriating. No [censored] every pick has an element of risk, but all of those things I've pointed out have changed drastically at our club but under past management, they're the very reason all of those names you mentioned have all failed. Is it it that [censored] hard to understand?

and teh game hasn't changed much since then has it

In fairness the guy is being double tagged, had an interrupted preseason dogged with injuries, and is basically a one man forward line. But he can't overhead mark to save himself.

sigh... have a look at who has taken the most marks for our club this season have a look at who has taken the most marks in our forward line have a look at who is second on our goal kicking this season have a look at who has the 4th most marks in the league. I don't think his season hasn't been particularly great but if you want to talking about earning match payments - we could be a zillion dollars in the black this season because by your logic we could probably slash our match payments based on who earned it to about 20% of the actual amount.

Depends on what you think the money was being paid for. As far as advertising for the AFL, Hunt was worth $20mil. He was never recruited for his football prowess, yet still managed to win an AFL match off his own boot.

Massive Fail. AFL paid Hunt $800,000 per annum over 5 years for 40 pretty ordinary games, doubt if he pulled one extra loser through the gate, 4 million may have been better spent elsewhere, spectacular example of AFL incompetence.

Pretty sure we'd beat Casey.

On what possible evidence do make that assertion? Effing ridiculous you [censored].

Wrong target. Fantastic A grader.

Next person who calls Byrnes "Brynes" gets a ban. (Not serious - but please - can we *try* and spell the guy's name right?)

Great...now St Kilda are in the mix...

What does it matter? It is still worthless.

Well done on what I'd call a pretty successful code switch. Israel Folau showed that it's not an easy thing. Watching him sink Richmond was one of my favourite moments in footy in the last few years: I think it's a good thing for our game to poach a Rugby player or two and hope to see it happen again in the future.

You have lost me, I don't follow what you mean. I replied to a post that suggested, that if a reporter was correct, that Chip might not attend the B and F. I said " IF TRUE" etc. What is wrong with that?

DOn't want him anywhere near our club. Which bit of tainted do ppl not understand? He is not a quality person.

Interesting to hear that Casboult is yet to re-sign with the Blues. I wonder if they're still keen on Watts? Straight swap right there...

yeah but he is our leading goalkicker i dont see how you can criticize him when the ball hardly goes inside 50 and when it does the delivery is VFL standard

My favourite part is when people here question his loyalty......yet they're savaging him while he's still here. My second favourite part is when they denounce him as a player (he's sh!it, a spud etc.) but then expect the highest compensation for him. Talk about irony....

Thanks fellow old dee. Is it just blind faith? We have seen much success but I really feel for our loyal and young posters.

This is one of the many amusing things about this site. The first post about Barrett was misleading enough, but now we've developed a Chinese Whispers situation. I don't have the exact quote but I believe Barrett said something along the lines of 'some MFC staff wouldn't be surprised if he didn't attend the b & f'. Now we've turned that into he's 'refusing to attend the b & f'. I know you said 'if what Damo said is true', but its just funny how we shape things into what we want to hear.

Watts to kick 5 goals and BOG. The trade watts thread to be abandoned until round 2 next year.

When was the last time Frawley EARNED his match payment BBP?????

I knew he was gone the minute Hogans Heroes said he was staying.

Prediction. Frawley announces he is leaving. There is obviously going to be a lag before afl announce compo. Despite it being spoken about far and wide all year we would get a first round pick suddenly other clubs and their media lackeys will seriously start grumbling about us getting no 3 pick and lobbying afl hard. Heck I can hear gws now saying we don't deserve pick 3. Perhaps applying for a pp was an ambit claim aimed at preventing such a rubbish campaign getting traction

Some 40 plus games, the media attention he brought to the club giving it a face in an NRL environment not to mention his leadership off the ground and his work to settle Bennell which can't be underestimated. Yep, I think you are right.

One gun can make a huge difference. Look at Gold diggers with and without Gablett.

Wasn't injured at all this year, that was just careful PR management as he (unsurprisingly) couldn't get a game above the Suns kids. (From someone inside the club at GoldCoast) I'd still call this experiment a ringing success.

I've been living overseas for years. It makes it easier to follow Melbourne, insulated from the pain by vast swathes of distance. Nonetheless, I have always and will always love this club. That's why I want to acknowledge everyone involved with DL -admin and members/posters- for making this site happen and keeping a connection open for all of us who can't witness the misery in person. (My subscription will be on its way soon.) As we hit the final round, and head towards a (hopefully) happier cricket season, I'm sure I'm not alone in thanking you all for being the weird bunch of argumentative and passionate sadomasochists that keep the spirit of this club alive. That's pretty much it. Cheers, keep up the good fight, Go Dees and (just for good measure) [censored] Collingwood.

begs lots of questions... why play the bastard ?? truly. if the club wants to set a bar...heres an easy one to set

North has realised we play our best football against good teams and our worst football against weaker teams. Ergo, they've weakened their team so as to gain a bigger win.

don't need to argue whether the mfc is a not for profit org, i understand it actually is you would need to convince the tax commissioner that your membership fees were in fact a donation in that you don't receive anything of value in return now would that be hard?

No probs Nashre...

They should take a leaf out of our book... the players rest, but they still play.

You're a Melbourne supporter, of course you can handle it, we are all gluttons for punishment. I have already paid my membership donation for next year. I can't get enough of it. GIVE ME PAIN

I have said this for months and nothing has changed. If MC plays again it will only be with the MFC. He has been training for sometime under a MFC derived program. He does still desire to play again but this is far from certain. There will be a serious meeting with his manager in October if positive then with MFC pre 31st October.

You are one weird unit. Did you get down on your knees for him at training then?

sigh........ Again...... Toumpas was the more highly regarded player at the time of the draft. You can all rewrite history as much as you like but go through every article by TAC watchers and Toumpas was more highly ranked than Wines. That much is fact. The next probability is that Wines is now arguably the best player out of that draft so following the flawed rear vision logic - we should not have been able to draft him because GWS had picks before us and they should have taken him first ! (if you go back through posts at the time - there was even talk of "collusion" that we gave up too much for Hogan but the trade off was that Toumpas would somehow slip through to our pick)

Yep, us and them and trailing behind were Richmond. How to stuff a football club...

I was saying Boo-rynes...