Leaderboard

It's a pity they aren't so interested in players welfare when it comes to injections.

One more game at the MCG One less interstate trip One less game at Etihad A marquee Friday night game Double up games against St. Kilda, Bulldogs and GWS No travel between rounds 15 to 22. And you guys still think it's the end of the world. Stop thinking about the calculator and balance sheet for one second and realise from a footballing point of view it's actually not too bad. Leave PJ to worry about the commercial side.

On behalf of the esteemed Supermercado/Demonblog, and the organising committee, it is my immense pleasure to introduce you to Demonbracket 50. Over the course of November, we'll endeavour to find our favourite (important distinction: FAVOURITE, not best) Demon player of the post Premiership era. I won't go into enormous detail here, as all info can be found at http://mfcdemonblog.blogspot.com.au/ However, some quick house keeping..... Tomorrow at 10am, we unveil the draw. No drip feed like the AFL, but will offer one 1st round match up: Graeme Yeats v Andy Lovell. That's a tough one, many others are easier. Details on voting days in the above link. For clarity, we put some rules in place to arrive at the 128 selected. - must have debuted after 1964 (ie no Demon premiership players) - all 2014 listed players excluded (they have their own Demonbracket in February) - ex Melbourne players who are on a 2015 list excluded (Beamer, Brock and Warnock retired/delisted, so have been included). - First 123 players were ordered by games played (we were pretty stoked that player 123 happened to be a controversial full forward with a fat arse) - Last 5 players were wildcards selected by Mercado, myself, Foundation Hero Elliot Swart, and the great Matt Burgan. Our one criteria was a wildcard had to have played at least 30 games. So apologies to fans of Phil Egan, Dannie Seow or Haydn Lamaro. - 16 seeds were initially selected in order of games played. Was decided at the 11th hour that we'd honour Robbie and Jimmy by placing them 1 and 2, ahead of Neitz. the 16th seed was gifted to Jakovich, A. Partly to right the wrongs of the 2008 150 Heroes committee, but mostly because we could. Deal with it! We haven't tasted much (any) success in the past 50 years, but we've had our share of beloved footballers. Please take the opportunity to get involved and vote daily. We're working to get the club on board via Matt Burgan, and we'll be harassing former players on Twitter. Should be heaps of fun. Go Jako, Chook.

I generally agree with the argument that until we get more competitive we're not going to get good fixtures, but Carlton was average at best this year and got 6 Friday night games. Hell, St Kilda finished below us and in addition to somehow getting a Friday night game they also have 7 home games against Victorian sides (including Carlton, Essendon, Hawthorn, Richmond and Geelong). St Kilda's draw makes me really angry. I don't see the fairness in that.

If you know the expression "money talks" I suspect there hasn't been much talking over at Casey. The Scorps relied on a number of young players replacing more seasoned and bigger bodied players who left and this put everyone under the pump. They need to attract a couple of more mature players to the camp and hope that there aren't too many injuries at Melbourne. The Dees suffered badly early in the season with the loss of rucks and tall forwards. This filtered down to Casey which also had injury issues. When Jake Spencer went down it was a major blow because ruck, midfield and key position strength is vital and the alignment simply didn't have enough of thaese ingredients to match it with some of the others. FInally, with the team trying to emulate the defensive style that was being instilled at Melbourne, it simply didn't work because the young kids struggled to cope with the demands of that sort of game plan. One piece of good news is that skipper Evan Panozza has apparently told the club he will play on in 2015.

The AFL didn't even bother to use any lube when they bent us over with this one. So much for equilization

In regards to those saying McCartin is only an old-school key forward, I highly recommend you read the following from the AFL website's going places. With teammate Dylan Hodge's ankle injury restricting him to deep in attack, McCartin played a new role, roaming further up the ground and took 11 marks. He's heard people question whether he is one-dimensional, and whether he would stand up to the aerobic rigours of back-and-forth modern football at the top level. He thinks he answered those queries. "I feel people might pigeonhole me as an old-school key forward who doesn't move outside the 50," McCartin says. "But when I get a chance to play up the ground I usually do it pretty well. It's more been about opportunities. That's been my role to play as a deeper forward and make a contest a bit deeper. "I'm not too bad about going up the ground," he says. "That game gave people a look to see that I can do it, it's just that the opportunity hasn't been there. "It can be a bit annoying that I feel confident in my own ability, but I'm not really worried about what anyone thinks, apart from the team I'm playing for." Source: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-10-30/going-places-plugger-mccartin-in-the-hot-seat-as-six-afl-clubs-circle

Interesting that the article on the afl website states 'The discussions centred around whether the training sessions were voluntary or forced, with some Demons players registering their confusion with the AFLPA . Looks like the list still needs 'refining'....

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2014-10-30/media-conference-jack-trengove I'm a little disappointed to hear Jack mention football as a business and that he's "at Melbourne now". Nothing against the poor fella, but he has been incredibly loyal ($cully fiasco) and a true demon. It's a shame the club threw him to the Tigers only to get rejected. I will state this now, if I ever hear him opting for a trade I will not argue or be angry against it, no matter how good or bad he becomes. He seems like a ripping bloke and I hope he gets better and sees a good career out at the Dees.

Jesse Hogan will be fine, had a chat to him at the end of the season, it was his choice whether to play at the end of the season, decided to miss last game, if you read other post about boys being back on track, he gets a name check there The medicos have nothing to learn, he wasn't the first young player who was still growing to experience back problems....Tom Hawkins is the most 'famous' recent case, Jayden Hunt, Rory Taggert (who used to be on list) and Pickles Evans have all had back issues

It beggars belief the priorities of the AFLPA. They rail against training a week early and accept uncontrolled substance experimentation. If that was my union i'd be looking for a new union.

AFLPA Amateur Fwits Leading Players Astray !!

It's a shocker. Only 4 homr games against Victorian clubs (like this year) - Coll, WB, NM and St K. That's Collingwood plus the three worst Victorian clubs. The remainder of our home games are against interstate sides, including GWS at Etihad. We also go to Geelong and have 4 home games starting at 1.10 on a Sunday (the worst timeslot in terms of interest). The Richmond Friday night and the Sydney Saturday night are nice, plus we play Collingwood twice this year. But otherwise it's a really awful draw financially. To be expected of course, but nonetheless it's bad. Return games against GWS, Collingwood, WB, St Kilda and Fremantle. That's OK overall.

To be perfectly honest with you, h_h, I don't mind your posts. Occasionally, it's as if you don't filter them internally, but it's all a bit of fun isn't it? You are not here constantly harping on a few subjects while haranguing anyone that dares question the few certain things that you have personal involvement in over the last decade. You don't hold pointless grudges toward people who - in no way - was involved in what you were so passionately against. You are a Demon who is a fan of some back and forth and can move on to other subjects without the need to pompously drone about the misremembered views of others from years ago. And, what's more h_h, you have been good value on here of late. So, to the hatchet, it's deep in the soil. The power of the Prince...

Fine us for trying, pricks.

Only when it's humorous.

In all fairness it is hard to tell. In juniors he is asked to stay inside the forward 50 as they know he won't be beaten. It doesn't mean he won't be good around the ground. It's going to be a hard decision, glad it's not me and especially glad it's not BP.

I promise you we'll cut that by 1.

I agree that they only way to get more favorable treatment is to become winners But to suggest that the money side is taken care of by the club - actually not. It is taken care of by the members and paying public. And the fixturing hinders this. Sponsors look at not only wins but crowd size and attendances to get their message across which will be also hindered by this fixturing. From a pure footballing sense it is not a bad draw but I just can't see how posters can just disconnect from the financial aspect of the draw and suggest "the club will take of it". So when we struggle to make money without handouts don't be scratching your head and wonder why - the club can "handle" lots of things but this fixturing just makes it harder.

I have seen this kid play over the last two years and I am very surprised he isn't talked about a potential draft option. Talk is that he may go 3rd round to rookie. Nick is a big midfielder with a big frame on him who has a big left foot as well. Can win big numbers of the ball in the midfield and can influence a game with some big clearances. I would be absolutely stoked if we got him at pick 40. Would bet every dollar you could almost pencil him in for a round 1 game alongside Tyson and Brayshaw he is seriously ready! Captained the bushies this year too and already has tasted VFL action as well. Highlights. http://www.afl.com.au/draft/draft-machine The inside word Player bio Age: 18 Height: 187cm Weight: 88kg Pos: Midfielder The in-and-under midfielder got better as the TAC Cup season wore on and capped his campaign with a stellar 30-disposal, 10 clearance performance against Angus Brayshaw's Sandringham Dragons in a losing elimination final. Mellington is a strong left-foot kick, good decision-maker and prolific ball-winner. After overcoming illness early in the year, he finished like a steam train, averaging 25 disposals and six clearances over the final five games for the Bushrangers. Thoughts?

Your hurdle is probably your attitude and not your age..

I was suggestion nutbean that there are no guarantees with draft picks however I do believe some people are more talented in selecting than others. I just don't get excited at having early picks like I did a decade ago. I will get excite when they contribute to winning games

Just remember where jazza hails from everyone else looks a spivv to them

I'm not sure I'd be putting that in print....

An early attempt a humour?, I stated all along during the season that I didn't think Frawley had decided, I still think that, personally late in the piece I thought he was off to Freo, until Hawthorn trumped them, he is past history now, move on

The answer is simple. By making it a home game for Essendon, the AFL don't have to address the issue of a clash jumper! Weak as...!

The club might well have screamed and shouted PRIOR to the draw in PRIVATE. To carry on now would be highlighting our irrelevance and impotency. The AFL is hardly going to say "Good point Peter! lets just go away and rejig the draw just for you..." If we can win 8-10 games in 2015 we'll move up the pecking order in terms of commercial spots and blockbusters.

I don't get it, people complain about playing at Etihad (where our record is poor) yet they also complain when we play teams who normally play home games at Etihad at the MCG.

Just watched Petracca's clip for the first time - very nice overhead and can find the ball but geez - a 5 minute highlight reel and they couldn't find any clips of him hitting a target ? Going purely on the clips (my big disclaimer) -Brayshaw vs Petracca - do you want Swan getting the ball 40 times or Pendlebury getting it 30 times - I know which one i prefer.

Why always the bye before the Darwin game not after it. Does my head in. Seriously how much promo work do our players need up there compared to how stuffed they are the next week. We'll get flogged by Essendon on the back of the Darwin game, after having the bye the week before. Any momentum our season might have will be shot.

It's a poor draw financially but from a footy point of view it's a very good one. Only three away interstate games, one of which is against GWS in Canberra. Playing Collingwood, GWS, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs twice and, other than Freo, avoiding the powerhouse sides twice (Hawks, Cats, Swans, Port). Even North are another side that routinely beats us. We have had easy draws in the past and haven't made the most of them. But if we are any good at all there are plenty of opportunities for wins there.

The thing is, if the team actually *wins* games, the matches against WB, Saints, North and probably Brisbane can potentially attract 30k+, which is what you need for a profit. What all of this comes down to is if you want a commercially viable fixture, you need to be commercially attractive. Melbourne is not. The only way to fix this is to win games. From that standpoint, the fixture doesn't actually make it *harder* for Melbourne to win games. We have no fate but what we make for ourselves. We can either blame the AFL, or we can suck it up, win some damn games of footy, and entice people to come to games. It's not rocket science.

It really is a horrendous draw but that's what we get for dishing up absolute rubbish the last couple of years.

The trouble is that history has shown us that players that recruiters believe to the third best footballer have a varied success rate of turning out that way. To date - IMO 2013 draft - pick 4 bontempelli is the standout 2012 draft - pick 7 Wines 2011 draft - wow - really hard - maybe we now have the steal of the draft Tyson at number 3 or Toby Greene at 11 ? The point is we make such a big deal about the difference between what predraft are considered the 3rd best and 4th, 5th or 6th best when in reality the careers of what was picked as the 3rd , 4th ,5th or 6th best never play out in that order. So would we be ridiculous taking a Laverde over McCartin because McCartin is considered 3rd best and Laverde 5th best ? absolutely not - history tells us that there is as much chance that Laverde should be a number 3 pick. Edit - I went back to 2000 on number one draft picks and on careers to date I could argue the case for three (maybe five) being the correct choices ( Of course this is retrospective) - 2010 - Swallow ( I think Heppel is better though). 2003 - Cooney ( Mundy ?) 2002 - Goddard is still the pick , 2001 - Hodge ( Judd ?), 2000 - Reiwoldt. Again on history and the odds - there will be a better player in this draft than Petracca.

I ran into Sylvia last week. Unsure if this point has already been shared previously however he stated he thought he was fit, compared to many on our list. He said when he started at the Dockers he couldn't believe how fit all the players were, he was way behind. I hope being on the track early is a sign the players are aware of how far behind the top teams they are in regards to fitness. Hopefully with a fitter team comes some more wins.

think most of them were off since about round 13

Of course we're back to playing Geelong in Geelong I'm making the drive down just so I can abuse the absolute living daylights out of that pissant Clark

How dare a struggling club with limited money try and get it younger players right for Pre Season.. Absolutley against the spirit of equalization!! Afl plz..

So you want us to draft a safer bet in a midfielder, rather than just the best talent at #3, yet your preference is Lever, a key defender who has never played in the midfield and is coming off a knee reconstruction? Make up your mind.

There's a nasty rumour going around that AFL players have been spotted hanging out together in the last month. Even some whispers that they've been jogging in groups and working out together at.. gyms... Do something, AFLPA!

I would reluctantly add Jesse. All the talk is positive but he didn't finish the one game he played to manage his game time and he didn't play any part in the next Casey game. Have niggling doubt on how he finished up. Hope the medicos have learnt from their poor handling of him in the practice games early this year. Will sigh with relief when he has played out a few full games be it Casey or AFL.

So, he takes it easy last year, then gets the big coin and decides to put in some effort and get fit!! Shame he didn't care enough to do it with us...

Brings a tear to my eye!

Perhaps you meant since 2011?

I don't have a philosophical problem drafting all key forwards. Just some at the top end of the draft. It gets murky sometimes.I have a problem with posters believing that McCartin will be an absolute gun because of how he is rated within this draft pool. It's always the case that forwards stand out at tac cup level football. It's harder to predict whether or not they'll be as good at AFL level, and I'm making a calculated judgement that McCartin doesn't have the attributes required to become a topline AFL forward. That is all. I gave examples of forwards previously rated as highly as McCartin within their own draft who for varying reasons, never reached the heights that people had hoped. I've already stated that it was too early to tell for Patton, Daniher and Boyd. (All three of whom were standout number one draft picks and in my eyes, are more exciting prospects than McCartin). We can argue details of the others but Sam Day was drafted as a forward. Haynes I thought was too but maybe I'm wrong. The way in which we got hogan was a unique scenario and he is a completely different player with a much better set of attributes in my opinion.I don't know why you keep bringing it up. McCartin is a one-dimensional forward who's kicking for goal is questionable. No matter how he's rated in THIS DRAFT, too many types like him haven't dominated in the same way at AFL level. I'd rather go with a safer bet. A midfielder.

KPP who featured in the top 5-10 of their draft year: 2006 - Gumbleton, Hansen and Leuenberger 2007 - Kreuzer, Grant(not sure if he played kp during 18's), Henderson 2008 - Watts, Naitanui and Hurley 2009 - John Butcher (slid to 8 after being touted as a number one pick during the year 2010 - Sam Day 2011 - Patton, Haynes and Longer 2012 - Plowman and Daniher 2013 - Boyd and Kolodjashnij The forwards of that crop of KPP: Gumbleton Hansen Henderson Watts Butcher Day Patton Haynes Daniher Boyd Bar Boyd, Daniher, Haynes and Patton (due to it being too early to tell), the rest of that group of forwards have been underwhelming to say the least as KP forwards. Day, Watts, Henderson and Hansen all started as forwards but haven't performed well enough as forwards at AFL level so they play different positions now. Gumbleton was a flop and Butcher is a great example of a KP forward who can't kick. The reason I am super cautious of drafting someone like McCartin is precisely to do with the list I've just provided. In isolation, each of the KPP mentioned in those draft years were 'talked up'. McCartin is one of three KPP in this draft who is highly rated. A full forward who's weakness is to execute the very thing forwards need to do. Kick goals. The MFC nearly broke an AFL record this year for inside 50 deferentials. And that's got nothing to do with our forwardline. Myself and other MFC supporters have every right not to be as impressed by McCartin as 'experts' of the draft. I'll back my judgement. And I'm telling you now, I want two mids.

Agree. Have a feeling Tappy might be delisted and then rookied like Jetta was this year. He, of all of those ooc has the most ability in my view. He's just so damn injury riddled. I hope Roos gives him one more chance and he gets a run at a full pre-season, and finds a set role to come into.

Heard that before.

Tassie was one of the greatest exponents of the drop kick the game has ever seen and what a pity the art is lost to the modern game. Your memory serves you well nutbean, nice to know there are others of my vintage posting. Were you present at the GF in '64 ?

Hope he loses his first game.