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Gold. You're like a caricature of a crazy internet forum poster

In the circumstances a fair deal would be to pay him out. Full stop.

Glass half full kinda guy?

That is rubbish, where did you hear that, I spoke to Straussy towards the end of the year, he was disappointed in himself he couldn't put it together, and besides that I actually saw Roos speaking to him at training

If the case I hope he is dropped first sign he shows of being disinterested. Not keen to see a Frawley 2.0 prance around next year

It's an awful position to be in, I don't envy him at all. This is clearly the best outcome for the MFC and the one I pushed for, nonetheless I take no pleasure in it as others have.

He is doing himself a favour by trying to find a vocation he 'wants' to do, and he is doing his employer a favour by not letting this continue. Everyone seems to be overlooking the fact that we have recruited a few other players that haven't been 'up' for the life of an AFL footy player, but they are happy to coast along and get delisted after a few years. Here a boy says 'this isn't for me' and lets us know before we waste more time, and we are preoccupied with the general motives of football players of his race, rather than the mark of this individual making a good decision for himself and the club.

My reading is that Evans has been told he's got no future at MFC as players like Salem, Newton, Riley, Michie and Toumpas are all considered better options. I reckon he would have been offered at trade but for obvious reasons nobody is interested. His manager would have spoken to all club with no interest. He's asking himself whether to gamble a year on the very long shot that he'll get a further opportunity or whether to just get on with life.

Lots of people have said to me we got overcompensated for Frawley. I answer by saying at the beginning of 2014 we had Clark at FF and Frawley at FB. We've how got Lumumba and pick 3. Tell me we're lucky. I'd take Frawley any day over pick 3. At some point we've got to get over the fetish of early picks and actually get blokes on the park that can play competitive AFL footy. Losing Frawley and starting again shytes me.

Pick 7 for Howe could not have been offered. The only thing more unbelievable is we knocked it back.

I understand Evans already has a Commerce degree and has been studying Law part time. I could see that he might believe his future is best served concentrating on a non-football profession rather than spending countless hours in the gym and on the paddock for no guarantee of a successful football career. And good luck to him, whatever he chooses to do.

Are we talking in Debt or Financial year losses? Every club would have a debt of some sort, 2mil for an organisation that size isn't a massive debt but if you are talking about 2mil loss from last financial year after the numbers they had is a worry

Doesn't say much for Kochies business expertise.

The "Mark Neeld overruled Todd Viney on Ollie Wines" truthers also deserve a mention.

Greatest Demonland myth of all time. If not for Goodes Sydney would have lost to Melbourne by 20 goals that day.

A player who has managed very little football in the last 2 years, with huge question marks over his future, and a fb with questionable decision making, and a lack of run and carry with 5 or so years of footy left And now lumumba, a line breaking premiership experienced former AA, top 5 b n f, played finals 8 out of 9 years, and pick 3, the opportunity to select a potential 12 year player who is at this stage the elite of their age bracket. I'll take the 2nd option every day of the week, and twice on Sundays.

I want success before "personality" I want a quality culture before scandal.

While I agree that ND3 may become far more valuable in 2/3 years time than Frawley - that is not a given unfortunately.

Out of interest, anyone here still wish we had Frawley instead of pick 3?

Toumpas will be okay. His biggest failure thus far has been in being picked ahead of Jack Viney's best mate, who has turned out to be a future superstar. Not one club blinked when we called out his name at pick 4 in that draft. Some posters here, rather conveniently, seem to consistently overlook this.

When I come across off-kilter posters like Werridee, often the only conclusion I can come to is that they're Communication 101 students doing a research project in trolling as part of their Social Media unit. Good luck with the studies Werridee, let us know how you get on. It's the least you could do.

With Bemused look on my face, So tell me who do we pick then??

People shouldn't turn this around and blame Evans. We gave him the contract. If we changed our mind and want to delist him, that is our choice, not his. If he refuses to be rookied, then we have the grounds for negotiation and compromise. Sure it will be sorted out in the next 3 hours.

Whilst a talented team, Geelong's midfield, especially contested ball winners are actually pretty light on after Selwood who has to do a lot himself. Caddy is the great hope. Christensen was their best clearance player after Selwood and SJ. Schroder is solid, but short. Not quick and average skills. We have Riley, Michie and Newton all looking for opportunity and I like them as much as Schroder. Newton has a left foot. Michie a bit of x factor and Riley is as tough as they come. I don't think we need Schroder.

Petracca and Brayshaw would be a dream result

I wouldn't. Thompson does not share the limelight with anyone. And for all the condemnation of Hird (which is right) I am truly stuffed how Thompson escapes sanction for his part of the Essendon saga.

Ahh all is well with the world. The natural cycle of life: beautiful spring weather, hayfever, great horse races, Saty springing to the defense of his boys and taking a swipe at any poster silly enough to make even the mildest of harmless jokes. Nothing like routines to buffer against the fear of impermanence.

Disagree. If Evans is not in our long term plans then we should move him on now and find someone who might be.The more picks you have the more chances you have of finding a good footballer. There could be a talented young or slightly older but experienced player out there, who could care out a career with us and we have the opportunity to find out with a pretty decent pick at 53.

I agree with you on this, and I believe they will rank the players as they see it. Whether they agree with the mock draft experts I really don't care. The so called experts rely a lot on tips from clubland and connections to the kids to do their rankings, they are not just using their "expert eye for talent".

The biggest issue with Evans is not his ability or even his desire, but his body which has continually failed him at almost every turn. He had injury issues in 09 & 10 which meant he didn’t end up representing WA in the Nationals. We were rapt to rookie him, and I was rapt with his early output for Casey and eventually Melbourne. Alas, he still hasn’t had an injury free season in his time at Melbourne. It’s been at least six years since he has been injury free. Unfortunately the question is will his body ever allow him to play AFL footy consistently? The weight of evidence suggests it’s unlikely. Giving him a rookie spot is a lower risk option to give him one more chance to see if his body holds up, otherwise it’s probably time to move on.

Would've fit in well with a few noted party boys from our club in the recent past. Like a young Colin Sylvia, or alternatively an older Colin Sylvia... not in playing style.

You are missing my point - I am not saying the club was handcuffed into making these decisions. I am criticising the ethos of some fans that intimate a player 'can't be taken this early, that would be a reach' when the 'reach' won't be known to be that for years. The experts tell us who we should select once again, and probabilities say it is BS - they don't know. So whoever Roos and Taylor and Viney see as the best bet at ND2 and ND3 should be judged in a few years time, not in the immediate aftermath of the draft; those judgements come from ignorance.

It should be done as it is done - on a case by case basis to those who want it bad enough. Not throwing a blanket over a group of people and delisting players for the sake of change.

Only a distraction, if that, for the next 3 hours.

You keep going on about this but I think you are way off the mark, we picked our consensus pick which happened to align with the so called experts. Not the other way around. I don't think we played safe and didn't want to upset the experts, I truly believe the picks we made were our own (poor) decisions. If you have any evidence to the contrary I would like to know.

If we pay him out and delist him all well and good but then we posters shouldn't [censored] and moan when a contracted player/RFA or UFA wants out . Ron Burgundy - interested in your thoughts on loyalty and the way the club is handling this (and for the matter, the Trengove episode). I have little problem with the rookie or the payout scenario but on the other hand I won't curse the sun when a player exercises free agency or wants out from the club whilst still under contract. Football is a business. Loyalty as we knew it is dead and buried - either from players or the club. (I do may an exception with Mitch C as that was exceptional circumstances - curse you MC)

Gysberts and Cook were ND11 and ND12. We have ND2 and ND3 and we have picked the 'expert consensus pick' with ND4 in 2007, ND1 in 2008, ND1 and ND2 in 2009, and ND4 in 2012. I think there is a massive difference between a pick in the top 4 and those in the teens. From those 5 picks in the top 4 we are going to get a long, maligned career out of one of them, possibly two. The 'experts' were wrong, those that criticise 'reaching' in this AFL Teenage Lottery Draft overlook history and our past experience.

I think I can hear the sounds of violin coming from the hangar, it may be a little piece, I have been seeing smoke for some time. Perhaps Nero (Hird) is on the fiddle. It would appear that no one knows how to put out the fire, and no one would dare ask Sir James to stop fiddling. It has occurred to me that this is a sad time. I have been baying for Essendons blood for months, now that it seems inevitable, I feel a kind of pity. This gross incompetence and total disdain for its players and the competition will destroy this once proud club. All involved seem incapable of stopping the spiral. Watching the EFC over the last year is like watching people in a sinking boat, the people on the boat are poking holes in the boat to let the water out. Edit spelling+

I don't think his footy ability is the problem, it's his attitude from what I've been told.

That question can only be answered in retrospect.

A lot of people have bemoaned the culture of the coaching/ player group at MFC. Aside from Chapman, you will not get a positive endorsement about the (eventual) standards and environment Thompson set at Cats. If in doubt join the dots between the Kingsly affair/ loss of trust from playing group and walking away from a coaching contract with a year to run. I have heard more than one person refer to Thompson as the "King of Coronas and Coke", regarding his profile in the Geelong late night scene. no, from me.

No real surprise to me, Lamprill had a dip and made more of his limited talent than PJ. Biggest surprise to me is Matthew Bate knocking off Warren Dean. The fact that Dean only played 30 odd games due to injury is a tragic, could have been a star.

Hi all, long time reader new poster. I e-mailed the club about this topic today and they replied with, "Our 2015 jumpers will be released within the next week so keep an eye out on our website for the images. I think that our members and supporters will be pretty happy with them for next season". so yay! not long to wait to see them. I spoke about the MFC monogram and not wearing a white jumper because we are the red and the blue in the e-mail, so hopefully the bolded bit is alluding to this.

Every year, Bigfooty poster Snoop Dog puts out one of the more interesting and better Phantom Drafts and this year it's no different. Like most of the others, he has Christian Petracca as the first choice with Paddy McCartin and Angus Brayshaw at 2 and 3 going to Melbourne (note the order). However, he considers Petracca, Peter Wright and McCartin as the best three players in the draft leaving out my two choices Brayshaw and Jake Lever. Here are his descriptions of McCartin, Brayshaw and Lever:- Now that Melbourne officially (well ... almost) has # 40 in play, it's worth noting Snoop Dog's choice of Ed Langdon. Since one or two others have put Langdon in this position, do they know something? Predictably, the Dog expects # 53 to be used to upgrade Neville Jetta which still seems likely although there are reports that the club is considering a further delisting.The other player mentioned in his Phantom Draft is Billy Stretch who gets a nice tick. Snoop Dog goes all the way down through to his rookie draft picks but I won't go there. It's a good read on Bigfooty and thankfully not as long-winded as some of his past efforts. Well worth the read.

No. If Evans is delisted (which I agree with) then pick 53 is in play. Next pick is then for Jetta upgrade. draft #2,3,40,53 plus rookie draft #2, 20. I agree all the Bailey & Neeld sins are being addressed.

Id be happy enough for Bomber to stay right away.

Now, now Saty, don't get your knickers in a knot now that you have a "rival" to the title of 'Best Training Reporter'. Competitiveness pushes people to reach their best.

I didn't get hit by a footy. Got there late. Traffic was a shocker. Dawes and Watts heading off for coffee and/or a lap of a tan when I parked at 10:30. Wearing their man bras. They later returned to Gosch's at 11am carrying their man bras #freethenipple Gawny watching on. Terlich in heavy conversation with the training staff. He seems to be recuperating from something. Two groups of senior players on deck. Jones, Cross, Grimes and Riley - working heavily with the Goodwin. Fitzy, Dunn and Garland with Rawlings. They were doing moderate skills drills. Clearance stuff for the mids with Goodwin doing boundary throw ins, Jones and Cross don't know it's November. I don't think Grimes is a clearance player, Riley had his measure. The bigs were practicing an opponent off and then dropping to where the space is to mark as well as by default practicing kicking to advantage. Fitzy doesn't fill you with confidence he's still such an awkward type. But Garland and Dunn look in good touch. Which brings us to the main group: Pedersen, Howe, Matt Jones, JKH, Toumpas, McDonald, Frost, Spencer (for early stuff), Evans, Tappy, Viney, Harmes, 3 or 4 Casey lads. So absent (bearing in mind they might have finished up by the time I got there) Barry (retired), Hogan, Kent, Salem, Hunt, Jetta, Garlett, Lumumba, Newton, Stretch, Trengove, Vince, McKenzie, Michie, Jamar. It was mainly boxing work mixed in with skills (bit of handball up, pass it across, kick in to the 50 to a leading coach) and the 3 man kicking drill they do to get a short kick, then quickly move to provide a lead. Roos focusing the group on getting the kicks up with a bit of air and steadying to make sure of it. Seems the instruction is to give the forwards a chance instead of blazing away trying to lace it out. Some nice kicks, some shockers.Then a criss cross handball drill that had the voices up and laughing, something a bit more relaxed. Eventually they moved in to more running. JKH looked to have a niggle by that stage and wanted to discuss it with the support staff, maybe a calf but nothing alarming. A fast paced lap where the Casey bloke James blitzed Tommy McDonald and the rest of the field. Had a 50m lead doing it easy. Pig Dog (who looks fitter than last year) and Pedo towards the back but no one really battling I don't think. Tyson had done some work hooked up to a trainer dragging him along behind. Trying to get some power in his legs I guess. He then ran laps with Frost for a while before Tappy joined in and then Tappy and Tyson were doing a solid session of interval running. Tappy keeping up the pace nicely. His legs look lean. Still a strong lad but not excessively. He's putting his best foot forward and the Barry news likely helps him. The main group were then in for some gruelling repeat sprint sets. Nice old school stuff. Viney led the way. Powering through them. Everyone (of a pretty small bunch by then) battled on pretty well. Wasn't overly impressed by Toumpy, he seemed to labour a bit but they were all getting through them.

Well put b. The fact that we were a total handful of goals away from winning a few more games is very telling. In contrast to 2013, where we were 2 handfuls away from winning ANY game, it's a big difference. It's only close observers like us that see the nuances. Yes, there are 'glass half fuller's' here ', but equally the 'empties' abound amongst us. External observers see only that we won 2 more games, and pay more attention to the games where we got beaten up, because it reinforces the convenient pigeonholing that the past few years have earnt us. They dismiss the near losses, are oblivious to the huge personnel deficits (no Clark, no Hogan), and undervalue the degree to which new methods and coaching requires time to develop confidence and trust. We now have stability, familiarity, improving confidence and a better list. We won't shake the rafters, but we will be measurably better again. Luck with injuries will see us mid ladder.