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Yesterday 17th June. Myself and my wife and our little boy ( 4 ) was invited to see Jesse Hogan. I sponsor him and we missed the breakfast the club has scheduled with him the other week due to my wife Illness. I spoke to lovely woman Celia McDonald, who nothing seemed to be a problem. Explaining my wife illness to her, she helped us re arrange a date and time, for not only us to have a chat with Jesse but to hand over the letter our girls had done to Jesse and Jack watts, Celia showed us around AAMI park, Put up with out 4 year old running around, Harry O smiled at him waved hello while he was on the Bike, all players we saw took time to greet us. Jesse was great, we talked for over 20 minutes about football, pinball and any and everything , how he thought we would be unstoppable in 4 years. His training, he was on a modified program yesterday , all planned and part of what he has to do. I am guessing not pushing too hard. He signed my little mans jumper, and played with him. A very Genuine bloke and we all appreciated the time and effort he made for us. As I said a Big thank you to all involved, the Club, Jesse and Celia , made a old mans day and was happy my wife could now smile as she was upset at missing the breakfast. Thought I share my story and say thanks ...

1 Hogan2 Hogan 3 Hogan 4 Hogan 5 Jones 6 Hogan 7 Hogan 8 Hogan 9 Hogan 10 Hogan

I think instead of taking the pick and running, it would look far less suspicious if we took the pick and just strolled away casually.

Wouldn't it just be so Melbourne to be the first club to have to sack its senior coach before he's even been appointed?

I only know one person who has taken more deliberate shots to the head than Joel Selwood and that was a girl from Brighton.

They can't continue to drop Michie and bring him up every 2nd week and expect to make an impact. Give him 6 games in a row to see what he can offer. Im a fan of his and he has been unfairly treated.

Personally, I would like to recruit very good players. Very good players are ok by me. I think if you asked Jones and Hogan and Tyson - they would also like us to recruit very good players.

The kid is a beast. Petracca, Hogan, Salem and Brayshaw. That is a core group of kids to get excited about.

Must say I like this only 6 games a week thing. If only we could make them all on a Saturday afternoon at 2:10pm and have them played throughout Melbourne in the surrounding suburbs, Collingwood, South Melbourne, Fitzroy etc. That's be a nice competition!

I was hoping this thread was about how the MFC had tied Jesse to the club by setting him up with Tom McDonald's sister. Ah well. Still a nice story nevertheless. I also like his comment about four years time too.

Did you ask Jesse if he was going to re-sign? Any news? Just kidding. Glad to hear it all went well. NO, BUT TELL ME SERIOUSLY...DID YOU ASK HIM?! ​*HYPERVENTILATES*

Just scanning the list quickly, as far as the 23 and unders (who should form the core of our next finals push) we currently have roughly 15 or so in that bracket. We’re probably a draft away from really having that core in place, as long as we retain and develop what we already have. I haven’t counted Harmes, King and White in that lot, because they’re a relatively unknown quantity. If they do come on, the list will look in pretty good shape going forward. Howe’s a talented player, and I’m happy for him to stay, but at 24 (25 next month, same age as Jordie Mac) he sits just outside that core. If Jeremy contributed more by way of leadership or team oriented intangibles that contribute to the development of a young group, I’d probably be more upset at the prospect of him leaving.

As disappointing as it would be, I'll settle for playing the long game with Hogan. The disappointment would have nothing on it he missed the rest of the year with the back again. We're not going to win this game anyway. Re: AAC's post : I don't take the same view on Brayshaw. No injury history, he's a mid so can be managed through rotations, and he's just starting to hit his straps form wise. I don't want to do anything to halt that momentum; every game in the seniors is an extra game of experience we need him to gain sooner rather than later.

I think I'll avoid watching this one due to general soreness...

If a player with half a brain did come to our fan website they would lose the other half of their brain fairly quickly reading the stuff posted on here.

In order to fully understand the role of the AFL Integrity Officer you need to read George Orwell. I fully endorse that. Jim will seriously fulfill his role in reaching a fair and just decision and will be right on top of the evidentiary issues in this case (I'm sure that the other two will as well) and not be influenced by the vested interests of the sporting body or of the club involved.

I think the choice of Speigelman is a result of having the least worst appointed by Essendon players. He is an outstanding jurist and man.http://www.saxton.com.au/james-spigelman/ I'm sure the Essendon players were looking first for an Australian Arbitrator, preferably at least an Essendon supporter, or someone sympathetic to Essendon's plight. Their initial effort to draft an ex High Court judge, and a known Essendon supporter onto the CAS panel, was never going to fly. Their choices from there were very limited if they stuck to the Australian list, as either most of the rest were either involved in some way with the case (and therefore excluded), or were affiliated with Olympics sports which would mean they would have very little sympathy for the Drug taking in sport. What they have got, is someone of outstanding integrity, and who, given his record, will at least come to the task with an open mind. There is no evidence of his AFL affiliations that I know of, and since he has lived most of his life in Sydney is probably a rugby supporter and a Swan's man if he has any leanings towards the AFL at all. By the fact he is on the CAS list of Arbitrators would indicate some interest in sport, but no evidence of bias that I know of. Interestingly, my brother is an ex Olympian, and a lawyer himself, as well as being an ex demon supporter and now a Sydney residing Swans fanatic, and close to the Swans board. When I spoke to him at our annual get together at the Swans/Demons game, we discussed the Essendon saga and he initially at least thought the Essendon players should get off, but Hird, the Essendon management, coaching staff and board should all be banned for life from sports administration, and that Worksafe should throw the book at them. It was only after I showed him the Demonland discussion on the topic he agreed there probably was a case for at least some of the players to go as well. I understand he also knows Speigelman through Sydney legal and business circles, although I have not talked to him about this issue since Speigelman's appointment was announced. If his (my brother's) attitudes are indicative of senior swans supporters' attitudes to the Essendon saga, then I don't like Essendon's chances of escaping, but the players may get at least a sympathetic hearing. However, I think in the interests of a fair outcome, Speigelman is about as good as we could have hoped for as the Essendon Players appointment, and probably the sole Australian on the panel.

Tapscott never did, so I don't think the comparison is apt at all. Jimmy's game against St Kilda was so far and away better than anything Tapscott ever delivered that it isn't even funny.

Another shocker? Seriously he played 21 minutes last week and yes had no bearing on the game. But he was the only person who went spare in defense last week after Howe put us in front, until Cross came on at the last ball up and told him to get out. The blokes on 360 pointed this out and questioned why Cross did that. At least he has a footy brain. He has every right to lack confidence given he gets 1 game on and 1 game off. I hope he says naff it all and goes into the forward line a few times this week instead of being the defender mid field. He' has done it at Casey and it showcased his ability. I personally would play him permanent HBF. Might be slow but has an excellent footy brain.

Thanks for clarifying.

The 3.20 pm was the killer for me. Puts the game finish time at close to 6 pm on the shortest day of the year which means that if I stay to the end I'll be driving home on that dark godforsaken stretch of highway in a foul mood. Still, I hope the boys can hear me cheering them on from the loungeroom while I watch the game on Foxtel.

As pointed out by Dees2014, we took a risk with Goodwin. In fact given that he admitted taking injections, we were taking a big risk. Possibly a very unwise decision given the circumstances. It was said that the club was happy with his admissions on interview but still seemed a surprising decision to give him the job given the circumstances. Goodwin condoned the program and took some of the injections himself, very much "whatever it takes." Brings into doubt his thinking and decision making.

I think Jimmy is coming along nicely, he is making progress. His game is tracking on the right trajectory. Toumpas will be a good footballer. Given some more time he will be able to sum up a attacking target quickly and hit it instantly more often. You can see this opening up avenues of attack last weekend.

Boom-tish Love your work, mate.

It's the cost of posting something as a joke, that sounds exactly like the sort of thing he would say when serious.

Hogan and Brayshaw won't be rested - good news.

Thanks for sharing mate, lovely story. All the best to your family.

1. N. Jones (skipper should get the most) 2. Hogan 3. T. McDonald 4. Vince 5. Petracca 6. Brayshaw 7. Viney 8. Tyson 9. Salem 10. Cross Is what it should be. For what it actually is i'd expect Dawes, Lumumba, Garland, Dunn, Watts and Trenners to all be up in there ahead of the kids.

Making the trip as a guest of Geelong old players association. I will be happy if we make a game of it.

When we are collectively ringing our hands after a loss such as last Saturday, this story brings you back to why you follow the club you do. Great for your boy and I am glad Jesse took the time to engage with him. Cheers Mark and I trust your wife is still smiling. Would be nice to see something about this on the MFC site. Edit: Last Sunday

Sounds like a sad case of self abuse.

186 with a few zeros on the end?

Well he was a gun player but . . . Essendope/Hexarelin and wasn't there some betting thing a few years back? An untried coach with baggage does seem a strange choice for a club trying to re-invent itself.

Dawes as the decoy AFL player.

I think it's pronounced "bandildos"

Plowman was very much in the mix if GWS didn't take him. Don't worry about stats, Plowman has had injury issues and hasn't really had a run at it. May work to our advantage in that he hasn't held or improved his value. He can play key back or rebounding def at the moment, which would be handy if Garland goes. Given our injury list, he'd be a handy option right now. He has very good disposal and awareness, which combined with his frame (190cm) made a lot of recruiters believe he had the capacity to develop into a mid in the future. I'd like him as part of a deal for Howe. Even if we get (just) a first rounder for Howe, we should take it and run. I like Jeremy, and think he has lots of improvement in him, but reality is that he's a commodity in this competition. Every commodity has a price and a first round pick is a probably overs. We got him with a pick in the 30's, he's played 89 games and increased his value to the club. Even if he's made up his mind (to leave) I expect him to represent the club as a professional, to the best of his ability. Even if we think he's gone, we play him if his form warrants it.

We must keep Howe unless we get an over the top offer. He brings people to the game. He is a good footballer who has never been dropped and he is young.

SOOOO?????? Howe is attractive to other clubs as a marketing device due to his high flying? MFC has so many marketing features that we can afford to let him go and increase an opponents position???? Howe has improved his presence and stats under the new coaching regime and has potential to become a better player and is approaching his prime time. He provides another different forward option to Hogan and has shown versatility in defensive roles and has played soem games on the flank and wings. He needs to be developed further properly and used better, we seem to the coaches that can do that. He will be better in a team which has better playing resources (mids and crumbers) we are building those. He may need to be sat down and have the harsh reality discussion. His potential worth will grow as he improves his output. His worth will improve as the team he is with has success. We are building to that success with the players and support staff we have but we can only offer him an amount commensurate with his output. If he does not accept an offer he will be playing in reserves and his development with Melbourne will cease as he does not want to go on with us. His value to other clubs will be diminished as they see that he has not played to potential has not been developed and will be past his best by the time they retrain him there will also be the added suggestion that he is indeed lazy and not committed to the hard work that is necessary to succeed. I like Howe, I like his potential, I would rather we get it than someone else but he must produce. If the above diminishes his worth to us on the market so be it we must then recruit an alternative with some difficulty but develop and utilise them Its not easy but we know that already.

Was debating whether to watch this on tv or not, hats off to those who are actually going to the ground.

And "I wished he'd hosed the cow shite off before he left home"

I like the socks.

Once upon a time they used to describe that sort of thing as incontrovertible evidence of "tanking" and "match fixing" and leading sports journalists like Mr. Mark Robinson would produce double page exposes on the subject. Others like Miss Wilson called it scandalous and demanded mass sackings at the club's highest level.We need to be careful about who we let into the vault to discuss these matters.

Not surprised. He looked stuffed vs Collingwood, and then cooked in the second half vs St Kilda. I was hopeful he would be given an extended break before his bag, but even now long term its a good call.

I don't know if you're told enough, but The Song, your impeccable use of GIFs is becoming an art form to behold & marvel!!!

Wrong. His game against Geelong and Adelaide in his first year were impressive aswell. His game against western bulldogs this year was also a pretty good game again. He has played real since then and i expect he will continue to improve and we will start to see true glimpses of why we took him at pick 4.

Geoffrey Edelsten?

Contrary to popular opinion R and B I am a very optimistic person. It is just the mighty MFC that turns my nature. It has only taken about 48 years to not expect a lot from the MFC that has produced my pessimism around the MFC. So I guess I spend 90% of my life optimistic not a bad result I would have thought.

Does bringing in great players on great money ever really cause instability? I've heard supporters use that line often, but I can't recall any evidence of that happening in my lifetime. I would have thought in the professional era, most players would look past the envy of the big income earners and would be quite happy to have a superstar added to their side to enhance their flag chances.

Outside midfielder’s also generally take longer to adapt to senior AFL footy. There are a lot more physical contents and less time and space. Even more difficult when you are trying to slot into a battling midfield that’s not overly skilled to start with. Much smoother transition for an inside mid. Usually stronger and used to battling for contested ball. Old mate Wallace (on Future Stars) reckons the success rate for inside mids taken high in the draft is something like 85%. Can’t remember what the success rate for outside mids was concluded to be, but it was a reasonable drop off for that type of player (and a further drop off for kpp’s). As I’ve said elsewhere, the encouraging thing as far as Jimmy is concerned, is that the strengths that made him a standout as a junior, have slowly started to translate to his game in senior footy over the last month or so. Hard running, work ethic and very good disposal by foot. Development for him is continually using those strengths in game and mitigating the weaker areas of his game (disposal under pressure, defensive running, contested footy). Those weaknesses were there in his game as a junior and clearly targeted areas for development now. The majority of these kids don’t come in as the finished package and by rights should take some time. At the very least I’m seeing some improvement in his contested ball, it’s up to the coaches to help him really improve in the other areas. There’s a lot of emphasis on Wines (whose output has been fairly freakish) from the 2012 draft, but if you compare how Toumpas is tracking, relative to the other 2012 draftees, I’m comfortable with how Toumpas is going.

Shits me royally we cant have this as an alternate! and if we have to have white : (although id have the red and blue v's next to eachother) Stole these from bigfooty - because they are good