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His disposal averages and other stats over the last 3 years indicate how good he is. Prestia is a gun, 22 yrs old with 70-odd games, has another 8-10 years to play. Would give our first pick for him in a heartbeat.

Thats bad luck for him if his career is over I stopped feeling any animosity toward him when he cried after the game earlier in the season... clearly hes got some mental issues that affect him a lot. I wish him all the best And I thank Roosy for getting us the great Prince Heritier in return

Didn't want to start a new thread for this and felt this was the best place for it, so here is Titus O'Reilly's 'preview' of the game this weekend. It sums up exactly how I feel about it.. Saturday Essendon vs. Melbourne (MCG) 1.40pm Speaking of danger games, if Melbourne lose this, it will arguably be their biggest low point and that’s really saying something. Playing Essendon at this point is like a UFC match where the ref has let it go on too long. The Bombers are out for the count. Their captain is gone for the rest of the year, the players are mentally fatigued from the scandal that has no end and they don’t have a coach. Really, Hird should go back to where he came from — France. Even worse than those things, they bought in Mark Neeld and Neil Craig to help out. That’s like seeking out Bernard Tomic’s dad to coach your teenage tennis prodigy. Apparently, Essendon players and coaches held a two-hour honesty session on Monday. The fact the club has to make a special time for ‘honesty’ probably speaks volumes. I’m told having Tania Hird in the corner taking notes put some people off. If the Dees lose this they should just pack up shop; AFL doesn’t have to be for everyone. I’m pretty worried as a Dees fan. After all, Melbourne lost to Essendon in the NAB Challenge when the Dons were playing top up players, which were basically Melbourne’s cast offs. Melbourne are returning from a game in Darwin and have often struggled the week after. Luckily they took the second half off last week so should be OK. I’m going to go against tradition and one of my key rules for living and tip Melbourne but if Essendon win, I deserve everything I cop from Bombers fans

We made a massive pitch for dion a couple of years back under neeld, he seriously considered it and his family were all for it but ultimately we were a mess off field, that's totally different now and the club are pushing hard to add a quality player to the list.

Fookin hell. Brayshaw just had a rest for the last two weeks. If he's not injured, then play him.

Your kidding yourself if you wouldn't give up a first round draft pick for him.

That's pretty deep. It's also annoying. So what if some of the posters are [censored] off at the way Mitch left us? Do you really think he's going to read Demonland and burst into tears? Do you really think he even knows this place exists? Sheesh, this is just a bunch of people in a pub talking footy and all things related, and Mitch happens to be an interesting subject to some. We are not The HS or AFL 360. I'd suggest that if you don't like the thread then you shouldn't read it, and let the mods weed out the truly offensive stuff, while letting the good, bad, and (tolerably) ugly stuff be hashed out by those interested until something more interesting is found.

Glenn Jakovich was the only one who could beat Wayne Carey fair and square Epic duels those to had MaCavaney would go completely off his rocker

A quote rom Bomber Blitz to get you pumped for this Saturday's game. Give 'em hell boys: - If there was ever a team that we owe a few upset wins against its melbourne. So sick of walking out of the MCG at the final siren and seeing all those toffs in the MCC members going nuts celebrating. Makes me sick

I think dion will be a demon in 2016. When he was injured hh he was averaging ariund 26 touches 5 tackles and number one in the comp for clearances, id happily hand over our first pick, especially given he is still so young

Can't agree. Prestia wins most of his ball on the inside , which has affected his DE stats, but has a thumping kick. Can go outside too, but GCS have been light on for inside mids, so Prestia has exclusively played inside. His burst speed is very good. Hasn't kicked a lot of goals, but has kicked important ones for GC (is a better kick on the run than set shot though). Prestia's probably been the Sun's second best mid over the last three years, and one of the few that stepped up in Gary's absence last year. Don't worry too much about his height. It was supposed to see him drop in his draft year, but he still went at pick 9 and has been one of the best performed players of the 2010 draft class. If anything, his value might have appreciated, or at worst held. Certainly has not depreciated.

Who is it the premier goes for again? Which board did Andrews sack just before they went into Essendon, wouldn't be worksafe would it? All a little too convenient for my liking (pun intended).

I am not in the game of second guessing medical advice ( so that's exactly what I am going to do). I have never doubted that MC suffered depression and I understand the seriousness of the affliction I understand the pressures that AFL can take on the mind and especially when the body failing exacerbates the mental health issue. I understand the thinking behind the move in clubs but question it - MC removing himself from the club which has won a handful of games only in the last 5 years and moving to a more successful environment. Taking out of the equation that success may be fleeting and last years champions can become this years chumps, I challenge the thinking behind this. To me you are mentally able to endure the rigors of AFL or you are not. The move to Geelong - they are now sliding ? How does that affect his mental health - they could end up with a prolonged period of failure as have the MFC. What about Geelong making the Grand Final and then getting towelled up ? How would affect the mind ? Was there any consideration that some fans are going to boo MC and even go out of their way to make there anger known about him jettisoning the club ? How would that affect his mental well being. To repeat - I question the advice he was given. You are either mentally able to endure AFL or you are not.

Lucifer's Hero, this is not a comment directed at you in particular but I feel like the moral police on this site have been out in full voice more so than ever this year. Much of the tone frustrates me as the excessive PC I believe perpetuates a culture whereby people don't have to take responsibility for their own poor behaviour. This has permeated a number of threads recently and I find it particularly annoying.

I'm not sure it's appropriate to suggest that CB would prefer Mitch Clark dead. Nor do I think it's appropriate to use the recent tragedy to further your own agenda. Regardless, my view is that if Mitch Clark wasn't 'mentally stable' (for lack of a better term) enough to continue at Melbourne, then he shouldn't have continued his AFL career at all. If Mitch Clark was willing to work in a high pressure environment like the AFL, and subject himself to the pressures of the media, then there is no doubt in my mind that he could have continued at Melbourne. If he had expressed even the slightest desire to repay the faith the Melbourne Football Club showed him, then he would have had the support of thousands of fans, including me. Instead, he chose to leave, and that is why I have zero respect for him.

couldn't have put it better myself. And looking at the current situation, i'd say to Paul, "well done Paul."

Well we dodged a massive bullet and got a winner in Lumumba. Il take that.

I had the opportunity to both meet Trengove and have an extended conversation with him at a reception before the Darwin game a few years ago. He was a most delightful, down to earth, enthusiastic and frank young man. He has been unfortunate with injury but also received a lot of unfair and unnecessary criticism on this forum. We have all seen him play good footy. I hope he comes back and sticks it up the doubters!

It IS true. If we've learned anything as Melbourne supporters it's that this very game is the definition of a danger game for us. We simply cannot lose it under any circumstances, but if someone will find a way to do it, it will be us.

Good lord, if Prestia is available and we don't offer ND5 I would be disappointed. If we had a talent like that and someone offered ND25 and the right to overpay Howe - what would you say? Think before you post.

Were you watching the Simpsons while writing this post? Because there is a simpsons quote in the middle of your post. It's like: <Jobe Watson-related post> UNRELATED SIMPSONS QUOTE <Jobe Watson-related post>

I'm guessing you're one of the those blokes who believes that depression is a mood and can be changed on a whim? He didn't think melbourne was the best environment to continue his football career. I, too, was annoyed that he didn't want to be at Melbourne but understood that it could be the best for his health to move clubs. What more did you want him to do? Let me remind you of a few things he did. - He forfeited his earnings for this year (possible some of last) - Got us some form of compensation when he got traded If Nathan Jones can get around him, don't you think that maybe he's not the big bad wolf that everyone has made him out to be? FFS we just had a tragedy last week. Do I need you to remind you about the sentiment that life is more important than football that was going around on the weekend. Would it make you feel better if he stayed around and you woke up one day to find out he was no longer with us?

I'm over being angry at him. We beat the cats on their own turf, and truth is it was probably best for all parties he leave. His state of mind still isn't right.

Viney will go to Stanton and there will be new material for the 'made me cry' thread.

Can we add Ian Healy to the list of shithouse commentators? He does not know when to shut up!

Looking forward for us playing a danger game. Haven't played one for close to a decade.

Agree totally There is no such thing as a non-danger game for us, we are usually the underdogs and on the odd occasion we are favourites (this is the first time this year, betting wise) we love to drop them. This is one of the worst vestiges of our recent history (it goes all the way back to the start of Daniher's tenure). If it happens again it will really hurt because it will introduce all sorts of doubt about whether we have moved up as a club at all under the new regime. Shirting myself

Too much sport, tonight we have Wimbledon, The Tour de France, State of Origin, The Ashes! How to watch it all? Not enough screens, not enough time. Life can be hell.

Far more confident in our list management these days. Happy to accept their decisions - if they want Prestia it will be for good reasons. The recruiting so far under the new regime has been impeccable.

he didn't suffer from concussion, he had what sounds like an injury to the neck. if he's right, play him. if he's not, don't. we shall see, i guess. i've come around to the idea of fitz being in. if he's in, and presuming brayshaw is passed fit: B: Jetta - Fitzpatrick - Dunn HB: Garland - T. McDonald - Cross C: Tyson - N Jones - Brayshaw HF: Watts - Dawes - vandenBerg F: Howe - Hogan - Garlett Foll: Gawn - Vince - Viney I/c: Toumpas - Lumumba - ANB Sub: JKH Emerg: Stretch - Jamar - M Jones if brayshaw misses, stretch comes in. the idea of n jones, vince, viney, tyson, vandenberg, brayshaw and occasional stints from lumumba, garlett, cross, and toumpas being a midfield rotation is very encouraging.

Can't be bothered spending any more energy defending the integrity of a player from another club but the holier than thou attitude of many gives me the squirts.

You must not rate Jack Viney then?

Unfortunately, I think our players are a bit slow to learn. You'd think they all would have seen the last couple of minutes of that Essendon game (probably over and over) and heard the commentators bemoan the lack of appreciation of the need to stack the backline. Yet they forgot to do that same thing in the St Kilda game.

I think ANB is a better player than JKH and gives us more.

And the beat goes on. You may recall that Athletics Australia was housed in premises in Swan St "Olympic Boulevard". Then Eddie Everywhere -- AA board member if you please -- got his sums wrong and decided Collingwood needed more space and asked for AA to get the half glass. Lo and behold, Premier John Brumby -- Collingwood supporter -- thought this appropriate and now "Olympic Boulevard" has no Olympics on it save for some statues. I thought Dan -- Essendon supporter -- might prove better than this but actions speak louder than words ...

FMD. Nate Jones and the other players can get around him and not hold pathetic grudges. A lot of people here need to seriously grow up.

Casey

Apologies for the error. Roos was, however, instrumental in getting the best deal possible for Sylvia. While this article suggests differently, Roos never had any intentions of keeping Sylvia... http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2013-09-06/i-cant-wait-to-start-roos Then, after Sylvia announced he was leaving, Roos all but confirms it during this piece... http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-03/sylvia-to-join-dockers Roos was successful in getting maximum value for Frawley. He played him in the forward line to show an extra "element" of his game. Realistically, he got him out of the back line so he (Roos) had close to a full season of trialling other players that were going to be at the club for the next period of time. Sure, we had Clark and Dawes injured so we needed a KPF, but why didn't he play Dunn there for the season? He's a known goal kicker (has kicked 95 from 151 games). From memory, Dunn played a few quarters here and there early in the season, but Roos knew the defensive structure going forward, and that didn't include Frawley. Now, we are seeing the same thing with Howe. Started the year down back, but has had an inconsistent start to the year - not great considering he's playing in the RPFC's "Easiest Position on the Ground". He was shifted forward against Geelong, due partly because of our lack of forwards for that game. Saturday night he stayed forward, even tough we had Hogan, Dawes and Spencer/Gawn. I'm tipping Howe won't get dropped this week, as it's a great opportunity for him to play against an out of form team. I think Spencer will be dropped, and JKH to come in to play HFF, giving Howe a bit more room up forward to fly for marks. I think they will bring in Fitzpatrick to play back/2nd ruck, most likely on Daniher. I don't care if some will say that I'm reading too much in to it (the Howe/Roos/trade situation), and will happily admit I was wrong if it doesn't turn out that way. But at this stage, I haven't seen anything to suggest that I'm off the mark, and I've been watching this for more than just this season.

Like a lot of people I stopped being angry at him a long time ago.

If ever we needed reminding of the dangers related to mental health issues what happened in the Walsh home last Friday was incomprehensibly tragic. I am in no way comparing that to the Mitch situation. Simply saying mental issues take people to dark, dark places and no-one knows how those issues might play out. Its possible that some/many of us would have a personal connection to a situation where a person's mental health issues resulted in tragic consequences for them or people close to them So, I feel it is time we all found some compassion for Mitch and let him deal with his issues with privacy and dignity. We can't control what the media do or idiots like Sam say but we can control what we write in this forum. I would like to see our moderators shut down this thread.

regardless of his mental health issues, the issue has always been that he did the wrong thing by our club that much is clear and always has been there is no way you would be up on your pedestal being mr.magnanimous if he was fit and firing and kicking 6 a week for the cats now that we've lost nothing it's safe for you to again change your sails and take this position but it will never change the fact he did a big number on our club and for that I am happy it has gone [censored] up for him don't forget we lost a pick 12 in addition to the millions of dollars we wasted on him

Maybe not on field yet but don't underestimate Lumumba's off field leadership and experience. Only have to look back to the Hawthorn game when he picked up Garland off the ground and put his arm around him. Clark's off field antics swayed a few teammates and coaches off side.

Remember all the conjecture last year and then we get Frost out of nowhere? The year before that, we get our compo pick and no one had any idea who we'll get, and then in comes Vince? I have absolutely no doubt that this'll happen again. Someone who's not on any other club's radar but Roos has it all sussed out. He's a crafty one. I'll brace myself for the pleasant surprise :D

Your club is entering a world of pain. You will be on the bottom for up to a decade. That is the main thing. essendons claims of innocence have the same legal weight and respect as Julian Knights 5th failed appeal.

The only point of difference is Frost - listed as 5 weeks on the MFC website, complete with quotes from Misson http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2015-07-07/trio-set-for-return (I've re-ordered the list) Melbourne injury list: round 15 Angus Brayshaw (neck) – test Jack Grimes (thumb) – test Aaron vandenBerg (hamstring) – test Heritier Lumumba (toe) – test Dean Kent (hamstring) – 2 weeks Christian Salem (hamstring) – 3 weeks Sam Frost (toe) – 5 weeks Jack Trengove (foot) – season Cameron Pedersen (wrist) – season Christian Petracca (knee) – season The list is starting to look a lot better. Hopefully we get a bit more of a look at Kent and Salem before the year is through.