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Just a little story on Harmes I just wanna share a story on how quality of a person this young kid is. 'Chomp' comes up to Yarra every summer and this year he spent new years there. Old man is a taxi driver so they got talking about footy and without harms mentioning anything about being an AFL player dad said he barracked for the Dees, when in turn James mentioned he was a rookie list player. Dad being a passionate supporter was pumped and they got talking for a while about footy etc.. When dad had to drop him off he managed to get a selfie with Chomp and he turned around and offered his support to my younger brother who is playing for under 15s Vic Country this year by giving dad his number! Chomp then offered to ring me little brother and say g'day to which he was little star struck given he is only 14 years old.. Harmes offered some handy advise and tips and wished him all the best. Dad said he was by far the best 18 year old he has dealt with being such a mature kid for his age and the way he has gone out of his way to keep in touch with my little brother. There was no arrogance or cockiness just a down to earth kid who was just as pumped to meet another demon supporter. Dad sent an email to the footy club complimenting on what a terrific young kid he was and the way he had gone out his way to do what he has done for my little brother. Dad mentioned that he wanted this email to go straight to Paul Roos and Peter Jackson. Dads already promised him free taxi rides Lol Against Sydney this year Chomp got free tickets for my family and even a chance to get them into the rooms. My family have now become good friends with James and when I rang my dad before, him and my little brother were fist pumping and shouting with excitement. So the Harmes selection is a bit closer to heart then usual. The kid is a ripper and I am absolutely stoked for Harmesy to be living his dream because I know for a fact just how hard he has had to work for it and what he has gone through. Good luck Chomp!!

Hard to tell. One of Demonland's rules is that if a player is smiling, he doesn't care enough or feel the pain of Melbourne supporters and should be traded. On the other hand, if he's not smiling that means he's unhappy and likely to leave at the end of the year. I suggest you watch them train from behind.

VB signs new deal with Dees

I feel sick reading that. Imagine if Essendon hadn't destroyed the records of their drug taking after they were tipped off Imagine if they'd come clean and been smart enough to accept a 6 month ( probably only 3 missed matches) ban 2 years ago Imagine if they hadn't made themselves look so foolsih by going to court and trying to block teh ASADA trial on technicalities....twice. Imagine if Essendon had recognised and taken responsibility for the drug shambles and sacked Hird and others along with Evans at the outset Imagine if they hadn't protested their innocence whilst at the same time having conveniently NO supporting records to back them up nor have them supplied by Dank Imagine if the Essendon heavies hadn't moved in to stop people that KNEW what had happened actually testifying Imagine if the media hadn't been so full of utter crap in defending the indefensible .....just imagine And finally ( I cant help myself) imagine if Melb had had even half the media support when they got publically shamed for doing what half the clubs in the comp had done and imagine if the AFL had taken responsibility for creating a rule that encouraged teams to lose at seasons end instead of just blaming us ....just imagine There.....I feel better.

Jeez are people [censored] for real!? Watts has arguably had his best 4 games of his career and people want him dropped because of a little bit of rain? FMD wake up people seriously the guy is one of our most classiest and best ball user along with Vince and theres no better hands to have the ball in when its wet then these guys. Also last i looked footy is played outdoors. Some posters do make me laugh! I have been Watts biggest critic but he has been awsome the last couple of weeks.

Once he takes the field, I guess the obvious question will be "will the opposition players be able to stay out of Harmes' way?..." LOL

Great news! His attack on the ball or the man with the ball is fantastic. Especially since he had no pre season.

Oh no! My heart is bleeding all over the keyboard.

SEN just announced that Harmes has been elevated to the seniors list. A sure hint that he will be selected! Wish him well for his debut.

Quite severe weather forecast including hail......I think some of the players will need to be careful in these conditions, such as Jack Viney who may mistake Joe Daniher for an icy pole and eat him. ...

Good story...seems it will be a special day for his family as well: Harmes says his Demons allegiance runs deep. "My two pops went for Melbourne and my mum and dad also," he said. He says the day he pulls on the famous Melbourne jumper will be special. "It will be a proud moment for me and my family," he said.

Watts is finally chasing tackling and getting a bit contested ball.. hes had a month of good solid footy Dropping him now is a ludicrous idea and it simply wont happen, nor should it

Medium sized mid with good pace, but capable of winning his own ball. Strong in the air and on the ground. Would imagine he'd play half forward/wing in the seniors. Done a lot of work on his defensive game, which still isn't great, but is a lot better then it was. He does make the occasional blue, but he'll fight to rectify it straight away. Think we could have a player in Harmsey. Has some similar traits to Mitch Duncan.

Grievous Bodily Harmes is about to be perpetrated on the Bomber scum

Harmed upgraded to senior list... Points to a debut this week you'd think

Confirmed to play this weekend. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2015-07-09/harmes-over-the-moon-about-debut

(Also posted on the Changes vs Ess thread): SEN just announced that Harmes has been elevated to the seniors list. A sure hint that he will be selected! Wish him well for his debut.

Is this because of the mass of games experience Newton, Riley and Michie bring?

The other good part is that Harmes, Vandenberg and Brayshaw bring fresh legs which the team will need after the Darwin game.

What, no ANB this time? Disappointing.

Although the Essendon crowd is claiming that the sudden decline in form is related to the ASADA/WADA goings on, it's interesting to note that the Bombers have only introduced one new player to date in 2015. They've been relying on the same old, same olds - possibly to some extent because of limitations on recruiting with other clubs reluctant to trade for their players but a large measure of the problem seems to be the reluctance to introduce new blood to an aging list.

I told him he was coming to the club at the right time; just got our house in order and don't have a midfield with any size. Great news. Also glad that the Dees didn't try to overthink and keep him on the list for another year to get an extra pick in the ND - we have done that before and it usually backfires in unforeseen ways.

gee you are lucky. I'M CONCERNED ABOUT ALL OF THEM!!!

Jack Watts Interview Seems like he is fine.

Ha, and Goddard said they hit rock bottom last week. I'd say a few of them will sink even lower this morning after reading that WADA brief.

Pity Frost isn't playing.

The good news Nascent is that the bottom three on that list play like they've played a hundred games.

Others have said he struggled with weight and mindset as a young player. I believe that has to be true because I can't see how else such a big, aggressive ball accumulator would stay completely under the radar for so long. When I first saw him in that NAB game, my first reaction was "what the... Who is that?". Stood out like the proverbial dog's balls. Interesting that he credited Robert Shirley with his turnaround. Shirley was a modestly talented player who got the absolute best from himself. Since arriving he said he's followed the lead of Daniel Cross - more of the same. He obviously recognises the need for continued professionalism that he's probably not naturally inclined to, so he surrounds himself with the right role models. An amazing pick by Taylor and co. Another couple of these each year, thanks :-)

Ps another Jason Taylor special too!

It was 12!

I am waiting for the soothsayers come out with their "flash-in-the-pan" posts Well done Aaron. You have started well, and fitted into a much needed rôle. Keep it up. We have seriously missed you

Joe Daniher will be useless in the forecast conditons lets hope he plays

Interesting isn't it. If the players know what it is, you'd expect them to tow the party line and try to get off, which aligns with their current behaviour. If the players don't know, you'd think they'd be up in arms crying "wtf did you inject me with?!?". Suggests to me that they know exactly what it is but don't want to stir the pot as they know it's banned.

Chris Dawes doing a little ruck work with Greg Stafford. A sign we may only have 1 ruck this week?

Interesting, a few said he was no chance to play. I'm looking forward to watch Harmes, seems like it will be this weekend, I hope so anyway. It's time to move on from the tried and proven not at the level.

Imagine if the Essendon football club hadn't injected young men with banned substances. Just imagine.

Neitz beat Carey early in his career, and Carey has said he was one of the hardest to play in and Neitz was only 21, if he wasn't required to play FF after Ox and Lyon went down I still reckon he would have been one of the great CHB the game had seen.

I will not be surprised.

Why would you drop Brayshaw and keep Bail? Brayshaw has had two weeks rest for xxxxx sake!

It sounds like Brayshaw is going to play.

Congrats Harmsy! Didn't know he was a Dee's fan growing up: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/south-east/lifelong-melbourne-football-club-fan-james-harmes-fulfils-his-demon-dream-through-draft/story-fngnvoeu-1226769698721

NO

Melbourne FC ‏@melbournefc 10m10 minutes ago Paul Roos media conference: James Harmes has been elevated from rookie to senior list Melbourne FC ‏@melbournefc 10m10 minutes ago Roos: Harmes is in the mix to play against the Bombers Melbourne FC ‏@melbournefc 9m9 minutes ago Roos: It will be a medical call on Angus Brayshaw - he has to get through training at Casey Fields Melbourne FC ‏@melbournefc 8m8 minutes ago Roos: Aaron vandenBerg will be assessed at training - and a decision will be made later if he plays AFL or VFL 0 retweets0 favorites Reply Retweet Favorite More

Dude.. I remember Salem dobbing the winner and us surviving a Zaha-lead scare very late. We won the match. This is MFCSS at it's most pure. I totally get (and have purported myself) how much of a danger game this is but let's not get crazy. Over the last 5 weeks we have shown far better form than this mob and that's why we will get the job done. Part of me is scared, but a much larger part thinks we are going to smash them.. dare I say there is een the chance of a complete slaughter in our favour

I just watched a replay of the West Coast game and it is hard to remember any situation where Matt Jones disposals impacted. More often than not they were turnovers. It was in sharp contrast to Billy Stretch who is a great decision maker. Bernie Vince has shown you can be a run with player and accumulate possessions that count. Viney is in the same mould - a really beauty. Now that we have a greater core of players to choose from surely Jones has to go, likewise Bail. As much as I have stood up for the Toump I have to concede his turnovers are terrible and happen far too often. Jack Watts use of the ball is top class and he looks so much more comfortable out there.. I doubt the selectors will persist with the 2 rucks, it was a dismal failure against West Coast. Howe is a passenger and has been all year. Those in line for omission are M Jones, Bail, Spencer, Howe and Toumpas. I think Lamumba, JKH, Grimes and maybe Vanders, if fit or Harmes will come in.

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.