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This is what Knightmare said of Oliver on his draft board on bigfooty a couple of weeks before the draft. Whatever you think of him it makes for good reading “Others noticed Oliver before I did, but I may have been one of the few to move him up high earlier and move him up as extremely high as I have. And next update I'll even have Oliver ahead of Schache and my second rated non-academy player after only Weitering. Just such an exceptional contested ball winner and stoppage player. Moves well. Ball use good by hand and foot. Can go forward and take a mark and offer scoreboard impact. He can be one of the very best in this draft. I'll be interested to see at the end of the day where AFL clubs rate Oliver and whether anyone rates him nearly as highly as I do”. And then the day before the draft he released a combined top 10 of the last two drafts. Given a number of players in this list have already played good AFL footy Knightmare has a fair opinion of our new mid. “Clayton Oliver (VIC – MID) Jacob Hopper (NSW - GWS ACADEMY - MID) Jacob Weitering (VIC – KPD) Christian Petracca (VIC – Mid/Fwd) Angus Brayshaw (VIC – Mid) Isaac Heeney (Syd – Academy - NSW – Mid) Callum Mills (NSW - SYDNEY ACADEMY – MID) Darcy Moore (Coll - F/S – VIC – KPF/KPD) Patrick McCartin (VIC - KPF) Joshua Schache (VIC – KPF)” Pro Dee passed on from his brother. You have to love this description from training on the 11th Dec “Oliver was pitted against ANB, and Jones and Petracca went head to head. Petracca and Jones pretty much squared the ledger. Oliver beat ANB at least 9 times out of 10. He was adamant it was that lopsided, such was Oliver's effectiveness.” Surely it has to be time that the footy gods smile on us. Our 2014 drafting is shaping to be possibly our best ever. If this years crop, particularly Clayton, can match it we will be well on the way to playing finals consistently in the near future.

A team cannot be a champion team without winning the Premiership, An individual can, and often has been, the best player of his time without even playing in a final because it is beyond his control. Should a very good player consistently fail in finals then his 'superstar' status can be legitimately challenged but to question it because he hasn't had the opportunity is unjust.

Take 7 : Gotcha => https://six6six.smugmug.com/Monday-Take-7/n-FhDcXL

BB I don't doubt that Joe saw a lot of publicity for himself and his businesses when he got involved in the merger. I also think that when he got the Presidency, it was also about him fitting in, in an area where Orthodox Jews don't normally get involved. So a lot of it was to do with Joe personally. He is a MFC supporter, but obviously limited in his attendance at matches. He was clearly head hunted because of his wealth, to get involved in the anti merger group. I just think he did a few good things for the MFC, one of which was a massive donation of $2.75m, which no one in the history of footy has got close to and he deserves credit for that. I don't think he would have enjoyed the election and all it involved, personal attacks, being defeated and sent packing. While he would have got plenty of good publicity in the early days, in the last days it was not the same. As many of us who have served on Boards and in particular Footy Boards know, it can be a thankless and stressful task.

I'm probably not the best judge of how there going in the preseason. They look better to me each year with the exception of one M Neeld's 2nd year. I did have a brief chat to Brendan McCartney and he reckons they're going to be all right. Said there is a real trust developing between the group which was totally lacking when he arrived.

There will never be another player like Flower because of one thing that made him stand out amongst so called champs including Carey, Voss, Matthews and Ablett. That is HUMILITY. And you have got to watch for something like humility. That said I was never lucky enough to meet him. I think? Two players were similar, Baldock and Jesaulenko, saw both of them often, probably without the humility.

Boxing is a fantastic form of anaerobic fitness that involves very little loading of the joints. It gets the heart rate right up. It's also very good for upper body strength.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hypocrite

And we lose yet another legend of the Australian music scene...sad news indeed http://www.noise11.com/news/music-news-r-i-p-easybeats-legend-stevie-wright-1947-2015-20151227

a hero of my youngerself one of our greats. you know what, ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvw1sRjzhC4

I miss those days at the cricketer arms then March off to,the G to hand out a flogging, Daniher and Northery what great coaches as for Gutnik he's the best president Iv seen in my time he took the club to a GF and from were I'm sitting it could be years before that happens again.

Lacking the motivation to go to sleep right now, I had a look on a USB I had sitting around and discovered us vs Collingwood on there. Round 18 that is. It's funny looking back and remembering watching it live. I seem to recall commenting on here about it being a stereotypical Melbourne start to the game. There's a dodgy free kick directly in front of Collingwood's goal to open the scoring. Nathan Jones tries to show leadership by playing on blindly and getting into trouble. Grimes takes a little too long with the ball and winds up kicking it out on the full. Fortunately, this is the incarnation of the Demons that was starting to show that they can hold their own in this weight division and rather than dropping their collective bundle they were able to keep their [censored] together and play like footballers after the first few minutes. I'm quite looking forward to the rest of it.

On Monday 14th December I ventured down to the paddock to record some images of the Dees training as I'm want to do from time to time and posted around 100 photographs of the Dees at work. To post the 100 pictures I take around 500 pictures and share what I consider to be a representative cover of the boys effort on the day. You don't see every frame that I take. I thought that because we are now in a bit of a hiatus with the cub shut down till next year that I would spend I bit of time exploring one of my passions (photography) examining the result of my afternoons work and sharing an extended view of what I see at training covering one of my other passions (The Dees).. I'll go through the full 500 shot gallery and pick selected shots and sequences over the next couple of weeks until the boys are back in town. You'll see shots you have already seen in the original post but they will be in context with other shots. If you have no interest in this, have a lovely Christmas and I'll see you in the new year. For all of the rest of you, the first small set is of the big Gawn. Two of the shots were in the original post. Take 1 : The big GawnStar ==>https://six6six.smugmug.com/Monday-take-1/n-VjjkJf Take 2 : The Truck ==> http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-KXgjvb Take 3 : Forgotten and dedicated #2 ==> http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-TGsdp6 . Good Luck Jack. We are all on your side Take 4 : Christmas with the kids ==> http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-GPKdqr Take 5 : Boxing Day ==> https://six6six.smugmug.com/Monday-Take-5/n-h4LbMb Take 6 : Who's the cat in green? => http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-TBqQ45 Take 7 : Gotcha => https://six6six.smugmug.com/Monday-Take-7/n-FhDcXL Take 8: Best of the rest => https://six6six.smugmug.com/Monday-Take-8/n-VtHMMQ ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Original Gallery ==> http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-vWmhGZ

I reckon leave it as it is then during the season, add 1 extra player every 5 weeks dependent on form and merit

Also Gary Hardeman

You need to revisit it watching "press red for ed" in the last quarter for maximum effect....

Not trying to pick a fight but there are some champions that didn't play finals Trevor Barker 230 games Gary Hardiman 224 games Bob Skilton 217 games three Brownlows 1 Final Kevin Murray though I think he played a couple of finals. Finals do not always make the superstar.

Right now I'd pay to watch Richmond play Carlton or the Lions. I need football back now.

You are truly unbelievable..Just keep charging on. I actually worked with a Board Member during all of the Gutnick reign and beyond & i was told a lot of what was going on first hand. Yes Joe put in a lump of $$, which also got him a lot of exposure. Did you know who Joe Gutnick wasbefore the merger?? I certainly didn't. Even though Joe was a passionate Demon who did save the club from merging, he was almost impossible to work with At Board Level. "Let's work as a Team and do it my way" so he had to go...The saddest point in all this was that Szondy was a worse option...

Not arguing at all Stuie, that's your domain. And please don't call me your pal. Just pointing out that Joe did not get us to the GF and, whilst very generous, he also did substantial damage off his own bat. I'd have thought that was common sense, but if you feel otherwise so be it. After all, you "had a little bit to do with the club at the time" so you must know.

No point in consulting the guilty parties as to whether they should be exposed or not. I think we could guess their response. The only question is was it right to expose the guilt. Many of us think Essendon would have saved both themselves and the game a lot of pain if they had done so.

Having the integrity to clean up dirty corrupt practices in the MFC should be applauded EVERY time. Take a look the the EFC to see where a lack of Integrity and a disregard for the competitions rules leads. Why should he consult with those in the club whom were quite likely approving or tacitly allowing these practices to go on? Given the club has been borderline bankrupt for several decades, tipping his own (substantial) monies in should NOT be downplayed. And he appointed the coach who took us to the GF, which is as much as any good president could hope to do, and more than most presidents of the MFC have done, in this regard.

Rehab is ongoing for life. Suspension is over in the new year I believe. I heard a rumour that Stuie is his new bff.

Fork Matthews. I loved Smithy though. Just ironed his name and #35 on to my trusty duffel coat when he changed to #1 so .... Thanks for that mate.

Matthews copped heaps, took it, gave it back, won matches, won B&Fs, won premierships. I wish he played for Melbourne.

A little off the main thrust of the topic, but I'm sure Matthews not only received as much as he gave, but knew to expect it, too. Which means he wasn't a coward at all. He knew he'd be on the receiving end of retribution and went ahead with the tough stuff anyway. Unrelated to the above, he's the best player I've ever seen, but not the most enjoyable to watch. That honour goes to Robert Flower.

Good article on Steve and the third ex Demons player to preside over the running of the MCC. Now, as for Matthews, I believe he's the only player to have been charged by the police with criminal assault while playing football. A nice little millstone around his neck.

While I agree with you to a certain degree in that he is now not seen as the Messiah, the 23+ pages on this thread plus the number of other threads dedicated to him on this forum indicates that supporters still place him under a microscope and critique every one of his actions. No matter what he or the team does from this point forward, I am confident that he will be heavily scrutinized until the day he retires.

As a kid I loved Steve Smith..I've always prefered a tough backman over a flashy forward. Matthews.... Great player but a thug. He could have won multliple Brownlows but he was a thug. Some of the thing he did should have seen him in jail. I don't mind biff when 2 guys want to go toe to to toe - happy to do it myself if that is what it takes -, but Matthews was never anything more than a king hit coward

Leigh Matthews was a coward who very much preferred to attack players who we're looking the other way. How he didn't kill Peter Giles outright is anyone's guess considering he singled him out for treatment every time Hawthorn played Melbourne.

Well it comes down to a few things. If you consider them all to be best 22, then they all must lift. We've been carrying passengers for years. We can't have depth until we have a best 22, and at this stage I think that is still undecided. A lot of people keep referring to Jetta as a player who came good. Let's keep that in perspective, he plays back pocket, yes he plays his role with great efficiency but his role is concentrated around shutting down his immediate opponent, not setting up play coming out of defence. His role at times requires him to be more reactive then proactive, I say that because yes he thinks and puts himself in the right spots by reading the play but at times all small defenders can do is follow their man around. Players like Betts, Wingard, Rioli and Stevie J are so hard for defenders to play against because half the time they don't even know themselves what they're about to do. Jetta's disposal is serviceable for the role he plays, it's not elite nor is he kicking them out on the full. I love his aggression and attack on the ball/ball carrier. He tackles to hurt. Grimes is entering his ninth season and still struggles in a major way with two fundamental basics of the game, disposal and decision making. His defensive capabilities are sound but it's not enough, not for the position he plays and not after 8 seasons. Midfield isn't an option not even as a stopper. I think this is Grimes last year at the club possibly in the AFL. I'd be very surprised if Richmond wants him. If we have minimal injuries he'll be lucky to play a game in 2016. H takes the game on, has aggression in his game, offers some run but after nine seasons his disposal needs improvement. He also goes missing for large periods of games. He has two seasons to go on his contract then he can go too.

Good on Joe Burns. No senators son. Also Usman. Not a Marsh either. Well done selectors. As always,feck the admin for letting WI get weak.

Warnie is his jovial self on channel nine. No mention of the SW Foundation today,funnily enough. What an utter disgrace our charitable organisations have become. Worse than irrelevant peddlers of chicken and beer our cricketers are nowadays.

I saw Robbie play finals-his body was finished but he was still the most skilled man on the ground. Plugger Lockett? This "finals make a player" argument is bogus. Enough good players in one team allows a team to make the finals and the better team wins the final. This idea that greatness comes from finals is just simply not true. Robbie refused good money from other clubs that won Finals.

Source?

No hate from me. I rate the bloke - on and off the field. He'll prove many of the haters wrong in 2016.

Just dropped in after about 17 pages of absence. Looks to me like a shiPload of electrons have been sent flying around the Internet and made absolutely no impact on their targets. Back in another 17 pages or so.

It's a pity the AFL didn't put up a highlight package of Jurrah playing to compliment the story. You'd think it would have taken all of 5 minutes to put together and it would remind people of his extraordinary skills. Jurrah faced the biggest adjustment of any footballer to play the game at AFL level. When he arrived in Melbourne he didn't know how to get money out of an ATM, he didn't know how to buy food at the supermarket, he didn't know how to drive in the city and he didn't know what was involved in representing an AFL club. He landed on Mars. Melbourne organized Ian Flack to basically be Jurrah's keeper but when Neeld came along with his tough boy stance it wasn't long before a unique talent withered on the vine. Jurrah isn't suited to AFL footy. He comes from a different culture, almost a different world. Just as I couldn't adjust to his world I don't think he can really adjust to ours and that has been shown by the issues he's faced since he left. As much as I loved watching him I wonder if footy didn't ruin his life and I think it probably would again. I'd be astounded if he ever played AFL footy again.

Kicked 10 from 16 shots. That's a pretty reasonable percentage. But don't let using the full stat ruin your shallow analysis.

my mentor told me that sometimes people get the truth confused with opinion.

Fantastic stuff Pro! Flower would have stood rightfully on the stage with any player to play in the modern era. As well as his brilliance he was versatile. Perhaps it was in a game against WA above but in the last quarter and with the game in the balance Victoria had no key position forwards and Flower was moved to CHF where he was opposed to Ross Glendinning. He won the match for the Vics taking Glendinning apart. He was a superstar and anyone who doesn't think it didn't see his career. I saw much of it. I started going to the footy every week where possible from about 1970 onward and reckon I saw him play on 200 or more occasions. He is clearly the best player I've seen in red and blue and the only players who come anywhere near having his level of skill and match day influence were a pre knee David Schwarz and the fruit cake who was Allen Jakovich. As good as players like Neitz, Lyon and Stynes were they didn't hold a candle to Flower.

Flower was a genuine superstar of the game and it's only those that either weren't born or were primary school kids when he retired that would even question his status. It was a different era with no AFL and 12 Victorian teams. At times in his career Flower was considered the best player in the league, which is why he captained his state. He was invariably named best aground or in the "best" in winning teams for the Big V. Imo, Flower should have been named on the wing in the team of the 20th century, but the fact that he was considered in the 4 for that position (along with Peter Matera) is testament to his standing. Consider that again for one moment - Flower was considered in the best 4 wingman in 100 years of footy when footy was all about positional play. Flower was inarguably the greatest goal kicking wingman of all time (40 goals from a wing one year) and in my view should have made that team. If you're not overly familiar with Flower it's probably best that you don't posit an opinion.

The delusional one wants 2016 to be the 'year of facts'. Well for a start you let us all know what you sanctioned//authorised/encouraged/organised to be injected into the players. That would be some facts we want to hear about. And he records, James, where are they? Wow, he is simply living on another planet. I know lots of people that know him and/or who have met him. There isn't a kind word to be said by any of them about him or his wife, And according to Gil the dill at a recent function, CAS is a lot more prepared than ASADA.....

I remember when I first saw Paul Poupolo and thinking he was a bit of a scrubber. While lacking the class of some of his teammates he's become a handy contributor, who has a knack of doing something important just when it was needed. While different sorts of players, I have the same feeling about Neal-Bullen. I reckon when the team needs it he'll kick that goal or lay that tackle. I think he'll will himself to be a regular part of the 22 and get the most out of his God given talents. Just a hunch.

You can relax now. Jake Lovett has penned a two year deal with the Casey Scorpions. He was the second son of a gun to sign with the club in recent days after Todd Vander Haar. And to top it all off, James Freeman, 189cm (son of former Saint Peter) has also joined the club from the Dandenong Stingrays. He kicked 33 goals in the TAC Cup this year.

It was only an early glimpse, but I liked the look of him at training. He reads the play really well at a stoppage and loves bursting clear. A nice touch was Jesse wandering over under his own volition and joining in two or three stoppage drills with the newbies and Brett Allison. After one of them he had the groups attention for 30 seconds or so as he gave some tutelage. He then wandered off somewhere else. He has an unmistakeable leadership quality.

Agreed but he isn't the first key forward coming into the comp with high expectations and won't be the last. When we are successful debut seasons from the likes of Brayshaw, Hogan, Petracca etc should be the icing on the cake - not the reason we are going to have a good or bad year.