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It's a team thing 'Moon', so much credit for the Geelong success has been given to Costa & Cook. Is it wrong that they get a lot of the credit for rebuilding Geelong? Could Geelong have made it without them? would Thomoson have survived as coach? Same at Hawthorn. Would they be where they are without the tireless work of Ian Dicker? what if Kennett had taken over earlier, would the greatest coach of the modern era be a just a footnote in the history of the Hawthorn football club? It takes a whole club to be a success, Joe might not have been the greatest but he did oversee some success and should at least be credited with that...

One of the photo sets from Six6six shows Petracca dummying right then stepping left to go around him. Oliver looked like he thought it was the best thing ever. I get the impression that the smile is pretty much a permanent fixture for him when he's playing. Looking at those photos shows that he has a lot of muscle to build to catch up with Petracca.

Good idea in theory, but to me the women's team is still part of the Melbourne Football Club. This part of the forum is here to discuss the club, not just the team, and they are a big part of it. They don't need their own forum as we can still have plenty of discussion here and include them in that.

Did they find them innocent or "fail to find them guilty"? Subtle difference.

I really appreciate the time you have taken to name those players. Many of us take time to get used to regognising new players, even some of the second years. Well done.

What we have right now is a highly combative midfield that is lacking in weapons. We have a whole bunch of players who will win contested ball and tackle. Most of them are pretty reliable with the ball as well which is nice. What we lack are really good ball users and significant pace. There's also a bit of a question mark over the hands of a few, as in their ability to grab the ball on the first attempt. I think that a lot of faith has been shown in a few young fringe players to develop into first team regulars to help fill these voids. Guys like Mitch White, Stretch and Hunt need to come on and give us those outside weapons to complement the rock hard core. If we see that, then we're going to be much better than 15th ranked in the league.

I'm sure plenty of dees supporters boo Scully or Frawley, yet within the same breath will be espousing the virtues of Hogan & Brayshaw.

Or Essendon injected Unknown substances that cure cancer saga

My New Year's Resolution is to stop bashing Watts. The scrutiny on him = the rest of the team put together. Hope he has a great season. Happy New Year!

I have to say, I am so impressed with the attitude Oliver has shown this year. The amount of weight he lost before being drafted, the way he attacked the draft combine, living away from his family to make it easier to play footy. I'm sure it's these things as much as his form late in the season that lifted him right up the order. So often we've had talented kids who didn't want to work hard. Here we seem to have a kid who started doing the hard work on his own and is loving being given more now that he's at a club. I really hope he continues in this vein.

Lighten up ya goose.

No, not really. But I agree with you. I think Garland will have his best year in 2016.

Maybe a few of the naysayers should view this footage! I suspect that they will accuse binman of doctoring up the footage however as it contains a) contested possessions, b) tackles and c) elite disposal, all of which should prove a revelation to many on this site!

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.

Nice puff piece but some important information on the transition of the club this year. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/paul-roos-looks-outside-box-as-transition-takes-place-20151229-glwize.html Good article to end 2015.

Dear Demonland, Just had a thought. Would a separate forum dedicated to the women's game be appropriate? Would there be enough support amongst fellow Demonlanders for such a move? It's an exciting time for Melbourne having been at the forefront of female footy by sponsoring the local league for many years and their performances in the exhibition games has been incredible. With each year and each exhibition game I've noticed a real shift in the thinking of the average Demonlander. There seems to be a genuine acceptance of and excitement about female footy in general and the role we could play in the proposed 2017 National Competition. I'd be interested to hear from the owners and moderators of the site and the Demonland populace as to whether this is a good idea and one that would garner sufficient support to make it worthwhile. I'd be happy to moderate the forum. Cheers

With respect, a handful of examples doesn't exactly prove that. Need a much bigger sample size (Statistics 101)!! e.g. watching him over an entire season, or seasons. However, your perception is your reality. As is mine!! That's why we have these forums. It's nice if, despite disagreeing, we can all be nice to each other. We certainly are ad idem in hoping JW has a great 2016. One thing we all agree on is that he is a ripping bloke

We need Dom Tyson to get back to his 2014 form. I am referencing the club website here but he finished 2nd in our B&F and polled 11 Brownlow votes (3 times three votes in a losing side) in 2014. It's fair to say he stagnated last season but he has got the the talent. I am tipping a marked improvement in 2016.

Is Don.....is done

How about Essendon drug cheating saga

Wish I looked like him.

Fairly harsh comparison there Maximus. Hercules, Schwarzenegger and your brother, Brutus, could all feel in need of a few gym sessions standing next to Petracca. The kid has a freakish build doesn't he Hopefully it will be a lot of fun watching them both develop as explosive midfield/forwards over next decade

I rate Salem as in our top 5 players despite the brevity of his career. I think the Bluey will reflect this if he gets through a full season. I expect us to finish 8th in 2016 so that would put our midfield in the Middle tier,roughly.

I went to the Richmond North final as my friend is a kangas supporter, and whenever Nahas got the ball the Richmond faithful booed him. I thought it was hilarious...booing a delisted player. Not the smartest idea.

I assume you mean a separate section of Demonland, not a new website entirely? I see no reason why Melbourne Demons - Women's Team couldn't be added alongside Melbourne Demons, General Discussion, Fantasy Footy, etc.

The current banner is done for 2016 and will not be added to.

Bet you he has the local govt involved in his business ventures as well. Nothing like a grant to get the wheels of the economy running again.

Brayshaw displayed some real footy smarts last season which were coupled with class and grunt. For a first year player taken at number 3 it was overs in my opinion. We've learnt not to place too much expectation on the youngsters and the club are managing them accordingly. It Oliver has as good a first season as Brayshaw we should be very pleased.

Yep 'stuie', I also think Petracca will play more time forward with a bit of a run through the midfield. He will be an important part of the midfield depth though. If he stays fit my money would be on him for the Rising Star in 2016...

Surely Goodwin would want to be drawing parallels with Smith, not Roos. lf we are to be dragged out of the mire and toward glory, he will be the one to do it. His appointment will determine our fate more than most. And I'm very happy that for the first year in many, I do not hope or expect our draftees to come in & play any significant role in 2016.

I want to support the women's game, but I think if it were kept on a separate forum I'd never look at it.

Why isn't Stretch included in this conversation?

9 games in 2016, rising star nomination, one finals game, 2017 rising star win, also a 2017 grand final performance in a premiership winning side... that'll do...

I believe we will exceed this prediction and I truly hope I'm right. The thing about 2016 which will lift us up these rankings and up the ladder will be the improvement in service from big Maxy plus the time our talented youngsters have had under the tutelage of Roos Goodwin and Mc Cartney. We get the feeling that our young emerging mids are really driven to succeed and leave their mark on the competition. I think all the ones mentioned have got the wherewithal to actually do it. Inshallah !!!!!

Played 11 games in his first year on the list......Often as the sub which equates to a quarter here and a quarter there. Did some very good things in matches and also panicked a few times as he got used to the tempo. I feel that he will be a very good player for us in the future. He is only nineteen.

Take 8: Best of the rest => https://six6six.smugmug.com/Monday-Take-8/n-VtHMMQ A small gallery to finish off this exercise. I'm off on a short beak now to recharge the batteries for the coming year. Hope you've all enjoyed this little indulgence of mine. Enjoy the New Year festivities and keep safe. The boys are back on Monday and the footy is just around the corner See you in the New Year. Go Dees,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipRmUx-W13I

And you think that is wrong? Running to a spot where he can get the ball, is a fault of his? Sounds smart to me. Now let me think about that, run for the easy pass, in other words make position, or run to somewhere dangerous, where my team mate might struggle with his skills to get it to me, or it may be knocked away and the other side rebound and goal. Dunstall made a career out of it. Look back at the replays and you will see him Dunstall leading away from the pack and the ball carrier, for a soft chip pass. Got most of his goals that way.

Rams should win... but can you trust us... Ha ha

I hear it's great this time of the year. You get to experience Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysia, Philippines and Taiwanese culture. all in the one place.

Surely the point here is under the WADA code it is the players personal responsibility to monitor and consent to what they swallow. This is drummed into every athlete who plays under the WADA rules at regular occasions throughout their careers. They cannot then turn around and say they did not know what they were taking. If that were the case and they still took it, they are very clearly guilty under the WADA code. The rules are very clear: if the information is not given to them before they take anything no matter what it is, it is the individual players responsibility to refuse to take it. If it subsequently turns out to be an illegal substance, then they cannot then say they didn't know as they are doing now. It is of course Richard Young's job to establish that CAS can be "comfortably satisfied" that it was an illegal substance, but that is a the level of proof at CAS which is much lower than was applied at the AFL Tribunal if past CAS cases are anything to go by.

From the Hun (apologies tried but for some reason could not get past the pay wall, so no link): JAMES Hird’s lawyer says the AFL is “reaping what it sowed” after the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday announced the Essendon drugs saga would spill in to a fourth year A couple of things come to mind. Firstly if anyone is reaping anything it is the essenden players - they're the ones who have to wait. And secondly it shows terrific chutzpa to blame the AFL for delays when Hird launched two appeals that stopped things in their tracks. Twice. Not to mention a better argument would be efc is reaping what it sowed given it decided not to take the cop in the way Cronullla did and instead elect to fight and drag things out.

666 appreciate the shots as whenever I have attended training I have felt: 1) a bit self-conscious whipping out my android when so many have serious cameras clicking, 2) conscious that there are some running around who I don't recognise. Would it be a massive impost over the off-season to caption some photos so we can familiarise ourselves with the new lads and lesser lights?

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.

i reckon it should be just Jack Watts, imagine the drama that would follow that. would be good for a laugh

Tom Baker ... Doctor Who?

shucks..................ok,...... if you insist......

Sorry but ya just have to throw Big Max in the mix....