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Having rewatched the games against Richmond and Rd18 against the Pies, I've concluded that this bloke requires a bit more love, including from me. He was a mixture of tenacity, skill and composure on both occasions. Sure, he might wear the "mental scars of the past" a little more visibly than others, but his effort can rarely be questioned. He is now a resolute and versatile defender who I have little doubt several other clubs would've been sniffing around before he put pen to paper. Seeing him slump to the ground on the verge of tears after a home and away win says everything about the journey he has been on, and what this club means to him. Here's to a great 2016 for a bloke who deserves success as much as anyone.

The Demons aren't heavily invested in shoulder injuries, we're cornering the market in foot and toe related injuries. It pays to specialise.

Love the bloke! Even more so after he re-signed, and gave a couple of drive-bys to players that have left through FA. Started training early with the young blokes too, we need more players like him.

Kent and the Kings Absolutely love Roos' comments about Kent: I can't wait to see what this guy can do if he can stay injury free.

(I mentioned the war once but I think I got away with it)

Great thread P-man. I can never understand the hate for Garland. An absolute warrior in a dark period for the MFC. He is a pure kick of the footy despite what some on here think. His decision making hasn't been flash every single time but nor would Judd's or Ablett's playing in our backline over that period. You are in a pressure cooker with limited mates. Everyone knows he plays on the fastest smalls and strongest talls, his versatility is unquestionable. Loves the MFC and has said a premiership at another club would mean nothing too him. He hasn't been fit for years. Watch out this year when he does a pre-season (he did last year but finished half a lap behind everyone else, even in the 400m's). Roos will rotate him through the midfield more often, he (Roos) loves the bigger bodied players.

Spreadsheet on Missons PC.

Just like Sylvia... except: He has never had off field trouble He is lauded by the coaches He has performed admirably season after season I've never heard anybody say he is a wasted talent He hasn't been traded to another club with "better development" that could fix him up He hasn't been delisted

American Airlines and enjoyment seldom go in the same sentence.

Hey Lads and Ladies, Enjoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFcb3LaIOuo

Garlands true worth is somewhere between most of the views here I reckon. He offers us great flexibility to play on talls and smalls and was more important to keep over the off season than the one trick highlight reel who ran over to Lexus. His attack on ball is better than a lot give credit for which is veiled by his relaxed look. His disposal is a pass but not great. His main issue is he is prone to once he makes an error by disposal or decision to make multiples as he loses focus/confidence. I expect if injury free he will play third defender all year but unlike other years will be pushed out by better depth if he doesn't maintain his best. It sounds like his off season application so far is giving him every opportunity to do this.

i think he's a spokesman for women seems he thinks they are not capable of expressing their feelings and thoughts but he is better suited i wonder if that is a type of sexism in itself?

Oh FFS. Hmmmm double standards? Like how women weren't allowed to vote, were told what to wear, not allowed in certain establishments, how they're paid less, have less opportunities (especially in sports), whistled and yelled at every day, beaten and murdered by their partners over 4x more... Yep, there is a bit of a double standard I reckon... This widely shared post sums it up for me: "Okay, here's the deal for all the BLOKES sharing the footage of that one time a woman hit on a man on TV and asking where the outrage is (E.g. Sunrise weather presenter Nuala Hafner hitting on the dude on the beach): Women are subjected to harassment and discrimination almost every day of their lives. From walking to the shops, using public transport, drinking at a bar... just being out in [censored] public around men. Multiply that 'every day' scenario by an average of say, 20 years, and would you agree that it might wear a bit thin? You might even start to feel like a piece of meat, or that you're lesser in some way to men? Simply there to serve men's needs etc... Then add the fact that they're underpaid when compared to men, beaten and killed weekly by men in domestic partnerships, and a plethora of other examples and scenarios on a daily basis where men exert their dominance over women. So when Chris Gayle is just 'having a bit of a muckaround with Mel', maybe think about the fact that Mel's been subjected to that [censored] her ENTIRE [censored] LIFE. How do I know? Because I've objectified women as a young male, and so have you (you're [censored] lying if you say you haven't). So you can shove that 'double-standards / selective outrage' [censored] right up your privileged male arses. Maybe try to add something constructive to the conversation and lead by example, especially if you're raising children. Add to the behavioral change all of us blokes need, rather than sharing this predictable [censored] male response, it's [censored] embarrassing."

Kinda the very definition of victim blaming isn't it?? They were both in their workplace, it's not her responsibility to put him in his place.

I have the facts. Petracca is out for 4-6 weeks with a busted up fifth metatarsal. He did it playing basketball in his backyard. A selection of posters think he is a bit of an idiot. A selection of posters think it's just one of those things. I'm not bothered. It is what it is. I'm a Zen buddhist though.

If we didn't know it we're fools. If we did know it and went ahead anyway....we're..... Hmm..still fools.

Try re-watching the St Kilda game and see why some criticise him. A performance that was frustrating beyond belief for a senior player.

Yes, the Richmond win was especially emotional for him. And who can forget his elation when he jumped into Neeld's arms after we snatched a win from EFC a year or two ago (he played FF that day and kicked a few). He is by all accounts a quiet man but he wears his heart on his sleeve. Always a fan of his but my love for him went up after the Grand Final and he was asked what it was like to watch Frawley win a premiership. I don't recall his exact words but it was something like: '...if the premiership isn't with Melbourne it won't mean anything to me...' Hope we get it before he hangs up his boots.

Welcome to the nut house D Voted, enjoy the pre-season.It gets ratty here when we lose.

probably just playing in thongs

Oh...I remember Here are some sights for sore demon eyes: 1998 vs WC https://youtu.be/dZVeRYWyH9A 1990 vs Essendon : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owS0J1Jh4F4

I'm exactly one year younger than your good self. Enjoy Monday. Hopefull it brings bans for all Essendon listed players and the club itself ?

Sacked Norm Smith...

you are talking about a highly improbable freak accident vs a bloke who has openly admitted he was being 'stupid' and has drawn the ire of the coach, because he obviously put himself in unnecessary risk. If he was walking down the street and a piano fell on him then that is bad luck, but he brought this upon himself

If there's an interview with a player, they're criticised because it's "only words" and meaningless. If there's no interview with players, the club is criticised because of a lack of communication. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. (Not sure what exactly people expect them to say ...)

Yeah, different culture, and the public are having a hard time understanding why the hell this guy won't get back in his place. Aussie guys know their place, why doesn't Gayle? Why the hell won't he submit? Meh, we'll just ban him from Australia. Problem solved #feminism

Gayle is from a different culture. Inappropriate, but hardly worth all the uproar. Would have been funny to see Mel deliver a quick putdown line, but wasn't the case. As for idiotic comments about past inequalities being a basis for ignoring a similar indiscretion by a woman......typical of that poster. A crusader. Female warrior.

What a [censored] up club we are!! Yet we all love it!! It follows that we must all be [censored] up!!

I'm not speaking for women, I'm speaking to blokes. Not surprised you don't get that, and sadly not surprised by the comments in this thread.

It was only a matter of time. Are you part of every minority group in existence?

Yeah just like Sylvia. Oh wait he's not playing any more is he.....

such a Melbourne 'supporter'

On 9News last night Petracca stated he was playing basketball alone at home and landed awkwardly attempting a layup.

Good on you P-man. You've nailed your flag to the mast. For what its worth I reckon Col has been very good overall for numerous seasons, when the majority of others haven't , always tries and has been a great clubman. Every club needs loyal foot soldiers and I believe Col's one of those.

yeah, the only thing in common was the eyes

An extremely good question

Like too many - the gap between his good and bad is too wide for me. I know part of that is due to being in a very poor team for many years but again - I use Jones as the benchmark. Even though last year Jones was down on his output from the previous two years, the gap is not so big. If we have a team full of players with talent who best and worst is close - you have a good team

I could say that about 80% of his performances His favourite thing is coughing up a cheap free kick and gifting the enemy an early one Best in the comp at it

That's why I always preferred Dunstall over Lockett as a footballer. Lockett was such a presence that it was a matter of whether Lockett would do enough to get StKilda a win. Dunstall was a more inclusive player and didn't demand half the ground.

Doing the rounds on FB is the Sunrise reporter chatting up the muscle clad beach goer but that's different....

Pity Gayle said it.

from mfc site - " scans confirming a small crack to the fifth toe of his right foot. " according to google the 5th toe is the smallest one. being a toe it's one of three small phalanges (toe bones) Petracca to miss a portion of pre-season melbournefc.com.au January 5, 2016 5:57 PM Newsletter RSS Share MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 30: Christian Petracca of the Demons runs during the Melbourne Demons training session at Gosch's Paddock, Melbourne on November 30, 2015. (Photo: Adam Trafford/AFL Media) MELBOURNE’S Christian Petracca will miss a portion of the pre-season after injuring his toe during the Christmas break. Christian sustained the injury whilst playing basketball during the Christmas break period. He reported this soreness during screening on the first day back of pre-season training on Monday, with scans confirming a small crack to the fifth toe of his right foot. Christian will spend the next four weeks off legs and will then progress his rehab to get him back to participating in full training. Christian will still be able to continue the strengthening component of his knee rehabilitation program while recovering from this injury. Melbourne Coach Paul Roos said “Christian’s rehab up until this point has been going really well, but when you’re an AFL player, you need to understand that everything you do impacts your ability to prepare and contribute to the team and this incident is clearly an interruption. We have been very clear as a club about not putting expectations on our first year players, so its important to keep some perspective about this - It’s a harsh lesson for Christian, but one we are sure he is going to learn from as he develops as an AFL player.”

McKernan killed us in a final one year after the media had given him shot for weeks about his form. First contest he smashed us, I turned to the old man and said "we're fooked!"

Kent Kingsley 2001-2004 (yes, I know, certainly not a great of the game but on the topic of tearing us up..) In those 4 games, he had 31 scoring shots (19.12) from only 38 kicks. Still drives me bonkers how he averaged 4-6 goals against us for the better part of half a decade.....

Jason Dunstall in the merger match.

Reminds me of the stupid Sam Blease incident almost.

It's always a relief when a thread's bumped and I haven't posted in it...

ah yes, more discussion of skin folds and agility tests and the pretense that it all really matters these blokes put in pretty hard. They get a few weeks off over christmas to be very young men. give them a break FFS