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umm Dyson Heppell... are you kidding me.... I wonder if Lance Armstrong does cycling commentary?

Spencer is huge, aggressive, dirt cheap and if he was required to play during the year, while not a match winner, he wouldn't be smashed in the ruck. We have talls on our list to develop and Spencer is a bit of protection until they emerge. The only issue is that if he and Gawn go down we're in a bit of trouble.

I don't see him as a list clogger in that he provides us with some very important backup. Like I said, I don't think he's a world beater, but I see his value to the club. He's a free agent this year and it will be interesting to see what the club decides to do with him.

Always so many "ifs" IF we had picked Wines, or Stringer, we may have won a few more games and never had a look in at Brayshaw and Petracca. Time to move on.

Having Heppell on is a disgrace.

Robbo: (Burps) Dyso I imagine it just be really hard on you boys (small beer burp) waking up in the morning and just getting on with it, being innocent and all. Heppell: Yehhhh naahhhhh yeh sort of like you just wake up and yeh but na the boys are all yehhh. I made the mistake of watching Heppell on the Footy Show once before, he really is a ditz. One less fox footy show to tune into now.

Not really... Remember the 'veil of negativity' comments, which forced the club into a double-twisting-backflip clarification as to whether it was the supporters or the club at fault? (It was the whinging fans in the end). That was terrible PR from PR.

What a pity we won't get to hear Roosy repeat the same old rhetoric week, after week, after fkn week. Buckley and Scott on Monday nights..... Suddenly MKR looks pretty good.

Mid-2014 I believe is when he signed the extension. Regardless of when he did sign an extension, I'm glad the club showed a bit of faith in him. I do enjoy watching him throw his frame around and occasionally rag doll the opposition. He didn't have a bad game either in our win over the Cats when Hogan was out.

so you can be banned from a sport for taking drugs and then make money off it in the media while you are banned? wtf

All good. They are both signed up now. MFC called and we did it quickly and easily over the phone. Always going to renew, but I want to know my club are on the ball for memberships and follow up enquiries. We need to be efficient in this area, given we can't afford to lose too many.

I Think FB Jetta Dunn Garland HB Salem TMac Hunt C Grimes Jones Vince HF Kent Frost Harmes FF Watts Hogan Garlett R Gawn Vandenberg Viney INT Tyson Brayshaw Petracca Pederson Lots of others unlucky Backs - Dunn and Garland are the rocks, Jetta and Hunt the run and carry and run down pressure, Salem the sweeping deliverer (similar to flash) and McD takes the best tall and has the aerobic ability to carry through the end of the game Mids - Jones VDB Brayshaw Viney Tyson for the inside muscle. Grimes Vince for the ouside run and Harmes Petracca for forward marking ability. Forwards- Hogan Frost best keys. Kent Garlett best smalls Watts played his best at the intraclub leading from deep. Flexability - Pederson covers everything Forward,Back and Ruck.

Nothing wrong with fielding a strong side. He does go on to say that it's an eight man bench, so in reality, it's your best side plus four playing emergencies. The idea being to have the team fully firing for round one. We don't have the luxury of easing into the season, nor will we be resting any stars so they're fresh for September. The MFC list, if anything, needs every possible opportunity to play together as a team as there has been such a big list overhaul once more this preseason.

That's the understatement of the millennium.

This has gone a bit off topic, but anyway, I was at a talk given by the Bulldogs recruiter Simon Dalrymple last week and he said ruckman are super hard to find. Apparently Port were willing to pay heaps for Jamar had they been given a top up player. The Bulldogs wanted a look at an 18 year old but the TAC club said that they didn't want to put their forward structure out on the eve of finals. It's very hard to find physical, competitive, athletic (endurance, speed and agility) and skilled big men. Spencer is 0/10 in skills but with a good run at it potentially better than average in the other categories. Max King has lovely skills but needs to work on the other 3 aspects. Mitch King is just a baby for a ruckman but I like his game sense and his skills are ok for an 18 year old ruck. I wish we had the spare cash to have an international prospect developing. Maybe it's something we will get to next year.

They overlooked the Golden Boy a seat back on the couch? I bet he appeals it.

I'd laugh if at years end he was told he couldn't and got rubbed out for another year... actually, that's a bit harsh... but funny.

No great fan of Roosy's diplomatic waffle but Scott isn't much of an improvement. Heppell is just an insufferable choice, tempered only by the fact that Goddard was ten times worse.

A lot of people, actually. There's a reason the press is called the fourth estate. Why isn't it possible to worry about such things and what the press do as well?

Mr Finals...Keating wasn't too bad 'Bombay'

No. Never.

I'm thinking of doing this this year. When you say 'watchable', how big is the TV you're using? Obviously the bigger the TV the worse it will look. I've found screen casting is very hit and miss. Native chromecast compatibility is pretty much flawless in every app I've used, but clearly the AFL will never integrate this because it would [censored] off foxtel. Also I assume the sound is still coming from the phone and isn't being cast to the TV? BTW does anyone else think it's completely moronic that we can't just buy an AFL subscription that lets us watch it on whatever device we want? I'd love a native TV streaming app I'm never buying foxtel. Ever. $50 per month to watch 2 hours of footy a weekend? No thanks.

The umpires and/or MRP? Aparently the AFL have decided that "tackling too hard" will not be tolerated. And of course, being undefined, test cases will be set up using players from the 'lesser teams'. Can't see them testing it out on any of their 'special clubs'.

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since I received my copy of "Breakfast with Bails" in the mail early last month. I finally opened up the book this morning to find the place where I had left off reading the early chapters that were available to download onto Kindle and which I read while in flight above the United States. I have now read a further 3½ pages that resonate strongly on a number of levels, particularly after witnessing an outstanding film based on the true story of how a team of reporters from Boston Globe investigated and ultimately exposed a massive cover up at the highest level of abuse within the Catholic Church which had enormous ramifications worldwide, including in Australia (and judging by the weekend’s headlines, it remains a very much live issue). The events covered were disturbing in themselves and for that alone I recommend that you see Spotlight but there was also a sub text that leads me to the story of the 3½ pages of the book about Dean Bailey. I'm referring to the work of the characters in the film - "investigative journalism": a search for the discovery of the truth about a single topic of interest. A search that involves the delving into of documents, interviewing witnesses and researching issues. Checking the facts or if you like, "accountability reporting". We saw it to effect in the work of Fairfax journalists Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie with Stephen Dank and the Essendon saga, just as we saw the opposite with the other type of journalist which brings me to the football editor of the Herald Sun Mark Robinson, a Bomber fan whose body of work on that subject was downright embarrassing. It was also Robinson who threw Dean Bailey under a bus with his "Dead man coaching" story at a point not too far into the 2011 season. That's what the 3½ pages I read this morning were all about. "Robbo" with his "coaching pressure barometer" on his Foxtel programme had already designated Bailey as a high risk to lose his job but this was at a time when his team had a record of two wins and a draw in five games. The two met face to face and Robinson offered a dispassionate response that read a bit like the Nuremberg defence - "Yeah, I went too far; the heading was no good. But you gotta' understand I don't write the headings." In this case however, the words were also in the text of his article so Bailey could have called him for his bullshit but rather, simply unemotionally accepted it with a, "Yeah, no worries." That was Bails. The offending article came after a poor game from Melbourne against the Eagles in Perth. Bailey's team capitulated weakly to some heavy defensive pressure all over the ground, a performance that admittedly, set off doubts in many peoples' minds (including my own) about the style of coaching he had adopted for the still developing side, but Robinson was way out of line coming up with a virtual epitaph to Bailey's coaching career at such an early stage in the season. The team reacted in its next game with a 16 goal win over Adelaide at the MCG. Coaches of losing teams are an easy target and Robinson used his position in bully-like fashion. It was weak, cowardly and ugly but Robbo has form. Look at how he dealt with the Garry Lyon/Billy Brownless situation last week - more easy targets for one with an agenda who might not be too interested in checking his facts before firing bullets. And Robbo claims to be a mate of Garry's who even dropped in to play cricket with the family. Ironically, Lyon has taken flack in some quarters for his role in the appointment of both Bailey and his successor Mark Neeld who were both thrown under the buses by the media vultures. Robbo’s barbs must have had their effect on Bailey even if he didn't show it and even if he didn't read the on-line message boards and social media or listen to talk back radio and taxi drivers. I say this because from my brief experiences of speaking with him at a couple of Melbourne functions (he was always very approachable), I concluded he probably never felt completely secure in his role as the head coach of the club. There was a sponsor’s function at a Volvo showroom on the eve of the 2008 National Draft when I mentioned to him that one of the club's problems in recent years was its inability to turn high draft picks like Colin Sylvia and Brock McLean into champion footballers. He seemed to take this comment as a direct criticism of his coaching and I had to reassure him that this was not what I meant. At the time, Bailey had been coach for one season while Col and Brock had been at the club for five years without fulfilling anything close to their promise (or perhaps our expectations). Ironically, the club drafted Jack Watts with its number one pick on the following day. The "dead man coaching" tag followed Bailey for the rest of the season to the end of July that year. I expect the rest of the book will cover these events in some detail but I don't think it can be understated how difficult life was made for the coach of a team going through a topsy turvy season with an attendant build-up of tension through the club. The constant internal and external criticisms would have taken their toll as it does with all clubs where the coach is under pressure. As for Robbo, he would do well to look to characters like another Robinson - Walter "Robby" Robinson of the Boston Globe who led the Spotlight team's investigation to a Pulitzer Prize, rather than play for sensationalist headline grabbing attention for his agendas. On that note, I'll leave you with the comment of one who is said to have opined that when Robbo was chosen to replace Mike Sheahan at the Herald Sun it was like "replacing Frank Sinatra with a karaoke singer."

I was away from home on Friday .... in the middle of the bush with no mobile or internet coverage. So the obvious thing to do was to eat lunch on the run and drive the 30 odd Ks to where I could get reception, and some feedback on how the Intraclub went ...... and of course Demonland didn't let me down. Many thanks to those who provided reports, and nurtured my dreams for for 2016 (at least for another week)! Go Dees!!

I went along yesterday. Unusually good conditions for Casey Fields. CF is a terrible viewing ground and early in the season picking up players can be difficult. I agree with much of what has been said and I reckon that where you are standing can influence your view as seeing what's happening on the other side of the ground is hard. I agree with most of what's been said ubut where I differ from others I've noted below. I was surprised and quite impressed with Frost. Whilst his attributes were on display last year his ability to do anything with them wasn't. But he was ok to good yesterday which was promising. Watts was good, involved but I was disappointed with his kicking. Missed easy goals and some makable passes. I didn't think he played 3rd tall either, more high half forward but these things aren't all that easy to see. I thought Jake was very competitive against Gawn and the dominance of the "good" team was signifantly helped by Spencer's absence. Jake will never be a dominant player but if he is first ruck for us he will not make it easy for opposition ruckman. He's a good AFL backup ruck. We are not ruined if Gawn doesn't play. After the recent debate about Oliver I was looking out for him and I thought he was terrific and shows more that Brayshaw at the same stage (yes, I know about Brayshaw's injury situation last year). What was very evident yesterday was his ability to find the ball at stoppages and in general play. I thought his lateral movement was great and his vision excellent which led to good disposal by hand. Not so good by foot but he had a lot of mates in that regard yesterday. Salem is a gun. AVB found it heaps, Viney prolific Tommy Mac awful, Kennedy tough and Harmes impressive. But that has been reported by others. Ive been going to intraclub matches for 10 years now and haven't been impressed by the play once. Yesterday was no different. As PD says you go there to look for individual things.

Fair point, although that was once. I still felt as though he was able to go out on that program of a Monday night and minimize the damage a little, particularly in his first year. He was terrific at being concise while also giving an answer that didn't really address too much of what was going on. Sometimes I thought we might get crucified by the media but, on occasion, he helped to keep that to a minimum.

Heppell will be a Mark Robinson initiative, because he's a card carrying Bomber supporter, who was anything but balanced during the peptides saga.

Gave up on that show last year. Even more reason not to watch from here on in. It has become a rest home for the alcohol affected, drug abusers or the concussed.

Seriously, what the [censored] is Heppell meant to even talk about? He isn't allowed near the club, all he can offer is an insight into what it's like to be a banned drug cheat. And guess what, nobody gives a [censored]! Much less hearing about it for 30-odd weeks straight!

this is the afl, where the sky is green and the grass is red

They have had a NAB game with the chance to sell more.

Hopefully get rid of him. I don't put him into the important back up category . He is not someone that can push forward and kick a goal as he has zero football smarts. If Gawn goes down you can almost kiss our season goodbye. I know this may sound hard but its the reality on Spencer. Petet Wright from the GC is reportedly homesick and could be looking to come back home. I would absolutely jump at the opportunity at him.

I agree that the reason Spencer has been on the list for so long is because of our shockingly shallow ruck stocks for such a long time. And we're certainly in no better position going into this season. Gawn has the ability to become one of the game's most influential and dominant ruckman. If he gets a serious injury this year, it will impact the team hugely. Spencer is not a footballer. He cannot influence games like Gawn can. Spencer contests well enough but has zero football smarts and runs around like a headless chook usually. I think it's something we definitely need to address next year, especially now that Jamar has left. We'll need a mature ruckman who has more ability than Spencer. Gawn playing a full season for us this year will do wonders for the team's chances in climbing the ladder.

It'd be interesting to know what percentage of time Spencer's been injured since we drafted him. Seems to struggle with injuries every year.

I think the group wants to stay together, therefor their contracts will take care of themselves.

You know the shocking turnovers and poor decisions he makes at HB when he has time to think ? I haven't noticed them in MS or the intraclub when he was on the wing/outside. I can't say that he hasn't turned it over, but he's found plenty of it, used it well (from memory) and shown a bit of toe. That said, if I named a preferred 22 he wouldn't be in it. But I wouldn't be surprised if he was named come round one. With a few others he's pushing hard.

AFL rule 1: one rule for "marquee clubs": another for "also rans", those that are there to make up the numbers.

You can mirror what is on your Android phone through the chromecast if your Android version is over 4.1 I think (Jellybean). You download the chromecast app, open it, click on the 3 horizontal lines icon in the top left, and click "Cast Screen" What is on your phone will then show up on the telly if you have it on the correct hdmi input. So then just open the AFL app and play the game and it should be right to go. I do it all the time, quality isn't amazing but definitely watchable

GWS have had some shocking picks but they seem to get ignored by he footy fraternity. Much more fun to pick on melbourne

And speculation is all it will ever be, as it's a little too draft tampering-ish for anyone to ever officially say it happened. It resonates well with me though and I think it did.

Ethan,committing to DL depends on my mental health,if we are zero 4 I will be going nuts. Also depends on who I will be sleepy with. I know that I am already nuts dazzle.

Didn't take long for this to become another Watts discussion thread

I think that you will find that he is more committed to MFC than that. I think the chance of playing in the first Demons Premiership for over half a Century would mean more to him than the money (particularly when he has suffered through the dark years)!

Can you believe the reporter said (Hogan and McDonald) "both are off contract this season" ? What has happened to journalism when basic facts are not checked ? And then he acknowledges that Hogan is signed to the end of 2017.

[re: Margaret Wenham] This is totally unfair. No way is she that ugly.

Surprised at the concern re TMac. He didn't star but certainly held his own and showed his class on occasions - was also very vocal with instructions. Only knock would be that he got caught with the ball a couple of times but he was noticeably taking players on (perhaps under instruction). He also made several centimeter perfect passes over 30-40 meters. At one stage Jade Rawlings ran onto the ground to congratulate him on getting through traffic and kicking a great pass that resulted in a shot at goal. Had to wait to be heard as Tom was shouting instructions to teammates re positioning. FWIW thought Grimes played well and seemed to be enjoying the freedom of the wing.

nice to kick off season with a win does that make it two in a row?

Level 7

Watts will kick 30+ this year. Will have the attention taken off him and the delivery will be a lot better. He is one of the best set shots in the team and all he needs is his leads honoured. He will have a good year. Our forward line hasn't been a good hunting ground for mid sized forward for a long time. You get the vibe with Hogan taking the best defender and Garlett taking the small defender, Watts will be able to play his natural game. I have never felt more positive about the bloke.