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Such click bait, reading the article says more about him wanting to stay at Melbourne. Typical whirlwind in a tea cup when it comes to everyone's favourite whipping boy

What a ridiculous post. If you actually read his comments it is evident that his intention is to stay at the club.

"But with the way Melbourne are looking at the moment, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else to be honest." Fellow forward Jesse Hogan has delayed contract talks with Melbourne until the end of 2016, despite two-years still left to run on his current deal. Watts was unsure whether he too would join Hogan in holding off negotiations but said his immediate priority was focusing on his on-field performances. "I haven't really thought about that to be honest," he said. "I'll let it play out. I wouldn't mind playing some reasonable footy first and then speak to the club and get something sorted hopefully." - See more at: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-03-08/demon-watts-to-look-at-free-agency-options#sthash.KnAa9res.dpuf

Humility, right priorities, and an intention of loyalty. Not bad considering it seems like the conversation only happened because it was brought up by a journo. In fact, it seems to be precisely what anyone would have wanted to hear from Watts. And yet... someone always finds something to sook about.

Definitive statement about how he wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Token line about considering the free agency process. And this is the headline they create. Bad enough from an independent media company, but pure drivel from the AFL's own media department.

Don't underestimate the value of Trengoves come back which now seems imminent. Fully fit he is a gun.

Have criticised him a lot in the past and I'm at the stage where I've accepted he'll never be the game changer I wanted him and expected him to be with the hype that surrounded him. Contributed really well on the weekend and whilst there'll continue to be aspects of his game that I'll wince at, he could be a really handy and versatile third tall this year and down the track when Weideman is ready. Hogan, Weideman, Watts and Petracca could be the fab four with Garlett and Kent eating crumbs down the track. They need to play a lot together and form a bond. But it could be special. Hoping he has a really strong year in the forward-line and hits the scoreboard hard. I believe he can.

change the thread title ban poster for life

The substance Scharapova has been taking was banned with effect from 1 January 2016. All athletes were warned well in advice. Like the Essendon players she was very careless and like them, she's gawn.

Interesting that the same article on the MFC site has a different headline: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2016-03-08/i-want-to-remain-at-melbourne-watts.

One thing Watts can't be criticised for is his love of the club. I have never seen a happier player after a win and I have heard in several interviews how Jack contributes to morale - is always upbeat and lightens the atmosphere around the place. I think he is highly likely to stay if offered a reasonable deal.

Sorry. It really does for those of us who remember. Hogan, Viney, Gawn, Brayshaw, Petracca, Oliver, Salem, Gartlett, Tyson...... if T Mac could kick & Watts keep it up it could happen again. Pls God & Norm Smith, let this happen!!!!

This is one of the saddest pieces of news I've heard in recent times. Ross Hannaford formerly of Daddy Cool, Billy-T, Paul Madigan and the Humans etc etc, has passed away after losing his battle with cancer - he was 65. A truly lovely person and a brilliant musician. http://www.noise11.com/news/r-i-p-daddy-cool-legend-ross-hannaford-1950-2016-20160308

That's exactly what I said. Can't believe you've been back on the boards for about an hour and already I'm deleting your posts... Edit: Back on topic please

My blood pumps harder and longer watching Sharapova play....... And weren't Nike quick to step away from their contract with her.....The EFC sponsors should take note.....

This is how the thread should have kicked off.

The intent he's showed in the first two practice games is a minimum benchmark for Watts. I think he'll have a cracker year, re-sign and ultimately be a one club player.

He may have jumped the fence on purpose, with momentum up this to me is the safest option. I'd rather not collide with a steel fence.

No commentary is needed about MFC employees on this Forum. If you have concerns, raise them with the club.

Tennis has been slow with drug testing and gambling. They are a classic example of why sporting organisations should not be supervising themselves. They have a vested interest to find nothing wrong. I lost interest in large international sport some years ago only to then find my loved AFL was as bad as the rest of them. The more money involved the more corruption. The only reason I stay involved with AFL is the MFC but I take little notice of games that do not involve the MFC.

well...there ya have it With new found time on hands maybe she can pop over to Windy Hill and give a pep-talk !!

Lol at the essendon fans getting stuck into sharapova on twitter while saying essendon Players never failed a drugs test. Cant believe these guys are serious

I'll be pleasantly surprised if Trengove comes back and makes an impact. As it is I'm not factoring him in and if he does come back it's a bonus. That's not to say I don't think he'll make it, just that I'm not factoring him in. I'm hoping he doesn't become another Mark Coughlan who looked like a future captain at Richmond before injury destroyed his career,

If this was a game for 4 points I would agree, bank the 4 points and move on. In the context of it being a practice game I think it's fair to look at more than just the final scores to have a look at how we played and how we played against the opposition in front of us. Those of us saying it wasn't a good performance aren't the ones overreacting here - I don't think any of us are really getting too hung up on it. On the contrary it's those who refuse to acknowledge the poor performance who seem incapable of taking on board any critical analysis. Again, I was far more impressed with the game the week before against Port than this week against the Dogs. That is regardless of the outcome, simply looking at the style of play, the effort, attack and execution. As an example look at Dean Kent's game against Port compared to his game against the Dogs. That's just one example of many. At the end of the day it won't mean anything in a couple of weeks but right now there was enough to be disappointed in the weekends game. Not angry or frustrated, just disappointed.

Good on her and I actually hope WADA view it rationally. I actually dont think she was trying to be cute about taking a supplement at the edge... in actuality the list changed on her. But, shes taken it on board and puts her hand up. WOW.. Im really impressed to tell the truth. Shes everything essendon ISNT

Dammit, I wish someone had lent her a red sash.

Gee, that video brings back some childhood memories! Really, when you see that team, which included Jimmy, Garry Lyon, Schwarta, Stinger, the Lovetts, Todd Viney, the Febeys. They were certainly the glory days of supporting Melbourne for me. Is it any wonder, when you watch how they played, why guys like Jimmy, Garry and The Ox get so facking frustrated at the shambles that we became? God, in the last 10 years, it is only a couple of those Bailey wins that even come close to the thrill of watching clips like that.

I think Jobe is gone. The flame has gone out. Age and injury wise he is near the end and he will not get any quicker. More importantly, all the suggestions are that his heart is not in it anymore. I think Jobe Is decent human being and he was a very good footballer before the drug scandal. For Jobe and others it was all so unnecessary and they were coerced into the injection regime by a man that was obsessed by winning and doing whatever it takes. But Jobe and others could have said "no" but they didn't. Like the rest of the gang they will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

This is all you need to know mate. He was my favourite player before the Wiz took that mantle. The bloke was almost unstoppable in 1994 and, while I might be biased, he could have been on par with Carey if his knees held up. Unbelievable agility, great pair of hands, high footy IQ and a great kick for goal. The bloke had it all. Edit - Watch his goal from around the 4:35 mark. It's vintage Ox.

What I object to in this thread is the title ... 'needs to have a good hard look at himself'. It implies there is something wrong with his attitude. While I am happy to question his skill level, ability to make decisions in traffic, and his kicking, I've never found his attitude to be an issue.

Schwarz was a truly great player, just to be named in the same sentence as Carey is an honour. He would have been a super-star and he did a fantastic job to come back after 3 knee recos and win a B&F. FWIW I thought Allen Jakovich had even more raw talent, but wasted it. Exciting times ahead for us now I think with Hogan, Petracca, Brayshaw. Oliver.

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2016-03-08/young-dog-luke-goetz-cops-fine-for-dangerous-push Goetz to fight his fine for pushing Garland over the fence on the weekend. The footage looks pretty cut and dry. Don't know what his defence will be.

Stevethemanjordan i agree that he needs to improve his kicking and that there will be times his poor disposal will cost us. I get it. Some might argue that he should be more circumspect and not take risks with his kicking (handball more!). But clearly the coaches demand he take risks, in fact as one of our most prolific ball winners down back it is critical he does so if we are any hope of attacking from the back line and moving the ball quickly. I have no doubt he is under coaches order to go for those risky kicks, no doubt. So the more he practices them under match like condition (ie a NAB cup game) the better he will get at them. But what is your proposed solution Steve? Or do you just want to let people know how you feel about his kicking?

McDonald alone caused three goals to the opposition as well as general turnovers which is the sole reason this thread was started. But the nuffies on here don't want a word of it and will resort to the same lines time after [censored] time... 'It's NAB challenge' 'We won' 'Other players missed targets' It's a [censored] bore. Wake up. Nobody is asking for him to be delisted, we all know he offers the side a lot. But there is no arguing that he kills the side when he is kicking at the level he was on Saturday and as I've said a thousand times, if he doesn't level out these weaknesses or at least mask them like smarter players do then he'll be really costing the side. Is it a [censored] crime to want to see your team improve?

I know there are a lot of Dean Kent fans on here but he really does need to lift his game this year. He needs to get involved in the play more and when he gets a shot at goal needs to nail it. For such a good kick of the ball he is a very poor kick at goal. If we want to be a top team we need more from our small/medium forwards like Kent. At the moment he is not in the class of players at the top teams doing a similar job. I think his aggression is great but it's not enough.

I don't expect Trengove to be pushing for senior selection till mid year. He's only just started doing full training, so if you factor in all the footy he's missed, his preseason starts now.

I hadn't watched the game before I read this thread......So when I finally sat down to watch it I was expecting to see McDonald completely stuff up and hardly get a touch. What I saw was a very scrappy game in windy conditions. I also saw a lot of clangers from some of our more skilled players. I saw McDonald get nine possessions in the first quarter some were pretty bad turnovers some were to our teams advantage.....I saw some great intercept marks and saw him beat his opponents pretty much every time. It lead me to a conclusion.......There will always be people out there who love to jump on players, there will always be whipping boys that for some reason people want to put down at every turn. There were 3 or 4 times that his kicks hit the leading player but no one mentions those Every player on our list, has to, and needs to improve. Not just Tom McDonald.

On another note, I can't wait until we can add Hogan, Brayshaw and Petracca to this side. In fact I'm salivating over it, especially considering the form of Viney, Oliver and Gawn in the middle. Can't wait.

Not sure if this has been posted but good on Dennis for standing up... http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/essendon/essendon-doesnt-deserve-to-play-on-anzac-day-says-dennis-cometti/news-story/edde9e67cd1565ba50afb3a003df759c

I appreciate the point you've made but I can't help wondering whether FIFA would have been so bold if it had been a major European country rather than a medieval friendless fiefdom.

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/maria-sharapova-reveals-positive-drug-test-at-australian-open-20160307-gnd0cu.html Takes full responsibility James and Bomber players!!! Nice to see her in sombre black for the occasion.

Like many others, I was sitting with my boys in the Southern Stand pocket when David did his knee the second time. They were playing the Swans and if my memory is correct, the ball came down to centre half forward and Ox went to meet the ball and went to turn or twist toward goal in loose soil and his knee and body just buckled. There was a feeling of horror, a feeling of sickness in the pit of the stomach, and a feeling of devastation and gloom. It was the worst I ever have felt at a match watching a serious injury. I can vividly see him on the ground writhing in pain as team mates went to his aid and trainers rushed to him. To see him carried off the ground on a stretcher was heartbreaking. At that moment, I felt that Ox's career was over. At that point in time the match and the result lost all significance. We were watching the end of a brilliant career that promised so much more. On a positive note , it had been thrilling to have watched the Ox in those early days jumping over packs in a cavalier daredevil fashion without any concern for his personal safety. He was a risk taker and had the exuberance of youth that seemed to thumb its nose at his opponents. He was an excitement machine but it was likely watching an acrobat at the circus. One sat and watched with bated breath every time he leapt over an opponent or pack. Fortunately, he came back, but for me it was watching a different player. The candle still flickered but it was a poor imitation of what we had witnessed before he broke down.

Difference between afl And the extremely corrupt organization that is fifa. When 5 north Korean women's players tested positive they booted the whole country from the womens world cup. The afl gave their team 10 top ups, prime time, refused to strip individuals of honours and no doubt will allow them a high pick. only the AFL could make fifa look good

I lean more in the camp of those who don't think the game was a total disaster, but I have no idea why anyone would try to argue against the proposition that the Dogs' team was anything other than a second-rate VFL side. They had, quite literally, their 10 best players not playing. It's not a question of experience or age, it's a question of quality and their best players weren't playing. However, I don't believe that fact alone means the result of yesterday's game is necessarily a poor one. For one, as has been suggested, Goodwin/Roos/the coaches may have used the game to try out new tactics or strategies. Most clubs seem to use the final NAB game as their fully-fledged practice for Round 1 so it wouldn't surprise me at all if we rotated players even when they were winning match-ups, or held players back or something like that. I don't know, but it certainly wouldn't surprise. It's no "myth" that this club needs to win matches. The winning vibe around the club is invaluable, even when it's practice matches. I'd certainly prefer wins to losses, no matter what style of win it is. That's not to say I want to see us playing bad football, but the winning feeling is important. Edit: we also played great footy last week against a better side. Does yesterday's performance make that game disappear altogether? As is often the case on Demonland, it's all black and white. You either loved yesterday's performance or you hated it. You either think Tom McDonald is AA or shouldn't even be playing. Etc, etc. It's all too rare on here for people to balance positives with negatives at the same time.

I can't read some of the 'analysis' here... but at the risk of repeating someone else's post, here's a few facts. Tom McDonald had more disposals on Sunday than any opposition player bar one! Tom McDonald will be highly sought after by many opposition clubs, including top four clubs, as soon as he becomes available! The MFC will have the retaining of Tom McDonald very high on it's list of priorities moving forward. Yes, we are aware of some weaknesses with disposal, but they have been blown out of all proportion here!

DOES HE