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Will be interested to see team selection later tonight to see how many of our 20 eligible players are made available for finals. Already heard whispers that Pedersen has been sent in for early surgery. Would be good to see the likes of Weideman, Oliver, Salem, Nibbler and Hulett win a premiership as well as some of the older heads in Trengove, Grimes, Dunn & Garland. I'll be heading along saturday, hopefully to finally see us win a final. Despite us making finals every year since the alignment began back in 2009 bar once and having two top 4 finishes.

Macartney could get the best out of Lennon I reckon.

Hogan is going to be a superstar of the league. We have been searching, and praying to whatever deity we believe in, that we could finally find someone that every other club would be envy green over. "Why can't it be us", we think, while watching Dangerfield/Franklin//Fyfe tear teams apart. We have one. Hogan is OURS. It will be a fukcing tragedy if he leaves. I don't get why people are so indifferent towards him.

I knew you would say that.

Playing Oliver last week when he clearly could have been in the Melbourne side was a strong sign that Melbourne intend on allowing players to play Casey finals this year. A shot at a flag would be a great reward for the players who have been busting a gut there all year, just to remain on the far fringe on the main side. Especially for those who won't be in the AFL system next year.

No chance Matt Jones goes

I make a lot of them.

Looks like most are playing. Pederson not

The flaw in this type of argument has been exposed numerous times before. The only way you get to the bottom is by your own doing. Whether it's poor coaching, poor recruiting, poor development, poor culture, poor management, etc. - the reason you find yourself winning 3 games in a season is typically going to be due to mistakes that your club has made. You mention problems about Brisbane's location - I didn't see these issues getting raised when they won 3 premierships in a row with one of the best teams we've ever seen! When we applied for a PP we had won 34 games in 7 years. Brisbane have won 45 in their previous 7 years (plus 32 in the three years from 2007-2009). There is absolutely no justification for Brisbane to get a PP based on us being denied one.

Melbourne's 2013 season: 2 wins, 20 losses, percentage 54.1%..... PRIORITY PICK REJECTED Brisbane's 2016 season: 3 wins, 19 losses, percentage 61.1%..... PRIORITY PICK ??

Hypercritical scum had a go at the MFC and questioned our integrity and accused us for breaking the rules and chasing Michael Hibberd in season ... only to do the exact same thing to the Eagles with Mitch Brown and Eric Mackenzie, which the WCE are rightly not happy about on the eve of finals. They are hands down the worst team in the comp on just about every front.

Ah you remind me of that draft night. I have told the story before, but not sure if on DL. The night of the JT draft and the bloke we took number 1, WJ and I were at a Dees Draft night function.We were told that for our 3rd pick, which I think was 12 and 4th pick, at about 18, we would take Gysberts and Tapscott. WJ and I were stunned, as we thought we would take Daniel Talia and another player I have forgotten since. All night we felt discomfort as we thought Talia would prove to be a good key defender and we could build around him. Well we know what happened. I have no doubt those picks, together with Lucas Cook and Toumpas, have really hurt the club and set us back even further than we could and should have been, if we had just taken 4 decent players, not even stars. I find it hard to accept that competent recruiters should stuff up top ten picks, injuries aside, but obviously they do. Anyway, that is history and I have great faith in Taylor and co to keep improving the list.

Not even Prestia's manager, Marty Pask, would go as far as saying Richmond has a talented group of players. Here is what he said: “If you look at Richmond’s core group of players and their ages, it was appealing for Dion to join a group of strong footballers in the right hit zone in terms of their age." He basically couldn't bring himself to say they were anything but 'strong footballers' and Richmond only appeal to Prestia because of their age range. Good luck Dion. You'll need it.

You mean we did what 5-6 other clubs did around that time, that was ruled by the head of the AFL as being acceptable, and in a time where the wider footy public would say comments such as "why would you want to win a meaningless game at the end of the season?"

JKH came off in the last quarter at Box Hill after failing dismally in a chase on a B/Hill player.He came off straight away, lay down and had his hammies administered to. Nothing mysterious, just another Hammie tweak. He had been a very good player before that, apart from one kicking across the ground brain fade...

Why such surprise? Everyone knows they make it up as they go. If you expect consistency from the AFL on anything you will die disappointed. We shouldn't throw stones though ... we got gifted Jackson and Roos on the AFL dime.

He is a kid, who has already played dominant games. Seriously dominant games, including mauling the premier defender in the league. He is the kind of player who wins finals for you, once mature. The guy is a star. For christ sake Jesse, stay with the Dees.

They are trying to convince themselves he wasn't really that good and they never wanted him anyway, just in case he leaves. It's a sad self-defense mechanism and it achieves nothing.

Well, applying the infallible body language test that has been used by Demonland experts, that must mean that Stringer is off to another club as well?

https://thedemonshop.shopdesq.com/

All you are saying is, Give Lennon a Chance.

Time and reading a lot of your posts Redleg, has taught me that if I disagree with what you've posted, I'm probably wrong.

Depends on their body language.

I think our recent list management strategy has been very good. People were calling for Josh Mahoney's head half way through last trade period "do something", by the end the same people were saying he was a genius with the pick upgrade deals. I think we don't leak and that is good.

It is clear that Dion really wanted to be back in Melbourne and get away from the Suns. Suns would have gone close to matching this offer. Unfortunately for him, the clubs he probably would have preferred, weren't prepared to make that sort of offer. He has taken the biggest offer and is now home in Melbourne. That is 3 out of 4 targets met. Money, home, left Suns.

We have to get the club in to a position where the fringe players are prepared to bide their time and wait for a game when they are ready, Hawthorn are masters at this and can have players in a queue waiting for a call up. No point in having a player on the list for 3 years who is just below best 22 and replacing him with a draftee who may be in the same position in 3 years time. I'd hate to lose ANB, I think he has a lot of ability and if he can hang in there for a while he may become a regular, form, retirements, players moving on, they all play part in it.

14 marks (5 contested) in round 22 seems to account to nothing. Prior to this weekend Riewoldt's record was 18 marks. But at least Schwarz is saying Hogan should take a leaf out of Hawkin's book. It only took Hawkins 6 seasons to have a breakout year and 69 games to reach Hogan's tally of 85.

Personally I think it would look better in invisible ink.

Would look better if written in Comic Sans.

Drive and quality ball use off half-back has never been more important. Laird, Rampe, Enright and so on are linchpins in their respective teams. Burgoyne, Birchall, Durea, Gibson and Hodge (last 4 left-footers - like Hibberd) are major reasons the Hawk's finished top 4. We have a very young back-line. Hibberd is most definitely a welcome inclusion (hopefully). I'm all for snaring a Tom Mitchell, etc., I just have no idea what the club is trying to do. But I'm confident they're doing all in their power to improve the list. Without a first round draft pick this year there will be limitations.

This is what the OX has to say about Hogan in the Geelong Advertiser just now. Mirrors the thoughts of many supporters. "The last few games of the year saw Melbourne’s key forward Jesse Hogan really struggle to keep his focus on the match. His body language turned negative. He lost his ability to pick himself up from a poor kick. He seemed to give up on the contest. The Western Bulldogs had a similar thing happen with star forward Jake Stringer, and they dropped him to the reserves for not giving enough effort. If Melbourne was playing this week, I doubt Hogan would get a game. It is really important for Jesse to use the off-season to think about his on field behaviour. Inside the club there are people working with Jesse to ensure he can turn this around. Hogan isn’t the only player on the ground who can kick goals for the club, but he is the one the crowd is constantly watching, so when his shoulders slump and he shakes his head, we all see it. I hope he watches some videos of Tom Hawkins to see how the big Cat manages to keep presenting and keep persisting when he’s a bit down on form. Hawkins had a couple of shocking games this year, but he never let his insecurities show. And nor should he. Leave that stuff for the locker rooms."

Great skit. Loved Monty Python.

Depth is important. But it's hard to juggle, especially when you have a 20 year old getting 30+ possies every week in the VFL and not getting a look in. Of course if ANB is happy playing second fiddle behind our top-end inside mids then we're laughing but realistically that isn't going to happen. If he can't get a regular game in our starting side going forward, he'll obviously be wanting opportunities elsewhere. The club have a lot of forward thinking to do in that regard. List management would be a tough gig.

That's why Pedo will stay.

I think the last couple of years have shown that the footy department has tightened up immensely. The Dom Tyson trade came from absolutely nowhere, and there haven't been any blundering leaks since the new administration took over. We could be making a play for someone big, and I'd trust them to be keeping it under wraps. But personally I don't think we are, considering the state of our list, our needs and available trade currency.

Exactly. You can't be demanding the pay and contract length of a gun player in their peak but also expect a few years to develop into that.

The criticism by supporters & commentators is ridiculous.. Roos on open Mike said it well he's 21 playing he's 2nd year in the hardest position! All current full forwards took time to develop inc kicking accuracy eg Kennedy from WC, Hawkins etc etc ..

I think you're right about ANB, but I'd love it if we were able to hold onto him. He'd be amazing depth for our midfield, and we've been so lucky with injuries this season that he hasn't had a look in for the position he's most suited to. He's kind of like our version of Tom Mitchell. If we receive a decent offer for him though, I expect we'd probably take it.

We're in a good draft position. We made it for ourselves by trading our first round pick to get both Oliver and Weideman last year. It's all part of the plan.

Lennon has more skill in his left ear if you're comparing the two. Ben Lennon is a highly skilled player. I assure you. Which is a major part of why he went at pick 12. And his pace is good as is his tackling pressure. If Melbourne supporters are happy to give Salem the benefit of the doubt (myself included), due to injuries and not having a clean run at it, it puzzles me why they don't adopt the same philosophy for similarly highly rated players at opposition club? Lennon, like Salem, hasn't had a clean run at it and has been at a shocking club in Richmond. Whether we get him or not, I reckon in five years down the track people will recognise that he is a very good player.

When the enemy arrives I might fight them or I might fight with them, I'll let you know when they get here.

It's also worth noting that Jon the [censored] Ralph is a Richmond supporter.

2pm @ Casey Fields BBO. True home ground advantage. Need to make the most of it.

If true that's a strong indication Pedo will be a Demon next year.

Based on who is available, if our team looks something like this I'll be very happy: White Hutchins Garland Grimes Dunn Michie Salem ANB Kennedy Spencer Oliver Trengove JHK T. Smith Hulett Newton Weideman Terlich IC: J. Smith M. Jones Max King Keilty McInerney Morris Munro Scott Not a bad 2's side at all....

To be honest if he leaves he leaves. I would rather someone who wants to be at our club. Im sure we would get a good deal in return. Honestly i would not be suprised if they say he is putting it iff for another 12 months

The pickiness of people in this forum is a joke. This is the exact player we need and you've got Hawthorn head hunting him with a long term deal because they know that it's not about umming and ahhhing about will he or won't he be worthwhile. If he's shown glimpses of his best then you BACK your own system to improve him. You either believe you're a better club than Richmond or you don't. Probably the difference between us and other clubs, they go after what they need and back themselves. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/ty-vickery-offered-an-attractive-longterm-deal-to-leave-richmond-for-hawthorn/news-story/44b6301711b5a158299613e9ddf37d80

I'm pretty sure Dawson and Ross Lyon come as a package deal.

"It's been an incredibly detailed, forensic investigation", McLachlan said. "You can't use any old carpet. You need something with a weft and warp that will make things under it not noticeable. It takes time and study. "And if a memory stick gets run over by a car, can a computer still access it? Or do you need to hit it with a hammer? "Is it sufficient to set a phone back to factory settings or should it be thrown in a fire? These things take what they take. They work methodically through it and they don't rush to reach to an outcome."