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I'm not surprised and I don't believe the story because I have a different understanding - one that came directly from the horse's mouth. On 31 August 2011, I attended the Fawkner Hotel and with about 20 others, had dinner with four members of Melbourne's team - Tom Scully, Cale Morton, Stef Martin and Max Gawn. It was the week before the last game of the season, one which he eventually withdrew from due to general soreness. For a time during the evening, I sat next to Tom and in our discussions (heard by others), made him aware that my family had a business connection going back several years with his father's roofing company (which he had recently resigned from as a Director). He seemed nervous and distracted during the evening, often checking his mobile phone. Tom spoke about the lingering issues that he had with his knee that year and said he felt that they were all manageable and that he would be over them after the break in between seasons. On the subject of his future, he stated that he had not been involved in any negotiations with Melbourne or anyone else. He told me that he had not "seen any offers" but that after the game on Sunday, he would sit down with his management to decide between then and the B & F in a few weeks' time. I asked him how he felt the club had treated him in the circumstances and he said he couldn't be happier. They hadn't put any pressure on him and were aware that he would be talking to his management at the end of the season which he said had been his position since March. On Jimmy Stynes who had been fighting cancer for two years and was extremely ill at the time, he said he was full of admiration and he had no issues with Jim's comments earlier in the year. He said he didn't even believe they were directed specifically at him. For the record, I thought after that night that Scully was gone. I respected fully that his decision was a difficult one but, on the figures I had heard that he was being offered, there was no real choice. His departure was announced about a week and a half later. Usually, I would be more than somewhat bemused that five years after the event, a story emerges that flies in the face of everything that I was told that night but I'm not any more because I've heard this sort of scuttlebutt before. Several months after Scully departed, stories started emerging that he left the Demons' 2010 end of season trip to China because of the drinking culture of the players (Tom was apparently a teetotaler). At the time he returned, Phil Scully told my brother-in-law that he left early because of serious health issues involving a family member. When I hear allegations made about a dead man that he can't respond to, it brings out the cynic in me.

You've gotta be kidding Steve!!! Your footy posts are usually informative and considered ......... but this!!!! FMD!!!!

Fark the whinging. Supporters are still not quite over our dark days if they're concerned about playing at Etihad. Obviously it's a shithole of a place and in that regard, no game will ever compare to one at the G. But [censored], we need to start looking forward to playing at any ground against any team if we're serious about winning another flag. I can't wait to beat these muppets in Round 1 and march on to a sea of red and blue at the G the following week.

Well I guess the Dawes vs Pedersen arguement is settled once and for all.

Stop whinging Ox we can beat that mob, seriously the way some people are reacting you'd think we were scheduled to play the 2014 Hawks in Tassie. There's no reason we can't win this game, we should be thankful we get to start the year in Melbourne again for the 19th season in a row. The timing isn't ideal and the AFL have destroyed their integrity with the 3 prime time games but what else is new? Saying we will start 4 points behind is ridiculously melodramatic.

I hope when we play against WestCoast that Patty picks off a pass from Naitanui and scores a goal. Can just hear the commentary, "Nic Nac, Paddy Mac gifts the Dees a goal". is the door that way?

Thanks for the plug WJ, and I can assure anyone who thinks that it will be a non-stop 800 page cavalcade of misery that the many and varied disgraces of the #fistedforever list are covered in the best possible taste.

I do not understand why Vanders is remotely a whipping boy. He was an awesome pick up by the club. He's like a T Rex roaming around the half forward line. He kicks important goals, tackles with intent, has good skills, has a solid team focus. Injury concerns just restricted his output a little last season.

Do you have a source for the claims that (a) Stynes hounded Scully and (b) the "hounding" was a meaningful factor in his decision to leave?

This says volumes!

But who's going to be insurance for Clark as insurance for Gawn?

I am not sure why we are debating money paid to Dawes ( apart from accuracy) At a players best he is worth $X. It costs $X amount to lure a player out of a club. Tom Mitchell apparently is being paid more at Hawthorn than at the Swans. We paid a good sum to get Dawes to the MFC. It didn't work out. We have paid rookies a rookies salary and not one game has been played. Lynden Dunn was paid a salary and we got 4 matches out of him. We have had high hopes for JKH in the first season yet he has hardly played a game in the last two seasons. Do we reflect on every player that hasn't got many games and bemoan that they were being paid ? Or the reverse - Anything paid to Jayden Hunt up until this season has been nothing more than an investment in the future as he didn't get a game. Now Hunt is looking like a decent investment. Some players work out - some players don't. From where I am sitting Dawes put in, wasn't a disruptive prima donna as some footballers are . Bottom line is - his body did not allow him to play enough games and when he did he didn't take enough marks or kick enough goals. I thank Dawes for his efforts ( which I don't think should be doubted) and wish him well.

So Gil, let's imagine Caleb Daniels grows 30cm this year and muscles up to weigh 101kg and next season becomes the best CHF the game has seen kicking 152 goals. He goes on to win the Brownlow and Coleman medals, years down the track after he explodes on dancing with the stars, his biological passport is retested to find he has been using NASA-9064, a synthetic not approved for human use rocket fuel. Because he was not banned during the season does he keep his medals? Come on Gil it is not a trick question, does he keep his medals?

We played the Saints in rnd 1 2014 @ the dreaded Etihad. We lost by 3 points but that was after we kicked ourselves out of the game with 6 goals and 15 points and Tom Mc playing injured letting Reiwoldt off the leash! in 2015 we handed them the game with a few seconds to go! 2016 didn't go so well vs Saints but we were experimenting with our structures. We have been very close to beating them so there is no reason why we should fear this game. From now on every game is winnable. Go Dees! Lets get off to a winning start and make a statement to the competition!

Close this thread, why? Because it is annoying you? DO NOT READ IT. Pretty simple stuff.

Backup ruck/forward.

I saw this on Facebook and thought it was worth sharing here because it shows exactly where Lynden Dunn's heart is - "These are the moments I will miss! Looking my mates directly in the eyes after a hard fought win and belting out "It's a Grand Old flag!" I know in my heart of hearts that I leave the Dee's giving every moment, everything I possibly had. I consider myself blessed to have spent 12 great years at this Football club and no matter where I go or what I do, my veins will always bleed red and blue. Only at the moment there is some black and white in them as well. I have played with some of the all time greats of the MFC and met some incredible people along the way. I would like to thank the fans for their support, especially through some very grim years. There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel and fingers crossed finals are not far away. To all my teammates who I have ever played with ... you are the reason I play football and the reason I love the club so much! You have meant everything to me and I wish the current players all the best in their pursuit for greatness! Finally, thank you @melbournefc for helping me live my childhood dream of playing League Footy. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity you gave me as a 17 year old straight out of high school. Bring on the Queens Birthday Clash in 2017 - Dunny" When the club gives away jumper # 14 I hope it will be to a very special person. Well played Dunny!

The AFL are an embarrassment, the old boys club protecting revenue rather than doing what's right and fair. Looking the other way rather than impartialy when needed. The AFL don't believe it should be a 4 year penalty, it would still be hidden if it was left in the AFLs hands. Saying you were hiding from drug testers to actually hide from your girlfriend... How the f do Allen and Lambert have any jobs if they used that logic. That is not too bright.

all these years and they never raised this before, must have all forgotten, now all remember. And just to make sure the girlfriend believed them they deleted all other emails and correspondence that the girlfriend didnt know about, just to make it looked like a coverup and not look like he was avoiding her.. Wow these guys are real strategists, I can see why eddie wanted allen. Colingwood has a lot of players with 'girlfriend' trouble.

They didn't go looking. Whitfield hid IN CASE they went looking. As ever, the cover up is ten times worse than the original offence. But feel free to continue bagging ASADA based on nothing. They could use a break.

Even from me who is always willing to look on the bright side with players..........er NO

The list management team we have now have done a fantastic job. By picking Weideman (by trading our pick last year) and getting a good tall forward (Not much available this draft), then getting 12 months development into him, we are miles ahead. So going into the draft we were never going to be able to get good players ready to play from the start of 2017, even if we had kept 26. So the club had to rely on trading and what it can pick up in the rookie draft. In the trade we got 3 ready to go players and delisted those that rarely got a game last season and never would next year. Even if only 1 or 2 of the three fire up, we are well in front. As others have said Melkshan is also relatively a new recruit. Then we have got 2 category B rookies that cost us bugger all, and at least Smith looks like he might make it. We still have 2 spots (probably) for some young lower picks which might develop 2018 and beyond. We also have plenty of space for mature aged rookies which can bring great success (many of the successful clubs now have multiple ex rookies). Big thumbs up to the recruiting team.

Context here is important.

bullet dodged if it's the same day as the grand prix - better to have no home game on that day than have one, as crowds and tv audiences will likely be diminished as a result.

Just a quick trip down the Yarra to raze a rival castle. And I do mean raze. Win the game, then burn the place to the ground.

Wow you don't understand how this works at all.

EFC will be kicking themselves. They played their "rogue sports scientist" card poorly. Look where it got them. They should have come out on day 1 day 518 and admitted that the 34 players all had psychotic girlfriends that they were trying to avoid. That Gubby. What an operator.

Agreed. It's an away game, so we don't lose out by having a Sunday afternoon home game on Grand Prix day. We're not interstate, which as you've indicated hasn't happened to us in Round 1 this century. We're playing a side we should, if we are serious about finals, be able to beat. Not that big of a deal. I'm sure there will be something worse in the full fixture on Thursday.

Wow. Hard to believe anyone would want him back. He is a wrecking ball.

I side with Ox on most things but he needs to build a bridge. It's an opportunity for the players to make a statement. It's also about time the fans got over this ridiculous notion of "we don't go to Etihad". Grow up.

I recall in Goodwin's appearance on 360 he singled out Stretch for his professionalism and someone who requires less hand holding as a result. It was an openly glowing appraisal. I reckon he'll line up in Round 1. afl.com.au not even listing Stretch as an emergency is a clueless omission. He's certainly ahead of Harmes.

"it is better to be thought of badly than not thought of at all" - nutbean 2016

History Nash. It's that simple. I would prefer this, than meeting the returning drug cheat heroes. They will get a huge emotional boost from the pre game hype. Hope the Hawks smash them.

Who cares what crowd this game gets? It's not our problem as we don't collect a cent of the gate proceeds. Id actually argue that we dodged a bullet by not having a home game the same day as the Gran Prix (which in my opinion is the most overrated, costly and pointless event this country has to offer) The other option was playing an away game vs a fired up and emotional Essendon. Not sure which option is worse??

It's pretty awful scheduling. Round 1 is historically a big drawing round and as a club that really needs those big crowds and gate receipts, we are playing Etihad on a Sunday in an away game. We'd be better off getting 28k-30k to the MCG against GWS or GC. I'm [censored] off not so much because it's against the Saints at Etihad and we have a bad record in both scenarios. More so because we miss out on a big windfall from the inevitable round 1 interest. Meanwhile, a team that got caught cheating is in prime time, and the season opens with two teams that finished well below us in 2016. I think being [censored] off for those reasons is completely rational. It's awful scheduling. I imagine the club is mightily [censored] off as well. Especially if we end up getting Freo or GC or GWS at the MCG the next week (which I'm willing to bet we will). We'd have started the year off with limited exposure with a Sunday away game at Etihad, before coming into Round 2 with the Round 1 hype having been rubbed down and us facing a low-drawing interest side. Probably at 1:10 on Sunday.

Jeez I wish we'd move on from this need for players to wear Barrasi's number. Let players make their own history rather than constantly trying to relive something that happened 50 years ago. It's embarrassing. Give 31 to a random new player and stop trying to morph all our senior players in to a great of the past.

Dear AFL, Please give us an opening round blockbuster to kick off the year, but not against Essendon because they'll be up and about, and not against Carlton because they've got the wood against us, and not against an interstate team because they don't draw a crowd, and not against a top team because that will hurt membership sales, and not at Etihad because our supporters don't like going there. Basically, we'd like to play Richmond every week (but only if it's our home game.) Yours sincerely, Demonland

His argument is basically a bunch of legal gymnastics, mainly centering around how the AFL Regulations are interpreted and whether the powers to strip the Brownlow can be enacted for a case dating back to 2012. Its a situation where the right thing to do is smacking everyone in the face, and he's trying to worm his way around it by looking for a legal loophole. It's actually a bit sickening. The rest of his argument isn't even worth noting. He infers there is no precedent by doing what every desperate Bomber fan does - referencing Cousins. A player not found guilty of doping and therefore lirrelevant to the discussion. Although he tops that by referencing Hird's Brownlow, as though his involvement in the scandal should mean his Brownlow as a player should come under greater scrutiny. Simple deflection. This is almost the definition of an open and shut case. If they manage to find a loophole that enables Watson to keep his Brownlow, I hope the integrity of the sport's highest individual award and therefore the sport as a whole is worth it. Because that's what the cost will be.

It means, "man who disgraced himself by the bad influence of ignoble people but who was able to redeem himself by leaving them and surrounding himself with wise and upstanding people instead".

I did...no reply. Think he is running scared. Batman after him?

I re-watched the round 20 game against the Hawks yesterday (Fox have games highlighting brownlow performances so must have been for big Maxy) and it changed my perception of both Bugg and Harmes. Bugg fills a simple but important role within the team, he'll never be a star but if he was in the bottom 6 on game day then you'd back him in to do whatever job is assigned to him and do it with aggression. With Harmes, it was his first half that got my attention, I thought his run (both ways) plus his williness to complete were great. The only issue he had was he seemed to tire in the second half and his disposal then becomes questionable, given he's played less than 30 games I think he could really come on with some more miles in the legs over pre-season. Not saying either are round 1 best 22, but think both are or could be very much in the mix.

No, there's several father sons on here. The site is run by a father son combo for a start!

Considering the fact that I live with her, I will have to concede. She was intelligent enough to choose me as a partner.

The AFL Bidding System for academy and father son selections is fairly complex and its lucky the recruiters will have the advantage of computers at the draft meeting. I tried to work it out and came up with this - based on the Chris 25 PD posted above by WJ. Each selection in the AFL National Draft up to Pick 73 has a points value under the AFL Bidding System In the example, GWS selects Andrew McGrath with its first selection- Pick 2. Carlton bids on Will Setterfield with Pick 5 and GWS agree to match this. Pick 5 is worth 1,878 points and they get a 20% discount which means the cost to GWS is 1,502 points. GWS's next pick is Pick 15 which is worth 1,112 points. They then lose 390 points from their next pick. That pick is Pick 37 which is worth 483 points which means on the above scenario, that pick is now only worth 93 points to GWS. North Melbourne bids on Harry Perryman with Pick 12 and GWS agree to match this. Pick 12 is worth 1,268 points and they get a 20% discount which means the cost to GWS is 1,014 points. GWS have 93 points left on Pick 37 and will have make up another 921 points requiring them to use Picks 39 (446 points), 45 (347 points) and 52 (246 points) to get Perryman and they will then have 118 points left over. So when Carlton bids on Kobe Mutch at 27, GWS thinks twice and decides not to match the bid. Next, we have North Melbourne bidding on Harrison Macreadie with Pick 34 and GWS agree to match this. Pick 34 is worth 542 points and with the 20% discount, Macreadie will cost GWS 433 points so they need to find another 315 points. This means they have to use up another two picks to get Macreadie. Picks 55 (207 points) and 57 (182 points) will leave them with 74 spare points but they now have used up 7 draft picks to get four players. This is all based on Chris25's belief that Carlton would go for Setterfield at 5 and that GWS would match the bid. GWS would be in trouble if Essendon picked him with 1 at a cost of 3,000 points discounted to 2,400 but better off if the bid came at say 9 which would cost 1,469 points discounted to 1,175. The question is how many vacancies do they have and how far can they go? My guess is that they would be fairly limited and probably wouldn't be competing against too many more bids if they come early enough.

Anyone notice they can't see who's being quoted anymore? Sorry had to post this here as no need to start a thread about it..

We need to stop complaining about playing at etihad. Good teams can play anywhere/anytime. Unfortunalty the ground doesn't play to our strengths. Quick sides run circles around us on this ground

no time like round 1 to get the monkey off the back and kickstart the season with a positive win... http://gph.is/18RTEdl

The Saints?!? At Etihad?!? Let me be the first to say Goodwin has no Plan B!

Jetta is currently my favourite player, so don't get me wrong, but every year we have to look at any slight weaknesses in our list. Although Jetta is a great one on one player, he's not elite by foot or in terms of pace. Given our zonal defensive game style and slingshot, unless he lifts his kicking once more, his place in the side may become vulnerable IMO.