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NO home game at Etihad!!!

I count 16 wins! Am I being too negative?

You made wedding plans before the fixture came out?!

"The Demons for me are very big winners. Now we all know that the Demons can explode,’ he said “(They’ve got one Friday night game), They’ve also got Queen’s Birthday, they’ve got a Monday night game, which is ANZAC Eve, which went very well last time, it’s a Richmond home game. “They play only Adelaide Crows (of the top 8) twice, and then North Melbourne, St. Kilda, Collingwood (North finished in the 8 but we don’t think they will this year, they play them twice) and then they play Carlton twice. Should be an easy beat.” https://www.sen.com.au/news/2016/10/27/ralphy-discusses-his-winners-and-losers-of-the-afl-fixture/ MELBOURNE PROS: Melbourne has a golden opportunity to get off to a hot start with its first seven games scheduled in Victoria. The Demons then round out their season with three matches in a row at the MCG between rounds 21 and 23. A home Friday night match against the Sydney Swans in round 15 is another major positive. CONS: Melbourne has eight six-day breaks (the equal-most in the competition), which includes two after travel and two lots of back-to-back six-day breaks. PLAY TWICE: Adelaide, North Melbourne, St Kilda, Collingwood, Carlton BYE: Round 11 FIRST FOUR WEEKS: St Kilda (a), Carlton (h), Geelong (a), Fremantle (h) LAST FOUR WEEKS: Greater Western Sydney (a), St Kilda (h), Brisbane Lions (h), Collingwood (a) SIX-DAY BREAKS: Eight THEY SAY: "We hoped for a long time that we would play all of our Victorian home games at the MCG. The MCG is our home and a really significant part of our club and we are pleased that our Victorian home games will be played at the the ground," Melbourne chief executive Peter Jackson said. WE SAY: The Demons have one of the most friendly fixtures out of any side in the AFL. Their seven home games inside Victoria to start the season is a significant advantage. Three matches at the MCG at the end of the season could also set Melbourne up for a run at the finals if the club's projected upward trend continues. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-10-27/2017-fixture-reaction-every-club Seriously, some of the negative reactions here border between over the top to downright silly.

Look, we are never going to get the best draw because we aren't one of the big clubs. Considering the absolute shizen they've handed us for the last 10 years, we need to be happy with what we've received this year. If we seriously want to play finals and be a contender, we need to learn to win at Etihad, win off 6 day breaks, and beat sides we haven't been able to beat in years. This is all part of becoming a good team. Considering that we avoid playing twice teams like Hawks, Geelong, Sydney, GWS, WCE & Dogs, is already a massive bonus. If we can't beat mediocre teams like North, St Kilda, Carlton and Collingwood, than the draw makes no difference and we are never going to be any good anyway. Commercially this is a good fixture, it allows us to get maximum exposure early on, get some wins, increase membership numbers etc. We got 2 big games, 1 Friday night against a good opponent, and some home games against big clubs. Yes we have a hard stretch there in the middle with 3 short 6 day breaks including a trip to Perth, and 3 tough opponents. At least we start and finish the year off with a good draw!

I did my ladder predictor and had us playing GWS in the Grand Final. Too early? ?

I have us down for 22 wins - then a loss in the qualifying final (the loss we needed to have) followed by 3 more finals win - including the GF.

Last three rounds at the G could be huge - Saints, Lions and the Pies to finish off. I like that

Honestly mate, I don't want to gatecrash your pity party, but we got a pretty good draw.

So I can go.

Doggies away off after a 6 day break followed by West Coast away after a six day break, followed by Sydney @ home Friday night after a six day break will be the toughest run of the year

Fine by me! I live in geelong but I'd prefer to play them in Melbourne. The game last year was depressing.

Only 4 away games interstate. 4 Games at Etihad to give us more chance of learning how to play there. A home game against a "power" club in Carlton. A bye after an NT game. A Friday night game. Only play Adelaide and North, from the 2016 top 8, twice, all other finalists from this year just once. I think it is a very positive draw.

Im starting to think some here don't quite understand how far appart Alice and Darwin is.

9 FTA channel 7 games is also great exposure for the club.

So we can beat them there this year.

I think the most important thing is that I'll be able to attend my wedding as our fixture doesn't clash with it.

Highlights: - Play the annual Queen’s Birthday home match against Collingwood - Play an ANZAC Day Eve match at the MCG for the third consecutive season (note: it will be Richmond’s turn to host next year’s game) - Play a home Friday night match against the Sydney Swans in round 15 - Play a home game against a big Victorian club (Carlton) early in the season in round two - Play new opponents in the Northern Territory (Gold Coast Suns at TIO Traeger Park, Alice Springs and the Adelaide Crows at TIO Stadium, Darwin) - Play no home matches at Etihad Stadium http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2016-10-27/melbournes-2017-fixture-announced-

This stereotype needs to be knocked on the head once and for all. MFC supporters now ski in Japan. These ski holidays do not clash with the AFL season proper!

The Dawes experiment in principle was merited. Could have gone really well but alas, injury etc just nobbled him. Nice bloke. Wish him well. Life goes on

We did very well as far as who we play - we play just two top 8 teams from last season twice, and North should suck this season. I am more concerned about the 8 six day breaks, and the two NT trips which doesnt include a bye on the return from Darwin. But having thought about it more it really is a very good draw.

Many teams could realistically finish anywhere between 6 wins and 16 wins. People severely understate how competitive and tight the league currently is. There are very few genuinely "weak" teams aside from Brisbane. We are still comfortably in that mid-tier where we could win anywhere between 6 and 12 games and finish anywhere between 6th and 16th. There are many other teams that fit into this bracket (including last year's premier's, and last year's wooden spooners). Trying to pick who we were going to beat is just silly. Take every week, one week at a time. Let's start with round 1 against the 'Aints at Etiherpes stadium.

2 things annoy me with the fixture, which is actually pretty good, it is normally more than that. 1: We have two home games against big Vic clubs we don't normally get, Carlton and the Hawks. This is great but both are buried at 3:20 on a Sunday! It seems the AFl want to gather evidence that we don't deserve the spotlight because our crowds are too low. Which links nicely with: 2: We get a Friday night game, finally, but it isn't against a vic side so again our crowds will show to be lower than other Friday night games. Just more ammo for not given us them in future. Oh well, we will just have to shove it up them all and prove them wrong!

Not really - the bye should be after our Darwin game not the Alice game. The Alice game shouldn't impact us any more than playing in Perth or Brisbane.

we'll beat the swans Home and GWS Away? gotta love the off season wouldnt be surprised if GWS win 20 games

How did the Saints end up with 4 friday nights and only 4 six day breaks. I feel like every step of improvement we make the Saints are half a step ahead.

Really? You are better than this. Dawes was naturally disappointed as any player would be.

You are not suggesting Dockers tan ta , I can't even say the word. Seriously though I am not sure that getting Lewis disqualifies us getting Barlow. He is only 29 and could have 3 good years left. We still need mature bodies especially late in the season and I note we have 9 x 6 day breaks and will need to rotate players especially mids. He could be very useful more so than a young kid taken late in the draft. We already have a lot of young talent. We have delisted several depth mids and he is better than all of them and a few injuries could make him extremely valuable. I would not be against having a long hard look at him. He is also a freebie. If no good he would go in a year or two. Not much to lose.

So you don't want to play away games at Etihad and you don't want to play away games interstate? Are you hoping for 22 home games a year, or do you just think other teams would be happy to host us at our home ground?

An absolute disgrace.

first 6 games - 3 at etihad - 3 at mcg - we need to conquer etihad to get off to a good start (and boost membership)

Wasn't my choice, MD. Already made her wait ten years. Thought it was the right thing to do this time. We booked it for a Saturday night, so I thought I was pretty safe. She also said she didn't mind if I came straight from the game if it fell on a Saturday. She's a keeper.

I thought all guys knew that weddings should only take place in February. Pretty much the only month that doesn't have a major sporting event or have a long weekend in it, and the weather is generally pretty reliable.

I am predicting we have the following: Definite wins: 12 Definite losses: 6 50/50: 4 Outcome: 13-14 wins and our first finals series since 06.

Can't complain too much but one Friday night game for us when Sydney and the Bulldogs share 2/3 of every Friday night for the entire season? Taking the [censored] now, aren't they? Even if they made the Grand Final, surely sharing around Friday nights a little more evenly would be the preferred outcome. Have they not learned how boring the surplus of Carlton, Richmond, Collingwood and Hawthorn games became in recent years!?

At a glance it looks good for us.

Integrity would imply him following through on his original promises to build a culture of success and hopefully snare a flag. But it seems that when the going gets tough, the tough get going Ablett wants to go back to his security blanket. "Tall poppy"? No one's bagging his playing ability. He's an out and out superstar. He's had a bad run with injury. Can't be held to fault for that. "Forcing the club's hand"? He has forced their hand. How can they have him as captain now that he's shown he's not committed to the journey? I can't help but compare this to people like Lynden Dunn who have slaved away through dark and hard times. Dawes taking a leap of faith which didn't pay off for him. Matt Jones and other journeymen. Slaving their guts out for a chance at some glory. Gary's really let himself down I think.

The Geelong game will have to be their home game as they can't play at Simonds for the first 8 weeks of the year, so their home games will be Etihad. Much rather play them there than at the Kardinia Park hell hole.

This is a long read that I have put together over the last few days mainly so I can think through where I believe the team is at and where the improvement for next season may come from. It is, of course, my opinion and it may generate a bit of discussion before the drafts. It is not like years gone by when we looked at low first round draft picks and there was a lot of discussion and speculation about who, where and why. There was a lot to like about our last season but, given the heights that the Bulldogs rose to, in retrospect, our season was a disappointment. I think that the Bulldogs showed everyone that you play with the ultimate ambition in mind at all times and do not compromise no matter what the circumstances. With that in mind I have decided to have a critical look at our list now that the trading period is over. I do not expect us to look at any delisted players and I do not think any first year players we draft into the list at the end of November will have an impact. You never know, they might ship in a mature aged player from the boonies that is a gem. They have done so in the past. Forwards: Hogan will only be in his third season and he still has a lot of development left in him. Development of not only his footy skills but also his physicality. I expect him to improve a lot next season with a further pre-season under his belt and a bit of work on making his set shot run up a lot more straight forward. I believe he will be a better player this season. Watts had a very good season and I would expect him to at least maintain that quality this coming season. Not expecting a lot of development of his game but with a general improvement in the team, I could see him having greater impact because he will get the ball more in more damaging positions. He does use the ball so well. Would rather we had a different option as relief ruck. Garlett had an up and down season and I sort of do not expect much more from him. I wish I did but I just seems that last season he was not switched on 100% of the time. I liked his short runs in the middle but we really do need him crumbing at the feet of Hogan and Co. He could be a factor in our improvement but I will not be counting on it. Pedersen has another 1 year contract and I agree with this move over and above Dawes. Has a bit of versatility about him as he can ruck a bit and fill a hole down back if required. No improvement expected but with him, what you see is what you get – a big body that can take a mark and kick a couple. Kent is developing well and I can see that he will improve a bit more with a good pre-season and with a developing midfield delivering to the forwards. I can also see him getting a bit more time in the midfield where his physicality and speed will give us a bit. Weideman had a taste last season and I, for one, liked what he presented. Will be a bit better next season but I think he will make a real individual impact from 2018 onwards. Maybe 10/12 games next season. Hulett had a full season in the VFL and with a good preseason he may well begin to make some sort of an impact. I only saw him in a couple of Casey’s televised games But I think he might do ok in the future. Need Max to get hold of him over a cup of coffee and tell him about the value of a good pre-season and good mindset. Similar to Weid…. 2018 onwards for some significant impact. Kennedy-Harris was injured a lot of last year and had little impact. We get anything out of him this season and it will be an improvement. I think this year is a year for him to get himself back on his feet with a view to 2018 and beyond. Patracca has a lot going for him in the talent department and I expect him to show a lot of improvement next season as long as he can keep toes unbroken. One of the players I will be looking to drive personal and team improvement. Will benefit from having Lewis there. Will spend a lot of time in the midfield next year, in the early part of the season in particular. I can see a lot of our midfield rotating through the forward setup and will cover those on the midfield section. Individual improvements from Hogan, Kent and Patracca with Garlett improving his form and Watts and Pedersen holding station and I think we will have very effective unit up forward. Improved delivery to the forward 50 will make them look better as well. Midfield Jones is Jones, we only have one Jones now. Will enjoy having a bit more quality experience around in the middle and will be more effective because of it. At least as good as last season and looking to see him enjoying his footy. Heading into his 12th year at the club and will start next season as a 29yo. Vince was quality and I hope he can maintain his form and fitness for the next season. Can see him switching more forward and, in some cases back to the HBF where he can use his long kicking to effect. Lewis will bring a lot to the midfield and I look forward to him in Red and Blue for the next few years. If he plays with the same commitment and hardness he brought to the Hawks, our midfield will really step up. Will slot into the forward line at times as well. Viney will improve again next season because he is the type that will not entertain standing still or going backwards in his development. He will also drive others to improve. Tyson was very good this last season and I think he has a bit more improvement in him to reach his best. The next few years I would expect him to make small steps in improving his skills and stamina. Would not be looking for a huge stepping breakout season as such. Vandenberg has a lot going for him but needs to polish his skills to keep up with others in the team. Will add to the improvement as long as he works hard. Oliver had an exceptional first season and there is not limit on what he could become. Needs to drive and consolidate this second season and I could see the coaching team looking to hold him back a little for his long term development. Will be better next season and it will add to the team’s midfield. Stretch I like. I like the way he seems to play a simple game. He positions himself well and has good speed of decision making and movement. I think his improvement will come from experience and physical development. I think he will be a better player next season as he settles into a position and game plan. Trengove made a great return to the game this last season. Just to get back on the ground at the highest level was a huge win for him. Want see what he is like after a full, complete pre-season and I have my fingers crossed that he can compete for a spot and make an impact. Brayshaw had an unfortunate run with concussion and injury last season and he was not at this best, Hopefully he will have a good pre-season that will allow him to step up from the quality of his first season. Has the potential to add quality to the team and is another that can develop to the very highest levels of the game if he gets a good run with injury. Harmes seems to me to be inconsistent from game to game. Seems to wander in and out of games. I like what I see when he is ‘on’, up and about. Probably just my perception. Want to see more of his high level consistency but he may have reached his potential. Neal-Bullen I have a lot of time for. I like the way he looks clean when he has the ball. Problem is that he does not get the ball enough. Really needs to work super hard so that he can step up and not fall into the category of “good quality VFL player”. Has the goods but is in serious competition with a couple of others that are a couple of steps in front of him. Salem had a few health setbacks in the last season and I hope that he can manage them this season and give himself a good crack at a long string of games. I have him in the midfield but, like a few others, he will spend time in the back six depending on circumstances. Love his running and balance. Hunt showed speed and courage and I like to watch him. I do scratch my head and wonder where and into what he will develop into. Could be anything or could crash and burn in a short time. Hope it is the former as I want to see his development as the team improves. Bugg I have in the midfield but he can annoy any opposition player anywhere on the ground. I am not sure he can get any more annoying but I am sure he will try. I think every team needs a Bugg. Backs Tom McDonald is central to our defensive structure. Takes a great mark and reads the play well except when he decides to sidestep an opponent. If they can coach that out of him I would count that as an improvement. Oscar McDonald has a lot of improvement in him. To be honest, I did not see much potential in him during his first few games but he did look better and better as the season progressed. Want to see a big step up after this pre-season. I now think the ability is there. Frost is not a forward. He is, however a good young developing athletic back. Will develop over the next couple of seasons and will be a key player in seasons to come. Looking towards improvement this season. Jetta. More of the same from him this next season and I will be happy. While I do not think he has reached his full potential, I do like what he delivered with consistency last season. Garland. There was not a lot of joy for Col last season as there was a movement to get games into the developing young defensive players. When he gets the opportunity next season I expect him to rip into it. I think his opportunities may be limited. Melksham I look forward to seeing how he goes after a year out. Should bring a bit of experience and nous to the team but he will need a good pre-season to knock the rust off. I can see him moving forward into the midfield on occasion as well as moving forward to kick a few. Hibberd will be interesting to watch and, if he hits good form he will add a lot to the team. Looks to be a smart, composed player that has courage. Will be interested to see where we play him as I think he has potential to play back, mid or forward. Wagner. I will be interested to see how he progresses this season. Played well in concert with Hunt last season but I had the feeling he was playing a bit light. Again, probably my perception. To my mind he needs a bit more weight to do the things his mind wants him to do. Want to see him succeed and I expect he will be on the main list next season. Lumumba had a very difficult season with concussion and I hope he is fully recovered. He has a lot of ground to make up on other team members that stepped up last season and filled his role. Hope he gets back to playing footy and I hope he enjoys it. Not expecting a lot from him. McKenna…. Sorry but I do not know a lot about him. Not even sure I have spelt his name correctly. We look a little thin at the back and will need individual improvement in the young players to ensure we have a capable unit back there. Melksham and Hibberd will be critical to their success. We have Pedersen and Watts that can go back if required. Rucks Gawn and then daylight for two reasons. One, Max decided that he was going to be the best ruckman in the country and went and did it and, two, The rest of our ruck stacks stood still in development and skill. We will need another outstand year from Max so it is a good thing that he looks like he thrives on hard work. Spencer is a good backup to Max. As above, Max moved up into the stratosphere while Spencer kept plying his trade in the VFL waiting for his chance, a chance that never eventuated. I like having him on the list as he is an honest footy player and I think when he is called upon he will do his best. Mitch King just rising 20 years old and need a lot of development. I hope he spends a lot of time having coffee with Max. personally I have not seen a lot of him but feel he needs to begin to show something. I think we need to draft a ruckman this season. Rookies. White needs to work hard and develop quickly. Have liked what I saw in the very, very limited opportunities he has had at the highest level but there are a few others that are moving ahead of him. Smith has had a few good wraps recently and I hope he develops to his potential. Will not have a huge impact next season but I will be watching to see how he goes. So with good individual improvement from the likes of Hogan, Patracca, Viney, Brayshaw, Stretch, OMac and Frost and with the addition of Lewis, Hibberd and Melksham I can see us stepping over a few teams and making the lower reaches of the 8.

I like it: good from a prospective win / loss point of view; solid from a financial perspective; our sponsors should be very satisfied with the exposure. We are alive and well again after a long malaise, and seemingly have growing relevance in the eyes of the AFL and the media. 2017 could / should be a huge year for our Club .......... we must make it happen!.

seems jobe disagrees with you

12 x MCG 1 x Friday night 3 x Saturday nights Anzac Day eve No Etihadhome games QB Darwin/bye/Carlton MCG Darwin/Port MCG Best draw in years.

It looks a good football fixture overall - the tough part is 3 x 6-day breaks in a row after QBW: R13 v Dogs (off 9 days) at Etihad R14 v WCE (off 8 days) at Domain R15 v Sydney (off 7 days) our Friday night at the MCG That's a very tough run, especially with the trip to Perth in the middle and our marquee Friday night exposure at the end which is a pity - we'll need to manage our rotations through that period and play a squad.

MUCH better draw than LY, both on the field and financially off it. Carlton home game tick No Geelong in Geelong tick No Etihad home games tick North and St Kilda at the G tick A bye after one of our NT game tick Really happy. If we are serious about finals, we should get to 12 wins. So excited for next year Go Dees!!!

This is a dream draw for us. We only play Swans, Bulldogs, Cats, West coast and Hawthorn once. This could be the year we make finals.

North is a positive... I think they will finish bottom 4 this year.

No home games at Etihad, but we play 4 games there, 2 more than last year. It's a good fixture on first glance. No double ups against any of the top 4.

I wouldn't be surprised if Roos really rated him, hence his mind-boggling selection most weeks he was actually fit, but Goodwin doesn't rate him. And he'd be right not to. The time is right for Chris to move on.

Still haven't been able to locate the missing spreadsheet, however have located the missing PowerPoint slide.