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I believe we are absolutely burning up the track and it is the hardest preseason we have ever done.

The fixture looks good to me. If we can continue our linear progression upwards, a final series beckons. The ingredients appear to be there ... a popular and new coach in the modern day mould, a young and talented side with an extra year for bodies and minds to mature and some experienced players to help them move forward in their journey. But as always, there's many a slip ... At this time last year for example, double up games against Fremantle would have looked ominous. Nobody would have predicted their collapse from a top of the ladder finisher in 2015 to bottom four in 2016. In late October 2015, we also were uncertain of the outcome of the impending CAS decision that affected Essendon and a handful of other clubs that had Bomber players in their midst. In the end, clubs that played them twice reaped a nice little bonanza. On the face of it, not having to play last year's top eight twice bar Adelaide and North Melbourne seems very agreeable to me. We play Fremantle once also, and that's a home game on the MCG. If my expectations are correct - i.e that North will fall and Fremantle will move up the ladder - then it's a good fixture indeed. Factors such as a run of games in Victoria to start the season are important as well - the Bullies had a great launching pad this year when they had so many early games at home. The issue of six day breaks and their timing might be a challenge but that's a matter for the health and conditioning people and I think we should be able to handle it better with a stronger, more mature list that has extra depth. As usual injuries will play their part - if we can maintain a fit and healthy list we will win plenty of games. And if we win the games, the crowds will come. You couldn't be anything other than optimistic with this year's fixture.

I ride past AAMI / Anderson St each day on way to work. I've seen Melksham 3-4 times doing some very hard running, repeat 250's and sprints up Anderson St - all on his own. Am sure their are many doing it, but he looks very lean and fit.

Nothing wrong with changing your mind, but in 24 hours you've had more positions on this than the Kama Sutra.

Good on him ( and all the delistees ) for giving it a crack. Unfortunately there are only 792 spots on AFL lists. Fitzy, like many others before him and many to come after him, is a good footballer - just not good enough. All the best for the future.

Went past Gosch's this morning. Billy Stretch, Bugg, Mitch White all doing some hard running under eye of Misso and Viney. Crossy there too with another guy I have seen him running with a bit recently. Not a listed player. Very solid, blond hair. Wonder if it is a rookie prospect they are putting some time in to.

Talking around the traps, one of the buzz subjects last season was the exciting brand of footy we play when we're "on". Especially after the Hawthorn win. That really had them sitting up and taking notice. Gave us a lot of credibility. Plus the hype surrounding Hogan. The kind of player people go to watch just because he's playing. Winning in an exciting fashion, as opposed to a Freo or Sydney under Roos fashion, is a crowd puller... of people who wouldn't normally watch the Demons. Go Demons!!!

making etihad fan-friendly

It is a great draw from a winning perspective IMO. I would partially highlight the away games where we have probably been advantaged more than we should. Geelong away at Etihad rather than Kardinia Park NM away at Hobart rather than Etihad GWS away at Manuka rather than Spotless Carlton away at the MCG rather than Etihad Also, I don’t think the stats on 6-day breaks show it is that big a disadvantage, especially since it means a longer break on the other side.

If you look at the fixture you will notice that clubs who sell home games have been given less interstate away games than other clubs. The AFL want games in the NT. We get the money and less interstate away games. It's a big win. We don't have to play at skilled stadium this year which means we don't leave Melbourne as much. Still think it sucks? Have a look at all the non Victorian clubs fixture.

Yes. We make $500k playing in the top end per game, whereas if we were to play a game at the 'G against interstate teams such as Gold Coast and Adelaide, we'd make nothing near that. If it was a bad slot or weather tarnished the day, we'd be closer to losing money, let alone making $500k. It's a good move and if clubs like Hawthorn can still do it, we can too.

At an emotional level, I would like Roosy to remain a Demon. However, on a rational level this seems unlikely. Roosy was a Roy Boy, then a Swan, then came to coach at the Demons. He came to the Dees because of the challenge, the money and because he was courted by Jackson. I have no doubt that he was emotionally invested in the time he was at the Dees. However, we need to let him go. He played and coached a Swans team to a flag. That must be very special. He must have a strong emotional connection to that club. He came to Melbourne in a very professional and clinical manner on a contract that had a start and end date, with his succession clearly delineated. A little like the best surgeon being called in to remove a malignant cancer and giving fresh life to an ailing patient. The fact that Goodwin has taken control in such a clear manner with Roosy not staying on in any role, tells us that this has been managed by both the club and Roosy in a very rational and professional manner. Coaches and football administrators, even players, are in the main, hired guns. They are professional, and, if they decide to stay in the game must move on from club to club. However, Roos and Jackson have handled his involvement in a thoroughly professional and rational manner. Like any employment these days, an employer wants an employee to be fully committed and perform from Day 1, without the lifetime security of a job. Goodwin needs space and Roosy needs a rest. I suspect that Roos will come back to the game in someway, although the media must have a strong pull. Stay involved in the game, earn lots of money, without the responsibility of being involved in one club. Roosy has paid his dues to Melbourne, If we do go on to sustained success, we should be forever indebted to him for his contribution. His contribution to the history of this club will have been the most significant since the days of Norm Smith. Along with PJ, they are the guys that will have turned this once ailing dying club around.

The Great Deepression A decade with the Melbourne Football Club Authored by Adam Woolcock Edition: 1 The Melbourne Football Club entered 2007 as Australian Football League premiership contenders and spent the next 10 years lurching from one disaster to another.This is the 261 game story of the decade that good taste and good football forgot. Publication Date: Oct 21 2016

It is costing us wins, both up there and back here after traveling. Get rid of them. We will make more winning in Melbourne.

Not necessarily, Saty, it might be just that the expectations of being an AFL footballer are sinking in.

Hawthorn and the Bulldogs have won the past four premierships between them, and both have sold games for a number of years. Aside from the money, being able to play in different venues under different conditions is essential to being a good side. We have to learn to deal with whatever comes our way, not just sook and say its all too hard. The supporters get compensated with two extra games, the team gets less away interstate games, and we get $$ - I really can't see the downside.

Didn't Neeld say he wanted us to become the club that it was hardest to buy a car from?

Saints have no blockbuster games we have Queens Bday and ANZAC Eve. I don't think we can start whinging about their Friday games.

Obviously Dee supporters are not the only ones that do not like Etihad: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-trying-to-reinvent-etihad-stadium-as-a-fanfriendly-venue-20161028-gsdaeh.html The AFL plan to make it more 'fan friendly'. I was dubious at first, then I read '...the AFL seconding Melbourne Football Club's marketing boss to work over the summer to help transform the venue in time for 2017...Jennifer Watt, who has led the rebranding of the Demons over the past two years, has been given the task of reinventing Etihad as a fan-friendly venue more closely aligned with its home clubs". Quite a feather in Ms Watt's cap to be selected for this role. Its good to see an MFC person chosen. We are being noticed in more ways than one! Also, another feather in PJ's cap to have selected another excellent person at at MFC. He has clearly overhauled our beloved club in more ways than we can see or will ever know.

How many years did they give Vickery? Fitz was an ordinary footballer who was lucky to get on to two lists, Melbourne gave him ample opportunity to show something and he didn't, we delisted him and Hawthorn took him as insurance, it didn't work out so that's the way it goes.

No we shouldnt. Any teams with lower membership should be reimbursed by the AFL with all that TV rights money they have. How the hell will the league ever be an even playing field when teams like Melbourne play HOME GAMES IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY twice per season?

Gary Ablett Jr, Australia's first playing chaplain. GA: Gather round me, my flock. For you are as lambs unto me. Ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies. Let not your hearts be faint; fear not and do not tremble. Now, I want a good clean game today. Ye shall not blaspheme or use uncouth language. It is written, the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. And, should one of our opponents commit violence unto thee, turn him the other cheek. For it is written, whosoever shall smite thee-- Player: Ah, Gary. GA: Please, my son. Call me Pastor Gary. Recall when Moses went into battle, a thousand-- Player: (sighs) Right. Pastor Gary. GA: Yes, my son. Player: Pastor Gary. The game's already started and we're 4 goals down. GA: Oh, was that the siren? I thought it was the horn of Gabriel. Fear not. Recall the parable of the three ... My flock. Are ye listening? Recall the-- Guys. Guys! Come back here! I haven't finished! ... oh screw it. [censored] the lot of ye.

That is always a problem when you go fishing. But I will take your dollar.

As club chaplain?

Terlich to be re-listed as a rookie, play round 1, go on the win the brownlow (55 votes), Coleman medal (114 goals), Goal of the year (bicycle kick from the back pocket), Mark of the year (climbs to the top of the goal post and jumps off to take a screamer while Franklin has a shot from 50), Jim Stynes Community award (donates his entire 5mil per year salary to charities around the world) Dees make the grand final. Terlich kicks 11 from the back flank and wins the Norm Smith after 68 disposals, 22 tackles, 32 marks and 11.2 Melbourne win by 1 point after Terlich marks it with his tongue at full back and unloads a barrel after the siren. wow that was fun to write

Bananas?

All jokes aside, there are pictures and reports all over the net with the players hard at work already, think Roos last message sank in

If this club expected to win over the last 50 years we wouldn't need to sell games in the desert for a membership gain of about 80 people. The recovery of players should be paramount, not a cash grab. It is up to the FD ultimately...

I thought the AFL took a dim view, like everything, of draft prospects training with clubs without permission, hence why I thought it might be Maynard, too interested in his guns to notice the hair colour?????

I would take a NT game anytime rather than have to play a "Home Game" against St Kilda at Etihad!

i think this is the way I feel about it. Only PJ knows the full financial ramifications of the deal and what it means to the MFC coffers. He is running a very expensive business that needs funding. Also, until we become a successful club with large membership and sponsors knocking down the door, we are reliant on these type of deals. Given the marginal state of our finances, we don't have much bargaining power. From a footy viewpoint, our view is heavily influenced by whether we win or lose these games. If we win, it suddenly becomes less of an issue. My greater concern is the impact that these games have on players recovery over several weeks. As anyone who travels around the country will know, different climate, different time zones, different match times and the the impact that these differences have on our daily routines,,sleep patterns and energy levels is a real thing. These things are not an issue when you are "at home."

TBH it's a bit deceiving. St Kilda has no real "blockbusters". We play two games in NT which reduces possibility of Melbourne-based night games. We also have ANZAC Day and Queens Birthday, both during primetime. Also, the fact Carlton, Richmond and Essendon only have 2 and we have 1 is fine with me. At least we're not getting 20 Friday night Carlton games.

IMO Chip was in self preservation mode for most of his last season with us. I do not believe he was giving his all for that yesr, and Roos playing him as a clumsy forward was evidence we were planning ahead for a Chip-free defence. It was clear he was heading elsewhere, regardless of what he might have said to some fans over the fence at training. As for Tom Scully, I'm surprised anyone believes what he says, in person or to the press. Looking forward to Lewis' addition to our midfield.

I would say as a Melbourne member you're only obligation with them being a sponsor is that you have them in your considerations when you look at buying a new car. If the price doesn't match what your expectations are then it is what it is.

Agree with that. The only genuine away interstate games we have are West Coast and Adelaide while the GWS and North games are at their part time homes. Two of our 6 interstate games are at neutral venues (NT) Carlton and St Kilda don't sell games and consequently have 6 away interstate games. St Kilda have to travel to WA and SA 4 times! That right there may cost them finals.

After the bye this year we had an unkind run of interstate games and 6 day breaks. The coaches did a great job of rotating/resting young players and we won in Darwin (Freo), MCG (GCS and Hawks) and almost beat WCE in Perth. So, I think we can rely on the fitness and game coaches managing those nasty 6 day breaks next year. On the fixture overall, it is disappointing that so many of our Home games are on a Sunday and vs interstate teams which isn't good for crowd size and gate revenue. But at least we have avoided the 'graveyard' time slot and quite a few games are @ 3.20 on FTA ch 7 so our sponsors get some airtime and supporters/potential members get to see our young team play and then might sign up as members!

The off-field benefits are pretty hard to ignore. Not just the cash, but the academy access it gains us. It's something the club could turn into a real advantage if they play their cards right. Two games isn't much in that context.

I REST MY CASE YOUR HONOUR

Yes.

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!

As a boy growing up in the northern suburbs, surrounded by Collingwood (my 4 brothers all barracked for the filth) and Essendon supporters, I have been to the snow once in my life. Thought is was a very expensive way to get wet and cold and I was lousy at the aprés ski. I am atypical of the so called stereotype, keeping in mind Trigon's irony.

Scene: AFL house. Gil McLachlan's office. Mark Evans: ... and I really should have not been involved in that decision. I would have thought good governance demanded it. Gil: Governance. Right. Excuse me one moment. (Gil types) https://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en-AU&q=govenence What is good governance? - Good Governance Guide www.goodgovernance.org.au/...governance/what-is-good-governance/‎ Good governance is about the processes for making and implementing decisions. It's not about making 'correct' decisions, but about the best possible process for making those decisions. Good decision-making processes, and therefore good governance, share several characteristics. Gil: So, what were you saying? Evans: Good governance demands it. It comes back to the integrity of the competition. Gil: Integrity. Right. Can you excuse me just one moment again?

I think the problem is the rule as it was originally written rather than anything Hawthorn did. The AFL are just incompetent and this extends to not covering themselves when designing new rules.

Not so off topic as he has been a major part of the post season - exudes calm, confidence and fairness! To answer your question - he joined the coaching team under Dean Bailey - they had been together at Port. When PJ arrived he was looking for an experienced Football Manager but when PJ got a very experienced coach in Roos, they decided to take a 'rookie' as Football Manager ie Roos didn't need a 'babysitter', and Mahoney cost a lot less. Then let him grow into the role, with PJ and Roos to learn from and guide him. Needless to say, Mahoney has been outstanding! My fear is that some wealthy club will come along and poach him. But I hope that finishing what he started (a premiership with the Dees) will be enough to keep him with us.

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.

OK, I get that Lynch is in the GWS academy. I get that the AFL has changed the rules limiting the number of picks the clubs can have in action and I get that a club can go into points deficit (presumably catching up on the points they're short by in the following year's draft). What I would like to see is how it all works as a matter of practicality. The Giants nabbed pick 2 to allow them to take a player before the bidding starts. That would allow them to take say, Sandy Dragon Andrew McGrath with that selection. According to reports, there are at least another five players in the academy who would be drafted in the 40 picks - Setterfield, Macreadie, Perryman, Mutch and Lynch. The picks they seem to have to get these players is seemingly endless- 15, 37, 39, 45, 52, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 77, 109, 127 BUT they are supposed to be limited in numbers so will definitely go heavily into points deficit. This seems to put them at an enormous advantage over all of the other clubs especially when, as pointed out above by Chelly, part of their academy area in the Riverina area is already a strong football area and doesn't need an academy. At some stage the other clubs are going to feel badly ripped off by the AFL and its love child. It's one thing to make the NSW clubs stronger but this smells of an outrageous compromise of the draft system to me.

For too long we have been burdening one player or coach to take the lead/responsibility to lift our club. I can remember the expectation put on players such as Molloy, Tilbrook, Moore, Templeton, Watts, Scully, Trengove and coaches such as Beckwith, Ridley, Skilton and Barassi, all to no avail. Who woyuld have expected Northey and Daniher to be our most successful coaches in 52 years? And our very best players, including Flower, Schwarz, Lyon and Neitz, grew into their reputations. Over the past 52 years we have had periods of relative success (finals in 1987-1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004-2006) when there was no single shining star but rather a team that grew together. Sure there were great players but the success came from within. It takes a whole club and a united team to succeed. Leave Jesse Hogan and Jordan Lewis alone - the former to develop without unfair pressure and the latter still has to make his mark with us playing in a weaker, less experienced and, so far, less cohesive team.

None of the above, just doing all the business with a minimum of fuss, Josh Mahoney being the mouthpiece, and evervbody in and out being treated with respect, that will make us a destination club, along with the onfield success

Let's hope AHG becomes synonymous with Melbourne over a long period of time and therefore synonymous with success.