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The club announced it this afternoon. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-01-29/melbourne-launches-david-neitz-academy The Academy is for our 1st and 2nd year players and honours our wonderful captain and MFC games record holder - Neita! MFC: “....it’s the behaviours that he (Neitz) displayed throughout his entire career that we want our younger players to emulate. His attitude towards training, his attention to detail and his selfless attitude are things we want all our young players at the Melbourne Football Club to value.” Gosh we missed all those attributes when he retired. This goes some way to 'right the wrongs of the past' where some senior players were retired/let go without much dignity or respect. Slowly but surely the club is embracing them again. I'm glad the club has found an appropriate way to honour Neitz.

We deserve it, I'm still dirty about how the circle reduced Jeff White's jump...

He came into Acland Cellars where I did some shifts in December 2005. He was as humble a guy you'd ever care to meet. He confirmed his German background, spoke about his Tassie days and said he was looking forward to 2006. He was upbeat but not all that confident. He was a great player to watch, always committed and keen to get the ball. His loyalty to Daniher was heart-warming as well.

Why are we splitting hairs about Daniel Cross? He was sensational for us, but clearly we made the right decision. It's not as if we went backwards when he retired. Strange discussion to have.

Enter Lewis.

He creates space, and then we don't kick it to him!

Great initiative. Nice tribute for a club legend.

What were the Police waiting for? they followed him for 2 hours BEFORE he reached the City what in Hell where they waiting for? please do not tell me that a Roadblock could not be set up and executed simply I repeat at Flinders Street any of 3 police vehiles could have rammed that car targetting a front wheel making the steering inoperative without having to use high speed. But no They all stood and waited until the Car was able to enter Swanston St with no restriction. A pedestrian thoroughfare useless

I have been trying to get interested in the Women's AFL competition. I just can't.

Agree. Who should be more upset, Hawks fans at losing 2nd B & F and champion of the club at 30, or us losing Crossy at 33?

agreed george watching the 99 mfc vs nm game you referenced on the replay thread, the thing that struck me was how relatively clean the competing ruckmen were with respect to not shepherding, locking arms and wrestling. it was refreshing to watch. this has been a bugbear of mine for years. it was not always like that and the umps used to be strict on the use of arms for other than the ball. if the afl can clean that aspect up over time we might return to good clean rucking contests. lack of third man up will help with the congestion and limit some of the wrestling

i think john kennedy snr had the answer

The misogyny on this thread is disgusting. I'm burning my mansiere in protest.

Isn't he a Assistant coach for Hawthorn now though?

I tend to be pretty full of Melbourne Bitter after a loss... and a win for that matter

Enjoy mate sadly I cannot raise the same enthusiasm. It might have something to do with the time of the year.

It's different from the men's game and will grow with time. I don't look at it as a comparison to the blokes, rather a style of footy that's more straight forward, which can be appealing to watch. Here's hoping the AFL don't f*** it up and remove the grass roots feel or turn it onto a commercially focussed business (fat chance of that not occurring). I know a couple of women in the new comp, including one of the marquee players, and hope to take a bunch of young kids to see a game or two over the next month.

You sound like a Melbourne fan at the end of 2011. Your team is wildly inconsistent, has a dodgy keeper and can't keep the goals out. You'll need to do a hell of a lot more than sign a few defenders to 'win the league'. And even if the FA Cup means little, what the game did show is that some of your youngsters are nowhere near it. That's got to be a cause for concern, FA Cup or not.

FSG don't buy. It's painful. Mane being in Africa has coincided with our drop in form. He's almost as important to Liverpool as Costa is to Chelsea. Without Costa, Chelsea are battling for 5th or 6th place. He's been so dominant. Liverpool has had a much better spread of scorers and contributors. What I can't figure out is why Klopp hasn't splashed out on two top central defenders. If our defence is tightened, we'd win the league. Klopp's winning recording is tainted by coming in during a season, whereas LVG started a season and had a transfer window and summer to implement his plans. 2015/2016 was a rightoff season for Liverpool. This season Liverpool have scored more goals and covered more ground than any other team. Next season they'll be even stronger. Sure up defence and they'll be unstoppable. The EFL and FA Cup have meant little to me ever. The Premier League is the one I want. Need Mane back desperately. Massive game on Wednesday.

Hello Demonlanders At great expense to my marriage to a non-AFL Polish woman who is the love of my life I've been watching the archives of Demon games since the late 80's. We had some great times, some major flops and disappointments but, gee there were some great players. I'd like to field what I would deem the best team since 1990, the best 'Imported' team since then, the best 'Exported' team, and the best 'Future' team. Yeates Ingerson Wight Lovett Neitz Febey Johnson Lovett Stretch Lyon Shwartz Yze Farmer Jackovich Green Stynes Viney Jones Inter; Whelan, Davey, White, j Mcdonald. Imported: Clark, Pickett, White, Bizzel, Vardy, Holland, Ellis, Bryce, Owen, Turley, Mc Donald, Ward, Vince, Tyson, Ingerson, Lovett,Powell, Clarke, Heffernan, Moloney, Lumumba, Dawes, Pederson, Shanahan., Seecamp Exported: Spalding, Jolly, Bassett, Thomson, Hughes, O'Dwyer, Pettard, Miller, Martin, Sylvia, Mclean, Scully, Frawley, Rivers, Fitzpatrick, Toumpas, Bennel, Armsrtong, Walsh, Pyke, Charles,Farmer, Lovell, Simmonds, Moloney, Bruce. Da future: Would include Hogan, Gawn, Hunt, T. McDonald, J. Viney, Salem, Petracca,..... ?

Happy to join the esteemed company.

He's not big by any means but he's filled out a bit and doesn't look thin either. Probably 2 more seasons and maybe 4 kg at most away from his ideal weight. Will be interesting to see if he plays stronger this year. His kicking is inconsistent but is far more natural than Tom's and at times he can kick nicely. Tom's pretty thin after presumably doing very little upper body stuff after a shoulder surgery but he's held his own in contests against most forwards even with a thin frame.

I reckon 93 kgs is about the perfect weight for Watts. That's big without being too bulky - he needs his aerobic capacity at a good level and too much weight impedes this. I'm a big fan of this bloke. Really hope he has a cracking season.

The Maxy Tap over head special will be happening all over the ground.

So you are satisfied that loads of Police were just standing around tell me please What were the Police actually waiting for?... even the top cops must have known this was going to end badly. His brain was totally fried.

Ex North Melbourne, 48 games. Demon '91-'92-26 games, Sydney '93, 17 games, a 91 game player. Played full back for the Demons, kicked 26 for North, 14 for Sydney. Handy player. Seemed to have his head screwed the right way, didn't get involved in bulldust stage fighting.

Sounds good, schwaby.

The "Women's Team" should go well in 2017 with Watts, Hogan, Tom Mac and Wagner all playing for it! ?

They're our KPDs for the next 5 years. 14-15 teams will be envious.

That's why I didn't mention Bugg, Garlett or Kennedy.

Not troubled at all by the two MacDonald's plus Frost being our KPDs.

He's pretty heavy through the thighs, his natural full grown weight will be 10 kgs heavier than Watts. Watts and Hogan are longer in the legs and probably have more spring in their legs. Oscar will get harder and harder to move in a marking contest as he has more weight closer to the ground. I think Hogan may have dropped weight in the last six months, both he and Watts will look to run a lot in the season, I think young Oscar will be more a stay at home backman on the less mobile forwards.

I agree HT that it could be a damned if you do/damned if you don't scenario. This shouldn't have stopped the police from acting though. With people's lives at risk the Police who were present had to act. They are equipped with the tools to difuse a situation like this, at that time you conduct a quick risk assessment and go from there. From what I saw, their actions, or lack of, were simply not good enough.

If Oscar is now 97kgs, then Jayden Hunt is easily 110kgs.

In many of these situations, I find that money actually just covers for the lack of a viable business model or solid culture and club spirit and soul. Chelsea and City may have won a couple of titles between them, but they are transient 'franchises' nowadays. You could understand their supporters going along with it though, being able to rub titles in the faces of the previous top clubs like Liverpool and the scummy red part of Manchester. Ultimately though, the clubs haven't had to work hard for their successes, they've just spent heavily from another person's hard-earned. The AFL examples certainly demonstrate a gulf between corporate acumen and sporting acumen. Joe kept putting money into the club like an IV drip, when what was really need were solid foundations and to continue the metaphor, different meds. Money doesn't work long term, because it itself is transient. You need solid foundations right across the board that set a culture of success, as PJ has shown at Melbourne. And even then, that won't all last forever if people within a club let themselves slip into self-satisfied arrogance.

I would have Bruce in my best team, but you also left him out of the exports. Cam would easily get a run in that team.

Also, I don't even know the words to Stolat...or any Polish for that matter. That doesn't stop my father-in-law talking to me in Polish.

Have you read the ingredients on the side of a can of Red Bull? WADA would have a field day

It's heartening to see someone in the media consistently rate Melbourne. Not the first time Mooney has pumped up our tyres in recent times.

No

No way. Ridiculous. Monster Energy Drinks is the way to go. We could be the Monster Demons. Have MotoCross riders and monster trucks flipping around the G before every match. That's the Carrum Downs market cornered. Dancing promo girls and fireworks... sign me up!

Congratulations. I am neither obstetrician nor midwife, but I guess conception needs to occur about now.

We are the Melbourne Football Club. Not the Red Bull football club. I can't honestly say who we represent other than our members and supporters. We clearly don't represent the city of Melbourne. On the other hand. the Red Bull Demons would represent the Red Bull company and any success and all glory would be attributable to the mighty Red Bull corporation. The mighty power of the Red Bull brand has brought you this success. Please buy Red Bull products and you too can be as successful. An increased fan base, by extension, are fans of the Red Bull corporation whether the fans intend that or not. On a related note, it's distasteful to have advertising plastered all over the jumper. Check out the NRL jumpers. (We are headed the same way, gradually.) However you regard the USA competitions & their team owners, their leveraging of the team brands for $$$, not one of them puts ads on the jumper. The name "Melbourne" guarantees nothing. A 16- , then 18-team competition with its extra $$$ is what has guaranteed us a place in the AFL comp to date. If the AFL thought they could jettison us and get away with it, there have been multiple opportunities in the past. None were tied to the sacred name of "Melbourne".

I get your point, but Terlich didn't play a senior game last year. Cross would have taken games off Oliver / Petracca / Brayshaw / etc. Hopefully it is some short term pain for some long term gain.

Dom still criminally underrated.

Should be pinned.

Me too bb. I buy very little sporting branded gear because it is so in your face. 100% my age I guess but I don't wear "boy racer" type branding that is all over the garment. Simple "BMW' Logo type on one breast is my go. Sadly I cannot afford a BMW.

In my mind it doesn't. Can't see a team with both plus Hogan, Watts and possibly Weids. If weids isnt in the team, maybe. But tbh I think you lose playing two rucks, one needs to be a genuine forward or Paul salmon type.

George on the Outer concludes his "warts and all" analysis of each team's prospects for 2017 WHERE IT CAN ALL GO WRONG - THE WARTS AND ALL ANALYSIS OF EACH TEAM'S PROSPECTS [PART 3] The final group of six clubs; Hawthorn Finally for all football fans the rot has finally set in at Hawthorn. Winning 6 games by less than 10 points in the past season got them into finals, but it probably won’t happen again in 2017. Then to top it off they have dispatched their top 2 players in their B & F, and invested heavily in themarginal Tom Mitchell and an eternally injured O’Meara to replace them. (Not to mention Ty Vickery, who was recruited because….?) We now know that O’Meara won’t be available until Easter, so that plan is working well to date. But even if these 2 are equal in every way to Mitchell and Lewis, then the Hawks can only tread water. With Hodge, Burgoyne and Gibson all on the wrong side of 30, the Hawks are still competitive, but they are no longer the unbeatables. Port Adelaide If this team was a horse, the stewards would be out with the swab every time they make an appearance. They still have 17 players from their 2014 preliminary final side playing, but given back then they couldn’t take the next step, it is likely that those players were never good enough. And now it is 3 years later and we have seen a slow drop down the ladder. With next to zero trading done in the past 2 years and unable to convince others to take on Hartlett and his huge contract, Port will be much the same as last year, and the year before. Western Bulldogs When the team ethos is running into brick walls, there comes a time when the wall just doesn’t give way, like it did for them in 2016. Yes, they are the 2016 champions after coming from nowhere, but Hawthorn in 2008 did exactly the same. The following year the carnage cost the Hawks a place in the finals, and the Bulldogs luck in 2016 that got them through, has a habit of running out eventually. For a team that lost 1/3 of their games in the H & A season, and with Murphy, Boyd and Morris well into their 30’s, the future may not be a bright as they currently think. GWS Giants The AFL’s love child has been brought up on a diet of high draft picks and AFL inspired salary cap generosity. While they made it to a preliminary final this year, the rest of the competition is hoping they will choke again when they get to the big stage. Injuries are what is needed, particularly to their big man in Mumford. We saw what happened in 2016 to Freoand WCE when Sandilands and Natinui went down (we really don’t want anyone injured, but we sure as hell don’t want this made up team winning a GF). Perhaps new recruit Delidio can bring some of the Richmond mentality to the group? Or maybe Steve Johnson can find a new way to de-rail their progress. Adelaide After a stinker for them with the death of their coach in 2015, they continued to perform on-field under new management in 2016 despite of this big drawback. Trouble was, the team from the City of Churches forgot to do any trades or improve their draft picks to entice the talent needed to take that next step. After all holding your breath until you get what you want always works for Nick Xenophon….or maybe they just couldn’t get anyone to move to the place! Rory Sloane is unfortunately a one man band in the middle, and the lack of talent around him was good enough for him to get noticed often by the umpires in Brownlow voting. Emotion and an “us against those nasty people from the east” mentality probably won’t cut it for the coming season. Carlton Now the “forgotten” team of the AFL, their success of previous years was based on cheque-book recruiting. It has taken them years to realise good players are now drafted and with no change to this recruiting method, there seems little chance of them putting together a half-decent side. During the off-season Bryce Gibbs wanted out, so he will be filled with enthusiasm to have to pull on the navy blue jumper during the year. Their recruiting team set about filling the holes with further GWS bottom of the barrel rejects and discards, unlike other clubs who enticed more reasonable prospects to make the leap. The loss of Tuohy leaves their already fragile backline further exposed and without Walker in 2017, the forward line is even more vacant.

Let me tell you something Stewart my present job is working for ABC ME channel 3. But the kids don't watch TV. They watch online through the website. Nearly one million kids are registered on the ABC ME Website. Kids do use websites and social media. Mand we need lots of kids to sign up as members. We have lost generations of them to other clubs. Now if we have information on there that is 2 years out of date, kids will just laugh and go elsewhere. Now please go away Stewart...