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Rumors that Watts wants out are total BS. At this point every year the media look at high profile players who were dropped late in the season as players that may want out or the coach has lost faith in. They then suggest trade rumors for these players on a statistical basis. In this case Watts does not want to leave nor does Goodwin want to trade him. Watts is staying.

Essendon losing and Rich going out in SS would bring some restoration of happiness to my fortnight of disappointment

Jack absolutely bleeds Red and Blue. I know a lot of people have differing opinions on Jack as a player, but he loves this club more than any of you realise. There's no way he'd voluntarily change clubs, and since he is still contracted he isn't going anywhere.

Hes a long distance runner masquerading as a footballer. GPS data means jack [censored] if you don't impact games and he rarely does.

This thread reminds me of the Dustin Martin thread three years ago when nobody wanted him. Stringer has similar potential to Petracca. As he gets older he could develop into a great player, but even if he doesn't reach his potential, he will still be worth more than whatever pick the dogs get for him. It's a yes for me.

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/jordan-mcmahon-melbourne-fc-appreciation.1176042/ While they make a good point our draft failures, it still doesn't change the fact that these Richmond ferals have a pure hatred of the Melbourne FC, are jealous of our more affluent supporter base and want us to be a dismal failure. Everyone raise your glasses to a straight set exit by Richmond.

One things surprises me Steve. With your ability to assess talent i don't understand why you are not working for an AFL club in a list management role. With your mad skills and football acumen some of the decisions the so called professionals at the mfc have made in the last two years must baffle and frustrate you in equal measure. As an example of that acumen let's look at two young kp players you mention above at comparative stages in their career - their second season of AFL football. Both need to put on some muscle and of course it is a big ask to play in key positions at such a young age. The one you see as having no obvious talent or easily identifiable attributes is backed in by the so called professionals to play 15 games in his second season, ahead of veterans Lynden Dunn and Colin Garland. Despite having those two experienced defenders available once picked he is not dropped all season. Yes he averaged 6.5 intercepts and over 16 possessions a game at 78.3% DE (silly stat - so easy for defenders like him a to get high DE with their easy chip kicks!). But, still - honestly what were they thinking? And then at seasons end do they heed your advice and draft in a stop gap experienced KPD to allow him to develop in the VFL while they waited for lever to come off contract? What? They don't? No, they don't and what's more such is their bizarre confidence in him they trade away an experienced KPD in Dunn. Crazy stuff. Now lets look at the second season of the player with 'obvious talent and easily identifiable attributes that made him standout prior to being drafted. Which is part of why he went inside the top 10'. Now this is where it gets really weird. Good injury free pre season after a similarly injury free run in his first pre season. But only gets selected for seven afl games. Seven. And this despite the fact that for big chunks of the season we had one or both of our key forwards out through injury and form and were desperate for a KPF. And this is where it gets even weirder. Despite having such obvious talent at their disposal they instead throw TMac forward and ask his inexperienced brother, who has no obvious talent, to carry the load and be the main man down back. A young fella in just his third season - what were they thinking? Strange also that this coincided with the period jnrmac thinks we played our best football. To be fair to the so called professionals the high draft pick with such obvious talent has hardly set the world on fire in the magoos and at times down right struggled. And when he has got a gig in the seniors he has shanked more kicks than taken marks (64.3% DE - ouch, 3 contested marks in total - double ouch), averaged 8.6 possession a game and kicked a grand total of 3 goals which is given the KPI of a KPF is kicking goals is not a great return. But his talent is obvious. And it is a big step up to AFL level. And it is a real challenge for young kp players to play regular senior footy at AFL level. You have to be pretty good to get regular games at that age playing in a KP. Big men take time. And for what it is worth i agree. His talent is obvious. And i think he will make it. Though that is not as clear as it might have 12 months ago or when he was drafted so highly. The ability of the so called professionals at the dees to see the obvious must drive you nuts Steve. Do us all a favor and get a job there and set them straight. Though with their inability to spot talent and make good choices they probably would not give you a gig. Fools. Oath.

Hogan, Stringer, Watts, TMAC. We're shaping up to be the sookiest forward line of the modern era.

From:http://m.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-09-06/vfl-player-review-qualifying-final Angus Brayshaw: He had 36 disposals, including 23 contested possessions, 12 clearances and 11 inside 50s. Angus started slowly, but when we needed someone to stand-up, Gus was put in the middle of the ground and he won clearances. I thought he was best-on-ground, which was a credit to him. He really stood-up and sensed he had to do something for his team, so I couldn’t speak highly enough of his game This guy provided a rare shining light towards the end of the season and let's hope this is a sign of things to come. Really thought we lacked another quality genuine mid this year and Gus could well be the answer to that in 2018.

Bloody hell George, without unsubstantiated rumours this site would be almost blank.

Slowly getting over the devastation of missing the finals by a whisker. I want to give a shout out to Jake Melksham, who was magnificent for the Dees , especially once Goody moved him to a new role half way through the season. He kicked at least one goal in his last 12 matches, a streak he will take into next season. He kicked 21 goals from the last 12 games. He kicked some clutch goals at crucial stages. He makes it look easy kicking goals from outside 50. A powerful kick of the footy. And while the goals were raining down, he was also shutting down his direct opponent more often than not. There was a lot of angst when we gave up a 2nd rounder for him , especially after he was rubbed out for a season, but he showed he was worth it. If he can continue to excel in his new role it will be huge for the team .

Lumumba

IMO Lever is a very good player showing leadership and AA potential based on this season and worth pick 10 with some kind of sweetner Whitfield is worth the same in terms of trade value. But mark my words he will cost a lot more next year. Watch his finals series last season when the heat was really on. His decision making, ball use and running power are A grade. Omac took rapid strides this season and whilst he isn't Lever he's shown plenty of positives for pick 53 early in his career. We have seen the team defence work well this season and fall away as cattle went missing and when lack of pressure around the middle cut up our zone. Will they improve again next year. Yes IMO with or without Lever. Trengove from Port will also improve us greatly What we lack most is a polished outside mid to improve our delivery inside 50. Get the ball in quick, reduce the overuse of handball and make good decisions and see how more effective our forwards are. Even young Wied on a quick lead and not having to go arm in arm due to poor slow delivery would benefit greatly and cause headaches. If it is a choice in using all our currency on Lever or getting Trengove as a FA and using our currency on an outside gun I know what I would prefer

There are approximately 27 people in the world upset at this outcome... and they all work at AFL House.

GW$ are F$&@ed tonight Enjoy the hate $cully

His improvement over the year reflects well on Jake and the coaching staff. It shows what can happen when a player is given a chance by being regularly selected rather than being dropped after a game or two. Another one that fits this bill is ANB. In both cases, the players were able to develop confidence and form and reward a coach who was prepared to back them. Finding the right position was also key.

Except for that time he was an AA and kicked 56 goals in a season. Sylvia may have featured in our top 5 in the BnF once in his career if he was lucky? Stringer has runs on the board and is proven quality. Obviously something has gone on this year. I'm not saying we should get him, but he's nothing like Sylvia.

A strong club will turn him around and get the most out of him. The question is whether we consider ourselves as such a club.

He wouldn't crumble under the pressure of having to kick the goal from 45 metres on a 45 degree angle - he'd put it straight through the centre, mid-post high. More than I can say for ANYONE else on our list. Just take a look at the R23 game - Watts kicks the goal from 50+ on an angle - Garlett, Gawn and Tyson all miss sitters with less than half the degree of difficulty. There's different types of pressure and players respond to them differently. Watts responds very well to pressure when kicking the ball both in play and from set shots. Who would you want kicking for goal to win the GF after the siren? For me it would be Watts every time.

Tonight showed how good a signing lever would be! He was the general down back and rose for the big game.

Gil will be stoked. The only way to get to a GWS vs Essendon grand final was a Crows win tonight.

Patton looks like a Llama.

Did he have a Package with him??

I just had the most epic feed of sous vide cooked wagyu rump. Life is good. F*#k the finals and any vegans out there.

No, I heard it was Mr Sheen (I think he's Polish)

We're in the running guys!! SEN just reported that Jason Taylor was seen at the Footscray Post Office.

I just want Selwood to duck into a tackle and knock himself. And then wake up a year later having been traded while in a coma to the Gold Coast for Gary Ablett.

I think they rushed a few back from injury too soon. Him and Viney definitely came back way too soon and we paid the price for it. Poor player management in my view.

I love Col but I think there is a bit of sense in this. If he was told that he wouldn't play seniors and he was taking a spot on the list we'd like to fill I'm sure he'd agree to being paid out, play at Casey and continue his coaching role with the club. He's a terrific club man. I hope we treat him very well.

I 100% agree. Playing in the ruck gets him involved in the game more often and when he gets the ball whilst playing in the ruck his brilliant disposal skills and elite vision mean any clearances he gets are usually really damaging. Also i think he surprisingly good at directing taps to advantage. I think his hammy meant that he was unable to play in the ruck when he came back and it really hurt how much he could impact games.

I'm finding it very hard to get interested in the finals after our capitulation, but the only things that would bring a small smile to my face would be... 1) Richmond go out in straight sets 2) Essendon get absolutely thumped by Sydney

I think the bloke's a seagull but one by necessity more than anything. He's a running machine and would be wasted fighting for the hard ball. He'd clearly be a valuable acquisition to our team.

Agree on all except the Richmond result. I want to see Richmond go out in straight sets and hence, the balance of the universe restored. Geelong will not make it to the Grand Final regardless, so I won't begrudge them a win this week.

Bin, for daring to have me on ignore, you must suffer two penances- 1. Give yourself a jolly good flo gging. 2. Go back and read all the clever and informative posts that you missed.

The whole final series is an anticlimax for me given our implosion. But happy for the Tiger fans. It's not 50 years but they have taken a battering for the last 30 odd years. And they are a fair dinkum VFL club born out of the depression and two wars. They are grass roots and authentic. Give me the pain of seeing the Tigers win and see another team climb over us (that we thought we were ahead of in development and finals terms). Rather that than the conceit of Geelong fans, the disgraceful Bombers, the ridulousness of the Eagles playing finals, the spoilt handout Franchise club the gratuitous Giants, or the Buddy adoration club who expect to win another one. And don't start me on the abhorrent Crow fans and players like Tex and Eddie or to a lesser extent, Port fans. Let them stay at the AO and play one another every week.

I reckon Gus's kicking skills are good. He is very good on his non-preferred which is a rarity and he can kick it flat and a fair distance. more importantly he has that footy nouse of knowing where to kick to advantage he has barely had a run at it at AFL level but once he does the errors will dry up

I doubt there is any Jealousy towards us. Since 1965 when Rchmond came to the MCG we have done nothing What is said about our drafting is sadly correct Tanking did us no favours whatsoever

Matt Crouch's name was brought up as trade bait at the end of last year. There were question marks on his disposal so there wasn't a lot of strong interest. Gus is a good user. Kids coming into the game can tend to rush their kicks until they pick up the pace of the game. Gus will be fine.

My god.... Do we need to start a thread on every delisted/retired player.. This bloke wouldn't get a kick in div 2 ammos Edit: make it div 3 ammos

Lock up your wives and girlfriends..

I think it's silly how some posters go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about certain players to make themselves feel a little superior.

A Collingwood girl walks into the local dry cleaners. She places a garment on the counter. "I'll be back tomorrow afternoon to pick up my dress." she says. "Come again?" says the worker, cupping his ear. "No" she replies. "This time it's mayonnaise."

Note: Jack did not play rounds 14, 15, 16, 17 so its a bit rich to say he went missing in one of the most crucial periods for the MFC in the last 5 years. He wasn't there so find someone else to blame for the team's form lapse! He came back and played injured for rounds 18, 19, 20 and was then dropped. So some facts please... ...Maybe we lost form because Jack didn't play in that period and the team missed him.

That's where we differ then. I don't think he is just a solid defender. If we went to the draft and took a guy as good as Lever with pick 10 then you would be over the moon. Well... I would be. That's why I think it will cost more than pick 10. History of Pick 10 2000 - Jordan McMahon, Western Bulldogs. 2001 - Sam Power, Western Bulldogs. 2002 - Jason Laycock, Essendon. 2003 - Ryley Dunn ,Fremantle. 2004 - Chris Egan, Collingwood. 2005 - Marcus Drum, Fremantle. 2006 - Nathan Brown, Collingwood. 2007 - Patrick Dangerfield, Adelaide. 2008 - Phil Davis, Adelaide. 2009 - Jake Melksham, Essendon. 2010 - Daniel Gorringe, Gold Coast. 2011 - Toby Greene, GWS. 2012 - Joe Daniher, Essendon. (Father Son) 2013 - Nathan Freeman, Collingwood. 2014 - Nakia Cockatoo, Geelong. 2015 - Harry McKay, Carlton. 2016 - Jack Bowes, Gold Coast. 4 players from 16 years that I would be happy with. 1 of them was a father son.

I'm a supporter of Watts and like what he brings but Watts is not a better footballer than Gaff

Yawn

On that basis, Jessie Hogan should be traded as well.

It's not a rumour. It's what I would like to see happen. Pick 10 + 2018 1st rounder for Lever + Crows 2017 1st (17?) Crows 2017 1st + Kent for Gaff I'd sweeten both deal with steak knives (e.g. later pick swaps - ours are earlier than theirs) if necessary.

No Way...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!