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Its one thing not rating a player in the team you support and making your case as to why. I have no issue at all with that. What i do have an issue with is so called supporters bagging their own players, particularly when it is as petty as this post. I cant stand it, whether it is my club or another one. You often hear it at the footy and i am embarrassed when it is a demon fan. Basically a personal attack on a 21 year old kid busting a gut to play for the demons. Questioning his courage? Ridicuiling him? Pathetic.

Enjoy ==> Mobile => https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-hqQvsv?mobile=true https://six6six.smugmug.com/frame/slideshow?key=jvSv8k&autoStart=1&captions=0&navigation=0&playButton=0&randomize=0&speed=2&transition=fade&transitionSpeed=1&clickable=1

Get over the idea that OMac needs to go back to Casey to learn. He's my prediction for a breakout year, if there is such a thing.

Injuries and form permitting he'll play till he's 35 he'll get to 300. He has been the heart and soul of the joint for the past decade, deserves every accolade that comes his way.

As promised (and thanks to Demonland for increasing the quota for life members), here is the subset of Liam’s photos...

Jonesy has been a fantastic servant of the Melbourne Football Club. Certainly played many games where he was unsupported and swimming against the tide. And therein lies the challenge for him. I think he got into the habit (understandably) of trying to do it all. Perhaps needs to increasingly play smarter with the realization that the support in the middle is now much greater.

666=18. 18 This is our year for a flag 666 The devils number. Our number is up. It's our flag for the taking. 666 The number of the beast. Frost is looking like a beast. Norm Smith medalist for sure !!!!

Ah, the old 'don't read it' answer. Always a popular choice. I'm not forgiving, I'm just sane. I was filthy for weeks, but what's the point of hanging on to it? The players will need to use it as motivation to ensure it doesn't happen again, but they won't be hung on up on it like you are.

Unfortunately i missed the afternoon, but from the results there are some good results there and some spot on tips. Love ya work.

Correct Uncle Think we need to define "bottoming out" ... I think it means going to the bottom quartile (say the last five of an eighteen club comp.) Two years in the bottom quartile hurts a club... three to five.. that can mean damage.. five to ten as we have done is almost a club killer

Vince this season. Lewis 2019 Jones 2020? Too early to say, the next two seasons are locked in, anything after that should be taken year by year.

And wouldn't it be a nice problem to have if Weideman can advance his game? The good news is that T-Mac & Hogan can play in a variety of positions. Back a few years ago a few people here made mention that Hogan could even hold down CHB ... with his reading of the play, marking strength, creativity and his ability to bring others into the play, who would rule it out? In today's footy all things are possible - I see Hogan as a general utility who can float about and play just about anywhere. He had a horrid run of luck last year and just needs a good run at it.

Hogan doesn't have to kick a lot of goals to be a very effective player '56 ... even so, over the course of the season he'd get his fair share of chances within his range anyway (if he played predominantly at CHF) The way footy is played these days the roles of the FF & CHF has changed a lot - and both positions aren't static. Coaches often rotate their big forwards within their forward lines. Hogan is a very creative player and has excellent hands in close - plus, he can occasionally play on the ball as can T-Mac (as a back-up ruckman) Both players are quite versatile and we need to utilise the strengths of both players - T-Mac at CHF & Hogan at FF can still happen from time to time but the other way around has more appeal. Bringing in Lever allows the team to have 2 versatile goal-kicking forwards. And if Weideman comes on strong ...

Cheers HT, Liam and Saty for the pics and everyone for the updates. Much appreciated

We need a few of our good players to become stars of the game - A grade no less. Petracca seems the most likely to me, Hogan is another. But a breakout year in the forward line for the entire season? T-Mac. 50-60+ goals will do it and he's capable of achieving that. One of his strengths is an innate ability to find time and room for himself. And in the forward line, that's invaluable. And he is a very accurate kick for goal. Play him deep forward and get Hogan at CHF and up the ground.

Great shots as ever 666! Thanks for posting

So good to see Lever in the Red & Blue.

It's all noise, I want the team to not believe the hype, I want them to think they have no Talent, that way they will do all the hard things, the only reason we did not make finals is every time we had a big lead in games we took the foot of the pedal, it started in round 1 when we let the saints kick the last 2 goals, and it happened all the way till round 22, I hope the team has learnt that its never over until the final siren, we must finish strong.

Maynard for me, think he could surprise.

Interesting discussion, and no doubt the list has improved, but what still concerns me is the way the same list of players took the foot off the gas in the last 2 rounds of 2016 and 2017 Attitude will determine how far this club goes. This club is famous for talking tough before a job is done nobody rates The MFC, we are still laughed at by opposition supporters SEN had the Demon thread up on their facebook page yesterday. Interesting read goodluck Simon. 2018 could make or break you....

The only issue I see with these predictions, is that none of these experts would have picked Tigers or the Bulldogs to win a flag

Normally I'm a glass half empty kind of fella, except when it comes to footy and especially our prospects in the preseason. I have tended towards a more sanguine approach of our upcoming fortunes often dismissing the pessimistic forecasts of independent observers as being ill informed or waiting to be discredited (like any 'normal' football supporter does). I've been burnt over the last decade as invariably they were right and I was wrong. What makes the situation a little different now is the large amount of chatter about our improved prospects. One example that I came across recently was when I listened to one of my favourite AFL podcasts (Junktime) which was recorded just before the draft. https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/junktime-afl-podcast-with-adam-123464/episodes/pre-draft-2017-with-former-afl-23371913 Craig Coombes (ex AFL recruiter for Port who also worked at Hawthorn as a scout/spy as well) spoke glowing of our prospects. He's on the podcast from about the 29 minute mark for those of you not into this type of comedy. He was being asked about the lists as they stand. He has a formula that he uses based on 1-4 year players on the list with a differential applied to those that have played 15+ games and those that are in the best 22. He gives them a score out of 10. In a nutshell he had Melbourne ranked first for development (10/10) and can see us doing a Bulldogs or Richmond this season. He had us with twenty 1-4 year players with ten 15+ games of these he has assessed that 8 are in our best 22. (I’m guessing here he’s talking about Oliver, Hogan, Brayshaw, Petracca, Hunt, Salem Lever, and you can raffle the rest) Yes, confirmation bias here is a dangerous thing, but it’s interesting that a lot of non- Melbourne people are being very bullish about us (which I genuinely can't recall having happened for well over a decade) the same types that when we were crap- told us in no uncertain terms we were crap- so there maybe something in this. I think we have some players who will stamp themselves as being genuinely elite in the next 12-18 months and I'm still a blue sky junkie when it comes to guys like Joel Smith and Sam Weideman. Anyway I always think it’s interesting when a complete outsider with AFL experience is so bullish about us. As the man in the hat would say.. 'do yourself a favour'.

Wondered how long it would take? Sylvia????

That's a great photo. it looks like a footy card from 1968, which is fitting because Lever looks and acts pretty old school (the hair, the seriousness at such a young age, engaged etc)

Louis Riddick is right. Gotta take the easy throws off Brady. Most are between 3-12 yards then what ever the recievers get. Amendola had a paddock out there today at times.

Gus Brayshaw for mine, assuming he is injury free. This bloke has enormous upside and we haven't come close to seeing what he is capable of, in my opinion

Not much is ever going to change in the AFL Dappa. It's my guess that in 5 - 10 years time the season and finals format will be the same ... although, they might bring in a wild-card weekend in the weekend that is currently devoid of footy - 7th vs 10th & 8th vs 9th. As for the game itself with all the congestion coupled with puzzling rule interpretations (mainly holding the ball/incorrect disposal) I don't expect anything to change. The formula works despite my misgivings - the TV money keeps rolling in and the game is still wildly popular. I tend to just watch and attend Demon games these days. I'm more of a fan of overseas sports & test cricket. And the horses

I have a sneaking suspicion that Tommy Mac will top our goal kicking this year. He's strong, durable and mobile and Hogan will be taking the best defenders each week. I don't know if that really counts as a breakout year since he's been our best tall defender for years, but it's a new position for him.

Just a beer with dinner my friend! Went down rather well, too. Seriously though, while I see the merit in what you're saying, there can still be players who can surprise us. Oliver is one who showed remarkable improvement from '16 to '17. ANB is another who showed terrific improvement as well. Players still have it in them, even if we don't see it all the time.

Yep Wadda, I reckon keeping up a bit of an interest between the Carnivals helps when the Carnivals come around. We develop an eye for the good horses so when they pop up again it makes distinguishing the form easier. There will be a few horses coming over from the Ascot carnival and the same goes for those that ran at the Gold Coast yesterday. Those 4 horses that won the feature races yesterday are all worth following up on. All won well and all ran sizzling times. 'Care to Think' was just off running the track record (it ran 1:20.72 for the 1400m) yet had to come from the outside barrier and was 3-wide all the way. Viddora carried 59kg and could be anything. Sunlight is a real speedster whilst Pierata looks a gun 3yo.

Louis Riddick is probably my favourite pundit on all things NFL ... after the game on 'Sportscenter' he was talking about how Brady is more often than not used for those short throws down the middle and then letting the receiver gain the extra yards. He then went on to say how he doesn't understand why other teams don't just simply copy what the Pats do. I've got a mate who follows the Pats and we've both been saying the exact same thing for years. Brady is only ever called upon to do his "stuff" when it's absolutely needed or as a surprise move ... and Belichick knows he can and does deliver when called upon. Foles is asked to do more at the Eagles yet he is not in Brady's league. Drive for show, putt for dough. So there is a way to use Foles effectively even though he is not a deep ball thrower nor is he good with his legs. Foles went 23/30 and threw for 246 yards. No TD's but he wasn't too shabby. Should have been intercepted at least once but again, only on deep throws. Foles should throw long when the odds are in his favour or if it's a sideline throw. Play the percentages.

I'm hoping Maynard. If Petracca, Salem and Brayshaw can take the next step, along with Maynard, a midfield of these guys complimenting Oliver, Viney, Tyson and Jones is an excellent and deep ball-winning midfield. The other guy that would excite me is Oscar McDonald. With Lever's leadership and solidity down there, I hope Oscar can play his game a little more and develop into a solid KPB himself. 2018 is going to be exciting! I still see it as a development year, but I expect nothing less than playing finals. I think we'll fall between 5th and 8th place. However, if we get a little bit of luck and all our kids improve at once, we can make the top 4. So to me it is still a development year. That's not to say you can't pinch a flag in a development year, but our guys need to get used to playing finals and delivering consistently. I think 2018 will be a failure if we can't win at least one final. Hopefully our breakout player can compliment the steady improvement of others around him.

I think he'll make it to 300. He prepares diligently and professionally and, touch wood, he hasn't had any major injuries during his career so his body should still be in pretty good nick. If he can add another string to his bow (eg. a half back flank role) then he can potentially prolong his career even further.

Geelong haven't bottomed out in my lifetime (born 71). A lot of not quite years but never in the bottom 4. Home ground plays a part, but mostly it has been sensible stewardship.

Top Shelf 666......and that equals 18, may this be the year.

The ABC have a camera on a freshly painted wall, it’s a tough choice between watching this and the Ghan on SBS.

If you’re uploading images to Facebook (or Instagram etc..) as well as here there’s also the option of copying the Facebook link and clicking ‘insert image from URL’ on here. It will save your upload quota. Just a tip for young players.

I say this every year: thank you so much to everyone who reports and who downloads photos. For those of us living away from Melbourne it is wonderful to see. And the excitement builds. i must say Hogan looks very scary indeed and Frosts ears look like they were taken from Charlie Windsor!

Another thing is that drafting usually takes around three years before you get results. We may think we have drafted well over the last 4 years but save for Oliver the bulk of those draftees are still in the "potential basket".

Jack Viney is a major concern for me. Really hope they don’t rush him this time and put him in when he is good and ready, correction when the drs/Physio’s say he is good to go.

The 2 strong sides of the last 10 years, Geelong & Hawthorn have been helped by the expansion. They've been artificially held up and it allowed them to become "destination clubs" which gave them an extra kick. However... The Cats are on their last legs & will have to go to a rebuild once the Ablett experiment is over & that maybe a lot sooner than they think. The Hawks have papered over some cracks but have a lot riding on O'Meara...they don't have the talent to sustain another premiership shot without going back to the draft & rebuilding.

You know what happens when you assume, IT....

Have you ever listened to anyone on FM Breakfast radio? Clearly not.

Watts. Back it in.

Coombs made passing mention of Gold Coast going belly up, but as much as I'd love to see them sacked, the AFL looks like it's set on 18 clubs. A pity. I still maintain GWS and GCS are AFL vanity projects and I'm yet to be convinced there was any need for their introduction.

not for sports radio........but you do generally need boys' club connections

Definitely think Frosty could be a full-back sensation this year. Hogan will show his class and skills, for sure. Nev Jetta is just the best rebound backman there is ... an amazing talent. Keep an eye on Petracca as a forward prime mover. Clarrie will just roll an even better year this year and Hibberd will make Collingwood terribly upset.

Link to album on Facebook... https://m.facebook.com/tim.fleming.75/albums/1577655595603051

Watched the Goodbye to Ripponlea studios on the ABC last night. Excellent show. May have noticed a well known Demonlander in one of the shots.