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As some of you know, particularly Skuitt, many weeks ago I posted that the Dees had an arrangement in place that if Sydney could be satisfied with a very high Draft Pick, Hannaberry would be Demon next year on a long term contract, and as I stated, “very big coin” Let me make it clear that my Demonland Post was the very first mention in any form of media about Hannaberry breaking a Contract with more than 2 full seasons to run. A couple of weeks later Damian Barrett & others started to get a sniff and started running stories. As we now all know, the Saints became aware of Dan’s availability and are in for anything with a pulse and have taken over the running. Let me update you. About 2 weeks ago, the Dees informed Dan’s management & the Swans that due to the necessary but unexpected increase in the contract values of some recent signings that the Melb FC would be withdrawing any interest in that Trade. I believe that the Club also had to increase their offer for Andrew Gaff which made a 4/5 year $800k offer to Dan rather difficult. I can also inform you all that the Swans are desperate for the Hannaberry trade to happen as they are extremely keen on Steven May and need the Pick and the salary cap relief. I have also been told that the Tom Lynch to Richmond deal has been done. Also, just to make yesterday’s defeat worse. In addition to Buddy having the exact same heal injury that sidelined Mitchell Starc for so long, Josh Kennedy has a knee injury that hasn’t allowed him to train for weeks and is also being jabbed to play.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the content with the topic of this thread. As goody said, we are so close. once upon a time there was a team who kept finishing 9th. Then they would make the elimination finals, but find ways to lose. They were ridiculed by the football community after 30 add years of non-performance, the board was being challenged and the coach was going to be sacked. a sulking full forward, a full back with questionable disposal, a captain who would kick backwards and sideways were their best players. Suddenly a tubby early draft pick became the best player in the league, the rest matured and became greats, some good trades and complete buy-in from the list around a game plan that suited them and they look world beaters surrounded by a sea of mediocrity. our young players are going to grow up playing finals. Once they are 25+ year olds we have our chance. Hang in there

Clueless? According to you the reason we lost because of something that happened 50 years ago and not because we were 4.14.

He had 14 disposals at 100% efficiency on Sunday ?

Interestingly Kenyan marathon runners don’t get navicular injuries and they run for thousands of kilometers in bare feet. There is some interesting research around to suggest the more you wear super supportive runners the more likely you are to get foot injuries because the foot no longer has to, or can do what it’s designed for. Also you loose propreoception between the foot and the ground leading to different running style (longer stride length and increased rearfoot strike) (studies of those with rearfoot strike versus forefoot strike report far greater injury rates in rearfoot strikers) when you then put on footy boots and no longer have the full support and cushioning of your runners, the loads in the foot can be through the roof. As the body works in a use it or lose system the runners are in effect weakening the foot muscles and also forcing you to walk differently. another study looked at injury rates in fitness runners pre and post the inception of the early Nike running shoes. Prior to that Dunlop vollys were the most popular running shoe (and we all know how little support they have). Injury rates went though the roof after the “modern” Nike’s became the norm. There are many sports dudes now training athletes in other sports in bare feet with great effect. Problem is in footy you have to kick a ball on the soft top part of your foot so some form of footware is necessary for some of the time. From my own experience I had plantar faciatis for 15 months and did everything the physio told me to do including wearing expensive shoes, ortodics, inserts, heal raisers etc and nothing was helping. At the suggestion of the S+C coach that I employ for my atheletes, I made one change to cheap ($80 versus $200+) Under Armours with bugger all support in them and the problem went away within weeks with no other change to what I was doing. Edit: ignore the change in font size, no idea why that happened.

Love how grounded Hogan is about it as well - mentioned that, while disappointed, Alex Johnson just did his sixth ACL so he can't really complain. It's a great attitude to have and will hold him in great stead in his recovery from this injury. It's well known that he is one of our hardest workers at training, so once he is fit again I have no doubt that he can come back fitter and better in 2019.

Yep Hib, Weed, Melk and Kent for Hunt, Hogan, Pedo and Spargo.

I am sick to death of the crap being written about stats. There is only one thing that matters, as Jaded has said - WINS. You can use stats to paint over faults, or gloss over failure. At the end of the day I don't give a rats about F50's, contested ball, clearances, hit outs to advantage, metres gained, kicks to handballs etc, if we lose. There is only one stat this club and its supporters need to concentrate on - WINS. When we dominate that stat, I will happily consider the rest of them.

Yep he was great on the weekend, with his 10 possies and 4 turnovers and nearly getting Jesse killed, with an easy pass which set up Mark of the Year to his opponent. It was a similar game to his other one earlier in the year.

It was leaked last night to Basil Zempilas who reported it on 7 news Perth. Navicular. The same injury which Trengove was decimated by but Tim Smith recovered from in short time frame. Fingers crossed for Jesse.

I was at the game at you find what you are looking for. Lewis is in our best in my opinion and THAT is a problem but it isn’t Lewis’... He is playing with some very dumb footy players and that was our worst backline for quite sometime... No Hibberd, Lever, Smith. Hunt for a half. Pedersen for what 45 mins? Oscar playing on a small. Oscar letting players run around him. Jetta is superhuman. Salem’s left foot is Yze like. Frost and Fritsch are doing good things and Lewis is playing well. What a makeshift backline. They have been impressive.

He tore us apart because we refused to kick to avb’s advantage. And avb still kicked 3... With Hogan out, avb isn’t going anywhere.

More so the supporters get way ahead of themselves than the players would or do.

Its the same commentators that are pumping us up in the first place. I really can't understand it - the media pumps us up and then has a go at us for getting pumped up when we don't perform. It's mind boggling really. The media loves using terms like "drinking their own bathwater" when it was the media themselves that run the bath and made us get in. sick of the commentary these days - there is way too much of it. Its hard for the average punter to form an opinion on anything footy related when we have the opinions of an army of ex players rammed down our throat every 10 mins, 7 days a week. I miss the 90's. Footy was simpler and far more enjoyable.

It took me until half way through Sunday's game, but I have finally accepted we are not going to do any damage this year. Hopefully we can sneak into finals, get a final or 2 of experience and then get everyone back fit and firing for next year.

So many experts on here. I’ve seen everything blamed in this thread from Misson to the club Doctor to Hogan himself to the training ground surface to not resting him against Gold Coast - all claimed as if indisputable fact. If I jumped up the ladder of inference in my job the way you lot do I’d have been sacked years ago.

No losing to Saints and Geelong x2 did that

Definitely a blow after his form this year but I think they showed they can cover him last year

Doesn't matter if the big fella misses, we rolled the Eagles in perth without him last year and will do it again!

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-08-14/boost-for-demons-with-key-duo-firming-for-perth I'm not at training but just came across that report. Summary: Viney continued his recovery away from the main group, but importantly ran in runners and did some light kicking with rehab coach Cross Max Gawn (corked calf), Clayton Oliver and Tom McDonald were among a group of players who were on light duties, but it is not uncommon for a light one-hour session less than 48 hours after a game. Max says his calf is better this week than last week. Hogan and Hunt (ankle) did not train with the team as they await the results on scans. Jesse Hogan is expected to find out the results of scans on his injured foot sometime on Tuesday morning, but positively was not sporting a moon boot as he arrived at the club. Hibberd looks to be a very good chance of playing against the Eagles Melksham jogged laps at the end of the session and will have to prove that he is right to go during Thursday's main training Interestingly, Max said Sam Weideman was ready to play vs Sydney had Max not been ready in time. Good news, in case Jesse doesn't make it for WCE game. Overall, while there are some recovering from niggles it doesn't sound too bad. Would love for Melksham to be available. He adds a bit of class fwd of the centre. Edit: Just saw the thread saying Hogan's season is over ? Weideman's day has arrived.

This club doesnt need better fitness staff, it needs an exorcist.

Just go with T-Mac and a medium/small forward line. As unfortunate as Hulk's injury is, sometimes things happen for a reason. The impending return of Melksham and and an available Kent kicking a few goals on the weekend might be just the tonic we need to get over the Eagles & the Greater Western Circus and secure a finals berth.

Exhibit A your Honour.

Hogan, Viney and Lever vs Gaff, Naitanui and Kennedy. Lets call it even, and lets smash them.

Its reasons like this that I don’t think we’re half as good as the majority seem to espouse. We’re hugely talented, but that’s only half the battle. We haven’t beaten anyone in the top 8/9? So? What’s the point being made there? Maybe we simply beat the teams we should, and lose to the teams better than us? I don’t think we’re ready, but we’re still building. We’re not a premiership threat unless we hit a purple patch like the dogs 2 years ago, and even then they got all their key players back from injury at the right time.

Mastering the art of bafoonery. I posted several times in the “trade Hogan” thread yesterday and I stand by my comments, mainly “you ultimately get judged by how you perform in the big games”. For you to suggest some of us take any joy out of this news is just plain stupid. And no I don’t feel ashamed, I’ll leave that to those who either can’t or refuse to deal with reality. Its happened, we process it, park it up and move on, we’ve still got two games to play and a potential finals campaign. I personally believe this news doesn’t mark the end of our season.

You just don't get it that you are the embodiment of the failure stereotype and your poisoned attitude feeds the hysteria. I'm not just referring specifically to you, in fact there are far worse cases who regularly post misery here.

Lewis is not the problem. Poor kicking. Poor decision making. Poor goal kicking is not Lewis.

I want to highlight two instances yesterday that resulted in direct Swans goals. The microscope is directly over Lewis in both. 1/ 26-26, Swans have just kicked three on the trot. Time to stem the flow. Someone is going to have an opportunity to do this through his actions. Kennedy wins the centre clearance and kicks a high ball to half forward. From the second it left his boot I saw Lewis trailing back on his own, the opportunity was his. As an accomplished, successful player he had the chance to push hard back with the flight of the ball and take a team steadying mark. As it turned out he actually would've taken it uncontested. Instead, he has a quick look then puts in three or four of the shortest steps possible and effectively shat himself. The vision can look to some that he misjudged the flight but i dont buy that, he's too good a player to get it that wrong, and ive played enough footy to be able to tell when someones put in the short ones. Anyway, he doesnt get there, ball bobbles round, falls to Hanneberry....goal. Full panic stations now. 2/ 1 minute to go in the third quarter. Been one of our worst quarters of football for the year but we're still within 22 points and will get our chance in the last with them down 2 on the bench. Cant concede one here, just hold up for 60 seconds. Defensive 50 stoppage.. should NEVER concede in this situation. Another opportunity for Lewis to display his leadership, you would think he would a) Talk to his teammates to ensure we've structured up properly, You'd think a two player outnumber would make sense with 1 minute to go and b) take ownership for their most dangerous player at the contest and put an arm across him. He does neither. As hes ball watching Papley strolls through untouched and kicks a spirit killing goal. I hope these two bits of vision are shown and discussed heavily and harshly in todays review.

Hang on a second, I certainly did not say nor did I imply doctors leaked. Herpes? Good Lord! Get a grip! Anyway, I think people on here should not speculate doctors (or who) did leak like your post implies. And no, from where I sit I don't care who leaked it - that is up to the club to sort out. If he has a foot injury that puts out him for 2018 that is for medicos to work with. I care about Jesse's welfare like I said in my post but as far as 2018 is concerned if he is not available he is not available. Who leaked it is really irrelevant to our season.

Funny that you can say bastard but not [censored] (whip a horse)

I don't get much mail and I'm careful to share unless it's impeccable. And it is. Hannebery met with Goodwin early in the year and was rapt the Dees had interest. He's happy to stay at Sydney, but was keen to entertain the idea of coming home and playing with the Dees. And it was the MFC in particular that excited Dan, because he rates our list and future. We may have now gone cold for the reasons mentioned by the OP, but this was most definitely 'on'.

I reckon 43% of people would agree with Redleg.

Lewis: with ball in hand he is an elite decision maker and distributor. Without ball in hand he struggles to get to contests, he struggles to halve contests, and he gets run off. Depends what you are looking a5 in how you judge him. We have a place for him when everything else works. Also, Salem was great by foot, but got lost defensively far too often.

since he's been in business we've won four premierships!

Lewis is a smart player who brings plenty to the table with his clever disposal and he's been a huge factor in our rise up the charts (percentage wise at least). But as we have all noticed all year he has been found out for pace and is now up there with the slowest players in the league when it comes to sprinting for the ball - Hodge and Selwood are up there too. He clearly is needed for this season - it's too late to be making massive changes to our back seven and once we make finals he will be even more important. But clearly there are some serious talks to be had once the season is completed. But please give it a rest on the anti-Lewis stuff until post-season. He deserves his last hurrah this season.

Just watched the replay and our three worst players were ANB, Garlett and Jones.

It's amazing how many on here highlight their least favourite player's weaknesses but ignore any of the good play they do.

The melbourne football club actually exists.

I think his hair would be highly flammable