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A bit of banter between May and Lynch at a dinner the other night. From the AFL site. "We went out for dinner the other night on the Gold Coast," May said. "We were talking about the Anzac Day Eve game. He said he was looking forward to playing on me, but I said I'd probably be playing on the best forward and that's Jack Riewoldt.

Suppose he looks alright..

Cheap player in = reject from another club, must be fatally flawed Cheap player out = Mahoney blinked and let the MFC get bent over Stock standard goal post moving from those that aren’t happy unless they’re unhappy.

Frost tidied up his disposal and decision making in the second half of the season considerably. Agree that he does sometimes mis-judge marks (normally by running way under them), but also takes some rippers. Would like to see how his % of winning marks stacks up against some of the key forwards he plays on, I recon it would be pretty fair. Similarly some of the forwards he plays on grossly misjudge marks and he takes an easy one. Either way it's a turn over, just looks worse for a backman at that moment, but equally how many plays did Frost initiate, where he broke lines and we went practically coast to coast and goaled as a result? It was a fair few. I don't see why people don't think Frost won't continue getting better. I recon there is more possibility of teaching an older dog new tricks, than turning a boxer into a greyhound. At the end of the day, I also just love watching this guy play - seeing guys take the game on and go on big runs, taking big grabs and kicking big torpes is what makes the game exciting to watch and Frosty does all three pretty well.

Jesse’s best friend is a My Little Pony he carries everywhere. He talks to it and has whispered giggly conversations with it. That’s why he was seen as aloof. It attended all team meetings and had to be addressed as Your Royal Horseness. Players, coaches, trainers, all had to salute His Royal Horseness or Jesse would go home. Jesse would consult it before every training session to see if it was in the mood for him to participate. If His Royal Horseness refused permission, Jesse would not train. If the toy ever went missing, Jesse would throw hysterical tantrums and occasionally doctors had to be called. Finally Mahoney had had enough and brought in a horse from a Barbie set and used it to intimidate His Royal Horseness. Unfortunately he went too far and Jesse’s toy ordered Jesse to look elsewhere. Jesse felt he had no choice but to comply. Sounds like a nightmare.

Frank? Is he 85 years old?

I wonder if anyone knows anyone in the group. Everyone has a skeleton or two in the closet. I’m not saying we should blackmail them, but we should blackmail them.

Yes, 5kg heavier (96 kilos) but 5cm shorter. That in itself tells a story. I have a niggling doubt - that he might be of the Watts, Hogan mould. Talent to burn, lauded as a star before time but struggles with motivation to do the difficult things to be the best he can be eg diet, fitness. Jessie leaving really opens up the forward line for Trac to kick more goals and find space. Hope that is enough motivation to step up: He would be aware that his contemporaries at the dees and elsewhere ie JDG have moved well past him. Time for him to shine, to cast away the doubts.

I used to get played at full back a lot when I was a kid and got a bit down on myself thinking it was ‘boring’ and negative. Sean Wight 1994 changed all of that with his desperate tackles, smothers and spoils that would send the ball 50m up the ground.

Before someone changes it......

NO more. Locked

Meat pies are delicious.

Really impressed with May so far, just the way he speaks and how he handles the media.

Meanwhile over on King street, a traditional rival is unveiling their new recruit in the likeness of a patron of the spearmint rhino

I don't like the people taking shots at him either, all will become obvious in the fullness of time with Jess... ...but whilst a very good & exciting developing player he was hardly a champion of the club. ...and whilst I wish him well in life I don't wish anyone well at another club (just the way I am, I'm only interested in our players going well) with the exception of Trenners and Lyndon Dunn who I think both put in a lot through very hard times & deserve some reward.

@stevethemanjordan regards your opening line, let's face it - our whole team has gone from a shambles to strength in the last four years. ... and Fing god (actually Roosy, Viney, Taylor and Co) for that!!

Every time Wallace sees red and blue Rodney Grinter springs to mind I reckon. Not endorsing a particular incident but perhaps Terry ain't an impartial observer.

Wallace, I do not rate as a judge of anything. The more I think about the trading period, the happier I feel about the outcomes for the MFC. And, the happier I feel about the performance of our key managers. We are in good hands.

I know its stretching things....but some recurring themes.... First Australian ( indigenous ) .. Oldest known peoples on earth First Aussie FootyClub Melb.....Aussie Rules.....Oldest documented football code in world First recorded game....played by Melbourne Grammar....same school May ends up at !! First Indigenous AFL capt. Bought his Mum a house. Its been impressed upon me , especially in the last week that this club, our club, is a club defined ( now ) by behaviours. It will go to some length to frame many of the ( recent ) actions by the MFC and how we intend to do business on, and off, the field. More and more as I see the club re-emerge it occurs to me we are far from being cursed by Norm Smith , we are being guided by him. It's taken this long to get to the core of who and what we are again. This lad, can't wait to put the jumper on and do it proud. I like this go Dees

I'm just popping in to congratulate Redleg and the gang for clocking up the first millenium.

To be fair, even Nostradamus got a few predictions wrong.

As long as we play the Lions in Brisbane so I can thaw out, it's a great trip in June???

He's certainly not a player that outwardly lacks confidence, but I reckon at this stage it's superficial. He doesn't know what it takes to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. He has the attributes, but he hasn't felt that moment yet where no one is going to stop him. I predict it'll happen next season.

Good post LH. Agree that he has big opportunity to fill the space left by Hogan. I think he was pretty consistent this year but next year its time to go up a level and deliver on his promise in the way Gus did this year. Get super fit. Work on his set shots. Stop trying for all the cute assists and start imposing his will on games the way degoey does.

He's definitely ahead of JDG on the scales I hope Tracc follows in the footsteps of Gawn and comes back ripe and has a big off season and sheds a few kilo's. Perhaps it's what stands in the way of him becoming as explosive a burst player as Goey

What are you talking about? You've got a whole Wikipedia entry!

Please, no more snide comments about Jesse. As supporters, we invested far too much in his ability to score goals when his real talent lay elsewhere. He was an outstanding champion of our club and deserves to be remembered fondly. For various team management and balance reasons, he was never allowed to reach his full potential. His real talent was up the field as a running CHF where his ability to read the play and get to a contest, win the ball in the air and on the ground and dispose to the best position was second to none for a 193 player. There was even a post that suggested that he play CHB. He would have excelled in this position and, if the trade had not occurred, it was a viable option. We should thank Jesse for his contribution and wish him well at the dockers.

I’ve heard the exact same thing from a very reliable source. It may be the same source, but there was seemingly something not right there.

Fritsch.

Thrice? Ye Olde beezle most indubitably attended a private venerable tower of Babal and digested snippets of Latin.

Actually . . . what was passed onto me contained a brutal assessment beyond what I've shared here.

It might be distasteful...but some things are said off the record . They can be blunt...and seemingly fly in the face of 'official statements' . A reason I seldom take much notice of officialdom is because it is a construct. Officially... it's a recent course of direction that Jesse leaves the club. There was plenty of discussion away from the public eye and certain circles knew not only of his imminent move but that this was likely as of about 6-7 months back. As indeed was his near departure at eos2O17 . There are still elements that may never break the surface, but they are there. Some comments made to me by people of the club , people who know the club and other contributors certainly paint interesting stories , not just of Jesse. Am I surprised ? No, because clubs are made up of characters that suffer the human condition. Stuff happens. Much of it irrelevant to the play of the day. Also...as people, club officials may not always share the same opinions. All in all...I'm not all that surprised. There's very few Saints in the province of Demons. Anyhow.... he's someone else's job to deal with. Not ours.

i loved Sam's attitude on the field at the end of the season, particularly his enthusiasm and his connection with his team mates . Terrific body language, a strong sense of commitment and team.

Wallace - F

How is everyone so confused about the Preuss trade?? We've now got the best number one ruck and one of the best back-up rucks in the comp..... wallace is an idiot.

The stats you quote are for the entire season and we improved out of sight. Post St Kilda to the prelim we improved every single defensive stat and were the AFLs number 1 defensive team. Lowest points against, lowest points scored from turnovers (that came crashing down in the prelim), 4th lowest scores per oppo inside 50, 2nd best at forcing turnovers from oppo inside 50s (not sure of one on one stats but improved out of sight) etc etc. It was a stunning turnaround, and mainly because of forward 50 and midfield pressure, although Frost was good. Last 2 years when we keep oppo to less than 75 points we are 18 - 0. Average against in the post St Kilda to semi final period was 69 points. With Lever back and May in we will be beasts.... Best balanced team I can remember.

Ahhhh .... Sean Wight. Literally that clip brought a tear to the eye. Life can hand out very cruel hits. The work "tragic" is so often overstated in footy, but Sean's premature passing was so cruel. Courageous on and off the field, and an amazing learner and athlete. #27 would be well taken by May. A lot to live up to.

There's a number of things which I must confess im really impressed by at the moment with the MFC. Despite the club rhetoric ( aka public spin for fast-fooders ) there was to Freddy and all of his game-observant footy mates a glaring deficiency in our defence. Ill give Oscar his due, he did his role quite well...but there was another role which we had no one for. And there not being a fully conscripted defence opened us up. When we bled we haemorrhaged ..badly for 4-6 goals at a time. Game killers So three things in this instance: Identifying, the role Identifying a player Getting said player Three for three !!!

When I was much younger my uncle took me to see the boys train. Once training was over the great Allen Jakovich stayed behind to work on his goal kicking. He was my favourite player so I was eager to get behind the goals and mark some of his kicks. After I caught 3 or 4 he then invited me to jump over the fence for some kick to kick. It only lasted probably less than 5 min but that was one of the greatest moments of my life, it cemented my love for Jako and the club.

Basically, Jesse Hogan is saying that happiness off the field and being close to family are more important than potential finals success, which is why he was keen to leave Melbourne for Fremantle. If he was never going to be focused on the big prize in a team sport, then it was best that both player and club parted. Jesse Hogan’s priorities.

Often you look at old clips and it looks like old fashioned football. Sean Wight could slot easily into our current side. Goodwin would love him.