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It’s still mighty tough for young people, especially young men, to come out and talk about their mental health. Perhaps instead of focusing on Superhero themed pre-season games, the AFL could look at supporting mental health initiatives and hold a Beyond Blue Cup or something similar. All the best to Majak, I hope he gets the help and support he needs.

I think he will stay

I agree with the premise of your post. May will be huge for us and is much more of a need going into next year in comparison to Jesse. However, I question a few points you've made. To compare Hogan to Watts and Sylvia is completely ridiculous given what Jesse achieved in his first year at AFL level and the fact that he came back to pre-season at our club in unbelievable condition on multiple occasions and was one of our strongest runners. Even this year, his start to the year was unbelievable and he was considered by many as being in AA form. Sylvia and Watts never came close to impacting games the way Jesse has. This is without mentioning the fact that Hogan missed a year with a back injury, lost his father at the age of 22 and was diagnosed with Cancer in the same year. Is it really a surprise that some of his behaviour has been a little erratic during the off-season? Should we make mention of the fact that Gawn used to smoke on the way to training, vomited on Tom Scully due to intoxication and [censored] about for a number of years before the penny dropped? Or that Harmes has publicly admitted that up until the 2018 pre-season, he was never in the condition he needed to be in? Or maybe that Jetta needed a wake-up call by being delisted and given a rookie lifeline to seize his opportunity and put the required work in? Hogan has experienced events that some of us don't experience until we're well into adulthood. He is 23 years old, think about that for minute.

When I was there last week I was standing next to someone and we identified the drone and couldn't believe how steady it was. Just didn't move. We looked again some time later and it was still rock solid in exactly the same position. I was fascinated then realised why it was so steady. It actually wasn't a drone it was a street lamp. I'd be taking my training reports with a grain of salt if I get back there again. I now fear I might have given a training report on the Melbourne Storm by accident.

Thankfully those days are over. Just today it was reported that recruits spent the first month living with a senior player, went to Alice on a camp together (again with club leaders) and will live together for 3 weeks in Kooyong as part of their induction to the club. They will learn early what is required of them and importantly given the internal relationships to support them now and as they develop.

@Flag Favourites 3019may have drawn a long bow to compare Hogan to Watts and Sylvia but he was merely noting that another talent may go begging and that we are better off for the Hogan/May trade. Remember this was is first post. He made some well expressed good points and praised the club for their work. Let's cut him some slack so that he feels free to post again without attracting harsh judgement or implication of NFI.

I am in the local area (one block away) with four children lamenting the lack of accessible sporting facilities!

Can confirm I am not those people. Long time lurker and Melbourne supporter from Perth.

This bloke just keeps kicking goals with his community work.

Film yourself acting them out and post the video.

Maybe he just had a really bad ice-cream headache?

Judging by the number of photos posted in the last 4 weeks of Preuss versus May there is no way that Goody isn’t locked in on Preuss spending time forward as the 3rd tall. Hopefully it works well all season. Will be really valuable in low scoring finals.

At last nights AGM there were a number of questions on this subject. Bartlett and Pert consistently held the line that Yarra park was achievable and they were pressing on. When the subject of other options was raised they quickly moved the conversation back to Yarra park. Too costly or too far away seemed to be the comment about other options. IMO they see yarra park as easily the best option if they have a plan b they were not going to give it air last night. Again it is only my opinion but they are locked into a Near MCG option and nothing else is on the radar. They could of course be using this to get better support for option b we will all just have to wait and see.

I agree with almost everything you wrote aside from the vomiting on Tom Scully as if it was a bad thing.

My understanding the proposal from day one has been an oval in yarra park and admin building over the train lines/area outside of yarra park. The Oval would be bringing back the old east Melbourne cricket oval from years gone by

Great post Steve. I believe it's questionable however as to whether it was intoxication that was the cause of Maxy spewing on $cumbag. I think it's just another example of good judgement.

Based on this article Yarra Park is the one we will go hardest for Not a Pipe Dream It looks like we aim to generate a groundswell of community support (and thereby drown out the 'not-in-my-backyard' type objections of the Residents Group). Pert said: "Quite a few of the community groups and individuals are really excited by the possibilities. What they're saying is that this is an area where there's no flat ground." Amassing support of the broader community is a good strategy: get the numbers on-side and implicitly isolate the Residents Group. In that article there is a steely resolve by Bartlett and Pert that we will make it happen.

If the oval is not fenced off and it is improved by being flattened and resown, then it is hard to see what legitimate gripe the residents group can have. How many of those complaining currently use the oval area and for how many hours in a day? If it is only that the club will use it for a few hours a week, then that is a nonsense, as these parks are there to be used. If the real gripe is about the building, then it must be noted that it is being planned to be built over an ugly railway line and that fits within planning guidelines, that deal with improving areas and widening their use. A modern mixed use building will be of more use to the community as a whole, than the airspace over a railway line. As well as club facilities, their could be cafes, shops and community offices etc, which would enhance the use of the now vacant area. Further, If the building was owned by the Government and paid for by it, we could lease/buy back over a period and end up with a revenue stream and it would be very difficult for a marginalized group to stop it going ahead.

FFS. Take a valium.

I'd like to know a little more on that score. If true it's simply abhorrent. The pressure on boys/young men to perform is enormous in this game. Add to that the world of social media and it is an unbelievable cauldron.

I'm convinced that plan A is for him to start as a forward relieving Maxy in the ruck. Hopefully it works because it will definitely benefit both TMac and Weid's games as well as Maxys and going a long way to mitigating the loss of Jesse.

Interesting question but I hope they don't. Fishermen's Bend is rather soulless with zilch public transport. At Burnley, there is open space at the freeway end of Swan Street: Burnley Park bordered by Yarra Blvd which has an oval of sorts. And, The Bicentenial Park (not sure how big it is). Burnley station and Swan St tram are the only public transport options. Interestingly, there is a lot of space behind the Burnley Gardens campus (owned by Melb Uni). But that land effectively is Tiger territory as it is dominated by the Kevin Bartlett Reserve and Kevin Bartlet Sporting Complex (which the State Gov't recently promised nearly $.5mill to build a new pavillion). The precinct has two football ovals and is home to a range of sports including Richmond and Collingwood soccer clubs. Both AFL clubs are expanding their sports so I wouldn't be surprised if one or both have their eye on expanding into the aforementioned Burnley Park across the road. So I reckon we are too late to join the Burnley party! As Pert previously noted the importance of giving supporters a place to go before and after games neither F'Bend nor Burnely fit that bill. I get a sense we will push hard for Yarra Park.

Has Peter Jackson been made a Life Member previously? If not, I hope it is offered to him sooner rather than later. I think we are all indebted to him.

well i wouldn't just assume that majak didn't have available support. i would expect north had a decent support structure and a knowledge of mental health issues because of certain previous north players. sometimes (and i'm not saying in this case) people with mental health issues can't or won't take advantage of available support. it's a difficult situation and from personal experience i know of a few cases where people rejected help (for whatever reasons) with a fatal outcome the good news is majak is recovering and i wish him the best

Mental health issues are so prevalent in young people these days (in people of all ages really). It is one of our biggest epidemics in terms of health and well being in Australia. Why we don't spend more money and time helping and educating people, as a society, is beyond me. There is still a stigma attached to having depression or anxiety, especially amongst men, and until we remove this stigma, people will continue to suffer in silence.

Agree with the above and whilst I think local residents views both for and against are important, I've been thinking that one thing that certainly shouldn't be discounted are the view of us MFC supporters as well. As MFC supporters, we are still part of the comunity and pretty important stakeholders regardless of living in the city council/local area or not. Even though I now live interstate, I still feel a real affiliation for the MFC and Yarra Park area and really don't like 'Plan B' options anywhere near as much, because let's face it, they are further from our home the mighty G, further from the range of public transport options and generally inferior. ...and their are over 40,000 MFC members + more non member supporters. This precinct doesn't just belong to the local residents, there is a degree to which it belongs to all of us. I don't want to go as far as saying that the MFC has some kind of 'native title' to this area, because there is nothing like that level of cultural/spiritual equivalence. However, I do also think that the MFC has a significant historical association with this location and that shouldn't count for nothing either when it comes to planning approval considerations.

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Off his chops at The Ice Cream Factory, classic Hogan. Looks like he’s having a seizure.

Mark my words, our club and supporters will be celebrating the Hogan and May swap for years to come. While I wish Hogan all the best and still think he will be an okay footballer, he screams of Watts and Sylvia 2.0. All young players oozing with talent (and taken at high picks) who drank their own cool aid before putting in the hard yards to become the champions they all had the potential to become. Many fans, including myself, were sad to see Sylvia and Watts go (like Hogan) when they were traded but our club has grown from strength to strength pushing out these party boys who were stains on the professionalism of our club and the focus we need to win a premiership. Well done Mahoney and co. Give me lower picks who are are hard working like Gawn, Jetta and Harmes any day of the week. Albeit not a ‘party boy’, worried about Petracca. Hoping guys like Viney, Brayshaw and Oliver keep him focused to become the superstar we all know he has the potential to become. Do not underestimate the importance of the leadership, professionalism and hardness that May will bring being a former captain and proud Indigenous Australian. All three traits we need to win the cup and all three traits Hogan lacked. Cannot wait for the May vs Hogan match up when we player the Shockers.

Really cant wait to see Steven May play, he will be amazing for the team. And yes I can tell that from one pic.

100% Rodney. Neville is not only a great footballer and a great person, but he is an outstanding ambassador for our Club, the game and his people.

No doubt it will get it's own thread, but this is great acknowledement of a dedicated loyal servant of the club and his comunity. Very glad the club has extended this honour to Nev.

I thought we were going to cut and paste They kicked They handballef They marked Etc Another really good session, lots of ball movement drills Crossy and at one point Macca, pounded the rehab group again Of the young draftees Sparrow and Chandler seem to be settling the quickest Corey Wagner looks like what he is, a player who has been on an AFL list before, neat and tidy skills, handling the training loads May got his feet tangled up in marking drill and crashed to the ground, think the Jatz got involved, spent a minute or two on his haunches KK is starting to stand out in the ball movement drills with his 2 way running At the end of the session Nietschke and Jordon got some one on one tutoring from Nev Jetta Preuss' skills for a big man are very good, have still not seen him miss a kick, no matter the conditions or distance Goodwin 'very vocal' today On the tech side as some have asked, there is a camera on a pole at one end of the field, they have a side on, they also utilise hand held and now have a drone, so coaches have no shortage of vision Will post some pics tonight

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-star-injured-in-bolte-bridge-incident-20181218-p50mvb.html Poor bloke sounds like he has some personal troubles. Good luck Majak.

I like a good game of charades. It would have to beat what the riddler put out last year.

Sometimes there is nothing that anyone can say or do to lift the darkness, sometimes the darkness is so bad that you just don't want to be here anymore.

I"m afraid at an organizational level there is still a lot of ignorance and just plain bad attitude to mental health issues - the Police force are very cynical about the impact of PTSD, Centrelink write off people with a mental health issues and try and push them into inappropriate work placements. It goes on and on. I would have hoped footy clubs were better. Anyway all the best to him.

Pert spoke really well. He is seeking advice and ideas from “Melbourne” people before he stamps his operational style into the job. We will once again be a Big Club” where we always should have stayed. I have no doubt. “Get the kids on board before they turn 9...” 100,000 members within 5-10 years can be achieved with winning footy, played the right way

This is so sad on a number of levels. We should all be aware that mental health issues involve AFL footballers as much as any other part of society and we should all be ready to extend a hand of friendship and help whenever people are in trouble. And if you are in trouble, talk to a doctor, friend or relative about it or contact the people at Lifeline. Wishing Majak all the best in the future. The football world is behind him.

I like "Bruiser" as a nickname for Preuss so I will use it. Game plans for forward lines are often based on trying to create "imbalances" between direct opponents to obtain clear positional or team advantage for one team, even if only for short periods until the opposition responds. 206 cm tall Bruiser playing on anyone is going to be an imbalance. Will he demand the attention of the biggest/strongest defender thus relieving pressure on TMac and Weid or will he be manned by the second/third defender in the hope that he does not create havoc by his size and strength? Will he act as a decoy for TMac and Weid or will he play as a backstop in the goal square where his height and strength could be decisive in marking contests? How does the coach prevent all three contesting and spoiling each other? Given that he would ordinarily be one of three talls all requiring attention, it would be hard for defences to multi team him, or his teammates, in contests as used to happen to Jesse when he was one out. And from all accounts, he is a genuine ruckman/follower who might allow Maxie the time and space to be even more influential. Nice problem to have for us.

This could have been so much worse. Poor bloke needs some serious support to overcome whatever caused him to do what he did. I really hope he finds his way back to good mental health soon.

I cant believe he survived that fall. I hope he is ok.

Exceptional player and exceptional human being. We are lucky to have him!

Far out, the poor bloke. and his poor family/friends so sad when guys suffer in silence and then feel life is hopeless. A mate of mine from work left us a month ago and I'm still struggling to deal with it, let alone those closest to him. I hope he recovers and can move on from this.

He was there last night LDC.

Putting us with those three is just silly. We didn't make finals for a decade, fielded one of the worst teams of all time during a part of that period, and yet still managed more or thereabouts in terms of members than the Saints Bulldogs and North, all of whom had many years of success in that period, including one flag, Prelims and Grand Finals. Can you honestly see either of the Bulldogs or North ever pulling 90k for an Elim final, regardless of opponent? Maybe the Saints, but those teams have peaked and growth won't be anywhere near as sudden. We have, what, 20k identified Melbourne supporters in the MCC that aren't Melbourne members. That's 20k people with high purchase intent. What club can claim to that sort of engagement level and purchase intent with non-members? 50k should be 2019 target, with 55k-60k in 2020. It's completely reasonable given the space for growth.

Knowing the way the AFL seems to prioritise things these days, they'll probably fund a rectangular oval for us to share with AFLX.

Take a bow Neville Jetta. Wonderful footballer, wonderful human being.