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Yeah, I get a bit annoyed about whole separate streams of development and 'special programs' and the like in a lot of situations, but this is one where it makes sense. And importantly, has a sunset to it - once it succeeds in the goal of normalising the idea of Indigenous people being coaches, it'll wind down naturally. In a professional community as small as AFL-level coaching, personal contacts make all the different. Because of the legacy of separation, because of the competing priority of supporting your community (e.g. Neville Jetta) and because many indigenous players emerge from comparatively remote places (the article notes "... trips to the Northern Territory, Cairns and regional Western Australia to target those who typically aren't exposed to leading coaching strategies "), the direct personal connections aren't going to be as strong. Plus, somehow still, there are little bits of creeping racism which can really stink up efforts at networking. Networking is particularly vulnerable to pissy little low-key racist exclusion. All it takes is just a couple of soft-racist types to do some moaning about how "such-and-such is only getting an interview because we want to look politically correct" or "that guy is only at this event to make up the diversity numbers" and an Indigenous prospective coach is having their credibility and worthiness questioned by people who would otherwise not blink at giving them a chance. Even quite earnestly not-racist people can be influenced by the grumbling of someone they respect, particularly because the actual racial motive might be all but invisible, so to anyone listening it just sounds like a colleague making an honest observation. So that's the lay of the land, but with the momentum for change now, through the likes of Davey and Whelan and Jetta, it really should just be a matter of time. I'd understand if you still find it irritating, but at least take comfort knowing it is a temporary effort that'll just straight-out solve this particular problem in the long run.

A pleasant Sunday morning read. Good luck Aaron with your future endeavours and well done by the club. http://m.afl.com.au/news/2018-12-22/davey-back-with-demons-as-he-builds-coaching-skills

Pedo is playing for Phillip Island (Bulldogs) next year. I will definitely be following his progress as I live close to the footy ground. His family has moved there and Pedo and his wife are hopeful of securing teaching positions on the Island. One of my favourite demons.

It was really more the recruitment of Preuss that sealed Pedo's fate. His value was as a backup fwd/ruck. I loved watching The Bear play, his willingness to run in straight lines and crunch packs in the air and on the ground was a pleasure to watch, a point of difference from many currently on our list and the size of his frame was an asset in this regard. His goal kicking was generally pretty much good, but not quite T Mac level great. His ball use whether by foot or a clever knock to position was somewhat underrated at times. There were games (paticularly during 2016) when I thought he should have played over Weid based on actual performance and capability at the time, but that is now water under the bridge and perhaps in retrospect the selection committee were right to get the Weid the exposure at senior level. On ballance, in retrospect as much as I thought there were big games when Pedo rose to the occasion, I'll accept there were also those where he went missing for too much of the game. I don't think it was a competition with T Smith, who I think plays a slightly different role. Though I have found T Smith somewhat underwhelming, I think he does compete hard and as Spencer somewhat points out he plays a role the coaches ask of him when he plays. I am somewhat surprised that someone like Gold Coast didn't chase the Bear, because I thought he could have been of value to them for a year, but I guess it might not have suited Pedo at this point in his life to be moving half way across the country on a short term prospect either and I heard that GC were chasing local boy big Jake 'Pencil' Spencer for ruck depth (don't know how that worked out). In the end as a fringe player, I think age became Pedersen's enemy at the MFC, but I think he seemed to accept his predicament with great grace and I wish him all the best for the future.

8 Christmas Wishes. Feel free to critique or add your own. 1. Teach Clayton Oliver forward craft: Clarry was 3rd in the league with 166 total tackles last year and first in the league with 405 contested possessions. When you add those together plus preseason games and training you start to work out why he had both shoulders operated on in the offseason. He's only 21, we have to protect him if he's going to play well in the 30's. So that means improving his leading patterns, his marking and his crumbing as a forward so he can impact games from there. We should have plenty of options to role through the midfield especially if we are lucky to be leading games with big margins. So it's time to take the load from Clarry's shoulders (and back, hips, knees etc). 2. Make Gus Brayshaw's kicking up to scratch Gus got his head and body right and turned in to the elite ball winner we all hoped he could be last year but now it's time to get him hitting targets at a much higher rate. In a lot of ways the pressure is on to show he is a dangerous midfielder worthy of a 3rd place Brownlow finish. I hope he continues to embrace his kicking on both sides and works hard to really be decisive with his decision making and flatten out his kicks. 3. The club needs to get Jayden Hunt to play tennis I was up to the boring bit of my occasional West Wing rewatch when the great Leo McGarry had this to say It made me think about players who aren't performing as they could and what might be done about it. One thing that stuck out with me with Hunt at his best compared with Hunt this year is the quick little steps he'd take to get down to a ground ball then break free to space went missing. Obviously, he had some ankle issues that wouldn't have helped but I wonder if the best way to bring that movement back is to get him playing the sport he grew up playing. One that relies on quick feet. We have a couple of tennis coaches available to the club - Todd Viney and Nicole Bradtke, one of them should get Jayden playing some tennis! The AFL is full of junior basketball players lauded for their vision and movement but in the case of Hunt tennis might well have taught him how to move. 4. Fix Tracc's goalkicking I don't know what the plan should be but after excellent accuracy in 2017 Petracca's goal kicking went down the drain last season. Fix it. Fix the other 10 things wrong with his game as well but fix the goal kicking and he’ll play with confidence to do the rest. 5. Get Melksham and Tommy Mc tackling Both guys move like they have fused ankles when it comes to laying a tackle. Melksham 1.9 per game is not good enough for a half forward. T Mc 2.3 is better but for such a mobile key forward he should do more. I don't know if it's training drills or an unusual training method to get them more agile and reactive but something needs to change. Maybe they can play squash and get used to quick in tight movements and getting down low. Hopefully offseason surgery helps Melk out but even with healthy ankles he’s got improvement in him. 6. Oscar has to wrestle a bear Oscar has the skills, size and discipline to make it as a good key defender and we saw that at times in 2018, but as his confidence waned as the year went on he became indecisive. He was attempting to watch his man instead of backing himself to go to the ball and he was tentative in crashing packs. To keep his spot in the side with May coming in and to thrive as a player he has to get more physical. You can't be a good key defender unless you're tough and aggressive. As a child UFC fighter Khabib wrestled a bear. Sadly I doubt the club wants to risk the complaints of the RSPCA by bringing in an actual Russian baby bear. That said, we've got something simialr available. At North Braydon Preuss nearly snapped Andrew Swallow in half one day and he put recent GWS draftee Jye Caldwell out of the game in a North VFL v AFL academy match. He's a big angry man who doesn't take a backward step. There's no one better on our list for Oscar to make a statement against to show he's ready to take on big forwards. The coaches need to design a drill that has them go one on one, word both players up and then let the magic happen. 7. The Nibble needs to add some bite to his nibbling ANB is clearly our best forward pressure player and a great runner. His ability to go contest to contest and not give up a chase makes him a certain starter every week even when he’s doing very little good (or a lot of bad) with the ball. That said, chasing is good, laying the tackles really ups the turnovers and is what makes you great as a pressure player. ANB probably isn’t going to suddenly develop Rioli like instincts and movement or get any quicker, he’s just not that type of athlete, but he still catches plenty of defenders and can increase the damage he does once he catches them by mastering some sneaky tackling tips. The Cyril Rioli special was grabbing an arm and then turning a guy to spill the ball loose. Ain't no thing but a chicken wing. 8. Run Bayley Run When Fritsch was moved on to the wing for the 2nd half against the Bombers I thought the team took a huge leap forward. We finally had a guy with lovely skills, the ability to get out in to space and overhead ability to bail out a bad kick. A lot of our best ball movement came through Fritsch. Clearly he tired as the year went on and he wasn’t as natural when forced to play half back. So to take his game (and the team) to the next level he needs to run like a gun wingman. Every indication from training so far is he’s running really well so I hope it continues.

Love all your points. I just want a Premiership.

The Ravens looked good and played well ... defense travels hey! We might be having one of those seasons where any of the playoff teams can advance a long way in the playoffs. Nothing should surprise as we keep seeing games being decided by picks, turnovers, fumbles and errors. Chargers put in an average one but they've been up for the contest for what seems like an age. They'll bounce back you'd reckon.

What a great answer. Thanks for that. I never thought for one moment that it WAS a problem, but you are correct. The AFL is certainly very incestuous clique. I would love to see Whelen/Davey/Jetta coaching in the future (If they were good enough) 3 of my all time favourite players, and all seemed like really good blokes also.

Our Club is more and more becoming an off-field 'pace setter' for the entire competition. I'm proud of that fact! ................. and on-field is quickly heading in the same direction. Go Dees!

This is an initiative being driven by Craig Jennings, Nev and Matty Whelan They are trying to establish a pathway for Indigenous Coaches into the AFL, and not necessarily ex players

Dunn, Kent and Tyson all on 0. Gave their all and moved because the writing was on the wall.

The headline of the article (not this thread) is a little misleading as the coaching stint is only for the training camp. Great to have Aaron back in the Red and Blue even if only for a short time. Love ex-Demons returning to the fold.

Come on Ravens, get my tips off and running please. Got to give some love to the kickers. The Ravens’ Justin Tucker needs 2 more FGs to reach 30 for the season, will become the first player in NFL history with 6 seasons of 30+ FGs. Prediction : His second field goal of the night will be the game winner as the clock runs out.??

Wouldn't be suprised of a Baltimore upset at the Chargers this afternoon... Should be a good game.

Firstly, think as I might I can't identify "some very good ideas on tactics and strategies" but I'd be grateful if you could expand on this point. My memory is he tried to introduce the Malthouse kick long down the line, create a stoppage and do it all again. Secondly, I don't think the players resented his appointment. He, by his own admission on Open Mike, said he was given a directive by Cameron Schwab and Chris Connolly to be really hard on the playing group and acted on that instruction. He later said he wished he had followed his own feeling and made his own judgements. Neeld's behaviours ostracised the senior playing group which was his own doing (at the instruction of others if you are to believe him), the players didn't resent him because he replaced Bailey. I agree with the rest of what you said - clearly the fault wasn't all Neeld's, the fact is he was just a very poor coach. Thank heavens for Jackson and all he put into place.

Just finished watching the inside Melbourne from a few episodes back, with Jason Taylor. Right near the end of the episode he talks about how Kobe Farmer is one we will be keeping a bit of an eye on in future years and that his dad is pretty keen on him joining the MFC. That would be a tantalizing addition to our list in future years, particularly when our access to top end tallent via the draft which hopefully is otherwise limited by higher home and away season finishes. Well worth watching the episode.

Yes we had a poor list and lack of good support staff behind the scenes, but there is one thing that Neeld did for us that we should be eternally greatfull for in this respect it is for him bringing Jason Taylor over from Collingwood. Perhaps the Neeld legacy is not so bad after all.

I'd really hope they refrain from booing Kent for reasons beyond that as well. Though I'm sure what I'm about to say will be disputed by some on here, as Kent seemed to be a bit of a maligned character at times, my honest veiw and assessment of his time at the MFC is that he typically went in hard physically and gave good effort when he pulled on the red and blue - is it two dislocated shoulders/broken collar bones in recient years are a tribute to that. Furthermore, though I don't think he was able to stay on the park or perform consistently enough, he endured some of the bad days of the recient history of the MFC, with his bursts of brilliance providing some much needed excitement and hope when we most needed it. My reccolection is that his burst and run down the wing as part of a chain that setup Salem for a winning shot on goal thay gave us one of our few wins of the season against an in form/competition leading Bombers back in the depths of our dispare for one of the few wins of the season around 2013. I also don't think Kent was being any kind of mercenary (unlike $cully) by leaving is for the Saint's, just trying to give himself a better chance to secure a regular spot and a more secure future, which is fully understandable. Though it would partially grate on me (because I loved seeing him in red and blue), I really do hope he is able to reach his potential as a player against St Kilda...just so long as he doesn't cost us a game against them!!!

IMO it was no coincidence that for years we almost always lost when Peder was not playing, yet so often won when he was playing! Not a big star but he did things people don’t notice, and he had as good a “team first” attitude as anyone ever, which is contagous so really helps the scoreboard. IMHO Peder should have always been our #1 CHF ahead of that very nice and intelligent chap reputed to have concrete hands. Peder seems to have been underapreciated and underused yet had a lovely attitude throughout so one can easily feel gratitude and many best wishes for his future. Thanks man.

Your metadata is probably being analysed as we speak.

Good luck to him and his family, he gave his all for us.

I know this is a retro topic but I still haven't got over how they delisted Pedersen but kept Tim Smith on the list. Pedo was a serial scapegoat & was the first dropped whenever the firsts had a bad game however in every Casey game that I saw Pedo outperformed Smith by a long, long way. Pedo is also more versatile than Smith. In the finals Smith looked like someone playing schoolyard footy as he kept trying to take hangers. His kicking for goal was woeful & he is pretty hopeless in the ruck. Anyhow its all over now but I reckon it was a shocking decision.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-12-19/vote-now-best-goals-of-2018 That Hannan goal against Geelong still gives me goosebumps

News from Hong Kong ... Australian horse 'Dark Dream' (under new ownership) just won a C2 race in impressive fashion at Sha Tin by 4.5 lengths and is now probably going to be favourite for the HK Derby. Dark Dream won the Group 1 Queensland Derby back in June. n.b. The Derby in HK is for 4 year old's and is worth a cool $2Million to the winner - smart purchase by the looks of it. Definitely one to follow.

I’m hoping for a Rams sweep and massive blow outs every game... ha ha

But also, if Davey could get our entire team kicking the way he could, it would just be magical to watch. We could play the Blue Danube from the speakers all game and it wouldn't match the grace.

Great move by the MFC. I have often thought we needed a kicking coach and Davey had one of the best kicks in the league

Such an outcome is extremely important - obviously, Jeff Farmer thinks his son is going to be a good footballer, and that is pretty sound judgement in anyone's language. To encourage him to be at the Demons is another plus - displaying where Jeff's heart lies in relation to the footballing fraternity. Looking forward to the end of a long wait - when Kobe matures - for another Farmer in the red 'n blue.

I agree we played slightly better and tougher under Viney compared to the horror previous fortnight against Hawthorn and 186. However that loss in round 24 against Port who were a VFL standard side that year was horrid and would’ve cost him any chance of winning a permanent job, in the event that he was interested.

Last for the year. Enjoy ==> https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-tqFhRn

Indulge Me. I didn’t have a lot to do today so I thought I would play around with the gallery. Let me know what you think. https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-gMgSDxz/0/ba12d713/1920/i-gMgSDxz-1920.mp4

In actual fact, Neeld had some very good ideas on tactics and strategies but was doomed pretty much from the start. Many of the senior players resented his appointment after the sacking of Dean Bailey and there was an undercurrent of dissent from the playing group and others at the club. This was problematic because, as it turned out, Neeld’s man management skills were poor and the list wasn’t much good either. It took a much better coach in Roos who had an improving list more than two years to get the club out of a mire that had taken years to develop. In other words, it wasn’t just Neeld who was at fault for our situation.

Maybe it's about time we left the guy alone. We have moved on and successfully. Enough is enough.

Thanks Six. As per usual professional quality photos and story telling. We are lucky to have you Tom Sparrow has quite the build for an 18yo doesn’t he. It will be interesting to see how he goes in ‘19 Obviously it is impossible to tell from photos but hopefully Garlett has drawn a line under his rather disastrous season this year and will get back to his best. He has done it before (Carlton -> Melbourne year) so hopefully he can prove a couple here who believe him finished wrong.

Phew, not as grim as I thought after reading the header.

Thanks and much appreciated.

Until then, we will hopefully enjoy watching the Preuss / Gawn combination - the 'Prawn'.

"The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there." L.P. Hartley, The Go Between

Pagan is dual a Premiership coach...he got royally scr....d in his time at Carlton with the salary cap sanctions. As for Neeld, I hold no animosity against him. He was out of his depth and should never have been appointed to the position. Was probably on a hiding to nothing anyway with the board and management structure (for want of a better word) in place at the time. Rather than cringeworthy I think it's still the remnants of some gallows humour that got us through a pretty tough time. Good luck to him...

thanks ethan, that was very informative. i have filed it in my gem file

Doing some match simulation stuff. About 20 on field. About 6 off the bench. Shortened oval with no real tackling or goal kicking. Seems more about running, decision making and ball movement. Of the 26 l counted roughly 8 that would be in our starting 22 which includes May. Doing circuit activities now eg weights, ropes, sprints, bags, short kicking, excercises etc. Looks like fun actually. Good energy around the group. Numbers training are a continuing concern though. 22 mfc staff ?

Just love the entertaining banter that seems to be developing between the players with Pruesse - particularly with Maxxy - and with DL advocates about his promising presence at the Club. Superb support for this potentially great young player at the MFC. He is already moving into legendary status, without even having a kick on game day! Golly, North must be pithed.

Possibly agree about fit, for these current (very current) times about Pedo's role. However, I loved the way he played footy, could recover and perhaps win games for us, would protect the smalls and take those inspirational marks at unexpected moments which nearly always benefited the team, the teammates about him and the scoreline. Very sadly, he missed - at the selection table - many, many games as a scapegoat player in the eyes of the FD, mostly unjustified. His versatility in several roles was immediately missed as a result. He was such a good Clubman for the MFC that he held no apparent grudges for this treatment; always there, encouraging more youthful players and selected teams returning to the Clubrooms at half-time, during the half-time break and after the game. Always a face of positivism for the MFC and an excellent team presence demeanour.

Panic for someone not in full training in December??

If he wants to play football, he'd better go to Casey more regularly. I see him being more use to the MFC as a FD coach.

Yes definitely missed out on some good ones especially Kent’s goal for sheer importance. Petracca kicked a few burst goals which I enjoy. I voted for Melksham goal v Hawks in semi final. I was a little nervous when the hawks kicked a few in the last quarter. Melksham’s goal was from 55metres on his wrong foot. WOW! as BT roared out. I felt it nailed the game to put it in our keeping.

West Coast adding Gaff, Collingwood adding Beams, Richmond adding Lynch and a fit D. Martin. Even Hawthorn with Scully, Wingard and a fit O'Meara are far better than their semi-final lineup. We might have an enviable list esp in regards to "the future" - which can just as easily be derailed with an injury or trade request, but there are 3 clubs right there that played better than anything we served up last year and so we have our work cut out to match and surpass them. We're really only the envy of the teams still stuck in the rebuild. Next year could be a great year of footy for the neutral with a bunch of teams contending.

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.

...tually .... ually .... ally ... ly ....