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Agreed. Leave it be for this season. Review at season end. To be successful, clubs need to make hard decisions but also behave in a respectful and decent way, understanding the importance of each individual contribution. Jones contribution has been significant. His performance off-field has greatly improved. He is good for marketing and improves the image of the club. He brings honesty and respectability to the club. He has history and a record of loyalty and achievement He stands for the Club. He bleeds for the Club. Bit like Smithy's famous comment..."Tony, I am Melbourne" Jones will play this season and play in the 22. We are a young team with a very young co-captain. Dumping Jones this season, serves no purpose, no purpose at all. Although different circumstances, I hope we have learnt the lessons of James McDonald. Jones is Melbourne and deserves another year.

yeah im not too worried, I have faith that the rehab team know what they're doing. look at how TMac came back from injury last year. look at how Viney and Vanders returned to action late in the year. they ran out games, were strong and were amongst our better players. getting them cherry ripe to play is the rehab teams goal, whether it be for R1, 2 or 3, or as long as it takes. sure it would be nice to have no players having operations and no injuries in the off season, but the reality is that's not the case, so i dunno what people expect the club to do about it. complaining about it is definitely not gonna help the situation. they just gotta get on with it the best they can.

Sam I know of The other bloke !! Who ????

Congratulations to Jake Melksham on the birth of his son Teddy.

Not even to say "Don't call me Shirley"?

Goodwin: "It's been a challenge to have so many guys have post-season surgery," Goodwin said. "Yep, there's an unknown element to it. It's been a shorter preparation and we've got a few guys off post-season surgery but we're going to make sure they've done the load and they've done the preparation and they're ready to go.'' Is ''shorter preparation'' code for ''interrupted'' ?

It sums up where Geelong are at, and what the inclusion on Ablett has done to their team. There's two ways of looking at Ablett in that clip. The first being that he was really in the perfect position for the "cheap" one over the top, but Danger was too slow to acknowledge it, and tried to do too much. Had he (Danger) got the hands over to Ablett, he was in a world of space. But, it was Danger's immediate response to do the individual thing that saw him get crunched. That said, had Ablett put that shepherd on, Danger was also in a world of space (he would've blown Nibbler away). Ablett's selfishness cost them as well. While a lot of what happened on the night can be put down to us just dominating the Cats from the first second, that passage of play goes right to the core of what's wrong with Geelong in general. It's bloody marvellous. Back on topic, Sammy's just a nice boy who can play bloody good footy. My love for him grows by the minute.

I think Viney needs to get a solid season out on the park before you'd give him the nod as a sole captain. Missed a fair chunk of last year.

Vs Geelong last year: 12 Kicks, 12 handballs, 7 marks, 3 goals, 4 tackles... He's going to be a gun... I'm really hoping for a forward line of TMac, Weid and Hunt next year.

Yes, of course he is, which is my point. Many players have had interrupted preseasons.

Quite frankly, I'm sick and tired of reading the argy bargy that continues to derail training reports. As much as I possibly can, I will be deleting such posts on sight and recommending banning posters (without any favour) if they stray off the topic of training and in particular if they represent personal attacks which are also likely to result in suspension or permanent bans for posters.

Not unpopular, just wrong? i have always backed Sam, because of his courage at attacking the ball in the air, not sure how you can’t see it, but am confident you will come around soon.

Nice work Wadda ... I'll get on later. 20 units of the 40 units expected return from a Winx win could be invested in advance on a F4 in the race - it's like a free bet really. The initial 20 units outlay you can get back and keep. Remembering that in this race - 2018 Winx Stakes the F4 paid $2807 with Invictus Prince running 2nd. The best outsider that could run 2nd in the Apollo Stakes is probably Tom although 'Egg Tart' can run a sharp 1400m if the horse can find its best form. As is always the case with the Winx races, it's just a matter of snagging a trifecta (of sorts) with the remaining runners in order to snag the F4. And the race being a WFA affair means it's best to look for WFA form. Happy Clapper is therefore the standout WFA performer of the rest and again, it trialed very well recently.

$2.00....ill take their $40!! What a pity i dont have 5000 Ladbrokes accounts. I got 92/1 boosted for our bets.

Laddies are offering $2 for Winx winning again ... $20 maximum bet but that's money for old rope. Unless they run 'Tom' forward again there may not be a lot of speed in the race so Winx may not win by a big margin. But then again, she might win by 6+ lengths. Happy Clapper trialed really well recently and Unforgotten is a top-rater. I reckon that's the top 4 with Winx on top of course. Tom ran a very quick 01:21.17 over 1400m in winning it's last start so Waller might have figured out how to get the best out of the horse. Winx wins but if one can figure out 2nd, 3rd & 4th (in order?) then there's a half decent return to be had if taking a F4 combo multiple times.

Maybe everyones feeling nostalgic because i posted Day at the Races film!!? The horse that won was number 7 High Hat. Its also a very apt horse to win our first race Macca ...Dont Give A Damn. I think thats the attitude that typifies the thread. (thank god)

Paid 13/1 on debut win. Looks a good sort, but i reckon its the trainers ego and the attention thats calling the shots here. We will see on Saturday. Thanks for that DZ

Jedastar - The featherweight mixing it with the heavyweights.....Promising filly. https://www.racing.com/news/2019-02-11/news-jedastar-strikes-classy-lightning No Dominos pizza for Caserta this week.

Ok...well done DZ. Everyones feeling nostalgic this week. Best Bets: Flemington Race 5 Number 1 Amphitrite $3.30 Flemington Race 8 No 1 Osborne Bulls $6.50 Randwick Race 4 no 2 Dont Give A Damn $3.80 That gives us a whopping 81/1 (approx) for this weeks best. Good luck punters!

I do have one question. Why would you put a 2yo thats has 2 starts in the Grp 1 Lightning Stakes? carries 44kg I think i might have just answered my own question.....because its 19th in order of entry for the Blue Diamond?

Alright, I’ll complete the hat trick with past winners of the BBs. BB: Flemington Race 5 Number 1 Amphitrite $3.30

Looks like another hard day at the track. I like the sentimental nostalgic fav Macca. Lets hope it can salute. Im also going for another Day at the Races favourite that has saluted a few times for us. The shorter distance is a slight query, but hes also 3 from 3 first up and only missed a place once in 14 starts. Best Bet: Flemington Race 8 No 1 Osborne Bulls $6.50

I don't understand this post (and similar ones)? Who is complaining? Of course we would all love there to be no injuries. Of course the club will 'get on with it the best they can'. Of course the fitness team will do a good job, just as they have done in the last few years. And the less than ideal rehab and injury list won't necessarily derail our season. We remain one of the premiership favorites for a reason. We bat deep now and as has been pointed out most players in rehab are still maintaining their fitness and we only have one key serious injury (lever). But our rehab and injury list is a factor that should be considered when assessing our season and how we might go this season. Why is there a problem acknowledging or discussing this issue? Its not being negative or all doom and wish. It is just dealing in reality.

Best Bet Randwick Race 4 No.2 Don't Give a Damn $3.80 An old favourite ... our very first best bet (it won) It's first up form is 3 from 3 and McEvoy is on board. Drawn perfectly too. Looks well placed.

No doubt we're starting to mobilise but we're a hell of along way off being a power club. That game was 12yrs of pent up frustration released and we were all there to blow the roof of our own dung heap right off.

I honestly think there were more Dees than that. After the siren and after the song had been sung twice there were only about three small chunks taken out of the crowd.

Late starts to training don't seem to have been a problem for perennial finalists such as Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney. Anyone from the club who might want to use that as an excuse (and I'm not saying there will be any) should be asked whether they've looked at how these other clubs manage that same "disadvantage".

Or alternately ......................"the late start to the pre-season, combined with our rehab program .............contributed to having a strong list to choose from and our great finish late season."" Is the glass half empty or half full? Given the long and intense season, I see our late start being beneficial to the back half of the season. Hopefully our days of promising starts, injuries and fade-out mid season are over. Our aim is to peak come finals time not early to mid season.

I simply cannot fathom them taking the captaincy away from Jonsey this close to the promised land.

I think that was just about my favourite piece of footage all year.

Big futuregir Sam Love his commitment skills awareness of Team responsibility and faith in the Club. Big year for Sam 35/50 goals. Like any Dees fan will never forget that Elim Final and the super performance from all and Sam's bog. Breakout last few games in 2018.

If he plays like he did in the finals, then Jesse will be a distant memory.

Unlikely. I think he's just pointing out that because we played finals, we started our pre-season later than in all those years we didn't play in September.

Skill and innate footy nous. Nearly always makes the right decision, if he doesn’t hit the target outright, he puts the ball in the right area to his teammates outright advantage. Just a beautiful thing to watch.

A big thank you Andy... I'm sure you have already thought it but a podcast from one of the AFLW team would not go astray. On a separate note I hope the club is busy getting some oral histories from the 1964 team.I hope they all make 100 but the youngest is probably 70. They would make a wonderful archive to the MFC website. Just arrived in Kolkata. Took the ferry from the Howrah train station across the mighty Hooghly river and then caught a cab past Eden Gardens. It has a certain resonance with the MCG. Not sure I have seen too much advertising for the upcoming AFLX series but one never knows !!

Nearly the same age as old dee

Jones will at times this year struggle to play 4 Quarters at top level. It started last season. There were 2-3 games last year where he was just plodding. There is so much emotion on Facebook today That Jones must be Captain and deserves to hold a Cup, so he must remain This Club is over all that i hope Jones will be Captain only if he is able to play 4 Quarters of Top line Senior Footy at a cracking level. Emotions about Bleeding Red and Blue and being Heart and Soul are completely irrelevant “Time waits for no one and it won’t wait for me” Jagger/Richards (and Mick Taylor) 1974

It will just be Viney.

Agree and said as much to north workmates, he is a good soldier but would you have him in the side over Oliver, Brayshaw, Harmes, Viney, Jones... nope was the answer.

I wish Dom all the best. Playing AFL in the midfield with a broken bone takes a lot of guts. He did alright too only so many spots on the field...

The umpires notice kicking more than handballing. When Clarry starts to do more damage on the outside and kick more he will get more Brownlow votes. So many demonlanders harp on about us having no outside pace, but it could be staring everyone in the face. Clarry was one of the quickest at his draft combine, and if he can get more outside ball (maybe mix up inside and outside if Viney plays a full season), then he will be seen as a true superstar and win a Brownlow. Think how Brayshaw, Martin etc kick a lot more and attract the umpires attention.

I can see ppl being worried but your point - is pretty spot on! its a diff game now and a high premium is placed on rehab even for niggles but the rehab group are still handled well with a lot of running & basically just miss contact drills so I don’t think it’s a bad sign we’ve had so many go through that group. ie Gawn being only member of mid group not “interrupted” but that’s not really true - Oliver and Gus had solid work loads and haven’t really been interrupted even Trac, he’s fitter and looks dominant in sims now - it’s all just precautionary and related to the higher level of professionalism we now have down at the club: one that’s now seems as the leader in innovation and professionalism, a far cry from being the laughing stock just some years ago. From what I’ve seen - I’m not one bit worried about starting later and the new regulations around sessions and breaks etc when there I see a group that’s hungry and that’s going full bore - with an added sense of purpose than ever before! The talk volume and clarity is sensational even Comp to Pies around corner if you watch both groups you see the difference in positive reinforcement but more importantly you hear a lot more focus words re intent and focus from players such as “Come in boys, we gotta want it more than everyone else” or “Keep playing the Melb way, we wanna dominate those gut running red time minutes that’s our edge” and so forth.. trust me - it’s a positive environment down there and one I’ve NEVER seen before! New rules another reason to feel positive - heard BMAC state this on numerous occasions ie “that new centre setup is our gold mine boys, execute and we will win”..

Yes, but you jinxed him?? gave his head a good belt on the ground during the tackling drill, left looking a bit worse for wear, uptil then was really good, received praise a couple of times for his shot selection during ball movementt drills The small forward competition is on, during the tackling drill Garlett, Spargo, Bedford, Corey Wagner and JKH all trying to outdo each other which can only benefit the team Forgot Chandler, edit Walked back to AAMI with James Harmes, had a laugh comparing the skinny blonde kid with the toothy smile from 5 years ago to the man I was walking next to now, he said he is the fittest he has ever been and is one solid unit Oliver completed the whole session with the main group

No doubt, he’s the ultimate professional. About 10 years ago when I was in defence he gave a talk to my unit, his preparation and the way he approached training was insane.

Plenty of draft camp times available. 2km time trial Dylan Moore 6:09 minutes Lochie O'Brien 6:12 Gryan Miers 6:13 Andrew Brayshaw 6:14 Trent Mynott 6:14 Aiden Domic 6:15 Angus Styles 6:17 Changkuoth Jiath 6:17 Nathan Murphy 6:21 Jaidyn Stephenson 6:21 Ethan Floyd 6:25 I'd imagine guys aren't improving too much on those times because a lot of the time they have to bulk up and work on their speed. Probably only a few at each club under 6 minutes and not many if any getting down towards 5:30

Who will kick the first Gatorade game changer zooper dooper goal?

Ok I'll give the game day threads a go on the main board and see how we go.

In 1969 friends of the family pulled up in the driveway in this brand new car. I was 6 years old, and had not seen one before. It looked stunning inside and out The original Dashboard with the row of Rocker Switches across is still in my memory. The 4.2 Litre XJ6 looked like a cat, long and low. Going for a ride up the street i can still remember. “What kind of car is this dad?” ”A Jaguar” i knew about Jaguar. I had a Corgi E Type but this was a real Jaguar. A design, like the Porsche 911 was used for almost 30 years. The Big Cat welcome to the MFC