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Has been an excellent deal for the club.Many have criticised him at times but the real criticism rests in the fact that in years 2 and 3 no player pushed him out of the side. Thanks Jordan

He’ll end up having played 319 games at an average of 21 games a season, it’s an amazing effort. I was super stoked when we got him and hope he stays on in a coaching capacity. Thanks for your service Jordan.

Congratulations Drunk to you and your family we've all lived Dec's dream through you over the last few years. I t wasn't the AFL outcome I'm sure you hoped for but we'll done to Dec on playing 2 more AFL games than most of us. Best of luck to you and your family should Declan not continue with MFC or Casey

Thanks to @Sirenfor flagging this interview with Pert Three parts are really worth noting. 1. Last years success was making the 8 on a good draw and winning two finals against teams not playing at their best. Fair comment I thought. He added that while the rest of the footy world were in raptures about our 2019 prospects Goodwin et al were saying we need to be a 3-4 game better team to make the 8. Realistic I thought given we had a much tougher draw this year. 2. Why our season was poor. In part due to preason and injuries. But also the impact of 6-6-6. Last year our game was based on playing an in tight, competitive game rather than an open, running style which requires athletes and we were not as well set up for that. We did plan for 6-6-6, which was for KK, AVB and Hunt to run up and down the the wings but we haven't had KK and AVB. And without forwards we had to play Hunt from the goal square. (Note: Pert needs to know his name is Jayden not 'Josh'). Other coaches learnt to 'divide and pull us apart so not to get in an arm wrestle and have a leg race' ie beat them on the inside outrun them on the outside comment we have heard ad nausea from other teams this year. He also mentioned it wasn't just the injuries that hurt us but also not having mature depth. It is the best summary I have heard from the club this year. In this context it is easier to accept 2019 as an annus horribilis, let it go and move on to 2020. 3. External review process. In various posts I noted that an external review wasn't necessary, that Pert working with an external advisor would be just as effective. In the last few minutes of the interview Pert says they have been working with 'external analysts including the AFL' who have provided input and given feedback. That may not be enough for those wanting an external review but Pert with external analysts is good enough for me to be confident that there is independence in the process. I had a sense that the changes will be significant. For the better I'm sure.

Roughead has already stated that he would like to work in List Management and apparently the Dees are prepared to involve him in that area with other areas obviously to be looked at. He would learn the role of List Management probably working under our current List Manager. IMO it would all depend on whether Lewis is involved with us next year as an Assistant Coach. He has good friends at other clubs, but staying in Melbourne and at a club with his best mate and learning the area he wants to be involved in, would IMO see him with us.

Can those who do not to choose to renew their memberships maybe also take a rest from demonland for 2020 too please? Maybe if things get better next year, you can come back to both the MFC and demonland in 2021? I’m just as tired of the same rants in most topics by the same protagonists as I am watching the team I love and I just want 2019 to finish. However reading the posts in this topic by frustrated but largely LOYAL demons has been a nice change from the usual posts. Thanks all. 3 of my 4 kids who have just got mcc memberships and have been MFC members all 17-20 years of their lives want to give up now that they have to pay for it. I told them that it’s cheaper to by a MFC add on membership than leave the family house and live somewhere else - so it guess its their choice now!

Pert's on a thrashing to nowhere on here. People were critical of his appointment because the main criticism of him at the Pies was meddling in the FD. Now people are critical here because he's not meddling in the FD enough. Can you imagine the crap that would be flying around right now if Mahoney was the CEO not Pert. Thank God for Pert's footy and CEO experience.

From Titus O'Reily.... puts it into words far more elegantly and poignantly than I. I hope he doesn't mind... He's a Comedian at Heart but by god you can feel he's fed up like the rest of us ( the rest of this can be read at https://www.titusoreily.com/afl/the-monday-knee-jerk-reaction-afl-round-twenty-two ) Melbourne (42) v Sydney (95) It was an intriguing round of football. Not this game, this was a game that simply highlighted two very different club cultures and made me wish I’d never been born. With both sides having nothing to play for except pride, the Swans took it as an opportunity to devote themselves to their craft and improve their skills and abilities by working hard all night. After all, good habits start straight away. The Dees players instead took the opportunity to fashion a white flag so big it could be seen from space and then waving it furiously for all to see. Considering Sydney have lost six in a row and were on Melbourne’s home ground, this belting was embarrassing to watch, and I thought I was beyond feeling embarrassed about Melbourne. Swans fans are hurting after this season, but they can at least see some effort from the young players. Melbourne keeps talking about how they are still a few years away. That’s more like decades based on this performance. The constant refrain that now is not the time is just an excuse. The Demons are the person at work who is always about to do something; then you realised they’ve been in their role forever and never achieved a single thing. The players need to start worrying about now, not some mythical land in the future were everything just miraculously turns around, because based on this performance, that won’t be 2020.

Kind of adds confirmation that the players have playing with blinkers on. Like how many times have we seen a player take a set or running opportunity for goal from long distance or take a measured chance from an angle this season? Natural instincts have been snuffed out and players are crapping themselves when taking a set shot at middling distances. Seems to be a team rule that shots on goal should only be taken from 30 metres out or from over the top moves. Perhaps rigid team rules have snuffed out instincts, creativity and by extension confidence.

People who are doubting the Lever trade honestly frustrate me. Those 2 picks ended up being 10 and 19. That turned out to be Lochie O'Brian and Liam Stocker Who comes back from an ACL and is an AA calibre player straight away? A strong pre-season with Burgess working with him will do wonders. Lever is going to be a great player for our club for a long time. Seemed to be one of the few who have really had a dip in the last few weeks

To be fair, Oliver has a point. Fritsch executed a pinpoint kick to a team mate in space; this is not ‘the Melbourne way’. However, ANB retrieved the situation by missing the relatively straightforward shot at goal; in keeping with ‘the Melbourne way’.

Infuriated me seeing this from Oliver last night. Steven May copped it for making Frost accountable and showing leadership. Yet Oliver sprays Fritsch for actually playing team footy showing composure and vision. You couldn't find a more selfish arrogant footballer in our side right now. Needs a huge reality check In the off season and keep his ego in check. Needs to forget about how many stats he gets and become more effective with his disposal. These junk handballs to someone else under pressure serve no purpose. https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/coupler.foxsports.com.au/api/v1/article/amp/afl/clayton-oliver-slammed-for-selfish-spray-of-teammate-bayley-fritsch/news-story/9b385ab4e7ecbbae5e5750953777a7c7

Lewis as midfield coach, Roughy as forward coach, Rawlings back in defence, [censored] off chaplin

Well played Jordan Lewis. Hope some of our boys are jealous and strive to be as successful as Lewis. Thanks for your service Jordan.

No surprise given Roughy and Buddy and co were at the MCG on Friday night. I suspect even if we offered an extension he has had enough of the MFC clusterfluck he has witnessed this year. I would love to hear his real thoughts on how we have ended up where we are.

I’m hearing whispers Ben King will seek a trade back to Victoria and if he doesn’t, he’ll be staying put. You heard it here first. #ETthetradebreaker #Ihearwhispers.

Of course I’ll renew - will buy the 5 premium memberships that I do every year. I’m even thinking about joining coterie. It’s odd, but I wouldn’t enjoy the good times anywhere near as much without knowing I’d suffered through the bad times. I’m a firm believer in the concept that the Club owes you nothing. You make a choice to support it or not. But if you love it, it’s not really ever a conscious choice.

A MFC membership should always be viewed as a charitable donation. It is like contributing to a wild life fund the only thing you expect is the joy of knowing you make an effort to help. Think of your MFC membership in the same fashion. Dont expect more than saving them from extinction and the pain goes away.

Going from 4th (post finals) to 17th in less than a year, it can't be half the club. But something has changed, something/someone has created tension and friction which has caused a flow-on effect. This needs to be properly identified by an unbiased third-party. From there things can get fixed. Knee-jerk reactions to make heads roll so it looks like the club is doing something may damage things further.

Yes, Cripps is a cracker as well DD. And you brought up that game by Dusty yesterday. Wow. I would say one of the great games at the G ever seen. Ripping stuff. I have always said you can build a premiership team around the likes of a Clarry, Big M and Harmes. As you say though, there is a long ways to go from here if any of those three (Clarry, Tracc & Gus) are going to go close to the top line A graders mentioned. Clarry is close. Real close. But needs some strong guidance and flaw fixes in the coming years, especially with kicking. Also an injection of power to drive out and away from tacklers and contests. Tracc i've seen glimpses of something bordering on A grade this season but the good stuff peters out as quickly as it appears! Tank/bulk issue vs endurance/extra speed issue maybe? Can only hope Burgess gets hold of both and turns them into insane burst / power beasts similar to Dusty / Danger. And if we can add a bit of Bont/Cripps evasive agility & elite ball use to that mix...watch out! Gus is the one that concerns me the most. Ball use/decision making is so hit and miss and often seems happy to just cruise through a game and gather possessions. Needs to add some line breaking run and finish IMV. Viney also needs some serious improvement on his agility, evasive smarts and skill / finish. Battering ram most of the time just doesn't cut it against quality mid fields now.that they know his game so well. His career might also be shortened if he keeps playing in the same manner.

After attending Friday nights game and then hearing interviews by Melksham, Lever and Goodwin on Saturday I am not sure 4 weeks off for this playing group will be enough to reset their shell shocked mindsets! This group seems to be in a dark place, bewildered at why they are losing, with zero confidence in each other to execute the basics. Goodwin pointed to the fact that they had been tinkering with the game plan to the point that their method of play is unidentifiable and the players are obviously confused. They are not enjoying playing the opposition or with each other, expecting failure no matter who they play. It seems to me the squad was physically banged up at the end of 2018 and took much of the season to recover, if they ever have; now at the end of season 2019 we have a squad mentally traumatised! How long will it take to rebuild their confidence and get them enjoying their football again?

Not necessarily T ... Fritsch looked like he might have been ignoring team rules as Frost might have been. But neither player needs to be admonished in public. There is a time and a place. One could argue that the team rules are questionable though as Fritsch showed great vision to pick out a teammate Which leads me to believe that the players are often too programmed away from showing individual traits But that's another story for another thread. Related though in my opinion.

I too watched Martin on Sunday and he had Elliot Yeo tagging him (Who I rate as one of top 5 best players in the comp) and Yeo couldn't keep up with him. Martin just went to a whole new level and single handle willed the tigers back into the game. It was seriously awesome to watch. I watched that performance and thought we have no one even remotely close to grabbing a game by the scruff of the neck and grabbing teammates along the way. The smiling and laughing with opposition players is an interesting one. I too have noticed it too much this year and think to myself what the [censored] is so funny about losing every week??

Can we please close this thread? If you are even asking this question you shouldn't be a member to begin with

To anyone involved in Clubs, committees this is a year to show strength, I'm not a n apologist for the club, the FD or the board but this is a time to show strength as a club and grow. Reading demonland over the years through good and bad times tells you a lot about postets, especially those who appear frequently or infrequently in the good and bad times. To anyone I offend in my post I don't apologise whilst you may have the clubs best intentions at heart you have risen with arrogance this season dismissed the 3 year gradual rise and selectively chsosen stats and articles to prove your point. Am I equally guilty possibly but I look at the list, the demographic and the expectations. This season has been a disgrace no other way to describe it and I'm hoping we learn from our complacency. I do not see Mahoney as a problem what I see in this thread and other threads is <Removed pot shots at other posters> The old board and FD would have reacted to the above, thrown staff to the wolves sacked coaches based on discontent. They would also be the first to call talkback or at future club functions complain of the clubs lack of stability Remember before you decide on Mahoney and Bartlett that this club no longer leaks , we have seen significant improvement under PJ and Roos who both endorsed Goody and Mahoney, the season 2019 is a disgrace and seeing how we react will tell you whether these people are worthy of their role. I love this club and want success/contention over a sustained period, it takes time and we are still a year or 2 away from that. Things are never as good as they seem and never as bad as they seem

Well boys today might just as well be my last ever Casey game Its been a hell of a 5 years for Dec and the family and I hope he tears it up today in defence like he did last week

A mate has a family member who works at Fremantle and apparently Melbourne are leading the race for Langdon. That said, I’m not sure who else is chasing him. He’s definitely been talking to us the most, was what I was told also

I get 9 weeks a year and in that time drink as many cans as is humanly possible...but I understand what you are getting at..

Well picked @Macca and @Wadda We Sing. Pity about Chelsea. Apologies Wadda for the no update, often when I’m trying to settle the little one, it’s me ending up with a pacifier in the mouth and dreaming of a Dees flag.

Most members (95%) will be back on board next year as they'll view 2019 as the year where everything that could go wrong did go wrong! It's the year after we could potentially see a severe drop off in members if we have another 5-8 win season.

Incredible catch by Denly, crazy shot by Paine. After a near hatrick by Leech, 7 overs to go... 6-149. Labuschagnes batting saved the day early and a great comeback after a rough start and getting hit by Archer several times. Cliffhanger. Bad light meant Archer had to stop bowling and spin only was allowed. EDIT: Draw.

Steve I'm against them receiving a PP but not because of our benefit, my view is further access to young players will do little they need older bigger bodies, C.O.L.A and no limit on FD spending to become anything resembling a football club

.....and as for all this booing about a match that wasnt even played against England.....they have been done for ball tampering at least 3 times in recent history, Atherton in 1994 against South Africa and Marcus Trescothick in the 2005 Ashes series. Atherton was found to have dirt in his pocket that he applied to the ball, was fined 2000 pounds and it was further found he lied to the match committee. Trescothick admitted in his book released 3 years after the series to using sweets that kept the shine on the ball longer and produced the swing we saw in that series which England won 2-1. Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson were found to have used their boot spikes to scratch the ball in a game against South Africa in a test in 2010. Although South Africa complained, no charges were laid mainly because South Africa won by a big margin. ........so they can shut up.

It's pretty hard to be quick with a sore knee. I suspect Papley would outrun him, even if Salem were fit, but let's recognise that he played injured on Friday night and that made him "look worse". He's still the first player I want kicking the ball out of the backline. (Jordan Lewis is his equal for kicking, but he's now an overall liabilty playing in defence).

I'm a sucker for punishment

Well yeah, but sometimes that phrase (there's always next year) is said without any real enthusiasm or hope. But most would agree that if we can get our best players fit and firing with a few good add-ons we can genuinely improve. The coaching will get a big shake up and the FD will be on notice Oliver, Viney, Gawn, Brayshaw, May, Lever, Hibberd, Harmes, Petracca, Melksham & Salem form the basis of go-ahead solid outfit. Add in the no.2 pick (midfielder) the acquisition of a key forward and some pacy outside run (with skills) and 10 wins as a minimum is quite achievable. Friday night is a distant memory for me. Ideally we'd acquire another goal kicking forward and a pacy backman but we probably need another off-season for all the parts of the puzzle to fall into place. Frost, Hore, Hunt, Fritsch can all play if used properly and Jetta & T-Mac might find their best form again. Who knows with Weideman? Jonesy has a place as we really do lack enough experience And the players need to work overtime on their skills in the off-season. That is an absolute must. Kicking to position in the dark if needs be. Worked a treat back in my day I've actually been in next-year-mode for quite some time and the club probably has been too. Lofty expectations has a huge downside. It's fair to say we've dropped our bundle but ... There's always next year Rusty!

This is the biggest positive of the year so far for me...

I like your thinking here Nev. Have had discussions with others about the importance of having leaders in each third of the ground which is similar the Hawks model in their prime. Totally agree on Gawn as captain and after hearing Melkshams interview after the swans game I could see him being a VC. The raw emotion in his voice was clear that he was crushed by the result (I never quite get that feeling from Jones or Viney), and just something about the way he spoke said to me that he could have something that we currently lack. If anyone hasn’t seen it, watch it here: https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2019-08-16/its-bloody-hard-melksham

Give the Big P some time Bing. Might not make the step up but 14 games is hardly enough time. I'm not that optimistic either but he is 2 meters or so and a massive WIP. Hore has one very ordinary game from 12, most of them top 10 performances and our best defender for the year after weeks out with a collarbone in his first season and you want to highlight his first game back? Fake news Bing. Not sure if you've been watching his other matches.... Given you are highlighting his stats... Barring another week like Friday, he is likely to finish in our top 10 for the year and the No.1 defender for the season on averages.... No.1 Intercept player ahead of our big name recruits Lever and May. 2nd in rebound 50s only bettered by Salem with four seasons plus and buiding. 5th in 1%ers. 7th for contested marks....only bettered by Lever down back with seasons of experience behind him. 9th in meters gained. 13th in effective disposals for the season (averaging 11.83) . Only just bettered by fellow defenders Fritschkrieg (12.14 - part of the season in defence), Lewis (12) & Hibb (12) with many seasons experience and premierships under their belt (Louis). If he has a weakness it is his turnover count ranked 7th (lower is worse) but he still has Salem (6th) and Hibb (2nd) ahead of him, again with seasons more experience behind them. The weighted score above accounts for and punishes turnovers. A rare jewel in a horrible season. Early days, but Marty is going to be a star if this season is anything to go by IMV.

Id not play Max. He said yesterday on radio he hurt his hammy and felt it tighten. No point putting him out there and him doing it off the bone or him hurting it in the first few minutes and not having a ruckman against goldy for the game. Put him away. Don't deflate the guy anymore. He has tried his butt off for us this year. He can hold his head up high.

Langdon was great again this round. 37 disposals (24 kicks) at 73% efficiency and a huge 852 metres gained (most of any player this round thus far). At this rate he's going to cost us more than originally planned!

Given how the season's gone, I'm predicting Gawn gets up and then does the same hammy injury he did in 2017, thus ruining his preseason. I think put the big guy on ice and give Preuss a chance against his old mob. As for other changes, I'm beyond caring.

The premise of this thread deserves more love. I'm sure everyone will repeat their standard well-worn rants within, but: What changes would you personally make across the club if you were in charge of every decision during the off-season? It sort of makes you as an anonymous poster accountable. I don't know what I would do. Probably shuffle out some inexperienced assistants (as is being done). Maybe get another old-school head to sit above everything (a la Balme). Explore whatever avenues there are to get the team confident/psyched again. Be clear that we're aiming for the premiership regardless of 2019 results. As per the list: we clearly need outside class and forward crumb as the most pressing areas. I'm probably also shirking the biggest calls right now: I would delist/give away Stretch/JKH/Maynard/J.Wag/Spargo and Omac. It's a better crop than what we've been shedding in the recent past. But I'm obviously one of the optimists/most delusional on this site. What would you do - and would that amount to another rebuild?

Clutching at straws fellas.

debacle

Another camera angle would show Oliver's lips moving, and lip reading would read something along the lines of "good vision but don't kick it to Neale-Bullen because he can't kick" .....