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I beg to differ. I can't confirm or deny these rumours, and that's all they are, regarding coming back in poor condition. And even if they did come back underdone much of that is able to be made up in the preseason. But here is what I do know: These players were in discussions for our best 22 this season:- B: Jetta May Lever HB: Salem OMac Hibberd ? Harmes Oliver Fritsch HF: Petracca Weid ANB F: Melksham TMac Spargo R: Gawn Brayshaw Viney I: Kolo, Jones, AVB, J Smith Others: Hannan, Preuss, Lewis, Stretch, Frost, Hore That's 28 players that I would have expected to form the basis of the team for the season. You can take off and add some of your own but it won't change the arguments below. These players had significantly interrupted Preseasons (17): Jones, Harmes, Oliver, Petracca, Brayshaw, Viney Jetta, May, Lever, Hibberd, Melksham, TMac, Kolo, Hannan, Hore, OMac and Stretch These players had Injury ruined seasons after a good PS (3): Weideman, AVB, JSmith, These players had a full PS and good run at season (8): Salem, Fritsch, ANB, Spargo, Gawn, Preuss, Frost, Lewis I'm working from memory so you can correct me on some of the detao;s but the facts are compelling. 17 or our best 28 players had significantly interrupted PS's and three others had significantly disrupted seasons. It really wouldn't have mattered if they were a bit underdone at the start of PS. Of the 8 players who had a good go at it only Salem, Fritsch, Gawn and Frost were definite best 22 for me and some will add Lewis. That's 4 players and not one midfielder. Now fitness aside, is it any wonder connection from backs to forwards through the midfield was awful. Why? Because they didn't practice over the PS. Is it any wonder our skill level was awful. Why? Because we had a whole lot of NQR players in the team and many who didn't practice over the preseason. The preseason was the issue not the off season, which may have been garnish to the PS issues but it certainly not the steak.

Your ambivalence shocks me. Normally so positive

Strange quote from a club that is going to sack him Sunday afternoon........

Those who are reeling off his poor win/loss record as a senior coach need to look at it in context - he took over the Saints when they were beginning a complete rebuild after Watters left, not even Clarko would have had a decent win/loss in his first two years on that basis. There was clear linear improvement until last year (a bit like us) and I don't agree that their game plan wasn't good; it was based on speed and pressure and when they had the cattle to implement it, they were pretty good, as we found out on too many occasions. In fact, we got completely outcoached by them in Round 5 when they played rope a dope with us. I think he did a remarkable job this year without Carlisle, Hannebery, Roberton, Geary, McCartin, Steven for most of the year, all of whom at their best would walk into any side (and definitely ours!). I think it's a great get and brings some valuable experience to the coaching group.

Richo is a great get...I had hoped we would pick him up when the Saints were making life hard for him. Forget his senior record, not all coaches excel in the senior role. Richo is a very, very highly regarded assistant. For the new sayers on here, you seriously have no idea...

Mail is Roughead will be on board next year as goal kicking coach as bare minimum. Whether he has more of a role will depend on other options such as media etc.

Looks like Richo basically locked to join us next year. a terrific footy person, great culturally and first and foremost a developer and a calm head for Goody. First domino to fall in what i hope is positive changes for the footy club. Imagine if we were to add Roughead as well.

Seriously - some of the posters here should just support another club. Sure - it’s been a schizen season. There are reasons for this - some unfortunate, some probably due to our own incompetence. But to bag out this signing is red hot. Like Burgess, Richardson absolutely had options with several other AFL clubs, and he chose us. Plainly this is a good sign. There’s NO way he would’ve committed to us if he thought we were a basket case - I mean, why would he?! Despite some of the criticism here of him as a failed senior coach, the reality is - he’s a super experienced AFL man and he knows the lay of the land. That he chose us is on any construction a great sign for the future, and IMO an endorsement for the way we are run and our potential for success next year and beyond.

Agreed it may not have a great wow factor. But the signing of a respected ex senior AFL coach who reporatably had a number of options in the industry can only be framed as a positive. If for no other reason than for the fact he must rate us. Signing richo runs completely contrary to the club is in crisis and has major issues narrative that some posters, yourself included, have been running hard with. As does the signing of burgess. Good work from Mahoney and the club. Kudos.

Excellent. He can bring his IP over on how to beat Melbourne. Richo owned us over his coaching career.

I sent Richo a text earlier wishing him the best and to let him know I was rapt to have him on board. He appreciated the sentiment. I also told him everyone on Demonland was thrilled with his appointment.

And it's completely required.

Correct, the negative responses to this appointment are somewhat expected but i still find it frustrating. Richo has a great reputation, will provide wise council and its the first of an overhaul.

Like it. Has good development type experience, highly rated in footy circles and will provide a settled, wise head and experience to a coaching group sorely needing it. Taking it in the context as the first step of many this offseason I think it's a good move. Edit - Actually, second step after Burgess.

Good signing for the club. As other posters have mentioned, Richo and Burgess had a good working relationship at Port and is a key reason why Richo came to Melbourne. Goody and Richo have a similar coaching mantra where they embrace players as opposed to firing rockets up them, and are generally non-confrontational, so I think we will see a more cohesive coaching panel which will translate to better game day performances.

Jay Clark @ClarkyHeraldSun · 3m Melbourne has got its man. Alan Richardson has signed with Rhe Demons.

Yeah, just like all the premierships that Clarkson bloke had been involved with before he got the gig as a senior coach. I think even Leigh Mathews admitted that there is an element of luck in winning a premiership or just getting close. Based on that, we should be making our recruitment decisions based on how much luck they can bring to the club with them.

Ouch. I'll think twice before engaging with you in a battle of wits.

Goody realising that a focus mainly on crash / bash & overwhelm inside style of footy isn't going to win many games in the medium to long haul if this is your main go to method. Speed on outside, spread and an attacking overlap game style taking over. Also becoming expert at tempo / possession option when needed to ice match or protect a lead etc. Getting the inside/outside structures right - BALANCE. Getting smalls and mediums front and square more often. MASSIVE reduction in turnovers via improved skills, particularly by foot. Flow on - hitting a stack more targets inside 50 (and generally), resulting in greater ball retention and control of game/momentum. Big M as the new captain. Viney & Jones getting a full pre-season in. AVB making a miraculous comeback. Snatching a key forward, 2 quality smalls and a classy outsider in the trade. Burgess turning Tracc into an inside/outside beast who can tear a game apart through the mid field on a regular basis. Clarry as per Tracc. Get some run/gun and finish out of congestion...more kicking, fewer suicide/look away hand balls and instead looking to give first option to runners on the outside wherever possible. A broom through many NQRs on the list in place of pace/burst power marking and finishing skills including at goal. Uncovering a potential gun in the draft with serious X factor who can turn a match in 15 to 20 minutes of pulsating ball bursting footy! Goal kicking accuracy generally!

My gut feel is Richo already had a relationship with Burgess at Port. I am not 100% sure of the strategy here - but my gut feeling again is the strategy is based around a similar one to which Burgess and Richo have done in the past. Interesting times ahead - I hope the boys like running

Now we just need a good game day coach.

Pull back interchange rotations to a minimum each quarter (10) get rid of deliberate out of bounds it is illegal to throw the ball, so stop it

Could be worse. Hillary Clinton and Jeremy Corbyn.

I have liked the way he ha splayed for a few years, very good prospect that got injured at the wrong time for the Lions. Has got many great assets. I would love to think we are looking at him and getting him somehow. The good thing is that he uses the ball well (75% career ave) and is a great runner. Imagine him and Langdon in our side, we straight away have 2 serious gut running players. Thoughts?

I thought some might find this article interesting. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/aug/23/has-the-afl-reached-a-point-where-it-is-just-about-impossible-to-adjudicate Having lost all interest in the season and not much caring who wins in most matches I've watched, I have been able to judge umpiring decisions with less emotional bias than usual. It's worse than ever before. I can't wait to see what new rules the AFL introduces to make umpiring even harder in 2020.

I spoke to a mate who goes for Port and he suggested Port haven’t been the same since Richardson left, a very good developer of people apparently.

This is a fantastic get for the Melbourne football club.

Aside from the cluster F that was the Sydney game, we haven't been too far off the mark since the bye round: Fremantle - good win against a side on a 4 game winning streak (although they were down to 2 men) Brisbane - good first half. Lost our way in the second half. Who knows what would've happened if Hipwood didn't kick 5 goals in 5 minutes. Carlton - That win stacks up now, as underwhelming as it was at the time, 40 odd points up at one stage with T Mac kicking 6 goals in 3 qtrs. W Bulldogs - An 8 point loss against a team that has caught fire since the break is a decent effort. One of the rare games Lever and May played together. West Coast - Another more than competitive effort against the reigning premiers, as we were in front at 3 qtr time. This performance was better than some of our (rare) wins. Again, Lever and May played together. St Kilda - Bitterly disappointing performance to lose against what I consider a poor side but we lead with 10 minutes left, before our skills and fitness fell off the cliff. May didn't play. Richmond - A meritorious first half going into the sheds on even terms. Kept the margin somewhat respectable. Collingwood - Bitterly disappointing middle 2 quarters however had a rare good last quarter. Inaccuracy cost us dearly in this one as we lost by only 17 points. Sydney - A disgrace. Hopefully next year, the Dogs, WC, St Kilda and Collingwood losses are turned into wins.

Imagine that Aussie Rules is an international sport. With test matches between countries. New Guinea are playing Denmark. The umpires are Japanese. Should the players be able to understand the refereeing? Should the umpires need to do anything other than blow the whistle, indicate the frees (with the usual arm gestures) and shout "play on" (which hopefully any player could learn to recognise)? If the umpires need to be saying "Back two, Bjorn. Back two steps, mate. Back two." or "Hold! Hold, Mekere! Hold!" or "Fifteen gone" or any of the other instructions we hear every single match, then something has gone wrong. Umpires coaching players is one symptom that the AFL have lost control. The very idea of "interpretations" of rules is another - an admission that rules are ambiguous and/or badly thought out in the first place. So many areas pointed out in the posts above where things can be tightened up dramatically (throwing, ruck nominations, OOB, etc). How did things come to this pass? To me, any attempt by the AFL to address even these obvious flaws are doomed unless they first revise their basic thinking on what the umpires are supposed to be doing. They're not coaches. They're not mind readers. They're not peers of the players. They're not part of the entertainment experience. First step is to adjudicate to the rule book as it is written. The AFL don't even need to do this to live games. Just watch replays and for every game situation, run to the rule book to see what the rules actually say and what the decision should be, or if any decision is needed at all. Step two, which hopefully would quickly follow, is to rewrite the rule book to eliminate the many ambiguities and omissions thereby exposed. It's amazing how many rules are poorly worded.

It's Official

I wish we could have Ratten. Not sure what it is but I like him. I thought he was unlucky to get the chop at the Blues.

Macca came in as development coach and mentor to Goodwin. Richardson seems a really honest, hardworking bloke but I just don't see that he has the credentials for the coach mentor part: He hasn't shown he can build a successful game plan. The saints list management was poor in his tenure. Doesn't have coaching finals experience and then a long time ago Hasn't been at a 'successful' club Hasn't had any non-coaching football roles. With that background I just don't see how he could guide Goodwin thru those areas and in particular help him avoid the pitfalls he fell into in the off-season. If we have a coach mentor/director role we need someone who has had some success, imv

I wondered if that was us, but confused by the header which noted big melbourne club close to signing him.

Here are the three things I would replace: the deliberate out of bounds rule even though its purpose is sound. It's too subjective. Go back to out on the full only. the ruck nomination rule. It slows down the game substantially as the umpires wait, not just for the nomination to be made, but for the lumbering ruckmen to make it to the point where the ruck contest is to take place Stephen Hocking

Melbourne close to signing Alan Richardson in key coaching role "Melbourne has ramped up its bid to win the services of former St Kilda coach Alan Richardson. The Demons are in the final stages of negotiations with Richardson about a key coaching role for next season. Football manager Josh Mahoney has led the Dees’ chase for Richardson and is on the verge of landing his signature."

A very good article. In a nutshell how many of us feel without doubt. Too many rules changes in too short a timeframe - many of them negatively affecting the spectacle. Oh, and the crowd behaviour and brawls becoming more prevalent.... is that purely drug and alcohol related? Or can this umpiring ‘angst’ the writer speaks of be a huge variable in the increasingly violent crowd environment? I have zero faith in the current AFL administration solving any of these issues but complete and utter faith they will continue to add to the angst.

Lewis has 4 flags. MFC has 0 flags for 55 years. Take your pick...

It’s staggering that the players would come back in that condition and have that attitude, especially in 2018-19. IMO, the coaches and staff are just as much to blame. It’s unacceptable.

Way ahead of you man. At the start of the season I saw us running the same garbage game plan with what looked like no effort to fix our F50 entries, dysfunctional backline or poor skills over the pre-season and so didn't bother renewing my gold membership or make the 700k round trip to watch 1 game. Seen it all before from this club and have been absolutely disgusted it's happened again. Will withhold my money next season and watch for improvement before forking any of it over.

Any whispers on JJ OR another KPF target to provide a foil for Tmac? Or will we risk 2020 with the same forward line and become an absolute shambles again with an injury or two? Kicked 9 goals in the 3 games before he was dropped again. 22 goals in 11 games while being on the outer of the club, a marked man for leaking stories about how much of a rabble the club is internally.Would've kicked 40 for the 6th season in a row with a full season. 4 goals from 300. And still the usual snobs in here will throw up the 'goals out the back' & 'jane in a tarzans body' lazy throwaway lines that fly in the face of the consistent stats. Tmac, Jenkins, Petty & Weid should be fighting for those two or three spots, now that Tim Smith and probably Keilty are gone. I'll go with the opinion of Matt Lloyd over most in here.

not unusual in business for a first year CEO to do some significant write down of assets so as to start from a lower base. Business 101 The drop in revenue from those last three MCG games would also be significant as we have discussed

I suspect the underlying purpose is to obtain finance from the AFL to assist our search for a definitive home base

At a recent game I sat next to someone, not in the club but close to our fitness department. Apparently, the club was very disappointed with the (lack of) condition of players after the off-season. Even the players who had surgery could have done more on their rehab in the off-season to be ready for pre-season. It is second hand but consistent with Lewis' comments. At a guess, the players who have stepped up this year are the ones more likely to have done all the off-season work. I recall Roos saying players need to be in tip top condition at the start of pre-season; pre-season is not to get fit; it is to develop skills and learn game plans. It is time the players felt the blowtorch so I'm glad Lewis has as no-one else in the club could publicly say it. It is what the players do in the off-season (and skills and game plan learning in the pre-season) that will best place them and the club for a successful 2020.

Just hurry up and get to round 1 next season, what a blood waste of time and $$$$$ this season has been for everyone associated with this organisation and mainly for the fans. The entire footy dept down to the players has to hang its head in shame. Arrogance and hubris from the moment the siren went in Perth to end that game. One thing that stands out for me, even more than the lack of application to your craft, is the arrogance you hear about Melb players. From hearing the West Coast player after the Perth game saying Melb are chit to posters on here and people I’ve spoken to who has been told by other AFL players the Dees players are some of the most arrogant, chirpy when they have done nothing and self congratulating in the league. Its hard to like this club let alone love it. Ive really gone into an Ice Hockey rabbit hole over the last 2 years after vaguely following it for some time. NHL clubs are ruthless, trading captains mid season, sacking coaches/GMs in early seasons, offering older/loved players base wages when the organisation thinks they can be replaced by a younger cheaper piece. The Dees need to be ruthless this offseason. Jones take minimum wage, you haven’t earned more than that and you’re in serious decline. Gawn for some captain, back luck Jack you haven’t earned that title on or off field, focus on footy. ps: this goes back to the question ET raised, will you buy a membership next season? I thought yea of course but these kinds of things make it really hard to give up my hard earned to these players. Pps: i don’t think the supporter base has ever been so angry in the time I’ve been a supporter and rightly so.