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I posted this else where but thought it deserved it’s own topic Well boys, we knew this day was coming a long time ago and we've come to terms with it. Truth is Dec was a bit over football anyway, to be putting in all that blood, sweat and tears to not be playing regular senior footy isn't easy. That being said, the family and I will be forever grateful to the Melbourne Football Club for giving Dec the chance to live out his life long dream, and he got that chance on a sunny afternoon at the MCG. Not only that, but they won a close game, and himself having an impact on that result (his centre clearance for those who remember) He and us will never forget it. To everyone at Demonland, since I first started posting here 5 years ago when Dec started playing some decent footy at Casey, thank you for all your kind words. I have had a great time being able to share this experience with super passionate supporters which are sometimes hard to find. I have sincerely enjoyed the conversations and experiences I've had over the years and I'll be sure to pop back in ever now and again as I now and will always bleed Red and Blue. Dec's career wasn't the most glamorous by any stretch but only a very small percentage of people who ever play our beloved game get to say they played in the AFL. Cheers everyone, and have a drink on me!

First article in any media of Frost being re-signed https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl-daily-rolling-footy-news-from-across-australia-for-wednesday-august-28/live-coverage/267248fd4df505f60a9f82c0f11563e7 (behind paywall) No mention of length of term, also says Jones will sign on a minimum contract with incentives. Here's an extract: DEES SET TO LOCK IN KEY DEFENDER, STALWART Michael Randall -JON RALPH Melbourne full back Sam Frost will join Nathan Jones in soon committing to the club as Ed Langdon prepares to move to the Demons. Frost turned 26 today and while he has provided some hairy moments with his risky dashes from defence has the pace to be a quality shut-down defender. He had been told he is a wanted player, with talks underway.

Word is starting to get out now about the Dees chasing Yze, I think to replace Jennings' role in strategy though not 100% sure. Sam McClure has mentioned it now on SEN, possibly because Hawthorn's year is done and moves can be made. Very highly rated and has risen through the ranks quite quickly. Would be a fantastic get should it happen.

Congrats Max.

To not select the best actual ruckman in the All-Australian ruck position is to completely disrespect the art of ruck-craft, big boy. #MaxForAA1stRuck

: You had me at "wretched run of injuries".

Unequivocal yes. A Demon with a lot of experience in the Hawthorn system and someone who understands the value of skills.

You forgot one......... Earl "The Duke" Spalding! How we let him go to Carltank still mystyfies me to this day!!

He's definitely been the most loved 2 game player this forum has ever seen, which is mostly because of the infectious enthusiasm of his brother! Thanks @Drunkn167for giving us the personal connection, it has added a human element to all of it that I think is easy to forget exists most of the time. It's a hard gig, AFL. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for a young bloke to know that he's been *this close* for a couple of years but just couldn't quite crack it. Rest assured though, Dec played two more AFL games than most of us, which think is a very good achievement. I hope life after AFL footy is kind. Cheers mate.

I don't care where he's from, so long as he can coach. I haven't noticed a lot of Hawthorn people in their FD and it hasn't hurt them. The idea of needing a Melbourne person is a croc...

i don't see the massive attraction in keath

This is probably too much to ask, but if we add Langdon to one wing, I'd love to see KK have a great pre-season and slot into the other. I think it has the capacity (nothing is guaranteed of course) to vastly improve our side moving forward. I know there are plenty of questions around Kolo, and that's fair, but the kid has shown he can play, and getting him through a pre-season will be a big positive for the club.

The difference between McIntosh and Stretch, Kennedy Harris, Spargo etc is that he is actually big enough to compete and win one-on-one contests, which is vital on the wing.

Love Frost, he's an excitement machine who never stops trying and I hope he becomes a 150+ game clubman.

Make.Him.Captain

He is a die-in-the-woods North supporter. Keen observer of the game and has the knack of being quite neutral and objective in his articles. Not to mention insightful.

Frosty has been nominated as the club's 'Most Courageous' player by his team mates. It is part of the MV player awards. MVP Nominees He is quite fearless, how he throws himself around. Quite an honour. Nothing better than respect from teammates.

The promising thing is he's learning. Going back 2 years ago he was a ball watcher and unaccountable at times. He's fixed that. This year, his disposal has been gradually improving. Last half of the year his kicks have been shorter and more direct to a team mate most times. He's lowering his eyes now. He should be a gun by the end of 2020 if we're not rabble. Great news.

This will be interesting as i know for a fact that the Dees were heavily interested in him in his draft year which was the Oliver Weideman draft. Exactly the type of player that we are currently desperate for.

I wish i could like this twice, the stunned mullet look after the tackle is brilliant.

Couldn't agree more, mate. I always like seeing players stick with their clubs for the long term. The fact that it means Carlton and Hawthorn miss out is the cherry on the top.

Thanks @Drunkn167 for you contributions to the Casey game threads & the Demonland Podcast with Casey match reports. Your detailing of the journey of a young player on the cusp of selection and then finally the day in the life of a family getting to watch their loved one play his first game was extremely insightful. Dec should be proud. He achieved what every poster on this site dreams of. And he has a 100% win record. I wish you, Dec and the whole family all the best and I hope you continue to post and provide updates in the future.

yes from me...we need a Melbourne person back in our ranks. Would love Yze.

He received a lukewarm response from players when announcing his retirement. Didn't seem to be a lot of love in the video in either direction.

I understand that bolded sentiment, Moonie, but are we actually improving our list by getting rid of Brayshaw? It would take a very, very good player for us to receive for it to be worth us offloading Gus. Yep, Gus' year wasn't as good as the year before, but by heck, he's still a quality player. I don't think it's as difficult for him to get back to his best compared to the improvement a number of others on our list have to make to get to Gus' 2019 form.

Mahoney has been pretty good over the years with how we manage the salary cap, so you would assume that this would continue for the next few years. I feel like the club plans for years in advance, as evidence with us being able to bring in recruits on good money while still retaining the young players on our list. As you say, Lewis comes off the books and Jones takes a much lower deal, which frees up room with some of it going to Langdon (for whatever it is he gets). Proof will be in the pudding of course, but I feel comfortable with where we are at salary cap wise.

Jeffy played some great footy for us when we were still on struggle street, and was electrifying at his very best. As I mentioned on the podcast last night, his career numbers are pretty damn good. Jeffy: 185 games for 321 goals Cyril: 189 games for 275 goals

I must say I have a soft spot for Frosty, he continues our tradition of, how should I put this... enigmatic key defenders, Prymke, Shanahan, Ingerson, Nicholson, Carroll.

Great news?

EAD Hawthorn - the salt coming from their supporters could flavour hot chips for the next 5 years. Fair bit from Carlton fans too.

Good on ya Drunkn and all the best to Dec. Amazing effort to have put on the jumper and run out on the ‘G. Now spill the beans on the club...

Thanks for taking us on the journey. All the best to you and Dec, and if Dec’s footy journey does continue, at whatever level, I’d love to hear it. This year I have questioned why I come on this site given all the anger and abuse directed at fellow posters and the club in pretty much every post, but I realise it’s because of posters like you who can share a journey. it would also be great if we as posters, could accept that for a myriad of reasons some players don’t make it in the end, but taking potshots at players at a personal level says more about our own anger management issues than anything else.

We should do to Freo what they did to us last year with Hogan and downgrade our pick 20 and force them to take a later pick for Langdon. Let’s trade pick 20 and 38 to Essendon for pick 29 and 31. Then force them to take 29.

What a classy post. All the best!

Thoughts? Massive no from me. I don't think we need to recruit key position players unless it's someone of high quality to play alongside T Mac. Outside run and small forwards should be our focus.

And overpaying...

i've watched a fair bit of amon, as i have a soft spot for the pear he's alright; he'd definitely be in our side for the entirety of this year would add pace and finishing ability he's had better years than this year in the past third rounder, as he's out of contract and wants to come home

I suspect he may have turned down a higher pay packet on offer elsewhere to finish as a one club Demon. A rare man of genuine loyalty in the usual trade circus. A decent pre-season vs the one cut short this year. Cleans up some questionable decision making / disposal under heat AND Goody plays him sparingly off HF & as a cameo mid (bit more time on the bench and 'managed' more professionally in season) you never know. Very difficult for someone to transition to the outside this late in a career but no doubt trying his guts out and giving it his all as always. A great clubman and true professional who deserves to go out on a high note. Good luck for 2020 Mr. Jones.

Will miss Jeffy. One of the very few w X factor. All the best to u and thanks fr all you gave.

#ETthetradebreaker #ETdoesitagain #Howdoeshedoit?

Well, seems like there a lot of members who know a lot about football, but little about business/organisations and their culture. I am probably the opposite. In a few weeks I will be in Japan conducting an exercise with a Fortune 500 company to chart their future success. I have done it many times, in many countries, including with two of the world's top 10 brands. And 80% of the time, it works. When it doesn't work, it's mainly because they don't adopt the thinking. Here's how I do it in my global consultancy.... I gather a working party of the key stakeholders and we agree on the short and long term Objectives. The working party is usually about 16 people. By involving the key stakeholders in the process, we get buy-in from the beginning. After that, the working party meets and we do what many of you would probably find silly. In a workshop, we play creative questioning games to understand the current culture and the blocks to success. The games are used so that we get past the stock answers and usual cliches to get to the heart of the problem. Creativity disarms people. Real truths emerge. Then we define the Brand Positioning and the Culture we want to create in order to achieve the Objectives. I usually craft the Positioning myself and put it back to the working party for comment. Once agreed, the working party defines the Values and Behaviours we will live by. My job is to facilitate and get consensus. Then having established our Values and Behaviours, we explain them to those affected, but who were not in the working party. We do it in a way that gets total buy-in... handling questions/challenges, using examples, etc. Then we all celebrate them. From there on, we live by those Values and Behaviours. Those who don't conform are counselled and given another chance. A second offence says they're not our type... and they're gone. I understand there will be many skeptics. As I said, I know very little about football, but I do know this stuff. Fortune 500 companies don't waste money on things that don't work. MFC needs to behave like one of them.

100% win ratio. Never forget! In hindsight, he should of played 21 more games. Cheers mate!

I think it was Redleg who commented on the Garlett Carlton highlights at the time he was recruited and he posted how impressive they were. I then watched the them too and totally agreed. Jeffy when ‘on’ was electric and every time there was the fast break you knew he’d end up out-sprinting their backman. Ha brilliant. Loved his sneaky tackles out of nowhere, he won that game up in Brisbane for us single handedly and we got him for such a low pick, a treasured gift from Uncle Mick...Jeffy you entertained us, we loved you. Enjoy your next adventure, bonne chance ??

Cool. Now, have we booked him a barber's appointment yet?

There's your external review...