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May & Oliver would walk into any of those teams. Max would 3 & fight it out with Grundy at Pies. An in form Tommy Mac at Geelong & Pies. Lever probably GWS & Pies, maybe Cats depending on how they set up...Tiges the only one he would miss. Trac with GWS & Cats...probably Tiges, Pies have others like but he would be an option there. After season 2020 will be a walk up anywhere. Harmes would get a look in somewhere in those teams...extra mid, tagger or hb I reckon Fritsch would get a game forward with the Cats. I expect Salem to consolidate & be on par with like players at teams you've mentioned. Langdon to step up as one of the best running wingmen in season 2020. A resurgent Bennell to walk in anywhere. Jackson as rising star, Rivers not far behind...all clubs envious. There you go, we're not so bad after all. Who knows...remember we were top 4 in 2018 so I wouldn't be marking the 2020 list on who made top 4 in 2019. Too much can & will change.

The aim was to hear others' opinions on whether we really have a decent list. If we can't find players on our list who'd get a game in the top teams, what hope do we have? As for already answering my own question, no, I don't think just Max and Clarrie would make the other teams. Now, I'm trying to put this politely... Maybe it's not so much a case of answering my own question as someone else not understanding its intent.

hi all, Deakin Pereira is my son. He stands around the 201 cm mark. He has just turned 17 in september. He takes a size 18 shoe. He has not touched a footy for nearly one and a half years. We were blessed to come to Train with Melbourne for 3 days and Deakin really enjoyed it. He is a basketballer and there have been numerous offers to play bball in the US. At present we are waiting on offers to go to a prep school in the USA. Deakin really enjoyed the challenge at Melbourne and time will tell if he sways back to AFL. the above photo is not him.

Angus Brayshaw finished third in 2018 Brownlow. Back to his best, he’s elite.

hi all we spoke to Melton bball and they were sorry about putting up the wrong picture, if you check it again Deakins picture is there. their measurement of Deakin is 203 cm

Im just holding my breath waiting for the rule change that says "All alleged acts will be treated equally by the MRO and AFL Tribunal; regardless of player profile and/or impact on finals matches"

Apologies for not contributing earlier, I've been having Optus internet issues and have had to revert to emergency Telstra dongle ( don't understand why, but I always feel a little dirty when I say that). I got down there today before any of the players appeared and spied a relatively young looking fella taking the shade under a tree at the City end. Turned out to be George on the Outer. Pretty much stayed in the same posi. till around 11 when most of the action dried up. During that time most of the brains trust turned up in Whispering, Urban Legend BB and D'land himself. Good banter and opinion ensued during this time and I'm happy to report we are all a bit bullish for the year ahead. I think we all agreed that while we temper our expectations, as it is preseason, observing training at the moment has way more positives than negatives. I don't intend to revisit what other posters have said other than to agree with their comments. The one thing I can add is that I stayed until the last player and coach departed. The last player was Petty and the last coach - Stafford. At the end of the session JJ, Chandler, Viney, Clarey and Petty spent 15 to 20 mins on goal kicking. In the end Stafford was working one on one with Petty on his run up. It appeared Stafford had identified a flaw where Petty was making contact with the ball either to early or to late. For any of the other training watchers; I would be interested in future obs regarding A/ this as on ongoing coaching with other players and B/ any observable improvements in individual performance in this area. I should have also mentioned I watched Langdon a fair amount and thought his disposal was much better today than on Monday. I also saw him celebrate this a few times to the amusement of his teammates. This shows he is very aware of his deficiencies and is working on them

at least they could have undone some of the recent dumb game related rule changes

Where did you get that from AF? I'm up in Queensland working in the mines, and we are dealing with accommodation problems brought about by new and very large coal mines opening. Just got a huge pay increase because they are worried about staff retention. That does not happen when mining is in trouble. Simply wishing it to be true does not make it so.

It's not the 80s anymore. People shouldn't have to attend the AGM to get an idea of the financial strategy, the club has 50k members now. The communication should be transparent.

Melksham would be in the starting 18 of any of those teams. As would plenty of our orher guys.

I'm all for off-season musings, but this is a bit of an outdated and simplistic way of analyzing lists I reckon. Even very good sides typically only have a handful of superstars and maybe another half dozen clearly above-average players. The bottom 6-10 players in good teams aren't world beaters, but play a role that utilizes their strengths and doesn't expose their weaknesses. In that sense, most of Melbourne's best 22 would at least be in the frame of Richmond's best 22. Oliver is probably a better player than, say, Cotchin, but would replacing Cotchin with Oliver improve Richmond? Doubt it. Our list is good enough on paper to go deep in finals. Pretty much anyone that knows footy accepts this. Getting it to click is the hard part. On topic: Gawn Oliver May (GC version) Tmac (2018 version)

Poker machine income is inconsistent with sport and soon the AFL will be forced to ditch the betting income. Cricket faced the same problem years ago with tobacco and then alcohol sponsorship. If we have to rely on income from poker machines the model is wrong. The problem is obvious... stadium size... MCG is too big and we all hate Docklands. There's not a bag of magic beans sitting out there and everyone has known for years that ten teams in Melbourne (plus the Hawks and North coming back to Melbourne when Tasmania gets a team) means that the dollar is stretched. Extra AFL money will go to the expansion clubs for the next ten plus years at least so don't expect much from that source. TV revenue is at its maximum in real terms. Unless a broadcaster/streamer is prepared to use the AFL as a loss leader the sums don't make sense. Foxtel have made it clear that it's time to make money and that means it won't always be the cash cow that it has been. The sweet spot for the streamers (Netflix, Amazon, Disney etc) is around $15 per month which leaves no room to pay billions for sporting rights in a small market. The only saving grace is population growth but attendances while having grown do not seem to have matched the rate of population growth. On field success is just a bandaid unless it is sustained for ten plus years and we haven't manged that in the last fifty years. Finally there's the issue of operating costs. The football industry has a high level of human input at so many levels. Future productivity gains will come largely from automation. While there are some areas that might benefit (security perhaps) it won't be a game changer. PS... there are published costs of building stadiums around the world. One measure of cost is the cost per seat. Stadiums of around 50,000 are the most common. The new stadium in Perth has the highest cost per seat by a very big margin. These costs need to be paid for by advertisers, admission prices etc leaving less for the game itself. Go Dees.

Stick with the basketball. This is Matthew Dellavedovas current NBA contract. Using him as an example as hes Aussie, from country VIc, a below average player and now hes a millionaire 50 times over. https://www.spotrac.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/matthew-dellavedova-13478/

Max Clarry Harmes/Viney Melksham

I am not an orthopod or a physio but the plantaris is a tiny muscle amongst some big company. (I tore mine once and it hurt like hell for a few weeks but hadn’t bothered me since, not that I run or jump much.) But as I understand it its tendon can somehow irritate the big boys around it (soleus and gastrocnemius) without causing them permanent damage. The theory behind the surgery seems to be that removing the irritant allows the main muscles to go on unhindered. Kossie’s tackling technique, around the hips, looks great and will cause a good deal of grief especially for those with less core strength than CP5. Deeman. I had hoped to do just that but the link to the article wouldn’t open. Sure. Nice photo, but was that guy ever any good? After all didn't the Hawks delist him? ??

By 1st July, the club will announce the location of our new state-of-the-art training facility.

Which other club has a social club? They don't make money and fans don't live in 1 suburb any more like the 1960's. WE need a training base. Gosch's was unusable for 6 weeks last year. But you are right about a financial plan of being successful outcomes on the field. Half the sides in the competition fail every year! You need off-field income for those times.....

I know, right? Just when you think the world’s gone to s**t, salvation arrives in the form of a fantastically niche medical journal article. It’s the little things. ??

Almost at the Christmas break and no players have come close to drowning. We’re winning.

Personally, I try to leave no turn unstoned. Happy Birthday to Keith BTW, a young 76 today and doesn't look a day over 90.

I think you’re going to find that everyone else on the list is behind Pickett in X factor. On what I saw at training, the closest to KP is probably Kade Chandler.

My experience has been that its very hard to shift the 'membership' needle within a season even if a team gets off to a flyer. So there won't be any membership records next season whether we make finals or not. Brace yourselves for another tough season financially. All going to plan the cash will start rolling in during season 2021, after we make finals and acquit ourselves well in 2020.

Not much if at all. None of speed, kicking skills or a nonexistent forward line have been addressed. Better hope for a blessed run with injury otherwise norf might be getting pick 1?

Thanks, some of the best inside of the club video ( both parts ) I have had the pleasure to view.

How’s the cheese platter at the end lol

Call me anything, but don't call me Deeluded! ?

Just like playing a Serious Card Game

well said.... time to break the model... How I'm not sure.... but it's the real discussion

Governments rarely give up revenue, what makes you think they'll ban pokies and give up the revenue that flows through from that? A financial model that relies on sustained success is doomed to failure. The only way we could operate that way would be to have so many members they are forced into reserve seat packages at the start of the year which would be extremely difficult given our large home ground, large number of MCC members and low supporters base.

The lord giveth, and the lord taketh away... Religion really is a waste of brain power and logic. *Ducks for cover*

I think the most important point is that none of the rule changes are to the basis of the game itself. I don't object in principle to rule changes which affect the game, but we've had so many in recent years it's time to let the game evolve within that framework.

God forbid, are you suggesting the AFL are hypocrites? The AFL has only one rule, money, money and more money.

I still expect him to be named in the AA side.

Don’t come knocking on my door

Actually disgusting listening to the commentators defend him " it so uncharacteristic" "that just a man who's tried he's hardest and its boiled over" what a cop out. If Bugg had done it they'd be calling for criminal charges. Rance. Good player but [censored] of a bloke.

meanwhile, afl set to re-up with bet easy (aka crownbet, soon to be part of sportsbet) to the tune of $8m a year for the next three-five years “If this goes ahead, the AFL will have abandoned their right to moral leadership in the community,” Alliance for Gambling Reform spokesman Tim Costello said. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/afl-closing-in-on-8-millionayear-deal-with-corporate-bookmaker-beteasy/news-story/fbc9a5f8895c5b85300f770cd04cee42

Opportunities can work two ways, positive and negative. Giving yourself every opportunity to succeed is one way. Removing the opportunity to [censored] up is another.

Found this article when we exited Leighoak: Dees to exit pokies We get a net profit of about $2.m from Leighoak ($900k as per report in the op) and the Bentleigh Club. We lose the Bentleigh revenue in 2022. We lose the Darwin game in 2020 (said to be $500k). That is $2.5m over a 3 year period. The Leighoak sale proceeds were to be invested in other activities to earn replacement revenue. At the time that was mooted to be naming rights of our new training centre, commercial activities at the training centre etc. As the new training centre is not even in the embryonic stage I'm not optimistic of the club covering lost revenue over the next few years. Somehow the club convinced the AFL exiting pokies was a good business plan "... the AFL wanted to be assured that the Demons would not be hurt financially." If this ends up being an 'own goal' can't see the AFL coming to the our rescue. It would have made much more business sense if we had the other revenue streams ready to go before exiting pokies. And if a new training centre was part of that other revenue the timing of the exiting pokies should have been linked to its opening.

As long as it is the correct decision, I couldn't care if it took 48hrs. It's the outcome that is all too often dubious, particularly when it appears not based on objectivity

Snap. I was just going to post exactly the same thing (jokes)

How is it that 99% of posters here knew that Fritsch was solely a forward about 15 matches before our brains trust worked it out?

mining a dying business........that gave me a good laugh....thanks af

Aint no way mining is going to die. Modern society would collapse without it. Can you imagine a world without electronics of any kind..... at all? Everything we touch is reliant on the mining industry in some way. If you said "coal mining", maybe you would have a point, but many other forms of mining will continue long into the future.

About 10 years ago, the owner of the Romsey Pub applied for a pokies licence. I believe he planned to transfer licences from another venue he owns. A vocal local group and the council opposed this and, after a convoluted legal fight, successfully thwarted the proposal. The result is that the Romsey Pub has been closed for the last 2 or so years and is unlikely to ever reopen. At least 15 local jobs went with it and the good punters of Romsey continue to spend their money elsewhere. I don't want the MFC to become the AFL's version of the Romsey Pub.

Demons to finish in the top 6 All of rivers, Pickett and Jackson to have debuted by round 12. Both Hibberd and Jones to play more vfl games than afl in 2020. Trac to be in the AA squad and finish top 4 in the B & F. Langdon also to finish in top 4 in B&F KK and VDB retire before the season ends Bennell to make a successful comeback and play 5 + games Brown plays 15 games or more in 2020.