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I’ll never forget the glory of our AFL X premiership

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When does the season start?

Melbourne to develop the mentality they’ve lacked for many years - to not back off when they’re in front but to pressure on and win in a way that the opponent won’t forget quickly

I hate these fluff pieces. "I want to be a Hall of Famer" What a ridiculous thing to say..... I hope he has matured. We all know he has the tools. but so did Colin Sylvia. Trac needs 3 things IMO: 1. Endurance - reportedly he has vastly improved 2. Ball drop - Insane that this has not been rectified 3. Selfishness - I see a guy that is trying to please too many people and do the team things too much. Sometimes he just needs to grab the ball burst away and deliver like say, a de Goey We have seen a few times when he does this and it is very exciting. Other times his mind is swimming -'what do I do?' 'Don't stuff it up'. If ever there is a player that has a licence to break away from team rules it's Trac. More instinct and less robot for me.

Grundy seems like a really good person and a great cultural influence at the club. Like @DeeSpencer posted, what else are they gonna do?

I really like Trac.

New Evidence obtained concerning Essendrug Damming Evidence

Trac has been a victim of his own hubris up to this point of his career. I have referred to him in the recent past as possibly the most overrated player in the league based on hype-v-output. Last year i watched him closely looking for ANY signs that he might be tracking(no pun intended) towards a genuine A-Grader. I can honestly say i saw enough to suggest the penny might have finally dropped for him. I believe (maybe more of a hope ) that he can, if he stays injury-free, become one of the games most damaging players this season. Boy dont we need it.

Really we live in hell and make the occasional foray up to the surface to get crushed and put back to hell. Not a massive fan of thief’s pump up videos. Maybe if we were hitting September, but otherwise... a lot of room for egg.

Yes, amongst many, this is a conundrum about Brent Crosswell. Unless contributors have seen the named players, it would be a tough task to make a token allocation in such a listing. BC was a great gathered asset; a man with great skills and execution that would surprise. I'd have him in any side, whereas another superstar, Kelvin Templeton, arrived at the Dees knobbled with post-surgical reduction (in skills and capacity to apply these) which was a tremendous sadness. Prior to his knee injuries, KT was the ultimate (perhaps the best CHF you ever saw) player with Footscray. He was unbeatable in that era, and no-one could control his contribution up forward. Nearly every game he played, he was BOG, by a mile. BC was not at the same standard of consistent lethality, yet reasonably close; yet, BC gets my nod between the two as he was less 'damaged' in his contribution to the Dees than KT.

Petracca to have a great year playing midfield forward - where he absolutely dominates a couple of games - 25+ touches & 5+ goals

In a breakout year Oscar McDonald voted best backman of the year earning a spot in the All Australian Team 2020

Several major omissions as far as I am concerned. Henry Coles was an excellent rover & goal kicking fwd pocket for us. Also in terms of talent surely Alan Davis & Phil Carman get in - both were brilliant players. Cross, Crosswell & Clarkson were way past their best when they came to us & were only there to teach some of the younger players.

Every player should have a short back and sides and should get a real job while they're at it. Next, they'll be off listening to that Rock and roll music. If you'd had hair like that in my day, by george, there'd be strife.

Surely they've dropped by now?

Ed Langdon added to the list of MFC culprits. He and Jackson need to follow the lead of Mitch Hannan by tidying up their long hair do with a neat short back and sides, us being the gentlemens club and all. Barassi wouldn't have had a bar of this long hair hippy nonsense (take note Goody), no wounder we had the season we did last year.

Had a quick chat over Christmas with a relative of mine that is closely tied to the Petracca clan (specifically the older brothers). Reckons the penny has dropped and he has taken massive strides forward in maturity and ownership of his career/goals/fitness and wants to leave no stone unturned to ensure he reaches his potential (also with a mention to this being the last year of his contract, not that he wants to move but wants to build on what he’s done). Broken up with the Mrs and been spending all summer committed to the cause and working bloody hard.

The roasting 'we' dished up You mean the constant parping from a couple of the less informed on here Repeated by a small group of the more easily led on here As if

Good to see someone working on their MFCSS in the off-season. Important to keep fit.?

The first Demon to kick 100 goals in a season Dreaming.....

A game plan! A system that doesn't involve hit-and-hope balls kicked to the top of the square. Or a system that doesn't press too far and leave opposition running into open, easy goals. Where the midfield are not bees to a honeypot and no one plays outside... Other than that. Players played in correct positions. Team selection based on form/fitness.

The weid winning the Coleman and the filth winning the spoon.

Jamie was handy (esp the Sticks effort) but I reckon that the job on Dermie was done by another good import, Peter Rohde, in 1990.

Since our last Premiership in 64 the Melbourne Football Club has brought in a long list of players from other clubs to bolster its team and in some cases hoping to lead us to that elusive cup. So with the help of some Melbourne tragics over a bottle or two of red we have put together a best of the lot list and called it the MFC Foreign Legion. (Why you may ask – well we have not got a selection of premierships on DVD to watch is one and after a bottle or two it seem a good idea) By no means a team of the century, but perhaps a best of list that you can reminisce about and a list that made an impact in their time with us. We had a limited knowledge of player movements in the sixties and early seventies and I am sure we have missed some from this era and possibly players in recent times that should make the team. The team was put together on the following basis: Players had to have played at least 1 senior game with another VFL/AFL club before coming to Melbourne and could not be on MFC’s current list. Each player is listed with the previous club they played for with the number of games played and goals in brackets along with MFC games and goals. MFC's Foreign Legion

Merged topic from discussion in a few threads. Early candidates are: Ben Brown Brodie Grundy Luke Jackson Max Gawn Nathan Jones Dyson Heppell James Worpel

Oh, I forgot... Saty would be... well, Saty, and at every training session with camera poised, in one hand

Jetta / May / Hore/OMac Hibberd / Lever / Salem Tomlinson / Petracca / Langdon Melksham / Weide / AVB Fritsch / T Mac / Hunt foll: Gawn / Oliver / Viney ic: Harmes / Brayshaw /Jones / Hannan emerging: Jackson / Petty / Jordan / Sparrow / Pickett

He will probably play off half back and maybe have a run in the mids at times...this also opens up the forgotten man, Salem to do more or more of the same...

I think we will see Jackson running through the midfield at times this year...

Gus back in the middle with Viney and Oliver. Harmes can now roll through if we need someone shut down, I think now most of us are confident in Harmes’ ability to play just about anywhere. Then there’s Trac, all the talk sounds exciting at the moment, just bounce the ball already.

He is too nice a guy. I think a little bit of training with the Storm and Jack Viney/Angus Brayshaw will help his mongrel. He has the body but the mindset is another thing. You need to be very single minded about that. I think Petracca is building into that kind of player. I think that he could be a Dangerfield in time. Some of it is age related. He understands the requirements of his role better now.

Harmes from all training reports will be playing off a half back flank. Jordan will play midfield this year. Could be a Smokey to win the rising star if he gets a gig round 1.

I know it's a fluff piece but it's still really good to hear. He spoke to the club at the end of the year citing he would like more midfield time, he could become an absolute animal in the and a real X-factor. He's doing things right in the pre-season, it can only mean good things for the real thing.

What??

So the roasting we dished out on him last year, has not been wasted on deaf ears, apparently. A little flung Mud can do wonders, for false self perceptions. Get the right message into young heads and development Will most times occur. False praise is 'THE Most' destructive type of support anyone can spray on our young players.

In 2018, we went 8-2 between rounds 16 and the semi final and O Mac played in all those games and played his role quite well. He'll play round 1 along with May and Lever in trying to stop JK, Darling and Oscar Allen. I don't mind Joel Smith but I don't see him as a key defender able to take a Darling or Kennedy. Perhaps he and Hore will be fighting one another for a spot in defence, independent of O Mac.

Got a good feeling about this kid

If you take a look at Lockhart’s reel while playing in the forward line (in particular vs Dockers/Bombers), you’ll see a player who showed enormous potential in this position. (especially given his lack of pre-season and experience in the big league). Seems however that he’s being groomed for defence (possibly taking over from Nev when the time comes). My 2¢: if somebody else seems like a good fit for this defensive role, then start grooming Lockhart for the FP role immediately.

Looks as if Oscar will get first crack as the 2nd tall and I am ok with that. Hope he goes well and starts to play with some confidence. Just looked very timid last season and didn’t back his ability to intercept at all. Had chances to mark the ball but was always to worried about his opponent. I wouldn’t rule out Tomlinson playing as the 2nd tall in the 2nd half of the year if the wing position doesn’t work as planned. This would allow Hunt and Langdon to be our wingers. Pleased to hear someone on training thread mention Hunt was training with the midfield. I think wing or back is where he will do best.

Pickett a long term option but maybe this is a last year hurrah for Jones.

Its definitely an are of weakness, that specific small forward role, it has to be Pickett i think, but its a role that will be rotated throughout the year until someone grabs it. Interestingly enough, toward the end of teh year it may be Bennell if it works out that he gets back,it might work nicely for him to play that small forward role close to goal to ease back into teh game., ultimately you want him up the ground a bit but he is smart enough to play that small fwd role.

I've been down to a few preseason training sessions last year and i'm very confident that both Hunt and O.Mac will be in the team in round 1. Hunt hasn't missed a beat in terms of training and he even came back earlier than required which clearly shows to me anyway that he is doing everything possible for a contract extension. On O.Mac, he's got his mojo back and has bulked up in the upper body and will combine well with the likes of May and Lever. Ideally i'd have Smith take his role but we all know how injury prone Smith is which gives O.Mac the edge over anyone else fighting for his spot. On a different note, has anyone else struggled to find the 3 list spots we'll need to go into this years draft? so far I have Jones, J.Wagner and Baker. Our list is looking very strong.

I agree Tony. The overall outlook for the players in each of my categories above is upside. Petracca and Brayshaw have the talent to move into the A Grade and if Viney can stay fit he's definitely in there. Weed and Petty have every chance to elevate to the B grade this year. And I've already said I expect 2-3 from the youth group to establish themselves. The only players potentially on the slide are Jones, Hibberd and Jetta, and maybe AVB and May if they can't stay injury free.

This is a cracking training thread - thanks for the reports. Fingers crossed on May and Smith, but I’m no longer as worried about our forward line and our ability to score goals than I was about 3 months ago. T Mac seems to have rediscovered his mojo, Melksham is back to his best, Fritsch is in superb form, Brown will be an effective tall forward, we have plenty of other decent options (tall and small) to rotate through, and we now have good wingers and attacking mids who are fit and who will be able to effectively deliver the ball. This represents such a big change from last season. As an aside, I’m glad I’m not an Essendon supporter - apparently one third of their list is not able to train at the moment. If I were Worsfold, I’d be handing over the baton right now.

Good post, agree with most of it. It us an interesting point you make about 1st and 2nd year players going up a level. Last year was unusual in so far as no first year or even second year players made a real impact at senior level (As opposed to just getting a game) These days at least one normally one would have. And no knock on any of those players. Just the way their development has progressed. If you include this year's draftees to the group that is now entering their 2nd and 3rd years it reasonable to expect a handful will make an impact. And maybe one might really surprise and become a really important player.

Really great training reports and exciting times because we've got almost the full core having a complete pre season. I think Gawn, Oliver, May and TMac are key to our fortunes in 2020, no surprises there and only May hopefully temporarily interrupted. Then my next core 11: Salem, Harmes, Petracca, Viney, Lever, Brayshaw, Langdon, Melksham, AVB, Fritsch and Jetta all in full training. Only Jones, Hannan, Tomlinson and Smith are in rehab and I have all 4 in the 3rd echelon and Hannan sounds like the only one restricted medium term. I think if we can get that 15 on the ground for the majority of the season and with some solid support from Hibberd, Weed, OMac, Hunt, ANB, Hore, Petty and Brown, all who are in full training, we can give the flag a real shake this year. I think it's quite reasonable to expect 2 or 3 of the 1st and 2nd year players to make a decent contribution too. For example Lockhart, Jordon, Dunkley, Sparrow and any of the 3 draftees could step up. Preuss is there as Max insurance. That's about 30 goers in total. I don't agree with other posters who say we're "6 - 8 good players off challenging". IMO the challenge starts this year.

Was at my first session in a while, and did my best to watch while having my young daughter with me. I won’t add too much more, as most has been said. Firstly, I do love how so many jump at shadows or are so pessimistic about injuries (or apparent injuries) to players. Take a deep breath, it is January, and we are way ahead of where we were last year. I had a chat to a few people I know at the club and they are all upbeat and extremely positive with how things are going, and from what I gathered, it wasn’t just your usual talk you read in the media to drum up publicity, they were genuinely excited by the new fitness people, by the players mentality and efforts and by the different training they are doing now. on a personal note (so I am unsure if this matters too much to some ), I was impressed by: Jackson - he moves well and flies for his marks, second efforts are great. Kicking skills on both feet pretty good too. Kossie - silky, quick, just what we need. Just needs some fitness as he won’t play much u til he can use his speed and pressure for more than 10 minutes. Trac - moves so well, clean and vocal. Trained with the mids all the time. Will have a huge year! And we need him too and we need to make him happy and re sign him! T Mac - looked super fit and moved well. Back to 2018 movement, I hope! O Mac - his kicking skills are great and he used his body well today. Just needs to work one quicker decisions! Brown - he will play a lot of games this season, and I would be happy to have him in the team, whichever end he is at. Good body size, moves well, takes a strong mark. Astute pick up imo. Melksham - his kicking is elite, his left foot is better than most others preferred foot. And he uses his body so well. And he is vocal and guiding people. We need him if we are to be any good this season. Tomlinson- didn’t realise how big he is, muscular more than height. He was getting annoyed with Burgess as he was itching to join in the real training. Think he will be in there ASAP. I could go on, but I was relatively impressed overall, as much as you can be for an early Jan session. Of course we need to wait a long while to see anything put into action. Overall it was just great to see the majority of the players all training, the entire session, at full pace and training g at a pretty high standard and looking like they were enjoying it.

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/552969 Official now. May a cyst, Smith an infected cut. Both back next week. Jones managed.