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From this article yesterday. Bennell is training with Melbourne's secondary midfield group, along with former captain Nathan Jones, and effectively free of the restrictions he had when he started at the club in December. The only part of Monday's session he didn't complete was some of the running, after his Gosch's Paddock hitout two days earlier with one-time Gold Coast teammate Luke Russell. Bennell and the Demons, like the rest of the AFL, will resume full-contact training from next Monday, which will also enable him to prove himself in match simulation ahead of games returning from June 11.

Didn’t bother Meth Coke. They just got on with it and did their job

After 2019 and our performance in round one, if you went for another team and looked at our club, you’d have to agree.

Sadly watching on TV makes it hard to see what's going wrong or right much of the time (thanks 7 and Fox for all those useless close-ups of players who have taken a mark/free kick), so I don't know what went better after Q1 (but I do know who shaved the best that morning). Drawing any conclusions from that match is fraught for lots of reasons. Pity the AFL didn't hold off announcing the ceassation of footy until after that match to at least remove arguing about that deflating factor.

Santa Teresa Oval full of life A year ago, the club asked the community what they wanted, they said they wanted a grassed oval, they are close to getting it (next will be a fancy to keep the brumbies off it?)

First time poster, long term (occasional) lurker Totally agree sue. Once the decision was made that the season was going to be postponed they simply had to call that game off. It was dangerous not to do so. They were told the season was on hold little more than an hour before the game (after a week or so of speculation it would be) The players heads would have been spinning, particularly our boys who faced a plane trip home not a taxi. It was hard enough watching that game let alone playing. I felt sick wirh the thought of a player getting injured and in shock about the pandemic. At that point it seemed the most likely scenario was that the season would be called off. And our boys played accordingly. As did the eagles. Remarkable to think given how poor we were that they only won by 27 points. They'd just about take that

Burgess was the best recruit by any club in the off season. He’ll be ahead of the curve in the post COVID-19 world when it comes to training and preparation i.e. the world we’re now in. Competence always shines through in broken water.

So now we're getting up in arms about an anonymous misquoted comment about us being favourites for the spoon. It doesn't take much to move the needle does it? We need footy back ASAP

Two teams played in that game so I don’t buy that for an excuse. We played exactly as we did in 2019 hence we’re now (according to some), spoon favourites.

I agree that the announcement would have impacted our preparation and I heard Max say something to that effect, but playing Devil's Advocate, it didn't seem to be a problem for the Eagles. I want us to become a side that doesn't get rattled by outside influences and can cope regardless of the situation.

Anyone silly enough to put money on us finishing last can have that bet with me.

West Coast put the cue in the rack at quarter time. We never got within 20 points after that point and never looked like doing so.

Yeah, I had plenty of time for Pedersen. A mate (North supporter) said he was under-utilised at North and we had got a good one. He trained well, changed his style and seemed to really add to the squad. The controversy of him ducking his head seemed to define him, although that incident was grossly misrepresented. He played Casey and wherever told but could never seem to secure consistent selection in the ones. He always seemed to have a positive approach and was never critical. Seemed to have a great attitude. Always seemed to play with intensity and I reckon he added to the team but the coach was not convinced i regret he did not play more but he retired well and I certainly think he can hold his head high. He gets plenty of respect and admiration from me.

As a spectator, you could actually see and feel Cam thinking about what to do - and when - onfield. He was a big bloke, not an all-day runner so he was selective in his contributions at critical moments, that were generally enormous. His drive and focus became essential tools to a struggling forward line; his presentation to and for the ball were surprisingly adept. 'Respect', with an uppercase 'R'. If someone amid the alleged stars was going to save a game, it would often be Cam Pederson.

I've seen Jack Viney say he can't keep up with the way Oliver trains. As a football club who hasn't won a premiership since 1964, we have lots of problems. Oliver isn't one of them.

Watched some of the German Football on the weekend. I watch it regularly when in Asia. But without crowds, i could only handle 15-20 minutes I understand Clubs want to play. People need to get paid, but my interest will be cursory until crowds return

Just heard some clown from either Sportsbet or some other agency on SEN say that they opened their future markets today and Melbourne have firmed as the favourites to take out this year’s wooden spoon. Interesting. He cited the fact that GC would play a host of games up there has seen Melbourne move into the spoon favourite spot. if we finish bottom, compromised year or not, surely Goodwin hands in his contract and resigns. We have no excuses. No injuries. He has rebuilt the team as he wanted and in my opinion destroyed a lot of Roos’ good work. Let’s hope this is not a prediction of what is to come

Whilst there’s been the list of Regrettable Trades OUT, in a recent post, I was thinking of what players traded out have actually yielded a positive return. I can only recall the trade out of Troy Longmuir some 20 years ago. Longmuir played for a few years and got about another 40 games across Freo and also Carlton. We got pick 19 which was an early round 2 pick in 1999. We picked Brad Green who went in to play for 13 years, 254 games, one B&F and captained the club.

I do understand all of this but I just think after our 2019 season they should still have been prepared and willing to give it 100%. Anyway, let’s hope we prove the critics wrong.

Best Bet: Saturday Murray Bridge Race 6 No 4 Lakhani Rose $4.80 (W)

Theres only 1 real solution Macca....... Move Xmas into February ! Yep Santa has to take a back seat this year, as all sports everywhere attempt to finish their seasons. Run the Cox Plate on Xmas day and the Melbourne Cup on New Years Day ! Finish the Spring Carnival when everyone is on holidays! Perfect.

The Bentley being started by the butler! The concierge at the Australia Club announcing that the pre-dinner bar is closing! The neighbours complaining about the renovations at the Portsea property! The accountant earning his bonus by announcing that there will be no tax payable, after deductions, again!

It would be great if someone could record and play Go number 2 Kick it long Sounds of a cheese crackers snapping Polite hand clapping It will be just like the members

when is pay tv going to wake up to alternative camera and commentary streams. They had it in the cricket (eagle eye or similar) so why not the football. A fixed camera behind both goals for you to select from. Should be almost zero costs as the camera is unmanned and the streaming cost is negligible. Alternative commentaries come at a cost but frankly I'd prefer work experience kids to Bruce and his "special" !!

Dee-luded's been here in this latest guise for five minutes and already has close to a thousand posts of drivel. Clearly loves the sound of his own voice, or whatever the internet equivalent is. Just put him on 'ignore' and watch the quality of threads and your life improve immeasurably. ?

Haha. Come on, show us your full collection of semi naked men MFM

I can forgive the past. But I can't forgive the ear rings.

I hope the punt pays off for HIM - about time the chips started to fall HIS way.

Let's be positive and assume that he meant there is a new Melbourne way but we slipped into old habits and din't play the Melb way.

I'm loving Gawn's new look.

This was the one that I liked more than any other - Cam was all heart.

FMD !!!! We are locked down in an historic social and health crisis and the best you clowns can come up with is inane jokes ? You should be ashamed. You need to take a leaf out of your good old Uncle Bitter's book of wisdom and learn how to use your time wisely to the benefit of society. I have been studying the advertisements on Demonland very closely. And ….. apart from making some new friends in the Ukraine. I have made a major medical breakthrough. I was perusing an advertisement that offered a cure for earwax. A very cunning device that operates like a corkscrew ( a tool with which I am very familiar BTW) . The concept is simple - one inserts it into the ear … screws away … and wallah out comes the wax - just like the cork out of a well cellared shiraz. Now while earwax isn't one of my major concerns - as you all are aware, tinea has been an ongoing trial for me. So! With a bit of inspiration and a dash imagination …. and the clincher - an adaptor to fit my trusty Makita multi speed and reversible drill , I have created a device that happily and successfully chips away at my fungi. Now that is social responsibility!

It's ridiculous that the AFL has accepted that games are to be 'crowd free' and surely they need to challenge govenments and push for at least some admittance of live spectators of some description into grounds. In my view, the below should all be quite feasible: 1. Permit family and/or an invited guest of each of the players to watch from inside the stadium; 2. A limited number of somewhere in the rehlm of 100 - 1000 supporters from each club to attend the ground in segregated, physically distant allocated seating. Could allow a certain number of premium members/sponsors seats and put the others in a members lottery to provide some incentive and reward for club members continued contributions during these challenging times. Either or both of the above would result in a far superior TV viewing experience as they would provide at least some level of non manufacturered atmosphere. As an asides, Fox Footy's attempt to compensate for the lack of crowd atmosphere by playing little musical jingles as the ball was bought back to the centre after goals was worse than having near silence of only the players voices audible.

Sounds like a Rodney Dangerfield line, Biff. "I drink too much. Last night time I gave a urine sample it had an olive on it!" "When I was a kid my folks moved a lot, but I always found them..."

Wow! That's a disgrace! I don't understand why the Melbourne Football Club board would be so underhanded do that to Norm Smith let alone why Melbourne members wouldn't vote for him?! It sounds like it was Norm's last gasp to save the football club he loved. After that he gave up and went to coach the South Melbourne Football Club and give Bobby Skilton his last taste of the finals. I would certainly like to know the names of those Melbourne Football Club board members at the time. Although, in the end, what's done is done and we cannot change what happened. Not that I believe in curses but that certainly would of put salt on the wound of Norm Smith's feelings of betrayal. The final slap in the face for a club he had done so much for. Thank you for letting me know about what happened. I have been meaning to read the Red Fox about Norm Smith and this gives me even more reason to do so. Anyway as much as it is a bit of a play on another bemusing acronym I believe in the phrase of MMGA (Make Melbourne Great Again). I want to see at least ONE Melbourne Demons Premiership before I die and I also want to share it with my Dad who is now in his early 70s as well as all the rest of the loyal long-suffering Demons supporters out there who deserve a bit of joy and happiness in their lives. After seeing the Bulldogs and Tigers win their Premierships it has made me more determined than ever to see us have Premiership success. By the way, does anyone remember the Demon Summit that we had quite a few years ago? What was the purpose of that event? What happened to the ideas that came from it all? I apologise for all the questions. I just want to know what needs to be done to not only reflect and learn from our past mistakes but also what we need to do for the Melbourne Football Club to be successful once again.

Then you have never done a night shift in Corio

I find it all pretty shameful and sad. Brock is a walking contradiction though, says he hates when Dean Bailey's name gets dragged through teh mud and gets brought up all teh time and feels sorry for his family, yet goes and does another tell all? Also lambasts Melbourne for tanking and rightly so, but then gets on his high moral horse and goes to Carlton.. the only difference is we got caught, Cartlon are one of the most morally corrupt clubs in the league, have been for 40 years. All of it is just a mess, hope Brock finds some happiness and everyone can move on from a dark time in this clubs history.

Too soon to call this one. It’s Hogan out and May & Kolodjashnij in. I really hope that both Hogan and May can workout their injury and other issues and have a really good next few years. Jesse is a good kid that needs support and a good run.

Yes, that is correct. None of the existing committee would stand aside, to simply let Norm join, so it went to an election. 4 of the committee ran tickets that placed Norm last on their how-to-vote cards to protect their own positions!! Norm finished 9th in a contest for the 8 roles, nearly 100 votes behind no. 8. That was the final insult. Peter Smith, his son, who was playing for the Demons at the time, left to go to Carlton as he also wanted nothing to do with the club any more. In " The Red Fox" he recalled"....But I suspect those blokes were thinking more about their own positions than what was good for the club. They were also thinking that Dad would shake them up a bit too much....Maybe some of them felt it would have been a bit too much for them to handle"

The problem I've always had with Board elections is I wouldn't have any idea what any of their agendas are. The only thing I have to go on is their resume or public profile. I have no idea what platform they are running on or how competent they are to run a footy club.

We had Jimmy ?

All the clubs are the pretty much the same with regards to voting rights and the influence of our votes. Certain types are recommended to the Board by the Board and those types are nearly always voted in. To make a real difference requires a coup, takeover, the board stepping down or an agreed changeover. So we've got voting rights as individuals but it's token. You want to change all that, good luck. At suburban level, it's vastly different. Often all the positions are up for grabs (every single season) As previously stated, we're in the lap of the gods. It's not giving up either, just a dose of realism.

426 ?

So good to see that photo of Hibberd. He's had a terrible couple of months - hopefully being able to get out there and just play footy might help a bit with what he's had to deal with (and most likely still dealing with).

The following photos are from last week.

Drinking, drugs and poor life choices are as much a symptom of mental health issues as they are a cause.

I can’t think of a better place to find out you’ve been sacked

Oils aint Oils, Sol.. Downers aint uppers. Grog aint Speed.

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