Leaderboard

Selections from an article in the Herald Sun... The Demons have shown some interest but are unlikely to part with more than a late draft pick to nab the speedster. Melbourne is also not prepared to overpay for Polec who signed a bumper deal to move from Port Adelaide to North Melbourne at the end of 2018. Melbourne is in the market for some more speed and polish to complement its hard nut midfield brigade as Simon Goodwin’s men attempt to break back into the top-eight next season. Polec could help improve the Demons’ delivery and finishing skills in the forward half of the ground but Melbourne haven’t made any promises to him. It means that while Polec is on the Dees’ radar, he is not seen as a must-have in the November exchange period. The Demons are likely to try and meet with Polec and establish his intentions for next season and seek feedback on where things broke down at North Melbourne.

Word is, 5 year deal, locked in.

FMD there's a lot of sourpusses here who can't even congratulate a young key foward who finished in 10th place for fear that their confirmation bias might actually be questioned Hardly 'supporters'

He is completely different. Merrett is mainly just outside and has very good skills. The bloke would compliment our midfield perfectly

Over the next few weeks, a lot of us Demonland ‘experts’ will try and pass judgment on who should be traded and what we can get for certain players and let’s face it, it’s not an exact science. But in an effort to avoid some of the fanciful wishful thinking from all of us, here’s my view on player value. Please feel free to adjust to your own version and pass comment – don’t copy whole thing, just cut and paste the ones you want to dispute. And in the interests of being fair to our entire list, everyone has a trade value, although clearly quite a few are contracted for a season or more and are off limits in the real world. But Demonland is not a real world, is it! Max Gawn He turns 29 in December and given the longevity of ruckmen he should have five more years left in him depending on how his knees hold up. He’s our skipper and our brand and he’s in his prime, so it would take a Wayne Carey-style dust-up for him to want to leave, but what if Rhys Stanley has another poor finals series for Geelong, and Danger came knocking at his door with talk about one last Dance. Would two of their lower-end first rounders get the deal done. Not for mine. I’d want a top three pick and even then I’d be grumpy about it. Christian Petracca Fresh off an All-Australian year, his value would now be at a career high. North would offer him close to $1.5 mill a year, but what would we want for our former No.2 pick. Clearly we’d want their first pick (No.2) and maybe Ben Brown to sweeten the deal. Ain’t happening though. Jack Viney As a RFA this year, we have to hope that he’s keen to stay loyal as aside from Geelong, both SA clubs are sure to come knocking and the Crows should be able to offer him a virtual fortune if one of the Crouch boys leave. Jack’s only 26, so it’s his prime time and he would want us to show him the money as well in a deal that may need to be $750K a year for four years. But if Josh Mahoney can’t get it to work, and the Crows money holds sway, then a compensation pick after what would have been our first selection (ie: No.11) would be about right I reckon. Clayton Oliver Yes I know he’s off limits. But for the purpose of this exercise I’d want two first rounders minimum or an A-grader in return. Saad’s 26 so that sort of trade would have to come with the Dons first round pick as well. Steven May Maysie is finally settling in so any deal won’t happen. But what if Fremantle suddenly realised they need a quality defender and offered him top money and we were hamstrung for cash by the Viney deal. We gave up pick 6 for May, so two years on the Dockers pick 7 which will become about pick 10 this year with the academy freebies, would be about right for a guy who’s 28 and coming off one of his best years. Maybe a deal for Hayden Young could be tied in to it and just see us swap future second rounders. Ed Langdon Having finally got one wing sorted, we won’t be moving him on. But for the purpose of the exercise, I reckon his rating has gone up this year so he’s now probably worth a late-order first rounder or early second-round pick. Jake Lever A few Demonlanders still can’t cop him, but there’s a lot to like about the way he goes about it and at 24, and with his knees sorted (hopefully), his prime years are coming. He’s still got two more years to go on his contract and as with May, it would take an extraordinary offer from a club such as Freo or the Gold Coast for us to play ball. His value is similar to May’s – a mid to late order first-rounder I reckon. Angus Brayshaw Another member of our massive ‘96ers club, Angus has long been talked about as a likely trade to Freo because of his brother, yet if you hear him speak, you know he loves us. Clearly as one of our four centre-square prime-movers, we could get by without him, so a trade makes sense if you are viewing it as a meat-market, which it’s not. But if you insist on going down that path though, then a late-order first rounder is about right or virtually a direct swap for Saad. But hopefully that won’t happen and both parties honor the contract that lasts until the end of 2022. Sam Weideman He finally arrived this year and hopefully with Jacko becomes a successful union. But his background and the Pies deficiency up forward means talk of them wanting him continues. We’ve got a year on his existing deal to sort it out. But if the Pies were to press us now, then I suspect his value would be a future second rounder. Michael Hibberd Once you hit 30, you have to be a ruckman or a freak for anyone to trade true value for you. Hibbo’s a reliable, tough percentage player, so I expect us to sign him up for another year with a second-year option. But in terms of what another club would have to give up for him, I reckon being 31 in January means it’s a set of steak-knives – swap of late order picks. Christian Salem Christian’s kicking skills would ensure that all clubs would consider him, which they will next year when he becomes a restricted free agent. But for this year a trade would be required for the 25yo and I reckon he’s probably an early second rounder or a fairly decent player. Jeremy Finlayson almost gets there, but I’d want a little more and his value to us is way higher than the Gold Coast’s two-metre Peter. I wouldn’t give him up though, as he’s what we need down back. Jake Melksham He turned 29 recently, so the veteran label means he gets marked harder. But I’m pleased we have two more years on his contract which is about the time that will see him out I suspect. Can’t see any other clubs getting excited about him given his age and as a result his trade value, a swap of late order picks as with Hibberd, is unfair in some respects as it doesn’t take into account what he has achieved. Interested to see if he plays as a tagger for us next year. Bayley Fritsch Another of our ‘96ers club, albeit a late starter. His class and marking ability means there would be a few clubs interested in him and he’s still out-of-contact I believe, although I expect that to change soon – maybe as soon as the club B&F. But in terms of the exercise, he’s an early second rounder in my view. James Harmes He’s contracted until 2024 so Harmsey is going nowhere and having made his reputation as a tagger in the 2018 finals series, I doubt other clubs would want him, even though I reckon he’s first 22 everyday of the week. But if someone wanted to buy his contract out, then a third rounder would be probably about market value. Aaron vandenBerg A couple of years ago the Swans almost had him for a second rounder. But now at 28 we’d be doing well to claim a third rounder for him. His foot injury means he’s probably untradeable anyway. But we all love him and if he stays on the park in 2021, then two more years at the Dees are likely. Jay Lockhart I’d love to know the logic behind his omission after the Dogs game way more than seeing him traded. As a rookie, it could in theory be time’s up for him. But hopefully he gets offered a two-year deal on the main list in the days ahead and hopefully also Goody gets over his miskick in the last term against the Dogs or whatever he did or didn’t do at training to [censored] him off. If he was to be delisted, then I reckon a couple of clubs will want him on their list. Kysaiah Pickett One of Tubby Taylor’s trio of ticks from last year, he’s already extended his deal to 2023 so we know how much Goody likes him. He won’t be traded for anything or anybody, but if Gold Coast wanted to return to us Noah Anderson then I’d be happy to consider it. Tom McDonald Now the trickiest player on our list, given he has two more years of a pretty healthy contract to go. I’m sure the club, and maybe his manager, will be asking around to gauge interest elsewhere but the size of his contract (around $650K) means no one will match it even if they are a bit keen to see if he can get back to his 2018 form. It would be great if the Dons were willing to make him part of a Saad deal, but we’d still have to give up our early 2nd rounder for Saad and we’d have to probably cover half Tom’s salary. So basically I suspect we’re stuck with him and it’s now up to a fired up Tommy to come back and regain his dominance of the 200m rep circuit in January and make a case for himself to play Rd 1 for us. Don’t forget guys, he’s an excellent set-shot kick and has a strong set of marking hands, so if he regains some mobility, he’d be very handy at either end of the ground. Luke Jackson OK, he’s been earmarked for CHF in 2021 and first ruck in 2025. And from what we’ve seen his mobility for a big bloke at ground level is the stuff of legend, provided his hammys hold up. But let’s say West Coast made a bold play for him. What’s his value? It was No.3 pick last year and I reckon it’s about the same this year. Would Andrew Gaff (aged 28) and the Eagles first pick (about No.15) get it done. I’d take that, others wouldn’t though. Adam Tomlinson We signed him for four years so he’s going nowhere and pleasingly he showed some good signs as a pretty safe, tall defender down back, rather than the wingman Goody thought he had. He came to us as a RFA and at 27 and on a good deal, he’s hardly going to be looking for another trade. But as to his value, he’s probably a third rounder. Mitch Hannan Will be interesting to see what happens in next few days on the Mitch front. We all know he can play, but he’s yet to cement his spot and will be 27 by Round 1 next year. Being an in-betweener (too small to be a key forward) it’s tricky, but for some reason I always think John Hendrie when he gets it and I reckon if we delist him he will get another crack at it because he’s super-talented. Maybe he’ll get to the Dogs after all. In terms of trade value, he’s just an exchange of late picks I’m afraid. Nathan Jones I think Jonesy knows what’s coming and gave it away to Gawny on the Captain’s Run when he started talking about how much he enjoyed dabbling in the coaching side of the caper. He’s 33 in January after all. Great career, worthy and loyal club champion. Neville Jetta He’s got a year left on his contract, so this is going to a bit awkward for us and the Lord Nev fan club. How do you tell a super bloke and our only State-of-Origin representative that you want to reneg on a deal? You pay him out and give him a role looking after our indigenous players’ welfare – namely Kossy. Alex Neal-Bullen Part of our sizeable mosquito fleet and another member of our ‘96ers club. He’s also our hardest trainer and a very decent human being (off-field) and he’s contracted for another year. If Adelaide or Port wanted him, then I suspect everyone on DL would say you beauty. But I’m one who still rates him and think he’s well worth retaining. If we did offload him, then I’d be asking for a third rounder, others here would be willing to give the Crows our third rounder to take him. Trent Rivers It’s Troy Longmuir here. “We realise we missed our chance last year but how about we give you our second rounder for him – he’s a WA boy after all.” Sorry guys, but ‘No’. In fact I’m not even sure if trading Caleb Serong would get the deal done now. Trent’s value has sky-rocketed, he’d now be worth a middle-order first rounder I reckon. Jayden Hunt This will be an interesting one to watch in the coming weeks. He’s out of contract and for much of the past three years, out of favour with Goody. I reckon the club will try and sign him up for a couple more years but if I was him, I’d be checking out the market and I imagine his manager has been doing that most of the year. His hot run of form in the last few weeks means he’s worth a bit – probably an early third rounder from North would get it done. But with this draft so unclear, I’d be wanting a player trade rather than a late-order guess. He’s about the same value as Peter Wright if we want to go down that path, although I reckon Jayden could again be a star down back for us if Goody let him play there. Joel Smith As with Mr Nippy, there would be a lot of interest in Joel out there, which will surprise a few of the nongs on DL who don’t quite get what he brings to the table now that’s he’s fully grown. He’s out of contact and there’s no way he’ll be delisted, so we may have to make him a decent two-year deal to have any chance of keeping him. But for argument sake let’s say the Lions or the Giants want him, what do we get? He’s probably only a third rounder or our third for a late second-round mark up. Harley Bennell What happens on the Gold Coast, stays on the … I suspect very few people are privy to what actually happened but sadly if it’s worse than what’s reported or what he’s revealed, then there’s no way back and it’s AFL career over. Tom Sparrow I don’t believe he’s signed a new deal yet, but I’d be surprised if it doesn’t happen at the B&F or soon after. He was taken with pick 27 two years ago and I reckon he’s probably slipped to a very early third rounder (Adelaide’s pick No.37) should such a trade be requested, which it won’t. Braydon Preuss He’s still got another year to run on his deal and he’s very valuable insurance for our skipper so he’s a keeper. But what if we were to recruit Peter Wright, then surely we have more bigman insurance than AAMI. If that is the case, and Preussy wanted out, then I reckon he’s a third rounder exchange to a club more likely to need him as back-up – eg: Sydney. Charlie Spargo As with Toby Bedford and Kade Chandler, he’s a little guy out of contract and there’s no way we can keep stockpiling them now that we have Kossie. I reckon at least one of the three has to be moved on with another one sent on his way at the end of next year. Charlie actually looks like he’s growing muscles now and as I’ve always said, he has the smarts and the skills to make it. So I’d be keeping him for two more years and I’m sure the coach concurs with me. But on the trade market I would be very surprised if anyone offered more than an exchange of third-round picks or a fourth-rounder for him. It’s not a small world after all. Mitch Brown He’s at his third club and he’s just turned 30. He ain’t getting an offer anywhere else except from us. And assuming we can move on T-Mac, then I’d definitely offer him another year. Oscar McDonald I don’t like commenting about Oscar because it gets me worked up. But in trade terms, let’s be fair – zero chance. Maybe once we delist him a club would rookie him with a view to trialling him as a forward as we should have done three years ago. Toby Bedford Keeping or not keeping Toby will be a tough decision and I reckon his hard work on the training track will be rewarded with another year on the rookie list. There’s no doubt he’s improving, it’s just such a tough gig when you are under 180cm. As with Spargo, he’d have little or no trade value if we went down that path, an exchange of lower-order picks maybe. Harrison Petty In just 11 games he showed enough to suggest he could develop into a 200-gamer before OP ruled him out for the entire season. Would be an interesting one if Adelaide or another club came courting. What if Collingwood offered up Jaidyn Stephenson for him? Obviously unless our medicos deem otherwise, we will be extending his deal – he is still only 20 after all. It is too risky for us to trade him and someone to punt on him at this stage, but I reckon he’s a second rounder at worst. Marty Hore One of only a handful of our players to spend the season in the rehab group and I have a feeling that he might have missed the boat with us. If we still have a 44-man squad then he goes again but I suspect it will be cut to about 40, which means we have to delist about 8 players before the draft and he will be on the edge of that cull. Can’t see him getting another chance if that happens, even though he’s a very classy kick. Oskar Baker After a long rehab finally got back on the park for our last three games and justified his contract for next season. For the purpose of the exercise, if the Suns or Lions wanted to get him back to Qld, which they don’t, then he’d be an exchange of fourth round picks. Josh Wagner Got his chance late and did pretty well against Saints, but his lack of vibrant run hurt him and us against the Swans. Unfortunately he’s just a smidge too short to play a key position and even though he dominates at VFL level and the 15-a-side games this year I can’t see us retaining him for another year. At 26 it would be a big call for another club to snaffle him although someone may rookie him. Corey Wagner Another player hurt by the absence of the VFL and if you knew 100% that the 2021 rejigged version was going ahead, then I’d keep him on our list just to ensure we are competitive at that level. As with his brother, he’s a hard worker, but sadly just a tad shy of regular AFL level. Kade Chandler He definitely looked like he’d improved pre-season, but as I said earlier, there’s no point us stockpiling six midget small forwards when the spot’s been taken by Kossie. Keeping all of Neal-Bullen, Spargo and Bedford is a stretch so unfortunately it’s a no from me. He’s worth a look by Adelaide to see if they should rookie him though. James Jordon As I said in my mid-season report, he’s still only 19, so he’s too young to delist. And he clearly is working his butt off to make it so he deserves another year on his contract, maybe two if the powers at be feel that way. In terms of trade value, I think we’d be hard pressed to get anything more than a late third rounder or an exchange of late-order picks at this point. Kade Kolodjashnij I think all of us are comfortable with taking the punt on him and on paper, he could have been the left-side winger that we needed to compliment Ed Langdon. But after two years of hoping he overcomes concussion issues, I think it’s time to move on with him. He has another year on his contract to go, but hopefully missing out on finals and games bonuses means we have a bit left in this year’s salary cap to pay him out for his final year. Aaron Nietschke He looked good in November before his second knee reco and photos of him training at Maroochydore a few weeks ago indicate he’s back and eager to give it all another shot. And we should honour him with another year, although depending on the AFL list configurations, it may have to be as a rookie. Kyle Dunkley Like other D’lers I am a little unsure where he sits going into next year. Injury mucked him up pre-season but I believe he was working hard to get back in up on the Sunshine Coast, but unlike most others, he never got a shot at it. I’d like to see him get another year because his fundamentals are good and he’s still a kid. If we were to delist him I reckon he’d get another crack on somebody’s rookie list, most likely at the Dogs. Austin Bradtke Another player who is hard to get a gauge on without VFL games. But at 20, I think he deserves another year to develop and if there aren’t any good signs by then, so be it.

Comment says everything about you!

give it a rest picket. Puss poor comment. Sledging a player and the club in 10 words.

I don't agree I have seldom heard a captain speak so honestly about their year.

Congratulations to all three of them on their careers. Got to do what all of us could only dream of doing. All the best for the next phase of their lives!

I thought that Maysie spoke quite well and is a very humble person and was gracious . One part of his speech said that he thought he was privileged to finish so close to Christian such was his domination. Well said Steven May you are a deserved winner youself and hope you go one better in 2021. You are a champion person.

I have only read the current page... but I'm so glad the club ONCE AGAIN recognized the worth of Jack Viney, even though some of the most boisterous here are unable to see what is patently obvious! Perhaps its time for the Viney assassins to take a breath and acknowledge that they get it wrong... over and over and over again!!!

Langdon is an impressive individual. Speaking off the cuff and for once someone who doesn't just "thank the boys". Some class from Viney in thanking the Wagners and Dunkley as well.

Agree. Irrespective of opinions about the merits of a player, always a sad time to see players depart and the end of individual aspirations and dreams. Its a time for supporters to be generous in their comments about players. At the end of the day, they are being sacked, and for the individual that brings a lot of disappointment and grief. With more delistings to follow, there will be a lot more grief involving the players, their teammates and their families. Lets use social media in a respectful and positive way by thanking them for their efforts. At the end of the day they are good human beings and have for a short part of their life been Demons.

One out of left field: How would folks feel about Daisy Pearce as an assistant coach? Has an excellent footy brain regarding game plans, strategy and opp analysis and highly respected. She was assisting with coaching the AFLW team while waiting for her twins. Whether we could prise her out of the media who knows.

We have three players in the AA squad; Gawn, Petracca and Oliver who would be the min three of the four at center bounces and at stoppages and yet we are ranked 15th for clearances. Ranked 12th at center bounces and 16th at stoppages. How can this be so when we have max in the center and we are ranked 3rd for hit outs? Whoever is in charge of Midfield coaching is either not doing his job, the players are not doing what they are coached to do or we are just too damn predictable. Each game this season I was so annoyed that we we not doing better with clearances. How do we fix it?

I thought it was great. Well made, good insights, and absolutely wasn't trying to sell some kind of comeback story. But then, I actually watched it so what would I know...

Haha didn't wanna stress anyone out! I heard it was immediately shut down so didn't think it was worth mentioning.

Yeah fair enough @Lord Nev. I know it might not be worth mentioning Nev at the time but just bloody get it on here would ya! ? that's the juicy stuff that we crave for! Well i do .. lol Good get.

Viney and May spoke best. You could see the pain in May's eyes when he talked about missing finals, you could feel it. So glad he is at the club.

Hard to not see all this and just say, heard it all before and the talk has been cheap coming out of this club for a long time. i know they have to say it, but it really washes completely over me.

Half the country is unloading their wisdom about Dan Andrews. All over the western world people are publicly protesting against the rules imposed to stop us infecting and killing each other. There's a lot of spur-of-the-moment full-head-of-steam stupidity around. How do we know what it's been feeling like for Harley Bennell? Lots of people do erratic things. So he's done similar things before? Jake Lever has dropped marks before. We've all posted rubbish at one time or another. We can hardly say that the person having the capacity or tendency to make the mistake makes it a worse mistake - it's at most just likelier. Give the guy a break! MFC is trying to put together a winning team of footballers. Harley Bennell is a bit not-dead-centre perhaps, but he can play football. How much damage has he done to anything other than PR? I cannot get my head around the reasoning, the holier-than-thou shock-horror being expressed. Football might have saved Liam Jurrah, or any one of the players who subsequently were found to be fighting depression etc. Thank goodness for football, where some lucky people have gifts that might clear them a pathway through their own demons. I hope there is wisdom at the club, and not just cringing from the public commentary, when they weigh this up.

You go and spend 12 weeks locked up with your work mates and your boss. And your bosses boss. And all the support staff whose jobs it is to micromamage every aspect of your life. No escape, no break. And then at the final hurdle, the group of you screw it up and ruin all 12 weeks of work. They lost a game. For you it might be blow the tender or the sale or the project fails. Then, less then 24 hours after it is officially blown, on the day before you can finally leave the hub, you are forced together into a camp kitchen for a partipation award ceremony. You've failed, your opponents are playing next week, these awards are kinda nice but they don't matter. It's possibly held during the day, in polo shirts, like some weird school assembly. You're each given a glass of yellowglen (no one was drinking beer) and you toast the winner like it's his wddding. Normally the bnf is a few weeks after the season. Players have processed. They've had time apart, they get together to celebrate the year. This wasn't that. It's not a party, it's not a celebration, it's the end of the hub. Don't read into it.

Points per game finish: 385 – Christian Petracca (17) 22.64 362 – Steven May (17) 21.29 311 – Jack Viney (16) 19.43 296 – Ed Langdon (17) 17.41 291 – Clayton Oliver (17) 17.11 234 - Max Gawn (14) 16.71 186 – Angus Brayshaw (14) 13.28 172 – Sam Weideman (13) 13.23 79 – Luke Jackson (6) 13.16 208 – Christian Salem (16) 13 179 – Michael Hibberd (14) 12.78 94 – Trent Rivers (9) 10.44 80 – Charlie Spargo (8) 10 165 – Jake Lever (17) 9.70 154 – Bayley Fritsch (16) 9.62 102 – Kysaiah Pickett (14) 7.28 92 – Adam Tomlinson (13) 7.07 119 – Jake Melksham (17) 7 90 – Aaron vandenBerg (13) 6.92 72 – Mitch Hannan (13) 5.53

6th Gawn 7th Salem 8th Brayshaw 9th Hibberd 10th Weideman Well done all. Especially rapt for Sam.

1st Well done for the huge season. God knows where our season would have been without you!

Interesting and sobering stats. The majority don’t make it so let’s be nice and not use terms like spuds and duds. Otherwise you can apply these derogatory terms to most of us.

Just keep an eye and ear out for rumblings about Luke Ball and the Demons in some capacity... An outstanding person, great leader and footy brain.. If i hear any more i will let you know.. right now its just an aside, but it might become a whisper soon and then who knows.

Maybe I'm a classic Melbourne supporter, but hearing him mention Melbourne as part of it actually made me MORE interested in what was going on...

Hard to gauge anything from the Bluey I reckon. Looked like a super low key, casual, quick event and it was apparently held on Tuesday, so would have been the day some blokes were delisted and possibly some coaches fired, on top of missing finals. Plus, with TMac in the room sans MFC polo and the Bennell situation, would have been awkward in there I think.

Tell that little [censored] Sam the sewer rat McClure to crawl back in his hole. I’m really angry by this rubbish

For those wanting Jack out the door yet again he has finished in the top 10 of the B & F and as much as he frustrates me with his repeated flaws he is still in the top 3 of the club. I know he has a contract before him and cannot see Geelong who never pay overs matching it. I didn't think him weird, he explained every time he gets on stage he goes blank. Cut him some slack I bet neither he nor his wife are getting lots of sleep at the moment. he stays!

Surprised Viney got third, but then we don't see everything the players are asked to do. Very happy to see Trac and May finish 1st and 2nd, while also great to see Langdon get some recognition for his great season by finishing 4th. Well done to all involved!

Good. I am also [censored] off

Brayshaw is just as good as Merrett

No qualms with the decision. Best of luck to all 3. I hope they’ve put some thought into and prepared for their post footy careers as a I can’t see them getting picked up by other clubs. It’s a tough time to be looking for work.

It's the right call, on both fronts. J Wagner didn't do too badly in his two games this year but he's a limited footballer who hasn't really developed beyond what he initially showed in his debut year in 2016. Good luck to them both in their future endeavours.

Russell Robertson says hi. Went from the worst kick in the side to the best, in one pre season with help and practice.

Need a goals from free kick count

Have figured we would throw everything at trade season for Goody (and the current list) in a last chance saloon, hail Mary. His last chance to use his Essendon connections as well. Go for broke, it's a good time to raid the Bombers, they are flailing.

Would absolutely love it and be open to the prospect.

Its a tough time, i get angry at the players i get angry at the club but after it all settles, I love the club and hate seeing players depart. The Wagner boys looked like great fellas, popular teammates and they had a red hot dip, good on them. Dunkley got an opportunity which is more than lots of people, he should be proud. I think there will be 3 more to go shortly and then they might sit on it for a while. Im convinced they will try and get something for Oscar.

Wagner, Wagner and Dunkley delisted according to MFC website.

Yep, that's why I mentioned that I would not be surprised if we were working behind the scenes. As I've already said.. keep an eye out for this.

It's weird how we have millions of dollars of coaching and development "talent" on the books but, instead of putting them to work to find out why McDonald and others have regressed in recent seasons, we want to take the easy way out and trade them for peanuts. There are posters on this forum who have never rated Tom and that's their right, but he was our best defender for several years, then he went forward and kicked more than 50 goals in a season (the only MFC player to do so this decade). The guy can seriously play, and you don't get rid of your better players on the back of one poor season. Like others I want to know what has happened to Tom this year, and I want the club to fix it. Trading him would be a cop out and a big mistake and I will be furious if we do so.

I don't think we should predicate the idea of value on what we would receive in compensation for Jack. I think we should be looking at what removing his presence from our team brings to the midfield balance (cleanness from stoppage, ball use, predictability to team mates etc). So I'd argue it could be a case of removing the ball and chain from the ankle of our midfield and enabling it to move with more freedom and agility. It sounds like Jack has re-signed anyway, so it may well be a moot point.

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/th-melbourne-demons 15th for clearances per game, BUT weirdly ranked 1st for least opponent clearances per game. Maybe it's partly about game style? As in, our games don't feature a lot of stoppages? Personally, I'm more worried about being 18th for tackles and 17th for giving up uncontested possessions.

Someone posted this on Facebook. Can’t do much more playing as a legit fullback than stop the big power forwards, the position is not about rebounding, s intercept marking or come across the pack and punch the ball away stuff.