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This is where I’d be hopeless as a list manager. I know from what he showed this year that he is at or near the end, but he is such a quality person, and such a great influence and role model to our players, that I couldn’t let him go. id be offering him a role at the club to keep him. When you have a gem like Nev, you should never part with it.

Nev is another who spent most of 2019 injured and the lack of a VFL comp in 2020 prevented him from finding form and consistency. 2020 is a poor measure of his performance. I wouldn't be too quick to trade him out especially if it was for some rubbish pick. Sometimes a players team value and cultural value cannot measured. I don't mean indigenous cultural value albeit that is important. I mean cultural value in terms of role model and standards both football and community contribution.

Mark Stevens on channel 7. Isaac Smith certain to leave Hawthorn with Melbourne leading the chase.

So putting this on the front page of the Hun killed it. Taskforce coming back very soon with recommendations. One option building over the AAMI carpark on Gosch's side. Either way, likely to have a location for our future base soon.

The way I look at it, if we bring in the 200cm/6'7" Brown, he instantly requires the biggest defender. The slightly smaller Weid at 195cm/6'5" then gets number 2 defender. This has two positives, we know Brown can already kick goals on the best defenders, his 'body of work' is very good. Weid can then get a better shot at things with a slightly smaller/lesser defender. I don't care if we have to change our game plan up to accommodate this, because whatever it is it doesn't work anyway. Worth noting, T-Mac is smaller again at 194cm/6'4"

This really is outrageous considering the cost cutting required for the AFL’s clubs to survive this Covid19 ravaged season. Many good people in the football industry have lost jobs and been forced to make personal and financial sacrifices for the good of the game and these have been spread out across the board. From early on, Melbourne has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic for reasons that have been well documented but this one is extremely cutting*. On Thursday 3 September, the club had to fly up from its Maroochydore hub to Cairns for its Round 15 game v Sydney which was played in the evening. My understanding is that we had to undertake the grueling same day flight in a charter with Fremantle for “cost saving” reasons. The Dockers played Richmond a day earlier so we were required to go up on the same day as the match. We also had our game v Freo four days later. A win in either match would have seen us in the finals. This isn’t making excuses for two poor performances when a finals appearance was at stake and clearly, we know there’s no such thing as a level playing field in the AFL but I find it offensive that after being forced to travel in those circumstances to save the competition some coin and after the job losses and cost cutting in 2020, that the AFL is wasting $s in getting MCG grass to the grand final. Gil and his mates must really be smoking it if they think this is the right thing to do. At the very least, they should be taking it out of their salary. ‘Ridiculous waste’: MCG turf relocation leaves footy fans divided * no pun intended

Anyone who doesn't want Smith on a wing for the next couple of years (or three) really is clueless about football.

I agree with the consensus here that Nev is past it physically. I’ve wondered why Collingwood are prepared to offer him 2 years and I wouldn’t be surprised if its because of his leadership. It’s no secret they’ve had cultural issues over there and Nev would be a perfect candidate to lead a change and instil better values. MFC really shouldn’t be letting someone of Nev’s calibre and character leave the club. Surely there’s a role for him. With the possible exception of Jones, I don’t think there’s another player on the list who better embodies what I would consider the heart and soul of the footy club. Selfless, committed, never shirked responsibility, gives his all, led by example. Oliver, Brayshaw and a few others could take a leaf out of his book. Come on MFC. You gotta have a role for this champion. A one year playing contract transitioning into a coaching, mentoring, leadership role. If you’re not sure yet what the role is then you have a year to figure it out. Don’t let this bloke leave.

To be selfish for the club, the trade we would get for Jetta wouldn't make up for his leadership and experience. He would be worth more to the MFC playing 2s and mentoring our young players than what we would get for him. He looked done this year at AFL level, we don't know if he had underlying injury issues. Would keep him, however if he came to the club for a trade you would also respect that as he has been a great club person and you want to do the right thing by him

Sometimes when you love someone you have to let them do what's best for them, even if it means being apart.

Bigfooty ramblings curtesy of grimsey87 posted in the Melb trade thread: "Update from my little matey Dees quickly lost interest in Stephenson. Apparently has next to zero professionalism. Was a phone call to Lewis Jetta but he's likely to retire if no new deal comes his way. Isaac Smith was offered a 3 year deal by us this time last year he very nearly accepted, more than likely he takes the deal this time. 3rd year apparently a playing coaching mix. Certainly looking for more leadership. Pruess keen on GWS move, which come as a bit of a shock to club as they thought he would go to Geelong or Hawks. Not a bad thing as sounds like there will be an easy deal. Hannan a bit unhappy he was in and out of the team, felt he played the role he was asked but in and out of the team sapped his confidence. More unlikely than likely to move. McDonald boys very highly rated internally as professional and coachable etc but everyone in agreeance on a move for Oscar might be best. Tom more keen to stay but will go if it's suitable. Dogs and Essendon most interested at this stage. Oliver is definitely taking calls from Carlton. MFC won't trade under any circumstances this year. I asked about salary cap space and apparently we paid closer to 100% this year but next year won't be as tight, I can only assume that refers to lever/may/hogan money but that's just my guess. Oh and don't expect any key forward moves. Brown is unlikely, the club has a serious [censored] for Jackson the key forward. They were full mast for him at draft time. But from what he's shown so far, he might be the most highly rated player on the list..."

He has had his injury worries. I reckon in a good side he would do well. Id prefer to keep him. Has speed, can mark, good pressure and can kick straight.

Didn't someone mention in another thread that Nev was lined up for an off-field role when his playing days were over. I can't recall who it was but he made mention that Nev was so much loved by the whole playing group and if he was 'retired' or contract 'paid out' it would be culturally very damaging to the players. If that report was correct what does it say if he goes to Collingwood in a similar role we propose or a Burgoyne (Hawks) type set-up. If we had plans to transition him to an off-field role when OOC in a year we can do it now. We did it with Garland and we did it more recently with Guy Walker. Or at least formalise an agreement to do it at end of next year. Nev has so much to offer, so much life, football and community experience we can't let that go to another club to leverage.

If he thinks they don't value him highly enough because of where he finished in the B&F, and that's if we believe that rumour, then I'm not sure I want someone so childish at the football club. I mean... really. Everyone who finished above him, with the possible exception of Viney, had a better year than he did. It's not as if Jake Melksham finished Top 5.

What a strange scenario. He looked almost done to me this year. If Nev can get 3 years, Good Luck to you mate. always welcome back down the track

All from Tom Morris: Jetta, hannan, mcdonalds (x2), preuss .. all rumoured to be leaving ... what is going on at melbourne? Are they freeing up cap space for someone? There is an acknowledgement that the list needs a mini revamp to challenge again. Jetta and T.McDonald are contracted but were out of favour with Goodwin so it makes sense they'd be keen to play elsewhere. Ollie Wines or Clayton Oliver to Blues? Not Wines. Rumours about Oliver have been strongly denied by his management. The Demons midfielder is unsettled but until he requests a trade I will believe his management that he's going nowhere. Likelihood of Ben brown coming to essendon? Chance, but still reckon more likely the Dees

I respect him enough to let him make the decision

Nev, I'd love you to stay as a player mentor, but you know the old saying ... there's a sucker born every minute ... a fool and his money are soon parted .... TAKE THE DEAL!!

I love Nev. He has gotten everything out of himself as a player and bleeds red and blue. I'd be heartbroken to see him running around in a C'wood jumper.

The AFL have lost the plot. It's been suspected for some time, but this makes it official.

A little part of me would die if Nev left for another club

I have a lot of issues with this post but perhaps the biggest one is the notion, and you're not the only one to do this, that if a certain player doesn't end up at Melbourne then the club has failed to do its job. As if there's some sort of magic formula whereby all we have to do is be interested in a player to guarantee that player signs with us.

Preuss likely to GWS was known by the club a month ago. Goodwin, Mahoney and Gawn have had a meeting with Brown just recently. That doesn't mean we're chasing him hard of course, but that would say we're at least seriously considering forward moves. Is this an old post by any chance?

Hannan was injured for much of 2019. Then this year he, like many other small and mid fwds, was disadvantaged by the lack of a VFL league to gain some form and consistency. It was a revolving door in the fwd line. Hannan is better than his 2020 form.

Hannan has still something to offer the club. He chases hard and can run and mark well with sure hands a height of 190cm and is talented. His kicking is far better than most and doesn't butcher the ball. He had his injuries the previous year and managed only a handful of games. This 2020 season is out of the ordinary and hope that we have some normality in 2021 and play games at the G in front of crowds. A strong pre season from Hannan might be the trick. He is well worth persevering with.

Dare say we would have spoken to Ooze about him as well.

Lumumba sues over Racism and the Filth now into Jetta. Might not be linked at all but perhaps they're impressed with his leadership and community work and hope he will bring about a cultural change within their club?

A big yes from me

I've got a more basic question. What does "speeding up" the game actually mean? Is it code for "reducing congestion"? Because if that's what is motivating this idea, I suspect Demonland could come up with 10 better suggestions. I'll start by saying: (1) get rid of the ruck nomination rule. It holds up play while the umpires wait for the ruckmen to get into position. (2) be more ruthless in paying 50 metre penalties whenever a player holds on to his opponent after that opponent takes a mark or is awarded a free kick. It is clearly a tactic being used to slow down play allowing defenders to congest a forward line (3) pay a free kick against a player who tackles his own teammate in an effort to stop the ball from being released.

Very interesting. I found this chart instructive because I think it highlights our challenges. It shows that forward lines at the moment are either small or tall, whilst ours is mid sized. Maybe there's a method to what what we're trying to do, but it's different to what the top 4 are doing. Anyway, I thought I'd try to recreate this chart for Melbourne this year: That's a very different look, with our <184cm and >195cm cohorts being less productive that any of those 4 teams. In fact, 4 or our top 5 goalkickers (Weideman aside) were between 185cm and 189cm.

Then if that's the case then the MFC Should put an extension to him NOW on top money and lock him away! Why wouldn't they do that unless money is tight. If it is the case and the club have snookered Viney away instead of Oliver, not only have they been shortsighted and negligent but risk a lot of supporters just saying bye bye no more memberships and support is right out the window! Starting with me! We have a once in a generation player dual B&F All Australian potential 250 game plus player who will only get better and we are stuffing around! Do the deal now lock him away for 5 years or more and really put this issue to bed once and for all!!

I suspect Joe Daniher thinks it's Hotel California where you can check out any time you like but you can never leave.

Dodoro's version of Essendon is like the Victorian border... "You can get in but can't get out"

This whole Oliver thing has the distinctive smell of a big, fluffy nothingburger.

Please explain how they are the same? One is a proven liar who has made dangerous and false accusations while in office. The other dodged some questions at a debate, something every single presidential and VP candidate has done. Should we talk about how many questions Pence dodged? Maybe it’s true that both parties are not exactly great, but how you can compare a lying, cheating, deluded, inexperienced, egotistical halfwit and Harris, is just beyond me. Neither are perfect and nobody wishes more than me that the Democrats had a better candidate than Biden, but he and Harris sure as [censored] are a far better option than to keep this nut job in office. Edit: and we all know that you can cover up the sentiments with “political correctness gone wrong”, but nobody would even blink an eye if Harris was a man. It’s because she is a woman, and a woman of colour no less, that idiots like Trump feel it’s their right to call her names. Despicable ones at that.

Might just looking for a cheap experienced player - the Pies will lose a few older guys this year. And if he doesn’t work out they can retire him and pay him outside any cap to work in their community department. Could have little to do with on field stuff and all about stealing a good person.

Jackson is going to play - let's get that straight. The problem as @Axis of Bob points out is that it's difficult to accommodate B.Brown, Weid, Jackson and Fritsch in the same forward line unless Fritsch can seriously up his defensive work and get over the one arm tackles etc. Weid's agility and ground ball skills are sadly under-rated here but he's not going to lay fwd 50 tackles and neither is Brown on a consistent basis. I think Jackson is different and is likely to instill every type of nightmare opposition defenders fear. Then there's Melksham who is very dangerous and can play a negating role on attacking half-backs but doesn't provide general fwd 50 pressure. We need 7 in the forward 50 rotations: B.Brown, Weid, Jackson, Fritsch, Melksham, Pickett, Spargo? Can all forward 50 pressure be up to Pickett, Spargo and Jackson? If Brown comes then Petty plays back and I do like that. It also gives us depth if someone gets injured in game or for an extended period. It's not easy, I could see an outcome like @DeeSpencer fears that if Brown comes then it's a battle between Weid and Fritsch for a place and we end up playing one at Casey and trading a valuable resource for peanuts at the end of 2021. Advocates either way need to come up with their full forward line 7 for a complete solution.

The bit about the BnF finish is silly, but the bit about wanting to play finals is a legitimate issue. If we continue to miss finals, we will lose talents like Oliver who play the game to win. For far too long we have had players who seem happy to just be an AFL footballer, and lack to desire to be the best and win at all costs. Oliver is one of the competitive types who wants to win, and if we continue to lose he will want out. It's not as if he's lazy and coasting, he leads the league in contested ball, so he is putting his body on the line to win. Some will argue that Oliver should get better and then we'll win more. That's partly true, he has potential to become even better than he is already, and therefore push us to more wins. However, he can only do so much, and if you're a competitive type stuck in a losing environment, you'll want out.

One of the very few players to leave that I'll remember fondly. And I mean very few.

From the chat. Is there any info around what exactly Clayton Oliver is unsettled about at the Dees? less Hi Kent, he was frustrated to finish 5th in the best and fairest. I don't think he believes they value him highly enough. He also wants to play in a finals team. He's frustrated.

You mean more of a snake than Trump, who just lies and spreads dangerous misinformation? He told people to drink bleach FFS. He refutes the use of masks. He wanted to reduce testing to 'lower the number of cases'. As a woman, I find it quite shocking how easy it is for us to point to women and call them snakes when they behave like every male politician on this planet. Harris is no more a bender of the truth to suit her political agenda, than Pence, let alone Trump. One thing I know for sure, with Harris as VP, birth control will continue to be provided under health care in the US and there is a much bigger chance that abortion laws won't change. If it's up to Trump, the poor can go to hell, and if it's up to Pence, we are all going to hell if we don't follow his own strict Christian points of view. No bloody thanks.

One of my all-time favourite Dees. Whilst speed was never his strength, what little he had, seems to have gone. If Collingwood are offering more years, I certainly wouldn't begrudge him leaving. A great servant to the club who has played many years on little money; he needs to look after himself and his family for the final years of his career.

I have absolutely no evidence to support this notion, but it always seems to me like Melbourne have favoured these sorts. Lot of guys that are just a bit too comfortable in life and don't have to fight tooth and nail for an opportunity. The current top sides have a real, permanent tough edge about them, something we can occasionally turn on but only when we choose.

I would take both Phillips and Smith thanks. One for free and the other for cheap. I think we can fit both into our team, and if not then competition for spots - perfect. Baker also has an incentive to come on. Need more run is the generally accepted idea.

Young Daniels would probably be pretty handy as a small forward, not sure if he's gettable

I'd say our pressure forwards rank: Pickett, Spargo (strong end to season), Hannan, ANB, Hunt, Bedford/Chandler. The aim should be to only have 2 of them in the side and get more pressure out of rotating mids, medium and talls but that hasn't been a strong point. Generally we've needed 3 strong pressure guys to play the game on our terms. Even though they are flaky the likes of Hannan and Hunt are important as they are the only two with any size. So Hannan probably is more important than some think and could easily be like Kent at St Kilda if not better where he gets a game any time he's fit and we wonder why we didn't keep him. But also like Kent I guess the issue isn't so much letting him go but failing to find a better and more consistent replacement.

Dogs need points for there NGA player. Offer them 23 + 39 (pruess) + 62 for 12 and Hannan. Turn 23 plus 2 non best 22 players into 12 and gives dogs extra points. Its overs but dogs not going to deal 12 unless the points are in there favour.

I like Mitch and that goal he kicked against Geelong in the final will live long in the memory. I think we need to renew through our half forward-wing line on our list though. If the Doggies are keen, good luck to all involved.

I'll throw in Trac's against GWS. The one hand pickup in traffic. Two or three steps into a 40m snap. Pure Power.

Fritsch was good on the wing and I think very good at half back in 2018 (less so in 19). But finding half backs shouldn't be that hard. Half forwards who get as many shots on goal (even when played deep) as Fritsch are just too valuable - assuming he starts splitting the big sticks. The longer quarters should see Jackson having to ruck more. So I think we can add a 3rd tall, it just wouldn't be a guy with limited mobile like Ben Brown. I'm thinking Petty, or Mihocek or even a 190cm type from another list or the draft. At the moment it's Melksham, probably swapping with Petracca. Do we chance our arm at Caddy. That's all for another time I guess. Fritsch can crumb, he can chase, he can get up the ground and run the ball back and he can kick inside 50. He does pretty much everything you'd want in attack of a small. Plus I don't think he causes too many issues with flying for marks, not compared with some of the ways our other players crash in to teach other. It's really just the lack of defensive pressure and intensity. Once he's in defensive mode he can be clever and intercept/cut off leads. He's not so lazy as to just give up. How hard can it be to train him up to get in to defensive mode and lay a few tackles? He could well end up at half back, but to me that's the kind of cop out that we've allowed of so many of our players. Bayley knows what he needs to do to be a complete forward. The coaches know. Make it happen.