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Whatever your thoughts about Majak Daw's invitation to join the Dees training as a trial for a SSP spot on our list as a KP forward or back Or ruck trial there is no doubt That any one's heart would be gladdened to see that huge smile On his face on the attached photos of training today. That was the Best part of Harley's tryout in 2020 with us showing that in AFL humanity and team culture is still the greatest gift in a Club.. To see Majak out in the track just enjoying life and being considered good enough and appreciated will have given him a great boost. None of us really know the Full facts about the lows he has been through himself and with his marriage and fatherhood but we may just be able to without too much pressure contribute to his development and growth and enjoyment also adding to some games of footy which he obviously loves playing. Lets support him all the way as we did with Harley and make this ride a Win for all of us especially Majak.

My god. It’s like looking in a mirror.

On the Melbourne Football Club website is an interesting interview with ANB and Kavisha Di Petro of aflplayers.com.au about him being awarded one of the Torrens University scholarships. He began a Bachelor of Teaching when he first started at uni, focusing on special education and disability studies. The passion and interest in working with people living with disability came from his maternal grandmother Cheryl (Neal) who was a professional jockey injured in a race fall which left her a paraplegic. Growing up with her in his life led him down the path he is following today. Nice to read about a football player who wants to contribute to society instead of being on the front page of the paper because of a scandal !! Well done, Alex. Congratulations and good luck.

Gees Majak has really let himself go.....

Man he looks happy.

Can anyone explain why Angus Brayshaw is now permanently 23cm above the surface of the Earth? Is this a product of new high altitude training or has he spent too much time on the low-G treadmill? It's gonna mess with his GPS data for sure.

A bit of perspective Kent: Bradtke came to MFC from a basketball background, not AFL He missed out on a whole year of development in his second year with covid He's something like 206cm FFS Gawn didn't play a game until his third year (3 games). He didn't play a decent game until his 6th year

Great photos. Observations , Daw is one hell of a unit. Good to see Gus & Jack training with I assume the main group and not rehab. Smith with no knee bandage

6'9" 20 year old who has been with us just over 2 years. Not exactly panicking yet.

One Door closes another Daw opens

What you are from the Sudan NC?

My god he is a specimen and a half...

Good on him, wishing you all the best Majak.

You don't run with your arms.

I worked pretty closely with hq (as a sponsor) for about 5 years and had never seen an organisation with so much unnecessary fat. That changed last year though, I think they slashed about half of their workforce

Please. We need not acknowledge North possessing any acumen in what decisions they have made. They cleaned out their list to the bones believing in a re build from the ground up. Sort of a scorched earth policy, and Majak was one of the casualities. Not that I care very much what Tim Watson thinks, but even he questioned whether the Roos were too quick to turf out Daw. So they have not escaped media attention for the decision. I hope Majak proves North wrong in getting rid of him. Serves them right. And Majak deserves another chance at redemption. Why should he be denied it?

The amount of discarded stuff I've resurrected over the years would astound you. I recently saved two wall heaters ($450ea when new), both are in excellent condition and manufactured in 2015. They were missing mounting brackets which cost me $40. They are now installed in a unit I own. The point is; discards can be fixed if you have the nous and the will.

It's God's way of telling the Saints that they're the club who'll have to move to Tassie

Jack Hannath was that man. He had a bit of a cult following with us despite never being listed.

HQ is a drain on resources for very little obvious value. An elitist organisation the sucks up all the money for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. When covid hit a lot of the make work HQ roles were done away with. You wouldn’t have noticed. And no harm that some of the bloated coaching set-ups got pruned either. I don’t want to appear unsympathetic as real people have lost jobs but I just don’t think it’s the best use of limited funds supporting these roles. Women’s game shows that honest endeavour, commitment and playing for the guernsey is what its all about. And they’re not paid a whole lot. I don’t blame players for seeking top dollar, i would do the same, but are million dollar contracts for some players a better use of funds compared to investing that money in the local community clubs and underage comps? Grass roots is the life blood. That’s were funds should be used. On facilities for the volunteers and supporters and coaching for the youngsters. Its absolutely no surprise that HQ and ALFPA have looked after each other while those on the outside have been left to fend for themselves. Rant over.

Players 200cm+ and the same age or older than Bradtke with 0 games: Colina, Samson, S.DeKoning, Sweet, Meek, Reeves, Hayes, Jamieson, Briggs, Alabakis.

One man's trash is another man's treasure

So this means we're still in the running for Oscar McDonald?

Could be the new Cameron Pedersen another who came from Norf.

Viney and Gus on the training track great news at least they are hopefully preparing to play come round 1 of the season proper. Daw is looking in good shape and might be ready to show case his skills in the preseason games. Great photos and good to see the boys up and about.

Not necessarily, Aerobic fitness refers to Cardiovascular fitness. For example, Ed Langdon has it in spades, runs all day! Muscular definition is just that Muscular definition. Majak definitely has that but as to his Aerobic capacity?? Depends how fit he is!

Daw is peak physical specimen. Still looks in ripping shape and has serious muscle. Shame he’s going to be played more forward as he really excelled down back IMO. Good to see Brayshaw and Viney up and about too. Both need a good run with injury and will play an important part of our midfield mix. Thanks for the photos!

The AFL has severely neglected junior boy programs for a number of years. It is about money, female participation at present brings in more government money, sponsors want to be linked to Female participation. You look at every add for sport on TV it is all about female participation. AFL has hid this issue with the drop in Male participation, they have been able to do this as over all numbers due to massive female growth keeps this hidden. Take out Auskick numbers, from what I was told the uptake from Auskick to Junior footy in Metro Vic is something like 20%. There is something like a 35% drop off between the age of 12 to 16 years old. VFL has been completely stuffed up by the AFL. As a kid you get elite coaching at the private schools, elite facilities to train at. Local footy you get a dad and you hope that they have some idea on what they are doing, good kids wont develop heading back to local clubs to play. The AFL should be the elite level 30 odd players on the list only. Allow top ups for long term injuries. Then state leagues Run seniors and U19s both male and female, VFL/WAFL/SANFL/TFL/ NSWFL/QFL, no AFL clubs, players who miss out on AFL go back to original club or in case of interstate recruits go to a nominated club. It is simple, the AFL is just making it so complicated. You put a Basketball/Football/Soccer ball in a play ground at most schools in Metro Victoria and I will bet the Football will be the the least played sport on the oval.

Good call and last comment. With the coaching panel improvements (Yze), Burgess, Richardson we are(should be) streets ahead of the Kangas in player development and nuturing given their post season upheavals I have faith the Daw thing could work for the team as well as anywhere. Up to him also largely. But worth the shot.

Good to see Brayshaw in footy boots ...Viney still in runners but looks to be moving well (only photos I know) . I’m happy we have got insurance in Majek...already looks like Preuss will miss opening games & with one of the other up & coming rucks injured...their ruck stocks are pretty thin. A lot of clubs will have a few players missing in first few rounds so glad we have been proactive..

Yes agree, with such a physique and huge smile, surely he would have been a positive to norf melb, it's got to be nothing but positive vibes for the Dees. Good Luck MD

If he is fit and ready to play to his best then low risk option IMO and good insurance given our current injuries We do have a history of recruiting players from other teams who are unable to get themselves on the park - is he good to go ? Surprised when I compared his career stats to the Weid Drafted in same year Played more games Averaged more kicks More tackles More hitouts More contested possessions Same disposal efficiency

Well said, 58er!! Agree totally.

Its intersting you say that. last year I read an article about a review in to Australian soccer that looked to answer the question why our national team is so rubbish in comparison to the so called golden era (when we had Kewel, Viduka, Alois, Zelic etc etc). One obvious difference was that we had better players back then, as evidenced by how many played in top leagues around the world, a number that is super low now. But why were they better then given all the elite systems and pathways that now clog up soccer? One of the differences highlighted that Viduka etc al didn't go though elite pathways. They were not taken out of their clubs. They stayed at the junior club and played seniors and that was their pathway. I think it was Aloisi who was quoted as saying that that were able to express themselves and play with freedom, where his view that elite pathways don't encourage that an that to an extent coach flair out of players. The other issue is that taking the best young players out of a club robs that club of role models and talent that brings others up, perhaps young players who might not be selected in the special teams but have the ability to make it.

He is 1/3 Uncle Bitter, 1/3 your good self Dazzle and 1/3 my good self when fit about a zillion years ago!!!??? Agree, he is a specimen and a half and could become the new "Cult" hero!! among the Demon faithful.

Do you know what the worse thing is, the AFL will appoint a private firm to do a review cost millions and nothing will change.

You are allowed a few errors 58er.

Great to see Harry Petty also but with all of them together it might still be only the rehab group albeit without bandages! Including Majak as well.

They're still in small group training surely, divided up in to groups of 10. In which case the royal blues does seem to have a bit of rehab about them. Viney, Smith, Gus all have niggles and possibly Clarry on a lighter week. Limited to 10 at a time they'll all be on a lighter week really.

"But now, each club has a boys coach who doubles as the girls coach. It’s a full-time dual role that makes it impossible for both programs to operate concurrently at full capacity. " Well, that's just idiotic. It basically means that on a club-by-club basis the decision of which group gets more attention will be entirely down to the personal attitude of the dual coach. Meanwhile, focusing on the boys comes with massive incentive because a successful boy gets literally 20 times the future pay, visibility and connections. A club/coach which did try to commit equal effort regardless of gender would be placed at a huge disadvantage for future reputation, recruiting, mentorship networks, and industry connections. I think this is a rare moment where both supporters of the women's game and those who see it is a side-show novelty can agree that this is bad policy. The living embodiment of corporate window-dressing that actually has the opposite effect to it's claims because of the overall corporate structure. Meanwhile, the part about private schools... that's been a drift for a long time and to actively make the problem worse is a disaster. Imagine a future where even the dream of playing elite football relies on having rich parents. Imagine kids having to face that fact when they are still kids. Since it's creation as such, the AFL Corporation has continually become more like an ancient Ziggurat Temple administration. More and more revenue is centralised because the High Priests tell us only they have the authority to use it. More and more the actual football community which generated that revenue is expected to then be grateful when it is granted some of it's own money back.

I would like to have him on the list after all he was taken at No1. However he is risky and a risk on himself. The head is delicate and having concussion several times and being knocked out is not a place for him on a footy ground. The effects are there for reminder and the risk is high. He can play local football and the risk is still there and no different. A collision is a collision and a high contact could and possibly have ramifications. No ! life is precious and his health is more important.

You did. I just skimmed your post. My bad.

The guy deserves his dignity. Rather a tasteless comment

Bennell was finished Hello, he had plenty of opportunities, saw it with my own two eyes on multiple occasions at Adelaide Oval in 2020. Majak will be a handy back up in multiple positions.

..and he probably is, but with several talls out medium to long term he will add depth and options.

Okay, here is what you need to know about the MFC Directors Election recently held. The constitution of the Club gives the Board absolute discretion to determine how elections are run. Board rules were established quite some time ago allowing electioneering so long as materials were cleared by the company secretary. This would allow candidates to state their positions on issues to the membership giving the membership knowledge of candidates and their policies and an ability to make an informed choice. However once Peter Lawrence announced he would run for election the Board issued new rules declaring that there would be no electioneering and that candidates would be limited to 150 words outlining their qualifications and policy positions. Any person who broke these rules would be disqualified from being a Director of the Club. Subsequently in January all members received an email from Glen Bartlett, well in excess of 150 words, outlining his and the Club view on who should be elected. Peter Lawrence was excluded. When I contacted Peter Lawrence (who was the only candidate to supply an email and telephone number in his 150 word bio) to confirm he was the Peter Lawrence I once worked with I received the following reply: “It is me. Hope you’re well. Candidates are precluded from talking about the election- the only communication we can have with members is what is contained in the 150 word election statement. Regards Peter” This situation raises many issues, not least why members were precluded from communicating with Directors, who represent us, to canvas their qualifications and policy positions. This was not a fair and open election but one manipulated by the current Board to achieve their desired outcome. I don’t know any of the current Board members other than one dinner with Brad Green who I voted for and think is an outstanding candidate. What I know is the Board has denied the members the opportunity to fairly evaluate candidates and have orchestrated a situation where only their chosen candidates had a realistic chance of success. These actions by our Board do not sit with the principles of democracy and I for one now have reason to distrust them. What are they hiding? If any Board member reads this and wants to discuss it with me PM me with your mobile number and I’ll provide my identity and give you an opportunity to respond. This behavior by the Board is utterly disgraceful and bitterly disappointing.

From over here I would just say please do what it takes and stay on the side of extreme caution. The feeling in Britain is that Australia has done very well and is an example to follow in certain areas such as "go hard, go early". Massive errors were made here and the situation is a disaster with over 116,000 deaths. The vaccination program is going very well, they have got that right. I get my first one tomorrow. However there are still dark days ahesd. Take care.