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You don’t trade players that are closely loved within the club, it breaks the cohesion in the playing group. Aside from that Gus has also been doing a very underrated job as a defensive winger. If we are to get Cerra, it should not be at Gus’s expense.

The Rebuild of Melbourne's List - Mongrel Punt Article

McGowan Gloats Its one thing to gloat about denying Eddie entry, to '...keep him safe from West Australians'. Its quite another to disclose and brag about not paying the AFL a cent for hosting the GF. I'm really surprised the AFL would agree to no payment, as a purported reason of having the GF interstate was to raise money as well as have crowds. I wonder how SA and Qld feel about that disclosure, if they were prepared to pay... McGowan: “We‘ve just said we’ll do a Covid-safe game if you come here - and we are not giving you any money and that’s your choice...So we drove a pretty hard bargain. I didn’t want to hand over $20 million.” Covid-safe? Sure but he wouldn't hesitate to close down the event on the morning of the game. No money, no crowds!! Would rather the GF go to a State where it is welcomed rather than used for political point scoring. And it is very poor form to boast when his draconian border restrictions prevent us from attending. It is like rubbing salt into a wound. A bit of empathy for our plight and some diplomacy wouldn't go astray. It is a privilege to host the GF and he should treat that privilege with some respect.

No. His family live in Melbourne and accommodate young Demon draftees.

Thanks for posting - good article, a reminder that list building seems to be like Sara Lee, layer upon layer. I would also include Peter Jackson as CEO who persuaded Paul Roos ( and$$$) to come to the Demons

One day in the next century someone's going to be trawling through the ancient records of Demonland and conclude that in 2021 there was some sort of witch-hunt for working girls involving a circus performer called Robert.

Who cares Go win me 2 more games!

I didn't mind Dom - he served a purpose during the Roos' rebuiding era

like Binman, I have got over the fact that if we win this year I won't be there in person to see it - and my ability to reconcile myself to this fact is helped by the fact that I don't have the stress of trying to source 5 tickets for myself and my 4 kidults who have suffered through being the only Melbourne supporters in school through the worst of the 2007+ years. If I am not allowed to watch the game with them due to Covid restrictions and share the tears of a loss, or even moreso, of victory, should we make the GF, I am not sure how I will cope. I am getting teary even thinking about it. So hopefully this will be allowed by the end of the month. Furthermore, If we win, I can't wait to watch a replay with my older siblings who suffered through the worst of the 70's with me and particularly my 90 year Mum (who has dementia) and who will think we are winning the GF live! So lets all enjoy the ride - encourage those who maybe able to see the game live to channel the support of all of us who can't go, and hope that we will all be able to see a premiership in person in the next few years (which as per Binman again, I think we are very well placed to achieve). I also think I would find it a hell of a lot less stressful to be at a GF, knowing that monkey was off our back if we had snagged one this year.

Would be an amazing get, but we’d need to stick with a couple of points: 1. Players requesting a trade to a ‘good’ club must accept less money than those going to a battler (Carlton). Tom Lynch and everyone traded to Geelong are willing to sacrifice money for success- that’s not only the attitude we want, it’s the financial reality of what we need. 2. Unless a Melbourne player requests a trade to Fremantle, then I’d avoid trading for a player, particularly anyone in the best 22. We’ll be asking our players to show loyalty and accept less money in the coming years and that is a two way street. 3. Upgrading our picks for the trade. Cera has the potential to be a very, very good players and Freo will need to be satisfied. It’s hard to see how we can do this without some spectacular draft-pick gymnastics by our football department. Mahoney in his time showed that that was a particular strength, let’s how those around him learnt a trick or two.

Hoping GWS win in a brutal bloodbath. The most important thing is that they smash each other in to oblivion, but I so want the icing on top of Geelong going out in straight sets. Couldn’t care less about the other game. Neither of them will beat Port so it’s a dead rubber from my perspective.

I too like Domma and was a bit sad to see him go. His 2014 - 2016 period was very fine contributor for us and really made a solid impact through the impact. Always welcome back to the red and blue home.

didn't it basically work out as: josh kelly = tyson + salem + hunt tyson = preuss + hore preuss = sideshow bob so josh kelly = sideshow bob + salem + hunt + hore

I will preface my comments by saying that I watch Freo less than most other teams and Cerra is not a player that really stands out. IMO Cerra is a good young player but he is not particularly tough or quick. He will obviously improve as he gains strength but I doubt he will ever by elite. Cerra also looks like he plays best as a centre square midfielder rather than a forward or winger. With Petracca and Oliver as the core of our midfield and Viney, Harmes, Sparrow and Jordon as other midfielders, I am not sure he would make us much better in there. Particularly given key roles of the other midfielders are blocking and pressure rather than winning first possession in the clearances. There has been some comments that Cerra would be a better winger than Brayshaw. Cerra may be more natural there, but I am not sure he would make us better though and Brayshaw has runs on the board. We have developed a game plan to play with one attacking side (covered by Langdon) and one defensive side (covered by Brayshaw). While this game plan has has been developed to protect our weaknesses (only one true winger) it also caters to our strengths (making the opposition have to go through Gawn, Jackson, Lever and May or try a risky kick in the corridor which gives us the chance to counterattack). I think adding a more dynamic winger would be a bit redundant unless we change the way we move the ball and defend (which we should not be doing given the success this year).

Here's a leftfield idea. Trade fringe players into necessary picks to acquire Cerra, not core 22 players.

@EdPascoe_eDPS from https://afl.draftcentral.com.au/ doesnt have Mac Andrews in his top 20. Only needs one club to have him inside 20 though.

Simon Goodwon made the right call in getting rid of Watts. Our team is built on players being defensive competitive animals. Jack Watts does not fit this criteria.

Those that want to trade Gus have no idea about what makes a collection of talented individuals a great team. If wants to stay and play his role as well as he has this year - he will be a Demon for a while yet. And his parents live in Melbourne and house 3 young Demons so those with words to Tyne effect he will go back for family are just spewing out words.

That's crazy when you think about it! Certainly a bright future ahead if we can keep the list together. FYI... here's the side named for the first final: Jake Bowey 18 Luke Jackson 19 Trent Rivers 20 Kysaiah Pickett 20 Tom Sparrow 21 Charlie Spargo 21 Harrison Petty 21 Clayton Oliver 24 Bayley Fritsch 24 Alex Neal-Bullen 25 James Harmes 25 Ed Langdon 25 Christian Petracca 25 Angus Brayshaw 25 Jake Lever 25 Joel Smith 25 Christian Salem 26 Jack Viney 27 Ben Brown 28 Tom McDonald 28 Max Gawn 29 Steven May 29 Average 24.09

Better hope you don't die between now and next year. Death by any cause would throw a spanner in the works I'd think. Give me the premiership this year in whatever capacity it comes.

I still can't get over the fact that Carlton sacked Teague after 50 games (including a half-season as caretaker, a 17-game messed up season, and this year which he spent half-sacked from about round 4). He brought Carlton 21 wins in 50 games after the Blues' previous 40 games included just 4 wins. That's notably better than Paul Roos managed at Melbourne (21 wins from 60 games). One question remains - was it Teague or others who pursued the strategy of bringing in a multitude of speedy, high profile and high cost rebounding types without defensive mettle? Because if he can wash his hands of that major error then his record is pretty good for coaching a dysfunctional club that can display hubris even while winning the wooden spoon. It does also make me reflect on the priceless quality of the 'enthusiastic humility' which seems to be driving value at Melbourne now. We must support that attitude above any other single factor.

Saw him in Richmond a few years ago with a compression bandage around his troublesome calf. I said gday hows it going and he gave me the time of day and engaged in convo and i thought then nice bloke. Played 100 games at elite level which us 100 more than I played. GOOD LUCK Dom!

I disagree, I think it's a mixture of recruitment, development and culture. If you don't recruit those with the biggest drive and best habits (ie not Watts), you could have the best development and culture in the game, but it wouldn't necessarily lift an individual like that. I also think it's system too. Our coaching staff, in particularly Goodwin, has built such a solid system that the young guys merely need to play a role. They don't need to star. So when they're drafted, they benefit from the development coaches and pathways, and the culture that they're embedded within, but when they're finally ready, unlike previous years, they're not asked to star. They're asked to play a simple, clearly defined role.

I keep thinking Viney is 23....

Viney.

Where is the evidence of that? I'm pretty sure the club instigated the trade. Good luck for the future Dom, I always thought you gave us everything you had.

Such a talented youngster and things just didnt fall his way. Injuries and then the game looked too quick for his contested style Served the Demons well when he played for us. All the Best Dom

He's in the leadership group this year. Brayshaw is a culture-setter you just don't mess with that. He won't be leaving, he's set up in Melbourne with his missus, family, and friends. IMO Cerra is not an upgrade on Brayshaw on the wing, all the defensive stuff and 1%'s Gus brings are invaluable.

Me too , my parents , sister have been going for 25+ years every home game. are all double vaxxed and following the draconian rules for 200+ days. no way I'm not watching a prelim of GF without them.

No way we trade Gus. Richmond have shown the blueprint in that you don't need superstars to win flags. Culture and selflessness win flags and Gus is central to that for the Dees.

I'm not sure about the magnification of childbirth x 100. However there is an argument for childbirth being less painful; I have heard of many women says "lets have another child" and yet never ever heard of any man saying "that was great, how about another kick in the Jatz Crackers".

Great points well made in your post LT. Gus played his best game for the year last weekend - just when needed and he admitted this week he has taken time to build the role on a wing, and that Langers had been a great help (AllAA standard wingman IMO). I fear this has shades of Woey leaving which caused my heart to sink back then and the team didn't feel the same. Culture first for us, everything else second and the wins will take care of themselves. I suspect this is the player driven mantra of feeling for the fans who are at last "... proud to show their colours ...", as Trac said after the Cats game. This isn't the NFL, MLB, NBA.....etc. There's dozens of players I bet who would now join the Dees in a heartbeat. But not at a price that's not worth it.

Medi-sub should 100% be the best available player only. Either game could go to the wire. No sentimentality. I'm sure Nate would agree. If he's not the sub, stays in WA and we win the GF, then IMHO he'd be the most deserving, suitable person to do the Cup Handover!! I know it's usually someone more from yesteryear, but we can choose whoever we want and I think Jones is the one who most needs to be honored holding that cup whether he plays or not.

That's good Mark Readings. Can you hear Demons fans screaming 'go [censored] yourself'?

Jack went on an open to public podcast to happily discuss his own life and football career. It was a fantastic insight into the dark days that troubled not only him but many other young players. Fans on a footy forum also discussing and reflecting on the exact same thing Jack openly talked about on the podcast. No one got personal, no one called him names and in fact everyone pretty much openly said how much they loved Jack. Don't open the thread if it's going to trigger you so much.

For information travel from SA would be fine, I got the approval this evening for the Preliminary Final.

Gus seems a logical choice for a trade, seeing as his brother and lots of family are in WA. I highly doubt he’ll be traded though. He loves the club and loves living in Melbourne. He might not be lighting it up on field, but he’s filling the role the coaches are asking if him, and filling it well. His defensive positioning has been a big part of our defensive zone vastly improving this year. He’s also super important to the club culturally. Yes he has media presence with the podcast etc, but he’s also one of the key drivers of hard work and respect amongst the players. Look at the end of the Geelong match last week as an example. When all the players were going berserk celebrating, Gus joined in celebrating for a bit and then tried to encourage his teammates to go shake the oppositions hand and show respect. He was first across to shake the oppositions hands and got the boys to follow him. He’s a leader out there for our players driving the right kind of values amongst the group. Then when they were in the rooms, he sung the song with more gusto than anyone! Not saying Cerra wouldn’t be a great get for us, he’s a great silky skilled player, but trading Gus would disrupt the playing group, standards, and culture of the club. And at the end of the day, the new standards being driven are the difference between 2021 top of the ladder demons, and the years before where we failed to make finals. Same list, different culture and standards.

Hats off to Kate Roffey. Kate will not be going to Perth due to the limited number of MFC people allowed into WA. I am sure Kate could have found a way to be included in the party of 55 but she put others ahead of herself. A real leader.....

Why would he want to look for "opportunities" elsewhere when he's currently an important part of a young, strong team that appears to be in premiership contention for the next few years?

Maybe all Gil wanted was a guarantee that Eddie McGuire wouldn't be allowed to attend.

McGowen has got to be one of the least likeable people from Oz citizens outside of his state. I’m sure he’s someone who’s now being hailed as some kind of legend by the WA folks, but jeez he just should not step foot in Melbourne or Sydney. I wouldn’t wish the pandemic onto anybody, but I’d love him to walk a 5km radius in our bloody shoes.

I have no problem with Freo getting Jackson.................he can go there as an assistant coach once he retires after 14+ years as a Dee.

When was Jones’ last game? Reckon in the cauldron of a tight Prelim you’d want someone hot and ready - Jordan or Melk. No place for sentiment.

I can hardly imagine how it will feel should we make it but by hell if we do there will be some intense Demon supporters there to make some noise mate.

Particularly after finally finishing in the top 5 at the B&F, lamenting how it took him so long to get there and then promising to work harder. He just didn't want it. Its not a crime just a waste.

Interestingly he mentioned that even after he was traded Goody still stayed in touched and reached out to him when he went through that [censored] at Port. Can see why Goody is highly respected by the playing group.

When you're 8 years into the system with nearly 150 games in your career, maybe coming back to pre season in poor shape isn't exactly showing the right commitment to the team. It was well known his application to training and off field standards was pretty poor. He was given ample of opportunities to change this.

Is this like a ghost limb situation? Muscle memory of what you usually do in September? Think of next years team after the disappointment of this year? Good god, man. Get a hold of yourself.