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...or maybe he's more Taj Woewodin? 😁 I get that he ultimately didn't quite make it and no doubt he had some deficiencies in his game that were the reason for that, but Billie was still pretty close to cracking it and played some good games. Kicked important goals for us in those break through wins we had against the Cats in 2015 and Hawks in 2016 and was highly regarded within the playing group for his professional training standards, so I'd like to think that he in some way contributed to our rise. If Taj has the same approach as Billie, I don't think we can ask much more than that.

14 years ago we tried to get Judd to Melbourne. Now it's happened.

Roos didn’t rebuild the club around himself because he knew he was there for such a short time. He was like the best consultant you could possibly get. I think Goodwin is going to be remembered as the fulcrum of our renaissance but we don’t need to diminish Roos. Its not zero sum - all can get credit. Jackson, Bartlett, Roos, McCartney, Mahoney, MacPherson, Viney, Taylor, Lamb… a long list of people who did a great job turning this place around.

I watched a lot of Casey this year and this couldn't be more more further to your statement I'm still bemused at people like yourself who are so quick to write off kids straight away after their first year in the system. Not only was Rosman's development this year stifled by Covid but he like many other kids in their first year barely had any continuity. James Jordon is a perfect example why you don't just write off first year players. JJ show much in his first year in the VFL and some were quick to question his worth as a future AFL player. He proved many wrong this year and matched it with the best midfielders in the game. Rosman played exactly how I expect a raw tall athletic player would after missing a whole year of footy due to Covid. He played the first 6 games this year with Casey and he grew confident with each game and was starting to hit some find. After round 6 the season was put on hold until they resumed back again at round 11. He played only 3 games after before it was called off again. How on earth can a kid gain any momentum or form through that? it was a unfair on many young kids starting out in the AFL. Though, i am not surprised that you're once again finding ways to be extremely negative towards the club and how they're handling the list. This is you to the Tee. Here I was thinking a premiership would give many people on here clarification that the club has pretty much gotten it right on field and off.

Would be a great outcome. By the time that guys like Viney, Oliver, Patracca, Harmes, Salem etc are reaching the back end of their careers, to have a second solid core comming through in behind them, the likes of James Jordan, Tommy Sparrow, Bailey Laurie, Kosie, Jacko and now potentially the likes of Taj Woewden reaching their prime will be so important to our sustained sucess. Having solid characters like Jack Viney, James Harmes and Taj Woewdin that bleed red and blue and have that almost unbreakable loyalty to the club is so important to a strong team culture IMHO.

Just waiting on the origins of BH’s name, if there are any acronyms, abbreviations or initialisms involved before I decide on whether or not he’s a good pick.

Progress……current title = "Faceless Demons". 😜

I come for the footy talk, stay for the linguistic discussion.

I still think Billy Stretch was a few years too early for us. He would have gone really well in our current system.

What a wonderful draft result for us! Particularly that we started with just picks 37, 49 and 57 to which we added 17 before the draft started. We went out to fill 'needs' and that we did with: Jacob van Rooyen Blake Howes Taj Woewodin Andy Moniz-Wakefield (will automatically become a B Rookie) That Howes (and so many others) slid down the order shows the draft was, as predicted by observers, very even and it shows that many clubs went very early into 'fill needs' mode than 'best available' mode. All the better for us! Given we (and others) were strongly linked to Howes with our first round pick, one could say we drafted two first rounders for the price of one! How (no pun intended) valuable was that pick swap of our 2022 first for pick 17 this year! And, as a bonus we collected two 2022 picks by trading out what started out as picks 49 and 57 which otherwise would have gone unused: 3rd round from Adelaide (and I think tied to Adelaide; low 40 to mid 50 range) 4th round from St Kilda (but not sure which team it is tied to; mid 50 to mid 60 range). Some might think they are 'lowly' picks but they are not something to be sneezed at. They will be valuable currency next year. I can't see us using either pick as Taylor just doesn't do low order draft picks very often. More likely deal sweeteners for trades, help F/S, Academy teams, help us get back into the first round or move up the order. And we traded in Dunstan. Given that the majority of our Premiership Team is contracted for quite a few years, I hope we can find room in the 22 to get these (and prior draftees) games. First class off-season list management for the reigning Premiers🏆🎏

Maxy has entered the building... War Office due home shortly 😖

Another from Perth? https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/judd-mcvee/ What a name, like something out of American Pie

Look, I totally rate Goody and agree he should be getting most of the coaching credit for taking us to a flag, but I think Roos did still play an important part in turning around our culture. Other guys within the coaching staff like Choco, Stafford, Chapman, Yze, Burgess etc probably also deserve some credit too. Although 2019 was a Fing disaster, Dave Misson was also probably the one who lifted our fittness and traing standards to anything like where they needed to be (under Roos?). After all, it's a team game on and off the field.

Wouldn’t he wanna keep the number he wore in a Premiership winning side?

HOWES THAAAAATTT!!?? Great get by the Dees!

The 2021 AFL National Draft had something for everyone and predictably on the morning after, the media is talking about how each of the 18 clubs nailed it. Plenty of hidden gems picked up with late picks and lots of bargain basement acquisitions and steals that render their recruiters in the genius class. I liked the fact that after the predictability of the top 10 selections, the rest of the draft veered away into unexpected regions, a factor that added interest to an event that often drifts into boredom. The event was also spiced up with an array of side issues such as controversy about trading of draft picks present and future, some Covid19 diagnoses and even the news of one “draft hopeful” (who nobody seems to have heard of previously) allegedly getting busted for using a banned stimulant and thereby putting his playing future in doubt. The one thing for sure about any recruiting process is that despite all of the hype and sometimes misinformation, the fact that a player has been drafted is merely the start. Whether you’re Jason Horne-Francis, the first player selected on night one, or Taj Woewodin, the last name called out last night, you begin your AFL career on level pegging. It was noted earlier in the week that the average a drafted player lasts on an AFL list is three years. To gain credibility they have to work hard and gain credibility - usually after the first fifty games. The same can be said about players chosen with today’s third crack including the Preseason and Rookie Drafts. Actually, it’s a busy day today with an array of activities listed on the AFL’s calendar (see below). I will leave the evaluation to another time but the result to date of Melbourne’s post 2021 premiership recruiting (and doesn’t that sound great?) is the addition of Luke Dunstan, Jacob Van Rooyen, Blake Howes and Taj Woewodin. At around lunchtime today, we can expect to welcome another selection - Northern Territory NGA Andy Moniz-Wakefield as a Category B Rookie. After that, kick your heels up or relax because it’s almost over for another year. The club may or may not pick a rookie in mid afternoon or … it might wait until the Pre-Season Supplemental Selection Period in March next year. Today’s Calendar • 10.00am – AFL Club List Lodgement (3) • 12.00-12:30pm – Pre-Selected Rookies; NSW and Queensland Eligible Pre-Selected Rookie Player Nominations Lodged; Father-Son Pre-Selected Rookie Player Nominations Lodged; Academy Pre-Selected Rookie Player Nominations Lodged; NGA Pre-Selected Rookie Player Nominations Lodged (Note: These nominations remain confidential until announced between NAB AFL Pre-Season/Rookie Draft) • 3.00pm – NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft Selection Meeting • 3.15pm – Notification of Pre-Selected Rookies Nominated on Friday 26 November by 12.30pm if not selected in the NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft • 3.20pm – NAB AFL Rookie Draft Selection Meeting

He sounds like Christian Salem but perhaps without the footy IQ: "One of the smoothest operators in the draft pool, Judd McVee is the kind of player you want rebounding the ball out of defence. He handles the ball cleanly and is efficient in his use by foot, showcasing class to manoeuvre out of tight spots and keep cool in a crisis. With greater consistency and enhanced midfield craft, McVee has the tools to become a tidy player at the top level". STRENGTHS: + Class + Clean hands + Kicking + Rebounding IMPROVEMENTS: - Production - Consistency Very happy with this selection. Edit: I just saw the write up at the club which mentions his 'footy smarts'. Maybe he is more like Salem than I first thought.

The hermit kingdom has proven to be very fertile ground for us lately.

We had a Jason Blake and a Matthew Blake who played reserves for us, but nobody with either a Christian name or a surname of Blake has played a senior game for us AFAIK. I'm just waiting to see Blake Howes chasing down Dan or Sam Butler so the crowd can yell out "I'll get you Butler!" (bit of a throwback for the older posters there).

Its so interesting reading some of the news out of the draft that Melbourne have pretty much had the steal of the draft with Howes. I must admit, and i hope this doesn't come across the wrong way. But when i watch his highlights i get Jayden Laverde pre draft feels about him. Similar athletic players who are both tall and have great speed. Laverde really struggled at AFL level for a few years there and was close to being delisted. His found his niche now as a handy 3rd tall defender. I think that's why a part of me was stoked we picked JVR as our first pick instead of Howes because he was true Jason Taylor type pick, and also he filled an important need for us. I probably didn't warm to Howes instantly? I do know Howe was extremely highly rated in his under 16's year and made the All Australian team when playing for Vic Metro. Of every Phantom Draft i read, majority had him easily a pick inside the top 20. I think Cal Twomey mentioned that GWS had serious considerations to select him at pick 13. Huge endorsement for Howes. Had there been a full season of the NAB there is every chance he could have snuck in around the top 12 pick due to his form playing as a winger. The fact that Jason Taylor who is imo the best recruiter by far in the land has picked him Howes is enough for me! I'm stoked to have him on board now and hopefully this is a pick where clubs will look back and ponder why the hell he lasted to pick 39. Welcome to the premiers Blake!

In the phantom drafts Knightmare had Howes at 15, Twomey at 19, the Sporting News at 19 and The Age also had him at 19 stating “He is known for doing ‘extras’ at training and is strongly fancied by the premiers” Blake completed his 2km time trial in 6.08 (elite) and also runs a sub 3 second 20m (elite). That combination is rare. He has great hands above his head and plays taller due to a above average vertical leap. The main knocks on him seem to be his contested ball abilities and not having a defined position. Perhaps he was overrated by the pundits but it does look like we got a bargain.

I'm staggered this guy dropped to 39. 191cm mobile mid/forward. Gunston mould, how many of these types are there? Would have locked him top 25 for sure. Stoked!

Lol! I watched this part on repeat many times and grinned. In the week leading up to the final Matthew Llyod said we would need to use Langdon to tag Bailey Smith as he was the only one who could keep up with him. It made me [censored] angry that the media had no [censored] idea. Why the [censored] would we waste Langdon like that? Had he not seen the games this year where teams would switch the play to avoid Langdons wing?

Just selected in the Rookie draft. https://twitter.com/melbournefc/status/1464089015347400705?s=20182cm running defender from East Freemantle.

LATEST POSITION FOR CONTRACT RENEWALS UP TO Novemeber 8 Updated for one year contracts for Hibberd and Melksham ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Original post of this thread on Nov 26, 2021 was: The list for our next Premiership 🎏🏆 tilt is: At the excellent suggestion by @La Dee-vina ComediaI have identified the Premiership 🎏🏆players. Draftees added are: van Rooyen, Howes, Woewodin as Senior List players and Moniz- Wakefield as a B Rookie. This gives us one list spot for a senior player if we were take a Delisted FA or and A Rookie in the SSP draft or the mid-year draft. Note that Jordon is now officially a senior player. Milestone games in the 2022 H & A season could be: 200: Melksham, T. McDonald 150: B. Brown, Salem 100: Hunt In terms of 2022 contract renewals: Most of the 2022 OOC's will sort themselves out. However, Brayshaw and Hunt will both be Restricted Free Agents (See edit below). I can't imagine that either will want to leave and we would get comp draft picks if they did. Of interest is the length of Brayshaw's contract given that his contemporaries have long terms. Jackson is said to be in contract discussions. And of course, we would all love it if Oliver's contract is extended next year rather than wait with much angst to his RFA year of 2023. Can't see him wanting to leave. I love all our players and don't like to think of departures. Nonetheless, next years list management could be challenging as those OOC in 2022 are either Premiership 🎏🏆 players or have yet to play a game. The exceptions are: Baker, Bedford and Smith. Hibberd may be a retirement depending on how the youngsters shape up. Overall, it is a very stable list for the next few years and is a list that can go back to back. Edit: @old55has advised that Hunt and Weideman will be 'Unrestricted Free Agents' so have reflected that in the table with 'FA'. With Brayshaw it is a bit harder to tell whether he will be an RFA or a UFA. The difference being that with the former if there is an offer to him we can match it. With the latter it means we can't. Late Edit: Judd Mc Vee added to the A Rookie list. The only list spot we have left is one B Rookie. The 2021 Contracts thread can be found here:

Roos did something that nobody else could do at the time, he commanded respect and was able to do a lot of things regarding list management, game style, and training that a rookie coach could not do. He set standards, but more importantly he finally got a group of young players to listen and believe. It was never going to be a magic cure, but it started the ball rolling. I don't think anyone else could have done that, and certainly not so quickly. We were at rock bottom when he came, and a year after he left we made a prelim. And yes it took another 3 years to win a flag, but in the grand scheme of 57 years of failings, it was a very quick climb. We needed Roos and Jackson to make us a serious club again, and because Roos had no long term hat in the ring, he was able to do it without emotion and without selfish motives. He was the perfect transitional figure to claw us out of the grave we found ourselves in. Edit: and honestly after the disaster of Neeld, there is absolutely no way our members would have stood by another untried coach. It was too risky and we needed a big name to keep us afloat.

Rosman looks the goods to me. Saying we paid top dollar for Langdon is ridiculous. We paid top dollar for May and Lever too. All 3 premiership players seem pretty cheap now. You can afford to do that when you recruit brilliantly in other positions and need to fill a deficiency.

That's a bit of a stretch isn't it Mo? Roosy and Jackson bought us some space and credability and laid the foundations of the culture for guys like Goodie to build upon. Roos bought a build from defense mindset that bought back compeditiveness and confidence to a team that had neither for the preceding period. His impact was huge. With all the sack Goodwin now thread that was going pretty hard up until the start of this season, do you seriously think Goodie would have made it through the period that Roos guided us through as a rookie coach?

The tangential progression of every thread drives me nuts. It should stay on the straight and narrow, just like Taiwan's stranglehold on microchip manufacturing. Taiwan, now THERES a topic.....

I am tipping he chases better than Bailey Smith or he wont getting a game. Watch the Langdon goal in the final quarter. Smith just pointed in deep defence and walked meekly as Langdon ran the length of the ground and goaled. It's not only about Instagram followers.

Thrilled with this, loved his dad, was livid when he was forced out the door, he deserved better

Choco Williams had a huge hand in the background towards winning this Premiership.

MelbourneFc.com.au_JuddMcVee MELBOURNE will be giving Judd McVee a shot at the top level, signing him in the NAB AFL Rookie Draft. McVee was made to wait for his AFL call-up after missing selection in Thursday night’s National Draft, but there was plenty of interest in the defender due to his class off half-back. The 18-year-old is known for providing plenty of rebound from defence and will complement the likes of Christian Salem, Jake Bowey and Trent Rivers at the Dees. Standing at 182cm, McVee has clean hands at ground level and impressed many with his composure for East Fremantle in 2021. The Western Australian becomes Melbourne’s fourth new addition this week, following the recruitment of Jacob van Rooyen, Blake Howes and Taj Woewodin in the National Draft.

The Demons have definitely been keen on recruiting a few East Fremantle Sharks players recently! Luke Jackson Trent Rivers Taj Woewodin and now.... Judd McVee!

Judd McVee East Fremantle, WAFL / Geraldton FC State: Western Australia Height: 183cm Weight: 72kg Date of Birth: 07/08/03 Medium midfielder who can also play across half-back and use his elite kicking skills to set up the play. All-Australian at Under-16s level in 2019, he has a high footy IQ and is very creative with his vision and clean hands. Has similar traits to Essendon star Darcy Parish in the way he hunts the footy around stoppages and was a good performer at Under-18s level in the WAFL, averaging 14.9 disposals in 12 matches. Represented Western Australia at Under-19s level in two matches this year as he continued his development.

A few weeks ago the club submitted a list to the AFL of Rookies to be upgraded. Jordon was on it, Chandler was not so remains a Rookie. However, he cannot remain on the Rookie list after 2022, having been there for 4 years. I would expect the club will do the same for him as they did for Jordon in 2021- during 2022 renew Chandler's contract, extend it a year and place him on the Senior list as part of the 2022 draft.

I think this is a bit unfair. I think Brayshaw may be the best kick on his non-preferred side within the whole team. His right foot kicking could be better, but I've seen a lot worse.

Either are suitable as we have never had a Blayne or a (male) Casey play for the Dees

Fritta will set him right.....

Great post on the Langdon v Smith issue. How many times did we say during a game this year "who's playing on Langers???". Apparently nobody often.

We went in with a 'fill needs' rather than 'best available' mindset. The club probably figured we had their skill sets covered and preferred to bring in a future 3rd round pick instead of drafting either. The club would already be planning next year's trade/draft so see value in an extra pick or two in 2022. That doesn't mean the club didn't rate them just not for us at this time.

Gee it looks magnificent

You mean no. 2 to be put in mothballs for a while, not 'retired'? Will Woewodin junior get his old man's 22?

Love this pick up, genetics are a wonderful thing, and what’s been forgotten perhaps is that Shane was 21 in 1997 when we recruited him, having played a couple of years for East Fremantle, then played 100 consecutive game as he developed further into his Brownlow form… So baby Woey likely to take a few years, be durable and consistently grow his game. love it Go Taj Go Demons.

I think this is great. Pity Brad Scott had to announce it.

Another satisfied @joeboy customer to be complimented by the signed guernsey

Tipped this 😀