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Really pleased you started this thread, Pickett. Viney had a fantastic finals series and great back half of the year. Like others, I reckon he's improved his game and he's not trying to do too much. He's playing more within his limitations and the beneficiaries have most certainly been the dynamic duo. Gawn, Oliver, Petracca and Viney is as good as it gets in the centre square. 12 clearances in the GF is the second most ever in a grand final and his family mut be thrilled that he played so well in a drought breaking premiership.

I have been thinking quite a bit of late about a piece of information I conveyed in my last training report. I posted that IMV The best 3 trainers on the ground were Clarry, Sparrow and Jack Viney. Over the holiday period I have been watching all the finals and quite a few home and away matches ( of which I have the full set) and have come to a number of conclusions about Jack Viney and although I have been critical of his game in some instances in the past, I now believe he is a much better player than he ever was! A few pionts 1 The style of play the trademark see ball get ball remains 2 As the season progressed I saw new levels of team 1 % increasing like blocking, shepherding, and a more emphatic buy in of team first ethos. Now I'm not suggesting for one minute that these were lacking but I saw a more refined Viney part of the machine mantra and this has made him a much better player 3 In critical games he was instrumental in allowing Clarry and Trac space and time to do their thing and because he was so brutal in his approach that no-one or anything was going to stand in his way and this is a Viney trademark. 4 His finals series was selfless as it was" Briiliant" with his take no prisoners approach and his ball use and more importantly his decision making was stellar. He now gives of much more efficiently to almost first option than ever. 5 I also noticed his team mates get around him at regular intervals and vice-versa, hence a genuine rapport and empathy is evident. 6 He remains an excellent V.C to Max and leader in his own right. I think he is more suited to V.C than Capt because maybe just maybe he doesnt feel the onus to have to do it all himself. So after analysing and watching and looking for the obvious and not so obvious I concur that Jack Viney is a vital cog in our quest for Back to back Premierships and that his improvement as a player is well evident! 😁

Yeah, I feel like I have to post on this thread. I have been guilty in the past of thinking of JV as to one dimensional and of driving some of the behaviours that I thought were holding us back. Ball hunting, trying to take everyone on with brute strength rather than look for a block to get someone clear. This final series was a different Viney, he played a much more complete role, breaking the oppositions stoppage structures and either freeing trac or clarrie for the extraction or doing it himself. I’ve never posted in criticism of him, that’s not really my style but I apologise for some of the things that I was thinking. Thank God I’m not in charge of list management!

...which is also a segue back to the Luke Jackson situation. In his captains diary, Max details quite alot how having both himself and LJ within the team is enhancing both their games and how Max himself has learnt from LJ to keep moving and stay involved after the ruck contest. Equally, I've only ever heard LJ say great things about working with and learning from Max and the respect he had for him was clearly evident. I remember at the time he was recruited how so many people were questioning why Melbourne would use such a high pick on another ruck, when we already had the best in the competition and how that might work out over the longer term. But it's worked out brilliantly. I almost pitty opposition teams comming up against us over the next few seasons if LJ and Gawn can take their games to another level. In seasons gone by I noticed a substantial drop off in our momentum in games when Max was rested on the bench for short periods, but now the opposite is true and how other teams will deal with how/when to rest their main ruck in this scenario is such an asset to our team. I'd be thinking that LJ will want to be a part of this kind of arrangement for years to come and I've got little doubt that the MFC will repay the deeds and faith that LJ has given the club, when the oppertunity to reward him financially arises.

Agree with much of the sentiment here. Was BOG against the sCATs, in everything it seemed and followed it up for the big show with a committed performance. Jack has that seemingly rare elusive old fashioned characteristic as a footballer he plays for the guernsey.

I think of some of the greats of the game who had proven over time in being able to stand up in big finals and perform. They build a reputation as just going up another level when finals arrive. Their sheer brutality and intense hardness was something I admired about these blokes and everytime these guys played in September everyone around them walked taller. Guys like Michael Voss, Nigel Lappin, Luke Hodge, Joel Selwood are probably the ones who stick out the most. Jack Viney sits alongside these guys quite comfortably.

so……. any actual news about his contract status?

Oliver and Petracca contributed to Viney's rise and became better players themselves because of it. They no longer all go for the same ball. See ball get ball was damaging for us when we had too many doing it. Since Yze came we seem to operate much more methodically.

Nice to not be on these lists.

A fit JV is one of our three top bulls, the three of them work so hard for each other, what great role models they are for our younger brigade and they all acknowledge that Harmsey, ANB, Langdon, Gus, Sparrow & JJ make it possible for them to shine. JV has become a great leader and selfless team player. Todd would be mighty proud of his boy.!!!

Didn't Goody say that Jack was his favourite player in an interview with Gus pre GF?

True daisycutter, but there's a bit more to it than that. Approx 1 mill Australians are under 5 yrs old and not yet eligible for covid vax. 5-12s have only recently had access to covid vaccines. And hopefully those with legitimate allergies or other vax health issues will be able to take the new Novovax option The rest, well... there's always a shallow end to the gene pool How many on AFL lists haven't met the deadline? 2 or 3?

Agree absolutely PF. Has changed his game now gives first upturn off doesn't take on opponents in a show of strength.His close in work is brilliant and his disposal is now good/very good. I had thought he may get a spot in the Top 20 as I can't recall WJ including him in the 100 so far. Please correct me because JV is a big occasion player and he is now in his sweet spot at Melbourne. What about JV mark2.0 Tom Sparrow !!

Born to play finals is Viney #BeastMode

Agreed. Case in point was his critical touches at the two centre bounces that resulted in the final two goals of the 3rd Qtr of the GF. The first a "blink & you miss it" handball out of the middle to Trac, and the 2nd, a deft little toe tap into Jacko's path. In both cases, the very obvious parts of those plays was the dominance of Clarrie & Trac. But, that wouldn't have happened without Viney's vital touches at the coal face that made their involvement possible!

How about that dive into the bottom of a pack and extraction of a perfect handball to a nearby player who delivered it into 50?

Loved that! Seems like a great person to have around our young players as well - to pick up a sport in your late 20s and keep learning and pushing to get better all the time, on the other side of the world. Great stuff.

Here's a random one... the Dee's have never lost a game while I have been in WA.... Year 2000 was in WA last round of H&A (WCE in Perth - Bluey McKennas final game) through to the prelim... I flew back to Melbourne for the Gf!!! 2021 was in WA from the final H&A game and Flew from Broome to Perth for the GF (watched the Prelim in Derby after doing the Gibb River Road)

We now have a midfield that easily rivals the most recent unstoppable midfield of Cox/Judd/Kerr/Cousins....but we will go deeper with Gawn/Viney/Oliver/Petracca/Sparrow/Jordan......and you can throw in Brayshaw/Langdon for good measure! These guys have the chance to be remembered by the AFL community for a long time as being one of the best engine rooms ever! I hope they achieve it!

I'm old enough to remember the physical belting the MFC received from Essendon in our previous GF appearance That particular day we were simply not capable of tacking up the physical challenge and hurting the opposition If you watch the opening minute of the GF again it is Jack who sets the standard immediately in terms of uncompromising bone crunching tackling - we didn't look back after that

sd, the only thing rational about footy is its irrationality

Yeah, but it wasn't declared, it was hidden and only came out years later. Like I say it was a grubby affair. The word slimy also comes to mind, with Sheedy also up to his eyeballs in it and I think it's a far reflection on him as well. I remember how smug Sheedy was announcing he'd just stolen $cully from us. Can't stand such clinical business analogies being applied to sport, the two arn't an equivalent. No one invests in shares simply because they like the company colours or corporate logo. Loyalty and the way players treat a supporter base are a valuable commodity in sport and $culley absolutely trashed that with his conduct at the time. To be fair, the AFL was also partly to blame with the way they set the rules up. To be honest, while I was disappointed to loose all of Farmer, Rivers, Frawley and Howe, I'm not as filthy on any of them as I am on $culley, because of the service they did give us amd way they conducted themselves about leaving us. As bitterly disappointed as I was about loosing Scott Tompson to Adelaide (particularly after watching the elite player he became), I can understand his desire to more closer to family and that was a considered risk Melbourne took when they recruited him. I could have gone much harder and cruder on $culley, but I somewhat refrained.

Re the Tom Scully transfer saga, I have no problem with him leaving Melbourne, or the fact the move may have involved his father getting a job at GWS (as long as it was declared under the salary cap). Footballers are professional, and have an undertain playing career, and an even more uncertain post-playing career, so they're entitled to maximise their return while they can. If you or I were offered a job with better-pay, a longer-term contract and with a more professional organisation we would be irresponsible to reject it. What's the difference for a professional footballer? Let's forget the character assassination. How was Melbourne travelling at the end of 2011? We sacked Dean Bailey after the 186-point loss to Geelong in Round 19 and the future was hardly looking rosy. The comparison with Max Gawn is misguided. Gawn was drafted at 34 in the same draft as Scully with an existing ACL. He did his ACL again in the 2012 pre-season and didn't play that year. He played 4 games in fis first 3 years. Max did his knee again the last game of the 2014 season and didn't become a regular in the Melbourne side until half-way through 2015. At that stage he was lucky to be on the list, and I'm sure other clubs weren't queueing up for his services. Melbourne showed outstanding loyalty to Max Gawn. By the end of that year, Melbourne were on the way up (Paul Roos' 2nd year) so why would Max be going anywhere else? So let's not pretend Scully was this mercenary who sold his soul, and Gawn is this superhero who has shown tremendous loyalty, unlike others. I love Max but let's just focus on the facts. OK, Max is now a Premiership Captain but Scully wouldn't have even played in the Premiership if he had stayed since he has now retired through injury. Which Club was more successful in the years Tom Scully was at GWS, Melbourne or GWS? There's been a similar discussion on this site in the past about Jeremy Howe. Howe supposedly is this disloyal traitor that went to a despised club. In fact he improved substantially as a player after his transfer to Collingwood and like Scully moved to a more successful club so good luck to him. It's really easy to re-write history in hindsight after a successful year. Tell me anyone who predicted a Melbourne Premiership at the start of the 2021 Season. Most pundits weren't even predicting that we'd make the 8. Re Luke Jackson, obviously we want him to stay, but if he leaves let's not all pile on and denigrate him, his family and the Club that gets him. As usual, we'll find out about 10% of the total reason for any move. Going forward, let's all treat past, current and future players with respect...

Yes. Sparrow is becoming the brute that we have always had in JV, and IMO his disposal skills are way ahead of what JV’s were at this stage of his growth. A joy to watch I agree that Yze’s influence may be much underestimated and under appreciated

Who?

Viney is a very good player and leader at the MFC and will be forever in history as an important premiership player. Consistently the best finals player across 2018 and 2021 campaigns.

So many bellends told me we should trade viney 😂

Reminds me of what a grubby affair the whole Tom $cully defection was (literally and metaphorically, since Graeme 'Grubby' Allan was up to his eyeballs in it). Won't ever forget or forgive all that. Spare me the sob story about what a rabble we were off the feild and how $cully just wanted to be part of a sucessful culture, it was mostly just about the $$$$. Our current captain stayed and became an important cog in the rebuilding of sucessful, selfless team culture, hoisted the cup and has a premership medallion that's worth more than the millions $cully got paid and I think there's something in that.

Nothing new to read here ... has always been team first and adapted to suit the team ... when we had no gun mids he took it on himself to drive the midfield and carried us on his shoulders in the 2018 finals on one leg ... he now has midfield support and has decided to play more of a defensive mid role ... he will adapt again when the team needs it ... one of the first to sign on long term from the A grade cohort and set the example

His final series was exceptional, as a “Team” player his GF was just as important as CP5

It’s also 61 years since we won back to back flags. Frankly, it’s been a long time and I’m sick and tired of waiting.

2022 AFL Pre-Season Scratch Match North Melbourne v Melbourne TBC 2022 AFL Pre-Season Game Carlton v Melbourne Venue: Marvel Stadium Date: Thursday 3 March Time: 7:20pm

Bills should have known Chiefs would go centre field in the last 13. It's the quickest place to run to and with the time outs they could do it. Milano on Kelce was a terrible matchup. Should have gone an extra DB.

Usually from November to February the only Demonland threads I visit are the NFL and cricket ones. This year's been a touch different...

Am hearing there is a que forming :- but given the wobbly teeth, it may take 2 flags to seal the deal.

Might be time to move on. I apologise for bringing up Jeremy Howes' name again. It's funny how most people post about how disgusting it is that players are driven by the dollar and that that overrides Club loyalty. Of course this is BS. Players move for a combination of reasons (most of which never get into the public sphere) and the fact they care about their income somehow is a crime, even though 99.99% of supporters decisions re employment are significantly driven by pay. In Howes' case, somehow the fact he went for less money (allegedly) shows no sincerity. If the fact Howes was a Collingwood Supporter influenced his decision, then somehow that's a crime. Its OK for fans to have irrational allegiances driving their decisions but players are supposed to be loyal under all circumstances!

Not sure ... he's had breaks from this place before if I recall correctly And if it wasn't for these other threads I would have had some time away myself!! But now that we've broken through with the premiership ..............

Wonder how Steve's arm is..

Some may find that....advantageous

He has no front teeth

You cannot do that now, too many people get offended by that....

I even like what Eddy has to say in this video. His quote that the game became the "Slaughter in the last quarter" was great. Actually quite like Brad Johnson as a comentator. At times he says some 'dumb' sounding things, but generally I find that his analysis of footy is intelligent, knows when to lighten the mood and have a laugh, but the thing I like about him most is that he always seems to come across really humble, respectful and not full of himself.

Am looking forward to seeing what he can do with a full pre-season under his belt instead of the foot issues that he has carried for many weeks over the last few years

Fantastic finals series and an exceptional GF by Jack. The more you watch the GF replay or highlights the more you notice Jack’s leadership and team first mentality off the ball. Leading up to Fritsch’s 4th ( the jump and recover goal) you’ll notice Oliver and Viney run forward after Trac’s kick out of the centre square and as Jack is about to enter our forward 50 at full tilt he motions back to Trac to stay put with the lagging Dogs’ mids. Might not seem like much and some players can be excused for forgetting an instruction or two in the heat of battle but it just demonstrates why we had the season we did.

If there was a best in finals award he would easily be in top 3. He was arguably the most consistent player over the 3 matches. You’d hate to have this bloke as your opponent!

He dished off the ball instantly in the finals series, he is a different beast when he decides not to hold possession too long

Doing the numbers, one coach had Lampy BOG and no votes from the other coach. Dal Santo would have felt L Pearce was influential and on top all day so gave her the BOG 5 votes. Don’t Dees rucks always dominate! So Mick liked Sarah’s game. There were a few clangers in the windy conditions but she worked really hard and our backline needs her.

I’m obviously biased, but Travis was better than he’s been made out by many in here. While he didn’t live up to his potential, he was still one of our best players in that decade. His output could’ve been more consistent, though he was tagged every week as opposition coaches always recognized him as our most damaging player. He came equal 4th in the Brownlow in 2002 alongside Cousins and McLeod. His 2005 was brilliant. His 2006 was also good and was statistically his best season. In 2005 and 2006 he lead the league for kicks, inside 50s and score assists, a feat no other Melbourne player has ever achieved (Trac came close!). He was the most damaging outside mid in the league alongside Dal Santo through the 2000s. Travis was also a big game player, and was always amongst our best in every final we played in the 2000s. He never became the superstar he could’ve been, but the revisionist view of his career being a bust or a waste is wrong. Anyhoo back on track, it’s a good list from the OP! Looking forward to the top 20.