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Ok, just listened to the interview. Maybe I listened to the wrong one, because I didn't get the doomsday vibe that others seemed to have. On his contract, he said it's a big decision - biggest of his career - and one he'll make on his own. He said he's doing his due diligence (inference: talking to other clubs, as is his prerogative as a free agent). He didn't confirm that he's talked to any other clubs (we know he has; this was just Brayshaw being professional). On his on-field position, he did say that the position he played is a factor in his decision - he didn't mention anything about midfield (this is something Watson and Lyon brought up) - instead he spoke glowingly about the defensive group (Lever, May, etc.) and that he'd been moved into the half back role suddenly early this year, and that he's loving playing there and that it has brought out good features of his game. Nothing about not playing in his preferred position, nothing about disliking where he's currently playing. On the 'past tense" stuff in reference to the club, almost continuously he was using "we", "us" throughout when referring to the team. He was candid about how difficult it is as a team to maintain the intensity required to turn one flag into a dynasty; I didn't read this as though he was feeling like this was a "not me, everyone else around me isn't pulling their weight" kind of thing and hence he wanted out, but rather just an honest assessment that the players know where the team is at and what they need to improve upon from here. Gus is an intelligent, professional, direct speaker. I have no idea if he's staying or if he's going, but I didn't get the vibe he's gone. So was yesterday's mail erroneous? Maybe. Alternatively, if it was accurate and he did sign a contract, that would be something the club would reasonably want to announce on their terms. There is training today - they could foreseeably be filming reaction video of the announcement to the players, interviews on the track in MFC training gear, etc., for the social media blitz upon the announcement. Behind the scenes there will be courtesy calls that need to happen with the various other suitors to inform them of his decision, etc. And finally, they're not going to want to spill the beans on a SEN breakfast show interview, so Gus may have simply been framing his responses as though pen hadn't yet gone to paper.

In the bottom 4 for pressure, where we were first last year… Thats attitude. I’m sorry to burst your weird reality where we are the Schrödinger's Cat of form - neither in form nor out of form… But the players are so talented that they know they can get away with stuff and still win - well welcome to thunder dome because that won’t work against the best nor those with an axe to grind. Lift or get left behind.

Pretty simple question but keen to hear members responses. We sit second on the ladder with 4 games to go but scanning through most threads it appears alot of the natives are restless. I'd personally say I haven't enjoyed the year as much as the ladder position suggests I should. The first 10 wins the brand of footy never had my excitement levels up . I've not been able to attend as many games as I'd like due to having a young family and us having so many night games. The only game I've really enjoyed was the Brisbane game.i was able to attend and we played a ferocious brand of footy and the crowd was into it . I've sat through 35+ years in the outer through all the good and mostly bad but after reaching the promised land last year, this year is just strange.

Eh this thread is just like the Jackson one; Hero 'fans' potting the players skills and value in an attempt to soften their own personal blow if they are to leave us.

All about the $ with Gus. I don’t believe he’s interested in a quick, win/win deal which gets it done quickly and leaves a bit on the table for the betterment of the Club’s TPP. Gus is all about getting the best deal he can. He’s a very confident young man with a big ego who sees himself right up there with Oliver & Petracca.

Great question and I agree with your final sentiment that it has been strange. I went to several games very early on, and although we were challenged during most of those games, I never once doubted we would win, which was a completely foreign feeling. My son who attened all of those games with me said he found expecting to win all the time to be less enjoyable than going to games with only a faint hope of winning. As we moved into our mid-season slump, because I'm firmly in the Cult of Loading, when we started to perform poorly and lose games, my confidence has never waivered, quite the oppisite in fact. I am impressed that my club has it's eyes firmly on the real goal, that of playing it's best footy when it counts in September. Simultaneously hating to lose while also framing those loses within the big picture and being ok with them is also a completely foreign feeling. Now as we enter the final run home, there is a lot of trepedation as questions/predictions are finally answered. Has my trust in the players and staff been well placed or totally misplaced? Time will tell but I will be devasted and angry if we don't at least make the preliminary final as we are definetely good enough. I don't believe last year was a fluke or only due to incredible luck, so to not make at least PF weekend would be an absolute failure.

It’s been brilliant. We’ve been up to our necks in every game bar 2 I reckon (Freo and Geelong). I thought we played some scintillating footy on Saturday night. The Dogs played the best they could possibly play to beat us. It was laughable that they kicked so straight in the last quarter. They couldn’t do that 99 times out of a hundred. I have so much admiration for our team structure and discipline. Watching players run 150 metres at full speed knowing they probably won’t get the ball is incredible. I think we’ve clearly got the best midfield and defenders in the comp. Everyone fit, on the park and playing well and it’s going to have to be something incredible to beat us. I also love that we know we’ve got Tracc and Clarry for the next 6-7 seasons. This place is where a lot of people vent their frustration because it’s a free hit. They really want us to succeed, but if they start ringing the alarm bells they hope it’ll console them if we lose - and they can say ‘I told everyone’. I don’t really buy into that. It’s ok to want us to win, but also be respectful of how hard the year has been, and still have a lot of faith in what we can do.

Well both Oliver and Trac signed with the club and got it done quickly. So he isn’t right up there with them when it comes to contract negotiations.

The Season Yes, Demonland No, I have loved the season, we are still considered benchmark, we will play finals, we have superstars, every promo ad on Fox finishes with Melbourne holding the cup, we get features like 'this is me' on 360. We play some beautiful footy, our rebound and heart are a joy to watch. Demonland on the other hand feels like a time machine, the posting about trainwrecks, sniping the integrity of the players and other banalities makes me think Neeld is still coaching. We are a great club, show a bit of spine...fair dinkum...

Yes. First time in my life we’ve entered a season as Premiers, the 100 to 7 we saw in the GF won’t be seen for another 100 years. Never like losing games, but loving the challenge at the same time. There’s 6 of us in this family and our four kids have never been prouder to wear the colours of the MFC. That’s good enough for me.

What's the difference if Gus announces it on his podcast, instead of it being a tweet from Ralph, or McClure, or a breaking news flash from HS or the Age?

Ask me in 8 weeks

Brayshaw isn’t distracted. He is in good form. Don’t give the players the excuse - they know this is a business - they need to perform.

Based on my simulations (50,000 simulations of the remainder of the season), this is what I get for Melbourne's probability of finishing in each ladder position for a certain number of wins over the last four rounds.

Am I the only one that isn’t concerned about the interview? I thought he was pretty positive. He stated the really enjoys playing off the half back flank, loves the playing group. It’s the biggest decision in his playing career and he just wants to make sure he’s covering all bases before he commits.

You’ve got to be taking the [censored].

It's worth having a listen to the very end of Goodwins press conference today.

Over it. These distractions are certainly not helping our on field performance. Flag opportunities come around so rarely, and I would be furious if we let this one slip due to all these off field issues.

You are kidding right? Gus is likely to finish top 3 in the BnF as the season stands. You'd prefer a draft pick in the early 20's after F/S and academy picks? Bowey, Rivers and Hunt don't play anything like Gus in defence. Use the pick to lure key forwards you say. Like Who? At the start of the year I would have agreed with you, but Gus is important to this team on and off the field.

Considering we went 10-0 and are still second on the ladder, I haven't enjoyed this season anywhere near as much as I should've. Hope and expectation have made it very frustrating watching games. We don't play an attractive brand of football, so winning is what you watch and hang your hat on. 2018 was different because we played an exciting attacked brand, the current brand not so much. It matters for naught then if you win, as that's the goal. When you watch and see them sputter along past bottom teams, you get frustrated because you know the team is capable of so much more. Reality is beating a bottom four team by 4-5 goals is fine, but it doesn't feel that way at the time. Then losing just sucks. We've been through enough of that for a lifetime, and when it happens against middle of the road teams you should beat without breaking a sweat, it sucks. Despite being second on the ladder, we're now underperforming and potentially wasting an opportunity. We've seen what we're capable of last season and for parts of this season, so it's frustrating to underperform. I don't think we'll see a repeat of last season in my lifetime. Our finals series and grand final performance were the most dominant by any team I can recall. I enjoyed it and I accept I won't see it again, let alone again live at the MCG. I was hoping for a dynasty where we win a few, but that seems less likely now. This year looks to be slipping away, and next year we'll potentially have lost gun players and become a weaker outfit. It sort of feels like a waste. No team can always be up and win every single match, but when you're in the emotion of a match and losing to a team like Collingwood then it feels [censored]. The Jackson and Brayshaw contract situations have left a sour taste in my mouth. I should be enjoying being second on the ladder, not constant speculation about the futures of our stars. If players won't commit together and stay now, then when will they ever? Whether you think it or not, it has effected the team onfield too. If you don't trust your mate, you don't go hard for him. The selflessness that got us to the prize last year is gone, and it's in part to those two IMO. So no, I haven't enjoyed this season much due to expectation and reality of underperformance. Call me entitled or whatever you want, but that's just my take and I hope like hell we get our [censored] together for September so I can enjoy it to the fullest again!

Last year I was too scared to be happy from about Round 2 to halfway through the last quarter of the Grand Final. I'll appreciate it more in 10 years than now. Still better than the alternative.

Our dog has not enjoyed most of the last 8 matches.

Let JVR play in front of his family on his home deck.

Same experts that potted TMac for 'having the turning circle of the Titanic' or Ben Brown for having concrete hands. All of these players are clearly so much better than their understudies at Casey that picking minor flaws in their game is laughable. Talk about not being able to see the Forrest for the Trees.

The other bit that has to be taken into account is that in the same game (earlier) he had tried to milk high contact and wasn't awarded free kicks So he has burnt his bridges and if we put ourselves into the shoes of the umpires, they were almost certainly going to be expecting more of the same (milking high contact) JCB & kev martin also made very good points about the leaning (i.e one shoulder dips low towards the tackler) All very clever and it all happens in an instant but the contortionists are being found out There will be some teething issues but hopefully, this blight on the sport will be a thing of yesterday Interesting that there wasn't a lot of staging in the Demons/Bulldogs game (in terms of what we would have previously seen) ... those who won the ball quickly disposed of the ball Less congestion, a more open and free flowing game and lots of attacking footy resulted. Maybe just a coincidence but the Pies/Bombers game was quite similar

https://www.theage.com.au/podcast/the-age-real-footy-podcast/flirting-with-their-form-dees-pick-and-choose-when-to-go-hard-says-stokes-20220725-p5b4fc.html Stokes argues the attitude is off, the team first ethos has lessened and the Demons aren't willing to play the whole game with intensity. Some were frustrated even when we were winning that we were doing it with half measures. Stokes seems to think the last eight weeks is the result.

If we can get an assurance from the AFL that the compo would be end of the first round then I’m more than happy to let Gus go. In fact I’d say it would be the prudent move. We’ve got 3 defenders on A grade coin, plus Petty. We’ve got a ruck and mids on top line money, plus Viney and Langdon. We have to use money and picks to lure key forwards/high impact forward half players. Jackson (staying or) going is part of that, but more can’t hurt. He’s doing a lot of good things this year but he’s still at best our 5th most important defender and there’s no point breaking the pay scale for that position. Not when Bowey and Rivers are premiership players, Hunt is capable and defensive depth can be found in the draft. He’s not going to get any faster or become a good kick. Those flaws aren’t going away. We should offer him a deal in line with his role in the side and be ok if other teams are willing to go way beyond that.

You know what, I reckon the grand final has nearly wrecked the brains of most Melbourne supporters (not just the ones on here!). We all would have watched it a dozen (if not more) times each, and because, in particular from the 3rd quarter onwards it was nearly the most perfect footy you can see - you get to expect that all footy will be like that. I know during our first 10 weeks I kept saying to my BIL, who's a massive Tigers fan, that we're not playing that well. His response always was, "I wish we could play close to that - the grand final has ruined you!". And he has a point, as soon as we show were mere mortals on the footy field the pile up on here, and even in the media is WAY over the top. Any other season where 19 rounds in and we're sitting 2nd on the ladder, nearly all supporters would be bursting with anticipation and joy. We've been in every game, played some pretty decent football and have had a few close losses. It's been just a good a season as last, but we've just got to hope the ending is as good as last year!

I mean, we kicked 15 goals last week with that lineup...

Tough finish for the cats.

I think the whole "Gus wants midfield time" is nonsense. Over the past 2 seasons we've seen players change clubs and the narrative was that they would get midfield time. Zac Williams and Jye Caldwell were both given midfield time at their new clubs, but it didn't take long for their new clubs to realise that they were a liability in that role. The Bombers were playing Caldwell in the middle and using Merrett off half back. Unsurprisingly, since Merrett has gone back as a permanent mid, the Bombers have started winning games. If a club is using that as a selling point to Gus, then you would have to question their professionalism.

It's JVR Time.

Must have got his info from Demonland.

I yelled at him to sign the contract when he was running to the interchange in the last quarter on Saturday night. That obviously tipped him over. You’re all very welcome.

Meeting with Essendon will make any player re-sign with their club.

The Gus and Gawny podcast is on the MFC website and is endorsed by the club, and Gibson who is employed by the club hosts it (or at least he did when he hosted the Bedford segment). So I think it would be fair enough to announce a potential re-signing on that forum. I'd even be happy if Andy broke the news on Demonland. Just sign GUS!

No I heard it live and wasn’t concerned. He was honest about himself, what he has to weigh up for this decision and also open and honest about where the team is currently at and where we need to get to in terms of being in a position to challenge this year

Every "short" break must logically be balanced out by a "long" break over the course of a season. Players say that there is little difference between six and seven days rest, but supporters love to whinge about it.

Prime Time TV nearly every week, ending the season with three Friday nights and one Sat Night game. The stuff I used to dream of.

Reigning Premiers and in the hunt again. Seriously - what's not to love?

The whole announcing that you have re-signed on a podcast is seriously the most laughable thing I've seen written. How people have fallen for this is truly amazing. When a player signs a new contract, a club has to draft up a statement of confirmation. This statement is then released via club media having ticked off for approval from club stakeholders before release. The statement is also released via email to members, stakeholders and sponsors. This is called being professional. Announcing a major resigning on a podcast that's pre recorded is the complete opposite to go about it.

I'm very happy The lot of the average sports fan is disappointment. Most teams are just average, up and down, inconsistent Other than Freo and Geelong we have been competitive every game, sit second on the ladder and are right in the mix for a back to back. We have problems and concerns but compared to others we are in a great spot

We must try Joel Smith in F50 - hopefully he can get on the park and stay there

Depends what metric you want use - the Demonland hand wringing metric or the betting market metrics. On the former, we are no chance this Friday night. On the latter, we are currently 1.86 favourites.

if he does choose to leave as a free agent and picks the peptides - 🤮 - we simply MUST match and force a trade to get their 2023 first round pick no way can we let gus walk and only get a pick in the 15-20 range

Right on the nail! In an sen interview this morning Angus Brayshaw noted two things we need to do to get back to our best: be more ruthless: it isn't arrogance but unconsciously, when we are 4-5 goals up, players are not ruthless enough in executing their role. need to re-commit to the team In other words: Attitude. Hopefully, they can quickly regroup and refocus.

Not the only Geelong alumni to begin bobbing up in the media as his side get into predictable home-and-away-bullying mode. Maybe I was distracted but I missed their analysis during grand final week last yr.

Like him or dislike him, he's not wrong.

I'd stack Trengove's first 2 years up comparatively against Brayshaw's. I am not however saying I would take him over Brayshaw, but was responding to a post basically saying Tenners was a dud. It is an interesting comparison though. Both started well, Angus had setbacks through concussion and looked close to finished at one stage. His comeback and development has been remarkable and a joy. Trenners first few years had him on track for something special, even if it would be solid and reliable special. Natural leadership and great work ethic. I saw him at Maroochydore one year in a moon boot and on a scooter still being involved in training, including doing push ups with the group. I rate Angus, but lament Trengove. Worse luck than the Greeks with Achilles tendion!