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Our footy club has not had a 'true' home since 1964. Accordingly, I cannot understand any negativity directed toward this proposal. Caulfield is a central location, close to public transport and for the first time in a long time, will house both our administrative and football departments in the same facility. How on earth can that be seen as negative?

There's already a racecourse, train station, high school and university right there. If you're a local and you didn't already have complaints, I don't see why this would suddenly create complaints.

Just watched most of the 1987 finals where the mighty Dees played in their first final series in many years. Elimination final v the Roos, then 1st Semi v Swans. I attended the 1st semi final and can remember it vividly. A few thing stand out to me: Robert Flower - no, my memory does not make him better than he was. He was simply football perfection. The joy of football played mostly one-on-one, or two-on-two. Warren Dean was way better than I remembered. Great mark, great kick on both feet. David Williams - until I watched these replays I didn't even remember him. Wow. Very quick and a great kick. Danny Hughes, Sean Wight, Brett Lovett, Earl Spalding, Graeme Yates - that is a backline to remember. Todd Viney & Jimmy Stynes both really young but already showing their skills. And boy, were we TOUGH. No compromise if you wanted to play under John Northey as coach. If poor Jimmy had not run across the mark in the Prelim final, I remain convinced we would have had the measure of the Blues.

I just have to... You could count them on one hand.

I also think that Sestan is now very close to being selected. I have a good feeling about him.

Oliver, Hore and McAdam all available to play this week

What?

wouldn't want to go anywhere near rory lobb

You can never satisfy everybody. There is always someone that complains. I had to sit in council chambers at Bayside for a planning application that i was submitting and the gentleman before me prepared a 70 page presentation on why (another) planning application from his neighbour should not be approved. I mean 70 pages! These people have no shame, too much time or are just grumpy.

Some comms from the club regarding the feasibility study. embarking on community engagement. I'm sure the feedback will be taken on board and incorporated into final designs. I'm obviously biased in favour of the project but its hard to see how this plan disadvantages the locals (although some will no doubt arc up). I'm feeling positive. hopefully any nimbys can be pacified and the project progress to realisation. It's just a few train stops away from me so i'll be a regular visitor if this happens. Building Our Home (melbournefc.com.au)

When TDK rucked against Max last year he more than held his own. The point is Max can’t play 90% game time for the rest of the year and hit finals at peak.

Ahead of last year for the first time. 59,659

played a lot of half back early days. some midfield then plenty of time fwd brilliant utility with silky skills

If Mathew Nicholls or Nathan Williamson are umpiring I won't go. Shocking umpires who hate Melbourne and make the game unbearable.

We must play Fullerton. Max and JvR as our ruck combo can’t possibly see out the season. Furthermore, playing backup ruck is hindering JvR’s development as a key forward IMO.

I went down to Casey fields with my son today for the junior members clinic. What a great day out! The players give so much time to the kids they absolutely loved it. There where hundreds of mini red and blue fans there and everyone got autographs so proud of the club for putting these on, it means a lot to all of us. Thanks Dees

Open Training There may be a short opportunity for autographs and photographs at the end of each session. However, we ask that our fans respect the players' post-training schedule and recovery requirements. Tuesday, April 23 9:45am- Approx. 10:30 Gosch's Paddock Players will have a break period following the club's Round 7 clash with Richmond. Monday, April 29 11:45am - 1:00pm Gosch's Paddock https://www.melbournefc.com.au/teams/training-times

Question. Is there any club that makes their players drive over an hour to get to training sessions at Cranbourne or sometimes 90 minutes in heavy traffic. Not sure it’s favourable compared with Cats, Bombers, Pies, Blues training arrangements. Caulfield would be a perfect location. Make it happen and like Geelong, made the state government pay for it !!!!

I really hope we can keep him fit, happy and playing for the rest of the year. With him and Pickett we look dangerous and unpredictable. Fritsch Petty Pickett McAdam Petty ANB Chandler Thats a solid front half if they can get some games in

This is the sort of whisper I've been waiting for since we picked him up. Same here ie feeling. Allen Jakovich vibes

I’d prefer to blood Verrall rather than Fullarton as I believe he has a far greater upside. I also believe he has been more consistent at Casey than Fullarton.

I don't want to put the mozz on us, but I feel like this kind of advanced discussion around a specific site are usually reserved for "this is going ahead, it's now just about the fine details" rather than "we are floating the idea to decide if possible or not".

Interesting that no matches to be played there which puts Casey firmly into play for VFL etc

That looks terrible! How dare they! Much better to use it as a dog park for the 16 locals who would use it on a regular basis My rates pay for your council wages and I don't like organised sports! 🙄😉

Here is the map from the Gary Pert letter to members just now, which is not a finalised plan but part of the feasibility study.

There’s a touch of irony in the fact that Adem Yze played his first game for Melbourne in Round 13, 1995 against the club he now coaches. For that game, he wore the number 44 guernsey and got six touches in a game the team won by 11 points. The man whose first name was often misspelled, soon changed to the number 13 and it turned out lucky for him. He became a highly revered Demon with a record of 271 games during which his presence was acknowledged by the fans with the chant of “Oozee” whenever he had his hands on the football. Oozee notched up many achievements in his day but fell short of a premiership in the club’s grand final year of 2000. Some years after he retired as a player and with success as Alastair Clarkson’s back up at the Hawks, he came back home as an assistant coach in 2021 and, as such, he was a key architect in the club’s historic premiership win. He coached them to a win in the following season when Simon Goodwin had to sit out the game with Covid19. We all wished him well when he was appointed coach of the Tigers and look forward to greeting son Noah as a father/son pick at the draft later this year but that’s where the friendship ends. On Wednesday night, it will be all out war on Oozee. That’s not good news for the man whose first season at Punt Road has been severely impacted by player unavailability with the Tigers dealing with the longest injury list in the AFL. This should be nothing new for the man as the Demons were often plagued by injuries during his tenure as a player and believe me, those injuries hurt badly. I think the Tigers would have struggled anyway against the Demons who should be well refreshed from the bye while still smarting from their last up tired and insipid display against Brisbane. The Tigers also had a bye, but they will lose the dangerous Jayden Short and could regain former captain Dylan Grimes and midfielder Jacob Hopper (knee), with the pair needing to pass fitness tests. The issue is that they are both desperately short of match fitness which will be problematic against the Dees. Melbourne may well have had an excuse of their own after an exacting schedule saw them play with so very little in their tank. At least they are seeing some respite with players coming back from their early season injuries. There will be absolutely no excuses against the Oozee-led Richmond which is so badly hurt that it doesn’t even have a tank. Hence, I expect that our battle-hardened soldier will leave his beloved MCG on Anzac Day Eve with the same number of victories as a Richmond coach that he had with Melbourne - just the one. Demons by 49 points. THE GAME Richmond v Melbourne on Wednesday 24 April 2024 at 7.25pm at the MCG HEAD TO HEAD Overall Richmond 107 wins Melbourne 79 wins Drawn 2 At the MCG Richmond 72 wins Melbourne 67 wins Drawn 1 Past five meetings Richmond 1 win Melbourne 4 wins The Coaches Yze 0 wins Goodwin 0 wins THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 20.10.130 defeated Richmond 15.8.98 at the MCG, Round 20, 2023 The Tigers gave it their best shot pushing the Demons throughout the game and remained threatening until a fare more accurate than usual Melbourne prevailed at the end through the agency of Harry Petty (6 goals), Jake Melksham and Jacob van Rooyen (4 each) who didn’t miss a shot for goal all day. Their six-goal final quarter blew Richmond out of the game and dampened their finals hopes. THE TEAMS RICHMOND B T. Young, N. Broad, D. Grimes HB N. Vlastuin, T. Brown, D. Rioli C H. Ralphsmith, J. Graham, M. Pickett HF S. Campbell, R. Mansell, M. Rioli F M. Lefau, S. Bolton, D. Martin FOLL T. Nankervis, L. Baker, T. Dow I/C S. Banks, J. Hopper, B. Miller, S. Naismith SUB K. McIntosh EMG J. Koschitzke, K. McAuliffe, T. Sonsie IN D. Grimes, S. Naismith, J. Hopper, S. Banks OUT J. Koschitzke (omitted), K. McAuliffe (omitted), J. Short (calf), T. Sonsie (omitted) MELBOURNE B T. Rivers, S. May, T. McDonald HB B. Howes, J. Lever, J. McVee C E. Langdon, C. Petracca, J. Billings HF K. Chandler, J. Van Rooyen, K. Pickett F A. Neal-Bullen, B. Fritsch, H. Petty FOLL M. Gawn, J. Viney, C. Oliver I/C T. Sparrow, D. Turner, C. Windsor, T. Woewodin SUB B. Laurie EMG B. Brown M. Hore, K. Tholstrup IN B. Laurie, K. Pickett, S. Turner OUT B. Brown (omitted), C. Salem (hamstring) K. Tholstrop (omitted) Injury List: Round 7 Marty Hore — thumb / available Shane McAdam — hamstring / available Clayton Oliver — finger / available Jake Bowey — shoulder / 3 - 4 weeks Charlie Spargo — Achilles / 3 - 4 weeks Christian Salem — hamstring / 3 - 5 weeks Jake Melksham — knee / 7 - 9 weeks

It might be ok: Cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon.

Only 2 days til game day!!!!

If the baby has arrived, that shouldn't stop Kossy playing. However, it might explain why @kev martin didn't spot him at training last week.

Let me outline Yze's game plan. 1. Don't kick it high into the Richmond fwd line 2. Chip the ball into the fwd line. Dirty balls work well against the Dees. 3. Avoid May and Lever 4. Pressure them relentlessly and watch them crumble 5. Avoid May and Lever 6. Jump into Gawn's back at every single opportunity. Hold him scragg him - he never gets a free so don't worry 7. Shake Olivers hand really hard at the start of the game. Give him lots of high fives 8. Avoid May and Lever. 9 Above all and if you have forgotten everything else, avoid May and Lever

We have just had a 13 day break and will then have a 10 day break. Now is not the time to give Max a chop out.

Collingwood used actual human facilities?? I mean, that’s progress but the cost of the clean up alone…

Caleb Daniel’s isn’t getting a game. Anyone got a spare Demons guernsey and some paint for his helmet?

Just saw McCreery and ex-Pie, now Bulldog Poulter having a coffee. Really wanted to ask McCreery if he would like to come across to the Dees. His pace is a real weapon. Good player.

Don’t tell me the other clubs are now gender neutral and non binary WCW. 😳🤪😂

There’s a big game coming up for the Casey Demons against Richmond VFL at the Swinburne Centre on Anzac Day Eve.

Could we get to 60,000 before Wednesday nights game so we can announce it to the Melbourne faithfull. Might prompt some to put their money where their mouths are😒

He's not competing with Verral imv Dee. Fullarton's a mostly KF type bit part ruck a la the role we're attempting to have Roo play. He has height on his side though and is as good as Roo in the ruck dept imho which isn't saying much i realise but you just want a contest. You don't have to have back up rucks dominating or winning most of the hit outs as such. Just neautralise as much as possible while Max is resting. Im not saying Fullarton would necessarily be more successful either vs Roo but having him in means we now have a 2 meter back up to Max (vs Roo 194cm) allowing a young / developing Roo to focus on what he needs to do best which is a KF crashing packs, pressuring as best as poss at ground level and also just bringing high balls to the deck if he is out of the contest. As much as i like BBB as the leading forward (when fully up and about, which he is not.... he's being nursed just to make it on the field each week) he doesn't offer the versatility that Fullarton potentially brings for Max AND Roo. Fullarton also matches BBB in the height dept at 200cm. There will also (highly likely) be no BBB in 2025. We have to start prepping for that and seeing who on our present list is capable ...or not! No better time than these sort of games (against severely depleted oppo) to do just that.

I loved the way he went about it when he debuted but for mine is a bit underdone. The potential is clearly there though

A lead up fwd like his old man huh?

I disagree on this one. Hit him in the face off the ball. Has to be a week suspension.

It's not about giving Max a chop out. Rather it's the fact that our following two opponents (Cats and Blues) have genuine ruck combos - Stanley/Conway and Pittonet/TdK. And I'll repeat myself - JvR is either a KPP learning his craft, or part time forward and back up ruckman. I have no problem with Roo taking the ruck contests in the forward line as BBB has done, and that may still happen.

The most amazing, exhilarating time as a supporter. So many memorable moments from '87. The thrilling midweek Night GF win by 4 pts against Essendon. Making the finals in extraordinary circumstances after being (I think) 6 and 10 after round 16. HUGE wins in our first 2 finals before the most heartbreaking game I've ever witnessed. You make some great observations. Those of us that saw him first hand, know that the awe Robbie is held in, is not misplaced. He was unique in the purest sense of the word. We were privileged. I'm glad you mentioned Warren Dean. I always believed he was a great talent cruelled by injury. I was at the Footscray game and all the finals (inc. night) with my 10yo son. At the Waverley prelim, we were sitting right near the spot where the post siren Buckenara kick landed. I literally couldn't speak for 24 hours. I was in shock. 64OMD may be right, but gee, that Melbourne team was full of character and I would loved for them to have had the chance.

I don't think Dannyz would make the comment he made unless he had heard something pretty firm on the grapevine yes? IF this is another 2022 LJ situation then i'd much rather see us put more time into Fullarton in the short term from here. We could also trial other mediums that can play tall like smacca McAdam (once fit from approx end of this week) or of course Melk later when he's back. No matter what anyone says, if you've made the decision to move on, your body may be here but your mind / spirit has already left the building a la LJ in 2022. Playing Fullarton (at least in the short term) also frees up Roo from his chop out role for Max, allowing him to focus solely on his forward craft in order to get the best out of himself as a KF for the remainder of 2024 and beyond.

My reply was in response to a question.I dont need to justify it. I did like your notion of nuance in language and the possibilities that it present. I find some of what I have called conflation embarrassing, but it doesn't matter much to me . I am content with watching them play and supporting their efforts.Apparently unlike the supporters on the balcony vs the Lions who were abusing the players( our team) 10 minutes into the first quarter. Summary ..Carry on ,I didn't raise the issue and I'm happy to watch them play ,appreciating their skills and courage. The "us and them " nonsense around here is sometimes embarrassing and childish though. At least outside of the coaches motivational instructions. Vicarious triumph and despair is for fat Presidents who imagine they could/ should have been a player . I was a little like that in 64 without any of the qualifications you list.

Considering Richmond’s injuries we need to put them away early. Our real test comes the following weeks against the Cats and Blues. Looking at this weeks results 4 & 2 on face value is good but we effectively haven’t beaten a serious contender yet.

The Melbourne Football Club . Conflating the Team with its supporters is like sixteen year old girls dressing up as Taylor Swift