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If this crosses over other threads so be it. Thought Goodwin's press conference today was simply outstanding. Eloquent, precise, informative and measured. Put to bed any of the media nonsense in a no frills manner. Petracca and Oliver staying. What a surprise! Outlined that all footy clubs have their frustrations, debates and times of angst. It's called human nature. This is not true only in the AFL but all footy clubs in this country. Our mate Tom Morris was back pedalling at a rate of knots and was noticeably quieter throughout proceedings. For those who believed a word this 'person' said well, it's just embarrassing. Finally, the revelations re Clarry were stark. We find now he has been playing with a busted hand, knee and a cracked rib. What an awesome effort from a guy who many said would never play for the club again. To all those people in the media and those on this site who mercilessly got stuck into Oliver hang your collective heads in shame. He is a champion of the club and one of the all time greats in the history of the game. He will be back bigger and better than ever. Once again well done Simon.✔️

Good. Anyone who was continuously attacking his performances recently should take note that he was playing in absolute agony. His hand was never properly operated on, it was only a quick fix. His knee has been an issue since finals last year too. All the keyboard heroes calling him lazy and a liability, should remember that next time they attack a player before they know what is truly going on. A mighty effort from Clarry to overcome a horrible personal time, on top of a mountain of injuries, to play all but 3 games!

Gee he would be a handy pick up. We’re talking with him.

Let's talk about culture for a minute - 5 weeks into the season Brisbane won 0 games and their club was imploding over an end of season trip - Sydney players were fighting over a girl - Tyson Stengle had to be removed by an ambulance from a nightclub - 6 weeks ago Bevo was getting sacked - Collingwood is again being accused of racism Football clubs are made of a diverse bunch of highly competitive, egocentric, often not super intelligent players. They don't and will never all see eye to eye, share the same passions for reading the bible and knitting, or agree about everything. Is our culture perfect? Obviously not. Is any club's culture perfect? Obviously not. Are we getting air time because it's easy to pick on an underperforming club? Absolutely

Garry Lyon said last week that Clayton’s hand is virtually unusable, and then this week said that the club made the decision to keep him on the park, as all parties concluded it was the best thing for the club, and for Clayton’s mental health. He’s been very loyal, and so have we. I think that suggests a really productive period coming up for Clayton, once he gets his body right.

Not to mention the desperation to play through the pain for fear of letting everyone down as I imagine this would have been his thinking. Can't wait to get him right again.

People suggesting we might only get a third rounder remember we gave a good second rounder for McAdam last year, who had a terrible injury history and has barely played this season. If our recruitment team thinks Nibbler- a premiership player, leader, great role player and ultimate professional is worth less then its time they are shown the door as they are clearly not up to the job .

When Grundy was let go for a Mc Happy meal.

Not sure if there was a specific thread re the North speculation so will pop some news here. On today's gettable episode they stated Jack is in talks to have a contract extension at the dees and won't leave melbourne. "He's melbourne through and through." Bloody oath he is.

I thought it was hands down his best press conference since he has been at the club and exactly the type of leadership i wish we would see at times from pert and Richardson who are silent far too often when things are going wrong.

Players are rightfully judged by their output once they take the field. More often than not Oliver has been a liability, not to mention being terribly out of shape. Oliver should have been mothballed by the club weeks ago. They've done him no favours.

Parker is far superior player to Billings and Hunter and would help in the trenches with our lack of midfield depth. Our midfield need more support. Add a pick 6 midfield talent, hopefully James Peatling and a Luke Parker and all of a sudden our midfield has some potency in there. With Rivers going to a new level next year in the midfield, this finally gives us new added depth.

The first right decision the footy dept has made in a while.

No doubt a deal will get done. But I very much doubt we'll play hard ball - I'd be very disappointed if we did. I'm one of nibbler's biggest fans, gutted that he's leaving and think will improve any club he goes to. But i don't think he significantly increases Port's chances of a flag Crom's changes of a top eight finish. In part that's because port, and to a lesser extent crows, have players with nibbla most important skill set - his elite athleticism. Because nibbla took time to become a best 22, and was somewhat maligned when he did, it's easy to forget that his point of difference as a draftee, his one wood, was he was already an elite athlete, with good leg speed (key) and elite endurance (critical). Those attributes remain his most important as since he was drafted the game has become increasingly aerobic and teams now need mutiple players who are elite athletes. Nibbla has become the prototype high half forward, a role that didn't really exist when he was drafted (not in the sense of the crazy box to box defensive running the hhf now does). The HHF has become a key role. Its not just a matter of slotting another role player into position, they have to be an elite athlete, with a massive tank and abilityt8 cover distance at speed - and they don't grow on trees as like nibbla they have to come into the AFL elite and build from there. It's for that reason that we'll lose more than either port or crows will gain by drafting nibbla. We simply don't have enough such players and will have to either draft or trade one in - even if there is a player in the team now who can slot into nibblas role (which I'm not convinced there is). Nibbla leaving compounds losing Bedford as he would be the perfect replacement.

Really sad to see the Nibbler go Quality player Quality guy probably having his best year elite stats 175 games so far 10 years. Just qualifying for life member 2021 premiership 🏆

This is something of a recurring theme for a few of my Melbourne supporting mates. A couple have detached from footy completely and can't engage with the game at all anymore after that Collingwood final. These are longtime fans and members who'd regularly attend games in Melbourne. Almost like a version of PTSD.

Gus was the glue that bound the team together both with his onfield leadership and experience But his role as a holding/defensive midfielder gave us a real advantage as playing that role is quite unique His vigour and physical presence at the back of the midfield was another factor When he is ready, he'll be ideally suited to some sort of coaching role A line coach as a minimum but he'd be nigh on perfect as a midfield coach Sadly missed as a Demon player

Its not a horror week. Read the articles. Houston will only leave if Port get adequate compensation for him, he may still stay. Weeks ago when this broke MFC were vying for a top 8 spot and could have gone as high as 4th if they hadn't lost those close games. Perhaps the club was willing to part with pick 12 or 13 but now we are looking at 6 that is too much. It all depends on his reasons for leaving and where he expects to play. The only clubs with lots of picks will be Richmond or interstate teams like Freo. If he only wants to come to a club in the premiership window I can tell you there aren't many Victorian clubs in the 8 let alone in contention (maybe Geelong). I hate to say it but Cornes may be right here. Don't waste a top 10 pick on Houston.

Does he come with a walking frame NO

I was very critical about the club allowing Trac back on the field after his injury. I still am not thrilled about it. But let's look at what happened with Trac post injury. He went back on, struggled, was taken off and sent to hospital before the game was over. He was in an ED for 6 hours, had multiple scans and saw 3 doctors (according to him) before he was correctly diagnosed with a high grade spleen laceration. 3 separate doctors got it wrong, doctors who had access to medical imaging, blood tests, monitors and so on. While I don't disagree that we never should have let him back on, I also don't think that it was done with any sort of malice, nor do I think anyone at the club even suspected he had serious internal injuries. Steven May was never sent back on with his rib injuries, likely because he communicated better than Trac about how he was feeling and it was suspected that he had internal injuries. Without imaging, no doctor can correctly diagnose internal bleeding/injuries. I have no doubt that Trac being Trac, he said he was ok and that he wanted to go back on. Our medical team, in hindsight, should have said absolutely not, but given they could only go off what he was telling them, it's not impossible to understand why he was allowed to play on. Trac is clearly and rightly traumatized. When you go thru any type of trauma, you usually look for someone to blame. If he needs to blame the club to feel better, then so be it. I am sure with time, the trauma will ease and bridges will mend.

Great news. Clarry has been hampered all year, and persevered despite an unideal preseason. I have never questioned his commitment or ability to return to his god-tier status on the field. And I maintain that. The problem with Clarry is everyone will judge him based on his lofty heights. It's not fair. He was good this year, and sure, maybe not what we have come to expect for various reasons. He is not alone in this respect! Our success in 2025 will require Clarry to return to his usual form. Provided we make the necessary adjustments to our midfield and overall game plan (which was a mess this year) - because it's NOT all on him as much as people want to pot him for not winning us games, that's not how it works - I am certain he will return to the Clarry we know and love. He looks happier and healthier, and with a few tweaks to his body and our game plan - boom, watch out 2025. Rest up, Clarry - you did your best this year considering all circumstances, look forward to seeing you firing in 2025. I also look forward to those asking for him to be traded/sold down the river to own their mistake next year.

And unquestionably still be our best midfielder this year.

Explains a lot re his form You have to wonder why he has been playing at all ... one ailment maybe, but all 3?

Excellent. Time to put him on ice. Have a breather Clarry and then get stuck into a ripping pre season.

Let’s hope the surgery goes well for Clayton he has clearly been severely limited and visibly sore - but make no mistake he has a great deal of work in front of him to regain his status as a premier midfielder in the AFL If I was Clayton I’d be making sure those around me had my long term interest and those of the club paramount Might sound harsh but my sense is the next year or two will define this young man’s future - sliding doors moment and I hope he picks the right direction Good luck

By here they come I mean season ending surgeries.

Family first. We understand. It’s sad to see him go. He’s been a permanent member of the team for so long. 175 games. 10 years. Premiership🏆. Nibbler was excellent on and off field. Spoke to him at several functions and he’s genuinely a really nice guy. Must have taken a lot of courage to make this call. We wish him and the family all the very best. Thanks Nibbler 🏆💙❤️

I was there, it was more a full back role to be honest. Lining up on Vic M key forward. Moves like his old man, possesses a big leap. Reminded me of Darcy Moore. Spoiled a few contests, got lost a bit once or twice by his opponent. Was on and off the ground every quarter.

Kings birthday

Parker will be 32 before the season starts. He's achieved pretty much everything as a Swans player, so I question his motivation for leaving. We have 3 older mids in Trac, Viney and Oliver. We don't need a 32yo with a recent injury history on our list.

Looked very relaxed to me, you see what you're looking for I reckon.

I will miss his gut running followed by his gaping mouth trying to get his air back. I loved that about him. He rang my son on a junior member ring around about a month ago, and he was so happy to tell Alex he was his favourite, behind Petracca 😂 I had a quick word to him too and he didn’t rush me off the phone. That says a lot. One of our faves. Go well, Nibbler. It’s funny eh, I can’t think of a player except Howe who’s left us that I bore any ill will toward and no one exemplifies that more than ANB.

The ribs sound like a new injury, but I can categorically tell you that he had a PCL injury heading into last year's finals, and unfortunately it's flared up again a while ago. He has been carrying that knee for weeks now. It's possible that it got worse on the weekend of course. I reckon the club doesn't want to have to explain why they've played him thru multiple injuries, so they are saying it's only recent (the knee/rib part, we all know about the hand). It's very obvious to me that he's been playing for two reasons; he wanted to fill the gaps left by Gus, then Salem and then Trac (because contrary to reports, he is not checked out), and it's good for his mental health.

And not only that, clearly struggled rehabbing his hammy in terms of, for the first time in his career, not having the structure and routine playing each week provides. By all accounts he is working very hard on his wellbeing and has a good formal support network in place. I have little doubt part of the thinking behind not getting his hand sorted was ensuring he had the structure of playing each week in place. And the reality is a 70% clarry is better than any other option we had. (Though he looked closer to 50% in the second half against port so good time to swap him out).

All things considered (with all 3 ailments to overcome on match days) points to Oliver playing as well as he possibly could have, of late New information changes everything Many of us (myself included) have been wondering why he's been so down on his best form We've been asking a lot of the lad, in my view, too much

Is there any chance an in principal deal's already been made in a Houston swap?

Great post mate. I know this is a thread about Nibbler, but for me it's Spargo. Was basically playing the other flank with Nibbler, now Chandler has played that this season. It means Spargo and Chandler both get spots. Spargo is one of our better kicks too.

Different scenario. Parker is struggling to get a game. Getting Parker reeks of Hunter and Billings. All are past their prime, and their clubs were happy to get them off the books.

Houston saving Tim Lamb's job himself!

And who the [censored] is anyone else to judge what support parents do or don't need. If Alex and Georgie need to be like 5 minutes away from family, it is their right and absolutely nobody should say "oh but I didn't need that, or I didn't have that". Good for you, maybe your baby wasn't a screaming pile of snot. Lucky you. I know people who parent without any family support, and I know people who would fall apart if their parents were not around to help them almost daily. All of them are wonderful parents.

Some will say I have my head in the sand, but the actual (an ongoing) surprise to me when observing threads here and elsewhere, is that people still allow themselves to get into such a lather over what the usual suspects in the media say. All you need to do is pay attention to who they are, any agendas they might have, what they get out of going with their 'scoop' and what they are actually saying. In most cases they say absolutely nothing worth paying attention to and their story is rarely anything more than a manufactured gossip column or opinion piece presented as fact.

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"finally has surgery on his hand" - that was from late March wasn't it? Quite the delay! Lad has been in the wars this year

Yeah to be honest I'm not a fan of him playing down back. The vision i've seen him play he's looked okay and does tend to get lost. I want to see him more as that forward ruck role that I saw back when he was playing in the under 15's championships up here in Lavington few years back. His athletic ability and movement in the ruck and especially up forward reminded me a lot of Sam Darcy. Just my opinion, but I really do think he's wasted down back.

So heart broken by this. I first met ANB more than 10ish years ago and thought he was a fine young man, he's only got better. And for me he was one of the reasons I have never paid attention to the culture critics, because we do have good people at the club like him. While I believe this is not an example of the clubs' 'direction', he is certainly part of the fabric of the club that made it strong again. Easy to get another role player, not so easy to find a phenomenal standard setter. For me he was the new Daniel Cross and went on to surpass Crossy. I think we will feel this the way we felt the loss of Brayshaw.

Nothing to see here!

It literally says it’s got nothing to do with it! He just had a baby. He and his wife are both from SA. It’s probably a genuine request to be closer to family. Not everything is a [censored] conspiracy against the club for goodness sake!