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His real manager must have been thrilled 🫣

You know who covered himself in glory - Max. Brilliant throughout this ordeal. He was as honest as he could be, he's a fantastic example of a leader. But not only about this issue, but his involvement in getting Clarry right, premiership captain, 7 time all Australian - Melbourne's greatest leader and one of the best on and off the field.

He ain't leaving.

Don’t you think we have already suffered enough this season and already this off season?! If he hasn’t got seriously fit by this stage of his career he’s never going to.

Melbourne handling of players wanting to leave: - ANB: first club to ever celebrate a player choosing to leave a club? Most mature handling of a trade I can recall - Petty: Declined his trade request and convinced him to stay, when everyone said he was gone. Handled well (albeit if 2 first rounders were available that would have been a good trade) - Oliver: Clearly off the rails to an extent, complex mental health issues at play. Club leaders like Max and Goodwin put a mountain of work with help him through - seems to have paid off as he is off the USA for offseason training camp. - Trac: Club went into closed book mode whilst media was churning out rumours about why he wants to leave (this is still unknown), where they flip-flop between oliver, medical care, "brand" (a word they made up and now are saying this came from Melbourne) - whilst also dragging Christian through the mud, despite both club and player repeatedly on the record saying he is suffering from a traumatic incident. Trac releases statement saying he is staying way before trade period and way before anyone in the media expected. Imo, the club said f**k the media, we are going to work in-house with Trac and go public once its settled. This was done, we retain our best player - whilst media spin their stories to say Melb is still screwed and call for Rofey's head because she played a straight bat in an interview. If I am a Melbourne player, Id be happy to know that the club will not react to rumours and work directly with me, for as long as it takes, before saying anything publicly.

The gaslighting in this thread is off the charts. The writing was on the wall after two straight set exits. In hindsight it's crazy we didn't see this coming. I honestly thought (as did almost everyone else) that we would turn the corner as a club after we won the flag. We are still a semi-pro organisation masquerading as a big club. We have heavy hitters at the top end of town but that's it. The denial from club leaders, prominent supporters and even some players was straight up gaslighting the obvious. Tom Morris' report on SEN this morning was an indictment on club leaders. The last three seasons should absolutely burn the club internally and by all accounts it simply hasn't. It has to burn everyone right through the club including supporters. Instead we celebrate when we beat Essendon and pretend like everything is okay. We're still stuck in a 90s mentality as a club. If we want to play with the big boys we absolutely have to be filthy with this. Collingwood couldn't handle missing the finals despite getting within a kick of a flag in 2018 and multiple Prelims. It didn't take much to absolutely gut the place and reboot. We just don't have a hunger as a club to be feared. It took two finals series for us to lose all respect we gained from 2021. I honestly don't blame Petracca. Collingwood and Hawthorn would come out breathing fire next season if they went through this. Richmond did after going through similar with Martin. I just can't see it. And again I'm in a "happy to be proven wrong" mindset.

The answer isn’t less access to the media - it’s engaging in the right way. And the leaking that pits club against player (and the reverse from his agents) is obviously happening - regardless about what you think about the embellishment of Morris and Purple.

He’s going to be a bolter in this draft, we interviewed him on Thursday I believe

Petracca spoke to the players before committing to know he'd be okay at the club. He's happy his grievances about the club have been listened to and that all he wanted. He knew a deal couldn't be done with the clubs he wanted and then moved to mending fences at Melbourne. A lot of work for club and player to ensure we don't have a repeat in 2025

Same age. Same super contribution...

I can understand your disappointment as I share it but tbh I think this is a bit unfair You make it sound like the team fell off a cliff after winning the flag in 2021. The reality is it won more games than any other team in 2022 and 2023 I think. Yes we lost the 4 finals but while incredibly disappointing there were some reasons. Some inaccurate kicking (all teams are guilty of this some days) and key injuries. This year was always going to be tough with losing Gus and JS before a ball was even bounced. Then to have more key players go down we were always facing an uphill battle. The reality is a few breaks go our way and top 4 could have still been possible. It is a very very even comp these days and if teams are a little bit off their game or have key injuries it has a huge impact on results. I think it’s possible for this team to bounce back into finals next year so long as we have a fully fit Trac and Oliver. Big ifs I know they will be critical to our chances. We must draft in good ball users and I hope Langford is available as he looks exactly what we need. Some smart trading would also help set us up for solid season (this has obviously been a weakness in the past couple of years with some highly questionable decisions). We need to find a solid back up for Max and some additional mid field depth. Anyone who bothered to watch Casey this season would appreciate how thin we are in the midfield. I’m still trying to remain glass half full - if the train doesn’t get back on the tracks and show signs of improvement early next season I’ll start to have my doubts then.

An external review is the only legitimate review. You cannot review yourself. If we don’t get somebody external to conduct a review from top to bottom, then we are just doing a half arsed job for optics

It's not even immaturity, everyone talks, it's the reasons spys and journos have jobs, 80% of the internet in Australia (one of humanities' greatest achievements) is dedicated to social networks, (would have thought something else). Expecting footballers and anyone around them to be a Mauna or monk undertaking a vow of silence is unlikely to say the least. Leaking, Gossip etc is always going to be there. That people here buy into it so quickly as definitive information, is Exhibit A in listing MFCSS as a clinical disease in the ICD. The evidence that the MFC is not a bin fire is not as exciting as the gossip, just read a training report and look at the sum total of all our games good and bad in the last 5 years and I say the thing that stands out is the collective endeavour, not the failures.

It may have been a mistake in terms of on field performance, but it wan't a mistake in terms of managing and supporting Oliver. With ADHD, he needs the routine and responsibilities of week-to-week games and of being part of the playing group. All of his issues surfaced when he was stuck alone in rehab for 8 weeks last year. At his best, Oliver is one of the very best players in the AFL and in working to keep him in the fold and healthy the club made the right decision.

Verrall may not be a number 1 ruckman, but I can see him as a key forward/backup ruckman. He will be a senior player for us. You heard it from me.

And how will the pies respond to failing to make finals this year? More fire breathing? What happens to the lions this year if they once again fail to win a flag? What about powerhouse clubs like the crows and the Eagles? Resources coming our their wazoo and they have been mired in the bottom half of the ladder for years - incredible since the crows played in a GF in 2017 and the Eagles won one in 2018. We won a flag the year after we last missed finals - something that can't have happened too often in VFL/AFL history. Surely to Goodwin we get some credit for doing so in terms of clear evidence of our ability to bounce back after a poor season. Or do we just ignore history and parrot and ampifly the media's doom cycle, club in crisis narrative?

I doubt that Nibbler was only set on going to Adelaide. He has a huge amount of goodwill at the club to send him to SA and is not doing his negotiations through the media. If an announcement has been made it's likely to either be because a) Port aren't interested in him/can't bring him in (salary/picks etc), or b) Melbourne and Adelaide have already reached an understanding of what a deal looks like. I suspect the latter.

But Tracc didn’t walk away. It seems he may have wanted out but that is unverified. And even if he did, it’s possible he initially had issues with the direction of the club which are legitimate, raised them, and said he would leave if he didn’t have a contract (initial Morris story). It’s also possible that Tracc was so aggrieved by that story leaking that it made everything worse and he suddenly entertained leaving more seriously. But no-one really knows as everything other than Tracc’s media statement is based on unverified sources and leaks. I’ll back Tracc. I’m usually pretty quiet at the footy but I’ll be as vocal as I can be when Tracc runs out for us next year.

TM has DMed me as well when I had a go at him….seems desperate to be seen as a serious journo, this was over the Viney to North beat up. I told him he starts with a kernel of truth then puts serious mayo on everything with extrapolation and that’s what footy fans despise.

If there’s one thing I think we can all agree our club does exceptionally well, is promote indigenous relationships. We’ve been really strong and proactive in making this happen under the leadership of Matty Whelan. Homesickness is undoubtedly a big issue for Kozzie, and one that I’m sure we are well aware of and working on fixing. I hope we give him all the support he needs in the off season, pre season and even throughout the season, to get home wherever possible. I also have no doubt it’s something we discussed when he re-signed only last year for 4 years. When his mother passed away early on in his career, he was given extra time away from the club to spend in SA where he proved he can be trusted to keep up his fitness. I’m confident we can work out an arrangement where the same happens for part of this pre season. Losing Kozzie has to be the absolute last resort after every other avenue has been explored.

We'll at least if you play for Collingwood, you never have to worry about being suspended

Sounds like at least one of our players was conned in the past: Jesse Hogan on Tom Morris: “Honest leech. Had a job at Melbourne football club that was private and used it and leaked private conversations to get a leg up. Not even involving me but genuine leech of a personality. Have never seen a faker figure in media.”

I was pleasantly shocked on how ready Windsor was for AFL footy (compared to Kolt, who at times struggled with the intensity when the game was hot) He was unleashed in the Carlton practice match and kicked 2 silky goals which prompted Cal Twomey to tweet a Chris Judd comparison. Then in game 4 he's kicking a 52 metre sealer against Port in hostile territory. Tremendous first year IMO, despite a few quiet games throughout. We'd have to have one of the better winger combos IMO heading into next year with Langdon and Windsor.

I don't necessarily believe it is all good, that Trac is happy or that he won't leave at some point. All I am saying is that the media do not know either, but are incentivised to dramatise the situation as much as possible to get clicks/listeners/viewers. My position is that we do not know the true story. All we know is that, for now, Oliver, Trac, Petty, Pickett are staying and Windsor, Roo, Kolt, Viney, Max re-signed, which indicates to me that the club is not in disarray as the media wants you to believe.

I'm more relieved trac is staying purely because rewatching the 2021 gf would be hard to watch if he had left

After some gloating and justified derision of Tom Morris and “his supporters “ (which might be his own accounts) I got DM’ed by Tom Morris. He said he would provide a link then linked to himself “ breaking” the CP story. I explained to him that his source may not be reliable if he is the source. Either way, he and purple are going to extraordinary lengths to justify their “story” to the point where I’m wondering whether it might be a complete fabrication. Petracca should pick his media commitments better. MFC should wake up now and become more ruthless, more professional and less accessible to the media. I found it strange TM would contact a random on X and Barrett was even weirder with his unhinged rant.

For those of us (e.g. me) who perhaps over-reacted to this last week: AFL 2024: How addressing key confidants gave Christian Petracca confidence in Melbourne’s future (theage.com.au) "The club is also throwing its support behind Kysaiah Pickett, who does not want to be traded but informed the club last week he felt homesick at times. A source close to Pickett, who preferred to remain anonymous to speak freely, said that was reinforced post-season when he caught up with AFL footballers playing in Western Australia who encouraged him to think about joining them. However, a trade has never been seriously considered"

‘The media started it’ How are people squaring that circle after all that has come out and that guarded and stilted press release? Just surrender yourself to the truth; we got some issues to deal with.

TED LASSO PHANTOM DRAFT FIRST ROUND 2024 Hi all, I've put together a little phantom draft based on how i see the first round going, i have included some likely trades. Things can change rapidly and i am sure there will be additional pick swaps as well, but for a starting point the first round Likely trades Pick 8 to Stkilda as F/A compensation Pick 6, 9, 10, 17 all to Richmond Pick 12 to West Coast 1. Levi Ashcroft (Brisbane) 2. Jagga Smith (Richmond) 3. Luke Trainor (North Melbourne) 4. Finn O'Sullivan (West Coast) 5. Sid Draiper (Adelaide) 6. Harvey Langford (Melbourne) 7. Josh Smilie (Richmond) 8. Sam Lalor (St Kilda) 9. Murphy Reid (St Kilda) 10. Leo Lombard (Gold Coast) Matching Essendon Bid 11. Tobie Travaglia (Essendon) 12. Harry Armstrong (Richmond) 13. Jack Whitlock (Richmond) 14. TaJ Hotton (Carlton) 15. Bo Allen (West Coast) 16. Cooper Hynes (GWS) 17. joe Berry (Geelong) 18. Issac Kako (Essendon) Matching bid from Richmond 19. Alix Tauru (Richmond) 20. Xavier Lindsay (Sydney)

Are you suggesting him as a solution to our perceived cultural issues?

Christ.

Sorry @Demonland

Nibbler just asked to get back to SA. He only nominated Adelaide today because Adelaide has shown the most interest and both clubs have presumably reached an 'in principle' agreement. Look for this to be done and dusted early in the trade period, allowing both clubs to focus on other trades. This is how good clubs and good players/managers do business.

All I want is for Trac to recover & we look after him and aid his recovery, I watched the 3rd qtr of the GF to really appreciate his talent and his all for the team along with how connected they were as a team inc Oliver and selfless acts!

If we suspected that to be the case, we would have traded him for unders to the club of his choice. Will he ever be the same player again? Well that remains to be seen. I think his ego would certainly drive him to try. He will play again though.

Stop buying the media crisis narratives. They were wrong and are now clutching at straws to save face The fact TM is saying Melbourne were the ones pushing the "brand petracca" narrative is evidence of this - the media, Barrett in particular, pushed this with zero evidence

Agree, and that they assume a position as legitimate journalists is arguably worse

Unfortunately there appears no end in sight for the embarrassing concept of talentless football journalists like Barret et al appearing in the media spouting opinions. They are not media stars or personalities but somehow have sucked the industry in to allow themselves to be portrayed that way. It is a sad indictment on what is generally accepted as media/entertainment.

Haven't seen much discussion on this article from last night from Peter Ryan. "Melbourne star Christian Petracca consulted trusted confidants both inside and outside the club – including teammates – last week before choosing to put an end to trade speculation... After those discussions with trusted parties, Petracca was satisfied enough that broad issues would be addressed to commit to rolling up his sleeves and contribute to finding solutions for Melbourne to end the external discussion. It’s not clear if any commitments were made to Petracca... Petracca – with some justification according to those close to him – wants to move forward, using the off-season to wind down to recuperate from the serious injuries he suffered on King’s Birthday and let the club get on with the job after a gruelling week that included the prospect of a trade being raised"