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I get given the list of the final rating of all Draftees by an AFL club the morning of the draft. This particular club didn’t have a selection on night one, in fact, weren’t particularly active in the Draft this year due to trading players in. They rated Jagga Smith the best player in the Draft. In fact, 6 of their 8 analysts who watch Coates league games, rated Smith 1. In their “aggregated” ratings list they had Smith 1, Ashcroft 2, Langford 3. They had Murphy Reid a lot higher than he went, Taj Hotton a bit higher, and Travaglia a bit lower than he went. They rated Xavier Lindsay right about where he got picked. They tried to get up the board to get Ollie Hannaford, but couldn’t do a deal. Interestingly, they classified Riak Andrew & Ricky Mentha as not Draftable.

My anger was actually more directed towards the absolutely horrible disgusting pack mentality of large sections of the Collingwood crowd that emerged and permeated across the ground when they started that slow repetitive chant of ‘Collllllingwood’ whilst an opposition was lying unconscious on the ground. Never have I felt so angry and disgusted attending a football game. It was really shameful what happened that night with large sections of the crowd. It was a very tense, putrid period of time when it was all unfolding. I despise the ‘filth culture’ as opposed to their actual team. (Don’t get me wrong, I still ‘love to hate’ Cox and Maynard for example, miss hating Ginnivan and quietly admire Elliot, he is a great player in my opinion). Bottom line, I have hated the Filth for so many reasons over the years. It just increased again that night.

🚨 PETRACCA HAS POSTED MFC PHOTOS OF THE CAMP ON HIS PERSONAL INSTAGRAM 🚨 I love you Christian I never said a bad word about you I swear #brownlow2025

Had a chat to the head recruiter at another club today and he really liked our picks. They didn’t have an early pick and didn’t put a lot of thought into the top of the draft but he had Langford and Smith as his top picks. He also liked Lindsay and thinks he has a good head on his shoulders.

Premiership player, pinpoint kick, smart footy brain.

That can't be right...some experts on here who have never seen him play rate him very highly & think we made a huge mistake in not taking him. Edit: it's good to have an opinion but at least it should be a little bit informed. Our club recruiters who have a good record of picking talent didn't take Riak & now 'goodwindees' tells us another clubs experts don't rate him. They could be totally wrong of course and the kid could go on to have a great career but you have to trust our recruiting department especially when all you are going on is the vibe. Anyway, good luck to the 2 kids mentioned above I hope they do a Teddy Whitten to those who doubt them, particularly Ricky.

This might shatter some people's world view.

11 year bump! Closest thing to time travel we will ever see. Dearest 2013 rpfc, it got better then weirdly very bad while we were very good. We won but my past self (you’re future self) couldn’t go. It was in Perth. And then we won again, but they played that at a training ground outside Brisbane. I couldn’t get to that either. You know what, never mind. 2024 rpfc

I hear it all went downhill after that

It’s this week 👍

Haha, I'm also not completely sold on Kolt, other than being a role player at this stage.

I might have Kolt 4th instead of Lindsay but that aside, all 4 have shown us a glimpse of how good they could be. I might even have XL as 2nd. Langford on top And if Petracca, Viney, Oliver, Langdon & Rivers all shine around the midfield next season, then the 4 newby's will have an easier time of it with regards to their development (on field) Regardless, it's exciting times and we can leave the gloom of 2024 behind us

We've got the best jumper in the league and the best clash strip in the league. I wouldn't be looking to make any changes.

As an addendum, this recruiter was not as complimentary about our picks when we drafted Jefferson.

Especially since the AFL failed to act on it at the time and then outlawed the act later and secondly as it was the AFL who put Gus out of the game, on their direction.

And we shouldn’t forget that Max also needs a competitive ruckman at training and in preparation. Don’t underestimate the value Majak Daw added to our 2021 list despite never playing a senior game - he helped make Max better. I believe that I even read somewhere that Max said as much.

Fair comments, djr. I wasn't referring to your reports which I enjoyed. If my comment offended you I apologise. I wasn't referring to observations per se. It was the conclusions by some re Petracca not posting about the club/teammates on IG, not wearing mfc gear on his IG, caring only about his brand etc etc implying he had 'checked out' or 'didn't care' (paraphrasing). Those trigger the anti-Trac brigade and the off-season stuff is rehashed. djr, shaming others isn't ever my style - if it was I would have quoted them. I just hope we don't spend the year questioning his commitment/behaviour or defending it. If that happens each week I'll be the one checking out, of DL. fwiw, I would feel the same if anyone playing for our beloved demons was discussed that way.

Geez Luci, it was just an observation from a couple of track watchers who went out of their way to report back to you guys. The comments made were no different from what other track watchers observe about other players at training in Melbourne. You don't need to shame people because you don't agree with what was said. You weren't there.

Langdon and TMac played well

Its not just about membership. I began barracking for the Dees following a match at Junction Oval. Dad took me, at age 6, to barrack for Saints as HIs playing mate from Dromana Eric "the Tank" Guy was playing. The skill and excitement of seeing Tassie, Barrass, Big BOb, Dicko etc soon overcame Dads preference. I followed the fortunes of the Dees from that time but we moved to the Latrobe valley and rarely went to Melbourne, certainly not to watch the footy. Grew up, with my best mate a collingwood supporter and we played out many of the epic matches on his front paddock. I was Bluey, he was Tully usually. Started work while he went to Uni. would occasionally go to town to catch a game, usually any match at Princes park coz we could get in for free at 3/4 time. I Moved to Melbourne and finally could afford to go to more than sporadic games. Joined some new mates who convinced me to go to Melbourne matches, eventually joined as a full member. So many good times and joined Redlegs as my economic circumstances improved. Continued great times but no joy with success(premiership) but the friendships and joy continued. We always obtained finals tickets through various circumstances, shout out to the ticket seller at Princes park who always had tickets saved for me. Moved to the country with economic and work demands limiting attendance, had country membership but couldnt fullfill attendance even at that level. My mates continued membership and I always joined them on my few attendances. I eventually joined as I knew success must come and I didnt want to miss finals tickets. Of course 21 was unatianable attendance so still denied the ultimate enjoyment at the G. Again full member of redlegs with regular payments to suit my income stream. The club has given me so much joy, with life time friends and so many memories. Theres still lots more joy to come. So im not a long term member, or even a long term supporter in some financial measures but my heart certainly beats true for the red and the blue.

At the moment Duke is in the lead with exposed form but we've got some good ones in the mix now...

When a player leads with the shoulder and is off the ground running at an unprotected player running in the opposite direction, then the perpetrator has to know that he could knock a player unconscious So saying it went horribly wrong doesn't let Maynard off the hook. Don't do the act in the first place There's a number of people here who have played footy where these sort of shirt-fronts were often the norm. But you always knew they were despicable acts even when it was your own teammate as the perpetrator So the action itself can have dire consequences and as it turned out, Brayshaw ended up having to retire because of the lethal hit Anyway, Maynard will get his right whack one day. For instance, the Darcy hit on Maynard (though illegal) could have had grave repercussions. Could be that Darcy was following the code

Tracc drove one of the mini buses in Mansfield. He certainly wasn’t sulking in the backseat and not talking to anyone as a few on here would believe. Time to move on guys.

It never ceases to amaze me just how much better players look in our guernsey.

The Devils Advocates, a Melbourne Football Club supporter group comprised of members of the legal profession who support the Demons is making a comeback in 2025. The group has over the years raised a substantial amount of much needed funding for the club through its annual dinner and other activities. It’s open to members of the legal and paralegal community including judges, academics, senior counsel, barristers, solicitors, law clerks and all those involved or working in and with the legal profession including law students. The annual dinner was previously one of the highlights of the season with interesting and sometimes controversial guests, insider news from players past and present, lively discussion, a fundraiser/auction and good food and drink and has been sorely missed since it disappeared from the scene at around about the time the Covid pandemic set in. Despite the perception many of the public might have, us lawyers are very giving people and what better time than now for us to give back to the club. One only has to look at the recent announcement of the club’s financial outcome to appreciate how much the legal profession took out of the club over the past year - so now is the time to give back 😀 Seriously though, if you’re one of the people in the group mentioned above and want to be involved in our Devil’s Advocates functions and help the Melbourne Football Club’s meteoric rise in 2025, please contact Colin at [email protected] to be placed on the Devil’s Advocates mailing list.

If memory serves, he was leading Chas this year until kneed. Could be his year.

And for all those posters who lamented he didn't look happy at the camp and none of his insta posts had him in demon gear, I'd love them to take a big bite form humble pie: he looks very happy and proud in his demons training gear having fun with teammates.

The Big 5... Clayton Oliver - get the obvious one out of the way first Jake Bowey - his output at AFL level hasn't matched the natural ability the guy has, expecting (hoping) for a big year from him. Ticks all boxes besides being big. Disco Turner - impressed me this year up forward, reckon he's got break out year written all over him Matt Jefferson - a make or break year for Jeffo. Completed his apprenticeship and should be playing more AFL games than VFL games in season 2025 if his progress is on the right track. I'm a believer. Christian Salem - one of our best players when fit, will we every see a 20+ game season from him again? We really miss his IQ and ball use when he's in form.

RBNP I don’t think that he played for Hawthorn, played for Dogs, Roos and Saints, also won the B & F for Sandy this year, 6’7” 105kg. Apparently lovely team oriented bloke that fills a need for us, will help us manage Max a lot better than we have previously. Reminds me of one of those outback weatherbeaten faces that we would see come into town for the Show when we were kids. 😁

with Windsor, Rivers adding to our midfield and a couple more young guns, i'd train him up as a tagger. Strong, good skills but i dont think he's a natural reader of the play, he'd be better used nullifying an opposition star.

Yeah that's true but if the projection is A grade or even A grade Elite, then all 4 are a ways off I reckon the sky is the limit with all 4 and considering that the team has been in strong contention for 3 of the last 4 years (and not old as a collective), having 4 such promising young players is quite amazing In previous times, there's no way we would have manipulated our way into such a position The rebuild is happening whilst we are still in the window

And that person would forever remain institutionalised had they said to you (in 2015) “we’ll play Essendon in Adelaide before we next play the Eagles at the ‘G”

I'm gonna go 1. Langford 2. Windsor 3. Lindsay 4. Kolt

I think if Windsor ever moved into an inside mid role he may have the highest ceiling of the lot

He saw a Magpie fly over.

I didn't want to push it 'Macca', might have gotten 'Adam' a bit too excited. I'm also one to have high hopes for Kolt. ...we've certainly drafted well.

There was a picture of Trac smiling…. Is he happy now?

The Rolling Stones started out as a Blues cover band, so Jagga to Carlton seems like a natural fit.

Well you tell him cam mckenzie and Josh ward are duds!

Best on ground in an AFLW grand final. To go with 6 All-Australians, 2 League MVPs as voted by her peers, 3 as voted by her coaches. Two time team leading goal kickers and 4 best and fairests (to date). Good luck to her, indeed.

Sources say that when they were up, they were up.

Defeated the Balrog and comes back leveled up as Petracca the white.

Hopefully they're lining Kozzie up and he baulks leaving them to collide with each other...that would be a right whack.

I agree with most of the post except that I believe Maynard never intended to knock Gus out. I believe his intent was to make him earn it and wear one, but it went horribly wrong. I think it is just wrong to think that the intention was to knock Gus out and end his career. Believe me I am as angry as all of us at the circumstances and yes he should have got 6 weeks, but we know what the AFL is all about.

I tend to agree and we’re all entitled to our opinion and there’s a bias in how we each view things, leading to assumptions and people maybe seeing what they want to see I would consider CP was somewhat a little anxious (despite having a clear the air address with the group) about how he’d be received on return. He”s spoken about his concerns with the club previously about letting standards drop and why wouldn’t he just come back head down and be as professional as you can in setting/maintaining standards. It”s not his role to sell the club, I’ve seen this man in games this year almost try and carry the team across the line on his own in a refusal to lose. The man went back out on the ground on KB for the team when he clearly wasn’t right. I’ll never question his commitment to be the best player he can be and if he sets a bar on standards for others to follow I like that. If he performs on the ground for us whilst building his own brand off field to set up his future I’m okay with that. I just want to get back to being a side who you know will bring effort, accountability, team first and a buy in that we can see they are playing to a plan each week

I've watched him in the flesh at the under 15's stats national carnival when he represented QLD. He's an athlete for sure but was pretty raw at the same time as most tall players that age. You could see those athletic traits indeed but at the time watching his performance, he didn't do much that got me overly excited, but that level isn't about who's going to be the next AFL star. So much water to go under the bridge. The thing with Sam Darcy is that it was his last year of top age that really put him at the top end of draft calculations. Had a number of big games early on the 2021 season with Oakleigh Chargers and School Footy that really got recruiters talking. Just remember with Sam Darcy, he missed out on under 16 selection for Vic Metro where as Kalani White was an All Australian defender at that level. So just goes to show why you can't exactly determine a young players full talent at minor junior level.

I've been involved with various facets of junior and senior sports administration for more than 40 years and I've come across a fair share of "ugly parents" as well as many supportive parents without whose encouragement and the sacrifices made by them in term of money and time, many great sporting careers would never have happened. Unless you know the people involved and their full story, it's unwise to jump in and comment on any specific case. I think Jeff's a proud parent and wish him and Kalani good luck - it's going to be an exciting time ahead for them. For my part, I look forward to the sight of a red and blue #34 jumping all over certain Collingwood players on a Kings Birthday in the future.

It depends on the player as well. Nick Daicos can get tackled and it's a push in the back if he goes forwards or around the neck if he throws his head back. Patrick Cripps 3 votes can get caught with the ball and swung around until he gets rid of it and play on.

Oliver shape shifted the club. Rd 1: After 2 minutes it was obvious he was our best centre bounce clearance player in the club After 5 minutes: He was the teams best tackle breaker in the club At 1/4 time he was the clubs best midfielder At half time he was our best first performed draftee in memory At the end of the game he was the best on ground for us After Rd 6 he was the clubs best player After 50 games he was hea dand shoulders above any 50 game MFC player in memory Then he won 4 x BF, multiple AA and a Premiership superstar to boot with a spine tingling 3rd quarter goal with a point to all of us in lockdown. This guy is a freaking living legend. And some people talk about him as though is dispensable. Not in my books. Stoke whatever fire is needed to float his boat.

I was chatting to my neighbour Des Bell (101) played 7 games in the 30's, said he sent a text message to Angus after his speech at the Brownlow, he said he received a wonderful personal message back from him. Angus is truly an amazing human being, hopefully when he gets over the change in not playing we can get him back to the club in some capacity.