Leaderboard

PJ re-commits. Wonderful Melbourne CEO Peter Jackson recommits to Demons

MELBOURNE has signed chief executive Peter Jackson to a new deal that will see him remain at the club until at least the end of the 2017 season. ... Jackson inked the new deal at a meeting with Demons president Glen Bartlett this morning. Great news ...

That hypothetical would involve us trusting the most unethical club in Australian sport.

Brett Anderson was interviewed on SEN yesterday evening and, in relation to the views he's expressed about who he believes Melbourne will take at pick 3, he stated that they were based on his analysis of this year's draft and that he was not taking in any mail whatsoever from the Melbourne Football Club. On that basis he's always thought Melbourne would choose Curnow over Darcy Parish but it could easily be Sam Weideman or Clayton Oliver - "I don't know if Jason Taylor would take Charlie Curnow".Since Anderson's views about us taking Curnow ahead of Parish were made public a few weeks ago, some Phantom Drafts have been put out there nominating Curnow as our choice - it's almost as if they were taking Anderson's strong views as being based on inside information. However, that position has now been dispelled. It could be Curnow, it could be Weideman but I still think Parish is the best available. Jason Taylor and Todd Viney are speaking at a draft function at the club tonight but I don't know if we'll be much better informed after that - it looks like the rest of the clubs are going to be kept guessing for a few more days. Separately, on the testing of Weideman, I don't think I've heard anything much absurd than the proposition that we're considering him to keep Jesse Hogan happy and at the club. I'm sure Hogan would be just as happy to see the club add some future elite midfielders who could pump the ball to him with precision no less than a potential KPP who has been injured and out of action since May.

I keep coming back to Mahoney's comment at the end of trade week. He suggested two mids or a mid and a tall. It felt like pick 3 was earmarked for a mid and pick 7 would require a little more thought. I'm in the Parish is a lock camp.

Jesus Christ, no Schwab wasn't the best CEO and he had some wacky ideas, but he loves the club and his heart is in the right place. Absurd and completely disrespectful to compare him to Scully.

There were no leaks about this.... The club is water tight...

Think about it like this.. When we made 2 attempts to trade for pick 3, the 2nd one successful, Obviously we had a particular player targeted that would be available at 3 but not at 5,6 or 7. We didn't do it just to improve our draft position. IMO, we made our decision weeks ago and the statement on mfc website by Taylor was a suspense tease. Brett Anderson only made the comments about hearing that we'll take Curnow this week. So I believe it is Parish and has always been

Like everyone else here, I can only guess at who we might select with these picks. However, I am 100% positive that I'll be thrilled with our selections come 08:30 on Tuesday evening. For the first time in eons, I know that our Club will be completely on top of the credentials of all the contenders, and that a couple of important pieces will be ticked off against a master plan. IMO the turn-around in our list has been nothing short of remarkable in a few short years, and right now, nobody could convince me that that we won't 'nail it' again. Yeah, I know I'm a sill old fart, but .....

The fact that he comes from Collingwood royalty yet didn't support them growing up tells me all I need to know about his character.

This is my thinking too with one proviso though. The three talls you list must all be rated as top 10 talent. If our ranking list has Parish at 3 and Curnow at 6 and Weideman at 9 and McKay at 18 and Curnow and Weideman get snapped up by Essendon and Gold Coast, do you still want us to take McKay? Or do you back our full time recruiting team who have spent 2 plus years watching this batch of players and may well rate Milera at 5, Oliver at 7, Francis at 10 and Collins at 11? It's easy to talk about taking 'best available' but a scenario like the one I presented is a little more challenging particularly when our jigsaw is oh so close to completion. I agree, a forward who can ruck is a key need. I just hope the draft works out so that we pick an elite mid and in order to meet needs we don't reach too far. If Weitering, Schache, Curnow and Weideman are all taken, are we happy taking the 5th best tall when our rankings has that player outside the top 15?

Parish is an Under age AA, who is seen by all as the most complete midfield of this draft. His only "weakness" is that at 181cm, he's 4 cm shorter than Simon Goodwin. Ben Cousins was 179cm...

What a load of rubbish, unless Jason Taylor walked in on Parish snorting coke i'd bet my left one he is still the front runner for pick 3, all signs pointing to him

It happens to the best of us.

So is Parish but he doesn't look as tough because he isn't a big, fat redhead with a face like a Scream mask.

Schwab may have done a [censored] job, but Schwab is a Melbourne man who did what he thought was best for the club he loves. For that he deserves to be treated with respect. The way he exited the club, turning up to training to support the players despite being recently sacked, and never rubbishing the club or the people demonstrates a level a class as well, that deserves respect in turn. He will be alongside us celebrating our return to glory, and he'll be welcome because of it.

Best contract extension we have done this preseason.

Good, and I hope we pick a talented tall if we pick up one of those two - but I don't want this club to reach past a mid to do it. Our midfield is all promise at the moment - I would argue to add to it. Vince and Jones have a handful of years left, Trengove is a running question mark, Vanders has started well but will be at his peak very quickly, Tyson and Kent have struggled with injury in their short but promising careers, Salem and ANB are yet to play midfield in the AFL, and Petracca yet to play AFL... There is so much promise there to go with Viney and Brayshaw but little room for the aforementioned quality (or seeming quality) to fail or be lost to injury. Jones, Vince, Viney, Brayshaw, Tyson, Salem, Petracca, Kent, ANB, Vanders, and Trengove is not a great midfield. It could be a great midfield...

Yes, I heard Anderson and he clearly had no clue who we'd take. But then he tweets that he no longer believes Parish is in the frame at P3. And he sounds adamant. Interestingly, the tweets come within 30 minutes of him being on "air". It's all a bit strange.

Went to training today and Brayshaw was the standout in terms of physical development in the off season so far. He has shreaded some of his puppy fat and added a couple of kgs in addition. He was looking seriously good. Very very excited.

I was at the club's trade and draft evening with Jason Taylor and Todd Viney and while there was a great deal of discussion concerning a variety of the matters relating to the club, I don't think anyone went away any the wiser about who the club is drafting at #3. We were shown highlight tapes of six players who the club presumably considers would be available within its range of picks #3 and #7. They are: Charlie Curnow, Aaron Francis, Wayne Milera, Clayton Oliver, Darcy Parish and Sam Weideman. I would suggest then that we will draft two of those players next Tuesday night and while the club has made up its mind as to who will be taken at 3, nobody is telling. Nor are they telling the player involved because they want the player to enjoy the occasion. So, the suspense continues although watching the highlights passage and combined with the more detailed games I've seen in the past, confirms in my mind that Darcy Parish is our best pick. My next two would be Aaron Francis and Charlie Curnow ahead of Clayton Oliver and Wayne Milera. I don't believe Sam Weideman is for us. Anyway, we'll know soon enough.

IMO, that's part of contested football. Players like Mitchell and Simon Black had that innate ability to dispose of the ball in contested situations. That takes talent. Based on limited highlights, Oliver seems to try to take on the tackler, whereas Parish looks to dispose of the ball instinctively. Give me Parish any day.

It's a matter of time until a Melbourne fan somewhere decides to get a tattoo of this man's face. It might be me. Well, maybe just his initials with a love heart around them. I don't want people to think I'm crazy.

I hope they put up his highlights package soon...

Jackson extends until the end of 2017 This is fantastic news for the club. The work he has done to get us back on track cannot be overstated.

There's a distinct difference though, between Parish & Toumpas. Toumpas is an outside runner, his bread & butter is getting on the end of handball receives and looseballs. The pressure has made him crumble and make poor decisions. Parish looks to win contested footy and uses it so quickly. He does the opposite of crumbling under the pressure; he anticipates it, makes quick decisions accordingly and EXECUTES. Even look at the highlights of the 2 pre-draft. Toumpas was running fast unattended on the wing, kicking long range goals. Nearly every "highlight" was a looseball get. I don't argue that he was a hard runner for us, but he never displayed a willingness to get involved in the hot contest as a junior. Parish mostly gets his footy in close in his highlights, moves quickly, makes quick decisions, absorbs pressure, hits targets without panicking. Big contrast to my eyes.

Can i suggest some modifications. it's a grand old flag and we play like handbags who have got nothing better to do You can push us off The ball if you if you want and if you wait we will kick it to you. Every heart will spew for the red,white and blue As we chuck a game or two If old successes be forgot Just remember we won one or two!

Im one of the (likely) many who have never really given a [censored] about the Board/Pres/CEo, and have barely even cared to research who was running the show, but this bloke is a different kettle of fish. To me this is almost as important a contract extension as Hogan or Brayshaw. For someone who has no MFC blood inside him, he seems to honestly give a rats about our success in the future. Not to mention the fact he appears to be the consummate Pro. Massive news for the club. Cheers Pete. *raises cheap red wine

Agreed! I was Schwabs biggest critic for a long time...and knew we couldn't move forward with him at the helm. But he deserves great kudos for the respect and love he has shown the club by staying silent and keeping his distance. It takes a big man to do this. He does not deserve any whacks on this forum anymore. Am delighted PJ has signed up. He believes!! It is important to sponsors to see PJ stay, especially as Roos will go. The risk was sponsors would see us as a rookie club again if both of them went next year. PJ staying gives the continuity sponsors want to see. PJ is crucial to re-signing AHG etc next year. In short, he is crucial to our future!

Yeah, we are 17th for i50s and 16th for centre clearances. Hard to judge a fwd line on that. I'm sticking with my view. Cheers

Professionalism, consistency and stability in administration of a football club won't guarantee on field success but you can't have success without it. Inch by inch we are looking more and more like a proper footy club

as religion is so topical, here are a few corny funnies (don't blame the messenger) ============================== A guy joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence: he’s allowed to say two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. "Cold floors," he says. They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throats and says, "Bad food." They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words. "I quit," he says. "That’s not surprising," the elders say. "You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here." ============================== StuieI was walking across a bridge one day, and saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So he ran over and said "Stop! Don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. "Well, there's so much to live for!" "Like what?" "Well... are you religious?" He said yes. StuieI said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?" "Christian." "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant ? "Protestant." "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" "Baptist" "Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" "Baptist Church of God!" "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?" "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!" Stuie said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off. ============================== A Jewish grandmother is watching her grandchild playing on the beach when a huge wave comes and takes him out to sea. She pleads, "please God, save my only grandson. I beg of you, bring him back." And a big wave comes and washes the boy back onto the beach, good as new. She looks up to heaven and says: "He had a hat!" ==================================

it's darcy polish for me

Just let Jesse do the drafting for us if it keeps him happy, seriously he can even call out the names on draft night ,

Recovered from injury maybe, but returned to full fitness? It's not like the kid has just finished putting in a full preseason.

And thats why Parish at 3 is a no brainer for me. Personally as much as I'm a huge wrap for Oliver picking him at 3 would be just plain silly.

It's not Hogan's forward line...I don't see us doing a Pagan's paddock. We need to build the forward line, a forward/ruck would be a great pickup for us. If we have to rely on so called role players like Dawes we are going nowhere. ...and of course we don't spend top 10 picks on role players. I wouldn't see Weideman or McKay as role players.

Hogan is a Forwardline. Suitable role players floating around him should deliver a great forwardline. And there is a great deal of 'if' coming off your proposed midfield. I would like to add another few 'ifs' myself, just to be sure... It's hard to win Finals without a great forwardline, it's impossible without a great midfield. I am happy for us to get a tall at 7 but not if he envisioned to be just a role player in Hogan's Forwardline, only if he is a talent that is seen as worthy of that selection. You don't spend top ten picks on role players...

I honestly believe that there is very little difference in talent and ability between the half-dozen or so players in contention for our picks. We'll be getting a couple of pretty good players regardless of who we go with, as will the Bombers. Personally I want us to get Parish because I consider the ability to hit a target to be one of our greatest issues and he is as good as we'll get on that front. If we were to land Parish and a tall then I'd be thrilled, but as I said, any two of this group will serve us pretty well.

The draft is in Adelaide

If Watts, Dawes and Lumuba all begin to "rip up the opposition" then it would be safe to assume that Norm Smith's curse has left the building

Not to take anything away from Brayshaw, but I think Salem is just as much of a complete footballer. We're lucky to have them both.

That's what we've got Toumpas for

Your right.

I quite like Harry McKay at 7. Assuming Curnow and Weideman are gone. He is a good contested mark and is super athletic. Also pinch a hit in the ruck. Similar to Jarryd Roughead

In reality we will all be happy with whoever is selected at these two picks for at least 2 years. Then the pressure will come if it looks like 1 or both don't live up to expectations. We've seen this with Toumpas, Watts, Sylvia, etc. As it currently stands id be rapt of we came out of this draft with any two of: Weideman, Parish, McKay, Milera, Oliver. I hope for two talls because I see a shortage on our list of top end talent up forward. But I would settle for 1 of each mid and tall. Two mids is not a great result for us IMO. Something about Curnow doesn't sit with me and I hope we don't pick him up.

There is zero sympathy from me for the players. The problem with the outcome you describe above is highlighted if you replace the EFC with the East German athletics programme circa 1970 or the Chinese Swim team circa 1990.... Its tough luck for the athletes but it was tougher luck for Raelene Boyle and other athletes denied gold medals by drug cheats. You can never have a situation where a player or athlete is not responsible for what they digest (other than the documented limited number of genuine excuses). To not have that rule exposes all teams and athletes to the "it wasn't me, it was my coach" excuse. That is simply untenable. The EFC were trying to take advantage and were caught. Pure and simple. Our team was beaten by a team full of drug cheats. If the players didn't ask their doctor, partner player manager etc for clearance or make legitimate enquiry on their own behalf then they deserve to be rubbed out for 2 years. "hey this is a bit suss, what do ya reckon?" Really it beggars belief that they didn't do this.

Exactly. I'm not an expert but from what I've read the only knock on Parish seems his size & tackle numbers. Everything else he apparently does well. He's averaging 129 SuperCoach points a game & 29 disposals albeit at a lower level than AFL, but he can only beat who he's up against. I'm pretty sure Brayshaw & Salem averaged less at that level. He's been an All Australian twice. Not sure how we can really go wrong drafting this kid & how anyone sees him falling out of the top 5 let alone top 10.

On the surface, a common-sense proposal. But: - it creates an enormous loophole - the players should have known, or at least done everything they could have to know - the players almost certainly knew what was going on, enough to know that they were sailing close to the wind