Rhino Richards

Deep response. Well done.

Easy. Because in glimpse of their short careers today the following are stepping up to the plate Watts, Scully,Trengove, Frawley, Garland, Martin, Howe, Gysberts, Grimes, Gawn. But I can see a depth of talent that shows the promise of coming through in future years unlike alleged "up and comers" like Richmond. How many are lauding Hardwick and the Tigers? They have a good top six then it drops away. Can you name the 3-4 senior A graders??? I cant. The contribution of the senior list (sans Jamar) has been awful. And our future does not rest with the hot cold mediocre stuff they have served up for too long. The reason we were in the hunt for the top 8 up to week ago was the under 23s. If you havent seen anything to suggest that we have a "talented list" then either you dont go to games or see what you want to see and thats missing an awful lot. Your choice.

What fluff. Were Carlton expecting success throughout the last decade when they were broke paupers notching up consecutive wooden spoons?? I dont think so. And given where they have been and what they have spent to date (thanks tricky dicky) they would certainly be expecting things to happen. They are at least 2 years ahead of us in development. They have recruited a once in a generation midfielder in Judd, they have had large financial contributions from the paper king and massively cooked the rules on the salary cap. If anything the urge for success is that they have choked when the September pressure is on. The monkey is on their back to make top 4 and actually win a final let alone challenge for the flag. And they are still well off there. Up until this year they have been downhill skiers. Carlton have as much hope as we do to get success. They still lack the ingredients. And there are still questoins over Ratten. If he does not win a final this year, he can kiss an extension goodbye. MFC brainstrust are realistic about where MFC is and what it will take to challenge. Our talented list is younger than Carltons as it came through. There is no Judd as the shining light. And at the moment a futre shining light, Scully could be prized away from inept AFL rules. We dont have a Dick Pratt and we dont have the oppportunity to smudge a ridiculous salary package to a star player. If you actually spoke to some of the key people at the Club or have attend their discussions at suppporter groups you may actually understand what really is going on rather than feeding your misconceptions. As it is, MFC has a harder road than most clubs for flagf success. The road is chock of challenges and risks. To win a flag MFC needs to navigate all these issues successfully. It does not just rest on the naive perception of "hope" or expectations.

Why would you bother getting McLean back? McLean's leadership is neither here nor there. The longer he played at MFC the more apparent it was he was not a leader. And he is not leadership material at CFC. The problem with McLean is that is dead slow but can chug all days, accumulates possessions but does not hurt you by hand or foot. The speed of game has counted him out of favour. Why would anyone trade for him?? Also I am not sure an AFL/VFL tweener offers GWS. Surely they can get better options. MFC did a sharp and correct deal on McLean. Happy when he left as the writing was on the wall for him in his last 2 seasons with MFC.

Its a shame its not grounded in any reality. Blind Freddy can see the difference between the calibre of players in the top 4 sides versus the bottom four sides.

Agree. I think the author said "If my source is correct.....". I thought there was enough evidence to suggest serious caveat emptor on readers. Whether Malthouse, Roos or Clarkson are available merely changes the yardstick of performance for Bailey. And if MFC do re appoint Bailey, it wont be just for one year with conditional clauses. And if it were the basis then they should select another coach. I suspect MFC are well down the line on determining what they will do with the coaching for 2012 and beyond.

Agree. Absolutely. For mine a not guilty verdict in court does not equate to clean slate off the field. He has a chance to redeem his life. He can do that elsewhere.

Are those cases in Australia or the US? Some of the US civil action outcomes particularly in cases against pharmaceutical coompanies defies logic, science and reason. And its interesting the most celebrated case has resulted in no real civil outcome. The issue is whether there is a plausible chance of winning a "his word" vs "her word" game in court. More likely played out in the media. Civil action may be a technical options but its a road of potholes and not gold.

Mainly because it didn't exist. And its cheap and tacky when people playing that card for their own purposes The charges tried in the court do not examine race as one of the factors.

And its all rumours. And repeating them does not give them credence or integrity. And your comments only pedal further rumours that lack any substantive basis.

Proof of what??? What evidence cant be presented at a criminal court than can be at a civil court? If a person is found in a criminal court to be not guilty of an offence then how can they be liable for damages for that action in a civil court?

Saw it and thought similar. Green is not a brilliant media performer. However its never good to front the media after a bad loss and with the Tom Scully issue hanging over the club. Some of the hand wringing and the jumping at ghosts on this thread is more disturbing. Rumour mongering at its worst.

It will still get down to her word vs his word. If she is properly advised she wont waste her time and money.

Agree. He was on his last chance at St Kilda before this incident. He should count himself fortunate to be able to move on a restart his life. Agree. This would be standard in any sensible settlement arrangement.

What criteria? Shock, horror Gosh, lets torch DB now. I am struggling to determine a key reason why I would rush to appoint Craig to MFC. I think not.

I think his brother Shaun was better. + 1

Shall I pluck numbers out of thin air like you do? What does that achieve?

You did say Sylvia was a better player now. The case against your view is that Scully's improvement will take him past Sylvia. How much improvement are you likely to see in Sylvia? I would have thought the marketplace will determine what players are worth at contract time. The important assessment of "worth" is not what MFC or other Clubs think a player is worth, its what a player and his manager believe they are worth and what other non $$$ intangibles they can extract.

Over 8 years Robbie? Keep holding your breath for the pre season. And you will missing the irony of chiding people about facts. LOL. Sylvia will be worth what the Club is prepared to pay him. And I would only contract him for two possibly three years. Sylvia game could go either way. While being more consistent that he has been in the past, he still delivers poor games with the good. And we are all still waiting for the game breaker potential that has yet to arise. Its pity the GWS hype has tainted Scully. We have only seen him in 27 games in less than 2 years. And what we have seen is he is smart, hard working, huge tank, elite hands and his kicking will improve. People forget that he is the first player oppositions are tagging in MFC's midfield in his second year. While Sylvia will be a nice to have in the side, I would expect Scully, barring injury, to move past Sylvia within 2 years. In 5 years I would expect Scully to move into the top bracket of midfielders. If you are going to secure that sort of talent you are going to have to pay for the expectation of the talent improvement. How much is the bonus?It may end up not being realistically justifiable but it secures him. And from media reports it appears that there isnt a bonus.

No he shouldnt. Its a misnomer to solely judge value on the right now. FFS Scully is in his 2nd year of AFL and has had an injury hit year. He is 5 years off his primeIf Scully does not surpass where Sylvia is right now over the term of the next contract it will only be through chronic injury. While you would prefer to accommodate both, if you had to lose one with an eye to the future it would not be Scully. Hopefully with a full pre season..FFS Sylvia is in his 8th year of AFL. He has had about the last 3 pre season for full training. He is very much WYSIWYG. Tim Harrington would shake his head at equate Sylvia with Scully's value. Well Colin. Must have had some bushfires on that talent. Its 8 years and I have yet to see him break games that everyone has been beating the drum about. He is a capable player but he is not the game changing messiah that many have prayed and seem to be overvaluing. You are right to be asking "what price"? It certainly not where Scully's salary will be and it certainly wont rise over the next four games.

If we make finals then the incentive should already be with Col because he should be looking to see himself as part of a true finals contender for years to come. He should be paid in a manner that is affordable to the Club and reflective of Sylvia's relative expected contribution to the team over the contract period. There should be enough carrot for Col.If he cant see the carrot that is there at MFC under your scenario then he must be a bunny.

Unless Colin does a terrible injury then what he does in the next 4 weeks would have to pretty outstanding to suddenly equate to his contract demand. If he plays a blindeer 4 weeks in a row then it proves how inconsistent he has been over the recent years. It wont matter a jiff bar serious injury. I liked to keep him but if his demands are excessive over what the club is prepared to pay him then they need to do a deal/trade for him. The Club has shown itself more than accomplished at doing that in recent years.

I dont think so. We should be able to accomodate both. Although Sylvia would be on far less coin than Scully.

How many of that era have been tested for it? Skilton has other issues arising out of his string of VFL injuries. The game is far more physical than in the older days with more tackles by bigger bodies moving quicker. Its substantially different to what was played 40 years ago. I think in recent years, the medical community is now become more aware of the LT impact of collision injuries.

I think the Club is clear about getting games into the younger talent that will lift us in the coming years. I cant see how Power will help us into the finals if he is denying a younger player a spot in the team to get experience when we seriously challenge. For the hand wringing about Junior and Bruce going, its given a great opportunity to play Tapscott, Nicholson and Evans. Bad luck you cant continue with your training reports.