Rhino Richards

You are pretty right about this time of the season. Who reported that Melb had its best preseason last year? It could not have been the Club. We had numerous players down with OP. Bartram was long term injured and many leading players had poor post Christmas periods on the track through injury. On top of that we had Pickett clearly out of condition.

You might want to avail yourself to what the actual financial position of the MFC is before underlining naive statements like that.

Unless we have some sustained bumper years you will have to do more than hope. I think it is doubtful that MFC will survive in its existing structure in 10 years. To me Fitzroy was tragic.. And the Kangas is a tragedy waiting to happen.

Given his condition...it could be realistically 2009 before you do that

I fully understand the difference. The trnasition of the Kangas to GC will need to involve an amalgam between the Sharks and the brand of the Kangas. The Sharks are a highly profitable operation with strong local support. There is a viable basis to build an AFL side there. Gaming revenue will be an important in the future of a GC Club. There are many well run Sydney league clubs that earn substantial profits form their operations. Those that have failed did so through incompetence or the hatchet decisions by New Corp. North are nowhere near the Hawks situation. The Kangas have been poking around interstate for 8 years and done nothing. Surely they could not be that dumb. They have had every opportunity and have explored a number of avenues and cant cut it on there own going forward. The Hawks were in a situation they were in due to incompetent and conflicted commitments to capital works on a leasehold property. Its negligently handled and they were temporarily cash strapped. They still had a good membership list with strong brand profile. North have neither. Nevertheless dont believe the smokescreens, the Hawks are not travelling as smoothly as Kennett proclaims. They are like any other Vic Club. BTW, it not a matter of if but when with MFC the way it is heading!

I'd prefer MFC was able to sustain itself financially here. If not it would depend upon the financial predicament we were in and the terms and conditions of the offer made to relocate. If it is the North Melbourne situation, to stay and fight is a death sentence. From what I have seen from history, I would rather be a Sydney Swans supporter than a Fitzroy supporter.

No It isnt. It merely shows up the financial basket case that is North Melbourne. There are a number of Melbourne based AFL Clubs that derive some of their revenue from poker machines. Cartelton and Melbourne being 2 such clubs. The history and licensing of gameing machines in Sydney and Queensland is different to Victoria and the ability to generate strong cash flows and a viable and supported enterprise should not be seen as a detriment to another interstate club. What it shows is that Southport has financially robust means besides an AFL drip feed to operate. Clearly Southport will need some AFL support in the areas of promotion and infrastructure over a number of years. The only folly has been the perpetual sitting on of hands by various Kangaroos directors as their Club has withered away.

Frankly, neither the picture or story tell us anything. The picture is taken at a point in time in the circuit run.Was it at the start or the finish? But Classy is right about the article. Its sudsy at best. I'd prefer Brock makes a statement on the field with his game rather than at a Lionel Ritchie concert.

Based on your spiritual home definition, we have never had one. Historically we were an offshoot of the MCC. The MCG is the domain of the MCC. Arden Street is a dump. North's football offices were burned down 12 months ago and they were portable classrooms. The move for North has been on for at least 5 years. They have sat on their collective asses and dithered. This Brayshaw rally has all the common sense of the Charge of the Light Brigade. They tried in Sydney and Canberra and it did not work and was never going to work. Firstly they were given no assistance or support with the Sydney games and the Canberra market is too small to sustain an AFL team. The Gold Coast is a different proposition. This has been coming for along time.

Its not just the pressure that is placed on MFC players but also the capacity of MFC players to exert sustained pressure on the opposition when we dont have possession.

1. We have a significant battle on our hands. I would suggest that the future of MFC may be through the amalgam of a number of Melbourne based interests who are financial and not necessarily directly involved in AFL. I think the Club's current disposition makes it a hard go. 2. I would prefer MFC be successful in its own right. If that did not eventuate, it would depend on the outcome of new structure/environment. I dont think we will be on the Gold Coast. 3. North Melbourne aren't North Melbourne anymore. They are nothing now. Arden Street is a museum and is a legacy to another era. It offers them little for the future. They have no facilities, no financial stability, no strong heritage with any currency and a small and dwindling supporter base. MFC have similar challenges. North supporters should have been doing this fighting and standing up 20 years ago. The same should have been done by MFC supporters. Whether you survive will be primarily driven on an active supporter base. Hassa Mann was right in that MFC would struggle financially in the future. The solution put forward was wrong.

Its simple. Financially they have shown they cannot sustain an operation in Melbourne. They could not in the glory days of Pagan/Carey. They cant now. The Kangas Board should be seeking to work with the AFL to build a viable financial opportunity up in the Gold Coast. So far they have sought ever measure not to move and they are heading for a tragic death wish. Please name the posters who are sitting on their laurels. Every man and his dog knows MFC is on a financial drip feed. If anything North going north actually gives us some further breathing space to turn our house around

Good Luck. Its a good feed at the Elwood RSL at reasonable prices. Its popular in the area and you have to book Friday and Saturday nights.

17 teams wont work. And you still have North as a financial basket case. Nothing solved. North are just frustrating the inevitable. Admirable though it is. Its also self destructive and does little for the outcome of the Club.

From subsequent information I have to hand, I agree. Given what is likely to be available at PSD No 3, we have an overweight Sampi or......???? Sampi may be a 2009 prospect the way he is going. I just dont see many other contenders.

Agree. Its his 5th year I hope he steps up and actually takes hold of a game. He is due now. I hope with DB being a teaching coach that he will benefit players like Sylvia who werent coached properly in the U17s and played on natural instinct rather than coached nous.

I would hope we would not screw ourselves like the Kangas are doing at the moment. All the emotional spirit of the Fitzroy rearguard without the necessary reality!

Spot on

Last sentence in the post you quoted from. B)

I wonder if they had the Pies and Roos for the spoon in 2007.

I am actually 50/50 re Round 1 on whether Yze is there. I just think unless there is a quantum change in Yze he will battle to survive 2008. I just wonder how much latitude DB will give him. I dont think DB will give him the wide lisence ND gave him. BTW, I think you are close on Yze. For me, Yze is a career in halves with 2002 the split point. Like each year I will continue to watch him closely.

BBP, Like every other player Yze should be selected on form and for the best fit for the team. It depends on your metric for Yze. Number of goals should not be it. He could get 2 easy receives in the goal square and kick 2 goals, do nothing else and you would have some posters screaming what a star and this makes up for the past 5 years of slipping performances It depends upon the context of the team we are playing and the match. Put it bluntly...Yze is not the player he was 3 to 5 years ago. The game is quicker, Yze is not. His foot skills have slipped considerably. Yze cannot coast on his diminishing talent as he has done in the past. The game is more and more about contested possession and placing maximum pressure on the opposing ball carrier. Contested ball and defensive pressure are two areas that Yze fails in. I am more interested in what he does when he does not have the ball than the 15 seconds a game that he does. If he cant compete effectively in the contested ball and defensive pressure areas he is dead meat. From the past two years he has been found wanting and cannot cut corners. I have grave doubts that Yze can understand just what is required to play for the team. I believe he is likely to struggle unless he shows those attributes that seem to apply to all other footballers and they seem to implement readily. I dont think putting him in Sandy for any period as matter of principle will teach Yze anything. God knows Yze has been given more wake up calls than any other player but just does not get it. I would have thought that being "Captain" off the bench in the 2005 EF and then being axed as VC would have taught him something. Evidently not! He plays at Sandy if the coaches dont believe his performance warrants selection at MFC.

I struggle to see how a player we got at pick 55 in the 2001 ND who has played nearly 100 games has underachieved. Admittedly many have been so-so. There is a misconception amongst many posters on this site that Miller was the great white hope at CHF from a couple of early games where he showed some rough promise. His past four years have shown him to be a NQR AFL player with great character but limited natural ability. There were many players picked ahead of him in that draft and subsequent drafts who have done less in AFL. He is just not that good whether forward or back and anything positive we can extract from him in the next year has to be a positive whether he plays the "aggressor" (not good so far) or the "new age guy" (does not cut on the field).

Yze at 85kgs is as thin as Whelan at 84 kgs, Pickett at 86kgs and Jones at 81kgs....I would only expect from Yze what I would reasonably expect from any footballer that pulls on the MFC jumper. BTW, Junior at 75kgs and Davey at 72kgs and their attack on the ball and pressure on their opponent when they dont have it should embarrass Yze. From some of his spooked performances, Yze just does not get it He received the footy and up until the past 2 to 3 years did deliver it well. No his job was no different to most other players. He was extremely good at putting in on his terms and not on the teams. Exactly. Beyond your ability to copy tattslotto numbers off another website, your analysis does little to support your argument. In a game that is increasingly marred by a wave of cheap possessions, total numbers of anything provide no meaningful analysis of players worth over a season. It does little to debunk the argument that Yze cashes in when its easy and disappears when its tough. It also does not measure his effectiveness with those possessions nor whether they were contested or uncontested. I accept you're easily impressed with the mediocre.

I would honestly be happy if we got at least some value out of Miller. I could not care how he approaches it to do so. In his 7th year and if he cant work out what works on the field and what doesnt its further proof he is not up to the AFL cut.