KingDingAling

We can back our youth and still put in a reasonable offer for Kelly. There are a lot of passengers on this list. Get Kelly, then do some pruning. We overrated our list.

I hope so. We are sorely lacking a Kelly. I would give up a dozen Melksham's for a Josh Kelly. I hope we go all out on Kelly, he is exactly what we need. We need more effective players. At present we have a lot of solid battlers. We need some class.

We got Oliver being touted as a potential brownlow medalist, Petracca being compared favorably to Ablett and Gray at the same age. Meanwhile Jayden Hunt is absolutely carving up sides with his run and carry. Good times.

Providing he plays the year out strongly and his soft tissue injuries are behind him then I think he should be our target. His inconsistency can probably be put down to injuries. Hasn't had a real solid run at it. So far this year he has been Sydney's best forward. Reid is a serious talent. He would be a great get IMO.

Reid is an absolute gun. He should be target no 1 for us. Reid is the real deal. He is every bit as good as the best forward in the league IMO.

Zac Jones would be a good get. He takes the game on. Has a hardness about him. We are a hardened outfit. Jones would add to our side. Upgrade on Melksham.

Petracca already looks ready to explode. So impressed with his the past month. He has shown consistency, and has stepped up when we needed. I think if we were to put Petracca in the midfield that he would add a lot. I believe he is absolutely ready. I think he could be elite right away. I look at the game from the weekend and it is evident that either Petracca or Salem need to be added to our midfield - perhaps even both at once (but maybe down the track). Petracca is very physical. I hope we start him in the midfield from here on in. Now Hogan is back in, I would be starting Petracca as a mid. Many of our other mids - Tyson, Viney, and even Lewis - have been wasteful and sloppy by foot. Petracca as a player is effective, Melbourne as a team at the moment is ineffective. We need to put our effective players in midfield position IMO. That way we can give our forwards better opportunities.

Even as a forward Petracca is ahead of McCartin. Petracca is exactly the type of player we need in the midfield at the moment. He is effective with ball in hand - something many of our mids aren't. Petracca actually does something with the football when he has it. I hope he starts in the midfield along with Oliver and Salem or Jones.

Petracca is unlike any player I have seen. Whether that amounts to becoming a star is another thing. I am surprised with his consistency and resilience as of late though. I didn't expect to see a reliable player so early. At risk of jinxing the kid, he does look to be a great leader. Very impressed by his temperament.

No. Josh Kelly lowers his eyes better than anyone else in the competition. I actually watched him last year.

Stats don't tell you that Josh Kelly lowers his eyes better than anyone in the comp. Great execution as well. Kid is absolute class. If he does consider our club in the future it would be a massive coup. He is exactly what we need. Viney or Oliver getting the ball in Kelly's hands. Hogan would be happy to see that.

When you say it like that - Tyson, Salem and Hunt, for basically Kelly and pick 20. Pretty impressive trading/drafting. I am a massive fan of Josh Kelly, I think he is a future Brownlow winner. But Dom Tyson is no slouch, and has the points on the board, and Salem and Hunt have massive upside. Hunt might actually be one of the very few youngsters in the league with more upside than Kelly. Hunt could end up better than the lot of them.

Essendon supporters seem pretty happy with Dodoro. That is all he should care about.

Gee Essendon would be licking their lips. I am glad we don't have a first round pick to give them.

I'm glad we don't have first dibs at the moment. Otherwise that would mean the Western Bulldogs would have first dibs on their kids.

He wasn't even much chop on supplements. Hopefully provides some good depth at Casey though.

I will be pleasantly surprised if Melksham makes the grade next year.

One of our rookies was upgraded for him, got the chance, and is playing good footy. At least we are getting something out of that wasted pick on Melksham.

Fremantle are in serious trouble. Question marks over the future of Fyfe and Bennell's career, Sandilands, Mundy, Pavlich, Johnson, and most likely Barlow and Ballantyne would all be retired by the end of Jesse's contract here. It sounds more and more as though Neale is leaving. Michael Walters (while a great little player) is injury prone. Fremantle are going to spend some long hard years down the bottom of the ladder. At this time MFC will be a top 4 side. Jesse would have to be very homesick to leave, which in that case, he wouldn't have played his best footy here anyway. I expect the club to want an answer this year.

I will continue to back Petracca for the rising star - as I have for a while now. He would've been a very big kid if he had of started in his first year. An extra year in the gym, a year in the system, and a year with the group. Petracca is going to be the guy to beat for the rising star, and that is even if he starts round 4-5. I remember watching him as a junior and thinking to myself that he was on a different level to other players. I never expected we'd land him. I have - and will - continue to back him for the rising star. The only thing that has changed is that I am now also backing Oliver (as a saver), and maybe more than that, he is transitioning well, he is a logical threat. I backed Cripps ahead of Hogan last year, so I am not much of a punter. I didn't expect Hogan to be that dominate, and think it is positive for us - and him - that he was/is.

I agree. Pretty easy decision. Petracca, Brayshaw, Viney, Oliver and Salem, are as promising as any young midfield in the game. That is a relentless, tough and classy midfield. After this year, I expect Gawn will also be a top 3 ruckman in the league. Whereas Sandilands is on borrowed time.

It is pointless playing him in the two's when he is one of our better players in the one's (at least he was today). Pick players on form. He doesn't deserve to be dropped back to the reserves, that wouldn't be a good precedent to set, we should be rewarded our young players when they have good games - as we did with Brayshaw last year.

They were probably a bit surprised it was such a talking point - so early (the media has been on it for a while). I think its best to put it to bed early in the season, because there will be speculation around guys coming out of contract at the end of the year. That conversation should take centre stage now, and Hogan should get a relatively easy run (media wise), at least till the end of the year. MFC have time, and would be assuming Hogan is going to sign, so we treat him accordingly, and protect him from the media. I think it is the best course of action to come out and declare Jesse will be waiting till the end of the year. Then the media can turn to more immediate players coming out of contract. I don't think it is something we'd do if Jesse was entering his last year of his contract. But in this instance, we need to protect him.

I agree. There is no need for the media to do a lot of things. In this instance I don't mind it though, because if Hogan is going to sign, he will. If he isn't going to sign, then he will have to squirm for the whole of 2017, and I wouldn't pity him. But in saying that, I think he will sign. We have the best young list in the competition, and Fremantle will be struggling by 2018. No Pavlich, Sandilands, Barlow, Mundy (most likely), McPharlin, Johnson. Fremantle are in for a whole world of pain, and they will have to fight hard to keep Weller. Bennell is no certainty to be there, and as good as Fyfe is, he is injury prone. I don't see Fremantle being a top 8 side, and I see us being a top 4 side, so I doubt Hogan leaves. Footballers want success. I bet Buddy is kicking himself missing out on the last couple of flags at Hawthorn.

It is actually good for MFC that the media are heaping pressure on. I want to see players have to squirm when they say that they are putting contract talks off until the end of the year. Players should just come out and say they are leaving. The current system incentivizes them to lie, that surely cannot be a good thing. If I were a player I would be straight up with everyone and say, no, I am leaving. McCarthy did it, only thing is, he wasn't out of contract, and then pulled the 'golden ticket' (mental health card).