Bang Bang Bang

The Melbourne FC Twitter page confirmed it on the Saturday night. Perhaps the paperwork wasn't lodged until the Monday but I can definitely remember waking up on the Sunday morning and being over the moon. If only I'd known... http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/melbourne-snares-mitch-clark-in-afl-trade/story-e6frg7mf-1226167594335

I could have sworn we landed the Mitch Clark trade on a Saturday night back in 2011.

[censored] him. If Gold Coast offer us a better deal than Collingwood then trade him there. He's not a free agent.

I [censored] hated him at the Bombers and didn't rate him but will give him a fair go. Welcome Jake. I'm not sure what I want to happen with WADA now. All along I've wanted to see those arrogant pricks punished but with Hird and Little gone and Melksham with us, it might be better if they get cleared now. If he does get banned for 2 years then we're going to look a little silly. If not, then we might get a surprising return from him in 2016.

If he does 'nominate' Collingwood (I'm another who's sick to death of players doing this) then Kennedy and a 2016 second rounder would excite me more than a 2015 third rounder. It would be added incentive to barrack against them too.

His manager did seem pretty honest and his parting words are 99% confirmation he's a goner. In fact by the way he was talking I don't think Howe is even considering staying. 2/3 of the interested clubs are Victorian. I would hazard a guess that it's Collingwood (rumoured) and one of North, Richmond or (shudder) Hawthorn as he was implying that one of them had only just finished their season.

I love Brisbane's stance re. Aish. Yeah so they're probably going to lose out on a second round pick but the message it sends is very strong. [censored] Aish and [censored] these other kids 'nominating' clubs after 2 years. Hope he goes to Carlton.

He has been considered but officially ruled out according to Josh Mahoney. Case closed.

Not sure why that couldn't be posted here originally?!? Thanks anyway!

I know Hogan is the messiah but what happens if he starts getting injured again? Who is going to support him? There's Pedersen and perhaps Howe (if he stays) but that's about it. Our tall forward stocks are pretty thin. If Dawes is up for trade then I'd expect us to have a readymade replacement in mind.

Richmond in 2004 had five picks in the top 20 and used them on Deledio (1), Tambling (4), Danny Meyer (12), Adam Patterson (16) and Dean Polo (20). They also picked up JON at #8 the following year. Whoever their recruiting manager at the time might be challenging Prendergast for his crown. It's little wonder they were awful until recently when their drafting improved a lot.

I was way off with the Darling prediction. I rate him highly but his temperament on the big stage left a lot to be desired. Maybe he's just a flat track bully (always kills US!!!)

I think the problem is Hawthorn didn't give up Brayshaw to get him. They gave nothing. They got to add a 26 y/o, quality and experienced KPP to their list for free (and a pretty modest contract from memory) purely because he wanted to taste success. In this case we have benefitted from it with Brayshaw an excellent replacement but I doubt rival clubs care about that. Hawthorn have gotten stronger out of it too and they were already too strong for the rest of the competition. It's not their fault, they're a great club in every aspect but it will be too easy for the Hawks to stay up if other free agents follow in Frawley's footsteps and younger players "nominate" Hawthorn every off season to chase success.

I'd rather see 400k go to Howe than Melksham.

West Coast by 12 points. Jack Darling to really stamp himself as a superstar of the game and kick 5! Hawthorn are pretty much becoming the AFL's version of Real Madrid/Manchester United. Fourth straight GF!!! Sick of them. I don't particularly like West Coast, they've always seemed to have an arrogant culture, but I hope they can get the job done.

I find it interesting that when Howe decided to 'put off contract talks to season's end' he actually meant it. Like most, I assumed he already had a firm offer elsewhere and was going to walk. As for 1.4 over 3 years, that doesn't seem too bad.

He didn't play in the final round. His last game of the year was against Fremantle in Perth, incidentally one of the worst games he has played. He ain't up to it. No shame in that, he has given it a much better shake than any of us, but I hope we don't see him play again at AFL level.

Rawlings kicked 7 on debut for the Dogs then did very little after that. He even ended up at North a few years later. Hawthorn on-traded pick 6 for Danny Jacobs who played 45 forgettable games for them, while pick 6 ended up being used on Kepler Bradley! There weren't any major winners from the Veale deal and it must have been pretty embarrassing for the kid.

Toumpas is a small player (i.e. not a tall/project type that requires patience), has been around 3 years and still couldn't get a game in a mediocre side. He wasn't even dominating the VFL. I like the kid, has copped some unjust criticism in his time and hope he does well at his new club but you're kidding yourselves if you think we'd get more than pick 24 for him. I think we'd be lucky to get it. Ben Kennedy is another name I've heard mooted but he's in a very similar boat to Toumpas. Small player, highly rated junior, struggled massively over 3 seasons. I'd prefer a pick. We waited too long with Morton a few years back and ended up getting pick 88 for him...

[censored] that. Howe is a 25 y/o 100 gamer. Sure he's a bit of a show pony, but he's an AFL quality utility. Plowman was a pick 3 once, big whoop, so was Toumpas. And the latter has shown more which is saying something.

Players at Melbourne that fill me with confidence when they get the ball, in the sense that something good will happen and/or won't be turned over. Nathan Jones Jesse Hogan Bernie Vince Christian Salem Angus Brayshaw Billy Stretch He's obviously not in the same class as the others, and will need to significantly increase his possession count if he wants to reach their level, but his decision making and poise belied his age and experience this year. Slotting a big time goal against Geelong in his second game was rather impressive too. I think he'll be a player.

LOL

Is it? I would hope to get a player of Hartlett's quality with it at the draft. I think pick 6 on its own is a fair trade off and Port may even want more. He's a lock-and-loaded B+ midfielder, contracted and 25 y/o. We won't get him cheap.

Is his toe still 6 weeks away from healing?

If he took our past out of the equation, and just looked at the future (chance of success and $$$), the we'd have to be a small chance of appealing to him. I guess it's pretty hard to ignore the past and our club's losing culture though. Logic says we will miss out. OR he will come to us and we'll still be [censored].