Bang Bang Bang

Those quotes do bode well for his imminent signature. I know Scully said nearly exactly the same things in 2011, except for one difference. He had already put contract talks on hold til the end of the year (how did we not see it coming???). Petracca has indicated a contract will get done. Normally when players are on the way out, or considering leaving, they normally trot things out like 'I want to focus on my footy' and 'There's no hurry/timeframe.' No guarantees but I think Petracca will sign sooner rather than later.

Two things. Predicted superdrafts hardly ever end up being as good as projected. Rave about 2001 all you want, but then came 2006, 2008 and 2012, all of which have flunked. Meanwhile, 2013 and 2015 were considered weaker yet look the best of recent years. Secondly, we could have picked Scully (2x AA squad), Martin (best player in comp), Talia (AA) and Fyfe (AA) with 1,2,11 and 18 in 2009. That's just off the top of my head.

Every single year this happens. I remember the Gold Coast guy saying the exact same thing re. O'Meara. Brisbane were super strong re. Aish. Both ended up at their club of choice. You also need to factor in emotion, how would YOU be feeling if Petracca requested a trade to Collingwood three days after losing a GF we should have won? Yeah, I thought so. Burton will calm down and soon realise we're good and fair to deal with. We paid Essendon slight overs (at the time) for Melksham and they were good enough to return the favour with Hibberd for slight unders the following year. Playing hardball gets you nowhere. Lever is just about worth two first rounders outside the top 10. He's a very good player, although I question his selection in the AA squad. He's also injury prone. But draft picks are overrated, if it ends up being 10 and 20 or something for Lever then I won't be losing any sleep over it.

Haha, that guy was a pathological liar. Lucky I have an elephant's memory and remembered him claiming Dangerfield was 98% a Demon in 2014, thus taking the Rockliff stuff with a grain of salt. kurtneverdied did deliver the Brendan McCartney news ahead of time, so he has some credit in the bank. 1st and 2nd rounder will get it done if he has indeed chosen us. Expensive, but worth it. Lever is in his third year and in AA discussions. Oliver is in a similar boat (although only in his second). What price would we put on Oliver?

From memory Goodwin brought him over with the idea of playing him in defence. That didn't work out, but he's absolutely smoking it in his new role and fast becoming a favourite. All of a sudden I love that punchable head of his. Love his passion too. If you think about it, paying pick 25 for a steady role player in a Top 8 side is probably a fair deal, despite the early kerfuffles. A similar pick for Hibberd was quite simply highway robbery.

I don't think that's true. I seem to remember Roos stating publicly that McCartin, Petracca and Brayshaw were the clear standouts and we were always going to take the two St. Kilda didn't. I think Emma Quayle quoted our recruiters as rating McCartin first in one of her books (I read that second hand so don't take it as gospel). Certainly, Lever was in the mix and would have been a better pick than Gus but that's hindsight for you. In fact if we had our time again I'd be taking Petracca and Peter Wright, not Lever. Hopefully Weid ends up being the goods because Charlie Curnow is well ahead of him at this point in time too. Taylor has done an excellent job but you can't get them all perfectly right. We also took Salem ahead of Cripps. Not a bad decision per se, just not the perfect one.

Demonland needs a dislike button.

His first half had me convinced he still had shares in the Hawks and we were in for a long three years. But he was very important after half time behind the ball. I think it was him that gave the boys a spray at half time before going off. Whatever he said worked! But I do agree with the general consensus, his 'elite kicking' is actually quite inconsistent.

It's funny because I shared your bemusement when Rohan Connolly left him out of his top 10 recruits earlier in the week. But the same Rohan Connolly made a snide remark about Hibberd missing All Australian in 2014 in article #1 and also included him in his 2013 midway AA squad for 2013 in article #2. So this would confirm that Hibberd indeed was a bloody good player at Essendon in the eyes of Essendon fans at least. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/allaustralians-a-team-brimming-with-new-faces-20140915-10hakg.html http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1570050/half-a-season-produces-team-full-of-talent/

And not just that, his poise, decision making and skill are all elite. A good interceptor too. When the McDonalds get it and even Frost, Hunt and Lewis, there's the occasional heart in mouth moment. But when Hibberd gets it you know you can relax. Gun.

I was happy to get him but didn't expect him to be this good. Our trading and drafting last October gets a big tick. Hibberd for a pick in the late 20s, Lewis for peanuts and Hannan in the 40s are all wins. Unfortunately the Melksham trade is n't looking quite as rosy.

Originally I thought Hibberd was worth an early 20s pick, so to get him for pick 29 and an upgrade of a later pick is a good result. I know Paul Roos had little to do with it, but Hibberd is a Roos-type player. Fans won't flock to get his number on their back but you can be sure he'll be a very useful role player for us for a number of years. Also it's nice to see Petracca being so pro-Melbourne on his Twitter feed, even on his time off. Within minutes of the trade being completed he's on there welcoming Hibberd to the club. Dare I say it, 'bleeds red and blue' already.

Good article on Viney on the ESPN website, http://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/17269727/melbourne-football-club-jack-viney-ultimate-afl-athlete I remember just before we drafted him (in the bruise-free era), he was referred to as a 'culture changer'. He is certainly living up to that reputation.

Born in 1997! I've never felt older.

The one - main - thing that separates Hogan and the other good key forwards from Watts is courage in the air. Hogan has it in spades, Watts has none. The fact JT has described Weideman as having 'elite courage in the air' is promising. Let's hope he has better hands than Dawes and kicks straighter than Ben Holland.

Just how fierce will a midfield of Viney, Brayshaw, vandenBerg, N. Jones and now Oliver be for opposition teams? That's not even factoring in Vince who doesn't mind a scrap and the raging bull Petracca who might end up in there. They will dead set crush the likes of Richmond in the wet. It won't necessarily lead to sustained success but at least the bruise-free era is long behind us!

Exactly.

Gosh some people are pathetic. "if he gets drafted to bombers i am gonna cry" Clayton Oliver replies with: "Why?" "Cause essendon will actually draft someone gun cause your a jet" "Soz for the confusion, looking forward to having you on my supercoach" Yeah, right.

Watts has bulked up significantly from the 2008/09 days.

He has factored in the academy selections. #10 on his list is actually Gold Coast's #6. The article mentions as being keen on Weideman but surely Francis would appeal at #7! 1. Jacob Weitering (Carlton) 195cm key defender 2. Josh Schache (Brisbane Lions) 199cm key forward 3. Callum Mills (Sydney) 188cm midfielder* 4. Jacob Hopper (GWS Giants) 186cm midfielder* 5. Darcy Parish (Melbourne) 181cm midfielder 6. Matthew Kennedy (GWS Giants) 187cm midfielder* 7. Wayne Milera (Essendon) 185cm half-forward 8. Charlie Curnow (Essendon) 191cm midfield/forward 9. Eric Hipwood (Brisbane Lions) 202cm swingman* 10. Clayton Oliver (Gold Coast) 187cm midfielder

There were two highlight videos released of Brayshaw last year. The first one was collated from the Championships and was fairly uninspiring. But the second one was collated from the TAC Cup and he was deadset crushing blokes in tackles and hitting forwards lace out in every clip.

One of my earliest memories as a Melbourne fan was Shaun Smith's 1995 season. He was epic!

I don't mind that kind of behaviour but there's a time and a place for it. Melksham could have turned a 50/50 shot at goal into a certainty with that macho [censored]. Looks like he gets away with it in this instance.

This one isn't too bad. (2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyc3AQm515I

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.