Qwerty30

The choice of Hodge or Judd etc...

Using your picks well is half the battle. The other half is trading out overrated trade value, and having the balls to do so. Hawthorn got rid of Croad (for pick 1 for memory), Johnny Hay, Nathan Thompson etc...

Some smart people were demanding that this club do something similar with a Jeff White, Cale Morton (after year 1), etc...

So who had the "smart people" identified as the Clubs that were prepared to pay over the odds for White and Morton ( year 1)?

The Hawks should be congratulated for their success but have a number of things go uber right for them to get to the top. One of those was the incredibly overvalued lopsided deal that saw NQRs Thompson and Hay go to North for well above value. They got lucky with that. I don't recall those deals being to put to MFC back then.......

Water under the bridge - drafting is a very inexact craft / science, but we didn't get much that time I have to agree.

Tbh we have not got a draft right since 1999.

If it's a craft or science then we have been in the dark ages and we have been extremely inexact.

If the GF was played today we could have had a different result. The strong gusty winds would have played havoc with the Hawks cute kicking game. Would have degenerated into a scrap which may have suited the Swans better.

Rubbish. When you only lay 24 tackles in a GF you're stuffed. The conditions are irrelevant when a team like the Swans squibbed it,

I'd like Andrew Moore from Port, and probably Ben Newton and Kane Mitchell too.

We need midfield depth and all three would do it, but I doubt Port would want anyone from our list nor particularly late draft picks either.

We need midfield class rather than depth. Particularly outside runners that can really use the ball.

Schroder for sure. He is the best player in the AFL not getting a game.

Goalkicker. Inside mid. Good skills. Smart. Tough. Just behind too many at Cattery.

Really?? The Cats this year are chronically thin in that area at the moment

I was gutted when he left. I had number 11 on the back of my tracksuit top (and no 1 on the front - loved big gary baker)

Wells was an absolute gun. Its a pity he never got the success he richly deserved at MFC.

All those players were on the downward slide, of their career - did any play more than three seasons for their second club?

Both were 10+ VFL players so it reasonable to think they might not have player many seasons more (Sorry Boomer and Fletch)

And both played critical midfield roles in premierships at their new clubs. Some downhill slide to their careers!

Both Alves and Wells went to those clubs virtually against their will, they both wanted to stay but the club felt the offers to good and asked them to go for the good of the club.

Have heard this straight from the horses mouth.

Players now are looking for success handed to them, it was clear from Frawley's last season that he had no intention of putting anything on the line for the good of the team, let alone his body.

Perhaps the 8 years wouldn't be quite so cr@p if players like him who should be leading by example didn't throw the toys out of the pram and seek success by taking short cuts.

Yes I remember an MFC official admitting they shopped Wells against his will. The officials rang him and said your on your bike and sorry but it is about money. The reason the club has always battled, lack of funds and particularly lack of brains at the top end.

Well the horse and the MFC official have been telling you porkies.

Both Alves and Wells quit MFC after distinguished careers at MFC to taste finals success elsewhere.

The Club unsuccessfully tried to blocked and screw Alves for leaving. The Club lost out and lost Alves for nothing to North. Over the course of his great career, Alves, Hardeman and Wells were chronically underpaid by those standards while the Club blew its money on players like Ditterich and Tilbrook. The final act resulted in Alves being embittered and no longer a Club supporter when interviewed on 774.

http://demonwiki.org/tiki-index.php?page=Stan+Alves

After a successful career at MFC with no finals experience, Wells left MFC for Carlton. It seemed MFC had finally learnt a lesson and granted his clearance.

http://demonwiki.org/tiki-index.php?page=Greg+Wells

Both players left of their own volition. Further reference can be sourced from 125years of the Melbourne Demons by Greg Hobbs.

And for what its worth I cant blame Frawley from ultimately seeking success. He is hardly on the hook for why we have been terrible for so long.

I find it crazy that players, example Frawley, would leave to walk into a club that will play finals.

You're exactly right in your post, personally, I would want to earn that success.

I suppose it's also a sign of the times, and its trending to football players as well, they want it now.

He's spent 8 years at a cr@p club that is so far away from playing finals, he has earns the right to chase some success.

It isn't a sign of the times.

Club Champs like Alves and Wells did it over 30 years ago.

I know where you are coming from TGR, but I must have missed the 'elite' who surrounded Frawley in his AA year.

Agree

The "elite" were usually his oponents that he mostly beat up on

Then no wonder he was made AA in that year. He was very good then.

Clark hasn't impacted a game for 3 years.

3 years is a long time. I cannot see his body holing up. I can see alot of plugger Lockett scenario here. Absolutely spud it up when he comes out of retirement.

I will bet my testicles Clark will never make the impact he did back in 2012.

It's 2 years and if you give up your cojones then you ain't got much left.

Yeah Clark has played 15 games in 3 years and set to leave while Hogan played about 5 minutes in 2014.

Hardly anything to be excited for.

Notwithstanding the disappointing outcome with Clark, his recruitment was an absolute coup for the Club that has struggled to attractive marque talent.

And if you can't realise the opportunity that Hogan could provide this Club then you should consider the hole we would have been in with a grossly overpaid and underperforming Tom Scully.

Says you.

Sweet dreams.

If we have a spot on our list and the choice is between Schroeder & Clisby, I'd give Schroeder a chance.

...

That's rather a redundant option given Clisby is already gone.

Whats stopping Mitch walking to St Kilda via PSD and them drafting Petracca at 1?

He had enough trouble dealing with being at one cr@p club. I don't think he would go out of his way to join another.

I posted this in another thread being thoughts passed on from an astute Cats supporter mate:

....... Won Liston Medal so can play.......

Can't be that astute if he rates the Liston!

And from the descriptions of the players if accurate they're hardly the types MFC are looking for.

And I would not use Evans as a benchmark either for acceptance.

Mitch is an elite talent and as such other clubs will inevitably be interested in securing his services. It is in our interest that there are multiple clubs interested and that Mitch factors in the compensation MFC will receive when choosing his preferred club.

I hold no beef with Mitch. In many ways the more we understand about mental health issues the less we understand.

Mitch is doing things for Mitch and he will factor in compensation for Mitch. What MFC receive will be neither here nor there and definitely not hold up any deal. And MFC's marginalised position here has got little to do with mental health issues.

I wonder if he feels any guilt at being paid so much more than many of his more talented/effective teammates.

He shouldn't at all.

He was offered a ridiculous over the top deal and he rightly took it.

Regardless of how it pans out, he would have been stupid not to take it.

I really think nobody would really be slagging him off if he just said: "I consider myself a loyal person, and ordinarily I would love to repay the club that drafted me with a career of as high a level of service as I can offer. But in light of the tremendous financial opportunity GWS's offer represents, I feel it would be irresponsible of me not to take it."

If he had said this as soon as he had made up his mind, we all would have understood and moved on from the issue. I would have, anyway.

LOL. You really are in dreamtime my friend.

Why there is bitterness directed at Scully on this site.

Read all the slagging off on Scully on this thread and others,

We dodged a bullet in the compensation.

People need to move on and stick pins in other targets.

After 5 years Scully is underwhelming for what was given up to get him.

While I can see why you say that, I really think that the club has to give some indication to supporters that it wasn't screwed if indeed it was not screwed. There will be ways of doing it perhaps with a bit of subtext, without stepping over the line you are concerned about.

Depends on what your definition of screwed is.

We have paid over $1m, got 15 games over 3 years from a player that would have much of our medical budget.

I think we have already been screwed by the situation.

The club has little control of the outcome but should try to maximise where it can.

And that's an obvious given that does not have to be put in a presser.

I have tried to withhold judgement until we knew more. Seems to me that there are still two alternatives.

1. We made it clear to him that he was not wanted, or if wanted, only on a very undesirable contract. And we did that because we know more than other clubs or have a cunning scheme in mind.

2. MC is indeed best described by the long list of expletives deleted that some having been lobbing at him.

For the comfort of supporters, if #1 is the truth, then I hope the club lets us know some way or another.

I doubt the Club will make any specific statement about MC given his history of mental health issues beyond we supported him etc.

I think the behind the scenes assessments will be different and best left there.

The third club is Hawthorn, as some media reports suggest.

Given they have Roughy Hale and two other front line ruckman on the list, I can't see the Hawks sweating over MC.

Practically the only reason we drafted him was because he was Trenners best mate and would stop the homesickness that might have occurred with Trengove.

LOL. The rubbish pedalled here is amazing.

None of what you have said goes even close to touching the reasons why.

Why what?