Gator

Young volatile player is peed off with not playing finals, then subsequently finishes 5th in the B&F. Said young player who feels he should be more highly valued and is still feeling a little raw meets an opposition coach of a club that he knows is keen to secure his services. Rumours subsequently abound. But pretty soon he has time to think about his mates, the club, the journey, and the direction he's thought about for years. But the cat is out of the bag, so the rumours won't stop. This would happen all the timer every year. Did he get p1ssed off and think about leaving ? Probably. Who cares ? That's a million miles from actually doing it.

I'd rather back Melksham to regain his 2018 form than worry about omitting the underwhelming Sparrow. I have vivid memories of Melksham beating the highly rated Sicily in that second final. Also, Melksham's kicking inside 50 was written about in that year. ''The Demons forward has won nine out of his 14 one-on-one contests in the attacking 50m this season, with his career-best form a key reason behind the club’s surge to third on the ladder.'' ''This season the Demons have retained possession from 23 out of Melksham’s 35 kicks inside 50m, ranked No.2 in the AFL and above elite ball users Martin, Scott Pendlebury and Dayne Zorko.'' ''If you look at the ‘‘money kick’ men over the past four weeks, Melksham towers above the rest of the competition.'' Melksham's best is quality. I'd much rather get him back in form than gift more games to Sparrow. Sparrow will get more opportunities, but the window to set up our season and a potential top 4 finish is now.

Melksham is no longer popular around here, but it's a new year and for me he makes us better if he's perfoming. I'd like to see how he goes and I can live without Sparrow's 4 disposals.

Why people want Baker or Lockhart near this side is unfathomable to me.

It's too early to get too excited, although the signs are encouraging. That said, does anyone feel like a peanut for carrying on like a dope when we lost a practice match in which 6 of last year's top 10 in the B&F were missing ?

I thought Treloar couldn't kick according to many of the luminaries on here. Dopes.

Oliver Petracca Salem Langdon Tomlinson Gawn

Clearly you don't do football. Without question Viney is above average speed for an inside mid. He's certainly not ''slow''.

Petty should be playing ahead of Tomlinson in the back-line. May, Lever, Petty is optimal. That said, you're right. Without Brown and Weideman, Petty as a fill-in key forward makes sense. McDonald, Jackson with Gawn floating forward isn't the answer. We ned to be flexible and Petty forward is a better option. Even if only for a few weeks.

Not only did 6 of our top 10 from last year's B&F not play, all of the Dogs top 10 from last year did. Perspective.

It's not like you to complicate or over-think things.

Bailey Laurie Forward Bailey Laurie was selected by the Demons with pick No. 22 of the 2020 Draft. Coming from the Oakleigh Chargers, Laurie possesses lightning speed, silky skills and an ability to read the game, making him a dynamic recruit for the club. While the 18-year-old can play on the wing, he will prove most valuable around the goals and could have an impact for Melbourne in 2021. ???

Six of last year's top 10 in the Best & Fairest didn't play. I'm guessing they would have made a difference, along with a 60 goal proven forward.

I do. Mainly because of our list profile. It's taken a number of years, but we're now the 5th oldest team and from a ''games played'' perspective we're 7th. Importantly, many of our best players are in their 20s and most are 23-25 and finally in their prime. Petracca 25, Oliver 23, Lever 25, Langdon 25, Salem 25, Brayshaw 25, Fritsch 24, Weideman 23 and hopefully an improved Harmes 25. Every one of those players should expect to finish top 10 in the B&F (except for Weideman-delayed start). And May, Gawn, Viney and Ben Brown are still under 30 for all of 2021. That's a healthy core. We've also got 4 of the best 30-40 players in the competition imo, which is nothing to sneeze at. If we can get the added excitement that comes from emerging young players such as Jackson, Bowey, Laurie, Pickett, Petty, and a couple of others, then I don't see why we're not a finals team at a minimum and knocking on the door of the four. I sometimes think supporters just assume other lists are better. But when I look at most of the other top 8 teams, or aspiring top 8 teams, I see plenty of flaws. We really should be good enough to be at the pointy end of the ladder. The reason the media and opposition supporters don't have us there is the same reason you doubt us. They don't trust us. We're a flaky club. And let's be honest, it's pretty hard to argue with. Yes, we have to improve our ball movement, the delivery inside 50 and not relax our intensity during games (maturity). Just about every other club has the same issues to varying degrees. There's also a sameness to the midfield, but I reckon that can be sorted with quality coaching and better ball movement. It's a long journey developing a unit ready to regularly compete in finals. I reckon our list profile is finally perfectly placed to be thereabouts. As long as they believe they're good enough, because that's the one area I'm not privvy to, i.e. their pysche. Choco Williams and Yze couldn't have come along at a better time to help with those belief systems. It's a long season and there'll be stumbles along the way, but Goodwin has no more excuses not to have this group playing finals (barring the standard horror year with injuries).

And it was Mark Williams playing him on the wing in 2019 for Werribee, although I don't believe he started the season there.

In an interview in 2019 with ex Demon Jack Fitzpatrick Kye says his best position is the wing. That said, I don't take much notice of those types of player comments, albeit I thought it was interesting. He certainly seems flexible from a positional point of view.

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Thankfully, he'll end his career as a very ordinary pick one. Imagine if he became an AA quality gun and you had to watch him run around every week ? Good riddance.

Grievance archeologists are at it again. Lewis should be punished for his thoughts.

I met Mark at his video store many years ago to pick up a copy of a Robbie Flower compilation video that was put together by Ash29 (an Essendon supporter who posts rarely now). A truly gentle man and a lovely chat. RIP Mark. Condolences to his family.

I can't take seriously any teams posted that include Baker, Smith, Lockhart, or Hore. At best they're VFL quality players.

Balme never won a flag during his administrative tenure at Collingwood.

It's unlike you to overthink things...

You'd have to say Mahoney's been a great servant of the club. Getting 13 years from any employee is fantastic. But it's also a long time. I don't know how anyone could be annoyed with the MFC or Mahoney. It's been a good union.

You might not like the line of questioning, but the discussion is hardly ''strange''.