Caligula's cohort

So we have 4 players earning around $700k that being Gawn, Lever, May and McDonald. Should we think about chasing a big fish in Cameron, Williams or Daniher? seeing as we have no 1st round draft picks and plenty of Cap space leftover presumably.

Ross of the Lyon variety for me. Firstly Roos instilled 3 years of his mantra into our playing list and most of them are still on our list. Roos taught everything he knew to Lyon so we would be able to quickly assimilate to his playing structures. Clarkson likes tall and lean kids with great skills, or small and fast forwards... most of which we don't have. Clarkson may rate our side but it is completely different to what he is used to managing.

IN: Jones, Tomlinson and Smith in I reckon. OUT: Tmac, Jetta and Melksham. May to play forward, Smith to play on Gunston down back, Lever and Omac minding M.Lewis and O'Brien. Jonesy to replace Melk in the forward line. We need Tomlinson in, as the Hawks have 2 gut runners in Smith and Scully, and he can relieve Gawny in the Ruck.

It's also interesting to note that Melbourne is a much stronger side compared to the team that played in the 2018 Elimination Final against Geelong. We've added May, Lever, Langdon and Tomlinson. Melbourne are entering their prime playing group age, while Geelong will only have this year to have a crack. Selwood, Hawkins, Taylor, Ablett, Tuohy, Steven and even Danger are 30 and over and nearing the end. I'd imagine they'll drop off steeply next year.

Kent was one of my faves at the Dees, but he wouldn't be able to get a game with our current healthy list. He was lucky to get a game at the Saints today as Ryder was a late omission. As for Frost, he didn't stick to the defensive structures and was shown the door... much like Dunn. But I agree, it was sad to see him go.

I quite like the side on paper. There is a lot of speed and X factor in the forward line. I reckon the Dees will get up.

We desperately need a key forward who can take strong marks and kick goals... Brody Mihocek anyone??? He's out of contract, and playing for peanuts as a rookie at Collingwood. Straight swap Weideman (Eddie loves the Weidemans btw) for Mihocek and we'll be a far better side.

Weid and Jackson were named emergencies for round 1 and were clearly not ready to play. Weid had a rolled ankle and wasn't even close to playing and Jackson is a long way off from playing in the 1sts. So it's really anyone's guess who they choose as emergencies. I chose those four players as it works well with structures. Each player represents an area of need should someone in the 22 be unable to play. Bennel plays fwd/mid, Pruess is our only back up Ruck, Petty plays fwd/back and Hunt is a HHF/HHB.

It was more to do with structure. Petty can play fwd/back and Burgess had mentioned weeks ago he was back in full training. Pruess is our only available ruck who is AFL standard and he was close to full fitness in round 1. Perhaps your logic needs some reviewing.

My 22 FB: - N.JETTA (180cm) - O.McDONALD (196cm) - J.LEVER (195cm) HB: - M.HIBBERD (186cm) - S.MAY (193cm) - C.SALEM (183cm) ? - A.TOMLINSON (194cm) - C.OLIVER (187cm) - E.LANGDON (182cm) HF: - C.PETRACCA (186cm) - S.WEIDEMAN (195cm) - J.MELKSHAM (186cm) FF: - B.FRITSCH (188cm)- T.McDONALD (194cm) - K.PICKETT (170CM) RR: - M.GAWN (208cm) - A.BRAYSHAW (187cm) - J.VINEY (178cm) INT: - N.JONES (180cm), A.VANDENBERG (188cm), J.HARMES (185cm), J.LOCKHART (177cm) EMG: H.BENNEL (185CM), B.PRUESS (206cm), H.PETTY( 197cm), J.HUNT (187cm)

The jokes already been made Red... see post #162

Like your thinking... 2 meter Peter has always been a fan of mine. Ainsworth is a top draft pick. It will require a good draft pick to get him.

And they are by the MCC. There's little to no staff costs, catering costs etc. The MCC has just pocketed $50 million for providing no service to it's members. So they can well and truly give a handout to it's MCG based teams.

Because those MCC members are footing the bill. I paid $800 for my MCC & MFC membership this year and won't be given a refund. Add to that the other 100k MCC members and thats $80 million. Albeit, not everyone pays full memberships so let's round it out to $50 million.

Joe Daniher has a lot of connections at Melbourne with Goodwin, Matty Egan, Mitch Brown, Melksham and Hibberd. If he were to go to another Melbourne based club, I wouldn't be totally surprised if he chose us. I know from a source that Joe isn't putting his full efforts into rehabbing his injuries and he isn't happy with some of the coaching and medical staff. I've also heard he enjoys a few nose beers from time to time (but let's face it, lots of AFL players do). He's just another Hogan IMO.

Not a fan of the black hems on the collar and sleeves. I would much prefer red. A few of the lads rocking the 2XU skins... new sponsor perhaps? Normally the lads always wore NB or BSC skins.

I'd imagine they'll be training at Casey for the next few weeks so as to limit contact with the general public.

The fact Geelong have been paying over the salary cap for 8 years tells me they only self reported once the AFL HQ finally got wind of it. They should of been fined 500k! It might seem a bit steep, but it's complete rubbish the Geelong finance department didn't pick up on over expenditure.

We all saw the impact Viney had in the 2018 finals after missing most of the season. I have full confidence he'll get back to his best this year. He just needs to fix up his disposal and set shots on goal.

Not really, but we have a chat after training every now and then.

Hunty was one of the first people out there for pre-season coming back with the first to fourth years, and he's rarely missed a training session. I think he's a bit miffed playing with the reserves after all the hard work he's put in on the track over summer. I'm hopeful he'll get his confidence back, because when he was playing HBF in 16/17, breaking lines and doing courageous spoils, he was one of my favourite's to watch.

Harmes, May, Oliver, Jetta, Gawn, Viney, AVB, Tmac and Goody.

From the left - AVB, Jones, Jetta, Gawn, Viney, Tmac and Goody.

You could also argue the same for Buckley, even though he hasn't won a Premiership. He was on the chopping block after years of mediocrity and then went on to playing in a Grand Final (which they should of won) and a Prelim last year. What I noticed with all these coaches is that they realised that over coaching was taking away from their players natural abilities. Let the players play on instinct while having a clear game-plan and you'll win Premierships. Personally, I think we'll play off in a Grand Final this year. The time is right!

Replace T.mac for Spargo