Harry Manback

I'm with Brockstars on this. Burgoyne has been somewhat inconsistent, but he's far more talented and effective than he's being given credit for on here. He's inside and outside and has been very effective in run-with/shut down roles. He'd be in our best 3 players the day he walked in the door and I also agree that a fit Burgoyne would just about have us playing Finals next year. Momentum is a wonderful thing around a club.

We should have beaten Richmond and Sydney, and tanked greatly against Carlton and North, not to mention the injuries we had late in the year. Outside the top 6 the competition is crud. The Bombers made the Finals on 10 wins.

Why supporters bother to worry about a player's knees when we've medicos to do that is beyond me. If we want him it's because we're very confident in his body to play 80+ games of footy.

I don't think we'll get him, but would love to pick him up. I do think that we're very useful to his camp strategically, but I also think he's showing us respect due to his cousin - Aaron Davey, past premiership teammate Josh Mahoney and perhaps a good association with Bailey.

Why supporters don't embrace quality walking through the door is beyond me. But I'm not surprised.

What a great post.

Footy Classified tonight.

Hutchie says Burgoyne has walked, is done with Port and has a preference for a yet to be named club. He says the clubs in the mix are Melbourne, Hawthorn and Essendon. Caro added Collingwood are into it as well.

Good to know we're in the mix, but hard to get too excited after the Judd and Warnock sagas...

Throw the cash at him and hopefully we can entice him to enter the PSD. Won't be holding my breath though.

One of the criterias for the army award is courage.

The winner was Tom Hawkins.

I'm sorry but he was nominated in round 22 for a smother and tackle.....WTF where is the courage in that?

They show eagleton running back with the flight, green likewise, now there is courage.

I never thought twice about smothering or tackling, but everytime you had to run back with the flight of the ball you always think to yourself "this is going to hurt"

that's courage.

What a stupid award!

How on earth is this an official AFL award? What a joke.

Hawkins winning was embarrassing- when they said that over 50% of the votes were for the winner I assumed Mattner had it in the bag as at least his tackle saved the Swans the match... I suppose that's what you get when you let the general public have their say, another idol-esq popularity contest.

Big deal. Too much pretence.

I dont know why you label the player "lovechild" because Hurley is going to be a star and if Hird is glowing about the player then so should he be. I'd love Hurley at MFC.

Whilst commentating an Essendon game Hird stated he was very quickly "falling in love" with Hurley... Hence, lovechild. They joked about it 'On The Couch', I joked about it in my previous post...

It was Hird's choice to do so.

If he had of waited a year he could have given it to his lovechild Michael Hurley...

Looks like he did himself a disservice!!

Why?

I dont see the purpose of doing so unless the circumstances are unusual (eg Troy Broadbridge)

Essendon and Collingwood didnt retire the No5 guernsey after Hird and Bucks retired.

Lets skip the unnecessary pretence.

Maybe because we played that way..

Essendon did Hird a disservice by not retiring his guernsey.

Watching Stanton run around in his No.5 must send shivers down the spines of the Essendon faithful...

the criticism comes from the fact that he is horrible when the ball hits the deck, he can't pick the thing up...he also has a horrible turning circle and his kicking (whilst he is a big long kick) takes too long to load up and he gets caught out with this, either being tackled, being forced to handball or getting his kick smothered. These are his negatives.

This assessment is pretty spot on. His defensive pressure isn't the greatest either, seems to overcommit on the tackle and get side-stepped too easily.

Love his workrate though, and his ability to drill a low ball into the leading forward (when he hits them flush). Add to that his marking ability and improved goal conversion this season and we have a pretty dangerous player on our hands. He seems to get better as the season gets older, and will only improve as our midfield gets stronger over the next couple years.

just watched Robbo speak to his teammates courtesy 'The Footy Show' , the bloke is an absolute champion and told them where its at. spoke with ticker, and passion. spoke about playing on the G and for the jumper, im [censored] but if you didnt see it make sure you do. Robbo , loved watching you play , someone who knows computers better than me should put together a highlight reel in your honour

Very classy exit from an extremely classy individual.

Felt proud to be a Demon watching that. Good luck Robbo.

Full interview on KB's show:

http://www.sportsentral.com/pro/main/Podcasts.aspx

- Trying Martin in the foward line. Also may give Garland a go.

- Morton is now 192cm. Has put on 2 Kilos. Needs to put on another 2-3 kilos next year

- Has seen Scully play and footage of half a dozen others including Rohan, and Griffiths.

- Trying Bate on a wing and midfield because he has such a penetrating kick into the forward 50.

- 4 or 5 new players to be drafted

-Having less rotations in the midfield to allow players to stay on the field and in different positions up forward or on a back flank.

Great interview.

Cheers for the link.

Don't expect them to write back. In my experience, Melbourne's Head Office are absolutely hopeless.

I sent through an email a couple months back about possible membership strategies and heard back from the marketing director about a week or so later with a response.

Definitely shoot it through and see how you go.

Who are the other 2?

Kobi Stevens from Gippsland Power and Jordy Gysberts from Eastern Rangers.

Signed myself and the lady friend up today (an Essendon supporter!) - latest membership figures are 14,501.

hopefully west will teach both moloney and jones the art of the quick handball. it could really take jones' game to another level, because atm he is always looking to personally carry the ball out of the contest. it would also allow moloney to play inside to greater effect, rather than just crash and bash and try and kick long.

This was who initially sprung to my mind as well. It's one thing to teach a player how to win the ball, its another altogether to teach him what to do with it when he does. Jones has obviously got the first part down pat, but his decision making and skill execution is really holding him back from becoming a top senior player.

If there was ever a player who could benefit from some mentoring from Scott West, it would be Nathan Jones.

Good appointment Dees.

Bailey stated when he came to the club he is a teaching coach. Teach this bloke to play and we might have the next Buddy. Might be a risk but I'm really starting to warm to the idea.

They'll be another Watts type in next year's draft, but it is almost guaranteed there won't be another Natanui!

Great post.

I personally believe our biggest weakness- the forward line- needs to be addressed in this draft. That being the case, Watts is our man. However, all indications would suggest that we will most likely have another top 2-3 pick next season, and we could look to address our forward line then. A name such as John Butcher from Gippsland Power is a standout as an athletic key position prospect for the 2009 draft, and I personally believe he would already be heavily on our radar were he eligible this year.

Judging from some phantom drafts doing the rounds, Lewis Johnstone may still be available at our priorty selection which may go some way to addressing our forward line issues. Although it is impossible to rely on him slipping through, if we were reasonable sure he would still be available then I would be all for taking Natanui with the first pick.

Whilst his athleticism is obviously his major attribute (not to mention marketability), his versatility could end up being his trump card at AFL level. He can obviously compete at the centre bounces and with his height and marking could pinch hit up forward. People who have seen a lot of him at junior level believe his clearance work alone is worth taking a punt on him for, and if all else fails, throw him in the backline and utilize his athleticism to give the likes of Buddy a run for his money.

No doubting he is a high risk prospect- with kicking and reading of the play an obvious concern- but if able to be developed correctly, he could easily have the highest returns of any other player in the draft. Either way you look at it there are question marks hanging over every one of the "Big 3", and a major possibility that one or both of these player's that we don't select will turn out to be better player's than the player we do.

However, I personally believe it would be a much harder pill to swallow if Natanui turns out to be the best of the lot, and we overlook him...

From everything I've read, Rich sounds an awful lot like a former no. 1 pick who we recently traded away- supposed elite kicking skills, unable to shake a hard tag, doesn't accumulate a great number of possessions, questionable work ethic and known to show a complete lack of interest at times... but on his day could be one of the most damaging players in the game.

Whilst drafting players with elite kicking skills should high on our priority list, I'm not sure if we should be going for another highly talented yet inconsistent mid...

Ever since Wallace has been there Richmond have had significant deficiencies in leadership, skill and KPPs. In that time Wallace has focussed recruitment of light bodied running players and punted on a couple of hacks from other Clubs (eg Knobel, Graham, Heath Black and Stafford).And he has still got Tivendale!. He traded Fiora for Black.

Three-way deal to get Troy Simmonds.... whilst Simmonds has not set the world on fire and suffered a few injuries, Richmond clearly win on that deal.

Well I guess the MCC does have some taste after all. haha

Thats what you get for wearing Tsubi Jeans.

(sorry mate-had to say it)

Like them or not, surely they're better than a pair of jeans purchased at Dimmy's..... (the MCC's attendants suggestion when asked what the F am I supposed to do then!!)

No thanks. MCC/MFC here.

The MCC is a joke. Got turned away from the gate yesterday because my designer jeans had a hole in the back pocket. I paid $300 for my membership (and as much for my Tsubi jeans) and they flat out refused me entry for having small holes in the pocket that nobody will be able to see once I'm seated.

It was the first game this year I was going to sit in the members as figured there would be more Demon supporters in there, but was persecuted for having a bit of style.

It's not like they could afford to pick and choose who they let in with such a small crowd either- perhaps a "make sure you don't wear them next time" could have been in order....

Utterly ridiculous.

3. if you are a MFC-mcc member use your mcc pass to get into games not the MFC one, a couple of years ago at an agm that was mentioned.

Can anyone else shed some more light on this one? I'm an AFL member so would assume the same situation would apply if this is indeed correct, but interested to hear the rationale behind it and why it would provide more benefit to the MelbourneFC than entry via a club membership would...

Neitz was out injured in 2004 and the wheels had well and truly fallen off by the end of August that year. We lost the EF with barely a whimper

In 2002, Neitz kicked a great goal in the last (?) qtr against Adelaide but it was not enough to stem the tide that day.

Wouldn't exactly say a 5 point loss sealed in the final minutes of the game due to a David Hille goal/ Al Nicholson mistake was barely a whimper.... In 2005 we got smashed by Geelong, 2004 we at least showed enough to get us back into the game after a horrendous start.

My old man spoke to him at the Heroes function, told him that he would be 2-3 weeks away. He has been sufferring from stress fractures in his lower back, he said that the club believed that his kicking action was to blame. Unusual injury for a footballer, more commonly associated with cricketers, and in particular, fast bowlers.

Here's hoping he can get his body right and get a couple of games under his belt, would love to see him in the Red & Blue before the end of the season...

QUOTE(DeeReaming @ Apr 14 2008, 07:49 PM)

# 17 Harry Taylor: Geelong, tall defender, 21 years old, so a mature pick but has already has played 3 games for the reigning premiers

It makes a lot more sense now that we picked up Grimes who they knew had a bad back ahead of him with our great depth of KP Backman. I would prefer that Grimes had a knee reco at least he will be back next year who knows when he could be back. Prymke, Lyon, Jakovich, Rigoni and Turley all quality players all cut down with bad backs. I can't think of a player who has played well after a bad back injury I think it is the worst injury you could get. I just want to go and see Richmond in the hope that I can find CAC so I can do a Barry Hall to him. He has killed the club.

Rightly or wrongly, I highly doubt that Harry Taylor was even on our radar, especially at pick 14.

Geelong sense that they are currently in the position to win not only one, but multiple premierships. Similar to Sydney who traded away multiple first round picks in order to pick up experienced and mature players from rival clubs when in their 'premiership window', Geelong sought a player that could come straight in and play AFL footy, without requiring 2-3 years in the gym before being physically ready. At 21, Taylor is far more physically developed than nearly all 17-18 year old draftees (take a look at Cale Morton), and would be of more value to Geelong at pick 17 than he would be for most other clubs at that pick. When you consider Geelong lost one of their key defenders in Ben Egan for the finals series last year, it would make sense that they would consider using a first round pick on a mature age player like Harry Taylor, when a club like Melbourne may not.

Just opened the paper hoping to see a couple goals next to Maric's name and couldn't imagine my suprise to see he jagged five! Would love to see him get a gig in the seniors this week (god knows we need something to get excited about) but am mindful of the last time we tried to expose a young talent to the bigtime after a single break-out game in the VFL (anyone else remember Colin Sylvia's debut?).

If he can build on yesterday's performance and string together some consistent games down at Sandy, I have no doubt we'll see him in the Red & Blue sooner rather than later.

The Mfc has experienced a tremendous amount of change in the last 12 months. Continued change, given our current circumstance, is more justified than ever.

I am not suggesting for a moment that change will immediately improve our current team or the results it will achieve. I am suggesting however, it will begin to prepare us for the future this club needs to survive.

Neitz should retire (soon), move on gracefully and allow this re-build to officially begin. He deserves to bow out on his terms so he will be remembered as the great leader he has been for the majority of his career and not for performances like today.

Agree with everything said in this post.

Neitz has been a champion of the MFC, but is no longer showing any of the qualities that once made him so great. His contribution to the MFC should never be questioned, however, his decision to play on this season has every right to be.

I'd like to believe that he feels as leader of the club that this would be the worse possible time for him to jump ship with the team in complete disaray, which would explain why he is still currently running around out there. However, surely in his heart of hearts he would admit that he is a shadow of the player (and leader) that he once was, and him playing on is not helping to fix the problem, but rather, a major part of it.

If Neitz really wanted to help the club move forward, he would swap his on-field role for an off-field one. I could see huge benefit in someone like Neitz stepping aside from match day duties, yet continuing to train with the playing group and nurture those coming through the ranks for the remainder of the season. He could teach and pass on so much to the young forwards such as Bate, Newton, Dunn, Garland, Maric and the likes through active partcipation with them on the training track, and then allow them to further develop these lessons and skills learned out there on the ground, without being overshadowed by his presence or him taking a position on the field that would be better served by an up-and-coming young forward.

I understand that such a scenario would require extreme selflessness on the part of Neitz, as he would be doing all the hard yards without the 'reward' (for lack of a better term) of playing a game. However, at the minute it would be in the best interests of the club for him to retire from playing, yet somehow retain his experience that he has gathered along the journey. This would be one way of fulfilling both interests, and whilst would no doubt be a tall order, if David Neitz's contribution thus far to the MFC is anything to go by, he would be the one person to do the right thing by both himself, and the club.

Turning up on mass will be a start. I am really concerned about our club, I get to every Melb home games and usually most Melb Vic. away games but IMO we would be lucky to have 10,000 supporters that are like me die hard get to the footy supporters. The way we are going we will get under 10,000 to our home game against Fremantle in three weeks that is crap. We will be the next AFL relocation target unless we all get to the footy. Don't kid yourselves our name can only save us for so long.

Did anybody else hear the Paul McNamee interview on ABC radio before the game this afternoon? Whilst I believe he spoke extremely well and has the passion (and I'm hoping, the ability) to turn around our current financial state, one thing he said completely summed up the 'support' (or lack thereof) that this club receives from it's own. A telemarketing campaign was recently undertaken in order to reach the elapsed members from last season, and from the thousands of calls made to those members yet to re-sign for season 2008, they were successful in signing up only 1 member.

He argued that the financial sustainability of the club should not have such a heavy reliance on it's on-field performance, and suggested that building and strengthening relationships within the corporate world would be the club's targeted major revenue streams. However, it begs the question, what potential sponsor would want to align themselves with the Melbourne Football Club if it's own 'supporters' will not?