Dante

So should we call him Norman Hibberd?

The talk was that Essendon would get more Friday night games, not just the season opening round. The AFL want to maximise cash and they draw much better TV audiences than we, or a lot of other clubs do, the AFL hasn't been about fairness for a long time. We are regarded by the AFL as a filler club and they would be happy for us to circulate around the 5th to 10th spot but never take the limelight away from the glamour Victorian clubs and the NSW teams. The only way we will get to be a glamour club is to have a membership of 60,000 to 70,000 and sustained success, look at Hawthorn, they have had so much success over the last 3 decades and kids that grew up in the Brereton era and started supporting them are now adults with kids of their own. If we win a flag and play in finals for a few years then fall away again we will be back where we are now. Personally I hate Friday night games but they certainly bring in the cash and sponsors and if we get enough cash we might find a permanent home like all the other clubs have, that might help.

I think Bernie played with a few injuries this year and I expect a better performance next season. Hopefully they will settle Bernie down in a position and not use him as a stop gap where needed, he will benefit with the inclusion of a couple of tough nuts and maybe he won't feel the need to belt someone every week, they can take it in turns now.

As much as I hate to see good men leave the club it's necessary and had to be done. I still recall a game against Hawthorn at the G, a few years ago, when Dawes took 12 marks in the game, it was as a pity he couldn't repeat that performance on a regular basis. He's a good man is Chris Michie showed a bit a couple of years ago but just didn't seem up to it, neither as Newton, pity but that's football. All the best guys and maybe there will be a mentoring/coaching position for Dawes, he's a clever guy.

If you read the summary about Patrick on the MFC website, it seems as if the club have been waiting for the opportunity to get him to the club. It seems as if they see something special there and it wouldn't surprise me if we've played the long game here. We wanted him initially, we missed out and then monitored him for the next two years, you don't do that unless you see a player in the making. He's had his injuries and now it's time to see what he's got, perhaps another smokey from the recruiters.

We also have Salem as a near new recruit, after being out for a good proportion of 2016, I'm looking forward to seeing him with a full preseason and some improvement in his health. He could be the surprise packet for 2017.

Looks ok in the highlight reel and he's got a couple of years to make his mark, or not. Welcome aboard Patrick, if you're like the other picks we've had lately, you'll be ok. Bit of balance, two mature age and one youngster, it's always good to get some young talent in every draft.

I like Dunny and over the years I reckon he's been a bit hard done by, but that doesn't alter the fact that he doesn't play the way we want to play. He doesn't take the game on and is too cautious, perhaps he plays to his limitations, but he's an old style defender in a modern game. Hopefully he will get a gig elsewhere and play a few more years at the highest level and I'm sure he will always be welcome back to the club after his career is over, the worst case for him would be to spend the next year at Casey.

Sale of the century, we effectively got him for nothing. It looks like exciting times ahead as long as we can keep the band together, some of the automatic selections will have to perform from here on in. If I was Michie or Newton I'd be looking elsewhere, I just can't see how they would fit in. I hope we can find a home for Dunn and Garland, I'd hate to see them languishing at Casey for another year.

I'm fully aware of that, but they've kept him when, by your own standards, he should have been let go like the others. You follow the Hawthorn line, if you didn't you'd be asking why he didn't move Hodge along too.

I don't think anyone has acused Hurting of being a A-grade or B+ footballer, he's bog ordinary in my opinion and if he was at another club he'd be labelled a dud, so I'm not sure what you are referring to, he's been one of their only reasonable selections in the draft in the last few years. When you come to the end of a dynasty you need to recognise it before it ends, not after, they should have been working on this last year not this year, in fact probably the year before, Mitchell didn't go from 29 to 34 overnight, it happened over a 5 year period. If Clarkson is a genius he would have seen the writing on the wall after the GF last year, if he is a genius you will see it in the way the Hawks recover without a batch of superstars picked up over a couple of drafts. You fail to understand the significance of Lewis coming to Melbourne and for someone like you that has a fair amount of "self belief" I find that extraordinary. Did you see the way The Bont, knocked the ball out of Hodges hands as he was about to handball it in the final, that didn't show much special self awareness then, did he.

They have disposed of two players who were best and second best in their B&F and they still have about 4 of their stars who are starting to fall off the perch. They have replaced them with a player who could be anything from an A grade mid to an injury prone could have been, a forward ruck who has shown a tendency to be lazy and unaccountable and a mid from the Swans who has, in part, been shielded from a tag or any serious attention. I doubt that O'Meara/Mitchell can carry the Midfield and with an ageing Hodge, Gibson and Burgoyne and a missing Roughy, I can't see them maintaining their position, this is the time when Clarkson has a chance to show exactly how great a coach he is.

Gary Rohan, plenty of leg speed and endeavour, but no skill, I think I know who I'd have between Rohan and Lewis. Blease anyone?

Well done to the FD, no leaks no fanfare just getting the job done, he will be a beauty for us, hope he sticks around in a coaching role afterwards. Couldn't be happier.

If you have a really strong list you can sustain success, like Hawthorn have, but even they must start to feel the pinch sooner or later. Have a look at Hawthorn's drafting over the last 6 or so years, they haven't got much out of it at all, they have relied on a big influx of top end talent and then free agency, which came along at just the right time for them. Now the big influx of talent is ageing so they need to rejuvenate, perhaps they should have made more use of player turnover and tried to get back in to the early part of the draft, they don't have a lot of young talent coming through.

It was Jeff's clinical view that destroyed the Liberal Party in Victoria when he was in charge. He's a moron and wanted Clarkson sacked when he was in charge of Hawthorn, how would that have worked out Jeff?

We shouldn't have to give up any pick or picks to get him, they should do the right thing and let him walk, much the same way we let Fitzy walk to them. They wanted him out and all the crap about him being a required player is just that, it's damage control to make it look like they didn't shove him out the door, but they want to try to get something out go their eff up. What did we get from them when Bruce took the trip over there, what difference is there between this and that? They expect to get whoever they want, irrespective whether the player is under contract or not, but they don't like it when the shoe is on the other foot. Hope we get him and hope we pound them next year and Lewis stars.

I wonder if he thinks we have got a better list of youngsters than Hawthorn, I do. They fall away sharply after their star players.

Oh my God, have we got anyone yet? Please hurry up and get someone, please.

Perhaps being a Dee's supporter he doesn't want to give anything away, or maybe there is nothing to give away?

Is that the bast response you could come up with?

So you think the plan all along, was for Clarkson to give Mitchell the shove and the pick they get from West Coast for him would be enough to satisfy both Sydney and Gold Coast? What a genius.

Read what I said Stuie, too many players for too long.

Both of those are questionable and may indicate a deeper meaning.

Wow, it seems as if you can't criticise Hawthorn on here without being labeled as jealous.