Dante

Good to hear that, because he's now part of the furniture and we have so many new players around we hear little about Bern, I'm stoked that he's training well and that he and Nat and AVB have all moved up a notch. They are every bit as important as the new, young guns and will be integral to our season's results.

http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/pc-adelaide-crows--simon-goodwin Some pretty good stats there.

Who's being traded?

Gee he was hard to miss, a very good footballer who was surrounded by other very good footballer, but he was a stand out for mine.

I hate seeing other sides have epic battles and real rivalries and when they come off the ground, they have nothing left, I hate it because it simply doesn't apply to us. We have no sides that really hate us, like Collingwood/Essendon, Hawthorn/Essendon, Crows/Port etc. we no longer have any respect from other clubs and I hope that Simon Goodwin will reignite them and turn us in to a side to be feared and hated. I want to see our players come off the ground every week spent, because they've given their all. If he can do that then he will be known as a good coach.

Absolutely great news, love Roughy, my favourite other club player. Never thought he'd play again, so to not only play but be appointed captain is just sensational, good luck for the future.

I doubt that Lewis will need freshening up, he is a professional footballer so the adjustment should be simple for him, he will adapt to the new game plan like all pro's do. I think he will be happy to have Bernie around him, to share the load of the anti social football side of things and vice versa.

My view is that Melbourne wanted Howe out, like they did with his best mate Chip and that whilst they might not have won the trade, as some say, they got what they wanted. BenKen can play good football, his biggest problem is consistency, when he's good he's really good, but he doesn't back it up and if he can he will hold his spot, I hope he can, he's aggressive and has all the tools for a small forward.

It just seems as if there is this constant discussion/criticism about/of JT when the same doesn't apply to the other players. As soon as someone asks how he is going, the usual suspects jump in with the, too slow, not good enough, even the ones who haven't seen him train. I forgive Pickett because he's obsessive compulsive and once he gets a set for or against someone (Juice Newton) he just can't help himself, but some who haven't seen him train shouldn't just assume he hasn't picked up on his pace.

Correct, it seems that as soon as someone asks how he is going at training, nothing else, just how is he going, there is an avalanche of criticism about his speed. Everyone says they wish him well, then they have a go at his lack of speed and some reason why he shouldn't be here. There are plenty of players that have a flaw, but it seems as if the only one that receives any consistent attention is JT. To be fair, no one will know until he plays in a match proper, if he is too slow for the game, so why don't we hold back until then, he's on the list, suck it up and wait and see.

I second that, he's a top bloke and if he was coming in now I'm sure the outcome would be different. I look back on the Daniher era and wonder how well we would have gone with the players we had, if they were playing with the club the way it is today. God we've wasted some talent over the last 50 years and destroyed some careers along the way.

I think we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves here, we have a promising list but suggesting that it's that good that we can start trading out some of our "just below best players", is really stretching it a bit With regard to Salem, he will be a top line player if he can get his "condition" under control, the game toward the end of the year against Geelong proved just how good he will be, he has got it all and to suggest he will be on the trade block is silly. They need to get the thyroid condition to a manageable position and as long as they can he will be a jet.

I'm just glad the whole thing is over and done with, we can all get on with it and H can do something he really wants to do, whatever that is Dawes was not exactly a star for us but he gave it his all, H never seemed to get going and would have struggled to get a game, I guess we are about $1m better off.

Excellent news, I thought he would never play again and I'm so glad he's clear and can. One of my favourite players outside the Dees, he's just a really good competitor and he's fought the good fight.

Good decision by Jack to decline a Rookie spot, he has just put up with the last season playing seconds and I'm sure he doesn't need another. Hope he remains a Dee's supporter and that we see him at the games this year, it would be good if he could have some sort of mentoring role at the club. Thanks Jack for all you did for us in the dark days.

True, I thought it was Spencil doing the kicking for him.

Wonder if we will keep up the brothers tradition and take Hamish, hope so I like to see two brothers playing in the same side. AFL rookie draft: The names to watch

The Bullies have a pretty good side with great depth, so it doesn't surprise me that they didn't look at taking him, hopefully it will turn out to be a dreadful mistake on their part. Good luck to him I would imagine he will be pumped to be selected in the main draft and will want to prove the Bullies wrong.

Thanks for the report. I was listening to SEN just before and Jake Melksham was on talking about what he'd been doing for the last 10 months, he also mentioned that Hibbered was a little overweight when he rocked up to the club for Pre Season but that didn't seem to surprise him, he said this wasn't the favourite time of the year for his mate Gibbered. He also said he won't feel like a Melbourne player until he's played his first game but he's looking forward to it and is happy to be under Goodwin who he said for a head coach, is really approachable, he also said we will be playing a much more attacking game this year. As far as position, he was supposed to be originally playing half back but now after talking to Goodwin it will more likely be half forward/Mid.

Long Live Old, I told him a few months ago that I would never doubt his word. H, p155 off, we did the right thing and you are shying in our face.

The best thing about this is that the club no longer relies on donations from the foundation heroes to break even/make a profit. I know some were critical of that in the past and it's good to know that the club is standing on its own two feet. We can grow to be a major club in the competition as long as we can continue to improve on the field and we can keep PJ onboard.

Great run today but I'll get you next year.

He's a 40 goal a season player, even when he has an ordinary year and that doesn't count on the goal assists, wich sometimes go unnoticed. I'm like you, I love his work, he's the sort of player, that when he's on he can kick a bag and give a few away. Yes Old, he does go missing but that type of player does, most small forwards come in and out of the game, not sure why but it seems a trait.

No you don't, it's one of the things that's kept me going during the dark times.

It's not a left or right thing, it's a left and right thing but the left refuse to acknowledge they are responsible for their share of the abuse, I would acknowledge that the conservative side are guilty of verbal abuse but will the left? I've seen many times where someone from the right side of politics, particularly women, are abused and instead of condemning it the left applaud, it amazes me why the applauders can't see it's wrong. When Clementine Ford prints some of the revolting trash she is prone to, she gets #greatarticle, whereas a journo on the right would get hounded by the very same people. There are racists and bigots on both sides of politics and having worked in pubs and clubs I can tell you that there were plenty of racists that were rusted on Labor supporters and the same applies to misogynists, how many times do you see a picture of a naked women in an office as compared to a factory of workshop? Where is the call to arms when a female on the right is verbally abused and who stands up for them, certainly not the sisterhood. Yes it is an "individual person thing" but it is also the reaction that is the problem, there has to be some condemnation of this sort of thing and it shouldn't mater who said it it should be condemned by both sides. When someone says that Miranda Devine and Rita Panahi should be taken out and raped, there should have been an outcry by everyone but there wasn't, imagine if that was said about Gillard or Plibersek?