Dante

I'd have Hunt before him and I think Hibberd and Vince, would be better options as well, I cant see him being missed this year and I doubt he'd be getting a game every week. The club obviously value Wagner as well and then you have Melksham. Some of Howe's marks were just brilliant, but they were, at times, outweighed by his brain fades immediately after.

I think that most of us just want to see a former great Melbourne Footballer get his life back on track.

Fits his new image.

Given the changing landscape of AFL football, I'd say that there's a very good chance that most of the players you've mentioned here will play senior football next year.

Should have been more specific, i meant Grant Thomas.

Some people are never Saty-sfied.

Aussies have lost 6 for 22 this morning and it's about time heads rolled, they are a disgrace. The same old players fail when the pressure is on, or not.

Thank God he did, we have come a long way since then, we went down for a while but at least we got rid of the apathy that existed and now we have a new and vibrant club. If we left that board in we would have, in all probability, still been wallowing at the bottom and probably still fighting for survival.

I guess it's an age thing, we grew up with these guys and they are just as old or older than us, I went to see the Beach Boys a year or so ago and the youngest member is now 70. I liked Leon with Joe Cocker/Mad Dogs and Englishmen but must admit I didn't follow his career much after that, except for Tight Rope.

The Saints were a good side with a poor coach, they probably would have won a flag or two if the were better coached. Goodwin is unknown but I believe he will be a good coach, he has a good relationship with the players and that's important, he has a bit of history as mentioned above but I'm sure that Roos and PJ would have asked him if there was anything that would surface that would embarrass the club.

Went past the ground at about 11 this morning, may have been a bit later and I saw a couple of players still there on the wing near the tent set up, one player set off at full tilt around the boundary. I'm not sure if he made it all the way around, or if that was the intention but he was going pretty quick and I could imagine that it would have been pretty tough lap. Maybe they were taking it in turns, I couldn't see because I was in traffic and I was a passenger, we passed too quickly.

I agree with that, they will miss Sam Mitchell much more than most expect. They have had an A grade midfield and an A grade backline, now they will have a relatively inexperienced midfield, Mitchell and O'Meara are both relatively young and O'Meara has had some serious injuries that are yet to be tested, whilst their backline relies on the three ageing stars, Hodge, Burgoyne and Gibson. Even if they get Fyffe, will he make the difference, I doubt it, he can't play everywhere. Their backline will be under pressure, they don't have enough goal kickers, Vickery, I don't think so and they put Puopolo on the table so they have obviously lost faith in him. It will be interesting to see how the lesser lights perform without the armchair ride they've been given in the past.

Maybe wholesale drug abuse like it appears there was at the Eagles. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/daniel-chick-begs-for-medical-help-after-old-rift-with-west-coast-resurfaces-20161107-gsk1mp.html Oh! hang on, they didn't even investigate them, even though it was obvious to all that they were cheating. Perhaps if they had, they wouldn't have had to be dragged kicking and screaming in to the Essendon drug scandal. The AFL should decide to forget about image and concentrate on integrity, if the do image will be restored.

There used to be a powerhouse club called Carlton and they embarked on a spree over a number of years buying talent where needed and rarely developing their own, consequently their President went on to say "Carlton don't rebuild", in essence referring to the fact that if they need to they will just buy in another player. They became lazy and failed to develop their own and didn't realise that their bottom tier were not up to it and that you can't be carried by a few names at the top. Hawthorn may fall in to the same trap if they continue to rely on poaching other club's talent and not developing their own, their drafting record over the last 5 years has been very ordinary and the older stars that have carried the club for so long are ageing and incapable of the same magic they once were. They have lost 1 and 2 in their B&F from last season and will in all probability lose 2 or 3 of their remaining stars at the end of the next season, will O'Meara, Mitchell and Vickers make up for them, who have they got coming through. Interesting times and this will tell whether they are going to stay on top or decline like Carlton. They have traded first round picks for this and next year, where is the talent coming from, remembering that their last influx of genuine talent came very early in the draft.

Yes, I've noticed that.

It's amazing looking at our injury list this year as compered to other years, I recall that a few years back we came back to training with 12 players on the injury list to start off with. Hasn't the club improved so much in the area of player management, we now rest players when they have an injury, we don't just keep on playing them until it gets worse.

We are too closely associated with the MCC and will never be our own masters until we break that connection. It's like living at home with your parents, safe but you will never have your independence if you don't break away.

The opportunity, but not the money was there when the Olympic Swimming Pool was available, if it was there now we would snap it up. I can't understand why we didn't take up more space in the AAMI stadium and fully relocate there. We have some facilities at the G and some at AAMI, but nothing that will draw the whole thing together. Docklands was talked about and would be perfect if we had training, administration and gym facilities all in one but it's also a bugger to get to and to find parking etc. We need to do something and cosying up to the MCC isn't it.

I feel sorry for GWS who have just about reached their peak and will have to face the might of the MFC, I guess they will have to be happy to be runners up.

Pederson will play about half the games and will be the back up ruck for Max, which is a far better option than playing Jack there, although I think plying Jack in the ruck has hardened him up quite a bit. The body contact is something he hasn't seemed to be comfortable with before and this has helped in my opinion.

Spot on RB, we are putting together a good young list and it is important we give them every opportunity to show what they are worth and to promote them if they perform. The club would have been delighted to see what he had to offer in 2016.

He's had calf and wrist injuries from day one at Melbourne and I'm sure we didn't see the best of him, I really like Chris and I wish they had a position for him at the club even if it wasn't a playing position. The fact that he is finally injury free just makes it worse, but I understand the club's position.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2016-10-31/wagner-promoted-and-given-new-contract

I thought Wagner played well in his first season, considering he only had one pre season under his belt he showed a lot of poise and I'd expect he will play a lot more senior football for us. He's another one who takes the game on and that's why he's there and players like Grimes and Dunn aren't. Good luck to him for getting a contract extension, although it was never in doubt from what I've seen of him.

I'm expecting a big jump in output from Vanders, Gus, Harmes and Kent, they were all a bit down last season due to injury and inexperience. Harmes makes some mistakes but he will eliminate these and be a consistently good player, I love the way he takes the game on. Hunt will go to another level as will Hoges, Trac Clarrie and Billy, they will feature in the B&F next year. Jordan and Bernie will be feared and may receive a suspension or two, Bern was lucky a few times last season. Salem will show why we got him in the first place and will silence the doubters, this kid has a heap of ability and has the skills to be an elite player in the competition. Max and Nathan will continue to play to their high standard. It wouldn't surprise me if we play Weed on a flank or in a lesser role until he gets the strength to take on a key position. What can you say about Jack, he just seems to be getting better. Finals next year and we can beat anyone on the way through.