Dante

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.

Tell you what, you name the team/players that will play every game from the first match to the last and I'll tell you who he will replace and what position he will play. Sounds like you don't think we will have any injuries, form slumps or miss matches during the season and will play the same 22 every week for the whole of the year.

Oh! God, hope he's not over there with Bucks, he's an ex Collingwood supporter and might be convinced to cross over with Howe.

Perhaps we could put his picture up on the walls with the wording of the no D..K head policy written below, just for clarity.

This thread is about Jordan Lewis, isn't it? Haven't we spent countless hours talking and written countless words about the other guy? I couldn't give a suff about the other guy and I can't see any good coming out of raking over old ground, we all have our opinion and that's not going to change. Personally I'm looking forward to seeing Jordan play in Demon's colours, he will add a further hard edge to our midfield and he knows how to kick a goal too, so that's got to help. He is a very important player for us, with his finals experience and not just a player who fluke'd a flag.

There were a few players on the Hawks list that were sheltered somewhat, by the excellent top end talent they had, no club has 22 absolute stars and when the top end leaves or gets a bit long in the tooth, they are exposed. Litherland, Fitz, Hartung, Sicily etc.

How many years did they give Vickery? Fitz was an ordinary footballer who was lucky to get on to two lists, Melbourne gave him ample opportunity to show something and he didn't, we delisted him and Hawthorn took him as insurance, it didn't work out so that's the way it goes.

I wasn't over impressed with what little I saw of Richards, he played a role but nothing more, if he wasn't Ted's brother, would he have been on the list in the first place, maybe they thought he displayed similar traits, he didn't look as if he did. With regard to Col, I'd like to see him play forward and not back, he's been replaced in the backline and if he was relieved of the pressure of the kick out of defence, he might show something worth while. He has good closing speed so he should be able to use this to lead out to the flanks and may snag a few goals, his kicking is not all that bad.

The fact we get two Monday games, exclusively, is a bonus in itself, there is no other game to compete with us on either day and if we keep the numbers up, we will own one outright and share the other. Friday night when lots of people go out, or ANZAC eve which is a quiet night before a Public Holiday; Queen's Birthday Monday where most people will be back from the long weekend early afternoon if they have gone away. Two blockbusters for a club our size and if we play our cards right we will keep them for a long time. The Saints finished two games clear of us, so even if we think we are better than them, they have the runs on the board. Essendon have a huge TV audience, so the TV stations want to maximise audience, it's not right, but it's a business decision. The Bullies Friday nights will be interesting, I can't see them holding large audiences viewer wise, so it may depend on who they play. Rounds 4, 6 and 21will be interesting, North and then GWS twice, game against North will be a fizzer and I doubt that GWS will capture big audiences. I'm happy with our lot, it's our decision to have two games in NT and if we didn't we'd have 14 games at the G but make a lot less money.

My comment was the fact that they had left him on the list for so long was atrocious, not that he was atrocious, he has a bit of ability but it's beggars belief that they have had him at the club for so long but wouldn't play him. i'm amazed that the club haven't worked harder to find a replacement.

Spencer has taken a spot on the list for 8 seasons and in that time he's managed 36 games, that is absolutely atrocious and I doubt that he's be on any other list for that long with that record. I like Spence but I cannot understand why we've kept him on the list for this time if we aren't prepared to play him, he's just turned 27 and soon he will realise his time has passed and he's wasted his time on a list with a club that had no faith in him. He would really struggle to get a spot on any other list so I guess he will just fade away after his current term expires; what a waste of everyone's time.

We wanted Roos for more than the three years he signed on for and it would have been at $1.5m a year, but he still only wanted the 3 year contract. If he was interested in staying and if the money was an issue for him, he'd still be with us, he did all the heavy lifting and then passed the baton, he won't go to them because it's not about money.

Ten seasons will have passed since the Saints put the skids under our club and effectively ended our 2007 season in the first quarter of the the first match, a match we were supposed to win and the pre cursor to what was supposed to be a great season for our club. We are tipped to have a god season in 2017 and this time I'm sure we will, I wasn't in 2007 because I couldn't see what had changed from 2006, we were virtually the same team with little or no improvement. This time we have a better team than last year and the year before and this time we will win because we are not the team of 2007, we are a team on the rise in a club that has found its way after losing it for so long. I don't care where we play them, I just would have preferred to play them at the G rather than that shytehole of a ground. I used to watch Melbourne play at every ground, Victoria Park, the Western Oval, Princess Park (before they ripped out the standing room and built the Stand), Windy Hill and I loved going to all of those venues, but I hate Etihad as it is a soulless venue completely lacking in any atmosphere.

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.