Dante

Why? i can't understand the love for this guy, his career averages are very ordinary, from every perspective. I watched him in the final against GWS and his skill level was atrocious.

Happy for the dogies, just shows that a real team can beat a manufactured one, despite the level of manipulation on the part of the AFL. Hope we can play them for the flag next year, what a game that would be.

How much is this causing other player contracts to be put on hold, I'm sure that there are other players who are in limbo and will be until the club knows how much salary cap they have left. We have to make decisions on the future of some players and some may have to go if Jesse stays and they may be retained if he goes.

Don't you think that upon finding out that what he'd taken was illegal he'd just accept the punishment? Irrespective of whether he's a friend of yours ot not, do you think he should benefit from the taking of drugs, innocently or otherwise? If an athlete at the Olympic games is given illegal drugs by his coach and wins a gold medal because of the performance enhancing effects of that drug, should he keep the medal. The rules are there to protect the integrity of the sport, so athletes can't rely on the, "it wasn't my fault, I didn't know" excuse. He was, according to Sheedy, almost going to get the chop from the club and then he turns in to some superstar, even his father thought he was having a late growth spurt. I'va said you get your head shot off if you stick it up over the parapet, well that's not true if your argument has merit.

The AFL dragged us through the gutter when we were accused of tanking, forgetting that there were other clubs that followed the formula as outlined by the AFL itself, it was ok to rest players, it was ok to send players off for surgery and it was ok to play players out of position. How would playing players out of position go nowadays, there are not any that have a set position anymore. We were found not guilty, fined $500k for the privilege and subjected to public disgrace whilst other teams walked off with their PPs and pointed the finger at us as cheats. I reckon the AFL owed us and any money or assistance we got, only made up for the lack of sponsorship and loss of revenue from a shyte draw we were given. We proved that you can get out of the mess you are in by astute recruiting and good personnel, Brisbane should be able to do the same, they've lost players due to their incompetence off field as well as poor results on field, they have a better base than we did so they shouldn't get any assistance, we didn't despite what some on here think. We only got what was due to us.

As long as we get who we go after, I don't give a rat's what our number is in the pecking order. if some superstar nominates us all the better.

I guess it all depends on his love or otherwise for Melbourne or Freo. If he wants to go to Freo he will want them to pay the least amount possible, to ensure they have a competitive side, if they have to trade their first pick and second picks this and next year and if they have to trade some of their best players they, may be uncompetitive and he certainly wouldn't want to play in a side that was no hope of finals. On the other hand he may want to see Melbourne fairly compensated, to repay them all the time and resources he's taken advantage of, whilst he's been with us. He may have a genuine love for his teammates and may insist the club gets proper compensation. Personally I'm sick of it and as mentioned above we don't need this year long distraction, we had the Mc Brothers this year and we just don't need another year of speculation, all the other players are on the same page and have all put pen to paper declaring their confidence in the direction the club is headed. If Jessie wants to go home then go, if it's money then go, if he's decided he wants to stay, then sign the offing contract and let us all get on with trying to win a flag. There are other forwards that are playing out of their own state, Lynch, Paton and Cameron who don't seem to have any issue with homesickness.

Just heard Jon Anderson on 3AW say that he has been told by someone that knows Jesse well, that at the moment, he will play for us next year and then wants to go home. He also said that this may change next year but that's how it stands right now.

Any person with half a brain would understand what I meant, he will be 28 before the season starts and probably before pre season starts, so if you think you are getting a 27 year old think again, before the paperwork goes through he will be 28.

If you had top ten picks to burn then you'd do the deal, I'm sure that GC can afford to burn a first round pick.

No he's 27 years and 10 months which is closer to 28 and he will be 28 before pre season starts, that is a more accurate reflection of where he's at. You can fool yourself if you think we would be getting a 27 year old, I'd rather deal with the facts. BTW, Hibbered has nominated us so that should make you feel better.

He's 27 and 10 months and will be 28 when the season starts. I would be totally p155ed if we traded a first round pick for a player that is inconsistent and 28 years old. What purpose would that serve?

Three weeks ago he hadn't had a full pre season and he still hasn't. Give him a break and just enjoy the win.

Stuie, do you think there has been any background discussions between the clubs, the players you mentioned and their managers, or do you think they just declared where they want to go? What made you think we wanted any of these players, was it something the club said or just your instinct? We don't leak, we go after and it would seem, get the player we want, Hibberd will come to us but there is no need to make a song and dance about it. Do you think it would help our negotiations if he did? We are getting our ducks in a row first and I'm sure if the club are after a big name player they'll let you know, but probably after we sign him up. What difference does it do if a player nominates a club, take McCarthy for instance, it didn't do him much good this year, did it, he's lost a year's football. Do you think we should have gone after Prestia at $800k or O'Meara with two dodgy knees, or Marchbank who isn't a superstar, was there any interest shown in Mitchell by the club? Just relax and wait to see what happens, if Hogan stays he will take a lot of our salary cap so we won't be able to do a lot, if he goes we may go on a spree.

Yes, but you can have a pair of Aces, or a pair of Threes.

How do you fit both Fitzy and Vickery in the same side, don't they play the same role, or at least, in theory, shouldn't they?

I'm beginning to think that too, there have been too many just like it and they almost always end up leaving. If so, get on with it, we are in a good position as a club and we don't need this distraction, get a trade done or sign up, it can't be that hard. I'm sure he knows what he wants to do.

Neither perfect? I'd suggest that you look back at a few old Melbourne games and take note of Cam Bruce's kicking, count the number of helicopter punts and misdirected passes. Take note of the number of hospital handpasses he sent to teammates who were under pressure, putting them under even more pressure. Yze was talented but was lazy and soft, once again look back at some of his games. They were supposed to be leaders at the club but I cannot recall one game where either of them actually pulled the club over the line. Bruce's usual effort after another embarrassing capitulation, where we were over run to the tune of 10 or more goals, was "we didn't turn up to play". We were never a threat to win a flag in the time that we were in the final series, 1988 and 2000 the two years we played finals we were smashed and the supposed leaders just stood back and watched. We had some talented footballers but not enough willing to lead.

How would you know what I have and haven't done for this club? Yourself?

If you want to revise history for your own benefit then go right ahead, they were part of a culture of softness that permeated the club. Both were talented footballers but go back and watch some of the games that they played in.

Not silly at all, Bruce and Yze epitomised the softness at Melbourne, I don't care how well they are doing at Hawthorn, I just don't want either of them back at Melbourne unless it is for drinks at the Chairmans club lunch. Bruce left in a huff because we wouldn't give him and extra year and fired a few shots at the club when he departed, Yze cracked it when we delisted him as well. I doubt we need Bruce teaching our boys to get rid if the ball if you look like getting tackled and don't worry who you put under pressure when you do, that and helicopter kicks. Yze was soft, lazy and selfish.

I don't think we should be bringing back any former Melbourne players at this point in time, we need to completely divorce the club from the old hands after spending 3 years ridding ourselves of that culture. I have the utmost respect for Neita but I don't think, at this time, it would be a good idea.

Oh God, I hope they're from North.

Then we will have to learn to deal with that.

Eddie was always going to hit back because he can't help himself, he's a narcissistic egomaniac who just can't accept even the most minor criticism. In the end, who cares, if we beat them on QB, we can have another dig at him and if they beat us he will reciprocate, it's all part of the game. Eddie belongs with Sam in a bygone era, time has passed them by and they still think that bullying and intimidation is the way to go. On another note, I wonder what the potential coaches we approached, the ones who turned us down, are feeling now, irrespective of what happens, it is accepted that we have a vey talented list and all they can do is wonder what might have been. Personally, I think that Goodwin has been, at least, the co coach over the last 12 months, it is essentially his game plan that has been implemented.