QueenC

Nope, just the unfortunate reality ...... As for young Nathan I agree with Rhino, he was the guy having to shoulder a massive and fairly singular burden in a staggeringly sub-par midfield. There are pros and cons for every player but I am never one to throw people away in reckless trades that may or may not benefit the side (and I honestly believe very few clubs will be trading worthy picks anyway) at any time, and it seems especially silly to trade away young players with this much up side. Work needs to be done on his game no question, his kicking and decision making not to mention some improvement in his speed would be nice, but with a few other stronger bodies and more mature heads around him (like in other mid-fields in the comp) I would hope that we will see a massive improvement in him.

Frankly the funniest thing about it is the fact that it is so close to reality !!!

The NRL crowds on the weekend are not the point (although I think they have been pretty good this year)...... AFL crowds are always bigger, even Swans games are generally bigger, (especially given there are nine NRL - the traditional code for us - clubs, twelve local union teams + the Waratahs, Sydney FC and the Swans all vying for your viewing pleasure up here on any given weekend), and the NRL are not in finals yet. This was a massive smack in the face to the way the code, not the Swans, handle its push into the Sydney market. But I guess you could argue that no-one wants to go and see live sport in the weather we have been having. Sorry!!!

As amusing as that was the reality is that if you weren't paying very close attention you wouldn't have even known there was a game being played up here. Paul Roos has been whinging, bitching and throwing downright insults all week about the total lack of media and marketing support coming from the AFL. The Swans had their normal newspaper ads and a few Swan paid for radio spots for Saturday night, but as for carpet bombing the city (a city in which a second team seems to be coming to) with a sales pitch to make sure people actually want to see the game, well that was completely non-existent. They were up against a stronger code playing into their finals, and still the assumption is that this city is what it isn't. It was a complete [censored] up from the AFL, plus it has been raining for a three days straight!!!

Do you really want those people to include Nathan Carroll?

Really, where did he come from??? And for what its worth we all know what mad Monday is, and no-one will ever or should ever get in the way of players going out and enjoying themselves and clearing their heads of a truly crap year, but why does this have to happen? I mean I know how it happens but why? It is plainly stupid and when you are who this lot are getting into public scuffles, brawls or whatever does not just reflect badly on you, but on the club and frankly I've had enough of this kind of crap. I do however hope that the rest of them enjoyed their end of tour booze haze, cause it could well be a very long pre-season!!!

Yes but are the Marketing department actually listening?

Congratulations to Both Jeff and Adem on wonderful careers at the Demons...... They were and will always will be legends of our club and have performed admirably for the club over so many years. I wish them all the best for the future at the same time as thanking them for their past.

Sorry Rumpole....... Sharks hold on to sponsor

I have a tendency to agree with Rhino here...... While I really do like Valenti and can understand why others value him more highly than our more established players, but there are some things that I can't seem to get past. I honestly rate Jones much higher, and I believe that despite his poor & pressured year he is a better talent and has more upside than Valenti. Jones took the number one tagger from opposition teams in his second year of footy this season, making his life so much more difficult and much easier for those around him. Moloney, while very similar has an enormous kick, something that I can't remember seeing from Valenti and if this can be harnessed better in the future it will prove to be, in my humble opinion, a huge asset. These two players are fairly interchangeable however and that is the biggest issue here. You add McLean to the list and you have four very, very similar and slow mids who generally perform the same in and under function and currently not that well (and that opinion includes Valenti). We can't survive with all on the field at once, we would get run over and past and through, you get the point. I am not saying we should cut Valenti, as he has done enough, but there are others seemingly in front of him that play the same way (better) and fill the same spots that he would fill. Therefore would it be so dreadful to leave him on the rookie list for another season, leaving another spot open on the senior list? Just my opinion !!!

Bomber Lovett for sale

Nathan Bassett announces retirement

Schwab named Melbourne CEO

Amen..... I hope (desperately) that this is right decision, but I do understand the queries from the outer. But it is now done, decision made, and hopefully Schwab (& Stynes) can earn our respect by pulling this club back together off field, and as someone said earlier in regards to the "mates" angle, who cares, as long as this group of people have in their collective heads what is best for the club in the long and short run.

At the beginning of the telecast today Jakovich gave a five point plan to make Melbourne a better side...... One of those points was the choice of Jack Watts with our #1 draft pick. So I guess my question is, I realise he is young but seriously what are the odds of him not nominating this year?

I would have thought that with Coyote on one wing R. Runner might be useful on the other...... Adds some genuine pace !!!

Not a dry eye in the house !!!

Oh I wasn't criticising, I thought it was an accurate summation of what we saw today !!! Just pointing out that not everyone......nevermind it really is completely and totally unimportant.

Like everybody else ?!!!

Come on YM, despite a sad level of accuracy to your summation, not everyone wants to see that...... I'm sure somewhere in there you can understand that, at least a little !!!

I like the kid, but I don't think a Rising Star nom is in his future...... But I do really respect the way he gets the ball, attacks the play and uses his speed to at least try and break the lines, it is something we see little of from this team. That being said there needs to be some serious work, polish and skill put into his disposal, and his decision making is also quite poor. But there is a good upside if these aspects can be improved, which is something we have seen already by degrees this year.

The Barassi Cup, named after RDB Snr had been played in Sydney for number of years over the Anzac weekend. This disappeared this year, for whatever reason, and I really do like this push of having the game in Canberra. We have a number of games we have to play there, and this could prove to be an excellent initiative. But this is something I am curious about, is it worth us playing more "home" games there against teams like Freo or Port?

I'd like to second that...... Thanks for the report, the event and the fairly massive fundraising effort. You, and you club have done us all proud Ballarat Demon :D !!!

Wouldn't it be quicker to just list anything we may be good at, and then assume we suck at the rest ?!!!

Aahh yes, but that may have shown some leadership and we can't have that now !!!