Wiseblood

Lewis is a winner, though. He knows how to win and he knows what it takes to win. He knows it takes 22 blokes all doing what is required of them, regardless of their role, and I have no doubt that a bloke of his experience will adapt quickly. He doesn't need to dominate games for us, he just needs to continue to help set the standards and have an impact on game day. That's good enough for me. As someone pointed out elsewhere, we don't need him to be the 'messiah' as such - we need him to be the cream on the larger cake.

Seriously though, I don't the club sees it that way. We're just lucky that a player of his talent and experience fell into our laps for virtually nothing. That rarely happens in this day and age.

That's just a little silly, dieter. Nothing we discuss on here changes a thing. It never has and probably never will. But it's a discussion forum none the less and we'll discuss anything and everything. It's the same on any discussion forum on the internet. And I wouldn't give Saty a hard time for being soft on Trengove - it was the way in which he lumped everyone in a s'sheep' who 'bleat the same thing' all the time. That's wrong and dismissive. No one was personal, no one said they didn't want Trengove to make it etc. Just that his speed, pace, whatever you want to call it, may be a hindrance to him getting back into the AFL side on a consistent basis. Some discuss it better than others but it's still a valid discussion. If he plays on a wing/half forward, will his lack of pace be exposed on the rebound, for example? We may be wrong, and I hope I am, but it's still a valid discussion point. We're not being critical or mean, we've just observed that this may be something that could hold him back in the short or long term.

That's poor even by your standards, OD.

Lewis is the safe, and sensible, option here. His contribution will be immense over the next few years. I'd like to think Hibberd will also prove to be a shrewd acquisition, and while it may take a little time for him to settle, I think his experience, clean disposal and work ethic will shine through across half back as the season progresses.

That remains to be seen. Before his injury I would agree 100%. Now? He hasn't shown that he has the ability to replicate the form that made him such an exciting player as a youngster. I agree that Williams and Mitchell are fine, if not the best, examples of what slower players can do without 'speed'. Having said that, Jack Trengove is not Diesel Williams or Sam Mitchell. He isn't even in our best 22... yet. He has a long way to go to becoming the player he was, if he can reach those heights again. I'd love him to do it, but I'm not certain that he can. Again, you would have to be a heartless Melbourne supporter to not hope that Jack succeeds in his continual comeback from a horrible injury, but the discussion on his speed is valid. He isn't Sam Mitchel, nor is he Greg Williams.

Well, when Trengove chases down Cyril Rioli we can all be quiet about his speed. For the record, 99% of Demon supporters want him to succeed (and I'm one of them). He just isn't all that quick and, in the modern game, you need a variety of other attributes to help you thrive at this level. Trengove is a terrific depth player and deserved another year, but I still have some doubts as to how he translates to football in 2017 as football has changed since he began his career.

Just Peter Jackson? Redleg did mention him first in his post.

I agree on all of that Billy, and I think that's the beauty of our list. We've been able to educate Joel and train him in our philosophies and culture without needing to expose him to AFL before he is ready, and thus his confidence and abilities grew throughout the year to where he played his best footy for Casey in the VFL finals. It will give him the best chance to make a career for himself and, going by the information we get, it seems he has continued to work hard and improve, which only bodes well for him and for the club as a whole.

What was also interesting to read was that Joel Smith came into consideration for a run in the AFL late in the season. Just goes to show we have a real smokey on our hands and that, with further development, we could have another terrific young player.

Of the 9 senior games Pedersen played in last year, we won 6 of them, so you might not be too far from the truth there.

So what you're saying is that I can have a piece of cake, but I can't actually eat it? Or can't we see the forest for the trees, whatever that means... ?

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-01-13/list-update-lewis-maynard-omcdonald

Best training report I've seen all year!

How good is the discussion in this thread? The SEN best 22 is a very strong side, yet you could make a case for 4-5 other players that could easily fit into that side, yet who do you drop? Players like Frost and Stretch are two that come to mind, but there are others on the fringes like Kennedy, Pedersen and Wagner who you could make a case of being around the mark as well. The competition for spots will be fierce and some will be very unlucky to miss out, but it's a great problem to have. Edit - you can easily add others like Bugg, Harmes and Trengove too. I'm not saying they are best 22 right now, but they can certainly put lots of pressure on those who are.

And now you are commenting on things you don't know much about. Either way, we feel differently about the camps. The world isn't going to end so let's move on.

There have been plenty of posters here who have done similar camps and have, in other threads, said as much. Many know exactly what they are talking about.

The success will be viewed as to how we go on field - if we make finals, some will proclaim that the camp had a positive effect. If we don't, then others will say it was a waste of time. Neither side will necessarily be right, though. We can't truly measure the success or failure of that, on that we agree. Edit - And you're right in terms of the injuries as well. Having Tyson injured and Salem cop another head knock (although he is not seemingly showing an adverse effects of it at the moment) are all we have to on at the moment.

I have no doubt that, for many, the camp was excellent. I think @ProDee just reported from his source (and correct any mistakes PD, I haven't gone back to that post you made), for some, it wasn't and that we got a few injuries out of it, which I think was the crux of the discussion as to how it may not have been as worthwhile as we wanted it to be. Time will tell if it was worthwhile or not.

True, but then they aren't a whole lot different from a training report really. They are a 'lite' version.

I reckon JKH will play all 3 games of the pre-season where he will get a chance to impress. I haven't thought about that too deeply though and I have no idea where he might find a spot in our 22 for Round 1, but something tells me the early part of the season will determine his future at the club. I'd like him to make it as I think he brings a bit of class and footy smarts to the side, but can he regularly hit the scoreboard or impact the game often enough? Time will tell. Thanks for the training report as well.

Spot on about our backline. With some of those offensive weapons down there, you wonder if Hunt will be pushed to a wing this year, or at the very least he might spend some time there during games. Giving an outlet handpass from the stoppage for him to run on to in the front half will be a sight to behold, plus he is a pretty good shot for goal on the run.

I was just going to say something along the same lines - not in a negative way at all, just that after 2016 he won't be flying under the radar anymore and he will be aware that teams will put more focus and effort into stopping him next season. Hopefully we have some strategies in place that allow him to continue to get into space to use his pace, but with the 'new Melbourne', I'm confident that we can do that.

I think we've probably ended up in between the truth - for some it would have been rewarding, but less so for others, especially those players who picked up an injury or aggravated something. It's fair to say that if an AFL club is doing it then you would assume there is some benefit in it, but it still seems to be a slightly archaic approach all the same.

I like what Macca had to say about Jeffy - no doubt his second half of the year was not up to his usual standard, but he made a point of mentioning that he will benefit from others such as Kent, JKH and Kennedy improving their ability to open up the forward line as well so we aren't just relying on Jeffy to do the bulk of this work.