Wiseblood

Cripps was number 11 at the same range as Max. Selwood was also number 13 at the $850k - 900k mark (just to go with what Danger is being paid). Pendles was number 16, Josh Kelly was 19 and Tom Mitchell was 37. O'Meara is paid more this year than he is.

The follow up to yesterday's article. Here are some of the numbers for Melbourne players. Remember - this is just what they are being paid THIS YEAR. 44 - Jake Lever. On between $700-$750k 43 - Steven May. On between $700-$750k 39 - Clayton Oliver. On between $700-$750k 10 - Max Gawn. On between $900-$950k The top 10 in terms of who is on the most this season is: Jeremy Cameron (on roughly 1.5 mill) Lance Franklin Nat Fyfe Dustin Martin Jack Martin Patrick Dangerfield Jeremy McGovern Marcus Bontempelli Lachie Neale Max Gawn

I can understand why some are nervous about us playing in potentially wet conditions - in the past we haven't exactly set the world alight in these instances. But I get the feeling we are better prepared for it than in the past. We love the ball hitting the deck up forward and there will be plenty of that today. I think we've got the right mix there to give them some real trouble, while Weideman at the very least can crash a few packs and give the smalls a chance. Also, hopefully this means there won't be as many intercept marks from their tall backs and we can give them a contest every time it goes inside 50. We have the midfield bulls around the contest as well, while Max has the tank to go all day and wear McInerney down. The big fella won't be getting any smaller and Max should be able to give us first use. And our back line has been excellent as of late. Jetta, Lockhart and Salem (and possible even Jones) are all tough around the contest, and we know what we'll get from our three talls. The Lions are a terrific football side but I like our chances today, whether it be raining buckets or just a little slippery.

Feels like the game is still two days away with this late start. Dees by 3 goals. Trac to dominate. Gawn to monster McInerney. Kozzie to kick 3 in slippery conditions. Harmes to keep Neale to under 25 touches. Go Dees!

If anything, the Saints are showing us that Port are more than beatable. They should have lost to Carlton the previous week as well. They are very flaky at the moment.

Norf are absolutely terrible. Watch them do everything they can to throw ungodly amounts of money at players who don't want to come or to those who don't deserve it. It's great to watch, even if it has to be Carlton beating them.

They did take cuts - that is in the article as well. So the above wages are what they would have been on without the affected season.

Great question - it is what they are being paid this year. This is what they said in the article: And when the Herald Sun tasked a reporting team of Glenn McFarlane, Jon Ralph and Jay Clark with building a list of footy’s top 100 paid players this year, two themes became apparent.

As a follow up - you could easily argue that Trac is underpaid, while at the moment Gus and Tom McDonald (who signed their deals in 2018) are being over paid. I'd say Viney right now is pretty spot on. May, Lever, Gawn and even Oliver may be in the next article of the Top 50 players. Edit - and before we complain about over paying players, Mitch McGovern is at #51 on an estimated $675,000 - $725,000.

The Herald Sun is running an article today around who the highest paid players in the AFL are. They are looking at the players from 51-100 at the moment. Here is where some of the Melbourne players are: 86 - Angus Brayshaw. Estimated salary between $600,000 - $650,000 66 - Christian Petracca. Estimated salary between $650,000 - $700,000 59 - Tom McDonald. Estimated salary between $675,000 - $725,000 56 - Jack Viney. Estimated salary between $675,000 - $725,000 Thoughts everyone? Happy to share info on other clubs if you want it.

Agree. Get the feeling that the pressure will be on Chunk to perform as well. There are plenty of players ready and willing to take his spot, and I'd wager that if his form is just so-so that he may lose his spot for good. No shame in that, but he knows that he isn't an automatic selection anymore. Here's hoping that he comes back in refreshed and ready to make an impact.

Which team do you coach?

They've got a gun midfield with a forward line that only works on some weeks. When it's off they can't score at all. Granted, the weather didn't help later in the game, but at they can be totally impotent inside 50. Also, anyone feel ill when Billy Gowers marked the ball with about 30 seconds left and then turned it over with a shocker of a kick. I swear he could have been wearing a Melbourne jumper when he did that.

Salem won't be rested this week as he is named in the starting 18. The final four players will come from the extended interchange. It's the same every week.

Should actually be a pretty watchable game tonight. Both teams happy to play with an offensive mindset so hopefully we see a few goals kicked.

I'd say he is getting a run as the coaches know more than us. While he might not get much of the pill, he is clearly doing his job defensively and therefore he keeps his spot. Our defensive unit last week was terrific so I can understand why they don't want to mess with it. As for selection, there aren't too many surprises. Tomlinson may get the nod for AVB, while it wouldn't surprise to see T Mac back in for Jackson, even though that would be harsh on Jackson as he played well last weekend.

Why do you keep harping on about this? We get it - people wanted Oliver dropped, which was a classic Demonland overreaction. No need to mention it in every post you make.

Last 50 years? Nah. Best since 1858. Let's do this right.

Can't get a game over an aging Grant Birchall. Having said that, a fresh start might be the go for him and if he can't get a gig in the seniors then he might come at a discount price (eg. a six pack and a bag of crisps).

I'm in the same boat. He doesn't do anything for me. Take away his ability on the lead and he doesn't offer anything else, which is what we're seeing right now. Obviously as a club we need a few more better users of the footy, and we obviously need to see how things play out with someone like Weideman, but if we were to play most of the season like we did on Sunday then are there many glaring holes that we need to fill? I think we are starting to get the mix right across the ground, but I also appreciate the fact that it's a small sample size at this stage. Still plenty of water to go under the bridge.

Going to make it all the more sweeter when we win all four on our march to a flag...

I'm not. He was terrific down back for us on the weekend. Couldn't get anything past him, although you almost wish those votes could go to the whole defensive unit for their effort in keeping the Hawks to 7 goals.

Injury stuff aside, which is further proof of his toughness (although he is lucky he didn't injure himself further), I love having Vanders in the side. Yes, he isn't the best user of the footy in the side, and he doesn't necessarily rack up the big numbers. But you get the feeling he is the sort of player who can make others walk taller. He is one of the best tacklers in the side and he makes the opposition hurt. You wouldn't want him running at your from the other way. As he continues to get back to full fitness, he can be a real weapon for us who will fly under the radar while the more 'sexy' players take the spotlight. It's a credit to him that he is beginning to reap the rewards from the hard yards he has put in to get back into the side, and a credit to the club for sticking by him.

I might actually tune in this year, as last year we sucked and barely polled any votes. At least this season we might rack up a few.

One reason I want Jackson to keep his spot is that, by having him in the side, it allowed Gawn to rest a kick behind the play and do plenty of damage from there. Jackson rucked most of the time when the ball was in the forward half and did a decent enough job, while also having an impact when the ball hit the deck. It's the perfect mix. I hope that we keep him in the side, but it does make things interesting in trying to fit Tom Mac back in there as well. Not sure how we do that at the minute.