Goodvibes

Sorry, I thought I'd already confirmed. I'm definitely keen to go again.

Care to offer an argument in support of this view?

I'm finding it really hard to be mature about this development.

The only thing you've said in this thread I agree with.

So proud of my club right now

Nothing wrong with scrappy match sim. So many club coaches fall into the trap of repeating the same skill drills over and over again because the team looks good doing them and the coach feels like he/she is doing a good job. It takes a little bottle to run sessions that are mainly match sim because to observers it can look very very rough but in the long run it's exactly what the team needs. I love the fact our fitness is now at a point where the majority of our pre-season has involved footballs.

We all have our bad moments H.

I'm keen.

Maybe there is worth in this thread afterall.

Definitely. It feels different this time doesn't it?

B: Jetta Dunn Garland CHB: Salem McDonald Bugg C: Stretch Tyson Vince CHF: Watts Hogan vandenBerg FF: Kent Pedersen Garlett Foll: Gawn Jones Viney Int: Brayshaw Petracca Neal-Bullen Oliver Emerg: Grimes Dawes Kennedy I'm not afraid to play the kids. The future is now. Petracca will be ready. Oliver probably won't play but I'd like to see him. Great to have Kent and Salem back. Bugg wasn't recruited to play at Casey and I'm not sure why there's all this talk about CHF. I'm more worried about who will play closer to goal. Like most, I'm off the Dawes and Lumumba wagon and would love to pick Grimes but can't quite justify it at this point. Trengove obviously a wait and see prospect. Don't really rate Frost forward but very positive about his ability to fill a key defensive post when there's a vacancy for him. Until then Dunn, McDonald and Garland have the runs on the board.

Can't say I ever have willmoy. What's the link?

You're right. There's no need to highlight specific posters and I'm not usually in the habit of having a crack at fellow posters but I'm in a pretty positive place about my football team and whilst I agree that questioning aspects of our operation is healthy, I can't understand how so many can spend the majority of their posts finding negatives at a time when they're is so much to be positive about. My other team (Sheffield Wednesday) are also in a really positive place and it's amazing how many Wednesday supporters on their Demonland equivalent are so incessantly negative. I'm not sure if that can simply be put down to human nature or whether it goes with the territory for any team (and their supporters) that have gone through a sustained period of disappointment.

I really fear for people like yourself and munga and old dee. When we starting winning more than we lose, what will you do? The negativity from you guys is unrelenting. Maybe our ascent will coincide with North Melbourne's decline and you can follow them in an attempt to get your fill of doom and gloom. It's almost as if you're not happy unless you're unhappy. Roos was hired to do more than simply coach a team. He along with Jackson, Bartlett, Taylor and Mahoney have significantly altered the culture of the MFC. We are a professionally run club with a healthy focus placed on training habits, leadership, competitiveness and a team-first culture. Roos has made these areas his focus. If you can't see where we're going from here, I feel sorry for you. Our CEO is one of the best in the business. Financially we're far more sound with increased footy dept spending. Our coach is a proven architect and shaper of footy club culture. The positivity coming from the player group about Goodwin is incredible. Taylor keeps picking aggressive, skilled, athletic footballers at both ends of the draft. We have elite talent that is on brink of being realized. Now is the time, to buckle up and enjoy the ride. The love for Roos isn't unconditional, but the criticisms are focused on his pay packet, match day performance and contributions to our training sessions. I don't care how much he gets paid if the aforementioned culture is on the improve and we continue to post profits. I could easily find fault with his game day decision making but in the long term I'm more interested in the development of culture and the unearthing of quality footballers. And finally, the direction of most sports with increasing staff sizes is for the head honcho to oversee more and more and provide less hands on attention. Roos is clearly in big picture mode and Goodwin is running the gameplan side of things. And gameplans are honed during training. It makes sense that he is running the show on the training paddock. It seems to me at least that the transition with McCartney overseeing everything is working beautifully. As supporters we're not used to transitions. As Melbourne supporters we're not accustomed to being a part of cutting edge footy dept thinking. This is what it looks like.

I'm keen again. Thanks DeeVoted.

I like the idea of curtain raisers but think during the early years a stand alone comp outside of the traditional AFL season is the way to go. I could see a 6 team, 12 week season working. This way the state competitions aren't impacted and the competition might get a little more attention and helps the direhards like us get our footy fix. In time as the competition grows and there's more AFL aligned teams it makes sense to me to go down the path of curtain raisers.

What's the opposite of KOTD?

I'll give you Bugg Mach but I'm not as bullish as other in regards to Harmes and Kennedy is the least likely of our three trades to cement a starting place in our midfield. All three, however, do speak to the improved level of depth we now possess. The key though, is whether two or three of our young midfielders become genuine stars of the comp. The potential that mauriesy speaks of is cause for genuine excitement. Viney, Tyson, Salem, Brayshaw, Oliver, Petracca. Wow.

Spot on. Jones, Vince, Trengove, Tyson, Viney, vandenBerg, Brayshaw, Salem, Petracca, Oliver, Neal-Bullen, Melksham, Stretch, Kent with Gawn as our number ruck should be a pretty strong nucleus in 2017. That's 15 players.

Wise, I guess I see the potential for lots of different types of discussion all focused on our women's team. I can envisage different threads dedicated to the exhibition games, the national competition structure, updates from different state competitions and individual players. In addition I'd love to create a thread that contains a collection of videos that provide people with a real insight into the women's game. I could obviously do this on the main board but feel they deserve a place to be kept together. Mach, I'd make it one of my key jobs to keep the key threads updated and interesting so that the women's game is regularly on the opening page of the site. I think we've already done this McQueen. After each exhibition game, a thread has been created and each year these threads have received more attention and a more positive response. Thanks WJ. I really stumbled into the women's game. As a teacher I enjoyed coaching the boys I taught but up here in QLD I couldn't escape the number of potential competitions that were being created specifically for girls. I've heard quite a few people question the numbers QLD boasts in terms of female participation but the effort they put into the school competitions is amazing and that's why their participation rates are so high. I think we've moved past WA who are quite strong and are now serious competition at U18 level with Victoria. About 14 years ago our school program started with a little 9-a-side team that got absolutely smashed by everyone. In the first minute of our first game, one of my girls dislocated her knee cap and I wasn't sure this whole thing was such as good idea. But we got more and more serious and as a school we became the best in QLD for a few years, even toured Victoria and headed out to Wonthaggi for a game against the then state champions. As much as I enjoyed coaching the boys, they were all club driven and school footy was very much secondary. School footy to the girls became almost club-like. They trained two afternoons a week and did a gym session or two as well. That's when I realised how serious these girls could get. Unlike the boys, the improvement you see is so huge and as a consequence the satisfaction gained as a coach is massive. Oh and they listen! After a few years my best girls finished school and a few of them moved into clubs to play senior footy. After a couple of more years, they convinced me to come and coach them. I spent a couple of years coaching a senior team in the Brisbane/Gold Coast Comp but had to ease out of the scene when my second kid came along. After a year, I realised how much I missed it and got back involved with some younger girls. We started in 15s and we're now in 17s and are pulling together a senior team to play in the second tier of footy up here. The club I'm now at is right near my school and we'll have teams in 11s, 13s, 15s, 17s and seniors. I'm hopeful that when my kids are a little older I might coach as senior level again with the kids I started off with 4 years ago. There is a genuine pathway for the girls now. In addition they can play representative school footy with state carnivals at U12 and U15 level. And outside of school they have an U14 and U17 state championship. Whilst the standard of the exhibition games has been solid, the next generation of players are a cut above the current seniors. We're now seeing Auskick kids floating into club competitions and entering senior level with a real background in the game. Once the national comp gets underway, it may have a few teething problems but the elite talent from Netball, Soccer and Cricket will start flooding our way. The AFL will seriously support the comp and I wouldn't be surprised if the best few players in each team will be making over $100,000 a year. When young girls see that potential and have the pathway in place to support their progress, the standard in 8 - 10 years should be quite impressive. A lot of people have been impressed with the exploits of Tayla Harris. Unlike most of the other girls involved in the exhibition games (especially from QLD) who've come to the sport late in their youth or even in their twenties, Tayla has had a traditional football journey comparable to most boys. I can only imagine how good the quality of competition will be when the bulk of the players have a decade of footy behind them like Tayla. I wrote an article at the conclusion of my last year of senior coaching that shares a fair bit of info on Tayla and her exploits prior to playing in the exhibition games and taking 'that mark'. http://www.foxsportspulse.com/team_info.cgi?client=1-109-82635-158132-10295392&sID=247343&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=20586526 Cheers, Ross

Dear Demonland, Just had a thought. Would a separate forum dedicated to the women's game be appropriate? Would there be enough support amongst fellow Demonlanders for such a move? It's an exciting time for Melbourne having been at the forefront of female footy by sponsoring the local league for many years and their performances in the exhibition games has been incredible. With each year and each exhibition game I've noticed a real shift in the thinking of the average Demonlander. There seems to be a genuine acceptance of and excitement about female footy in general and the role we could play in the proposed 2017 National Competition. I'd be interested to hear from the owners and moderators of the site and the Demonland populace as to whether this is a good idea and one that would garner sufficient support to make it worthwhile. I'd be happy to moderate the forum. Cheers

As you know BB, I too backed Szondy but in our defence I think it was more about ousting Gutnick as opposed to supporting Szondy. Gutnick was dangerous and Szondy was hopeless. Sometimes you need to see a well run football club to understand exactly how poor things once were. I can't help but imagine what Daniher and his team might have been capable of with a fully unified and supportive board and chairman.

If I wasn't so lazy, I'd create a fake Ollie Wines Demonland account and 'like' this link.

All good, the premise remains. The youngest half of our list is extremely promising and much of that young promise has already displayed their talent in a meaningful way on game day. That's what excites me most.

Has Trengove been in carbon freezing since hurting his foot?