Mel Bourne

Did you see his face? It’s obvious to me that he is going to get us into a grand final in 2021, and with the opportunity to kick the winning goal, will turn on an angle and kick the ball straight into the crowd, just to mess with us. He will also steal some people here’s superannuation in a Ponzi scheme.

Given the general consensus here is “it’s a tough one”, I’d be looking very deep into whether a kid Luke Jackson’s age is genuinely prepared and enthused to move to the other side of the country and stick it out for possibly many, many years. None of us here could stomach watching a prospective champion leave just as he’s about to fully bloom, and I can’t help but feel the odds of this happening in this case are reasonable at the least. If it’s a particularly tough decision to make between Jackson and Young, I would hope Young being a Victorian is a massive consideration. I’m not particularly worried about Green though. Does anybody miss Canberra?

Nah, we’ll just go at our own pace DD. Few handball drills. Some banana kicks for goal. Nothing too strenuous.

Further to the point, what’s stopping any of US going and training with our favourite football team?

Nothing! Let’s all work together to destroy “learnings”.

It’s all a bit obvious though, isn’t it? Some people are positive, some people are negative. Boo to the latter? I’m struggling to find anything of substance here.

Yes, it is encouraging that the club is operating in a similar manner to any business hoping to improve itself. Yay.

“What are the team hoping to achieve next year?” In their defence, a lot of answers to questions pointed at them are deserving of having the word “obviously” planted at the beginning.

Is it just the angle or has Jack Viney dropped more than a couple kgs?

Can’t say I’m a fan of these man-bras players wear nowadays.

There’s no potent opposition to right-wing nationalism/populism anywhere in the western world right now. Which is particularly worrying (and downright weird) given the turkeys we’re currently dealing with. Scomo/Boris/Trump would have the asses handed to them by any given politician that showed up with genuine fire, charisma and vision (and a hint of integrity). But too many sectors of the left are in a quiet turmoil about the exploitive politics behind their favourite brand of socks, or shaming other people for their choice of non-inclusive, hetero-normative breakfast cereal. People that hang around the conservative/fascist end of the political spectrum aren’t known for their powers of critical self-analysis. It’s viewed as weakness or admittance of error. It’s obviously a failing of character, but it is an asset in the game of politics. While the left continues to revel in it’s supposedly-remarkable ability to reflect, analyse, debate and confront each other on topics of morality, it seems oblivious to the fact that it’s eating itself. The left can’t find a leader because it is so addicted to unraveling and examining every corner of every argument, that every candidate ends up being reduced to an impotent husk.

Change is frustratingly glacial, and experiencing an unusual amount of turbulence of late. But I’m heartened by a lot of kids I know and their general lack of prejudice compared to the vibe of the playgrounds in the 80s. Australian society needs to be vigilant about it’s education system. The idea of living amongst a (further) under-educated population is one of the thoughts that keep me up at night. The other is our forward line.

Is anybody aware if the author of Demonblog walks the halls of Demonland? It’s a tremendous read. Hilarious and thoroughly researched. It’s not for the more delicate MFC supporter; it can be incredibly salty and cynical, but obviously passionate. Anyway, I highly recommend their latest article, and if the author is reading this, keep up the enormously impressive work! http://mfcdemonblog.blogspot.com/2019/11/2019-end-of-year-spectacular.html?m=1

Is the music playing in this clip actually being played at the session? Is there a PA/DJ situation at training these days?

AFL have just posted an article about him. He’s gone full “Namaste” and incorporated Pilates and yoga into his pre-season. Which is a big step up from pizza n’ pints. Seems very determined to get himself right.

I am, and I duly apologise.

Nobody’s fault but mine, Rjay! It’s always an interesting discussion anyway. For mine, I think curious minds will always wander to curious places. But on the topic of club culture, I completely agree with what you’ve said.

Right, so the inference here is that I laid it on a bit thick? Lemme check something, hang on..... Ok.

Sorry to disappoint. It was by no means an in-depth analysis. Just a facetious comment based mainly on, I dunno, the frustration of being a life-long supporter in their mid-forties who has (obviously) never seen a premiership, has been subject to the ridicule of other teams’ supporters over the years for a combination of private-school-toff-thing/bruise-freeness/tanking/choking/general irrelevance. Where is the line between “club culture” and “club psyche” distinguished anyway? Because it’s been laid bare and discussed widely on here that our collective psyche has been a massive issue in the (not so recent) past. Is it taboo to raise this topic too? Do I need to provide you with an in-depth analysis to comment on that too? If you wanted to search my comment history (which I’m sure you cannot be bothered to do, so let me tell you) you would find I’m not one of these punching-down, denigrators that frequent these pages. I have a passionate respect for the team (but I’ll admit, the coach is yet to win me over), never participated in the piling on of Omac, ANB or any of the other supposed fair game that a lot of people here like to hunt. Generally keep my comments pretty light-hearted and understand above all else that it’s just a game (which it is, people). I make one comment that would be said with obvious jest if it were spoken in a pub, and here come the cops in the red and blue (especially Bingo Boy up there) servicing me with a censure and a pamphlet entitled “The Correct Way To Support Your Football Team”.

Hendrix, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Dylan, Cohen, Bob Marley, Brian Eno, David Bowie, Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop, Dr. Dre.....Gary Ablett. etc/actual innovators/etc... To get back on topic, it’s disappointing to see people on this forum making remarks about former drug users (or even current for that matter) as people not worthy of the club’s time. The inference that these people would be damaging to the club’s culture is rubbish. The club’s culture already IS rubbish!

At the risk of momentarily turning this thread into a bunch of stuff that nobody cares about...of course it hasn’t. However, the artistic landscape would be radically different without the influence of drugs. Not everybody who sings their own songs while playing an acoustic guitar takes drugs, but most of them revere and are heavily influenced by Bob Dylan & Leonard Cohen (who did). This is just one example of thousands over the course of centuries. When it comes to footy, I love the game but fully realise that there are many here with a greater knowledge than I, and I’d be wise to listen to and learn from them. When it comes to that other stuff I know what I’m talking about, and I ain’t no ignoramus. Not even a slight one.

No, your comment just belies a certain ignorance. Not everybody who takes drugs is an out-of-control sports-idiot. I’ve known many wonderful and inspiring people who aren’t afraid or ashamed to pepper their brief time on earth, with pleasurable, illuminating and enlightening moments spent in altered states. As a professional musician, I can assure you that if it weren’t for drugs your favourite band would sound very different or most likely not exist at all. I shudder to think who they might be though.

Or Catch 22. My gut says the club aren’t as concerned about his mental health, as they are about his physicality. Aside from his new-found family man status, getting out of WA is a big factor. There’s something rotten in the culture of both the WA teams. Admittedly, Bennell has been a contributor to this issue, but both teams have been pretty negligent when it comes to preventing certain members of the community - specifically bikies - gaining access to the clubs. I know this was a constant frustration for Ross Lyon. WCE have been making a concerted effort to address this in the past couple of years, wit the Dockers dragging behind a bit. The city, as well as the club, would be good for him.

Don’t get me wrong, I hold a lot of faith for Jake Lever. But his highlight reel at the MFC thus far would be very short, and pretty underwhelming. He was edging towards elite/A-grader/whatever-you-wanna-call-it at the Crows. Some might say he even got there. But he does not have that kind of status now. He’s currently in no-man’s land between past and (hopefully) future form.

“I just think I’ve still got a lot more in the tank. I’ve come this far and I’m not going to give up, just because of my latest injury. I’m not a person who will just chuck the towel in and give up. “I love training and I love football. Without football, who knows where I’ll be? “Getting a third opportunity at the highest level would be life-changing for myself and my partner and my family – it would be the luckiest thing. It would mean a lot to me and my family.” I’m pretty convinced he means all of that. He’s got very different, very real priorities now. And I’d say a much healthier perspective.