Foopy on the telly

Well at least we all know where Kozzy is living rent-free

To be fair though, most of those players we drafted were highly rated in their draft years (except for maybe Cook). If we didn’t take them someone else would have straight after. E.g if we didn’t take watts at pick 1, west coast would’ve taken him at pick 2. It’s just we had a massive issue with player development during that period to the point where they regressed badly after their first couple of years. Morton, Grimes, Trengove, Blease etc are the biggest examples of this, as they were very talented players. I have no doubt that it was purely development being the issue. Imagine if those players were drafted to west coast or Geelong? They would’ve been stars because those clubs had proper management and a good culture that could develop players. Likewise, if we drafted Dangerfield, Nic Nat, shuey or Martin instead I doubt they would have been the same players at Melbourne. Our poor development at the time would’ve ruined them.

There’s having balanced discussion, and then there’s sinking the boots into the club at every opportunity. You’re the latter.

You’re the one expecting him to be Cyril Rioli at the age of 19 ffs.

Nuffies on Demonland

Nuffies on Demonland

Doubtful that a true supporter/player in one of the key posts is the determining factor in whether or not a club wins a premiership. At the end of the day it comes down to having the best people in the role making the best decisions of behalf of the organisation. If there’s anything the club has failed to do in the last 50 years, it’s most certainly that. I think next year will be the determining factor in whether or not we have the right people running the club. Form can turn quickly which we’ve seen with Richmond, Brisbane, Collingwood etc in recent years (yes I know the latter two haven’t won a flag). I know people will be calling for mass changes but that’s gonna lead to us going back to the [censored]. History says so. IMO brining in quality assistant coaches (and bloody keeping them for once) would be enough of a change to make a difference, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Remember the last time we had Melbourne people running the club? It was a disaster. Stynes, Connolly etc. PJ even said when he started at Melbourne that the club kept going back to Melbourne people too much (rather than going and getting the best people to run the club) and was part of the reason we’ve been ****house for so long. So people keep whinging that we suck but then go and say for the club to “go and get Garry Lyon” or “go and get (insert other unqualified Melbourne person here)”. That’s basically contradicting yourself. It’s stupid and goes against what the best clubs and organisations do. You bring in the best and most qualified people no matter their background. If the best person for the position just happens to be a Melbourne person then who cares? It’s a bonus. But it shouldn’t be the reason they get hired ffs.

Oh boy do I look silly with a short memory. Either way our pick was going to get bumped a spot or two. Who knows if we would have taken him, bottom line is he’s at freo and we can’t expect Pickett to just tear games apart in his first year. He’s only 19 ffs.

It was the same pick from the same trade, champ. We originally had pick 8 but it was bumped to pick 12 because of all the academy selections. Surely even you’re smart enough to know that mate.

Well he’s best 22 now, that’s the point. I meant that I reckon it’s possible to have jones playing (in the form he’s in) and make the finals. You made it sound like you can only have one or the other.

But he is best 22... he’s playing well on the half forward flank. Plus if our finals chances rest on whether a 292 gamer plays or not then we don’t even deserve to make the finals. So why not have both?

You say that as if your track record is good...

Mate, you’ve left out Bartel winning it for Geelong in 2007 and Ablett winning his first Brownlow at the cats in 09. And I also forgot to add in both Judd and Cousins at west coast (2004 and 2005 respectively) playing in the same midfield.

All the recent dynasties with stacked midfields have had Brownlow winners. Bartel, Ablett, black, aker, Mitchell etc

I Honestly think you’re just taking the [censored] and that you don’t believe half the crap you’re saying. Sacking coaches prematurely? When has that ever worked? That would just send us straight back to the bottom and ruin the culture of the club (see Dean Bailey). It’s well documented that Goodwin has strong relationships with the playing group so I reckon we’d benefit from giving him time this season to get the team setup correct. It’s also been documented that weideman has struggled in contested marking at the start of the season and it’s evidently the reason he wasn’t playing until a month ago. If we [censored] the bed later on in the season then of course we should question whether Goodwin should go but facts are facts and coaches aren’t getting sacked and payed out during this whacky season.

^ Certified contender for Demonland nuffy of the year

Clarko wasn’t coach when they drafted hodge, the Franklin draft was a few years after that when he became coach

Adelaide are really bringing out 2008 Melbourne vibes

For starters, all clubs are heavily impacted by what’s going on, so it’s not the fault of Melbourne. Geelong said they’ll be over $10 million in debt soon for crying out loud. We’re certainly in a better position than the likes of st Kilda as well, and the other clubs will have a similar fundraising program going on, so not sure why the aim is being taken at the club here.

Gee whiz mate, all I’m saying is that simply kicking more goals is not the only way Oliver can be elite. I’d like to see him kick more goals, but what I’d love to see is him kicking the ball more instead of handballing, and we’re already starting to see that. I also think it’s pretty stupid to think the supporters somehow has more an influence on a player than the coaching staff. Some people really need to calm down about Oliver. We keep forgetting that the bloke is only 22, and yet people are still complaining.

Good comment, but Cripps isn’t much of a goal kicker at all but still the best current player to compare Clarry to. Oliver can become an elite player but that doesn’t mean he has to become a consistent kick for goal. Most elite teams only really need to have one of their mids who do that, and we have Petracca to take us to the next level in this regard. We would be better off comparing Oliver to Sam Mitchell, who was never a real goal kicker, but still an absolute star of the competition in his prime.

That’s probably not the best way to look at it. Richmond didn’t do a full rebuild through the draft when Hardwick became coach, they instead built a team of largely mature ages (initially) around their core young-at-the-time players Cotchin, Martin etc, so there’s more than one way to rise up the ladder successfully instead of just going full youth.

Well don’t I look silly

Lever hasn’t proved “yet another bust” at all, so I’m not sure what you’re on about. He hasn’t had a clear run at it since his knee injury, and I’d say give him another chance this season before calling him a failure IMO. He still has a clear opportunity to prove himself a success.