Dee Dee

I'm still smiling, but I'm also watching Hawthorn play Geelong and realise we have a long way to go! But I believe we're starting to assemble a side for the long term.

6: McDonald 5: Watts 4: Viney 3: Jones 2: Garland 1: vandenBerg Problem, so many good players tomorrow I could change my mind. But nice problem to have!

You bet! And he put in all around the ground. A most satisfying effort. I'd also mention Jack Watts, maybe his best game for us!

I think G Lyon deserves a spot on the list, he's certainly more deserving than Brad Johnson for instance. And The Ox but for wonky knees...(sigh)

1) I understand he was an Essendon supporter so when he kicked the sealer against them he probably thought - whoopee I'm now a Dee! 2) I have been told by people who know him from Brighton Grammar that he's a genuinely decent kid so like you I don't expect him to do the dirty on us. (And his dad doesn't need the money)!!!

Don't pay any attention to the crap posted by some on this site. As a country member I (and I'm sure many others) greatly enjoy your reports and look forward to them. So keep posting and trust the mods to keep the discussion on track!

The Melbourne Football Club is still/again a sporting section of the MCC. And most of the committee are Dee's supporters. Steve Smith may well be the next MCC president after (the Geelong supporting) Paul Sheahan.

I believe this thread is a lamentation of unfulfilled talent, a talent that, had it been realised would have greatly benefited the club.

I heard David Parkin praise Col a few years ago as Melbourne's only A grade player. That surprised me because at the time we had a few good players in Yze, Bruce, jr McDonald etc. and the few minutes a game put in by Col was really getting on my goat!I vividly remember his first game for us against North - one handball! Unfulfilled talent is sad to see and so I'm glad when less talented but mentally stronger players succeed (James McDonald springs to mind). (Parkin by the way has a soft spot for Melbourne and is a financial member).

Must firstly dye hair blond!

Thanks Wayne, it all sounds very encouraging. Maybe, just maybe the club is now coming of age as a genuine AFL club.

But, to be a good football player you need to kick goals from a set shot 20 meters out, directly in front.

We coulda/shoulda won at least three or four more games last season (dogs, port) but we lacked belief and courage. That last game against the Doggies being a perfect example. For me, anything less than eight wins is a fail. How will it come about? First of all the coaching panel (which as far as I can tell is the rival of any in the competition) has had a year to settle in and knows what the strengths and weaknesses are of the playing group. And the recruiting of Brendan McCartney only strengthens the development program. Secondly the players themselves. The clean out at the end of 2013 and again last year leaves us with a group of IMHO very competitive footballers, young men who won't take defeat lightly and will not "drop their bundle" when they are six or seven points ahead with six or seven minutes left to play! I realise that every other team is, like us, training the house down, but I believe we now have the infostructure in place to turn potential into reality!

Over on big footy (enter at your peril) there are a number of threads about young Jesse. The current one asks who will be better, Hogan or Boyd with most non Bulldog fans going for Hogan. Otherwise, my vote is for Dean Kent! I liked what I saw last year and I think he may kick on from there.

I suppose we enter the realms of semantics here. Gooey for me is a somewhat pleasurable sensation while goo is the green muck my kids brought up when sick. Certainly I was excited to see us recruit JT and the other bloke and my excitement was based on 1: what the pundits said and 2: what our recruiting staff thought. Gee 20/20 hindsight is great! And yes I was wrong! Like most of us who don't have the time or ability to attend junior football matches I must rely on the opinions of others. Emma Quayle does have a good reputation in this field and like others she appears sold on McCartin, Brayshaw and Petracca as the top 3 picks. However Jake Lever also bobs up in her (and others) reckoning. However I would not be surprised if 5years down the track the pundits here at Demonland are not baying for blood because we didn't pick player X who went at pick 20 something. Who knows!

If we end up with McCartin I'm not convinced we'll see too much of a 3 big man forward line as some suggest. Of the few Casey games I saw last year, Hogan always spent some time hunting and intimidating further up the ground. With a change in coaching staff this year he may well be told to stay nearer the forward line, but I do hope he's given licence to roam and do a bit of work around the centre. McCartin appears more the stay at home type. However this is all speculation of course, as we await the Saints first pick. As Emma Quayle said in today's Age, it would be no knock on Petracca and no shock if McCartin was their choice. I like the idea of recruiting McCartin and Brayshaw, but the prospect of recruiting Petracca and Brayshaw makes me go all gooey inside.

Dunny's certainly a changed man. And as for fatherhood, It didn't do Martin Pike any harm either!

http://theconversation.com/brain-food-diets-impacts-on-students-are-too-big-to-ignore-33895 Interesting article on diet from "The Conversation".

For every Chip Frawley and Tom $€u££¥ there's a Chris Grant.

Adem Yze took on a similar role at Hawthorn and look how that turned out!

Didn't his dad have #18? Give the lad a high number and 18 when Cross retires (end of 2015?).

Correct? Since we won our last flag in 1964, Hawthorn has won 11. And if there is any luck involved, it results from getting things right, that is "you make your own luck"! A few years ago the football world talked of the big three, Collingwood, Essendon and Carlton. Collingwood by dint of membership clout is still there, the other two are struggling big time and Hawthorn has jumped them, Carlton at least. My kids live in Brunswick and I'm amazed to see so many children in what is a traditional Carlton area wearing wee and poo footy jumpers! (and if they only had better colours even more people would jump on board)!!!

So have I and so do I!But he certainly knows how to point! However I hope he can make it, but I have doubts.

Nev is the perfect roll model for others at the club who might have been under achieving. Look at what can be done by hard work, perseverance and some raw talent. I really admire the lad for what he has so far achieved, but there's still work to do for a potential 200 gamer!

Very happy with Bernie (as were all the women sitting near me on match days)