rpfc

You know, maybe, just maybe, the AFL should have stipulated the definition of 'multi-cultural' or even 'indigenous' before they instituted a policy resting entirely to those definitions. What an absolute waste those people down at the Docklands are. They are 'free jazzing' football administration.

If we draft a Casey player in Feb onto the Rookie List - they will invariably play for Casey...

What is more cost effective? Paying Roos for, let's say, 5 years as coach at $1.5m and then going back to the coaching drawing board... Or... Paying Roos to mentor the next coach and have a year of two head coaches? Try doing a cost benefit analysis on that...

I don't see why you won't let those that administer those ethics do their jobs as the CAS has? It has taken an effing age but the players have reached their point of judgement and justice and they will pay their penance. I think it is naïve to think you can apply such universal and holistic punishments. Jake Melksham is hardly Lance Armstrong. And Jake will serve his punishment and the effects of that judgment and punishment will reverberate into the future and affect the rest of his life. I see no point to stick the knife in further.

That trade will be judged in about 6 years time. Unless of course you are of the opinion that we should "not have any drug users on the list!1!" Then we would have half the players we do currently and it would be tough to recruit with that stance.

I think your view is violently reasonable. I don't see the need to condemn so universally and in perpetuity. Life (and footy) is not that simple.

It's a shame whether you think he would have won it anyway or whether he 'cheated' someone else out of it. It's bad for footy, for careers, for the legacy of great players (who were great before these so called performance enhancers were used), and for the real culprits in the Essendon footy dept.

Well, in theory, we should have already 'scoured the country' for the best players to put on our list. I have no problems with the filling of spots through use of the Rookie List for PA, StK, Melb, and WB.

Nothing is ever black and white. I don't see the players as drug cheats - I see them as idiots who should be more sceptical and less trusting of sports administrators with needles and no explanations. Call Essendon what you like. But Watson will lose his Brownlow and that is a huge shame - you think I am going to see him as a 'drug cheat' and all the connotations of that label when his career is done? No effing way.

Well, this isn't great, and would we have done this deal if we knew he would miss a quarter of his contract? That's hard to say. I take solace in the issue being a broad one with Essendon, Port, and St Kilda dealing with more headaches than us... And just like we can't ignore that this is a massive setback for our player, it doesn't give a final determination on that trade either. How history sees this trade is a few years from being written definitively. Hasn't started well though...

No problems with this - it's not like they are in the team of the century... Only pettiness would keep them from what should be theirs because of how they left, or because of what they didn't fulfil.

Getting a little bit excited for next year... His old coach at Ainslie went down to Melbourne and watched training and said that he saw Vanders dominate the way he dominated at Ainslie. Now, that might not be the nicest thing to say about the other players but it makes me think he will avoid the second year blues if healthy. In the guts and leave him there.

'Frivolous' point? You are the one having a go at me for the incorrect use of a word, while agreeing with my point that posters/fans didn't like him, his play, the vibe, or the idea of him as a Demon for, can I say, frivolous reasons... And now here we are and one interview has swayed the mindless herd. If you found it frivolous, superfluous, superficial, pointless, and ignorant... So did I: http://demonland.com/forums/topic/39099-welcome-to-the-melbourne-football-club-%E2%80%93-jake-melksham/#comment-1155162

I am so sorry for using the word 'hate' Pman and BB. When I have time I will grab all the 'non-personal' comments about this person when he was a prospective Demon, and even when he was newly minted...

Most of you hated him on little evidence, good to see you starting to like him on little evidence...

Pretty site!

Would they? This way a player gets a year to prove something - if we picked up a kid we would be inclined to pump at least 2 years of development into him. Maybe for something, probably for nothing. If Michie is a waste - he is wasting the least important avenue of getting on the list and only for a year. But, sweat the small stuff if you want to.

I am glad he knows leading patterns - he is going to need that knowledge to be useful in a forwardline that is tailored to someone else. He won't just sit in the square.

The 24th pick in the Rookie Draft? We 'wasted' the 24th pick in the rookie draft? How does one waste nothing?

Hi Angus! Hey Angus, did you think that you were more prepared to play AFL because of your talent, build, and the position you were asked to play? Oh, you did? Thanks for stopping by Angus - I appreciate context.

He is 18. And he was a student, not a sportsman, when he ran that time. But, nah, let's not have any context, coz that's [censored] boring...

Some are forgetting how we gave games to all these talented kids and not only did it hurt the team, it hurt the development of the player. Having some hard and fast - Weideman in 2017 at CHF/FF/Tall Fwd - is enabling the aforementioned poor development that we should probably avoid.

lol at a 10.45 3km time being indicative of poor fitness. That is a very quick time. And one that is only going to get better as he moves into a professional environment.

Post draft update. Michie and Pick 6 in the RD are all that's left of this thread. It's at this point that I would like to make aware the fact that only 14 players are left that were on the list prior to Roos taking over and that 5 of those arrived the summer before. It's been quite a turnover and while the success of it is 'to be seen' it certainly has been promising with trade weeks and drafts coming and going with competitors and strong bodies the focus of each.

Same are quite obsessed with number 4...