rpfc

Trade it in for a pick upgrade.

What a post. I disagreed with the first line. Wanted to point out the hypocrisy of the second line. And was revolted at the third line. Bravo.

I misread. You're right, and the AFL can stipulate that we trade the pick or picks they give us. The sanction all trades anyway so if no team gives us something decent then we can be granted the pick at the end of the trade period.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Peter Jackson has said in his short tenure that the most important role at a footy club is that of managing the list. It is our investment file and I don't even care that Watts was Pick 1 in the draft he is an asset that shouldn't be thrown away because of a failure to meet expectations or his dithering over a new contract or his stance in public over staying at the club. If it is determined that we cannot get a commensurate asset in return for Watts then we keep him and trust our new FD (if you want to talk about trusting new processes over the failures of the past) to get him to be a contributor in the future.

With what? What assets do we have? Should the AFL give us one to get a good player? Like, I don't know, a Priority Pick? We would be weak and 'woe-is-us' if we didn't ask for draft assistance. Do you think Collingwood, just 20 months out of it's second GF appearance in two years, didn't know what they were doing when they got Pendlebury and Thomas in the 2005 National Draft? They went 13 and 31 over two years after finishing 2nd twice and got two stars that won them a flag 5 years later. We have gone 23 and 63 since our last Priority Pick. ! Do people know that? Forget the shizen years since 2007. Since 2010, we have battled on our own and have continued to fail to the detriment of the league. Give us some assets.

I have added the above in the OP for those that want to keep track of how many list spots are freed up for the Draft/Trade/FA period.

I am glad he is getting it back together but jeez, he is a long way from the AFL right now. Really good to hear that we have helped him and that the boys visited him, but if he wants back in the AFL his footy needs to do some serious talking and his behaviour some seriousness.

Enough, according to Aaron...

Did you only read the bracketed aside in the first line? I feel like your last line and the last line of one of Baghdad Bob's post are really hitting the mark ("Move on"). Can we 'stop' and 'move on'? At this point it's a rhetorical question until the next time we beat each other up for OUR OWN recent history. At the end of the day, Gardner is me, and Stynes too, I am CC and McLardy, and Bartlett all over again - supporters trying to do their best for the club and not getting where they, and the rest of us, wanted the club to be.

I don't know why you have picked out Watts other than he has vocalised his indifference. With the idiom that actions speak louder than words - you could pick out the performances of most of the team (and some who have left) over the last few years to contrast against Viney. Our culture is pathetic and it didn't start with Watts' lack of physicality nor end with his dithering over his contract. I hope those lamenting his weak efforts don't forget that fact.

Kid got injured. If he wasn't, 'commonsense' would have made him play.

Let's hope we handled this one ok... It's disappointing this was my initial reaction. I have had a good time watching him play and I wish him all the best. He might want to move into coaching, I guess we will see.

When it comes to draft assistance - whether a club 'deserves' it is immaterial, irrelevant, and any other synonym you would like to put in there. We need one, the AFL needs us to have one, the rest is noise and bluster.

This is what defines Neil Craig - not the actions of a head coach he was not responsible for or to. We can sit here and judge based on perception if we want to - that is our right. But it would be foolhardy to eliminate a candidate because of your own failure with your last one.

This is asset destruction. You can't run a club like this. If he is worth more to us than we can get for him - then we keep him. If all he will be is a HBF with a great skills then he is worth more than ND30. List management is an artform in need of some science and shoving Watts out the door for ND 30 is terrible list management. We have managed to turn ND3 into Brock McLean into Jordan Gysberts into Cam Pedersen. That is asset destruction.

If people want to find it they will. There is no need to have so many threads on the one topic. The club should explore it options with regard to a trade but maintain the desire to re-sign him. We need to maintain our assets, we don't have too many.

You didn't get to the part where you explain Craig hasn't built a team. They invented the term 'Crowbots' to describe the way his teams all worked hard back and forth, ran all day, and had 22 competitors on the ground. No-one has given me a decent reason to not want Craig that is simply related to the perception that he would be 'tarred by Neeld.' Craig is a different class of coach to Neeld and should not suffer the ignominy of having his career be overshadowed by the unmitigated failure of another.

9 games. Caretaker is a job no-one should take, the way fans expect the undeliverable. He is a proven coach of men and we will have him or Eade or Williams and I am comfortable with that.

Just because we are still wallowing does not mean we haven't improved after Neeld got the axe... I have no idea what that smiley face is doing there - we are terrible. Just terrible. But we are a better team under Craig than Neeld. There is barely a comparison - if we are Fitroy like now, we were University-like under Neeld. *Melbourne University entered the VFL for 7 years of failure from 1908 - 1914.

This is pretty much it. Communicating to the players that their time is soon coming to an end and treating all players with respect at all times. And this not just for Aaron Davey by the way. This goes for our latest retiree Joel Macdonald - who was played in the Development Squad at Casey a few weeks back. That is just terrible management and I hoped we were past that. I don't know what the reasoning was or is, but the disharmony that crap brings disintegrates whatever attempts are made to improve your culture. Same with Tom Gillies last weekend being picked to play for the Dev Squad. Rookies are treated on a different plane to those on the primary list for reasons that are unbeknownst to me but I would assume are pathetic. I will say that this happens at a lot of clubs and is another great reason to get rid of the rookie list entirely. Treat ALL your players EVERY YEAR as if you want the best for them and YOUR CULTURE will improve. I will write something to Jackson if I hear one more disappointing thing like this in these closing weeks.

If we did that we would have a challenge every three years. Others would be more aware of the constitution but I expect that there will be a simple ratification of the board at the coming AGM. It's not democratic but democracy doesn't work when it comes to footy clubs. The AFL would know what a good board looks like more than the rank and file members of the Demons.

I have read he was a lifelong MFC supporter. Not that it matters when you are a Foundation Hero. That is Level 9000 Demons Supporter.

Couch has already been told he is not required next year. All the easy decisions like that and MacDonald have been made. Not certain of Magner, I would try and trade him for a pick before letting him go. You can trade rookies now.

I don't believe in time-lined transitions of leadership. Get the best around an experienced coach and make a decision to move on to one of those you have recruited at the right time. The coaches you bring in will 'know the score' and realise that there is an opportunity there after a while. Craig, Eade, Williams or Roos must be given more than a couple seasons to fix the culture of the place without having their power usurped by the 'assistant coach in waiting.'

It was getting a little sidetracked but you pick out the meaningless segue if you want. We will have a conversation around you.