No. 31

Hola old55, yes an interesting draft play by the Blues, was a surprise and well executed. I think it is because the top 5-6 in these year's reputedly deep draft are all highly regarded so it is hoped you can't go wrong and you will pick up a future star. Only time will tell though. Am liking this approach compared to Collingwood who are going all out on trade veterans ... a cliff fall is coming ... I think Finn O'Sullivan has a bit of X factor about him and in terms of a very well rounded mid that is ready to go straight away, that would be Sid Draper, the highest rated South Australian (that the Adelaide Crows are keen on). BTW, the Durdin we delisted was tall backup defender Sam Durdin. We still have the small forward, Corey Durdin (they are cousins apparently). In terms of small forwards, we will persist with Motlop & Durdin (both had season heavily disrupted with injury), the Zac Williams experiment and Fantasia as depth. Also youngster Ashton Moir will probably replace Jack Martin as a third hybrid forward on occasions (and we may see Elijah Holland in that role sometimes as well). Moir only came on as a last quarter substitute twice in the tail end of the season but showed a real instinctive nose to kick two quality goals. He was once touted as a top 3 draft pick but injury derailed him in his last junior year. Lets see what he can do with another full pre-season in him. The Blues will also be picking up the Camporeale Twins as father-son pick ups and will still have pick 38 as well. So looking forward to an injection of young talent hopefully.

Cheers, I very much associate with the Navy Blue in the Demons colours 😁 RDB helped set up a the Blues to be a force again in football in the late 1960s and it was the start of an era that saw 8 Flags in less than 3 decades [reverent bowing emoticon] 😎

I just have a general admission Carlton membership so I don't know. Might look into upgrading to a reserved seat package as two of my Carlton supporting cousins have reserved seats and it would be nice to sit with them. Will keep you posted.

Ian Collins was the Chief Executive of Colonial Stadium (as it was known then) at that. Quite clearly a conflict of interest.

I have a broken windshield wiper face tatt, Mara Salvatrucha style ... I see what you did there with 'The Offspring' reference 😄 Don't do tatts ... only thing I would possibly even remotely consider is a small and discrerte Navy Blue CFC monogram when the flags come. Something like CFC 2025-2027 😁

I think Ed had a really good season. He definitely dropped off in 2022 & 2023 though. I think he has at least 3 or 4 years of very good football in him.

I like wearing MFC polo tops as casual wear when on holidays abroad. Some people like to wear say NY Yankees or Real Madrid apparel. I like Demons polo tops, authentically Melbourne, my home town.

Cheers. FWIW, I even dropped $100 on merch at the Demons online store today. My Carlton barracking cousins accuse me of being a closet Dees fan 😁

Yes, I post about the Dees there 😈 😁 Anyways, back to fixturing 2025 ... pretty happy with it for both CFC & MFC.

Carlton was an MCG tenant from 1885 to 1890 and the most popular club in Melbourne at the time. MFC played nearby at the Friendlies Societies Ground (where Olympic Park/AIA Centre is now) and became a regular tenant at the MCG in 1890 with the MCC link up.

AFL, Ian Collins, financial situation funding Princes Park redevelopments .. a confluence of events. Sad times but probably unavoidable in those circumstances and to some degree self-inflicted.

Essendon got a sweetheart deal there. Carlton was railroaded to go to Docklands.

Essendon was an original anchor tenant at Marvel and have a favourable deal there, they just play some high drawing home games at the MCG. Carlton on the other hand now have a deal directly with the MCG and are essentially tenants of two stadiums now. Carlton doesn't just play high drawing games at the MCG, they also play the likes of Gold Coast and North Melbourne at the MCG on occasion. I think you will see the balance shift to 7 or 8 MCG games for the Blues in the near future. It is befitting the MCG's first ever anchor football club, even before MFC 😁

Harsh but realistic assessment of where the Bombers are at 😁 Actually, they pack out Marvel even with their lacklustre performances, they will seek more MCG games in the future too.

Well it is for 1 game (mandated by the AFL) and Traeger Park (by choice) for another home game. As for Carlton & Essendon, they have two home stadiums, MCG & Marvel. Next season the Blues have 6 MCG home games and 5 Marvel home games. I expect MCG games to increase in the future because Carlton have capacity issues at Marvel, it is too small for some games.