Where Demons Dare

With Robey and CDT most likely off the board, i'm warming to selecting Sharp with a first selection. He's basically the best contested mid in the draft and something I think we need due to the loss of Oliver and Trac and Viney in his 30's. We need a side kick to Langford in the guts, and not to mention he's quite a handy defender with work rate and footy IQ also his big strengths. With Pick 8 I'm happy with Lindsay (who could be a Salem replacement in future) or Dovaston as a much needed small forward but may be too higher price for a good but not great player. Grlj is another great option with our second pick and we could possibly take Latrelle Pickett if he lasts to our pick 37.

Woewodin just delisted, so we might like someone at pick #37 possibly Pickett? or use as a back up if someone bids on Kalani.

We need experienced mids with Oliver and Trac likely out, so Steele would be a good pick up while our younger brigade develop over the coming years. Yes, he's a touch slower these days... but if Viney gets injured our midfield looks even more thin. We need him there for his leadership and depth and not to mention he's quite a handy player.

Oli Florent is a jet! I'd love to get him if the price is right. Would Melbourne do a 3 way trade with Sydney and GWS? GWS - Get Oliver Sydney - Get a 3rd round pick from GWS Melbourne - Get Florent I doubt Sydney would take unders for Florent but it may get the deal for Curnow across the line with more picks.

Exciting news! A dashing halfback in the right age bracket with agility and pace, that love's the occasional spoil. What's not to like about it? Hopefully we get it done with a later pick.

It may feel terrible losing club champions like Oliver and Trac, but at least they're going to interstate clubs that haven't tasted a Premiership. I wish them both well, as they have brought all of us so much joy in the past. Right now it hurts, but hopefully in time they will be welcomed back to the club after their careers have finished.

Tracc simply isn't a leader. After 200 games this bloke was meant to take over the reigns from Gawn after Brayshaw retired. Instead of leading the MFC into a new dawn, he is doing everything in his power to cut and run. It's a real weak individual who criticises the club and culture and yet does nothing to improve it. Like many, I believe this club is like the Collingwood of 21' it just needs a few fresh troops and a new game plan to take us back to the top and it disappoints me that Tracc doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to have a crack and lead the way. Very poor choice Christian... I thought you were better than that.

What a Champion you are Max! you've been carrying this team on your shoulders for years with very little support. You truly are an inspiration to us all, and make me proud to be a Melbourne member and supporter. Well done! and much deserved of your 8th AA.

I think Hawthorn Ruckman Ned Reeves would be worth taking a look at. At 26, he still has plenty of time left in him and is dominating at VFL level ("off the charts form" according to a HS article today). He's a good stopgap who could assist Gawn for a few more years while allowing Kalani to develop nicely in the VFL. We could potentially offer a 3rd round pick for him, as he has barely played since Meek came to Hawthorn.

Can we send Trac to Red Bull HQ in Switzerland and get a biomechanic to do the full tests and analysis on his goal kicking routine. Put him in one those special cat suits that track his every movement. It may be something as a simple body alignment when kicking for goal.

Gawn said he was giving up his captaincy in 2025, so there must be someone waiting in the wings. Whether it be Viney for a couple of years or they go with Trac or Lever or both, I believe those are the likely outcomes. I feel a Co-captaincy of Trac/Lever would be the best result rather than an individual captaincy as Lever is injury prone and his form has dropped significantly. While we all know what happened with Trac and going rogue against the club has made it hard for supporters and the club to trust him again. Having both of them sharing responsibilities could help ease the load and commitments of the captaincy.

I think Melk and Tmac get a 1 year extension. They're playing good footy and still important to the team. Billings, Woewodin, Hore, Laurie and possibly Brown on the chopping block. I think McAdam survives the cut this year considering we gave up a second round draft pick for him, so club has to honour the full contract. Sestan, Adams and AMW safe for now as we believe they have good potential. Most likely scenario is we draft 2 and trade for 1-2 players and upgrade Sestan to the senior list.

Time to even the W/L ledger today and keep up our winning form. We simply can't afford to lose this game if we want to make finals. Let's go Demons!

Another week off for Viney wouldn't be such a bad thing given the severity of his concussion. We want him cherry ripe for King's Birthday. Laurie or Henderson seem the likely options for Spargo's replacement and both are in good form in the VFL. The same goes for May, if he needs a rest this week Tmac comes back in.

Danger game this one. The Saints back's are against the wall and only 1 win behind us and on similar percentage. Ross Lyon has copped a bit of criticism during the week with his comments lately (even though I totally agree with him) so his chargers will be fired up I'd imagine. If Melbourne want to play finals they need to put this game to bed early to avoid a St. Kilda resurgence after half time. As Goody mentioned on 360 last week "Take it one game at a time".

The next three games can really set us up for finals. Sydney, St. Kilda and Collingwood are all gettable at the moment with their injuries or form. Our team is just starting to come together nicely, and with very few of our best 23 players uninjured we can build on what has already been 4/5 wins on the board of late. My mates thought I was off with the fairies when we were 0-5 and I said we can still make finals, and yes it will be very tough to get there but we're definitely still in with a chance. We just have to want it bad enough!

As Goodwin said a few years ago "it's all Fugazi" we need to block out this outside noise who continually try to bring us and Oliver down. We've won 3 in a row and are looking to take a big scalp with the Hawks. Let's focus our energy on what we can control.

Richmond had a 5 day break as well, and blew us away in the last quarter. I wanted to see a commanding Melbourne victory, but all we got was a mediocre one.

Hopefully the lads are over the illness that spread through the group last week and are fresh and raring to go. Gawn and Petracca especially with a point to prove. We may not win this one, but we'll definitely have a crack like we did with GWS. Dees by 3 points!

Welcome aboard Jai! I remember watching him play in match sim a few weeks back and he was dominating in some parts of the contest and I was thinking to myself 'why isn't this guy on our list? he can seriously play'. Thankfully, now he is.

I just watched the highlights reel and he reminded me straight away of Nibbler and his run down tackles and opportunistic goals. An important role to fill. All the best to Jack!

I don't see how Kozzi can txt his friends that he expect's to play for Freo next year. He's contracted for several more years with Melbourne and unless we get something extremely good in return, I just don't see us entertaining the idea. Sounds like a bit of 'fugazi' to me. Who leaked the message? what was their desired purpose? Will Kozzi feel awkward now returning to training with his team mates and coaches? very poor form from whoever spread these rumours.

It's not Brayshaw clearly. And I highly doubt he would go to the club that essentially ruined his career.

Sydney - (Best team of 2024, but failed at last hurdle, contender) Carlton - (A strong team with many elite players, contender) GWS - (Experienced team with good players on all lines, top 4) Fremantle - (Added good players, a very well rounded team, top 4) Melbourne - (Last chance saloon, still has many elite players, a good balance of young and old) Brisbane - (A drop off after the GF heroics, Daniher a big loss) Port Adelaide - (Ken’s last chance, has to make finals, and win a final) Gold Coast - (Surely their time to make finals with it’s strong list) Western Bulldogs - (Another side with a great list, should be in the mix for top 8) Adelaide - (Rising steadily, added good players, finals should be the goal this year) Hawthorn - (A good side, Barrass and Battle makes them a stronger team) Collingwood - (An ageing list but plays a good system, expect a drop off this year) Geelong - (Ageing list, a bit of an unknown, Smith a good addition) St. Kilda - (Some good players, but lacks talent across all lines) Essendon - (Worst list in the comp for many years now) North Melbourne - (Lot’s of young guns, but can’t see them rising) West Coast - (Rebuild mode, has some good players developing nicely) Richmond - (Starting from ground zero)

It's terrible news. But there's a tiny silver lining in that bad things can happen at any moment that you can't control. I'd rather he crack his ribs in training now, than in another game against Collingwood. Get the monkey off the back, own it, and be ready to 'knock em stiff' come game day.