Ghostwriter

And it’s even more special when the club is Melbourne because I reckon there’d be fewer players running around today who barracked for Melbourne as kids as opposed to Collingwood, Carlton, Richmond, Essendon and the interstate sides (the real ones, not the franchises).

I accept this mission 👍🏽 Meanwhile, care to take a guess? Jai looks about 6yo in the picture so it was probably taken in 2009-2010. Ima guess Jack Watts.

Funny you should say this, Jed is called Jeddy 😁

It’s the complete opposite. He’s such a bad dancer they call him Disco. I believe his nan gave him the nickname 🪩 🕺

They did fly out today. They have a Captain’s Run at Rushton Park In Mandurah tomorrow. They’ll fly back on Sunday after the match. Then they have a few days off followed by training at Casey on Thursday.

I have nfi what this means. I’m super curious though.

Jai is living every kid’s dream…

Short session today, I didn’t get to talk to many of my faves. The Bison waved from the field and gave me a double thumbs up and a big grin. I reckon he knows what us fans think of him. 😊 👍🏽👍🏽

Luker update: he’s 86d the ‘tache. He said it was a rash decision this morning but he’s keen to grow it back. I said please don’t. 😅 I told him the Bison (the footballer formerly known as Harves) needs to shave off the poor excuse for a “moustache” that hovers above his lip. Luker said he has suggested this to the Bison but was told “the girls like it.” 🤷‍♀️ Serious Luker update: he was on the stationary bike. Without me asking about a timeline, he again said he’ll be good to go in two months. I told him I’m sure he’ll get back his muscle tone and gain weight in no time because it’s easier for a young person. Then I remembered someone on here saying he’ll need to do a full preseason, so I said this to him and he answered, “This is my preseason” and gestured towards the bike. He wasn’t joking. I didn’t know what to say so I just nodded like an id!0tt, which isn’t unusual 🤭 in any event, he seems way more positive than he was last week. He doesn’t look as gaunt now and he has more energy (he was on the bike for quite a while and was upping the speed). Most importantly he wasn’t downcast like he was last week.

Yes! Judd was into everything today. He’s running well and Pete the physio is really happy with his progress. The very first thing he did this morning was a tackling session with Melky, and they weren’t holding back.

Marty says a few weeks. The broken bone is on the top of his hand in between his index and middle fingers. He says in terms of broken bones in the hand/wrist this bone isn’t the worst to break. He was praised by one of the physios for electing to attend the session today even though he can’t do much apart from kicking the ball gently but not having it kicked back to him, of course. Incidentally, he didn’t have a plaster of Paris cast on his hand. That mustn’t be a thing anymore. edit: I just remembered that Marty said it’s only bandaging because there are plates in his hand.

Huge love for Kolt. He just had his first run! Ricky Lever was very vocal with his congratulations, but when isn’t he, amirite? Kolt says he feels great. And I believe him coz he couldn’t look happier. Pete, the head physio, told me Kolt is “an exceptional young man” and “his dedication can’t be questioned.” Melky also says he feels great and he has only “two weeks or thereabouts” before he’s fully ready.

Boys got out here half an hour early and they’re in great spirits. It’s sunny and everyone’s got a massive spring in their step. Marty is here with his hand well bandaged. He’s super upbeat though.

Can we please start a poll? Question: Do you read replies and reactions? Answers: A. Sometimes B. Always C. I’m greenwaves

Who could ever forget that?! What a joyous moment. I believe it was our last game at Subiaco (?)

Jonesy is our midfield coach and Bass (Nathan Bassett) is our backs coach. Funny story? (Sigh) Ok, if you insist 🙄 At the season launch I told Fish (Will Verrall) that I reckon the season launch is hands down the best event on the footy calendar. Better than the B&F? he asked. Way better, I told him. He said the B&F is better coz they can have a drink, and they can’t have a drink at the season launch. I said “what you can do, you can pretend you dropped something on the floor and while you’re down there, under the tablecloth, you gulp down a sneaky glass of whatever.” He thinks about it then says, “Yeah but I’m sitting next to Bass, so it’s a bit hard coz he’d be onto me.” 😳 I mean, I thought he’d know I was joking. Seems he didn’t. Seems I should watch what I say to the young ‘uns. 😂

you’ve just given the likes of Sam Manure tomorrow’s clickbait headline. I also read replies and reactions even though I probably shouldn’t on account of my gossamer-thin skin and the fact that I take everything to heart despite being told to harden the [censored] up on many occasions and I really do want to harden the [censored] up and I’ve tried so many times to no avail so it’s not for want of trying.

It wasn’t a legit injury though. He came off in the first quarter for “awareness” reasons. The commentators (Dwayne and Dunstall) said there’s nothing in it. And when he was coming off he smiled at the camera. But yeah, give Tracc the Brownlow now regardless 😅

I just listened to the poddy and agree with everyone else… great job, guys. Just wanna touch on a couple of things Binman said… JT when selecting rookies, (Paraphrasing) looks for skills, footy IQ etc. but (still paraphrasing) he places a lot of weight on their personalities. This is true. It’s no coincidence that without exception every new kid is levelheaded, mature, polite and respectful. I’d be surprised to hear that any of them party or act up at all. Hell, *Luker goes to bed at 8pm every night and sleeps for 10-11 hours and has a 2-hour nap every day! Ok maybe they’re not all like that but they’re humble, lovely people dedicated to being their best on and off the field. The other thing is about Shane. I too hate the comments about drafting him being a bust. And you know who else wouldn’t like it? Max, that’s who. At a Q&A recently in Shepparton (I wasn’t there but my friend was) Max was asked which players he considers will have a great year despite currently flying under the radar. Max said Shane for one and went on to praise him highly. Of course, this was pre-injury. The other player Max named was Jibba (Jack Billings) and again he heaped praise on him. Maybe we all need to hit the reset button on our perception of our players 🤷‍♀️

Ghosts can’t be seen, so we’ll never know.

I reckon his mum alone could be the reason for the vice captaincy (or even the captaincy)! That bat-sch!tt crazy beautiful woman is a huge asset to any club. Gonna miss Shazza as much as we miss Nibs.

An absolute travesty, wrong on every level. But not a mystery. One wears navy blue and white, the other wears red, white and blue.

Co-vice captain, no less. And totally deserving of it, too. 😊

It is awesome and really imperative. Every one of the new boys has been warmly welcomed and made to feel like part of the “family” and it shows. On the subject, considering the reports of Dan Houston deciding against a move to the MFC because of supposed ingrained toxic culture problems, etc., I’ve asked each of our new guys individually if this was ever a concern for them or their parents. Without exception, all said that it wasn’t. They’d clearly met with our club with open minds and seen for themselves that they’d be part of a great club. Anyone who says yeah but at the time of Houston possibly wanting to come here the culture was indeed terrible, I say no, culture and values and integrity of a club don’t change overnight. I’m not denying we had problems, coz we did. But the dramatic and scathing reports are clearly incongruous with the trust parents of rookies are showing for our club. IMHO.

Marvel is a banner crew’s best friend because our mortal enemies: the wind, the rain and the dewy grass don’t get a gig 😁 You’re right about the ease of using the amenities at Marvel and on a selfish level folks from the north-western suburbs can get there with more ease than getting to the ‘G. I don’t get off at Southern Cross, I get off at North Melbourne and it’s a 15-min walk. Too easy.