Whispering_Jack

For those who are interested in good old fashioned statistics, here they are for Ricky Mentha:- WARNING: Some of the following information may offend so if you happen to be squeamish about weight, please look away - Ricky Mentha Height: 179cm Weight: 66kg D.O.B: 04-09-2006

Well it is a calf injury and such things do tend to dog players late in their careers but a reading of Jay Clark’s article suggests that the Herald-Sun is up to its usual tricks. Clark himself calls the injury "minor" with the issue being whether he'll be ready to resume training tomorrow. That is, 6-7 weeks before the team’s opening match. Panic stations? No, not even close - just rubbish journalism.

Sorry. No idea.

And Mitch Brown has landed at the Parkdale Vultures in C Grade.

Jordie McKenzie, a hard working midfielder from a decade or so ago has landed a plum job as coach of one of the leading A Grade VAFA clubs Collegians replacing another former Demon Jared Rivers …

Hopefully some more positive vibes on the still locked Clarry thread pinned above.

Further update as the club returns to preseason training without Clayton Oliver who remains on medical leave with the club saying that "our primary focus is Clayton’s overall wellbeing." The club also advises: "Clayton has been working extremely closely with his personal medical team, and with the support of key club staff, in order to manage these challenges." Clayton Oliver taking extended personal leave, misses preseason with Melbourne We all wish Clarry all the best for a speedy return but we can say that, according to Irene on The Mighty Demons Facebook Page, he has been running with a mate at the Tan. When she bumped into him yesterday, he “looked fit and in good spirits”. She said “hello” and “Go Dees” and he was very friendly and we echo her thoughts ~ “Fingers crossed he can get back on track and be the player we all love! ❤️💙”

Castlemaine, despite its low population, is ranked seventh by the Herald Sun in the best sporting country towns in Victoria. And they acknowledge RDB as the star attraction among the sportspeople to come from the town.

A time to remember a young Demon player who tragically passed away along with hundreds of thousand others on this day 19 years ago … Troy Broadbridge, Melbourne Footballer (40 games, 2 goals between 2001 and 2004) married Trisha Silvers on 18 December 2004. Eight days later, while spending their honeymoon in the Phi Phi Islands, Thailand, Troy drowned after being swept out to sea by the tsunami that followed the Indian Ocean earthquake and killed an estimated 227,898 people.

She’s from Eastern Ranges and was taken with the last pick (55) in the AFLW draft. Delany Madigan follows in the footsteps of another Eastern Ranges graduate in Caleb Windsor who was taken with the club’s first pick in the AFL draft.

Jacinta Hose of Eastern Ranges became a Demon at tonight’s draft with pick #24.

I know nothing about her except that she comes from Sherwood Districts AFC and was taken in today’s draft at #12. Help!

The Herald Sun reports today - “The AFL will change its rules so players who lay a high bump on an opponent in the act of smothering will be suspended in response to the controversial Brayden Maynard case last season. “The league has reviewed Maynard's qualifying final bump on Melbourne's Angus Brayshaw and deemed that players in similar situations from next season must take "reasonable steps" to avoid contact or lessen the impact.” I suspect that this will not really help much. Collingwood’s case was that Maynard acted reasonably. The Tribunal could easily have ruled against Maynard on the facts - it refused to do so.

Kicking off the 2024 thread with a round up from today’s Herald Sun online edition of each club’s current injury lists:- MELBOURNE Clayton Oliver - Has been in the rehab group after having surgery on his knee in the off-season. He has been doing sprint work and some lighter skill based activities and is expected to ramp up his training in the new year. Angus Brayshaw - Has returned to training but still non-contact for now as he continues his recovery from the sickening concussion occurred in the finals series. Impressed in the Dees 2km time trial. Harrison Petty - The defender is still recovering from a foot injury which ended his season early. He remains on a modified program but will join the main group post-Christmas. Bayley Fritsch - The forward is still being managed after twice hurting his left foot in the second half of the season. He had surgery to repair a fracture in the foot after the first incident in round 16. Fritsch is expected to join main training in January. Jake Melksham - The forward will look to begin running again in coming weeks after rupturing his ACL in the final round of the home-and-away season. However, the 32-year-old still faces a long road to recovery.

Not MFC but a look back at history and the dawn of television in Victoria. How Melbourne's 1956 Olympics paved the way for AFL broadcasts of the future

Thanks to Ricky @moredees on Insta for these great images ~

Eye on the future: 10 draft prospects to watch in 2024 24 in 2024: A look ahead to next year’s top prospects

More rubbish reporting from the Herald Sun. Headline: DEES’ OLDIES RIPE FOR FIRST SESSION, OLLY MISSES MEMO Josh Barnes - Track watch Opening Two Paragraphs: “A bunch of senior Melbourne leaders joined their younger teammates for day one of pre-season on Monday but Clayton Oliver was not one of them. “As an experienced player, Oliver is not required back until next week, with the first week of training officially only for first to four year Demons.” If Clarrie is not required back until next week and is still on leave, exactly what “memo” has he missed?

For all bar the northern states, the academy system has been rendered meaningless. A move is on foot to change the rules again to make the academies worthwhile again. Academy bid disparity “going to change” as early as 2024 draft

The starting order for next year’s draft. As usual, we can expect plenty of changes over the next 12 months. 2024 draft order: Pies hope for Hawks slide, Tigers load up

And the winner is … 143. Tyla Hanks 105. Kate Hore 74. Olivia Purcell 65. Sinéad Goldrick 47. Eden Zanker 40. Lauren Pearce 37. Alyssa Bannan Eliza West 34. Eliza McNamara 33. Shelley Heath Paxy Paxman 30. Blaithin Mackin 22. Tahlia Gillard 21. Maddison Gay 16. Lily Mithen 6. Sarah Lampard 4. Megan Fitzsimon Casey Sherriff Rhiannon Watt 3. Tayla Harris

According to the Herald Sun, this is the order for Day Two of the Draft My guess is that there will be some passing as the evening drags on and there's space for rookie upgrades. ROUND TWO 30. West Coast Eagles 31. Brisbane Lions 32. Geelong 33. St Kilda 34. Carlton 35. Richmond 36. Geelong 37. Collingwood 38. Fremantle 39. Essendon 40. West Coast Eagles 41. Fremantle 42. Brisbane Lions 43. Richmond 44. GWS Giants 45. Western Bulldogs ROUND THREE 46. Hawthorn 47. Western Bulldogs 48. North Melbourne 49. West Coast Eagles 50. GWS Giants 51. Gold Coast Suns 52. Hawthorn ROUND FOUR 53. Hawthorn 54. Gold Coast Suns 55. Richmond 56. Gold Coast 57. Richmond 58. Western Bulldogs 59. Sydney Swans 60. Carlton 61. Gold Coast 62. Port Adelaide 63. Geelong 64. GWS Giants 65. Collingwood ROUND FIVE 66. West Coast Eagles 67. Fremantle 68. Geelong 69. Gold Coast Suns 70. Sydney Swans 71. Sydney Swans 72. St Kilda 73. Hawthorn 74. Melbourne 75. Geelong 76. Collingwood ROUND SIX 77. Geelong 78. St Kilda 79. Port Adelaide 80. Collingwood ROUND SEVEN 81. Geelong 82. St Kilda 83. Port Adelaide 84. Gold Coast Suns 85. Fremantle 86. Essendon 87. Western Bulldogs 88. Melbourne 89. Brisbane Lions

ROUND ONE 1. West Coast Eagles - Harley Reid Midfielder/Forward, Bendigo Pioneers, 187cm, 85kg 2. North Melbourne - Colby McKercher Midfielder, Tasmania Devils, 180cm, 76kg 3. Gold Coast Suns - Jed Walter Key forward, Suns Academy, 194cm, 97kg 4. North Melbourne - Zane Duursma Midfielder/Forward, Gippsland Power, 189cm, 79kg 5. Hawthorn - Nick Watson Forward, Eastern Ranges, 170cm, 68kg 6. Western Bulldogs - Ryley Sanders Midfielder, Sandringham Dragons/Tasmania, 185cm, 86kg 7. Melbourne - Caleb Windsor Midfielder, Eastern Ranges, 185cm, 74kg 8. Adelaide - Daniel Curtin Key defender, Claremont, 197cm, 95kg 9. Gold Coast - Ethan Read Ruck, Suns Academy, 202cm, 92kg 10. Essendon - Nate Caddy Key forward, Northern Knights, 193cm, 88kg 11. Geelong - Connor O'Sullivan Key defender, Murray Bushrangers, 198cm, 92kg 12. GWS Giants - Phoenix Gothard Forward, Murray Bushrangers, 178cm, 72kg 13. Melbourne - Koltyn Tholstrup Forward/midfielder, Subiaco, 186cm, 86kg 14. Gold Coast Suns - Jake Rogers Midfielder, Suns Academy, 171cm, 69kg 15. Western Bulldogs - Jordan Croft Key forward, Calder Cannons, 201cm, 81kg 16. Sydney Swans - Will Green Ruck, Northern Knights. 204cm. 93kg 17. GWS Giants - James Leake Defender-forward, Tasmania Devils, 187cm, 77kg 18. St Kilda - Darcy Wilson Midfielder-forward, Murray Bushrangers, 176cm, 74kg 19. Hawthorn - Will McCabe Key defender, Central District, 197cm, 86kg 20. North Melbourne - Taylor Goad Ruck, South Adelaide, 206cm, 97kg 21. Adelaide - Charlie Edwards Midfielder/Defender, Sandringham Dragons, 191cm, 85kg 22. North Melbourne - Wil Dawson Utility, Gippsland Power, 200cm, 86kg 23. North Melbourne - Riley Hardeman Defender, Swan Districts, 185cm, 75kg 24. Sydney Swans - Caiden Cleary Midfielder, Swans Academy, 182cm, 79kg 25. Collingwood - Harry DeMattia Utility, Dandenong Stingrays, 184cm, 77kg 26. Gold Coast - Will Graham Midfielder/defender, Suns Academy, 186cm, 81kg 27. Adelaide - Oscar Ryan Defender, Murray Bushrangers, 187cm, 77kg 28. St Kilda - Lance Collard Forward, Subiaco, 180cm, 65kg 29. Carlton - Ashton Moir Forward, Glenelg, 187cm, 85kg

No 42 is gorn. Day 2 of the Draft is going to be a wipeout for the Demons.

I don’t suppose that Melbourne has ever had a Koltyn playing for the club before?