The Emblem

A/ CHB / CHF type... There was one there for the taking last ('07) draft [Lauchlan Henderson], he went pick 8 to Leigh Matthews..Potential pick 4? We could have him & be putting games into him now.

B/ Ruckman... Cameron wood, 204cm young ruckman. Why couldn't we trade TJ & our 3rd round pick to the Lions for this kid?

C/ Outside Midfielder... these types are way more common than keys & rucks, & take less time to develope them. Was there a good skilled outside type available @ pick 21???

A: I definately agree with you on Lachie Henderson...but its spilt milk now.

B: Don't know much about Cameron Wood, interesting to see how he develops...DB obviously sees something in Meesen.

C: Outside midfielders are easier [I'm not saying dead easy] to find

I like the effort but do you not think it would be more pertinent to make this sort of analysis at the end of the season. Or at least after they have played a few real games.

Now where's the fun in that?

I agree Rhino on Neitz, but isn't then our problem our midfield, if they can't move the ball quick enough to take advantage of a man that will beat most fullbacks one on one why should he be under the pressure to retire. IMO he has been poorly coached for the past 4 years and this is because of an unfit Robbo, Neitz has been forced out of his comfort area as a sole FF. Robbo need to be on a flank.

On the rucks, how can you be so sure about PJ and Jamar, when they do play they sit on the bench for 25mins a quarter have 5-10mins to be stars. They are sometimes thrown into positions when the team is in trouble. We don't need rucks they are over rated we need KPP, hard at it big men, there has to be another J Brown somewhere in next years draft.

We will lose a lot of senior players over the next 2-3 years but not all at once.

Neitz is one of the greatest players the club has ever had, and one-on-one he is still a handful for most oppo FB's one on one.

The problem, as you rightly point out, is that the ball doesn't come down fast enough and this is unlikely to be rectified on a consistent basis this year. That being the case Nieta is not only being double teamed but much worse the opposition backs have been able to exploit his age / lack of mobility by rebounding off of him and the ball is racing towards our midfield and backs at breakneck speed [the knee injuries to Robbo & Davey accentuated this problem in our forward line last year]. So I can't see Neita going around in 2009.

We will miss Neita when he's gone, just how much depends on the development of our forwards in the 21-24 year old bracket.

How about we do something a bit different this year and trade our priority pick (17 - assuming we win less than 5 games) for a good experienced 23-27 year old in his footballing prime. For example Schneider going to St Kilda, McMahon going to Richmond etc. We appear to have a lack of quality in that department.

Remember we'll likely have pick 1 in the draft, unless Tankton and Richmond win less than 5 games (or we do the unlikley and finish off the bottom), and we'll also have an early second round draft pick.

Time to get some established talent who have 5-8 years left in them. We traded for kids last year. Lets do something a little different for 09 and try and win some games.

Winning games is nice, winning premierships is what counts

If the right player is available, sure...we could trade to get one, but they would have to be: in order of priority:

A) CHB / CHF type...what club is going going to let a quality one of those go?

B/ Ruckman...we may have to trade to get an experienced one, as well a Natanui if 08 all goes to hell

C) Outside Midfielder with blistering pace and skills

Looks like the calibre of those on the short list is good so that is promising. Clearly MFC needs a strong and proactive new CEO ASAP!!

A note of caution - we need to be guarded and the MFC Board MUST ensure that the appointment of the new CEO will also ensure the continued independence of the MFC and not result in the MFC becoming more subserviant to the will and agenda of the AFL. Taking the comments on Mick Conlan from the noted article for example -

"Conlan, a close friend of former AFL No. 2 and Football Federation chief executive Ben Buckley, has strong relationships with the key AFL executives Andrew Demetriou and Gillon McLachlan and has been sounded out about his interest in chief executive positions in the past."

I have nothing against Mick and loved watching him play & so is not a comment on him.

My concern arises from the way the AFL is turning OUR 150th milestone into its anniversary. FFS the AFL is not 30 years in existence and VFL not establishes 150 years ago either! As we know Harris fell foul of the AFL Admin and his relationship with them deteriorated although I believe the AFL "approved" his appointment. Would not be good if tenure of MFC CEO is at AFL's decision. Not to say Harris should have stayed as he did not have what is needed going forward so change of CEO is needed.

A strong, vibrant and independant MFC is in the interests of everyone inlcuding the AFL!

Trojan Horse?

Same thought occured to me...but I have a deep mistrust of the AFL and their agenda's

This is the first time I've seen it mentioned anywhere.

It looked like Sylvia gave him a good couple on the chin.

If you look closely you can see that the North player was infact head butting Colin's fist!

Bit early for this post but you just can't turn over 11 players on your list, you add three rookies that still means with out any trading you need to find 8 players plus 3 rookies.

We already have 4 Valenti's on our list we don't need another slow in and under midfielder, so take him out and we need to pick 9 players up for our senior list from trading and the draft, thats over 20% of your list. You have to be a little realistic that figure is way to high, I agree Neitz, Yze and Holland from the older guys but I still think White, McDonald, Whelan have at least 1 more season. The younger guys the ones mentioned will have to improve to stay on our list. But you wouldn't go into a draft looking for more than 6 players.

Trade bait, Green and Bruce have no currency you would be lucky to get a late second round early third round pick, Sylvia you may get early second round pick.

We have got 22 rounds and hopefully finals before we have to consider our 2009 list.

Please note that the spirit post is food for thought as opposed to a baying for blood, although I can see why some may interpret it that way

Some valid points by ddrake, Life will be sweeter for the list managers if Sylvia can "make rather then break" and we could get one more season out of Junior & Wheel's, with Whitey being there out of sheer necessity. No personal grudge against White - think he is a good footballer, great athlete and at club functions etc has always come across as a truly wonderful person. Just think the changes to the ruck rules took away much of his weaponary.

As per Valenti...you can have 4 in and unders on your list because by the nature of their game style these types can cop injuries, so nice to have one or two on standby. As for pace I'm of the opinion that inside midfielders require "speed of mind" to get the ball out to the "racehorses", and it makes life so much easier for our defenders if our midfielders are the ones who have the ball!

I think there are several clubs who would be interested in Green, as a FP, and I believe the MFC could get 3-4 years valuable service out of him if we played him there

As for list turnover the scenario painted was extreme and whether you would act so dramatically would depend on the quality and depth of the draft and clubs position entering the draft.

In 07 we turned over 11 players: 3 retirements, 6 delistings and one player traded away V gaining 1 traded player, 5 draft picks and 5 rookies drafts. We could do something similar again - pending where we are at come September.

Our best 22 is still a very good side. Come the end of this year, what steps do we make to turn it into a premiership side?

Well the preseason hasn't been an encouraging on, so all the talk is all about making big changes to the list.

So what changes could we expect to see in 2009?

Rucks:

Out - Jeff White, great athlete but basically got leglislated out of the game when they introduced the ruck circle

Out - Mark Jamar, lacks the mobility required

Borderline - John Meesen, will have to learn to play as ruckman, not a ruckrover

Keep - Paul Johnson, you've got to have at least one mature body on your list

Promote - Jake Spencer, will still need more time to develop his body strength

In - If 2008 turns into a shocker then Natanui is the obvious choice, otherwise we're forced into developing a 2nd/3rd stringer from another club. This would go against the "rebuilding grain"

So in 2009 the ruck stocks could still be poor as it is unrealistic to expect Spencer + 1 to be Seniors ready by then.

Forwards:

Out: Neitz - one of the club's great servants, but can't see his old knees going around again

Out: Miller - lacks the footy smarts as a CHB, can play lead-up CHF and doing so would be the only reason to keep him

Out: Yze - defensive pressure must now start from the FF and Yze does'nt provide enough of it

Out: Holland - a better player then I feel people give him credit for, but can't see us persisting with him beyond this year

Borderline: Robbo - we may squeeze one more year [contracted] out of him but defensive pressure will have to improve

Borderline: Green - FGS play him as a lead-up FP, or could be offered up as valuable trade-bait

Borderline: Weetra - physicality is an issue

Bordeline:Sylvia : - make or break year, has potential, will the MFC be able to develop our will he be offered up

Keep: Bate - Terrific young player, see him as a HFF who can play lead-up CHF as required

Keep: Davey - Fantastic player, and as much as we need extra zip in the midfield I think Aaron playing forward makes our defenders jobs that much easier as his pace creates pressure that causes a lot of turnovers between our CHF / Centre line

Keep: Dunn - I feel is underated by many MFC supporters...this guy has footy smarts. [I can see those words being thrown in my face a few times this year

Keep Newton - loved his mark against the Kangaroos, other MFC supporters hype him a lot, but I think he must improve his concentration levels, and needs to kick 2 to 3 goals a week to win me over.

Develop: Maric - will only be in his second year of development, to be an AFL player in the first two years is the exception, not the rule.

Develop: Garland - Need to see more of him before making a judgement call

Develop: Zomer - I think he's got potential, 2009 may still be a bit soon for him

Promote: Wonaemirri - I think he's got potential

In: CHF type along with AA ruckman should be our draft priorities

Lack of a true CHF may buy Green and/or Robbo some more time. Think the window for ther MFC trading Robbo has pretty much closed, although Green could still be of interest as could be a very damaging FP in a stronger forward set-up. Will be pinning hopes on Newton and to a lesser degree Zomer stepping up as KPP [ or Morton if keeps growing], think our small / utility forward stocks look quite good

Midfield:

Keep: Jones, bluey truscott this year?

Keep: McLean, bathurst?

Keep: Bartram, very important player, junior's successor

Keep: Moloney, will have to learn to be less predictable with his disposal [to the opposition]

Keep: Pettard, brave and skillfull

Keep: Buckley, adds much needed zip

Unsure: Bruce, bloody good player,but with disposal can let him down, could be offered up as trade bait

Out: Junior, one of my favourite players, but will he be able to go around again in 2009

Out: Johnson.C, make or break year...feel that the Buckley's of this world are overtaking him

Develop: Grimes, love to see what he's got

Develop: Morton, could become an Adam Goodes style of tall winger / ruck rover

Promote: Valenti, ball magnet

The midfield had good foundation's to build on, adding "a bit of zip" would put the icing on the cake

Defence:

Out: Whelan, terrific player, will make a huge difference when in the team for 08, but re 09 soft tissue injuries concern me

Out: Bode, lacks the requisite decision making and disposal skills

Out: Warnock, just don;t see him making it

Keep: Rivers, one of the best players on our list

Keep: Bell, has developed nicely as a HBF

Keep: Frawley, can see him developing into a fine player

Keep: Wheatley, an underrated player who I think has 3-4 more good years in him.

Keep: Carroll, does a very good job, a BP who has done a good job as a makeshift FB [like holding back the tide at some points last year]

Develop: McNamara, so young and yet could even have stamped himself as a regular by the end of the season

Develop: Martin, real potential as a KP back, will take time

Develop: Cheney, need to see more

Every man and his dog has been having pot shots at our defence. I actually think we have the potential makings of a very good defensive set up and look forward to them coming into their own in 2009 and beyond

Summary

Outs: Neitz, Yze, McDonald, Holland, White, Johnson.C, Jamar, Miller, Whelan, Bode, Warnock

Borderline: Meesen, Weetra, Robertson

Promote: Valenti, Wonaemirri, Spencer

Potential Trade Bait: Bruce, Green, Sylvia

In 2009 the ruck stocks could still be poor as it is unrealistic to expect Spencer + 1 to be Seniors ready by then.

Lack of a true CHF may buy Green and/or Robbo some more time.. Will be pinning hopes on Newton and to a lesser degree Zomer stepping up as KPP [ or Morton if keeps growing], think our small / utility forward stocks look quite good.

The midfield had good foundation's to build on, adding "a bit of zip" would put the icing on the cake.

I actually think we have the potential makings of a very good defensive set up and look forward to them coming into their own in 2009 and beyond.

3 games in one day, seeing all the clubs talent in one day.

Reminds me of a bygone era....those were the days my friends, we thought they'd never end...

But alas time has moved on and even now I cannot make Casey fields because the fiance has me pre-booked.

To all those who are going have a great day.

Looking forward to the reports.

Deereaming, under the thumb

Could one of you bogans out there with a sister or girlfriend with an overbite please explain what an overbite is.

Haydo, please find attached overbite jpeg

If still confused then go to youtube and view anything to do with the filth cheersquad and observe closely

And where's the problem? At least he or she has named the source of his info.

I'll bet the Slade Group has a problem with it.

:Set the 'good' players up with steady girls to keep them out of late night drinking holes. It worked well for some but in reality that won't work for everyone anyway.

Toad 33, it seems like a good idea to set the good players up with steady girlfriends but this in itself could lead to serious intra-club friction.

The problem lies in the homogenous look of the majority of "footy girlfriend's". Blonde hair, shiny orange complexion, breast augmentations etc, compounded by the fashion to don wildly oversized sunglasses that hide their faces.

My god how confusing for our young tyro's. One could easily take his teamates girlfriend home and not cotton onto his error for weeks!

So, if we are going to set players up with steady girlfriends then we better be very very careful to mix in the odd brunette or redhead, or else it could be Arden St all over again!

Is McNamee not under contract with Golf Australia still? How much will it cost us to buy him out of that contract, given he was poached from Tennis Australia to take that post up? And whats to stop another bigger organisation in 9 months time liking what he’s done poaching him from us, given his apparent scant regard for a binding contract.

Having said that, I’d love to get him as he’s been very aggressive and progressive and most of all successful at both of the aforementioned gigs..

DD brings up some good points: paying out contracts, not sticking with contracts.

PM would bring razzataz...which we could well do with, his experience suggest he could execute the role, but would he stick it out?

Cook brings the Footy nous and a gun track record with AFL.

Interesting to see which way the Board goes.

Either way, lets get behind the new CEO

But what did he do besides be a great player? What did he achieve? You're missing my point. I am not discrediting his ability or how great he was. Instead, I'm saying that there are at least 50 players that are more deserving then him. Being a great player on a poor team is not, in every sport, something to write home about.

I am missing your point alright...bar cloning himself...I'm not really sure what else he could have done.

If my understanding is right your 21 years old....so you were not [or barely] born when he was retiring...I am amazed that you can write someone off when you never ever saw him play?

You're all bias. Had a player of Flower's calibre from another team that sucked majorly over the same period was included, you'd all be throwing sticks and burning stacks outside Sheahans house. I'm saying, you can be good, but the reason the man is barely brought up in UN-BIAS conversation of the best ever players is because he played on a terrible team and couldn't lead them to success. It's the same in every sport. Sheahans list is consistent and accurate, and he didn't let his support of Melbourne get the best of him like most of you. It has nothing to do with me not seeing him grow up, but me knowing he didn't achieve anything outside of the club while he played. And YES that does have influence.

Flower was not good, he was great.

Whether or not Mike puts him in the top 50 is his call, but in reference to Robbie you stated he did nothing???

I find that a little absurd!

Forgiveable if you were too young to really appreciate what a great player he was, or so old that Alzheimer's has you by the short and curlies.

Flower was good, but look at what he did. Nothing.

Wash your mouth out with soap.

Flower was so good that even quality sides game plan would be to deliberately go around the other wing!

I disagree. I saw plenty last year that indicated he can become a top line performer and one of our best players if he can keep fit and hungry. Watch highlights of the Queens Birthday match against Collingwood match last year. I'd argue that he has more potential than Johnstone, Green and Bruce and he is on the cusp of that potential being realised IMO.

For the last four years I've not rated Sylvia, didnt really appreciate what bad shape his body was in.

Then I recall it took one of my former favourites - Scott Thompson - about 3 years to really start getting going.

That being the case it should be time for Col's time now if his body is right, now we can hopefully see exactly what he's made of.

Latest contact from the club indicates that they think a "march to the G" for round one would dilute the impact of a similar march on the QB weekend.

Without MFC support I would consider the round 1 march "dead in the water" as its purpose was to generate public interest and membership uptake and this is unlikely to happen without MFC backing in regards to arranging cheer squads, celebrity support, media backing etc

We would have to gather a hell of a lot of demonlanders together to make the round 1 march work. <_<

Absolute Joke. But then again anyone can put a list together.

Tough gig putting that list together...only eye popper was Ben Cousins, was Mike on what Ben was on when he plucked that doozy out?

I would also make the t-shirts navy and the writing in white, with a splash of red.

I agree

Thank you all for the feedback

My interpretation of the ideas from the feedback and the evolution thus far

More comments and ideas most welcome

very very gay shirts, but good concept

Thanks, what most people wear these days looks gay to me so it suggests we're on the right track

To help bring the Red & Blue Army celebrations back to the masses I have been working on a simple affordable T-Shirt that MFC supporters can wear in our 150th year.

I posted this yesterday and got some valuable feedback which I have taken on board and so there is now a male & female version.

Your thoughts / feedback / suggestions welcome before I take this up with the club

Almost all men will eventually have a problem with their prostrate and it can be hereditary, I have an enlarged prostrate same as my father. If you get it checked regularly then you shouldn't have a problem but if you don't then you can die. The late great Teddy Whitten died of prostrate cancer.

Blood test every two years and examination every year or so will help, not nice but it's over quickly. I have my next visit to the urologist next week, will be glad when it's over.

The checkup is a necessary evil, asked my doctor for a 2nd opinion...he just smiled at me funny and then used two fingers

What were those ideas?

If it's covering old ground, feel free to just link me to the relevant thread(s)

Thanks for the feedback, whoever however the MFC Marketing & Communications manager has got in touch with me, so thanks very much.

Hi, not a thread per se, but does anyone have any special contacts within the club that we can talk to re positive Demonlanders ideas / concepts.

I have put the tram and the march to the G to "corporate" and "events" respectively.

I suspect these emails are already safely ensconsed in the deleted items bin already

Another idea...would like to see the Red & Blue Army T-shirt up and ready to go...mock up below.

Obviously this one has to be done by the club, so I need to talk to a motivated responsive individual within the MFC

So please let me know if you have a good contact name.