Deeoldfart

Geez, life and death can be incredibly unfair at times Vale Couchy, you were a football star and a household name .................. and it only seems like yesterday!

Absolutely brilliant! Martin Flanagan paints pictures with words.

Just like building a house Kingy. It's imperative that you establish strong foundations before you build the main living quarters and then add the second story. If not, Cyclone Winston will demolish the whole house in one bad afternoon. Didn't you know we are building for the long term? Incidentally Kingy, how long have you been around football?

Many thanks for the reports martin and jimcor. Did either of you happen to notice whether Hulett joined in the main workout, and if so, how did he go?

Collingwood to compensate (somewhat) for 1958. Another era of 'Colliwobbles' at the hands of Melbourne would bring great joy to this old fart.

The Filth .................. lay down misere,

I understand what you are saying od, but evaluating how we are tracking by playing against strong opposition, and winning, are not mutually exclusive. I'm greedy and want both! A win is indeed a win, but more meaningful (and satisfying) against better opposition.

Pity about that. I was hoping for close to their best 22, to provide a strong benchmark as to how we are tracking.

A gut-wrenching story, and it's an absolute credit to Steven that he was prepared to tell it to the football world! So far so good with the happy ending. Stay in control Febes, just like you did on the HBF!

Sorry SF!

AFL site reporting that Trac joined in full training this morning. From what I'v read about him he will be an outstanding addition forward set-up. (Even more) exciting times just around the corner!

What do you expect Redleg? Surely you realize that we are only Melbourne! You know ........ the very best of easy targets!

Club confident on Brayshaw A little bit of reassurance and a bit more time to worry:

The quality of the opposition and timing of this match are a 'perfect fit' for our team at this point. It's now time to test the pre-season 'form' against real opposition, and to ensure that the early 'hype' is delivered on the field in spades. Please don't disappoint us boys!!

100% reasonable and sensible decision by Jesse, his management and the MFC. I would wager that there wouldn't be a single sound-minded Demonlander who wouldn't make the same decision if faced with the same predicament.

In a word: Trentracclarriehulk.

I know it's only a practice match with a glorified title, but for me, a NAB Challenge win on the weekend is important. First, it will be a strong indicator that at least some of the key elements that we will all be looking at (game style, ball movement, our recruits and developing players, etc) are coming together as we (and our coaching staff) hope. Second, it will reinforce the genuine confidence and excitement that has been expressed by our playing group leading into the season proper. This is especially so because we will go in as underdogs against Port. And finally, a win should give our membership coffers a nice pre-season boost.

I think we played (and won) at Shittihad Stadium in the final H&A round of 2015, even though it was a home game for us. Even more reason to give us a chance in R.1 2016 I reckon.

I was away from home on Friday .... in the middle of the bush with no mobile or internet coverage. So the obvious thing to do was to eat lunch on the run and drive the 30 odd Ks to where I could get reception, and some feedback on how the Intraclub went ...... and of course Demonland didn't let me down. Many thanks to those who provided reports, and nurtured my dreams for for 2016 (at least for another week)! Go Dees!!

................... but player managers are only interested in the first part of that equation, and my gut feeling is that they probably have too much influence, particularly where youngsters are concerned.

Even in my worst nightmares that doesn't happen! Unless we have a hellish run with injuries, I am very confident we will finish with somewhere between 9 and 12 wins for the season, and the bookies will be far more positive about our prospects for 2017 and beyond.

So many knowledgeable Demonlanders predicting (probably) half the players on our list to have breakout years. My (not so bold) prediction is that if a hand-full of these predictions come to fruition early in the season, Melbourne Footy Club memberships will break through the 40K barrier, and maybe push 45K. That would be a decent breakout year in anyone's language, and not entirely beyond the realms of possibility imo. For what it's worth, I really like the look of Kent and Salem for 2016. Both of them have the traits to be 'game breakers'! Just hope the footy Gods keep them injury free.

IMO, giving him a new contract, and excellent medical and rehab. support, is a pretty decent show of loyalty on the part of our Club.

On form to date, there's probably not too much to argue with about the bolded statement, except I would add that Bugg does a very solid job week-in week-out. I'm very happy to have a player with those credentials recruited to Melbourne, especially as Paul Roos has a second to none record of turning "good ordinary players" into "quintessential excellent role players". Players of this ilk played a significant part in winning a Flag for Sydney. Time will tell, but I'll back Roos on this one.

I'll be watching Jayden with a great deal of interest in 2016. His speed and X factor will be a great addition to our lineup if he can make the grade, and clearly our coaches saw enough in 2015 to warrant a new contract, despite him having had very limited game time since he was drafted. He has a year to prove his worth, but I have to admit that the 'then and now' photographs on another thread, and some of the recent training reports, have me a bit excited. A tantalizing prospect!