Deeoldfart

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Great point She Devil. That confirms #48 in my mind.

That's encouraging! Thanks H.

Of course!

Agreed that your points are pretty sound ........................ and don't feel too embarassed about your oversight. I have memory lapses all the time, and so do the pollys. It must be the Canberra air!

Welcome to Demonland 'freakovich13', but I must say that threatening to rip up your membership in the second sentence of your debut post is not a particularly promising start. No doubt things will improve!! Good luck.

Daniel seems to have some real talent, and the Footy Dept. seem to like his potential. Sadly, his short career has been dogged by injury ........ and now another hip operation followed by another limited pre-season. I suppose the question has to be 'will he get another year on the rookie list?' The strong suggestion in this short summary is that he will. I hope so.

Solid as a rock and still improving. Another top five finish in the Bluey coming up, I think ................. and continued development will see him as a cornerstone of a very good defence for quite a few years.

Great year Aaron. I reckon you can start clearing some space in the trophy cabinet for a Bluey. As for next year, we are all hoping that the emergence of a few of your younger team-mates will give you a bit more time and space to ply your trade. The sky is the limit! ................. and thanks also for your outstanding work with your indigenous 'brothers'.

Bugger me! If half of those mentioned above deliver as predicted in 2010, we will play finals! It is indeed an exciting time to be a Melbourne member. The brightness of our prospects are hardly given a seconds thought by the football media and supporters of other teams, but with a half reasonable draw, and a reasonable run with injuries, I think we can surprise a many of them. My prediction (at least from the heart): the Dees to have a breakout year!!

A great PSD pickup. Seems to be a fast learner, and is developing great versatility for a player of his size. I expect him to be around the MFC for a long time.

Totally agree Nash. Geez, Trent was picked up as a late rookie ......... a punt on a 'speccie' that didn't work out ie. just like the vast majority of those selected at the tail end of the draft.

Junk!! Written by a nobody whose not prepared to put his / her name to it.

Not sure either ................ but just to keep you laughing, you can add Jay Viney to the list.

Yep. That's my reading of it. Barts may be added to the list if the rumours are correct. Delisting is obviously tough on the boys, but I expect they saw it coming .......... and I'm certainly glad that the MFC have made what some around here will undoubtedly see as the wrong decisions. Personally, I'm very pleased that TMac may have missed the chop. IMO he shows loads of promise. Good luck to Bucks and Valenti. I hope they get picked up by another club.

I'm as sentimental as anyone when it comes to my football team of almost 60 years, and I agree that family traditions are great. The Cordners, Hassa and Len Mannn and the Febeys are good examples at Melbourne. On the other hand, when they don't work out, family ties bring a bit of heightened expectation for a season or two, and then nothing more. I had great expectations for the great Robbie Flower's younger brother Tom (undoubtedly because I presumed it was in his genes), but he lasted three seasons, and played most of them in the seconds. My point is, draft Dylan Grimes by all means, but only if he is considered the best available at that pick. Sentimentality is a huge part of our game, but it has absolutely no part to play in draft selections.

Spot on HT. The AFL smacks of double standards in so many areas. One has to wonder what their response might have been if Fevola was a Demon or a Kangaroo.

Agree KoD. It will be very interesting to know when he is expected to join his teamates in full scale pre-season work.

No thanks. It's far more important for our future to get games / experience into Spencer, Martin, Meesen and perhaps a youngster from this year's draft.

Another very solid year IMO. For a few of seasons I thought Cam was heading for stardom, but I was a long way off the mark with that prediction. None-the-less, his consistency and work ethic, amidst a plethora of disappointing team performances over the last few years, has been excellent. Unfortunately he will never be a 'match breaker', but like most others around here, I just wish he could improve his disopsal by 10% or so.

Like some others, I see a diminishing role for Junior in the midfield, even more-so if we pick up Luke Ball. IMO he will get less game time, but his contribution, including leadership, when playing in short bursts, will be valuable for another season. Like Rojik, I sincerely hope he retires at the end of 2010, as a player who has earned a spot on merit in our best 22.

Age and injury robbed Paul of a place on our list for 2010. 2008 was probably his best year, but sadly he couldn't get onto the park in 2009 and that effectively ended his career. Tough business this AFL! He is an absolute gentleman to boot, and I'll certainly miss him in the red and blue. Good luck Paul, in whatever you do!

Yep. IMO she's one of the most insightful footy journos going 'round.

If we can establish some confidence about his ankle / hammy problems, I'd prefer to take a punt on Smith ahead of Ball in the PSD .................... but I wouldn't risk a pick on either of them in the ND.

1. Davey 2. Moloney 3. Warnock 4. Frawley 5. Bruce Most improved: Frawley Best first year: Jurrah Clubman: Davey