flamindees

I don't want us to sell out our future for somebody who may never able to be better than just above average, but I would'nt mind it if we were a third-party in a deal where say Jaegar ends up at Hawthorn. A possible scenario could be: Hawthorn get O'Meara Gold Coast get Melb2017 1st rounder, somebody like Gunston/ Hartung/ Smith Melbourne get Hawks2016 1st rounder If this were to happen, then hopefully the trade would take place after we've completed the Hibberd trade . Acquiring pick 14-18 and Hibberd for our second rounder would lay the foundation for a successful draft/ trade period.

I think ANB has done more than enough to justify his place on the Senior List for another two seasons. We're a much better football club now than what we have been in years - a better culture and a considerably stronger best 22 which is much harder break into and then even harder to maintain you're place. If by the second half of his fourth season, he's still not a best 22 player, then you would be thinking aboot moving him on. It's a luxury we haven' t had for a long time - the ability to be patient with our young guns and let them develop in the reserves with occasional games in the seniors over the first three or four years rather than being immediately thrown to the wolves and expected to be the club's savior- being good again is taking a bit of getting used to!!!! Having said that, he definitely needs to add another string or two to his bow in order to become one of the best 22 and be more than just a back up inside mid. He comes across as very coachable and I'd like to see Brendan McCartney and the midfield coaches work some magic with the likes of ANB, JKH, Salem, Joel Smith and Mitch White and try to convert them into competent, AFL standard outside mids / wingmen. Clearly our two way running and run and spread are still major areas of concern that need to be significantly improved. I do think with another pre- seaon under their belts, the added fitness and better understanding of the game plan will allow the likes of Brayshaw, Oliver and Petracca to get to the outside much more easily and often to receive and run and carry - I cannot wait until these three have a break - out game on the same day - the opposing team won't know what hit them!!! When it comes to adding speed and class to our midfield, we need to getback into the first round and to do that, I'd like to see us do a deal with Brisbane where we package up Salem,our 2017 first rounder, our 2018 second rounder and any ( or quite frankly! ) all of our fringers, the likes of Dawes, Dunn, Grimes, Garland, Lamumba, Mitchie,;Newton, Terlich and unfortunately Trengove ( most if not all of whom would see plenty of senior action for the Lions next year!) and in return we would receive their 2016 first and third rounders and 2017 second rounder. With pick two we can possibly take this year's best outside mid / wingman - Sam Petrevski- Seton looks like he could someone really special, as does Ben Ainsworth. If there's any of our emerging young guns that I'm not overly invested in, it would be Salem and if Brisbane want a good player from us in order for this trade to go through then he would be the one gun I'd consider tradable. I do think if Christian can get his thyroid condition under control, get his fitness up to AFL standard and starts stringing together multiple senior games, he'll become a very dangerous weapon for whomever he plays for- I just am not confident his body will do the right thing by him - we may be better off trading him in for somebody who is similarly talented but is healthy. As for the backline it appears a forgone conclusion that Hibberd will be traded in.I'd rather we didn't go after Hurley as I believe he will cost too much, instead I'd prefer it if we brought in one of Nathan or Mitch Brown as a free agent to backup O&T Mac and Frosty. As far as a backup for Max goes,it's fairly slim pickings - I think eventually Mitch King could be good but you'd have to think he's at least three years away from being able to do the job - we may have to scour the state leagues in order to find a suitable backup for Max. As for Max King, I think he's a goner- perhaps if he's still available when we have our last pick in the Rookie Draft we may take him again. If all else fails, so long as they're free agents ( preferably DFA,s!) Ivan Maric or Zac Clarke could be viable short term options. So what I'd like to see happen in the Draft/ Trading period is: Round one: Petrevski- Seton/ Ainsworth Round two : Hibberd ( Trade) Round three: Outside Mid Round three: Ruck / Forward Round four: KPD Upgrade: Wagner, White Free Agent: Nathan Brown Mature Age Recruit / DFA: Ruck / Forward Delist, Retire, Trade: Dawes, Dunn, Grimes, Garland, Max King, Lamumba, Michie, Newton, Salem, Terlich and Trengove. If Lamumba, Salem and Trengove could get their bodies right and Garland could get his confidence back and reduces the brainfades and if Max King somehow finds himself back on our Rookie List and finally starts to show some marked improvements, then they may be worth persevering with. The others as far as being on Melbourne's senior list is concerned - are done for. That being said, it would be great if any or all of them stuck around and kept playing for Casey as I think a strong Scorpions side can only be good for us. [censored]!!! What a ramble - sorry - Go Demons - win our last three matches and finish the season with a winning 12 / 10 record and send Roosy off in style!!!! PS: Does anyone know if we can purchase 2017 memberships yet ?

What I'd like to see happen during this year's trade period is for us to shop our 2017 1st rounder and possibly 2018 second rounder, as well as maybe a couple or more of our handy depth players (players that can actually still contribute something positive to the team like Grimes, Dunn,Trengrove, JKH and Newton- I think the game has well and truly gone past Dawes, Garland and Terlich which makes them untradable) to one of the Queensland teams ( preferably Brsbane who'll finish bottom two) in exchange for their 2016 first draft pick so we can select WA's Sam Petrevski- Seton. Sam is an Indigenous kid from Hall's Creek in the far north of WA who, as primarily an outside mid, is a player like no other currently on our list. His strongest attributes currently appear to be: Clever and accurate kicking with both feet both down and across the ground over short- medium distances, also appears a good longish kick too. A smart handballer. Fast, has the ability to run away from opponents with ease. Great evasive skills. Defensively, looks amazing, with his very fast closing speed, followed by what I feel based on what I've seen of him so far is his most impressive attribute - his chasedown and brutal tackling. The only possible knock on him ( and it's a pretty minor knock in my opinion) is the most recent height/ weight measurement I've seen is he is 181cm and 76kg but he can gain the weight needed to be able to physically compete at senior level quite easily over one or two preseasons. Hopefully he is still growing and ends up being somewhere in the 184 - 186cm range. He's already already drawing comparisons to Chad Wingard and Ciril Rioli - he personally reminds me quite a bit of the Krakour brothers- especially Jimmy with his chasing down and his amazing tackling ability as well as being a real tough nut. The prospect of Petrevski - Seton and Hunt being our wingmen from 2018 onwards is a real mouth-watering one in my opinion. I doubt homesickness will be an issue for him, as a kid from Halls Creek now living about 2500 km away in Perth, he is already a long way from home but doesn't seem to have any problems being so far from family and friends. I also think having fellow Indigenous West Aussies in Nev Jetta and Jeff Garlett, as well as Dean Kent and Jesse at the club will really help him to settle into the team and to living in Melbourne. As I said before there is nobody like him currently on our list - he certainly fills a glaring need. He was an all Australian as a 17 year old and only an injured hamstring at the beginning this year's under 18 championship prevented him from repeating the dose. I would absolutely love it if we ended up drafting him but if we want him, we have to trade up and get ahead of Freo who will no doubt take him if he's available. It will be great if Mahoney, Taylor and Viney are as aggressive during trade week this year as they were last - getting pick2-3, Hibberd for our 2nd rounder, Nathan Brown/ Eric MacKenzie for our 3rd rounder and a competent, handy player or two, use our 4th rounder ourselves and then upgrade Wagner and White with our 5th and 6th rounders I believe would add up to a very successful draft/ trade period for us. I don't think that we should be chasing Prestia or Hurley - whilst you can never have too many good mids and we certainly don't, Prestia's injury and price tag rule him out for me and Hurley is overpriced/ overrated as well as a [censored] to boot, so I hope we steer clear from him. There are a few articles about Petrevski- Seton online as well as some vision of him on you tube - unfortunately I don't know how to link them to here, his highlights of the games he played against Vic Metro and SA from last years championship were particularly impressive, as I've said before, check out his defensive pressure/ tackling, as well as his kicking and ability to run away from his opponent with ease- I really hope we end up drafting him - get it done Melbourne - go Demons!!!!

It cost me $5 when I went to the Casey/Williamstown game.Not sure what it is for kids though. Might go there myself- it's 2pm start for the seniors isn't it?

I'll be happy with 2-3 goals, 15 or more possessions and an improved attitude from Jesse. More importantly I think we need at least 8-9 other players hitting the scoreboard, 2 -3 of them also being multiple goalscorers.

Can't wait to see the boys this Saturday- haven't been to a game since 2013 as I've been in WA recovering from major leg injuries.It'll be be so great to finally be able to see our new young team give this mob an absolute pasting!! I sat through the debacle in '13, it's about time we got a little bit of payback! On another note, does anyone know if the ticket booths at the G are open today- I need to reserve a seat where I don't have to walk up and down too many steps as that is still a bit difficult for me to do!

Thanks guys!!

Hi KC, I was wondering if you know what the admission price is for today's practice matches? Are the starting times still the same- thankyou!!

Open training session at Casey Fields tomorrow at 930 am!!

CAS verdict Tuesday morning, according to afl.com - hope everyone at bomberland wear their brown trousers Tuesday! Can't wait to see the reactions from the Bomber faithful and the sycophants in the media - Slobbo , I'm looking at you!!!!

I don't think GC would want Grimes, however Watts and pick 6 for 3 and 35 may be something they're interested in, especially with them being short on tall forwards. As much as Jack loves being at Melbourne, he has needed to change clubs for a long time now - and he probably has had to move interstate to to escape the Victorian media. As for How, I think he and our round 4 pick for Kennedy and Maynard/ pies round 2 pick is fair. Not sure why people are being so whiny here - you'd think people would be able to look at players leaving pragmatically rather than emotionally by now - it's certainly a lot less painful. Let's just get the best deal for him now and if that means we need to play hardball to achieve that, then so be it. What we can't do is force him I to the PSD - we gain nothing out of that and Carlton get something for nothing.

I don't think Jones will be delisted but I do think Terlich will be gone once they sign a delisted free agent- much like last year when Newton took Pickles Evans' place on the list.

That's a fair point, but at the same time he is still a part of the club and is doing a superb job.As for your banner of shame- Lucas Cook definitely deserves to be there!!!!

I agree- I definitely believe that Peter Jackson deserves be a part of the banner.He is probably the best administrator we've had in decades!! As for the players,I've gone for Tyson and as a recruit , Lamumba.