flamindees

Don't mind the price we paid for Frost. The thought of a backline consisting of Frost, McDonald, Lever,Dunn, Garland(garland and Dunn have shown in the past they can play either tall or small) and Jetta really appeals to me. Assuming we use picks 40 and 53, I'm hoping we can get Caleb Daniel at 40 and select the best available mature player who nominates for the draft. Hopefully it's someone who was previously on an AFL list like Mattew Panos- a medium sized forward who has changed his game and become a midfielder- if he's built his tank to an AFL standard he could be handy as a poor man's Petracca.So not counting Frost and Lamumba, who are replacing two complete two complete felchers, we have Garlett, Jetta, Stretch and four draftees coming onto our list and with the PSD and delisted free agents who Roosy may want, their are a minimum of seven players and possibly up to ten, who need to be cut. Clisby and Nico are already gone, Blease and Strauss are obviously gone also so that leaves three to six more players who need to be cut. any thoughts on who that three to six players will be?

I have a lot of sympathy for the supporters, a little sympathy for the players, particularly the young, naive ones. I have none whatsoever for Dank, Hird, Dr Reid and any board members who knew what was going on, who I believe deserve life bans. I'd like to see the players receive 11 match(not weeks)bans- break the banned players into two groups- group one serves their suspension in the first half of the season and group two in the second half. As for the club, I don't think they should or will toss them out of the league, but I do think a just penalty would be: $10 million fine Play the 2015 season for no points. Be excluded from the first and second round of the draft for two seasons.

Happy to trade Watts, Blease and Strauss for Frost, #40 and #62. Hopefully Cockatoo is there at 23, Daniel at 40, then if Membrey nominates for the Draft, take him at 62 and use 83 on Nev.

As much as I like Trengove and Watts, I have no problem with trading them and pick 23 for pick12 and their 2nd 3rd round picks. I would then trade picks 2,12 and the second rounder for Shiel or Treloar, Frost and a guarantee they won't select Brayshaw. Finally we can use the 3rd rounder for either Lyons, one of the Hawks surplus ruckmen, or we can just use the pick in the draft.

Would give up our second round pick for either Lowden or Grimley and their second round pick. With the O'rourke trade Hawthorn's 2nd rounder is currently their first pick, They may be interested in taking a first round slider at 23. We could then use the Hawk second rounder for either Frost or Lyons,along with their third round pick.

I definately think Melbourne can win up to 12 games- the key to them making the finals though is keeping the bleeding in the losses to a minimum as i think with so many crap sides at the bottom winning less than six games there's a chance a team could miss the finals despite having a winning record- the round 2 game away to West Coast will give a great indication of what Mark Neeld's Demons are made of.

"He (Phil Scully) was at the Sydney Swans and his son was playing across town..." Excuse me, i was under the the impression Tom was still a Demon at this time, oh wait, that's right- the fix was already in!! It's like the arrogant toads aren't even trying to cover up the lie any more

Needs-wise i think that Mitch Clark was the best player we could have picked up this year, now with our three remaining picks being so low, i think we're better off going for best available, rather than picking to address needs- we can do that next year when we have better draft picks available to us. Although next year i would certainly be open to us using our compensation picks to get into a bidding war with GWS/Collingwood over Pendles- if we land him it would be fantastic, but if not, then driving up his salary and antagonising Eddie whilst still having three of the top 20 picks in a strong draft is still a great outcome for us!!!

If Tom McDonald is anything to go by, then i think i have a lot of faith in Barry Prendergast's ability to stike some more mid- draft gold on Thursday night. One kid who has really stood out for me is Marley Williams- his highlights video isn't anything out of the ordinary however in saying that, i really like his long left foot kicking, his size and his ability to provide some good forward defensive pressure. I also read somewhere here i think, that he would compliment the way Tappy plays quite well and i certainly think he would be well worth a look at- hopefully a top 20 slider will fall into our laps with pick 36 but if that doesn't happen i hope we give him due consideration.I'm not sure that he'll still be available at 52 but if he is i really hope we take him! What i hope we get with our three picks are a Mid sized defender, Smallish defensive forward and a pacy, run and carry type outside midfielder. Alternately, i would also be satisfield with three midfielders.

None of the above-please!!!!

I think that unless someone like Pendlebury or Goddard wants to be traded to us next year( either one will certainly cost both compensation picks) then i think we should use 1 of them next year and hold on to the other until the year Billy Stretch is eligible to be drafted. If we want to draft him via the father/son it may be handy to have that extra first round pick if we have to use our first round pick in order to select Stretch. Of course that could change if the 2013 draft is considered to as similarly strong as 2012- does anybody have any idea of strong the class of 2013 is being projected to be? We have to consider the salary cap too - if we draft 3 first rounders at the same draft and they all turn out to be gems and they all sign new contracts in the same year, then they'll all require sizable pay rises - with so much potential on our list, if the majority of them really come on, then we're gunna have to be very careful with how we manage the salary cap!

Whilst I think Brett would definitely be a good choice if available, personally I would rather see the new Casey coach handpicked by Neeld- even if it is a left-field, who the hell is this guy kind of appointment. That way it would ensure that there is total continuity across the board and everything that happens at Casey is first and foremost done with a view to benefit Melbourne.

Does anyone know the address of the Bentleigh? I've moved from WA this year and never been to the club before- is it close to the train station?? Any info would be greatly appreciated!!!

With respect BB it was be madness on the part of Scully to sign anything before the new CBA agreement has been put in place and it would be totally unprofessional for his manager or anyone at Melbourne to advise him to sign or not to sign any contract until next year's salary cap is announced. You must see that this is actually doing Melbourne a favour, we will be able to pay him a lot more in September than we would have been earlier than if ih singed in February for example. I'm actually amazed that any players players from any club have signed contracts in the few weeks and months leading up to a new CBA- they're totally short-changing themselves!!!! Iknow that its a dirty word for some people on this board but how's aboot we show a little bit of faith in the young man and believe him when he says that he's being truthful aboot being a one-club player! And if it actually does happen and Tom leaves then i think out of or five most important players that we currently having forward and into our premiership window of 2014/18,the others being, Frawley, Jamar, Jurrah and Watts that Tom is currently the most replacable os our most important five- with Frawley, followed very closely by Jamar- we difinately need another star in Defence and in the Ruck- our mid-field on the other hand is on the verge of becoming amazing- despite the absence of Scully!!

Thanks mate!

Just wondering- i've never been to the ground before- how close is it to the train station?

I would want to hope none of our players who are currently on the sidelines would slot straight back into the seniors as soon as they are cleared to play by the medical staff. Rather, their form playing for Casey upon their return form injury should be the sole determining factor, rather than their name, draft position or past performances.

What could prove to be the difference between Melbourne either playing finals or just missing out may be the return match against Gold Coast at the G in about round 21. The Suns have their Second bye in round 8 or 9 so with their players'physical and mental fatigue couple with injuries, an on song Melbourne could and should post a 20 goal plus victory. If they are serious about taking the next step then they really have to start destrying sides when they're in the position to do so, rather than cruising to unimpressive six goal wins

Why not just let them have the weekend off? After all, their next game is on a Thursday nite at West Coast- a few extra days off may do them the world of good.

I was excited enough before the game that i travelled from country WA to see it in person and after the game I feel that there really is a signifcant improvement in the physical presence of the younger players most notably Jurrah, Trengove and Watts. What also impressed me was that Melbourne had a lot more first choice players missing last nite that both the Crows and power had out and to still win both games at a ground we never win at makes me think that we have both a deeper and much more poised and mature list going forward- 7/10

So excited about his season that i'm gonna take a few days off from working in country WA and fly over to Adelaide for the start of the nab cup on Feb 11!! Have a feeling that our most improved this year is gonna be Sam Blease or Jamie Bennell- but i'm hoping that here'll be a dozen or more of our players in contention for this award an across the board improvement from everyone would be awesome!!!

If Sam Blease is still eligible for the Rising Star Award next year, then i'd definately consider wagering a few dollars on him winning it. He could definately give David Swallow and the Other Gold Coast kids a run for their money. I'm not sure why, but i just think that once Blease finally breaks into the senior team, that he won't be out of it again any time soon- i'm more excited aboot how he'll go next year than any other of our youngsters!!

If Lucas' form warrants it, i'd love to see him brought him into the side as soon as possible and used as a tall utility type in much the same way that Morton's been used. If the recruiter's write ups about him are accurate and he does have good to great endurance, defensive and hand-balling skills as his forwardline abilities, then a utility role may be the best way to get him used to the pace of the elite level before he's Physically able to hold down a key position. Looking forward to see how these new kids handle their first pre-season- hopefully they all get significant game time in the preseason games.

I like this kid's composure in the last line of defense- not afraid to take a defensive mark or to back himself and run the ball out of defense rather than concede a point. Two minutes of highlight footage is hardly conclusive proof that we've snagged a future 200 gamer, but i like what i see so far! Given that I no expect us to have too many top 15 draft picks over the next decade, we're gonna have to rely one one or two mid to late round smokies coming good each year. Here's hoping BP has hit paydirt with Troy!

Based on his performance in the WAFL Grand Final this year- hell no! He missed 3 or 4 unbelievably easy shots on goal almost costing Swans the flag! If he's a shocker at WAFL level how could we possibly expect him to win a game for us at AFL level?